Nami, what are you doing?!
"Hey! We're talking to you, bastards!"
"Filthy humans… how dare you ignore us?!"
The fishmen's faces twisted with anger.
Ever since they came to the East Blue, they had never encountered humans this arrogant.
"Get them! Take them down!"
Several nearby fishmen snarled and charged.
Shing—!
Zoro smirked, drawing his blades. With a single powerful step, he launched straight at them.
"Small fry shouldn't get in the way."
Twin blades gleamed with a chilling light. In the blink of an eye, Zoro appeared among them. Steel flashed.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
"Ghh-aaaah!!"
In an instant, the leading fishmen collapsed in pools of blood.
"Damn you—what have you done?!"
Arlong's voice was low and full of fury. "How dare you wound my brethren?!"
He was a radical supremacist. To him, humans were worthless—only his fellow fishmen were worth anything.
"These aren't small fry. Don't waste more of my men's lives."
"Chuu, Kuroobi—get them!"
"Yes, Boss Arlong!"
At his command, two officers stepped forward.
Kuroobi was tall and broad, his arms lined with long fins. His hair was tied into two buns, with a long braid trailing behind him.
What the hell is this—Iron Nezha? Reiner thought, eyes drifting to the other one.
That was Chuu, the kissing fishman. Lanky, with swollen lips and flushed cheeks.
"Nami, what is the meaning of this?" Chuu's gaze darkened as it fell on her.
Kuroobi snorted with disdain. "Hmph. I told you this woman could not be trusted."
"We're here to declare war!"
Nami glared past them at Arlong, gritting her teeth.
"Arlong, today I officially cut ties with you. I'm joining the Straw Hat Pirates!"
"Oh?"
Arlong's eyes gleamed with amusement. "So these are your reinforcements? Just them?!"
"Don't make me laugh, Nami. Because of your talent, I'll give you one more chance. Keep drawing maps for me, and I'll forgive everything."
"Heh… draw maps for you?"
Nami raised her head, shadows covering her face. Memories flooded back—long nights in that tiny, suffocating, cold chamber, endlessly drawing maps under the edge of a blade.
Her expression twisted into a snarl.
"I wish you'd die in my dreams, Arlong!!"
"Arloooong!!!"
"In that case… all of you will die here!"
Arlong stood, wrenching the lounge chair from the ground and hurling it with terrifying force.
"Boss Arlong is moving himself?!"
"Those humans are finished."
Reiner had already summoned three powerful undead. With a swing of his blade, the Sword Devil cleaved the iron chair in half.
Luffy leapt through the opening, charging straight at Arlong.
"You think you're worthy of facing Boss Arlong?!"
Kuroobi and Chuu moved to intercept, but the Chainsaw Devil and Wolverine blocked them.
"What the hell are these things?!"
"Some strange race?"
"No—cyborgs?!"
Even after traveling the Grand Line, Kuroobi and Chuu were shaken.
Meanwhile, Luffy had already reached Arlong. His arm stretched back, then snapped forward like a whip.
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
His fist, burning with fury, slammed into Arlong's face.
Caught off guard, Arlong was blasted back, crashing into the wall and sliding down like mud.
"Boss Arlong!!"
"His arm stretched?!"
Arlong stood, frowning as he wiped blood from his mouth.
"A Devil Fruit user? Looks like I underestimated you."
"But don't think a Devil Fruit makes you invincible!"
He charged. Dodging Luffy's next strike, he dipped low and hammered a fist into Luffy's stomach.
But Luffy didn't flinch. His coiled arm snapped forward.
"Rocket!!"
His punch twisted Arlong's face grotesquely, slamming his head into the ground with a thunderous crack.
The floor shattered, leaving a crater.
At the same time, Arlong's blow sent Luffy flying. But being rubber, blunt strikes meant nothing.
That was why Luffy had chosen to trade blows—his combat instincts were terrifying.
"Khff… urgh…"
Arlong spat blood, shoving himself up. One hand planted on the ground, the other plunged into the pool.
"Water Shot!!"
"What?!"
A giant bullet of water blasted into Luffy, knocking him away in shock.
Arlong realized normal punches were useless. He dashed into the building, intent on retrieving his saw-blade sword.
Meanwhile, on Reiner's side, Zoro was clashing fiercely with Chuu. Kuroobi struggled under the Sword Devil's relentless assault.
The Chainsaw Devil and Wolverine tore through the lesser fishmen with merciless efficiency.
As for Nami and Usopp—
"Nice one!!"
"Go get 'em!!"
They cheered loudly from behind the wall, safely out of reach. Reiner was with them, of course.
"With things going like this, we'll win for sure!"
Nami's lips curled into a smile she couldn't suppress. She had never expected Luffy alone to fight Arlong to a standstill.
"…It's about time."
Reiner's eyes glittered as he watched his undead pile up corpses.
He slipped across the battlefield, quietly "looting" bodies.
As long as Luffy keeps him busy, these fishmen won't scatter. If they dive into the sea, they'll be hard to catch.
That was why he hadn't unleashed his full strength to overwhelm Arlong.
As long as Arlong stood, the fishmen's morale held. And Reiner had a steady supply of corpses to harvest.
He had even told the Chainsaw Devil and Wolverine to hold back a little. If they went all out, the fishmen would've broken already.
This was pure fishing.
"You bastard! What are you doing to my comrades?!"
A deep, muffled voice came from behind him.
Discovered?
Reiner turned. A six-armed octopus fishman stood there, a massive water jar on his back.
"Hachi?" Reiner blurted.
"Eh? You know me? Wait—forget that! What are you doing to my comrades?!"
Hachi's eyes burned with anger as he saw the fallen fishmen around Reiner.
He had been sent to meet the Marine who looked like a rat. But after waiting forever with no sign, he went ashore—only to find that Marine was already dead.
Alarmed, he rushed back to report to Arlong—only to stumble upon this battlefield of corpses.
"Look, Hachi's back!"
"Perfect timing! Help us out!!"
Fishmen shouted at him in relief.
Reiner casually pointed to the Chainsaw Devil and Wolverine. "Them. They're the ones killing your comrades. I don't know them."
"Eh? Really? Sorry, I misunderstood you."
"Don't worry about it. Go deal with them."
"Two bastards! Taste my Six-Sword Style!!"
Hachi drew six swords, charging straight at the undead.
No wonder in the original story Zoro cut down a whole squad of fishmen, yet Hachi still ferried him to Cocoyasi Village later… This guy's really easy to fool.
Reiner smirked.
As Hachi turned, he quietly raised his gun, aiming at the octopus's back.
He didn't want to reveal his necromancer powers in front of everyone.
A clean shot from the shadows was best.
Yes, I'm dirty. Yes, I'm despicable. And?
Without hesitation, Reiner pulled the trigger.
Bang!