Before they knew it, the Going Merry entered the waters near Cocoyasi Village—only to be stopped almost immediately by a few of Arlong's underlings.
One of the leading Fish-Men stepped forward with a sneer. "Nami, welcome back. You must've had a great haul this time, huh? Hee hee hee…"
These Fish-Men looked like they were begging for a beating, but the Straw Hats kept silent as planned.
Nami stepped forward coolly. "It was alright. Where's Arlong? The Straw Hat Pirates behind me found a treasure and want to cooperate with the Arlong Pirates. Take us to him."
The Fish-Man captain frowned. "Treasure? If they found it, why would they share it? You guys don't have some other motive, do you?"
"Motive?" Sandy stepped forward, dragging the injured Roronoa Zoro with him. "This guy's the Pirate Hunter Zoro, and he's now a member of our crew. He's in this state because our group couldn't handle him properly.
"According to Nami, your Arlong Pirates are powerful enough to go against whole world. Pretty amazing, huh? So we came to find Arlong to… cooperate.
Hurry up and take us. You can't make that call anyway—go tell your boss a big deal has arrived."
The Fish-Men exchanged glances, then decided to lead them in. They were cautious—after all, Fish-Men were unmatched at sea, but this was land.
Once the ship docked, Nami said, "I'm heading home first. I'll go see Arlong later."
Sandy waved a hand. "Luffy, you go with Nami."
Luffy pressed his lips tightly together, trying not to make a sound. If he spoke now, Sandy's whole plan would fall apart!
The first step was complete. The rest would be easier.
As for leaving Arlong to Luffy alone? Sandy thought, Yeah, dream on.
Soon, the Fish-Man who guided them said, "Wait here, I'll go report to the captain."
Sandy simply glared at him—instantly knocking the smaller Fish-Men unconscious.
Usopp's eyes went wide. "Sandy, your power is way too convenient!"
Sandy smirked. "It's fine. Sanji, didn't you say you wanted to make a cool entrance? Kick the door open!"
Zoro scoffed. "Pervet-cook, that door looks thick. Try not to break your foot."
Sanji snapped, "What did you say, moss-head!?"
Sandy sighed. "If you're not kicking, I'll just—"
"Wait!" Sanji stopped him quickly. "Don't use that freaky ability. Let us have some fun first."
"Fine, fine…" Sandy muttered.
BOOM!
Inside Arlong Park, the loud crash startled everyone.
Arlong frowned. "What the hell was that? Hachi, go check it out."
When the smoke cleared, the figures of Sandy, Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro appeared in the doorway.
Arlong and his officers stood up in confusion.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Arlong demanded.
Then—
Wahaha! Sandy, Sanji, and Usopp's eyes lit up as they struck an absurd heroic pose, arms crossed dramatically.
Zoro stood off to the side, mortified.
"We are…" The three shouted in unison, "The Three Heroes of the East!"
"'Three Heroes of the East'?" Arlong repeated, turning to his men. They all shrugged.
"Never heard of you," Arlong said flatly. "What do you want?"
The trio wanted to be cool—and to test their strength—but no way were they going to admit that.
Sandy turned to Sanji. "You speak."
Sanji's eyes gleamed. Finally, his moment. He pointed forty-five degrees toward the ceiling and declared, "For world peace! For harmony between the sexes! For freedom from oppression! Today, we represent liberty itself—to eliminate you!"
He pointed dramatically at Arlong, cigarette between his fingers.
Sandy and Usopp echoed, "Representing freedom—eliminating you!"
A bead of sweat rolled down Usopp's nose as Zoro turned red with embarrassment. Why did I even get on this ship…?
Arlong stared at them for a long moment, his face darkening. "Are you mocking me? Fine. You've successfully pissed me off."
He was about to move when Black Belt stopped him. "Calm down, Captain. If you fight here, Arlong Park will be wrecked."
Hachi added, "Yeah, Brother Arlong, leave these small fries to us. Just give us a few minutes."
"Fine," Arlong said, sitting back down. "Handle it."
Black Belt and Hachi stepped forward. Hachi cracked his knuckles. "You talk about great aspirations, but this is Arlong Park. I won't let you destroy it!"
"Great aspirations?" Sandy laughed. "You bet we've got big dreams. Unlike you slimy fish, we don't need to bully weak villagers on land to feel powerful. Aren't you afraid of drying out into jerky?"
"Big words!" Arlong roared. Water droplets shot from his mouth like bullets.
Sandy dodged left, right, and back—testing his speed—but still got grazed by two shots. They were too dense!
Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp were all hit, collapsing instantly under the machine-gun-like force.
"Low-level humans!" Arlong snarled, eyes blood-red. "You can't even take a few drops of water, yet you dare to run your mouths?!"
Sandy glanced at his fallen crewmates. He hadn't blocked the attack—he wanted them to feel the difference in power between them and a true monster.
He smirked. "Low-level humans, huh? You're pretty damn full of yourself. All you Fish-Men do is hide in corners and pick on the weak to feed your pathetic egos."
Arlong's gaze turned icy. "I hope your tongue stays sharp when I rip it out."
Sandy opened his mouth to reply—
"Gum-Gum… Rocket Launcher!"
Luffy's voice roared as he flew in from above—slamming into Arlong at high speed!
Unfortunately, Arlong dodged easily, sending both Luffy and one unlucky henchman flying straight through the opposite wall.
Everyone froze.
What the hell just happened?!