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~ Very Long Chapter, 2400 Words!
~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
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Arlong stared at Rowen, his eyes filled with pure terror.
As a former member of the Sun Pirates, who had even been captured by Kizaru and imprisoned in Impel Down, Arlong certainly knew what that power was—Armament Haki.
A power rarely seen even in the first half of the Grand Line.
And—it was terrifyingly strong!
Arlong felt the searing pain wracking his body, his eyes bloodshot.
A single blow—and Arlong knew he was severely injured. His head felt fuzzy, consciousness blurring from the impact.
Shaking his head violently to clear his vision, Arlong opened his mouth wide. The shark teeth shattered by Rowen's punch instantly regenerated.
As a Sawshark Fish-Man, even if his teeth were destroyed, they would endlessly grow back.
"Big Bro Arlong!" Several of Arlong's top officers rushed forward.
"Wait!" Arlong barked, stopping them.
From that single punch, Arlong knew. He had no chance of winning.
He had once been arrogant, believing in his own superiority. But ever since Kizaru easily inflicted grievous wounds on him with the Glint-Glint Fruit's power, leaving him feeling utterly helpless...
Arlong learned a harsh lesson: Never provoke the true powerhouses who sit atop the hierarchy of the seas.
That was suicide.
Facing a user of Conqueror's Haki who also possessed such formidable Armament Haki—Arlong knew he had zero chance.
"'Sky Sovereign' Rowen—No need to be so angry, right? Harmony brings wealth! As pirates, isn't money what we're really after? How about this? We can cooperate! The tribute from these territories—we can split it! And of course, Nami's hometown won't have to pay tribute anymore! How about it?" Arlong struggled to control his dislocated jaw, forcing a smile.
"..." Nami stared at Arlong, finding the scene surreal.
His brethren killed, Arlong himself brutally beaten by Rowen... yet here he was, practically groveling, trying to negotiate peace with Rowen.
Begging for terms from a human—a member of the race he constantly proclaimed as inferior to Fish-Men.
Nami looked at Rowen standing protectively before her, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Years of suffering and anguish—finally—release was at hand.
"Money?" Rowen's voice was laced with icy contempt.
"How about it? Isn't it a good proposal? With your Conqueror's Haki, we can definitely rule the entire East Blue!" Arlong pressed desperately.
WHAM!
CRUNCH!
Bloody spittle, mixed with shattered shark teeth, sprayed through the air.
"Urgh... Guh!" Arlong's head snapped back from another devastating Haki-infused blow, his consciousness threatening to fade entirely, his vision blurring.
"You... dare speak to me about what it means to be a pirate? I'll make your body remember—what a 'REAL' pirate is," Rowen snarled, glaring down at Arlong struggling weakly at his feet.
"Big Bro!" The remaining Fish-Man officers charged forward again.
"Stay out of this!" Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji instantly intercepted them, easily dispatching the lower-level Fish-Men and engaging Arlong's top officers.
Usopp, too, loaded his slingshot with special ammo, roaring defiantly as he attacked the remaining Fish-Men.
"Regenerate your teeth quickly, you half-fish trash," Rowen commanded coldly, grabbing Arlong's head and lifting him up. His chilling gaze sent a wave of terror through Arlong's muddled brain.
"D-Damn you!" Even a cornered rabbit will bite. Humiliated beyond endurance, Arlong instantly regrew his teeth and lunged, snapping his shark jaws at Rowen.
CRACK! His shark teeth shattered once more. Even his iconic serrated nose, the pride of his Sawshark heritage, was brutally twisted and broken by the force of Rowen's punch.
"Regenerate again," Rowen's voice was devoid of warmth, utterly chilling.
Arlong wanted to scream, but speaking required regenerating his teeth, and the moment he did—
CRUNCH! CRACK!
More blood and broken teeth flew.
"Keep going! Regenerate! This pain—is nothing compared to what Nami suffered!" Rowen's glare terrified Arlong to his core.
He was suddenly reminded of that feeling when facing Kizaru...
That sense of utter helplessness, like an infant unable to resist.
Arlong didn't dare regenerate his proud shark teeth anymore. The moment he did, another Haki-coated fist would smash into him.
WHAM!
But the next moment, the jet-black fist slammed into his jaw instead.
CRACK!
With a clear sound of bone shattering, Arlong's eyes rolled white. The force of the blow lifted him bodily into the air.
His jaw was broken.
His mind completely fogged over.
Slap!
Rowen's blackened hand caught Arlong's head, holding him up.
"Still not enough, trash. Don't tell me you're this fragile," Rowen sneered, his smile utterly devoid of warmth.
Arlong was a pitiful sight. Jaw shattered, teeth unable to regenerate, iconic nose broken and twisted—his entire face was a mask of blood.
"Open your eyes. Watch carefully," Rowen commanded, forcing Arlong's head down towards the remaining structures of Arlong Park.
Inside one of those buildings was the mapping room where Nami had been forced to draw maps for Arlong's crew—a place filled with her painful memories.
Something like that—has no right to exist!
A tyrannical crimson-black light flared in Rowen's eyes.
BOOM! Unleashing his Haki without reservation, Rowen poured it out. With a tremendous explosion, the mapping building collapsed into dust and rubble.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Rowen moved like a blur, his Haki-infused fists raining down relentlessly.
The base Arlong had painstakingly built, the entirety of Arlong Park, crumbled building by building, reduced to ruins.
Arlong tried to struggle, to rise, but it was useless.
The Haki-powered blows had left his consciousness reeling; he couldn't control his own body.
All Arlong could do was writhe helplessly on the ground, watching his life's work turn to dust.
"Rowen..." Nami whispered, covering her mouth as she watched.
Though Rowen hadn't said anything, she understood his intention.
Rowen was destroying every physical reminder of her suffering.
CRASH! With a final, deafening boom, the last standing structure of Arlong Park collapsed into rubble.
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Luffy and the others' battles had also concluded.
Arlong's three top officers—Chew (the Kissing Fish-Man), Hachi (the Octopus Fish-Man), and Kuroobi (the Ray Fish-Man)—were all defeated.
The remaining Fish-Man grunts lay scattered and silent across the ground.
"Where do you think you're going?" Rowen asked coldly, grabbing the terrified Captain Nezumi and throwing him down in front of the broken Arlong. Rowen adopted his 'villain' expression.
"I-I'm a Marine Captain! W-What are you doing?! I represent the Marines! The Government!" Nezumi stammered, looking fearfully at Rowen.
Arlong, the monster—was like a helpless infant before this 'Sky Sovereign' Rowen!
Monster! This man—he was the real monster!
"Did you misunderstand something? I am a pirate," Rowen replied, his smile turning chillingly predatory.
CRACK! In Nezumi's terrified gaze, Rowen's Armament Haki-coated foot lashed out, striking him hard.
Accompanied by the sickening sound of multiple bone fractures, an overwhelming wave of agony washed over Nezumi.
Every bone in his body shattered under that single kick.
Then, his eyes rolled white, and he fell silent, lifeless.
Fueled by righteous fury, Rowen's kick had instantly killed the corrupt Marine captain through catastrophic internal injuries and shattered bones.
"Hah..." Rowen exhaled sharply, the burning rage finally beginning to subside.
He turned towards Nami, his expression softening into the warm, sun-like smile she recognized.
"It's okay now, Nami."
"!!!" Nami's nose stung. She rushed forward, throwing herself into Rowen's embrace.
"I-I'm not going to thank you," Nami choked out, her voice muffled against Rowen's chest.
"Mm," Rowen replied softly, gently stroking her hair.
"Because—you said... actions speak louder than words," Nami lifted her tear-streaked face, looking up at Rowen, remembering his words back in Orange Town.
Standing on her tiptoes, Nami pressed a warm kiss onto Rowen's cheek.
"Mnmnph"
Sanji watched, filled with immense envy. He lit a cigarette, but his eyes held only sincere blessings for Rowen and Nami.
"Shishishi! Now we can go to the Grand Line!" Luffy cheered, oblivious to the tender moment.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Just then, the sound of many running footsteps approached.
Nami turned towards the sound, seeing Nojiko and Genzo leading a group of armed villagers, all staring dumbfounded at the scene.
"!!!" Nami's face instantly flushed crimson. She scrambled out of Rowen's arms.
"N-Nojiko! Gen-san! Everyone! W-Why are you all here?" Nami stammered, looking at the villagers from Cocoyasi.
"We heard you came back with comrades to fight Arlong's crew! We rushed over immediately! Nami... what happened here?" Genzo started to ask about Rowen's group, but the devastation of Arlong Park left him speechless.
All the Fish-Men were down, silent.
Arlong, the unbeatable tyrant, lay on the ground like a broken dog, face bloody and completely disfigured.
"Y-you don't blame me?" Nami asked hesitantly, looking at Genzo and the concerned expressions of the villagers, biting her lip.
Nami had thought the villagers didn't know about her deal with Arlong.
"We've known all along, Nami," Genzo said, taking a deep breath as he looked at Nami's stunned face.
"We knew you were fighting for us. We knew about the promise to earn 100 million Beri."
"We just didn't want you to feel burdened by our expectations when you finally decided you wanted to escape Arlong's crew. That would have been too heavy for you. You deserve to live freely, Nami," Genzo finished, his eyes filled with paternal pain and love. He considered Nami and Nojiko his daughters. Seeing his daughter suffer so much... he blamed himself for being useless. But at the very least, he didn't want to be a burden to her.
Genzo's words, combined with the villagers' caring gazes, made Nami's eyes well up again.
"Nami... aren't you going to introduce us?" Nojiko asked, her gaze shifting towards Rowen. She had seen Nami in his arms earlier.
"Rowen," Rowen introduced himself with a smile.
"Luffy! Nami's comrade!" Luffy yelled cheerfully.
"Zoro."
"Sanji."
"Usopp."
The others introduced themselves in turn.
"T-They're my comrades! They're the the pirates who defeated Arlong's crew—" Nami announced, her smile radiant, utterly genuine.
"Pirates?!" Hearing that sensitive word, Nojiko, Genzo, and the villagers stared in shock.
Then, they looked at each other, and suddenly turned towards Rowen and the crew...
"Welcome! Thank you! Thank you so much!" Nojiko, Genzo, and the villagers burst out, their eyes filling with tears of gratitude.
To see Nami smile so happily while calling herself a pirate's comrade...
Nami's burden—had finally been lifted.
Nothing could make them happier than this.
Nami deserved to smile like that! To live freely!
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"One last thing," Rowen turned, looking down at Arlong.
VMM! Rowen's eyes narrowed intensely. A terrifying wave of pressure washed over Arlong's broken body.
Arlong, who had been weakly stirring, instantly went limp, his eyes rolling white as he fell completely unconscious.
Conqueror's Haki! was the final terrified thought that echoed in Arlong's fading consciousness.
"Plunder."
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Several purple lights flew from the bodies of Arlong and his three main officers, absorbed by Rowen.
"Convert." Rowen commanded without even looking at the specific Fish-Man Traits. They were useless to him; better to convert them immediately.
Arlong's Traits converted into three base Deep Purple Upgrade Materials.
The other three officers combined yielded the equivalent of two base Deep Purple Upgrade Materials.
Even though Hachi had connections to Rayleigh, Rowen still took his power. While Hachi might not have directly participated in killing villagers, he was still complicit. Actions have consequences. Sparing his life was already a concession, considering Hachi's less evil nature and Rowen's future need for Rayleigh's favor. But showing 'face' didn't mean condoning wrongdoing! Rowen was a King too! Hachi being stripped of his power was unavoidable.
In total, Arlong and his three officers yielded five Deep Purple Upgrade Materials for Rowen.
The remaining Fish-Man grunts only had Blue Traits, useless to Rowen.
The Upgrade Materials needed to evolve Superhuman Demonic Physique (Deep Purple) to Apex Purple... were now sufficient.
"Gurgle!" Under the disbelieving eyes of the villagers.
Arlong and the other Fish-Men, known for their terrifying piscine strength, suddenly convulsed. All their muscles seemed to ripple and shrink, leaving them looking like deflated balloons, utterly powerless.
"Wake him up, Usopp," Rowen instructed, knowing Usopp excelled at this.
"Leave it to me!" Usopp declared confidently, puffing out his chest.
Under Usopp's 'gentle' ministrations, Arlong slowly regained consciousness.
"Ngh... Urgh!" Arlong looked fearfully at Rowen.
But then, Arlong froze. His pupils constricted violently. Absolute terror flooded his being.
H-His strength?!
His instincts as a proud Sawshark Fish-Man?!
Arlong tried to regenerate his teeth, but—he couldn't! The ability was GONE!
"I hear you believe Fish-Men, who can breathe underwater, are inherently superior to humans? A noble race, was it?" Rowen asked, looking down at Arlong with a chilling smile.
That smile... looked utterly terrifying to Arlong now.
KICK! Rowen kicked Arlong hard, sending him flying into the channel connecting Arlong Park to the open sea.
As the headquarters for Fish-Men, Arlong Park had a dedicated waterway linking it to the ocean.
SPLASH!
An unbelievable sight occurred. Arlong, a Fish-Man, upon entering the water... began to sink!
!!!
Cannot... Cannot breathe!
Kicked into the sea, Arlong felt an indescribable, primal terror grip him.
As a Fish-Man, breathing freely underwater, swimming effortlessly, these were the core tenets he used to justify Fish-Man superiority over humans!
But now—he couldn't breathe underwater!
What did that man do to him?!
Arlong didn't have time to figure it out. The agony of suffocation overwhelmed him. Amidst the absolute terror, his consciousness faded...
Then, plunged into darkness.
"Hmph." Rowen smirked faintly.
Drowning... A truly fitting end for scum like Arlong.
Stripped by Rowen of everything defining him as a Sawshark Fish-Man—not just his strength and physique, but even his gills shriveled and vanished. His ability to swim was also plundered.
Arlong could no longer breathe or swim in the sea.
He drowned—helpless—in the very ocean he claimed as his birthright.
Whoosh!
The clouds overhead suddenly parted.
Warm sunlight streamed down onto the ruins of Arlong Park. But this light, falling upon the devastated landscape, felt full of hope to the people of Cocoyasi Village.
The sky had cleared.
———
—[Nami equipable Trait list updated.]—
—[Selecting Climate Sense (Pale Gold) for equipping!]—
—[Equipping complete!]—
———
A notification screen, visible only to Rowen, appeared.
Rowen and Nami's bond was already at maximum.
Climate Sense (Pale Gold)—equipped—instantly.
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