Chương 13: Chapter 13: Hostile Encounters 1/2
Chapter 13: Hostile Encounters, of words and swords.
Note to Leaf Ranger: I have been combing this chapter for weeks and fell far behind on my updates. I still appreciate and value your input as a BETA Reader, but I decided the other readers had waited long enough for the next chapter of this story.
Alright. I am officially closing the results for who will fight Arlong in the next chapter. The Results:
1) Luffy vs. Arlong: 17
2) Kakashi vs. Arlong: 10
3) Sasuke+Naruto vs. Arlong: 3
(Note=To me, the only way Sasuke and Naruto could have won against Arlong, would be Naruto pulling out his inner-demon. I had multiple scenario's planned so this fight would have some parallels with both of them against Haku without being a carbon copy. And the repercussions of the rest of the crew seeing that side of Naruto.)
To be honest these votes actually surprised me, but majority rules in this case and I will stick with the popular demand. Luffy vs. Arlong, while Kakashi has his own job to do…
Please Read and Review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece.
"Where is it? It was right here just yesterday morning! How could that much treasure have disappeared like that!" Nami screeched near the top of her lungs.
"Nami, be careful with how loud you are. Or Arlong and the others might notice and come looking."
The navigator's head rose to a doorway, and the comforting sight of a tattooed woman older than herself, her face carrying patience and assurance.
"I'm not doubting that the loot you found was here when you left. Why don't you go over what happened? Is there a chance they might have hidden the treasure somewhere aboard?"
The girls were in the Going Merry's Meeting Room. Nami's eye made another sweep around the room, but nothing stuck out, or came to mind.
"No. Those guys weren't smart enough to hide their stuff like that, Nojiko. And I made sure the ninjas never left this boat carrying anything. The last time I saw the treasure was just before the older one was carrying those scrolls in here," pointing to a stack of five over in one corner.
"He didn't leave carrying anything else, and when I asked he said they were some personal belongings he wanted to bring along.
Frustration clawing through her, Nami walked over to the table. Pulling out a chair before she slid, planting her elbows on the table and resting her head in her palms.
It was morning, following her first restless night since running in to Luffy and Zoro. At the first sight of dawn, Nami had moved the Going Merry from the wharf at Arlong Park. But after she went looking for the treasure, the unpleasant revelation ensued.
Raising one hand, it curled in a fist and slammed on the table.
"Damn it! This is the third time I've searched for it! I know it was here before I left! All that treasure! I never thought to check on it after Don Krieg arrived before throwing Ussop overboard. Then I had to stay outside to watch where I was sailing too and was so distracted worrying those damn ninjas chasing me. Once Arlong Park came in sight all the fishman grabbed my attention and I never even though to take look in here!" she cursed into the air.
"Hey, get your chin-up. You're still more than close to that 100,000,000 and selling this ship would certain net us a least a few million anyways," Nojiko coaxed, sitting down opposite to Nami.
"Please, save it Nojiko. If I can find where this loot was moved to, then I'll one be one small job away from that goal. We could even pocket those few million you mentioned for selling this boat," Nami growled lightly.
"Well. You'll just have to put up with my optimism," The older sibling reminded her.
"I can't let my little sister drag herself down like that at all. You remember what Bellemere would say, don't you? Keep on smiling even during hard times. After all, you still have me and our home,"
Some minutes passed in silence, before Nami raised her head, glancing around the room. Memories of the few brief days with three boys were found in every corner, even the injured partners they had picked-up, and a bright, smiling boy with blonde hair.
Eventually she stood up, with a smile that shocked Nojiko to her core.
"You're right," a murmur came from Nami's tiny smile. "Dwelling on set-backs probably wouldn't be what she would want at all. I just need to keep working harder to fill-out this bargain," her arm moving to the hate-filled tattoo on her left shoulder.
"It…it's been a while since I visited her. Hasn't it?" a rhetorical question came from Nami, while Nojiko remained stumped in her seat.
"Come on. Let's get going."
Minutes later the sisters left the ship and were moved along the coastline towards a destination they knew all too painfully. Nojiko herself kept a close eye on her surrogate-baby-sister, working up the courage to ask.
Soon they found the grave. A simple cross on the cliff-side, overlooking the bay. Nami stepped forward, kneeling down before her true mother's resting place
"Bellemere…I'm…sorry I haven't come here for a long while. And for losing the money somewhere on the way back," a soft voice came passed the lump in her throat.
"I've been busy. Things with Arlong haven't been as bad as they could be. Now, I'm just 13,000,000 bellies away."
"I was gone for a long time on this last trip. I even ran into a couple of Marines and other pirates from the Grand Line. Some wanted me to join them. I said no, you know I care about Cocoyoshi village and Arlong too much to do that. But…"
The girl took a deep breath passed through her, forcing tears from coming to her eyes.
"But I admit. I'm having some trouble forgetting this one group I found…"
"N…Nami?"
"Hmm? Yeah, what is it Nojiko?" she asked.
"You…back there on the boat. You actually smiled. I know how rare that is for you after Arlong came here. What came across your mind to bring something like that out?"
"hhhhhhhh. Well," a downcast looked crossed over the enslaved navigator's face.
"This time…the group I suckered to get that ship. They…they were different from everyone else I found before. I…I just went with them for a quick ride, but soon we ran into more than a few tight-squeezes, and they had my back."
Several memories came to her mind, of storms and stupidity, or the different fights she had been forced into by Luffy and Ussop. A group of three children came through her mind behind them, girl-talk, and a pair of boys that reflected two side of herself, the avenger and the joker.
"The truth is. When I was with them I…I completely forgot about the pain I bear. We went through quite a bit, but then…then more people came, and they…they almost reminded me of myself, and of Bellemere."
"A group of kids and this grey-haired man, their teacher. You probably wouldn't believe what I could tell you about them. But…two boys…they reminded me a lot of myself."
"We're nothing like you, betrayer!" an angry voice invaded their privacy. Nojiko whirled in surprise, finding two children she did not recognize standing within the forest some meters away. One had long pink hair and made concerned glances at her partner; a dark-haired boy with deep fury channeling towards Nami.
"You even mentioned the name of the man who murdered your own mother, and even speak about working for him with pride!" the boy accused her, with red eyes dotted with three tomoes orbiting the pupils, two in one, a single in the other.
"Sasuke-kun!" the girl spoke up, "You heard from Kakashi-sensei, didn't you? She does that for a reason, to help her village become free. She deserves a chance to explain herself more than that."
"Excuse me," Nojiko interposed, stepping between them and her younger sister.
"To start off, who are the pair of you, and why have you come here? And second, what do you know about us at all, or our lives and struggles?"
The younger girl stepped forward to reply, but Nami beat her to it.
"Sasuke and Sakura?! How and when did the both of you get here?!"
"Umm…K-Kakashi-sensei was able to track you Miss. Nami," Sakura responded. "Back at the Baratie I talked with Johnny and Yosaku about where Arlong has been hiding, and we realized you were coming here. We arrived here yesterday but decided to look around the village to see what was going on. Kakashi-sensei went into Arlong-park and-"
"Somebody did what!? If he get's caught then Arlong will be angry and-…."
The sisters' exclamations were silenced, by a slicing prick across their cheeks. Nami raised her hand, feeling a warm sensation trickle obetween her figure-tips. Drawing it back, a thin line of blood covered her palm.
"He won't get caught," Sasuke spoke in an icy tone, his arm extended before an upwards gesture followed. A pair of slicing edges skimmed past their ears, seconds before Sasuke caught them in his fingers; two shuriken connected to his hand by a thin wire appeared.
"Sasuke-kun, why did you do that?!" Sakura pleaded with him. "Kakashi-sensei told us how Miss. Nami was being extorted into working for him! None of this is her fault?!"
Sasuke didn't take his eyes off of Nami and Nojiko.
"Kakashi is a Jonin, an elite ninja. He won't get caught sneaking around unless he wants someone to find him. He was inside yesterday when those marines attacked and overheard Arlong talking about a woman he killed, your mother."
Noticing the reactions from the two women before him, Sasuke folded his arms, keeping disparaging eyes trained on Nami.
"There aren't any Fish-men around, we made sure before coming out into the open. So, are you able to explain why you are working to help the man who has your mother's blood stained over his hands, unavenged?"
"Because from what Sakura learned from the villagers here, you joined Arlong willingly and betrayed your home and family just for creature comforts!"
Nokijo frowned at the boy, reminded of another she had met the day before who was stupid enough to attack Arlong Park. She began to walk over to the boy, only for Nami to shove past her and swing a hay-maker at him, first.
The boy shuffled back to avoid the hit, while the girl duct out of the way. Nami's hand slipped into her cleavage, pulling out the sections of her bow-staff and taking swings at Sasuke. Sakura watched as the Uchiha effortlessly evade all her strikes, use only millimeters of distance between them.
Nami herself sun around, thrust the butt of her staff outwards. Only for Sasuke to sidestep and cut at her hand with a kunai in his left. With a scream, Nami dropped her weapon and fell to her knees, but Sasuke was not finished. The boy stepped back his arms outwards in a dramatic-stance, as Nami was fixed in-place, bound by several ninja-wires wrapped around her entire body.
Nojiko and Sakura gasped at the sight of Nami trapped in Sasuke's grip. As the Uchiha's face remain a mask of iron, he pulled harder, causing Nami to whiper, the thin wire cutting into her skin.
"Stop!" Nojiko rushed forwards, calling Sasuke's attention away from his prey.
"Nami is my little sister, and she already has to suffer enough under Arlong's enslavement! Tell me, how did you meet Nami, and what right do you have to disparage her over our dead mother?"
Sasuke glared at the older girl, a cold, piercing look, but not for long. Shuriken quickly severed his wires, and Nami slumped forward free from his trap. Sakura suddenly appeared between her teammate and the other two, her hands raised to press them apart
"Stop! Miss. Nami was part of the pirate crew we had joined around one week ago. They promised to help us find our way back home after we became separated from it. During an attack by a Pirate called Don Krieg, Miss. Nami stole our ship, the Going Merry."
Nojiko blinked, trying to process how such young children could be accepted onto a pirate boat. As Sakura's green eyes met Nami's distorted brown.
"We managed to follow you here, Miss. Nami. Yesterday, Kakashi-sensei overheard Arlong gloating about killing your mother and about the deal you made the buy the freedom of your village for 100,000,000 bellies. But I'm guessing that you couldn't find the treasure on-board?"
Nami blinked, before shooting to her feet. She lost her footing, though, and Nojiko caught her before the ground could add further agony.
"Where? You didn't' leave it at that restaurant, did you?!"
Sakrua shook her head.
"Kakashi-sensei hid the treasure on-board the ship. In a way that only a ninja could find it, in-case someone tried poking around the and stole it. Or Luffy-san wasted all of the treasure on food. If you tell us what is going on here, then Sasuke and I might be able to uncover it for you."
Nami blinked, while Nojiko eyed everyone carefully, with her own ideas in-mind.
"Nami," calling her sister's attention.
"We need to get those cuts and your hand taken care of. As for the two of you."
"Follow us. If you want to know the truth, then out in the open is not the best place to share it. We'll lead you to our home. But, only if you both promise not cause any trouble with the Arlong pirates. We don't' need you solving our problems for us, by making them even worse."
Sakrua dropped her arms, but…
"I don't see anything that needs further explanations," Sasuke spoke up.
"These eyes can see far more than an average human can. Nami has betrayed you and your mother by not taking revenge on the man who killed her. Eight years have past, that you have spent working as his underling, rather than dedicating yourself to revenge. Pursuing it for the death of your family was something you refused to even consider, even so far as to take his mark on your shoulder and wear it with pride. You—"
"Shut-up!" Nojiko hissed. She met Sasuke's eyes, wide and carrying a fury that lit a spark of fear in the self-righteous avenger.
"Revenge. Listen carefully, and ensure that you understand, boy. I don't care who you are. If you despise Nami for your own reasons then that is none of my business. Though I can tell you cannot comprehend our lives, because you lack the most crucial element for revenge."
Sasuke was filled with a fresh wave of hate, her accusations at the words from his old brother coming forth to his mind.
"Patience. It takes time. Should you know of our mother, then you know I suffer as well… Revenge is not an easy path for one to carve out. You don't have what it takes to suffer for revenge. I can tell. You believe it has to be pursued and honed, consuming your every thought for all minutes of the day. But should you rush, and take revenge before you are truly ready, then I can guarantee you will fail, and those you care about will find no rest because you were too foolish.
As her tirade finished, Nojiko turned along the path, supporting Nami with one arm over her shoulders.
"You don't have the patience to suffer for revenge, as we have for all this time. If you want to learn more, then follow us. Or run off and let all of it be for nothing."
Sakura blinked, before turning to Sasuke. His sharingans were no longer active, and the boy even appeared shaken and chastised. Wordlessly, Sakura placed a hand on her crush's shoulder. After a quick glance, they both followed Nojiko into the forest.
Elsewhere on the island, Zoro strode down a path near a series of rice-patties. Glancing around to see no fishmen there, he ducked into the nearby foliage and began to move about. Before taking light stop by a tree. His hand moving to bandaged token Hawkeyes had left.
'Hhhhhhhhh. I definite owe one to Sakura for finding that doctor yesterday. It was annoying how the man made a big deal out of nothing while he was patching me up. But, from what we learned, the guy definitely needed the money to meet Arlong's monthly tribute."
As the symbol of said pirate crew came to his mind, Zoro raised a hand to his forehead,
'Damn it. This business with Nami really was worse than I'd ever thought it to be. Working for the bastard for the past eight years, and stealing enough to buy freedom for her home on the side? I never thought she'd have the selflessness for that.'
'There's no point starting anything until Luffy and the others get here. Still, spend time only with these ninjas has been pretty awesome. Nobody told them that stupid joke Nami, Luffy and Ussop use about me getting lost. I really hope that doesn't become a running-gag with the others.'
Shrugging off his thoughts, Zoro stood up and began to move towards Nami's house.
"Kakashi made a good call sending me to keep watch for the other once they arrive. Now, if I only find where those damn fishmen moved the coastline to," he grumbled, ignorantly lost once again.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura had followed Nami and Nojiko into a tangerine orchard. Sakura glanced around, smiling at how well-tended the fruit-trees were, some flowering with the season and others with fresh fruits ready to pluck off their branches. Trying to distract herself from the storm churning in Sasuke's eyes.
'Sasuke-kun…why would he attack Miss. Nami so suddenly like that? He's not as angry as he had been after we were dropped here by that Genie, but I'm still a little scared to even say anything to him. He wasn't like this at all back at the Academy, no matter what came up or who said anything to him. Why has this business with Miss. Nami leaving us gotten him so riled up?'
"Sit somewhere at the table inside," Nojiko voice broke into her thoughts. Looking ahead, Sakura noticed they had come to a small house. Walking inside she glanced around, finding a single bed in the corner, a small kitchenette, and small personal touches around the house.
Sasuke did the same, until he spied a photo on one table by the wall. In it were two children younger than he was now, one with orange hair clinging the arm of a slender woman, sporting a daring hair-style with shaved-sides, short bangs and a ponytail. She had a cigarette in her mouth, and a smile that he could easily place.
"Is that her, your mother?" Sakura spoke up, while Sasuke remained silent. "She has the same kind of smile as Miss. Nami. Though...wait!" She scrutinized the sisters carefully, Nami facing the kitchen with her back to the younger girl, then pointed at the photo. "Her eyes and hair, and yours! None of you share them, and those are hereditary traits! Did she adopt you both?"
Neither of them moved for a moment. Until Nojiko set Nami down on a chair and moved into the kitchen.
"Yes, she did. Nami and I both lost our biological parents to a fight between a pirate crew and the marines when we were small children. I was a toddler, and Nami an infant. Bellemere was with the Marines during that fight and wounded quite badly. Still, she managed to rescue us both and get us back to this village through a storm."
Carrying a first-aid kit, Nojiko sat down beside Nami and began to bandage-up the shallow gashes left by the sharp-wire.
"Afterwards, she decided she wanted to be a mother for the pair of us, and we lived with her right here for years. Life wasn't too easy though, and we didn't have a lot of money for three people to live together. But, she still made the most out of what she had, and then some. Those were the happiest times in our lives. Until it was all stolen from us by a monster."
Sakura blinked, her respect and sympathy for the sisters rising further. Along with the memories of Tazuna, Inari and Kaiza's lives.
"Tell us more" Sasuke's voice came to them. He was seated at their table across from the pair. Nojiko glared at him, even causing the boy to flinch under her gaze.
"Are you going to attack us again if you aren't satisfied with the story behind our lives? What assurance can you give me that if something comes up that you disapprove of, you won't hurt Nami any further?"
Before he could respond, a heavy pouch fell on the table. Sakura was standing there, her ninja-pouch unbuckled and removed.
"These pouches contain any weapons that we carry, including shuriken and kunai. If Sasuke removed his and placed it where you could see, and we both kept our hands on the table, will that be enough?"
Everyone blinked at the youngest girl present, before Nojiko nodded her head. Sasuke did the same, confident that if danger were to come, he could still evade it and weave-hand-signs for ninjutsu. As they moved, Nami began to fidget.
"Hey, hold still, Nami. Yeah it stings, but ch'you just gotta suck it up," her sister complained.
"It's nothing, you know that Nojiko. Quit—Ow!" Nami had started in a tough tone, until Nojiko flicked her forehead none too lightly.
"Save that tough act for another time. You know you can't hide anything from me."
Sasuke…couldn't….move. The gesture he'd watched. Unconsciously, his hand rose to his own forehead. '"Sorry Sasuke…a gentle poke came just above his eyebrows…"some other time….."'
After she finished with Nami, Nojiko asked they wanted any tea. With some requests, she moved into the kitchen, and began a long explanation.
"Nojiko!" Nami called over, in a callous, detached voice. "This is none of their business. If they know about my deal with Arlong, then we just need to know who to get that treasure. Then they can leave without any problems at all."
"Nami," Nojiko began, again. "If they know the full story, then it will make them back-off much easier, probably even leave instead of staying around and causing more harm than good. Like they said before, more crew members are on their way."
"Now, you children. Listen closely. Bellemere, our mother. She was the entire world to Nami and me. None of us were related by blood, but the emotions we carried for each other and the home she gave us made us true family. More than that, when Bellemere found us, she was on the verge of death from her wounds. Seeing us, especially Nami, gave her the reasons to cling to life, and she got us back to her home village through a storm that should have killed her."
"Nami and I were the reasons Bellemere found to continue living. We became the centres of her world, and her the center of ours. Our lives together was not smooth sailing. Some things like money were pretty tight, she would even starve herself sometimes to make sure Nami and I wouldn't want for anything."
The blue-haired woman laughed, half-heartedly. "Nami would even steal a few things in the village, and always had a cheeky reply for anyone who complained," with a tiny, impish grin at her sister.
"Hey!" the navigator pouted in reply. "You are the one who beat-up a boy one time, not me!"
"That was after he bad-mouthed one of our Tangerines. And you know that, Nami!" she older sibling shot back. Before the pair of them let out a soft chuckle. The moment of happiness quickly passed, and a somber mood returned.
Nojiko went into further details about their lives together. Describing a woman with an attitude nobody could match, a heart of gold towards her daughters, giving anything she could to them, no matter what it cost Bellemere herself.
"She always had a reason, or an excuse. She was on a new diet, or certain foods were better for her skin. But children and only be fooled for so long."
"Bellemere cared more about being a mother to us than anything else in her life. And…that was why…why she died."
"Eight years ago. Arlong and his crew arrived on our island. Nami and I were in the village when they stormed in, demanding 100,000 bellies for every adult and 50,000 for every child, non-negotiable. The villagers knew Bellemere couldn't' have saved-up enough to pay 200,000 for the three of us, and he didn't notice our house at first. But…she had been cooking a special meal for us, and the smoke from the chimney gave her away."
Sakura was trying to stay composed. To hear so much about an incredible woman, with the awareness that she had been murdered, was almost more than her sheltered heart could take. While Sasuke had become more aloof, until the story moved towards Bellemere's death, and the tension began to grow.
"Bellemere tried to fight back, she even held Arlong at gun-point with a rifle in his mouth. But he snapped the barrel in-half with is jaws. The village law-man, Genzo tried to deceive the pirates, thinking Nami and I could escape from the island if we hid long enough. But Bellemere knew better. She had been a marine, so it was simple for her to know Arlong had destroyed any ships to prevent us from leaving the island and telling the marines what happened."
"She proclaimed that Nami and I were her daughters, and that she refused to deny us, even if it costed her…(gulp)…her life," Nojiko's composure began to slip, while Nami's head was downcast, the memories of her pain sharp and deep.
"Arlong…he shot her. Right…in front…of us. Just as she told us, 'love you.' But that was not the worst of it."
"Huh?!" "What?!" both of the Genin spoke up.
"After he killed her, one of Arlong's men found a map of the island, that Nami had drawn. Even at ten-years-old, Nami had amazing talent as a cartographer, and that monster recognized it. So, he abducted Nami, taking her with his crew as…as virtually a slave."
Sakura gulped, while Sasuke's face was blank. Focused solely on how to comprehend being forcibly taken by the man who destroyed his life…
…..that was one fate he had been spared of.
"Arlong took me," Nami took over from her sister.
"The first thing I saw after that was how Arlong sunk five marine ships easier than you can throw through shuriken knives. He…he forced me…to join his crew…by giving me this mark on my shoulder," her hand clenching the tattoo of the Arlong pirates.
"But I still want to be free, and for my home to be safe. So, I made that deal with Arlong. I would buy Cocoyoshi village from him for 100,000,000 bellies and spend the rest of my time drawing maps and sea-charts for him."
"Nobody inside the village knows, either," she explained, shocking Sakura and Sasuke even further.
"After…he gave me…this mark. I went back to them and acted like I only cared about money. It's my problem to solve, so nobody will intervene and make things worse."
Nami raised her head, meeting the pair of Genin with eyes both desperate and dead.
"That is why I need the money onboard that ship. It's taken a while. But with the treasure onboard the Going Merry, I'll be 7,000,000 short of that goal. And if you or the others come here, talking about how you know me or try to start a fight with Arlong-"
"If we do that, then he'll…take it out on…the village and likely…kill everyone you have been working…working hard to protect all…this…time," Sasuke finished for her, his tone soft, light, a wisp in the breeze. "All of the work you've thrown in will be for nothing."
The shift in the boy's attitude left the three females stumped. Gradually, he filled his lungs, then let a cleansing breath through his mouth. With a fresh question in his mind.
"Tell me. Have you ever thought about trying to kill Arlong at all? If you're on his crew, then slipping him poison or a surprise attack would—"
"—I did," she whispered.[1] Nearly as aloud as a cricket, Nami's words stopped Sasuke easily. With a pair of wide, shocked eyes burst forth in response.
"I tried a few sneak attacks, poisoning him, even a straight-up assassination.
Her hands curled into taunt fists, her arm trembling with hatred. "I did try, and all of those methods. Failed."
Sasuke looked forward, his eyes nearly a dead as Nami's. Slowly, she dropped her head, while Sasuke tried to process what she had described. 'Failure. Failing…to take revenge…'
Several, minutes passed, and nobody said a word. It was some time before they noticed Nami had fallen lightly asleep.
"Hmmm. Talking about everything must have taken a lot out of Nami," Nojiko observed.
"Hang on!" Sakura requested. "I'll get her a blanket," rising from her chair and drawing a scroll from her pouch. In a second, she unfurled it, formed three hand-signs, and a thick blanket appeared in the middle. One she gently draped over Nami, while Nojiko looked over in awe.
After making sure Nami was comfortable, Sakura gulped down past a stubborn lump in her throat. Awe and horror filling her mind.
'Miss. Nami…you…you became little more than a slave to Arlong after what he did. Not even Inari had it that bad with Gato, or Zabuza. You must hate him, but you still pushed beyond that hatred and suffering to do what you know is right. The villagers clearly don't know, or they don't care enough to notice how badly you have been suffering for…eight…years. I can't imagine what kind of life that can be like. There's nobody in the Leaf Village who suffers that much discrimination, ostracism or carries a burden that terrible.'
"H…how…?" her eyes darted form the paper to the very real blanket Sakura had drawn.
"Where did that blanket come from?"
As the two Genin had been learning about Nami's life, Zoro was still working to find his way around the island.
"Damn it, who dropped me on top of this damn tree!" Zoro muttered, one hand on his hip, the other around the trunk of a palm-tree. And trying to figure out how he'd gotten there.
"What's the big idea of this place? Do the fishmen shift everything around like those up-turned houses back there? Still, that would be a pretty good way to keeping people on this island by making sure they'd get lost."
Once he reached the ground, Zoro spied a cloud up in the sky.
'Hmmm. It looks, kinda like one of Sasuke's shuriken. Well, guess I'll use it as a way-point to get around here,' he decided. Turning back the direction he'd come from.
'Hm! Someone's been through here recently,' he thought, bending down to examine the tracks.
'Must've just missed them. Well, no reason for them to leave, so the coast is probably somewhere around where they came from.'
He strolled off, taking a few turns, forming a pentagon of directions, everywhere but the coastline.
"OOOOPH!" Zoro grunted, stumbling back from the solid mass he'd turned in to.
"Hey, watch it-whaaaa! A Sword!"
As Zoro shook his, one hand grasped Wado Ichimonji on instinct alone. As his eyes open, a spear was flying towards him! Reflex save his life, throwing his upper body backwards, shifting his balance to stay upright.
As the spear drew back, Zoro recovered and took one step backwards, shifting Wado to a classic Battojutsu stance. Ten fishman were gathered before him, each of them armed for a fight.
"That human is defying Arlong's authority here, no weapons are permitted to be in their possession!"
"We came out here to train and looks like from free practice came a long."
"Take the sword!"
Two in the front rushed Zoro, and the swordsman fought back on instinct. Four minutes later, the clearing was littered with wounded enemies, as Zoro clicked Wado back into his sheath.
'Damn. With only one sword, that took way to long. Better make myself scarce, in case someone comes along.'
Running from the battle-site, he dashed through various trees until one he arrived at a pathway, with rice-paddies across from the forest.
"What! Damn, I'm back here again!" he cursed, but before he could run away-
"Hey! Hey there, you swordsman! Identifying your immediately!" the man cursed himself, turning around…to find a familiar sight three meters away.
"Hmm? Oh! Hey, I know you. You're the black-haired swordsman from yesterday,"[2] a tall, Octopus fishman called over, with two arms pointed upwards, and four on his waist.
"Ummmm. O, yeah, I remember you. Hatchan-san, was it?" Zoro asked, playing along since the black-dye was still in his hair.
"You remembered, nyu. I'm quite glad that you did! Looks to me like that doctor in the village did help you out yesterday. Hey, where is your sister, ~nyu? Did she get lost, or something?"
The fishamn asked, his arms flowing in wavy motions with the wind.
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