Chapter 16: Return to Sabaody Archipelago
To the Fish-Men, no one in Fish-Man Street dominated like Arlong. Only Fisher Tiger and Jinbe could reliably overpower him.
They expected he might lose—but not get absolutely destroyed.
Princess Otohime and King Neptune stayed calm. Otohime had powerful Observation Haki, and Neptune was personal friends with Whitebeard—that's why the island flew Whitebeard's flag in the first place.
"Did you all see that clearly? Never look down on humans just because Fish-Men are born ten times stronger! The sea is vast, and terrifying human monsters are everywhere. The man standing in front of you is one of them!"
"I watched him fight Admirals with my own eyes. He blew off a chunk of the Red Line big enough to wipe out Fish-Man Island! Fighting Arlong didn't even make him try!"
Tiger lectured the young Fish-Men loudly.
The crowd whispered, some still skeptical.
Arlong himself was just coming to, still dazed.
Luo Lin blinked. Was I really that awesome? Sure, they chipped the Red Line, but "blew off a chunk" sounded way cooler.
"Luo Lin-san, please show them one more time. They're too cocky. If they don't understand how brutal the surface is now, the Sun Pirates will be wiped out in no time."
Tiger begged.
"Uh… sure, but what should I cut?"
"Anything, as long as no one gets hurt!"
"Got it."
Luo Lin glanced around and picked the tallest coral reef in the distance—about 100 meters high.
"One-Sword Style: Rending Burst!"
A massive flying slash shot out. On contact, it detonated.
Half the reef vanished in a cloud of fragments.
Every jaw on the plaza dropped. Cold sweat rolled down Arlong's forehead.
"If that hit me… I'd be dead."
"That power is hopeless…"
"Monster… he's a monster!"
Tiger nodded, satisfied and continued.
"Understood now? Arrogance will get you killed before you know what hit you!"
"YES, BROTHER TIGER!"
"Good."
"Thanks, Luo Lin!"
"No big deal!"
…
After that, Tiger got busy organizing the crew. Members were chosen, ships were easy to get on Fish-Man Island, but they were leaving tomorrow—plenty left to do.
Neptune and Otohime returned to the palace.
Luo Lin went looking for Arlong. Jinbe was with him.
Both Fish-Men swallowed hard and stiffened when he approached.
"Relax, I don't bite random people."
He plopped down beside them.
"Then what do you want?"
"Nothing much. Just wanted to say—not all humans are bad. Some of us are decent. Me, for example—I don't discriminate against any race. Otherwise I wouldn't have risked my life saving your Brother Tiger, right?"
They thought about it and relaxed a little.
"Also… one small favor to ask you, Arlong."
"Huh?"
Arlong blinked—he couldn't imagine what this monster could possibly need from him.
"If—if—you ever go to a village in the East Blue called Cocoyasi Village… don't kill anyone there. Do whatever else you want, just don't kill. Can you promise me that?"
"That's it?"
"Yep."
"Fine. For Brother Tiger's sake, I'll remember."
Luo Lin exhaled in relief. Saving people while trying not to derail the plot too hard was exhausting.
(„ಡωಡ„) Reward: one extra minute of mermaid-watching. Robin definitely won't mind.
"Cool. Don't forget. I'm out!"
"Later, Uncle Tiger!"
"Safe travels! Meet at Fish-Man Bay tomorrow morning to head topside!"
"Roger that!"
He waved lazily and strolled away from Gyoncorde Plaza.
Still early, so he wandered aimlessly… and somehow ended up in the Sea Forest.
୧(๐･᷄ࡇ･᷅)ง?
"Sea Forest? How'd I get here? Whatever, time to head back—"
Two steps later he froze.
"Wait… isn't there a Poneglyph here?!"
"If I rub a copy for Robin she'll be so touched she'll let me kiss her and hug her and lift her up and—"
(˵ಡ﹃ಡ˵) Hehehehe~
Instant motivation.
He found the stones quickly—two of them! One regular, one red Road Poneglyph!
Problem: no paper.
Solution: Geppo + Soru. Two minutes later he was back with a huge stack.
He hadn't even used those moves on Arlong. That's how desperate he was to score brownie points with his wife. (Though he could score points without it—making her happy was still priority one.)
That night he crashed at an inn near Fish-Man Bay's food street—prime location, breakfast within arm's reach.
…
Next morning—belly perfectly round from breakfast—Luo Lin arrived at Fish-Man Bay.
The Sun Pirates' ship was already coated. Fish-Men didn't need coating, but their human passenger and some supplies did.
"Yo! Uncle Tiger, morning!"
"Early riser, huh? Couldn't sleep—going home soon?"
"Nah, just excited. Still need to load food—easiest last, right?"
"No rush, wander around!"
About an hour later, the food arrived—carried by King Neptune and Princess Otohime themselves.
"Luo Lin, here are the souvenirs we promised! All kinds of shellfish, Fish-Man Island sweets, and one giant 10,000-meter-deep pearl—we picked the biggest so your wife will love it!"
The Left Minister directed two merfolk to haul in an absolutely enormous gift bundle and set it in front of Luo Lin.
(ง ⁰̷̴꒨⁰̷̴)ง
"Thank you so much! Robin's gonna flip!"
Honestly the sweets were enough—Robin's favorites were history books, sandwiches, not-too-sweet cake, and coffee.
But girls like shiny things too, so the pearl was perfect.
He stashed his mountain of gifts and waited on the side.
Tiger and the royals talked for over an hour—normal when you're leaving home for good.
Finally, Tiger climbed to the helm.
"Everything ready! Brothers—set sail!"
The ship moved slowly. Neptune, Otohime, and crowds of Fish-Men waved goodbye until it vanished.
…
Inside the ship, everyone except Tiger was grinning ear to ear.
The Fish-Men because they were finally pirates, free to roam the seas.
Luo Lin because he was going home to Robin.
Tiger alone looked grim—knowing the road ahead was dark and dangerous.
"Brother Tiger! We're really sailing! What's our crew name?"
"Already decided—we're the Sun Pirates!"
"Why Sun? We're all Fish-Men—shouldn't it be Fish-Man Pirates?"
"Some of our brothers and sisters bear the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon—the mark of slaves. To hide that mark and never let them feel shame again, everyone on this ship will bear the mark of the Sun! That's why—Sun Pirates!"
"Anyone who doesn't want the brand can leave now, while we're still in Fish-Man Island waters!"
"WE'RE WITH YOU! WE'LL NEVER SHAME OUR FAMILY!"
The crew roared.
Luo Lin smiled. Real solidarity.
Only humans are obsessed with killing their own kind.
Thanks to the water channels, they quickly reached the exit gate.
"Brothers! Once we pass this gate, we have nothing to do with Fish-Man Island anymore! Everything we do from now on is on us alone! Understood?"
"UNDERSTOOD!"
Amid excited shouts, the ship left Fish-Man Island and rose toward the surface.
…
…
Sabaody Archipelago A little ways from GR 44 civilian entrance
The Sun Pirates' ship burst out of the water. The moment it fully surfaced, the coating peeled away.
"We're here! Hahaha!"
Young Fish-Men who had never seen the surface gawked at the sky, the sea, the mangrove forest.
"Uncle Tiger, you guys shouldn't enter Sabaody right now. Let's split here!"
"Alright. That little boat's for you—take it. Without needing navigation tools, we don't even need ships!"
A side hatch opened, revealing a small boat for about ten people. Fish-Men pushed it into the water.
"Haha, thanks!"
Luo Lin grabbed his mountain of souvenirs and hopped in.
"See ya, Uncle Tiger! Stay alive!"
"You too—you'll always be my friend!"
"Of course! Arlong, don't forget what I asked!"
He waved and rowed into the archipelago's waterways.
Once Luo Lin disappeared among the roots, the Sun Pirates sailed away—who knows where.
Luo Lin zigzagged through the mangroves, almost got lost, but eventually reached GR 13.
He tied up the boat, slung his gift bundle over his shoulder, and strolled toward Xia Qi's Rip-off Bar.
At the door he got mischievous.
Knock knock
In a deep voice: "Open up! Naval HQ inspection—searching for suspicious individuals!"
Dead silence inside.
After a long pause—footsteps.
Xia Qi opened the door, saw him, and rolled her eyes.
"It's just you, Luo Lin. Very funny. I was about to tell the girls to run out the back."
"Hahaha, got scared though?"
"Nope♪"
"Tch."
He walked in disappointed.
Rayleigh wasn't there, but three pairs of eyes were trying to murder him.
"Ara ara~ Hancock, Marigold, Sandersonia—did we scare you?"
Hancock's eyes blazed.
"This bastard—I'll turn him to stone!"
Her sisters frantically held her back.
"Sis, no! He saved us!"
"Yeah! Also, if you keep being so scary no one will marry you!"
That only made her angrier. The sisters barely contained her.
"Luo Lin-san, please stop teasing big sis—we can't hold her much longer!"
They looked like they were about to cry.
Luo Lin laughed even harder. His inner troll was fully satisfied.
"Didn't you go to Fish-Man Island? How are you back so fast?"
He left yesterday and returned today—less than 24 hours.
"Finished my business, so I came home. Look—souvenirs!"
He pointed at the giant bundle, pulled out some sweets, and passed them around.
"Special Fish-Man Island treats. No more angry faces after eating, okay?"
"Ooh, thank you!"
"Hmph! I'm not eating that!"
Luo Lin shrugged—suit yourself.
"By the way, when I rowed in I barely saw any Marines. Looks like the World Government is trying to bury the Mary Geoise incident. Should be safe to take the girls home soon!"
The sisters' eyes lit up—home!
"Really? It's only been a couple days."
"Yeah, Rayleigh's the only one who went out—he's not back yet. We stayed inside."
"Pretty much no patrols outside anymore. Just dress them like regular fisherwomen and we're good!"
"Great! We'll wait for Rayleigh, then decide the departure date."
"Cool! But let's do it quick though—these sweets will go bad and my beloved Robin won't get to try them!"
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