"Rumble... rumble..."
With a deafening crash, everyone turned toward the sound and saw a gaping hole appear in the wall.
Except for Sandy, Arlong, Zoro, and Sanji, everyone else looked confused about what had just happened.
"What on earth was that?"
"It looked like a shadow flew past just now—who was it?"
"Are they allies of those people?"
Seeing his Arlong Park being destroyed yet again, Arlong growled lowly, "These bastards... I'm going to kill every single one of them!"
Black Belt quickly grabbed Arlong by the waist and shouted, "Arlong! Calm down! If you make a move now, Arlong Park will be completely destroyed!"
Before Arlong could respond, a wave of angry voices echoed from outside. The villagers' shouts carried both fury and determination.
Arlong turned toward the entrance. "Let me go. I won't lose control. What are those villagers doing here?"
Just then, Luffy, who had crashed through the wall earlier, climbed back inside and scratched his head. "Man, that scared me to death. Good thing someone helped me out. That guy's a real good person."
Through the hole, the Arlong Pirates saw one of their comrades lying unconscious on the ground. Arlong's eyes narrowed.
"You lowly humans... how could you injure one of my kind?"
Then, glaring at the approaching villagers, he demanded, "What is this supposed to mean?"
Genzo, the chief of Cocoyasi Village, stepped forward. "Arlong! We're here today to defeat you!"
Sandy began clapping. "That's right! How can proud men like us be oppressed by a bunch of fish-faced bandits? Go get him, Chief!"
Nami, standing beside him, immediately punched Sandy in the head. "What the hell do you mean by that? Aren't you planning to fight too?!"
Sandy wrapped an arm around her waist and smirked. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
Seeing how calm he was, Nami's anxiety eased a little. After all, if Genzo tried to fight Arlong, he'd be flattened in an instant.
Meanwhile, Sanji, who had just recovered, saw Sandy holding Nami again and fumed. "Sandy! Take your hands off Miss Nami right now!"
Sandy gave him a disdainful look. "You're still soaked from a little splash of water. Go crawl into a hole and dry off."
"You bastard!!" Sanji shouted.
Ignoring them, Arlong's face darkened. "So, you're all planning to rebel against me?"
The villagers stood their ground.
"Yes! We've endured enough!"
"If Nami hadn't carried the burden of freeing this village for all these years, we would've risen up long ago!"
"Even if we die today, we'll never live under the rule of the Arlong Pirates again!"
Arlong glared, then turned to Sandy and the others. "What is your purpose here?"
Sandy pulled Nami closer and said coldly, "To kill you, you stinking fish."
Arlong's eyes glowed red. "Nami... is that truly what you want?"
Nami hesitated, trembling. "I... I..."
Sandy sighed. "Nami, stop overthinking. The man who killed your mother, the one who exploited you for eight long years... ask your heart what you really want."
Nami clenched her fists, then turned to smile through her tears. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm not backing down anymore."
"That's more like it!"
"It should've been this way long ago!"
"You've suffered so much, Nami. You've done enough."
"We're ready to fight for our freedom!"
Overwhelmed, Nami finally broke down crying.
Sandy pulled out a cigarette, only to realize he didn't have a lighter. His eyes lit up and he walked over to Hachi.
"Hey, can I borrow a light?"
"Huh?" Hachi tilted his head. "I don't smoke. Go ask Chu—he probably has one."
Then, realizing who he was talking to, Hachi jumped back, pointing at Sandy. "Wait! You bastard, why would I lend a light to my enemy?!"
Sandy rolled his eyes. "It's just a lighter, not your life savings. Chill out, go play somewhere."
Hachi froze, then suddenly bowed. "I'm sorry."
Sandy waved it off. "You're welcome."
Everyone face-planted. What the hell is going on with these two?!
Arlong's face twitched violently. "Hachi! What are you doing?!"
Realizing his mistake, Hachi pointed at Sandy and roared, "You bastard! I'm gonna kill you!"
He dashed into a nearby room, returning moments later with six swords. Pointing them at Sandy, he shouted, "You destroyed Arlong Park, hurt my comrade, and insulted Brother Arlong! I'll make you pay!"
Sandy took a step back. "Wait, six swords?! That's insane! Zoro, save me!"
Everyone's faces darkened. Didn't this guy just say he was going to kill someone a moment ago? What happened to that energy?!
But Zoro didn't mind. He drew his three swords and smirked. "Six-Sword Style, huh? Interesting."
Hachi blinked. "You're the Pirate Hunter... Roronoa Zoro?"
Sandy nodded proudly. "That's right. I didn't fight you earlier because I was afraid I might kill you with one punch. You should be thanking me."
To everyone's shock, Hachi bowed again. "Thank you."
Everyone fell over again.
Sandy turned to Usopp and patted his shoulder. "Learning anything from this?"
Usopp shook his head rapidly, utterly bewildered.
Jokes aside, Arlong stepped forward and glared at Sandy. "You dodged my Water Shot earlier. You might actually be qualified to fight me."
Before he could finish, Luffy stepped up. "Your opponent is me!"
Interrupted again, Arlong's expression turned murderous. "And who the hell are you?"
Luffy grinned. "Monkey D. Luffy! The man who'll become the Pirate King!"
"Pirate King?" Arlong sneered, then burst into laughter. "Tch... hahaha! You lowly human, you're too ignorant to even be insulted! What's your real purpose?"
Luffy's eyes hardened. "You made my navigator cry."
"Your navigator?" Arlong asked.
Sandy rolled his eyes. "It's Nami, you dumb fish."
That was the final straw. Arlong's rage exploded as he punched toward Sandy. "You filthy human! You've insulted me again and again!"
Luffy stepped in front of Sandy, blocking the punch. "Your opponent is me!!"
Arlong glared dangerously. "Don't worry. I'll kill you all—one by one. Including those villagers."
Luffy clenched his fists. "If you think you can, try it!"
At that moment, Black Belt also rushed forward, only to be stopped by Sanji.
And so, the great battle began.
Sandy found himself standing aside... but honestly, he didn't mind. Holding Nami in his arms felt pretty damn good.