Chapter 23: Booty

Unable to contain herself, Caenis burst out laughing when she heard Arlong's threat. The enraged Fishman charged toward her, but she didn't even bother to dodge as he swung his sawtooth blade, the Kiribachi, at her neck.

To demonstrate just how outclassed Arlong was, Caenis raised her chin slightly, giving the former easier access to her neck as she stood with her arms crossed in contempt. The Endurance Parameter gave Heroic Spirits an exceptional degree of Shock Nullification, so Caenis stood her ground without moving a single centimeter despite the tremendous force behind Arlong's blow.

Parodying Arlong's words to Thomas, Caenis adopted a teasing sneer as she asked, "Seriously? You're this weak and dare to lecture others...?"

Seeing Caenis tank his full-powered blow without flinching, Arlong's eyes wavered as he instinctually took a step back, pulling his Kiribachi as if it were an actual saw. The moment he did so, Caenis reached up to grab the blade with her bare hand, shattering it like glass before kicking him in the gut faster than he could leap backward.

As Arlong was sent skidding across the ground like a stone across a pond, Caenis charged forward, intercepting him with a punting kick that sent the severely injured Fishman flying hundreds of meters into the air. Then, with a predominately red spear in hand, she reared back before releasing it like a crimson beam, piercing Along's body and the clouds above with enough force to create a void revealing the clear skies above.

While Thomas looked on in utter stupefaction, Caenis snorted through her nose, muttering, "Pathetic..." before raising her hand to casually catch the spear that came flying back to her like a sonic boomerang. A few seconds later, Arlong's body crashed into the ground, cratering it slightly as he lay sprawled out, unmoving, on the coral pavement.

Without sparing a glance at her downed opponent, Caenis returned to Thomas's side, asserting, "As feeble as he was, that deranged fish was beyond your capabilities. But don't let it bother you. You only recently completed your basic training. Once we start sparring 'seriously,' you'll get a lot stronger."

Exhaling a sigh, Thomas resisted the urge to dispute Caenis's assertion. He was sure he could have done 'something' against Arlong, but she had intervened the moment he was in danger. Even Luffy sustained near-fatal injuries during his battle against the specist Fishman, so it wasn't like he expected to come out completely unscathed...

Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Thomas adopted a wry smile as he replied, "Thanks for the assist..."

Nodding in approval, Caenis was about to tease Thomas even more but stopped as she noticed Arlong attempting to stand. She hadn't aimed for anything particularly important, but she was surprised to see he was still conscious, remarking, "Tenacious bastard..."

Following Caenis's gaze, Thomas felt a mixture of guilt and determination as he said, "Let me handle the rest." The thought of beating someone who could barely stand felt wrong, but he was well aware of the kind of person Arlong was. The man was many things, but deserving of mercy wasn't one of them...

Rolling her eyes, Caenis dematerialized her crimson spear before crossing her arms and stating, "If you slip up a second time, no fucking for the next two months."

Though Caenis's words nearly caused him to trip, Thomas caught himself, regaining his wry smile as he replied, "Now I can't lose..." before making his way over to Arlong with a vibrant blue haze surrounding his fists. The latter looked up at him as he approached, coughing up a worrying amount of blood as he managed to get one of his feet under him, kneeling on the ground with a sizeable hole in his stomach.

Covering the hole with his left hand, Arlong glared at Thomas as if the latter was his nemesis, stating, "You...coward...needing to gang up...on a single person..."

Furrowing his brows, Thomas was tempted to call Arlong out on all of his bullshit but ultimately decided against it. Treating their battle like he was in a shonen anime had allowed Arlong to sneak attack him multiple times. He also had nothing to prove to the extremely specist man, so he raised his right fist and said, "You talk too much..." before attempting to slam it into Arlong's left cheek.

Though he was too injured to dodge Thomas's attack, that didn't prevent Arlong from trying to slice open the former's hand with his saw-like nose. However, while he managed to angle his nose properly, a sound similar to metal scraping against metal filled the area as the razor-sharp edges slid across Thomas's hand and forearm without penetrating the veil of Magical Energy protecting him.

Realizing what Arlong had attempted, the look on Thomas's face became ugly as he raised his fist and condensed enough Magical Energy to make it seem like his hand was swathed in cerulean flame. As he did so, Arlong stared up at him with an indignant yet fiercely resolution expression on his face, unwilling to bow his head or beg for mercy from a 'human.'

As the Magical Energy in his fist reached the point where pieces of his skin began to peel away, Thomas's expression softened as he said, "Don't worry. Despite your intolerance, Fishmen will eventually be able to live on the surface without fear of humans. Queen Otohime's legacy endures..."

Blinking in surprise, Arlong's expression lost a bit of its ferocity as he opened his mouth to say something. That was the exact moment Thomas was waiting for, his fist resembling a ghostly blue meteor as he smashed it into the left side of Arlong's face. The latter had interrupted him several times, so this was a bit of petty revenge, resulting in the burly Fishman's left eye disintegrating as the upper half of his body spun around, nearly separating from his lower half due to the massive hole created by Caenis.

Though he was still alive, Arlong toppled over, blood leaking from his abdomen and empty eye socket as his body contorted unnaturally, a tell-tale sign that his spine had been snapped in two. It was a terrifying sight to behold, but Thomas felt an emotion similar to catharsis as he exhaled a breath he didn't even know he had been holding.

Shifting his attention from Arlong's collapsed form to the 'flames' around his fist, Thomas's complexion paled when he saw that his ring and pinky fingers were twisted in the wrong direction. At that exact moment, intense pain radiated from his hand and through his arm, but he managed to avoid crying out as he cradled it close to his chest and groaned, "Thick-skinned bastard..."

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As Chiron reset and mended Thomas's broken fingers, Drake wandered around the destroyed Arlong Park with a broad smile and sparkling blue eyes. She had been feeling increasingly horny since she disembarked the Hind, so she 'knew' there was treasure nearby.

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Reaching a patch of debris that made her especially 'tingly,' Drake pulled out her flintlock and fired a bullet that caused a decently-sized explosion rather than simply penetrating the rubble. When the smoke cleared, Drake found a large trapdoor, the smile on her face broadening as she kicked off the broken lock and opened the hatch to reveal a ladder and a room filled with chests, lock boxes, and a pallet topped with gold bars.

"Jackpot~!" exclaimed Drake before dropping into the secret storage room without hesitation. There were bundles of explosives in each corner of the room, set to go off if anyone attempted to enter the room forcibly, but the triggering mechanism had 'conveniently' been damaged, either by Drake's explosive bullet or the Hind's bombardment.

Kicking open the lid to one of the chests, Drake's eyes lit up as gold coins, gemstones, and neatly stacked piles of Belly entered her view. The Arlong Pirates had been extorting the communities of the Conomi Islands for the past eight years. During that period, they mandated that each citizen pay a monthly survival and protection tax of 100,000 Belly for each adult and 50,000 Belly per child. Most of the communities averaged between 100-300 residents, but that was still an average of 200,000,000 Belly a month for eight years.

Though Arlong had spent millions each month to purchase the silence of the local Marines, Drake's ability to calculate the value of objects revealed the horde to be worth 12,484,058,900 Belly. A standard Caraval cost just over 100,000,000 Belly, while a fully-rigged battleship had a market value of around 1,300,000,000 Belly. With 12.5 billion in additional funds, Drake could manifest at least three Frigates and twelve Corvettes to serve as an escort for the Golden Hind.

As tantalizing as that notion was, Drake immediately dismissed it from her mind as she knew Thomas wouldn't be 'comfortable' with hundreds, if not thousands, of crewmen joining their fleet. Her Master was possessive and a bit of a control freak, so he wouldn't be able to accept recruiting random people to fill their ranks and serve as extra hands. It was honestly kind of annoying, as the Hind was built to complement twelve officers and a crew of eighty. Right now, it felt more like a ghost ship than a proud vessel that sailed the seas without equal...

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After receiving treatment, Thomas stood off to the side with Benienma, silently awaiting Drake's return while the Chiron and Caenis transported Arlong and his crew to the ship's brig. He noticed that Hachi was missing from the group of unconscious Fishmen, but as he always intended to let the comparably friendly Octopus go, Thomas didn't mention his absence to the others.

Since it never took her long to sus out the location of treasure, Drake emerged from the ruins of Arlong Park mere minutes after she wandered off, a tremendous smile on her face as she remarked, "Coming here was the correct choice. These damnable fish had close to six-"

With Benienma narrowing her eyes and placing her hand on the hilt of her katana, Drake's smile visibly cramped as she supplanted, "I found a stash of around twelve-and-a-half billion Belly in a hidden cellar. And since we don't have any lackeys, you get to help me carry it. Let's go."

Though he immediately followed after the pink-haired Pirate Queen, Thomas had a disbelieving expression and tone as he asked, "Twelve-and-a-half billion? With a B...?"

Raising her brows, Drake asked, "Why are you so surprised? You're the one who told us about the survival tax. As backwater as this island is, it still has a few thousand residents. Arlong and his crew must have been raking in between 200-400 million each month for the past eight years. If they hadn't spent any of it, we would have been looking at a payday of 20 billion, easy."

Realizing that Drake was telling the truth, Thomas's steps slowed until he had stopped entirely. The former initially turned to him with a confused look on her face, but when she saw the expression on his, it immediately morphed into a scowl as she declared, "We aren't turning over our booty to the people of this island. I don't mind if you want to help the villagers get back on their feet, but these are the spoils of our victory and the price of their lives. Maritime Law dictates that the spoils of a Pirate crew belong to the group that subjugated them. Do you think the Marines would return these funds to the people?"

Though he could see where Drake was coming from, Thomas couldn't help feeling conflicted.

Before Thomas could potentially make an enemy out of Drake, Benienma tugged on his sleeve, a serious expression on her face as she said, "Even spirits must pay a toll to traverse the Sanzu River, dechi. These people did not petition our aid, so we are under no obligation to return their money to them."

Blinking in surprise, Thomas stared down at the petite sparrow, asking, "Even you, Beni...?"

With a completely serious expression, Benienma asserted, "They willfully handed that money over to preserve their lives. We also have a lot of uses for it, so returning it to them would be punishing ourselves for performing a good deed, dechi."

Though he didn't fully agree with Benienma's take, Thomas only hesitated briefly before nodding in approval. He couldn't recall anything about Luffy and co returning Arlong's extorted loot, so it most likely ended up in the hands of the Marines. Thus, even though it made him feel like a complete and utter bag of dicks, he agreed to keep the money they had legally and 'fairly' plundered...

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(A/N: Benienma be like, "Just enough money to start up my Inn...")

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