Chapter 7: Now That’s Orange (7)

"Damn it! Let me go!" Luffy growled as Sanji 'choked' him with his head stretching forward by the second while Usopp, Zoro, Johnny, and Yasuko held Luffy's arms and legs as the Strawhat's Captain had red capillaries visible over his bulging eyes in outrage. His growls and grunts, the sheer horror of the villagers, and the delight of the marines and the Fishmen were only overwhelmed by Nojiko's and Nami's pained cries as they begged for Arlong to stop the act after ten minutes into the 'act'... like, forty minutes ago.

"Luffy, if we do anything rash, Nami will be killed!" Usopp tried to placate Luffy as their captain shouted, "UNHAND ME!"

But they only bore Luffy's anger while seeing a muscular blue-skinned Fishman with giant sharp and sturdy fins sticking out from the sides of his forearm smash both of his open palms into a bloody figure.

*Puuu*

And yet another globule of blood escaped his lips. His red hair dyed with even darker blood, his face, torso, legs, arms, fingers, and toes— bruised, cut open— violated. His nails crushed and his nose crooked sideways while his lips most naturally busted open as his figure was drenched in his blood. The fact that he could still stand amazed his assaulters.

Who really was the SUPERIOR being here, they wondered...

Them? Ganging on a lone human with the leverage of two hostages.

Or him.

Taking all of it with naught a whimper as his stoic expression was only shifted due to all the bruises inflating or bleeding.

"Huff... huff... Arlong-san, we're done with him!" The blue-skinned Fishman whose name Brody didn't care enough to remember shouted as Arlong was brought out of his stupor and scowled, "Bring him up... A promise is a promise and I'd rather die than not keep my word! Nezumi!" Arlong looked at the utterly horrified captain of the 16th Unit of East Blue, "The moment someone does something stupid, shoot your gun. Just because I'll set Nami free doesn't mean I won't kill her after!"

"ARLONG!!!" Luffy shouted, his head stretching forward ever so slightly as he gritted his teeth with his nostrils flared, "Come down! I'll beat your ass!"

"It's getting harder to keep him here!" Sanji gritted his teeth, too as he looked back at the villagers, "Help us keep our captain in place!"

As the raging bull required the force of an entire village to be even put in his place temporarily, two Fishman carried Brody up to the highest floor of the Arlong Park.

Even with his eyes stained with blood, Brody realized the setting instantly. Stacks upon stacks of maps, a single table with some stationary on it, and then there was Arlong, still holding onto Nojiko's and Nami's neck as his glare held Brody's quiet stare.

"Arlong-san, should we leave?" The one who hit the hardest among the groups of fishy pussies questioned as the sawed-nosed captain nodded, "Yeah, keep things in order down there... I'll enjoy myself up here." At the end of it, Arlong grinned with his jagged maws laid bare.

With the two Fishmen leaving, Arlong let go of Nami who instantly collapsed on the floor. Like Nojiko, her face was stained with tears elicited from pain, fear... and guilt.

"As I promised, Nami, you are free," Arlong chuckled as his gaze bore into the orange-haired girl who glared back with a rather terrifying bloodthirst, "Let Nojiko go, too!"

"Not so fast. I never said that I will you both go free at the same time," Arlong narrowed his eyes before reaching for his pocket and taking out a sharp knife that he promptly threw in front of the girl, "Now you have two choices. Kill the only man who ever managed to free the village... or I will snap your sister's neck."

Nami's eyes widened as Nojiko gripped Arlong's wrist and struggled against his hold once again only to fail as the blue-haired girl spoke in a raspy, defeated tone, "N-Nami... don't listen to him. Remember what I said? This time it'll be different," smiling through her bloodstained lips, she added, "I want to turn that nightmare into a dream..."

---

A few hours ago, as Nami and Nojiko walked downhill with their arms linked, the two conversed a great deal.

"Well, I say it's almost unfair to no go out when I am young enough for an adventure. Like your dream of making the map of this world, I too have a dream, you know..." Nojiko remarked in a mocking but accusatory tone.

Nami's eyelids jumped in surprise as she questioned, "Really? How come you never talked about it?"

"Because..." Nojiko smiled sadly, "That dream of mine... is a nightmare. Nami, even now, I see Bellemere-san sacrificing herself for us... even now, in that NIGHTMARE," she asserted, "I try to reach out... but I end up short. The same thing happened with you. I'm your elder sister... but you're the one who protected me and everyone. My dream isn't something as grand as mapping this entire world. Maybe I'm too selfish." Her words made Nami purse her lips and coil her arm around Nojiko's arm even tighter.

Feeling the comforting warmth from her sister, Nojiko could barely stop the moisture from 'pooling' around her eyes as she claimed, "I just dream to see you safe... and I just want to dream of not falling short. I can't change what happened but Nami... I love you. The thought of a disaster falling over you is a nightmare I cannot bear."

Nami grew silent and bit her lips as perhaps a tear or two might have escaped her eyes.

---

"Ha— Ahahahaha!" Arlong laughed, "I would say that you should stop listening to your sister, Nami! Why would you care for a stranger when the life of your sister is at risk? Hell, you even joined the crew that killed your mother JUST to earn money! You, HUMANS, are pathetic!"

Nami's shoulders shuddered as she looked at the knife while Nojiko begged softly, "Nami... don't, please..."

"That's right Nami! You've always been one desperate witch," Arlong laughed, "As long as your goals are achieved, you'd betray anyone! Kill him. Prove that you're still the same... and I will let the two of you live. Those other scums will be fed to Mohmoo but you and Nojiko will live!"

With shaky hands, Nami silently picked up the knife and stood up. Her balance was barely able to keep her stable as she looked like she would fall any second. Her brown eyes, warming and moistening again, looked at Brody who stood silently with abject despair.

"I— I'm sorry," Nami whimpered, the mark of Arlong's hand on her neck only becoming more visible by the second.

"T- this room is..." Brody sighed, having some trouble speaking for the first few seconds before getting more and more at ease, "This room has a horrible ambiance... Navigator-san," his cut lips tugged into a pleasant smile, "Even I would be driven to despair in such a room. Nojiko is your sister, and the two of you are here because of my interference, right? Man... maybe I don't deserve a crew... I couldn't even protect you..."

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His shoulders visibly sunk slightly as Arlong shouted, "What are you waiting for? Kill him!"

"I now understand it's just wrong to want to protect someone," Brody continued at his own pace, "To be responsible... I must grant means of protection to those I wish to protect... or something like that. Sigh, I lost a lot of blood so maybe I'm delusional."

"I'm so sorry!" Nami screamed and burst into tears as she turned around and stabbed Arlong. Or so she wished. The Fishman was a lot quicker than she anticipated and the moment she turned, his wide maws already chomped into the blade and crushed the knife into many pieces while he simultaneously clenched his hand to...

Clenched his hand...

His hand?

Arlong looked sideways where he had held Nojiko high in the air... correction— where he ONCE held Nojiko in the air as now he only viewed a bloody stump that gushed with his 'superior' blood that should have been anything but red.

Nami's eyes were wide in horror as she saw Brody gently laying Nojiko near the entrance of the floor as he spoke up, "There is a reason why I find scars so cool..."

"BASTARD!" Arlong roared, his figure pouncing at Brody with beastly speed while his teeth glimmered coldly as he threatened to tear an unprepared Brody.

As his teeth easily sunk into Brody's shoulder and chest, Arlong heard the man whisper instead of shout, "After all... why would I not envy and gush over something I'm incapable of ever having."

---

"Kekekeke! Looks like you were wrong, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro!" Nezumi, who had heard of Brody's introduction from Zoro an hour ago snickered, "That man could not be the same man you claimed to be Brody 'Ruin' Hanma who is rumored to have single-handedly ruined the war efforts of some kingdom in North Blue! How can a man with the first bounty of 90,000,000 be so pathetic!"

The mousy-looking captain stared at the boy who has clearly eaten a Devil Fruit and smirked, "Looks like you are next. Strawhat Pirates, huh? What a waste of village you have caused. Do you know how hard it is to find such a good business!" Nezumi berated but suddenly, Luffy stopped struggling. His head retracted to his intended location while he stared at the top of Arlong Park in amazement.

His gaze soon shone and he shouted— "Awesome!"

"Huh?"

Nezumi and many others looked in the same direction including some Fishmen past the blockade with stumped expressions as a bloody figure held a... corpse? No, the barely audible wheezes were clear. But... the sight of the devil holding a Fishman with no limbs under a full moon left a striking impression in everyone's heart who had only seen Brody do something as whacky as use an enemy to deal with an enemy physically.

"H-he ruined Arlong!" Someone gasped while the only one who ironically kept his head in the game was none other than one Bendy Boi.

Nezumi suddenly felt an arm on his shoulder and when he looked back at the end of the stretched arm... he found a punch zoom into his direction.

---

"P-please..." Arlong wheezed while Nami watched in amazement as Brody actually let Arlong... go.

"What are you doing?!" Nami shouted and hurriedly tried to jump out of the hole that Arlong had created previously to claw his heart out when she impacted against a sturdy figure, "He's done. But, if you want to kill him, take this."

Nami saw one of the shattered blades of the knife placed in her hands as HE placed his hand on top of her head, "But, know this, you're not allowed to kill him for anyone but yourself. And if you... can elicit that much anger for your own existence, then go ahead. I'm taking Nojiko back."

He stepped away as Nami was left staring at the gaping hole with Arlong still breathing. Her gut told her that he would live. That the bastard who caused so much to everyone around her would live but...

Did anyone of them ask her to kill for them?

Her glare sharpened. Screw it. Why must someone ask her to do the right thing?

Her fist clenched around the blade as she bit her lips.

"B-Brody..." Nami called out, distinctively aware that he was holding the door open for her. Her tears began to leak as she mustered with an angered shout, "I really want to kill him!"

"But..." her voice cracked as she looked back, her face stained with tears and running nose as she sobbed, "Thank you... for everything until the end!"

Grinning, Brody replied while reaching out and offering her a shoulder to cry on by pulling her close and shouting, "Fuck no! I don't need any thank you! I'm just happy I got some crewmates!"

While Nojiko had gone unconscious the moment her body lay down, she seemed to be smiling in her sleep, just as Nami sobbed and chuckled at the same time while uncaring how her hair and face were stained with tears, running nose, and blood this time around.

***

A/N: Just had to make Arlong park arc a little more 'harder' to keep things interesting. And since Fishmen's superior strength was obviously of no use, I had to make use of their SUPERIOR intellect~!

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