Cursed Seas and Slashing Tides

Breaking Chains

At Arlong Park, the fishmen stood gathered around Arlong, tense and uneasy.

"What's taking the navy so long?" Arlong growled, impatience clear in his voice. "Did she do something?" His eyes narrowed, suspicion rising.

Before anyone could respond, the front gate exploded into splinters, shocking the fishmen. They turned to see a young man with a straw hat, grinning confidently, walking through the wreckage. Beside him were a few unfamiliar men, and behind them, the villagers armed and ready for battle.

"Which one of you...is Arlong?" Luffy asked, his eyes scanning the group.

"Who are you?" Arlong demanded, his teeth bared in a menacing snarl.

"I'm Luffy." He said casually, still walking toward him.

"And what's a 'Luffy'?" Arlong snarled in disbelief.

"A pirate." Luffy barely got the words out before two fishmen rushed to block his path, but with a single blow, he knocked them out cold, leaving the rest stunned.

"What business do you have with me, pirate?" Arlong's voice trembled with a growing fury.

Luffy stopped right in front of him. "You made our navigator cry!" He said darkly, and in an instant, he punched Arlong square in the face, sending him crashing into the wall.

"Lord Arlong!!" The fishmen yelled, startled by the speed and power of the attack.

They rushed forward to attack Luffy, but his crew swiftly intercepted them. Zoro, Sanji, and Ryomen leaped into action, taking down the fishmen with ease.

"You always have to dive right in, huh?" Sanji said with a smirk as he kicked a fishman aside.

"Just the way I like it." Zoro added, slashing through another enemy with a grin.

"H-Hey, maybe I'll just keep the villagers safe! You guys can handle this!" Usopp stammered, ready to flee, but Ryomen grabbed his arm.

“It's gonna be fine, Usopp. I'm not gonna let any of you be in danger.” Ryomen's voice was calm, but his eyes held a steely resolve.

"Alright! Let's save Nami!" Usopp shouted, trying to muster some bravery.

"So, you came here for Nami?" Arlong spat as he got back to his feet. "Hahahaha! You're just five humans from an inferior species! What could you possibly do?"

One of his men, Hachi, pulled out a horn. "Arise, giant warrior!" He called, summoning a monstrous sea cow from the pool in the center of Arlong Park. "Come on out, Momoo!"

The giant sea cow charged at the crew.

"Here it comes!!" Usopp screamed.

"I'm done wasting time!" Luffy shouted, grabbing Momoo by the horns. "Gomu-Gomu no...Windmill!" He spun the sea beast around, knocking out fishmen left and right before flinging it into the sky.

“I didn't come here for small fry! I came here to beat you!!” Luffy pointed toward Arlong.

“Perfect. I was thinking the same.” Arlong replied with a menacing smile.

Hachi then prepared to attack the group. “Hachi ink jet!” Ink started spraying from his mouth, but everyone beside Luffy dodged.

“Why didn't you jump out of the way!?” Zoro asked in confusion.

“I can't! My feet are stuck!” Luffy replied.

The group looked at his feet, which were embedded into the ground from spinning.