Chapter 54: Fleeing at the First Sign of Trouble

Naval warship.

Garen leaped from the sea back onto the deck, his greatsword still stained with blood that had yet to be washed clean.

A few merman corpses floated in disarray across the surface of the water, which had been tinted an unnatural pale red around the ship. On the deck, a group of naval soldiers labored to haul up a large net from the sea, in which several surviving mermen struggled feebly. Their struggle did not last long, for the well-trained headquarters soldiers promptly riddled them with bullets in a coordinated volley.

“Heh…”

Smoker stood at the prow, speaking with a note of disdain, “Attempt to breach my warship? Headquarters Marines will not be toppled by such stale tactics.”

The feeble merman assault had been mostly repelled by the headquarters Marines alone. As Marines from the Grand Line, they held no fear of mermen and were equipped with shallow-water bombs, special fishing nets, projectile harpoons, and all manner of weapons designed specifically for such foes.

If every random merman attack required Marine officers to dive into the sea for hand-to-hand combat, the mermen would have long since dominated the Grand Line. Garen's plunge into the water was, in truth, simply a bid to claim a few minor kills. Even the merman capable of firing high-speed water bullets posed but a slight threat and was swiftly dispatched by Garen’s sword in two or three strokes.

The warship pressed onward, steadily approaching the beach, closer and closer to the shore. Conveniently, the territory of Arlong was situated at a natural deep-water port, sparing the Marines the trouble of switching to small boats for a landing assault.

“All hands, prepare for battle!” Tashigi commanded loudly, her usual gentle demeanor replaced by the imposing presence of a headquarters officer.

The thirty elite headquarters Marines under Smoker’s direct command were quickly ready for action. Led by these crack troops, the recently reorganized Loguetown garrison and the sixteen branch Marines seeking redemption exhibited a fighting spirit quite unlike their usual selves.

“Brother Arlong?!”

Watching the approaching warship, a young merman spoke anxiously, “Even Chu was killed. What do we do?”

Arlong remained silent, a flash of malice and cruelty flickering in his eyes. The mounting deaths of his subordinates pained him somewhat, but the thought of fleeing outright was even more galling.

Greed ran deep in Arlong’s veins; his attachment to wealth rivaled that of Nami and Captain Nezumi. All his fortune was stored within his own territory. He might escape, but his riches would not. Weighing his options, the lives of his underlings paled in importance compared to his treasure.

Though he claimed the mermen were brothers, the weak were, in Arlong’s eyes, mere cannon fodder to be expended. After a brief moment’s thought, Arlong’s expression turned fierce and he roared to his followers, “They’re just human Marines! We are the supreme mermen!”

He launched into his usual merman supremacy rhetoric, half threat, half incitement. “Today, I will show those weak humans who truly rules these seas! No one is to retreat in this battle!”

Yet, as soon as his bold words left his lips, Arlong’s face darkened. He saw clearly, on the approaching warship, a solid mass of white smoke—more precisely, a man in a half-smoke form.

Arlong, who had once wrestled with the current Navy Admiral Kizaru, knew well what such an apparition signified.

“That’s a Logia?”

Unable to restrain himself, Arlong shouted at Kuroobi and Hatchan, “The Marines have a Logia user?!”

“Huh?” Kuroobi and Hatchan were taken aback. After a moment, Kuroobi replied sheepishly, “I think so… There’s a guy in the Marines who emits strange smoke…”

“Such vital information and none of you mentioned it!” Arlong gritted his teeth, “Were you hoping I’d rush to my death?”

“You never asked…” Hatchan scratched his head, embarrassed. “We were all distracted by that weird knight who could speak underwater…”

“What?” Arlong’s fear grew. “Did you say… knight?! The one who repelled you was a knight?”

“Yes…” Hatchan answered honestly. “He wears heavy armor, wields a greatsword, and swims in the water as fast as any fish… Truly a strange fellow!”

“Damn… damn it…” Arlong’s blue skin flushed red, and he suddenly felt a pang of remorse for his brave comrade Chu who had just volunteered for battle.

“Nami?”

A merman underling cried out in panic, trembling as he pointed toward the orange-haired girl standing at the prow of the warship, unable to articulate his words.

“N-Nami’s on that warship!”

At those words, a dozen mermen showed terror, their limbs weak and trembling like leaves in the wind. Even Arlong’s own expression soured.

“Huh?” Kuroobi curiously followed the pointing gaze and indeed spotted his familiar “colleague” Nami. Unlike the submissive, long-suffering navigator they knew, Nami now wore a splendid off-shoulder dress and radiated the dignity of a proud princess. No longer did fear or hesitation cloud her brow; her gaze was fixed upon her former tormentors, eyes blazing with the fury of vengeance.

“Why is Nami on that warship?” Kuroobi, not yet sensing the danger, asked in confusion, “And so what if it’s Nami? She’s just a girl—why are you all so afraid of her?”

The terrified mermen, unable to answer, only trembled harder.

Their fear of Nami stemmed from the fact they had just read the newspaper with Arlong. After finishing that paper, not only did the mermen begin to dread the once fragile girl, but even Arlong himself was ready to abscond with his loot.

Had Garen and Smoker arrived just half a day later, the Arlong Pirates might have already fled without a trace.

“Honestly…”

Arlong’s blue face turned red, then black, before finally he gritted his teeth and snapped at Kuroobi and Hatchan, “Is this what you call ‘slightly inferior to me’? Is this what you call ‘equal in strength’?”

“Uh…” Honest Hatchan blinked, responding innocently, “He really is…”

“Silence!” Arlong barked, his expression ugly. “Hatchan! Kuroobi! Have you two picked up the humans’ bad habit of flattery? Is now the time to flatter me?”

With that, Arlong turned to leave. The dozen mermen who had read the paper immediately followed him.

“Brother Arlong!” Hatchan, still not understanding, asked naively, “Where are you all going?”

“Where?”

An agitated merman echoed Arlong’s thoughts, “To escape!”

“Huh?” Hatchan, ever sincere, was stunned, “Didn’t Brother Arlong just say… no one could retreat today?”

Hatchan’s unwitting words made Arlong’s ugly face flush red as he prepared to leave. Yet, as their always lofty leader, Arlong could not easily admit his true feelings before his men.

“Bah!”

Fortunately, another desperate merman stepped forward, voicing Arlong’s real thoughts, “Why aren’t we running?! Do you know who that knight on the ship is?”

“Who?” Hatchan and Kuroobi asked, puzzled.

The merman, face twisted in terror, replied, “He’s the man who went toe-to-toe with Garp!”

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PS: A new week, seeking recommendation votes~