Welcome to Arlong Park

While Morgan had gone for his "walk" and the Bounty hunter pair left on their own business, it just left Sanji and Zoro alone following Nami's outburst to think on what she had said.

"She works for Arlong…To thing that pirate hate she kept giving us was just a mask." Zoro grunted as he shifted into a better position for a nap.

"You really think that she killed Usopp though?" Sanji asked contemplatively and gazed up at the clouds. 

"Johnny saw her do it, I know he's a big talker but he wouldn't lie about something like this." Zoro responded with a pointed look to the smoking cook who wasn't going to budge considering his smitten approach to Nami.

"She said a lot but her tears show a lot more then what a thousand words could ever say, besides…You said it yourself, Nami saved you when you jumped into the water while tied up…" Sanji snarked and Zoro simply shrugged; he wouldn't deny that Nami saved him but everything else was still a big red flag. "A truly heartless pirate wouldn't do that for a stranger let alone someone they tried to dupe…You're a pirate Hunter, I'd thought that you'd know the difference, Moss Head." Sanji snarled as Zoro looked like he was about to kick Sanji in the head.

"Usopp's still dead, you know…She might've pulled me out of the water but that's still a line some pirates will cross."

"I am still alive, you know."

"And his ghost apparently still haunts us, even now I can hear his voice." Sanji mused as he then looked up to see Usopp standing there with a bemused look on his face and alongside him was a blue haired girl with tattoos.

"Usopp, you're alive?!" Zoro asked incredulously as he stopped himself from hitting Sanji; "I thought Johnny said you were dead…Where exactly have you been?"

"And who's this inked up beauty standing with you~?" Sanji asked as the girl pulled her hand free of his grasp.

"This is Nojiko, she's Nami's older sister and she told me everything…About Arlong, about this village…And about Nami." Usopp explained as Nojiko moved past to look at the rest of them who perked up when they heard she told Usopp about everything.

"If you've come here to try and take Nami back, then you're wasting your time…You guys aren't the first people she double crossed, She's known as a witch around here for a reason." She remarked as she turned to look at Zoro; "As the captain, I'm not sure why you've put so much effort in her but you'd be better off with another navigator."

"I'm not the Captain, he went on a supposed walk to the village, you'll know him when you see him…You tell us to give up on bringing Nami back? Try convincing him to give up trying." Zoro explained; before tilting his head back and started to nap.

"I can see why she chose to tag along…" Nojiko thought before deciding to tell them about the story of Cocoyashi Village and Arlong's takeover, refusing to leave out anything in the hopes that they understand the full horror of Arlong.

—Meanwhile back at Cocoyashi Village—

Morgan had stuck by what he said and went to explore around, even though he felt more at ease on the sea; he couldn't help but want to explore around since it reminded him of Windmill Village back home. He had already tried to scout a doctor in the village with little success; "Everybody's on edge…then again with what I heard, I'm not surpri-" He stopped mid sentence when he saw Genzo walking up the path through the village alongside a Marine Captain wearing what looking like a hat with mouse ears and decided to duck behind a barrel. 

"So what does a Marine captain want with Nami?" The windmill hatted man asked the Captain suspiciously; the last batch of Marines that came close to the village were all sank by Arlong's crew and by some coincidence: This group were unscathed.

"Chi-chi-chi-chi~ It's nothing that needs to concern you, all that matters is that the Marines are investigating something on the island." The mousy man explained with an oily and condescending tone.

"Something doesn't add up, those villagers said that the last Marine ship that came by was capsized…So either this group is a stronger batch, or there's something else going on…I should warn the others, I don't want Zoro and Sanji to go rushing in if it's the former." Morgan thought to himself before sneaking past the marching Marines and back towards the way he came from.

—A few minutes or so earlier—

Nojiko was on her way back to her house in the tangerine grove, She had set Usopp on his way after warning him and the others about Nami but got alerted by the sounds of smashing glass and breaking objects. She peered through the door and saw her adopted sister slumped over a table with her glove covering her bloodied hand; "You know, you could always just tell me if you were stopping by." Nojiko quipped as she walked in to greet her.

"I just…need to rest here for a little, that's all…" Nami grumbled as she had her head resting on her arms with a less then pleased look on her face.

"If breaking stuff is how you rest then by all means…but I know that there's more to you being here then just aggressive redecorating." Nojiko responded as she placed a cup of tea in front of her and then sat across the table. "I met your new batch of friends earlier, they seem like a nice group."

"They're not my friends…They just can't take a hint, that's all! The First Mate's a sword swinging ape, the sniper's a coward and for some reason they dragged that cook along!" Nami ranted as she gripped the table.

"And the Captain? I didn't hear much from the guys but apparently he's something else." Nojiko mentioned, pointing out that Nami neglected to mention him in her tirade.

"Ford is just…He's…URGH! I swear that guy's hit his head somewhere because he's like a dog! No matter what I say or what I do to make him hate me or turn me away, he's there with that dumb look on his face and insists that I'm his…his friend…" Nami seemed to get the angriest when she rounded on him, but each insult and attempt to drive him out of her head slid another pang of guilt in there.

"And with what I heard from that long nose who stopped by, he's an alright guy." Nojiko pointed out; "To quote him; he said that "he'd do anything to help out someone regardless of whether they say yes or push him away" So why not let him…You've been doing all this on your own for ten years, you'd have better chances with them if he's done half of the crazy stuff that Long Nose said he did."

"That's. Not. The point! I've screwed him over and stole his ship! I took all his money like so many other people and no matter how much I threaten or insult him…it just washes off of him like water on a duck's back. I don't care if that's him trying to be charming or that he's hot…He's still an idiot..." Nami groaned with an exasperated tone but then realised what was said when she saw that knowing smirk on Nojiko's face start to grow.

"What was that~?" Nojiko remarked with a teasing lilt and got her answer once she saw Nami's face start to go through a variety of colours starting with pink and ending in red.

"Shut up…"

"You think he's hot~" 

"I said shut up!"

"So if you don't care what happens to him, then why try forcing him to leave rather than just ignore him and let him do his own thing?" Nojiko asked her with a raised eyebrow as this raised up a confusing point.

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT SOMEONE ELSE I CARE ABOUT TO DIE BECAUSE OF ME!" Nami finally admitted outright; "I've been there on that ship with them…sure they're strong and they'll do anything to help…But you and I both know that Arlong's beyond anything that a normal person can deal with." Nami said, her voice growing softer with her admission; "Those guys are my friends…But I don't want them to kill themselves like this and I'd never forgive myself if anything were to happen to any of them."

—Back to the present—

Morgan walked his way back to find the others and regroup when he saw three giant fishmen looking over the crashed boat that they landed on; knowing that they weren't exactly a friendly bunch and more concerned about checking in, Morgan brushed past them and continued the walk.

"Hey, Human! Where do you think you're going?" The Octopus Fishman would yell out to him with an accusing glint in his voice.

"Taking a walk, nothing special." Morgan replied plainly, he had noticed the tattoos on them and figured that it would be better to not pick a fight against three Fishmen.

"Oh…Well, have fun! My name is Hatchan!" Hatchan would yell back towards Morgan as he left, with Kuroobi rolling his eyes and Choo looking uninterested as he looked over the boat before they all got called back to the Park.

Morgan was about to turn when he heard the sounds of a rallying cry in the distance and in the direction of the village he came from. Thinking back to the Marines and his initial suspicions, he considered all possibilities and had faith that Zoro and Sanji could handle themselves. He rounded on himself and broke into a sprint, heading back towards Cocoyashi in case they needed help.

Nami was teetering on the edge of emotional stability; she watched the Marines confiscate all of her hard earned money and shooting her sister with a greedy smile, Arlong all but admitting that he had a hand in it and with the villagers seemingly rushing off to their deaths at Arlong Park, Nami couldn't take it. She let her nails dig into her tattooed arm before grabbing a discarded knife.

As the yells of the villagers died down with distance, the only thing that rang through the village was Nami's anguished and rage fuelled screams of his name between each new dig into her arm.

"ARLONG! ARLONG! ARLONG! AAAAARLO-" Nami screamed out to anything and anyone that could hear her before she felt a hand grab her wrist before she could hurt herself anymore, she flinched when she felt something grip her and let the knife drop into the dirt…She didn't bother turning to face her guest but she knew who it was. "Ford…Why are you still here? I told you and those dimwitted idiots that you call a crew to leave me and this village." Nami spat out in barely contained anger as she hunched over.

"Yeah…You did…" Morgan responded quietly; he wasn't giving her any snark, sarcasm or pushing her about coming back at this point, this wasn't time for that.

"Then why? If you're not here to take me back to your crew or to get some payback…Why are you still here? You don't know my life, what I've had to deal with OR what this village had to suffer just to survive!" She would growl as her fingers dug into the dirt, it was some small solace that his voice was distracting her from the pain in her arm but that didn't stop her from everything else."

"I don't…Because it's no one else's story to tell but your's." He admitted with a serious yet calm note in his voice and watched her carefully.

Nami however wasn't as willing to share her story as she bit her lip in anger; "Then what is it that keeps you here? You want to say "I told you so"? You find some twisted pleasure in seeing me like this?!" Nami accused him, her voice growing more ragged from the screaming and the emotions that bubbled up. "I don't understand…I've lied to your face, stole your ship along with all of your money, stabbed you in the back and abandoned you! So do us both a favour and just leave…Leave! LEAVE! LEAVE! ME! ALONE!" Nami screamed at him while weakly throwing up dirt at him like she was trying to throw stones at him.

Morgan stayed rooted to the spot; even if she didn't want to come back or be a part of him and his crew, he wasn't going to abandon someone and this logic solidified once he heard Nami, the expert navigator and the ever resourceful Cat Burglar that he had come to know finally broke down into heavy, inconsolable tears and began to cry into her hand.

Nami hiccuped and finally let it all loose; all of her pent up sadness feelings burst into heavy sobs as she finally dropped her facade and did something that she never would have expected herself to do: Asking him for help.

"Morgan…Please…Help me…." Nami begged him as her voice cracked with a fresh sob; she turned her head to look up at him, her face was now an open book of her vulnerability as she now had nothing and nowhere else to go.

Morgan's face was partially shadowed over by his straw hat but from where Nami could see it looked like his face was carved from stone, Morgan could feel that sharp blade of sympathy digging deep into his gut, he saw how much Nami was hurting and what negotiating with Arlong did to her. So without a single word, he reached up and grabbed the straw hat from his head; kneeling in front of her before he placed the hat gently on her head like it was a security blanket. "I'll be right back." He would say to her quietly like a solemn promise and then got up to walk away, towards Arlong Park.

Nami was shocked to say the least; She would've expected for Morgan to erupt in anger right then and there once she revealed this side of herself but nothing surprised her more than the realisation of his actions. The fact that he showed her how much genuine trust he had in her despite everything that happened, the straw hat that he had never left alone for anything or for anyone had been planted on her head. 

As Morgan walked down the dirt road, he could see the remainder of his friends waiting for him and it looked like they heard the two; Zoro was clutching onto his sword with a zen like focus, Sanji was taking a melancholy drag of his cigarette while Usopp sat cross legged on the ground and holding his slingshot with a pensive look on his face.

"Let's get moving." Morgan said simply; no optimism, no jokes and not even a simple acknowledgement for the others.

"Right!" The trio would agree; they had heard Nami's story from Nojiko and got a good idea on what happened, they weren't expecting a grand welcome back from their captain and after noticing the look on his face. They knew that what he had in mind was the same as everyone else.

Plenty of people who had heard of the Straw Hat Pirates in the future would've argued about when they first formed; whether it was at Shells Town or Baratie, but anyone who knows them closely would easily say that this long, quiet walk towards the Fishman tyrant's stronghold was the definitive formation of the Straw Hats. They had evolved from a band of misfits with their own desires and stepped forward into becoming a legitimate Pirate crew fighting for one singular purpose at this very moment: To free their friend.

And it wasn't just the Straw Hat's that geared up for a fight, the villagers of Cocoyashi were standing at Arlong's gates but were barricaded by none other then Yosaku and Johnny who looked beaten up themselves, proclaiming that to step in there was to their deaths and that the people who COULD help were on their way.

—Inside Arlong Park—

Arlong was lounging and watching his Fishmen coexist while basking in the fact that he had gotten one over on Nami; "It is a shame that she lost all that money…." Arlong crooned with the fakest of sympathy before erupting into cruel laughter. "Even if she brings me the money, I'd never let her go…Once she's sailed every sea and charted a map of it all…then I'd let her go."

Plenty of Arlong's men would laugh along with him, stating that Nami couldn't do it in a single lifetime but their revelry was cut short as they heard those stone doors crack and shift before exploding into a fragmented pile of rubble on the ground, the biggest pieces having imprints of Morgan's fist in them as he literally broke the door down to meet them.

"So…Which one of you is Arlong?" Morgan asked with a calm voice, the Fishmen around Arlong were on edge as they kept their gaze on the pirate while he walked into the park but got two "enforcers" to stop him.

"Hey, Hey buddy…That's close enough…If you wanna get close to Arlong…." One of them would say tauntingly as he looked down at Morgan.

"Then you're gonna either need to pay…or go through us." The second would add but there was no inkling of a negotiation as Morgan grabbed the two by the sides of the head and roughly slammed them together: knocking them both out.

"Move." Morgan growled as Arlong finally decided to make his introductions.

"I'm Arlong…So what's your name? I don't think we've met." Arlong said with a mocking sense of politeness.

"Morgan."

"I see…And what exactly, are you?"

"Pirate…"

Arlong then found himself face to face with Morgan as he looked the pirate up and down; "In that case, what does a pirate want with me? If you're looking to cash my bounty then I would reconsider that choice." The Fishman warned him as he turned to look him in the eye.

Morgan however refused to encourage this conversation any further as he reared his fist back and slammed it forward into the side of Arlong's face; knocking the Fishman out of his chair and crashing into a wall, there was no Martial art in that hit…no discipline or intent on seeing this peacefully: Morgan saw Nami broken and sobbing because of this monster of a Fishman…He wasn't going to let this kind of betrayal slide; "Don't you EVER…make our navigator cry like that!" Morgan yelled with a look on his face that promised pain as he then cracked his knuckles and then watched Arlong climb out of the rubble.

Once the other Fishmen saw what Morgan was intending, they charged at the Pirate but were easily knocked back by a volley of kicks from Sanji and slashes from Zoro, leaving the two to take on Hatchan and Kuroobi while Usopp drew Choo away with  his marksmanship.

"You must have a death wish if you think a lowly human like you can stand up to a superior race such as myself…We are stronger, faster, more gifted in every way that your pathetic human mind can imagine!" Arlong roared as he rushed forward with his jaws open to clamp down on the pirate but found his teeth sunk into the stone pillar behind him.

Morgan had ducked under the Fishman's maw and while Arlong was stuck in the pillar, he reared his hand back and delivered a swift palm strike to Arlong's chest to knock him backward. "Good luck trying to bite me when you got no….GAH!" Morgan taunted Arlong but flinched out of fright when he saw a literal row of fragmented teeth sticking out of the pillar.

Arlong sneered an uneven smile before breaking into roaring laughter as those shattered teeth quickly regrew like they were brand new; "I'm a Shark, you witless gnat! Break my teeth and new ones will grow in place, though your luck will run out soon…" Arlong taunted as he gestured for Morgan to come at him.

"Fishman Karate: Hundred Tile True Punch!" Kuroobi suddenly yelled as he thrust his fist into Morgan's back, pushing all the air out of him and sent him crashing into the pile of rubble that Arlong climbed out of, the gi wearing Fishman had managed to get past Sanji by kicking him in the head and sprinting past the cook to get a surprise attack on Morgan.

"SHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You see that? This is the true strength of a Fishman, one that is unbridled by the constraints of the humans that tried to tame us!" Arlong smirked as he picked up an iron bar from the fencing and used it to wrap the unconscious pirate's ankles together; "Even the strongest Human is no more of a threat to us then the smartest insect...We hold the advantage of living underwater…" Arlong gloated as he roughly lifting the now dangling Morgan up by the throat and held him over the water; "But can a human?" He asked darkly before letting him go and watched as Morgan sank into the water, weighed down by the metal and the heavy stones.

"MORGAN!" Sanji yelled out as he grabbed for his coat but was stopped by Zoro; "What the hell are you doing, Moss-Head?! He's gonna drown!"

"That's what they want! If we jump in after him…they'll wipe us out completely." Zoro pointed out as he looked to the smirking Fishmen who looked like starving wolves waiting for an injured deer to keel over. "30 seconds…Get down there and get him floating again while I keep the Octopus distracted."

Sanji nodded, in a seamless string of movements, Zoro picked up some discarded swords and took his Three Sword Style stance to block Hatchan from slicing them up, the cook meanwhile nosedived into the water and swam after the bubbles coming from Morgan's position in the pool.

"I gotta hurry, Morgan might be freakishly strong but he's still a human…He's got about two minutes of…what?" Sanji thought to himself but found himself surprised when he saw the Mayor Genzo and Nojiko under the water and trying to use hammers to break the stone that was attached to the metal bars around Morgan's legs. Though something felt wrong and Sanji took the decision to book it; he started swimming towards the two to help but found himself caught off balance as Kuroobi had dived in after the blond haired cook and started to pick him off balance.

"You should have listened to your friend, Human…On land, you might have stood a chance but diving in the water was suicide…Now let me show you how a True Fishman Karate Master fights in their natural state." Kuroobi bragged as he got into a stance while floating.

"Come on, Genzo…If we don't break the rock…either we die or he does!" Nojiko tried to mime to Genzo as the hammer continued to sluggishly break down the rock.

"Almost…Done…BREAK, DAMN YOU!" Genzo grunted with another swing of the hammer down. Then with a dull sound, the rocks began to fall apart and he could see both Nojiko and Morgan float up to the surface slowly but his worry kept its place as he watched the Fishman in the water kicking Sanji around. 

Sanji in the meanwhile was struggling against the Karate master as he repeatedly lifted him up to the edge of the water before diving back down again to torment him with the pressure. "If what I remember is right…then he should just be a talking fish right now…so this should hurt him like it does me!" Sanji remembered as he then pressed his face into Kuroobi's neck and began to blow all the air he had in his lungs straight onto his gills.

Kuroobi almost doubled over as he resurfaced onto dry ground and Sanji followed after, gasping and refilling his body with air as he choked up some blood from the non stop depth charging.

Not too far from where they were; Nojiko and Genzo were dragging the unconscious Morgan onto the concrete, thankful that Sanji held off the Fishman for that long and they knew that next task was plain and simple: resuscitate him so he can get back into the fight. "Nojiko, you try waking him up! I'll keep a lookout." Genzo mentioned as he held his sword at the ready.

Nojiko nodded as she lightly slapped his cheek but paled when she realised he barely even twitched and then put her ear to his chest; "He's not moving and I can barely feel his heartbeat..." Her mind was going at an accelerated pace as she placed her hands on his chest and started to press down in succession.

"Come on, you need to wake up…This village needs your help…Nami needs your help…"