Chapter 50: Anomaly?

The weeping of the heavens ceased and no more tears poured out of it's magnificent lumps of dark clouds.

The wind blew softly, bringing along with it the unforgettable scent of the salty sea. As well, it ruffled the hairs of anyone who had it long enough to be ruffled.

While Mother Nature was peaceful at the moment, the living creatures on its bountiful bosoms did not feel any of it, nor did they have the time to enjoy such luxury.

As calm as things may seem, the huge battle for the freedom and lives of every single human in the Conomi Islands was still at stake, so nobody dared to peel their eyes away or direct their attention elsewhere.

Within the newly created rubble, a tall Fishman with a naturally purple complexion, which seem to be even more so than it should, emerged with a face full of nothing but hatred.

"Despicable human! You should just accept the fact that you are nothing but a lowly ant before me. So you should kneel obediently!!" Arlong roared with even more fervor than anyone in the area's ever heard him.

"What are you talking about? Why would I be inferior to you?" Luffy asked in confusion instead. He wasn't the least bit affected by the intense emotions which were rolling off of the Fishman.

"Why you..." grumbling once more, Arlong picked himself up mentally, and readied himself to assault the annoying brat to death.

Previously, Arlong had gone mad when he witnessed the scene of his brethren seemingly being slaughtered right in front of him.

In sheer rage, he had abandoned caution to the wind and charged straight at the perpetrator. Too bad for him, someone else stepped up and launched his entire being flying with a single kick which he was totally unprepared for.

This time would be different. This time, Arlong had his mind back together to think properly and such sneak attacks wouldn't work so easily anymore...

Thinking back, Arlong realized just how dangerous his sudden outburst had been. Glancing around him, there were bodies piled up together, not even twitching anymore.

He couldn't tell if they were already dead, simply unconscious, or even playing possum.

The power the blonde brat had on him was truly terrifying. One thing Arlong knew about electricity was that it did not mix well with water.

Arlong made a mental note that he should be careful around the blonde man, maybe even avoid him until he can deal with all of the nuisances.

After all, it didn't seem like the man had any intentions of making a move a second time, simply judging from the leisurely manner in which he rested his head on a hand, and the rest of his body merely laying there on his...flying cloud? Who knows.

On both sides of Arlong, two of his most trusted subordinates were also in a confrontation.

The other blonde against Kuroobi and the strangely green headed one against Hachi. From fragments and glimpses, Chew seemed to have ran off after the human with the long nose.

With that confirmation, a sense of confidence rose within Arlong, and he couldn't help but straighten his posture into his usually arrogant demeanor.

After all, those three were the strongest among his pirate crew. Surely, they wouldn't let him down and take out those weaklings swiftly.

Once that time came, they would all gang up on the man who dared to do this to them.

From his perspective, there should be no problem with himself winning against the lanky kid with the black hair...he didn't even consider losing for a moment.

"What are you spacing out for!?" With a shout, Luffy sped his way to the tyrant and gave him a good punch, aiming right for the conspicuous nose.

Bam!

Lost in his thoughts, Arlong was momentarily distracted. However, he was still able to react, albeit a bit slower, and blocked the punch with his arms crossed in front of him.

Screeech!

"Tch.." not expecting the scrawny arms to carry such explosive power, Arlong skidded back some meters before stabilizing himself once more.

With that, the deadly fight between both of the pirate captains truly began anew.

...

On the side, hanging by the tree, Nezumi had his heart crushed a moment ago.

He was a business partner of sorts to Arlong, so naturally, he wanted the purple guy to win. That way, after the insolent bastards died, he would, more than likely, be set free from his current miserable state of captivation.

Until now, Nezumi still had no idea as to why Josh had kidnapped him and held him captive. He had never once seen the man before in his life, not to mention doing something that might warrant his treatment.

Even after racking his brain back and forth, the answers did not magically appear. However, he knew that the blonde held hostile intentions toward him, so Nezumi feared for his life.

He, too, had witnessed the scene of Josh single-handedly decimating the entirety of Arlong Park with a single blow, only leaving the upper brass to fend for themselves.

With that kind of power, Nezumi had no way of overpowering the other party to get out of his plight, thus leading to the situation which made him want to cry from the bottom of his heart.

"Oh?"

Just as Nezumi was about to delve even deeper into the pits of despair, he noticed the blonde, who had previously been completely relaxed, suddenly perk his head up in slight surprise.

Naturally, he couldn't follow what the other man's eyes were seeing because he was bound and doomed to view the direction in which he was placed at the start.

...

On the other hand, a smile appeared on Josh's face as he stared at the far horizon. A road so simple, that it looked like it was simply made from people traversing it back and forth caused it to be created, was there.

However, what Josh was excited about wasn't some dirt road. No. It was because of the three presences he had detected and they were headed their way.

From time to time, even though Josh had his Kenbunshoku Haki not activated, he would still be able to instinctively feel the presences of a familiar face.

"I can't wait to see what they will do to him.." he muttered, almost too excited to be talking about anything bad.

From the distance, the silhouettes of three people, slowly making their way towards the Park came into his sight.

[Host, I don't think you should be so happy about another's plight.]

Unexpectedly, the system actually spoke up. It had been a while since he last heard anything from it.

Simply from listening to the words, Josh came to the immediate conclusion that it had nothing of value to impart to him.

'The bastard has it coming. He deserves everything that's about to happen to him.'

Sneering, Josh responded coldly in his mind. He did not like the man known as Nezumi. Not as a character in the famous One Piece, and certainly not as a person.

[Even then, you shouldn't be procuring joy from his suffering. Is that not the way of humans?]

'Bah! If humans were like that, sins wouldn't exist!'

Frustrated, Josh harshly retorted back.

'Okay sister faithful, when did you suddenly become a saint?'

Josh asked after calming down a bit. Surely, the system didn't communicate with him because it was bored, right? Right!?

[What's a Saint? Also, I am the System, not someone named Sister Faithful.]

"Sigh...okay." Hearing this, Josh just sighed in resignation. He didn't even feel like lifting his hand to scratch at his head from all the nonsense. This system of his was getting weirder and weirder.

'You know...you come up with the most random sh*t to say...is there anything else you want to tell me?'

[Ah, Right. An anomaly had been detected on the day Host and the one called Dracule Mihawk had a duel.]

The system said.

'An anomaly?' Josh pondered. It didn't take a very long time for him to think of a specific incident which occurred.

'That's right! That annoying light...and painful ringing sound..but I thought that was just the work of someone with a rare devil fruit. For it to be recognized by the system as an "anomaly". Wait...why did you wait so long to inform me!?'

Josh went into a bit of a thinking spree, until he suddenly realized how the system had informed him of this matter only at this instance.

Feeling slightly angered, Josh wanted impatiently for the System to answer his question.

[As the system had not leveled up at the time, I was not able to inform you immediately as the anomaly was detected. However, once the system had leveled up, all functions were rebooted, thus making the information obsolete within the priority list.]

'You!! What did I say about telling me things!? I don't want to be one of those characters in a fanfic where their systems keep them in the dark, therefore causing them mental and sometimes physical damage.'

A slew of words and complaints immediately bursted within Josh's mind.

'What was this "anomaly" anyway—you know what? Tell me later. They're here...'

Just as the thought escaped Josh's subconscious, three people stood in front of him.

Somehow, they seem...angry?

A/N: I'm just gonna put it here because it doesn't fit on the Author's Thoughts.

Hey, I'm back. Sorry for the extended delay. Although technically, I haven't broken my self assigned schedule.

I had to be away for at least 2 days because I was at the Military Entrance Processing Station(MEPS) if anyone doesn't know what that is, it's a process one has to go through to enlist in any branch of the military in the United States.

Anyway, I was in the process of joining the military as some of you might know and guess what? I passed! Yes yes...you can congratulate me. I thank you in advance.

I got home only today and honestly, I feel exhausted. BUTT! I thought about you guys, my readers who are waiting loyally for a new chapter, and figured I could type one before I passed out. Anyway enjoy the chapter as well as your weekend.

-HaremQueen Out-