บท 30: Chapter 030

Genzo led the villagers to the front of the gates, which were shut tightly. "Arlong!" he shouted. "We know you're in there! Open the gates and face us!" The shouts of the villagers mimicked his demands, and after a few seconds, the gates started to open, inviting them in. They could see Arlong's amused grin as they walked in, and this only served to infuriate them more.

"Well, if it isn't my loyal citizens. What can I help you with?" he asked mockingly.

"You know why we're here, you fish bastard. We've come to kill you," Genzo said scathingly. Arlong was not pleased by this comment. If it was one thing that grated on his nerves, it was humans insulting the superiority of the fishman race. He got up from his throne like chair and walked closer to Genzo, who raised the sword that he was carrying. Before he could use it, though, Arlong was in front of him faster than he could react, holding him up by his throat.

"You know, this is actually perfect. I was never able to carry out your execution, rebel," he said with a dark smirk. He lifted Genzo higher and started choking the life out of him, and Genzo dropped his sword helplessly. The rest of the villagers were cut off in their approach by dozens of fishmen. "I guess this is it, then, human scum."

Before he could rip the man's throat out as he planned on doing, a large projectile shot through the gates of Arlong Park. Arlong could just perceive the shape of a man as it flew right towards him before a hand was gripping his arm and slowly crushing it. Arlong screamed in pain as he dropped Genzo, who fell to the ground in a fit of coughs as he clutched his throat. Arlong's assailant spun around, pulling his large body into a circular path in the process, before launching him through the first floor of Arlong Park. He crashed through several walls before he finally came to a stop.

The villagers looked at their village leader's savior in a mix between shock and wonder. When Genzo had somewhat recovered, he looked up and his eyes widened. "You're that kid. The one with the straw hat." He would never forget his appearance, with or without the hat. He had been the first in so long to stand up to Arlong. Him and his group of friends. This was the second time they had saved his life. He should have been extremely grateful, but he hardly even valued his own life at this point.

The hostile fishmen all rounded on Luffy, dozens of them running at him. Two more men stopped them. One had blond hair and wore a black button-down suit and tie. The other was the swordsman who had challenged Arlong in Cocoyasi Village. The two men started ruthlessly beating down the fishmen until finally two of Arlong's officers, Hachi and Kuroobi, confronted them. A few of the weaker fishmen were still standing, but Johnny and Yosaku were keeping them busy.

Sanji took a look at his opponent and hummed before looking to Zoro. "Which one do you want then?" he asked casually. Zoro turned to him.

"Actually, you can take both if you want," he said.

Sanji stared at him, thinking that it really didn't seem like his style to sit back and watch. "Your injury…" he finally said.

"Hurts like a bitch," Zoro finished. "But that doesn't matter. I just want to see what our newest recruit can do."

Sanji grinned. "Well, don't get too comfortable. This'll be over quick."

Suddenly, there was a crash in the building Luffy sent Arlong into. The shark fishman walked out slowly. He clutched his arm awkwardly, the scowl on his face even angrier than the bruise on his arm. He walked up to Luffy.

"That's quite the grip you have there, human. I hope you're prepared for the consequences of what you've just done."

"I'm always prepared for the consequences," Luffy answered evenly. "Except when there are none." Arlong's scowl deepened and he lunged at Luffy faster than the villagers could see. Luffy started dodging attacks one by one as they came at him in quick successions. Punches, kicks, and chomps all threatened him in a furious combo, but nothing hit him. Arlong was quickly growing frustrated. He tried to grab Luffy, but was sent flying back into Arlong Park with a kick. Their spectators watched in amazement. They could barely keep up with this fight. The only ones who could were Zoro and Sanji, but Sanji was being kept busy to say the least.

Another of Arlong's officers, Chew, spat a series of water bullets at Luffy, which he effortlessly dodged. He was about to run at the rubber man before he was hit with an Exploding Star and turned to face Usopp in annoyance. Usopp ran, and Chew followed behind him, stopping to look at the villagers, who stiffened in fear, before getting hit by another Exploding Star. He growled in pain and continued the chase. There's too much water here, Usopp thought frantically. I have to lead him somewhere else. He'll run out eventually if there's no water source.

Sanji dodged two swipes from Hachi's swords and blocked a punch from Kuroobi with his knee, flipping backwards and landing before jumping forward and roundhouse kicking Kuroobi. Kuroobi blocked the kick but was pushed back and landed on his back. Sanji tried to press the advantage and land a drop kick, but Hachi intercepted him, forcing him to dodge the swipes of his six spinning swords. Kuroobi got up and charged at him again.

Sanji narrowly avoided the blow and dropped under Kuroobi's arm, kicking up at his face. The force of the kick sent him sailing upwards, and Sanji pushed off the ground to land another kick to his head from above. He hit the ground face-first, but before Sanji could land, Hachi's six swords were bearing down on him. He did a flip in mid air to position himself so that he could avoid most of them, but one connected, opening a small wound on his torso.

He landed as Hachi swiped again, but Sanji weaved between his swords and planted his foot into the octopus fishman's gut. Hachi was thrown back, gasping for air, but before Sanji could take another shot at him, Kuroobi was back in the fight. Sanji jumped above the punch he threw and twisted in midair in order to land a kick to the side of his head. His wound from before opened a bit in the process, and he winced. Hachi was still recovering and Sanji took the time to catch himself in a handstand and unleash a barrage of kicks on Kuroobi, who guarded with his arms but still took blows to his legs and stomach. He started leading Sanji away from Hachi, going on the defensive and dodging his kicks until they both got close to the water.

Sanji realized the danger he was in as Kuroobi grabbed him by the arm and tried to hurl them both in, but Sanji crushed his hand with his knee, and Kuroobi was forced to let go, cursing in pain. Sanji landed on the edge where the land ceased and quickly jumped back over, making a mental note not to get anywhere close to the water. Kuroobi stayed in the water and waited him out, not wanting to give up his advantage, which was fine with him.

Suddenly he cursed as he had forgotten about Hachi, who tried to impale him from behind, only for Sanji to drop to all fours on instinct and then pushed himself into the air before Hachi brought his swords down. He did a backflip in midair and kicked Hachi's head to the concrete with both legs. Hachi dropped his swords once his head made contact and Sanji landed, turning around and kicking him again with one leg to send him crashing into a wall. He took a minute to catch his breath before Kuroobi shot out of the water, realizing that his plan had backfired once he had left Hachi alone.