Of all the humans Arlong had ever met, Norton was undoubtedly the most handsome.
Yet aside from his good looks, Arlong couldn’t sense even the slightest aura of strength from him.
He felt no different from the ordinary villagers of Cocoyasi Village…
In fact, he seemed even more ordinary than they were—so ordinary that he blended into the scenery like the flowers and weeds growing by the roadside.
And yet, this very man commanded so many powerful subordinates!
Arlong couldn’t help but question Norton’s identity.
Was he some noble from a powerful kingdom?
Where on earth had Nami found someone like him?
The dire situation left Arlong no time to think.
The combination of Roronoa Zoro and Sanosuke had already proven far stronger than the Marines stationed at local bases, rivaling even the elite forces of Marine Headquarters.
At that moment, Arlong had only one thought.
Kill every single intruder in his courtyard.
With murderous intent blazing in his eyes, Arlong charged straight at Norton.
Before he could even get close, however, a razor-sharp kunai slammed into his face!
Steel scraped against fish-man scales, sending brilliant sparks flying.
Wiping the blood from his face, Arlong glared viciously at Sanosuke.
Then he glanced behind him.
Kuroobi had already collapsed into a pool of blood.
“My brethren!!”
Arlong roared toward the sky, his voice shaking all of Arlong Park.
Although he despised humans, Arlong valued his fellow fish-men above all else.
Seeing them fall before his eyes filled him with uncontrollable rage.
“You filthy invaders!
And you…
Nami!”
His savage gaze swept past Norton and landed on Nami.
Nami returned his stare without a trace of pity.
“I told you you’d regret this, Arlong.”
“You’d better pray you never fall into my hands again, Nami!
I’ve been far too merciful with you all these years!”
“You’re dreaming.
Today is the day you answer for your sins!”
Nami pulled out a dagger and viciously stabbed it into her arm.
She sliced open her skin, cutting straight through the tattoo that symbolized the Arlong Pirates.
Even as excruciating pain shot through her body, not a single tear fell.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time!
From today onward…
I’m finally free!”
She placed her other hand on Norton’s shoulder.
“My captain will make you pay for everything you’ve done!”
“You?” Arlong sneered at Norton.
“That pretty boy?
I’ll kill him right now!”
“You shall not harm my lord!”
Sanosuke stepped forward, blocking Arlong’s path.
Compared to Arlong’s ferocious fury, Norton remained remarkably calm—so calm that it bordered on arrogance.
In truth, Norton had never regarded Arlong as a threat from the very beginning.
Ever since entering Arlong Park, his attention had been focused on the surrounding buildings instead.
Everything looked exactly as it had in the manga he remembered.
Yet standing here in person was an entirely different experience, leaving him strangely nostalgic.
“Nami,” Norton said casually, “show me around.
After tonight, Arlong Park will cease to exist.”
Nami froze.
She was stunned by his composure.
A powerful enemy stood right before them, yet Norton acted as though Arlong didn’t even exist.
She had never imagined that the monster who had haunted her nightmares for years would matter less to Norton than a few old buildings.
“Aren’t…
we in the middle of a battle?” she couldn’t help asking.
“A battle?” Norton smiled.
“This hardly counts.
Let Sanosuke and Zoro warm up first.”
“…Fine.”
Since Norton had already made up his mind, Nami could only nod helplessly.
“Bandage your wound first.”
Norton tore off a strip of cloth from his clothing and handed it to her.
“Then show me around.”
Completely ignored, Arlong’s eyes nearly bulged out in fury.
But Sanosuke stood before him like an impenetrable wall.
Another kunai shot toward Arlong’s eye with deadly precision, forcing him to jerk his head aside as sparks screeched across his scales.
Arlong was forced to stop.
His massive fist howled through the air toward Sanosuke, only for the ninja to evade it with astonishing flexibility and speed.
The shockwave from the punch slammed into a nearby stone pillar, shattering chunks of rock everywhere.
Roaring in fury, Arlong abandoned his reckless attempt to reach Norton.
Instead, he spun around and lunged toward the weapon rack in the corner of the courtyard.
Resting there was an enormous weapon with a terrifying appearance.
It was a massive saw-blade sword.
Rather than a smooth edge, its blade was lined with enormous shark-like serrated teeth that gleamed with a sinister crimson sheen beneath the firelight.
The thick handle required both hands to wield.
This was Arlong’s signature weapon—
Kiribachi.
Its very name represented its ability to tear through anything, as though even mountains could be split apart.
Clang!
With one hand, Arlong effortlessly lifted the monstrously heavy weapon.
The serrated blade screeched as it sliced through the air.
Blessed with a fish-man’s monstrous strength, he wielded the gigantic weapon as naturally as breathing.
The moment Kiribachi returned to his hand, Arlong’s aura surged dramatically.
The savage confidence of the tyrant who ruled the East Blue returned in full.
Dragging Kiribachi behind him, its teeth scraped across the stone floor, scattering sparks and producing a harsh metallic screech.
His crimson eyes locked onto Sanosuke.
This slippery ninja who had wounded him would be the first to be carved into pieces.
“Die, insect!”
Arlong charged forward.
Driven by rage, he moved even faster than before.
Using the momentum of his sprint, he swung Kiribachi upward in a devastating diagonal slash.
The gigantic serrated blade tore through the air with a deafening roar, like a speeding locomotive.
Its attack covered an enormous area, sealing off not only Sanosuke’s position but also both possible escape routes.
Sanosuke’s expression grew solemn.
Against an attack that relied entirely on overwhelming strength and the sheer size of the weapon, his close-quarters techniques and kunai skills were at a severe disadvantage.
Without hesitation, he retreated.
As he leaped backward, both hands flashed.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Several shuriken flew in a triangular formation toward Arlong’s face and the joints of the arm gripping Kiribachi, hoping to disrupt his attack.
Arlong didn’t even bother dodging.
With a furious roar, he continued his swing.
The broad blade of Kiribachi became a moving iron wall, smashing every incoming shuriken aside and shattering them instantly.
Amid a chorus of metallic clangs, Arlong pressed forward relentlessly.
Taking a second massive step, he twisted his body and used centrifugal force to transform the rising slash into a devastating horizontal sweep.
The blade sliced through a nearby stone pillar thicker than two men’s embrace as though it were made of tofu.
Rock fragments and dust exploded everywhere as an entire section of the courtyard walkway collapsed.
Sanosuke had already retreated to the edge of the courtyard. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Behind him stood only a wall.
As the massive sweep sealed off nearly every avenue of escape, he suddenly kicked off the wall.
Like a gecko, he sprinted straight up its surface, climbing several meters in an instant and narrowly avoiding the terrifying blade that would have cut him clean in half.
Boom!
Kiribachi missed and crashed into the wall.
The thick brick structure split apart as though it were paper, leaving behind a massive jagged gash while shattered masonry flew everywhere.
“Is running like a rat all you know how to do?!” Arlong roared.
Seeing Sanosuke clinging to the wall, Arlong gripped Kiribachi with both hands and unleashed a savage upward slash aimed directly at him.
Just before the blade struck, Sanosuke kicked off the wall.
Instead of retreating or jumping higher, his body ricocheted sideways with an impossible angle, like light reflecting from a mirror.
His speed was astonishing, and his trajectory nearly impossible to predict.
It was a high-level ninja movement technique—
Flash Step.
Kiribachi buried itself deep into the wall.
Stone fragments erupted everywhere.
Only a torn piece of Sanosuke’s clothing fluttered down.
Arlong yanked the embedded blade free and spun around in search of his target.
To his surprise, Sanosuke hadn’t retreated at all.
Instead, taking advantage of the brief moment Arlong spent pulling Kiribachi loose, he rushed back in like a phantom.
His right-hand kunai thrust toward Arlong’s exposed right ribs.
Meanwhile, his left hand quietly rested on the hilt of the ninja blade at his waist.
“Annoying tricks!”
Despite his massive size, Arlong reacted quickly.
He immediately brought Kiribachi back to block while simultaneously throwing a crushing left punch at Sanosuke’s head, forcing him to abandon the attack.
But the kunai thrust had only been a feint.
The instant Arlong shifted to defend, Sanosuke released the kunai.
His fingers opened.
A smoke bomb silently dropped between them.
Pfft!
Dense purple smoke exploded outward, instantly enveloping Arlong’s head.
“Cough!
Cough!
What is this?!”
His vision vanished.
The pungent smoke assaulted his senses, disrupting both his sight and smell.
Panicking, Arlong swung Kiribachi wildly before him, creating a raging storm of serrated steel to prevent a sneak attack.
But that moment of confusion was exactly what Sanosuke had been waiting for.
Within the smoke, he lowered his body like a venomous snake slithering across the ground.
He slipped through the tiny blind spot beneath Kiribachi’s furious swings and instantly entered Arlong’s guard.
“Ninja Art: Shadow Stitch!”
With a low shout, Sanosuke finally drew the ninja blade he had been holding all this time.
A cold streak of steel flashed through the smoke.
The blade thrust directly toward the center of Arlong’s chest.
It was the deadly strike of a ninja who had waited patiently for the perfect opening.
Even though the smoke cloud clouded his senses, Arlong’s beast-like instincts screamed in warning.
Roaring, he couldn’t bring Kiribachi fully back in time.
Instead, he desperately swung the heavy hilt across his chest while every muscle tensed and every scale stood on end.
Clang——!!
An earsplitting explosion of metal rang through the courtyard.
Sanosuke’s blade struck the reinforced metal joint at the end of Kiribachi’s hilt with pinpoint accuracy.
Sparks erupted like fireworks.
The tremendous recoil sent violent tremors through Sanosuke’s arm, numbing his hand.
Yet his eyes remained sharp.
Rather than stopping, he used the impact to slide his blade forward, turning the thrust into a slicing motion that raced along the thick handle toward the fingers gripping Kiribachi.
Arlong’s eyes widened.
He hadn’t expected the ninja to adapt so viciously and so quickly.
If he refused to let go, he’d lose his fingers.
If he released the weapon, his combat strength would plummet.
In that split second, Arlong let go with his left hand.
Holding Kiribachi with only his right, he thrust the fingers of his freed hand straight toward Sanosuke’s throat.
Attack where the enemy must defend.
If Sanosuke insisted on severing Arlong’s fingers, his own throat would be pierced first.
Without hesitation, Sanosuke withdrew his blade and leaned backward.
Arlong’s fingertips skimmed across his throat, the force of the strike leaving a sharp sting on his skin.
The two separated instantly, each retreating several steps.
Arlong gripped Kiribachi with one hand.
His left palm trembled slightly from striking the hilt’s hard edge, and his fingers had narrowly escaped injury.
His fury only grew stronger.
Sanosuke, meanwhile, breathed heavily.
The relentless evasive maneuvers and explosive attacks—especially the final clash against Kiribachi’s hilt—had drained a significant amount of his stamina.
The skin between his thumb and forefinger had split open, blood slowly seeping from the wound.
Just as the two paused in their standoff to catch their breath, a miserable scream echoed from the opposite side of the courtyard, followed by the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground.
Out of the corner of his eye, Arlong saw Chu—the kissing fish-man—completely overwhelmed by Zoro’s fierce Three-Sword Style: Oni Giri, collapsing to the ground covered in blood.
The rest of the fish-men had also been overwhelmed by the pirates’ coordinated assault.
More than half of them had already fallen.
The battle was all but decided.
“Chu!!”
Arlong’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets.
Kuroobi’s defeat had already filled him with rage.
Now Chu’s fall only pushed him closer to madness.
He knew he had to break the stalemate immediately.
Capture the leader first.
Kill the silver-haired man.
Kill Nami.
Once their captain was dead, these invaders would surely fall apart.
His gaze swept past the exhausted Sanosuke and locked onto the other side of the courtyard once more.
Norton and Nami were calmly walking toward the main tower, seemingly preparing to enter the building.
Norton even glanced back at the battlefield with complete indifference.
That utter disregard humiliated Arlong far more than any insult ever could.
It was as if the desperate battle he was risking his life in was nothing more than a meaningless sideshow in Norton’s eyes.
“You bastard!
Stop right there!”
Arlong had completely lost his mind.
Ignoring the wounded yet still dangerous Sanosuke before him, and paying no attention to Zoro, who had just defeated Chu and was now glaring at him with icy eyes, he had only one thought—
Rush forward and carve those two into minced meat with Kiribachi!
“RAAAAGH!!”
With an inhuman roar, Arlong charged like a steel bull that had completely run wild.
Dragging Kiribachi behind him, he shattered the stone pavement beneath his feet as he barreled straight toward Norton and Nami.
“Stop him!”
Ignoring the pain in his right hand and his mounting exhaustion, Sanosuke immediately gave chase.
But Arlong’s reckless charge was unbelievably fast.
Then, a green figure moved even faster than Sanosuke.
Just as Arlong crossed the center of the courtyard, Zoro appeared directly in his path as if he had teleported.
His eyes were as sharp as drawn blades, overflowing with fighting spirit.
Defeating Chu had merely been a warm-up.
Now, he finally had a stronger opponent.
…
The sounds of fierce combat, furious roars, and clashing weapons echoed endlessly.
Meanwhile, under Nami’s guidance, Norton leisurely strolled through the corridors of Arlong Park.
Every so often, he stopped to admire the crude decorations on the walls or glanced out the windows to observe the battle outside.
His relaxed demeanor couldn’t have contrasted more sharply with the deadly atmosphere surrounding them.
Nami had hastily wrapped the wound on her arm with the strip of cloth Norton had given her. This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
The pain remained, but an indescribable feeling welled up inside her.
The man beside her was so overwhelmingly powerful and composed that, simply by staying at his side, she felt herself finally escaping the nightmare that had haunted her for years.
After wandering for a while, they climbed the tower and arrived at the room Arlong had prepared for Nami—
The Cartography Room.
The room was filled with navigational instruments and drafting tools.
Detailed charts of the East Blue covered the walls, many of them drawn by Nami herself.
“Do you like these?” Norton asked, casually picking up a half-finished sea chart from the desk.
Nami looked around the familiar yet suffocating room.
After a long silence, she slowly shook her head.
“Not at all.
This was never what I wanted to do.
Every single second I’ve spent here…
has been torture.”
Norton smiled faintly.
“I see.
In that case…”
He reached into his pocket and took out an elegant metal lighter.
Click.
A small flame sprang to life.
Without another word, he held the unfinished sea chart over the fire.
The edges of the paper immediately blackened and curled as bright flames spread across it.
“Then let’s burn it.”
The fire greedily consumed the chart before spreading to the nearby papers, books, and wooden desk.
Smoke soon filled the room.
The orange glow illuminated both the room and the faces of Norton and Nami.
…
Back in the courtyard, the battle between Arlong, Sanosuke, and Zoro had reached its climax.
The entire courtyard had become a battlefield of rubble.
Like a relentless shadow, Sanosuke relied on a ninja’s incredible speed and agility to leave countless shallow wounds across Arlong’s tough scales with his kunai and ninja blade.
Zoro, meanwhile, fought like a tiger unleashed from its cage.
Having already defeated Chu, he now joined the assault on Arlong, his fierce and precise Three-Sword Style placing even greater pressure on the fish-man.
Arlong roared again and again.
His body was covered in wounds.
Sanosuke’s unpredictable attacks and Zoro’s heavy slashes left him constantly on the defensive.
Just as he finally managed to exploit a tiny opening and force Sanosuke back, something caught the corner of his eye.
Smoke.
And flames.
They were pouring from the window at the top of the tower.
His tower…
Nami’s room!
“No—!!”
Arlong let out a heart-rending scream.
Ignoring Zoro’s slash, he took the blow head-on.
His shoulder scales shattered as blood sprayed into the air.
Using the impact as momentum, he burst through the encirclement like a torpedo and shot straight toward the tower.
But when he smashed through the burning window and entered the room—
It was already empty.
Only raging flames remained, devouring everything he had once regarded as his possessions…
and his tools.
“NAMI!!”
Arlong’s furious roar echoed through the inferno, filled with boundless hatred and madness.
By then, however, Norton had already returned to the center of the courtyard with Nami.
The flames illuminated half the night sky.
They also revealed the fish-men lying scattered across the courtyard.
Every one of Arlong’s subordinates had been defeated.
Arlong leaped from the tower like a falling meteor, crashing into the courtyard with a thunderous impact that cracked the ground beneath him.
Covered in soot, scorched by fire, and riddled with wounds, he stared at Norton and Nami standing side by side.
The last shred of reason in his mind had been consumed by rage.
“I’LL KILL YOU!!!”
With a crazed roar, Arlong swung Kiribachi.
Abandoning all technique, he poured every ounce of his remaining strength—and his very life—into one final strike aimed at Norton.
Sanosuke and Zoro’s expressions hardened as they moved to intervene.
Norton simply raised a hand.
Stopping them.
Facing Arlong’s desperate charge, Norton casually swung his palm.
Smack!
For an instant, time itself seemed to freeze.
Arlong’s body abruptly changed direction and flew sideways as though struck by an invisible giant hammer.
He slammed into the massive brick wall surrounding Arlong Park.
BOOM!!
The wall exploded into rubble.
Dust billowed into the air as an entire section collapsed, burying Arlong beneath the debris.
Silence fell over the courtyard.
Only the crackling of the flames could be heard.
A moment later, the pile of rubble trembled.
Arlong painfully clawed his way back to the surface.
Half his face had swollen grotesquely.
His scales had been torn away.
Blood poured from his mouth.
His eyes were filled with utter confusion…
Shock…
And fear.
He shook his head, trying to stand.
His legs staggered, nearly collapsing beneath him.
“…How is that possible?”
His hoarse whisper was filled with disbelief.
That effortless slap…
Contained a power he couldn’t comprehend.
A power he couldn’t resist.
Norton slowly walked toward him.
Sanosuke and Zoro followed closely behind, looking at Arlong as though he were already dead.
Nami stepped forward as well, her fists clenched tightly.
Norton stopped beside her.
He glanced at Nami, whose body was still trembling despite her efforts to stand tall.
Then he bent down, picked up a pistol from the ground, and handed it to her.
Nami gripped the cold handle tightly.
Her fingers turned white from the force.
She slowly raised the gun.
The muzzle pointed directly at Arlong, who was struggling to get back to his feet only a few meters away.
Arlong looked up.
His eyes met Nami’s.
There was nothing left in them—
Only cold resolve.
“Go to hell, Arlong,” Nami said softly.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed through the silent courtyard.
The bullet struck Arlong squarely between the eyes.
The savage expression on his face froze forever.
The light in his eyes faded instantly.
Then he fell backward, lifeless.