Ending the Cycle

1

Arlong stood proud on the bow of his boat, an island lay directly before him; as helpless as him and his people had once been. Now they would taste the poison of their own medicine. Now they would pay. They would all pay, for who did these surface dwellers think they were to treat them as beneath them? The fishmen were stronger, faster, and could breath above and below the surface. And yet they were the ones looked down on. That would change however. Soon the East Blue would be under his control and then the other fishmen would rise up. They would free the captured and show those filthy humans who was really inferior!

      But then he arrived at the first village. And... he paused.  He hesitated. He noticed right away the citizens didn't even have a clue what he was.  They stared and a few screamed or ran- as they should did they not realize-! - but eventually he was approached.

       The man was average in height, wearing brown, official-looking clothes, in fact the only notable thing about him was the way he held himself and the bright yellow pinwheel that adorned his hat, "Hello there, I am Genzo, what is your business in this village?"

        Arlong scowled. He hated him already, from the ridiculous pinwheel to his steadfast gaze, this Genzo should learn his place already "We are the Arlong pirates!" Arlong raised his voice so that all the humans would hear- he wouldn't be repeating himself-  "this island and your village is hear-by under our command. You will follow our rules, and pay us tribute, or you will die."

      To emphasize his point he sent his fist slamming into the nearest house. Predictably the house crumbled to the ground beneath his fist, cheers from his fellow pirates rose up.  By then a crowd had already gathered, and any protests were effectively quelled as the village people murmured to each other in hushed tones.

       "I see... how much is the tribute." It seemed Genzo had resigned himself already.

       "One hundred thousand Berri for every adult and, since I'm such a merciful guy, only fifty thousand for every child."

     Their eyes widened and the muttered grew but once more it was this Genzo who spoke, "I- we- This village, we are not a rich one, please, I beg of you, give us all time to collect the money!"

      Arlong glowered ready time strike down this pathetic human. And yet....

      He looked to the children, cowering behind the arms of their mothers, and he saw himself. He looked to the fathers and brothers and uncles and saw himself; strong but fighting, fighting for hope and to survive even if they faced an unbeatable enemy, even if he faced an unbeatable enemy. For no matter the strength of the fishmen, there was no matching the sheer size of the World Government.

     He looked around the village and despite the different faces, in the eyes, in their eyes he could see himself and his brothers in arms. He could see a desperation for freedom greater even than survival just waiting to be kindled. And... he hesitated.

      "Fine! You have three weeks to get the money together, then we will be back. Tell other villages, this will be the only warning they get."  Arlong turned with a sneer, and him and the rest of his people trooped out.

For the rest of the week though Arlong found he couldn't shake the image from his head, enough so that he even began to worry his crew. After brushing off as nothing yet another concerned question from them, he decided he had enough and headed out to the sea to think.

       But even that wasn't enough as images of Koala, that pitiful little girl, began to plague him as well. So useless and defenseless. Weak. (He also remembered how much joy she brought to his fellows). Just like the people in that village Cobaya-something.  Even if he had declared it his new territory he hadn't cared enough to learn its name yet. It hadn't proved itself worthy of his interest.  (He remembered how they stuck together and how everyone helped each other, so much like how his own crew worked to care for each other despite still taking care of their own needs for the most part).