Chapter 15: Fighting the Fishmen

Finnally here, the moment you've all been waiting for!

Chapter 15:

Fighting the Fishmen

"Which of you is Arlong?"

"That would be me. May I ask who you are?"

"I'm Luffy. And I'm here to kick your fishy, blue ass."

"Shahahahaha!" Arlong laughed, his crew joining in. "This pathetic human thinks he can take me on? Shahahahaha!" Arlong and his crew where too busy laughing at Luffy's (through their eyes) stupidity that they didn't see him approach Arlong's chair. Luffy cocked his fist back and punched Arlong in the face as hard as he could.

The fishman went flying, shocking everyone of both species. He smashed into the wall at the other end of Arlong Park, breaking it.

"What?!" Hatchan the octopus fishman yelled. "Nyuu~ No human should be able to do that!" Hatchan had pink skin and six arms. Instead of hair, five spikes grew out on his head and his mouth stuck out from his face. On his forehead was a sun tattoo similar to Arlong's. He also wore a red shirt with three arm holes on each side and yellow shorts.

"You," Kuroobi growled. "What are you?" Kuroobi was a large, muscular fishman whose skin was a darker blue than his captain's and had long black hair in a stupid hairstyle with some hair sticking up in two small, forward-pointing, pointed buns. The majority of his hair was pulled back into a ponytail that fell down to his knees and his sun tattoo was nearly completely hidden from sight on one pictorial. He was clothed in a a navy-blue gi held together by a black belt. Two fins grew from his elbows and looked like they would hurt.

"Me?" Luffy questioned. "I'm a pirate."

"You bastard!" yelled Arlong's unnamed underlings. They ran at Luffy, but two new fighters rushed in and beat them back, scattering their unconscious forms around the area.

"Damn it, Luffy," the blond muttered. "Don't rush ahead. Save some for the rest of us."

"He's right, Don," the other man commented, his now stopped weapons revealed to be tonfa with large iron balls on the ends. "It would be disappointing to have come all this way for nothing." The other two men came up to join them in the center of Arlong Park.

"Huh," Chew grunted. "Looks like we'll have to fight after all... chew." Chew had light blue skin and light brown hair that framed his face. His mouth was elongated much like Hatchan's, but was thinner than his crewmate's, and he was dressed in a darker blue shirt and brown shorts. He had an Arlong tattoo on his right arm and what looked like blush on his cheeks.

"Don't worry," Hatchan said. He cupped his mouth and blew a noise like a trumpet for 15 seconds. "Moh-Moo! Come here, Moh-Moo!" There was silence for a second before a lump in the water started getting bigger until it reached land and broke the surface.

It was the sea-cow. Moh-Moo's gaze swept over the battlefield until it fell on Luffy, Sanji, and Gin. Memories of their last meeting flashed through his head before coming to the conclusion that dealing with them was not worth it. With tears from the memories of the pain caused by those monsters, the sea beast turned and started swimming away.

"Wait, Moh-Moo!" Hatchan called, but the sea-cow did not stop.

"It's fine, Moh-Moo," Arlong said with an underlying threat, causing the large creature to freeze. "You can leave if you want." His fear of the humans being less than his fear of Arlong, Moh-Moo turned back and attacked. He was thrown from the island by the combined force of Luffy, Sanji, and Gin.

"Alright," Luffy stated, cracking his knuckles as the creature's moo of pain faded into the distance. "There's four of them and five of us. Who wants who?"

"I'll take the octopus," Zoro smirked. "I need to thank him for helping with my escape."

"The big one's mine," Sanji answered, dumping ashes from his cigarette. "I'll turn him into sushi. A lot of sushi."

"I guess that leaves me with the ugly one," Gin commented. "Unless you want to fight him, Usopp?"

"Nope!" the sniper responded a little too quickly. "He's all yours!"

"Stay back, Captain," Kuroobi grunted, falling into a fighting stance. "We'll take care of these pests."

Gin seemed to have a similar idea. "Don Luffy, please stand back. You'll need all your energy to fight Arlong. Let us handle his underlings. Usopp, could you please provide cover fire?"

"Uh, yeah," the long-nosed teen answered. "No problem."

The battle had begun.

Zoro versus Hatchan

"You!" Hatchan shouted, pointing at Zoro with three of his arms. "Nyuu~ You tricked me! You'll pay for that!" He cupped his mouth. "Hachi Ink Jet!" A stream of black ink shot from the octopus fishman's mouth, arching through the air to hit Zoro. The swordsman was too quick, however, and was able to sidestep the attack. The ink continued on its path, dousing the villagers of Cocoyashi Village in black.

"Is that the best you can do?" Zoro questioned, running forward as fast as his injured body would allow. His opponent fired several more ink shots, but Zoro was able to easily avoid them. The human reached his foe and slashed at his face. In response, Hatchan ducked under the strike. Unfortunately for him, he didn't duck fast enough to save all of him.

"My hair!" Hatchan yelled, feeling his spikes were Zoro's lone blade had cut through the top three of his five spikes at a diagonal angle. "Nyuu~ You'll pay for that! Wait here."

"I'm not just gonna wait here," Zoro replied. He swiped at the fishman, but Kuroobi unintentionally got in the way, having been kicked by Sanji. Zoro's sword bounced off of his arm fins as he went flying by with the cook following close behind. "You got in my way, Cook!" Zoro shouted at the blond.

"I don't have time to deal with you, Moss-Head!" Sanji shouted back as his own foe stood back up. "We'll settle it later!" Sanji ran off as Hatchan emerged from his room on the second floor of Arlong Park.

"Haha!" Hatchan laughed from the second-floor balcony, one sword in each of his six hands. "Now you face my Six Sword Style!" He jumped down with his swords pointed forward so all the tips touched, he body spinning with the intent of shredding the Pirate Hunter upon impact. Zoro stepped out of the way, leaving the fishman to crash into the concrete.

"Ow," Hatchan whined, his face supporting the rest of his body. "Nyuu~ That was a dirty trick."

"I just moved out of the way."

"Damn you!" Hatchan jumped up and seemed to flail his arms at Zoro.

"Streaming Wolf Swords." The swordsman appeared to turn into paper, barely dodging each sword as it came by. At one point, Sanji flew by, but Zoro was too focused on dodging to notice. He finished by backhanding the octopus. As Hatchan stumbled back, Zoro called out to the ragged men on the sidelines. "Johnny! Yosaku! I need your swords!"

"Sure thing, Big Bro!" Johnny yelled back. The bounty hunters threw their swords toward the swordsman who managed to jump into the air and catch the weapons. His own sword now firmly in his mouth, Zoro came down on Hatchan like a hunter out for blood.

The fishman was on the defensive, all six of his swords being needed to fend off his opponent's three. He didn't know how it was possible. This man was only a human, a wounded human if the bloody bandages were anything to go by, so how was it that he was not only keeping up with him, but beating him with half as many swords? Hatchan leapt back to put space between them and prepared an attack to rip his human foe apart.

"Nyuu~ I'm done with you!" The pink fishman yelled as he touched all of his swords' tips together in front of him. "Octopus Pot Stance: New Year's Explosions!" Hatchan rushed forward, but his swords were all stopped when Zoro met their points with his own overlapping weapons. Hatchan did not seem daunted, however, as he just pulled his swords apart, throwing Zoro off balance. Taking his advantage, the octopus-man shot forward so his forehead hit his foe in the chest, right over his wound.

Zoro let out a pained yell as the force partially reopened his injury from his fight with Mihawk. He stumbled back, one fist press against his chest to try to numb the pain. Through his cloudy eyes, he was just able to see his opponent coming in for an unannounced attack, but he had enough time to counter.

"Dragon Whirlwind!" Zoro spun, his swords kicking up a dust cloud from the displaced air. The force of the wind was strong enough the lift Hatchan and all of his swords. The fishman went up and came back down, hitting the ground for the second time that fight.

"Nyuu~ You got lucky!" the six-armed octopus man declared, jumping up from what must have been a painful landing. "I'll get you this time! Forward Six Sword Waltz!" He started spinning his blades like a fan and began walking toward the human with slow, steady steps. The green-haired man lunged forward.

"Demon Slash!" Zoro ended in a crouch behind his shocked adversary, said adversary's weapons falling apart in his hands. Hatchan was still, a look of disbelief on his face as his 300 lbs. swords fell to pieces. A second later, three slashes open on his chest, blood falling from the relatively shallow but long wounds. Hatchan passed out, the shock combined with the sudden blood loss forcing his consciousness to shut down. Zoro sheathed Wado Ichimonji as the large fishman collapsed. Zoro followed soon after, not unconscious but weak from blood loss.

Zoro versus Hatchan

Winner: Roranoa Zoro

Sanji versus Kuroobi

"You have no chance of winning," Kuroobi sneered at his cigarette-smoking opponent, falling into a fighting stance as he did so. His right arm was extended and his right legs was placed forward. "I am a 40th Dan in fishman karate. You are outmatched."

"Your voice is getting on my nerves," Sanji replied in a nonchalant manner. "I've got a lot of food I need to make for our celebration tonight, so if we could move this along, that would be great."

"You overestimate yourself!" Kuroobi shouted, shooting forward. The chef's leg snapped up, slamming into his opponent's face with his steel-toed shoe before the fishman could react and sending him flying.

"No," Sanji stated. "You underestimate me."

While in the air, Kuroobi did not hear his opponent. He did feel something glance off of one of his fins, but the small sensation was dwarfed by the pain the cook's kick had caused, cracking his nose in the process. Kuroobi smashed into the wall as two of the invading crew yelled at each other.

"You got in my way, Cook!" Zoro shouted at the blond.

"I don't have time to deal with you, Moss-Head!" Sanji shouted back as his own foe stood back up. "We'll settle it later!" Sanji ran forward, roundhouse kicking Kuroobi in the side of the head before he could really get up.

Yeah, it was a dirty tactic, but it was a fight between pirates. Pirates played dirty.

Kuroobi managed to snap himself out of the shock of how strong his foe was while in the air from the second kick. He flipped around, landing on his feet and skidding a few feet to slow himself. He ran back in and ducked under Sanji's next attack. The cook jumped and used his momentum to spin into a hook kick with his other leg, but Kuroobi was ready.

The fishman caught his leg and lifted the chef over his head. He threw the human into the concrete at his feet, the damage causing him to cough up blood. Giving him no time to collect himself, the black-belt picked Sanji up and threw him across Arlong Park by hitting him with one of his fins. The human reached the far wall and smashed through it, leaving a hole.

"Well that's done," Kuroobi growled. He glanced over to his crewmates' fights. Hatchan was attacking Roranoa and Chew was shooting water from the sea at the scruffy man with the tonfa and the long-nosed kid, both of whom were worse-for-wear. He moved to join Chew in his two-on-one battle, but an attack from the battle of the swordsmen knocked Hachi back. He saw Hachi fall and thought it would be best to help the octopus-man first. He never got to. On his way to their fight, a voice shouted something like nonsense before Kuroobi was attacked.

"Exploding Star!" A fiery explosion absorbed the top half of his body, lightly burning his gi, but otherwise doing no harm. Kuroobi's eyes scanned the area, looking for the fool that dared to attack him. Finally, his gaze landed on the teen with the slingshot.

"You're going to pay for that, Long-Nose." Kuroobi rushed the long-range fighter who paled and took off toward the crowd of villagers. The fishman followed. He stopped to glance at the armed mob at the gates, but when another, weaker explosion hit him, his focus was transferred back to the long-nosed pest. He ran after the sniper, nearing the body of the blond he'd fought earlier, not noticing that he now had a new cigarette in his mouth.

Sanji's hand shot out as he passed, grabbing his ankle. Kuroobi tripped from the unexpected obstacle, faceplanting into the dirt road. The chef got in front of him and kicked him back into the compound with a cry of "Veau Shot!". It was over with the next barrage of attacks.

"Collar!" Sanji's right foot smashed into the spot between Kuroobi's neck and shoulder. "Flank!" A kick to the side rolled him onto his front. "Lower Back!" The cook's heel dug into the fishman's spine, forcing his head up. "Chin!" A rising kick picked the large pirate into the air. "Ribs!" The ray-fishman was launched into the building, smashing through several rooms on the ground floor. He came out the back wall, his limp form draped over the wreckage that had been part of the last wall.

Sanji lit another cigarette, his third of the battle, as blood flowed freely from a wound on his head. He blew smoke. "Now it's done. He won't be coming back." He puffed his cancer stick. "They're all just seafood anyway. A fish couldn't fight a cook. I don't know what he was thinking."

Sanji versus Kuroobi.

Winner: Sanji

Gin versus Chew

"It was you that called me 'the ugly one', wasn't it? ... Chew." Chew growled, dropping into his starting position. "I'll make you regret that... chew."

"That verbal tick of yours is really annoying," Gin shot back, shooting forward with tonfa spinning. He brought his right weapon down and Chew blocked with both forearms. In response, Gin brought his weapon's twin around, smashing into the fishman's ribs. The non-human grunted in pain, but was otherwise unaffected.

"You're tough," Gin admitted. "I'll give you that much." Chew smirked, but before he could respond, a lead ball nailed him in the forehead, disorienting the fishman. Gin's tonfa spun into his face, throwing him back. "You're tough, but I'm not alone."

"Chew," Chew grumbled in annoyance. He rolled away when he heard a cry of "Flame Star!". A small pellet hit the concrete where he had been only a second ago, bursting into flame that died the second afterward but left a scorch mark on the ground. "Wait a second. I know you." His eyes locked onto Usopp. "You're the one that was shooting at our captain. ...Chew."

"Yeah, I was!" the sniper declared, brimming with courage brought about by being behind a fighter like Gin. "What's it to you?"

"I-" Chew jumped away, a weighted tonfa crushing the ground he's been on. "Dammit! Let me talk! Chew!"

"Why?" Gin growled. "So you can keep saying "chew"? No thanks." Gin spun, giving his weapons more force as he struck at his foe. Chew rolled away from the iron, dodging Usopp's attacks all the while. He ran to the water before diving in to avoid a Lead Star.

"Damn!" Usopp cursed. "What now."

"Well-"

"Squirt Gun!" Gin was blasted by a large stream of water, the highly-pressurized liquid blowing him into and through the first wall of Arlong Park's building.

"Gin!" Usopp yelled.

"You're next!" Chew shouted. "1,000 Shot Squirt Gun!"

"Crap!" The long-nosed teen started running back and forth trying to avoid the bullets of water the fishman was firing from his mouth. "Fireball!" he yelled, trying to get in a counterattack. Chew was forced to cut off his attack and duck below the surface, the heat from the attack causing the surface of the water to steam. Usopp took his opportunity and ran to Gin's side where he lay in the rubble of the wall. "Come on, Gin," he begged. "You're stronger than me."

"Urg," Gin moaned. "What am I to you? A human shield?"

"Now's not the time for that!" Usopp panicked as Chew resurfaced, cheeks full of water.

"Stop him!" Gin called out.

"Exploding Star!" Despite the stress, Usopp's aim was true, plugging Chew's mouth with a pellet that exploded. Unfortunately, due to half of the projectile getting wet, it only blew up with half of the usual force.

"Chew!" the fishman yelled in pain, his arms coming up to his face. He bent over and starting sucking up water.

"Gin, do something!"

"I can't! I'm a close-range fighter and the gunpowder in my flintlock is wet! You do something!" Chew started swelling, the water intake causing his body to expand.

"What do you want me to do?!"

"I don't know! Do you have any poisons? Something to interrupt his insides?"

"No! Why would I... Wait!" Usopp rummaged around in his bag. "Got it! Smoke and Pepper Star Combo!" At first, it seemed like he had fallen short of the fishman, but the two capsules broke in the water, coloring the sea a dark gray. The smoky water was sucked into the fishman who's eyes bugged out comically. He spit up the water, throwing both Gin and Usopp back into the rubble.

Chew couldn't see them from the water, but he didn't want to take chances. He filled himself before climbing out of the sea. He found his enemies pulling themselves from the wreckage.

"1,000 Shot Squirt Gun!" More watery bullets shot from his mouth, forcing Usopp and Gin to dodge behind some rubble, the latter trying to block some shots with his tonfa.

"Usopp," Gin whispered as high-velocity water whizzed over their heads. "Sanji was just hit. I can take this one now that he's on land. Distract the big guy."

"Got it. Exploding Star!"

"You're going to pay for that, Long-Nose!" Sanji's opponent shouted.

"Run!" Usopp took Gin's suggestion, sprinting away at top speed with Kuroobi in hot pursuit. Gin turned back to his fight. He swung at a large piece of wall, breaking it and throwing the pieces toward the thin fishman quickly. Chew deflected with one shot of water each, but the distraction was enough to let Gin close the distance.

His right weight slammed into Chew's stomach, doubling him over and making him spit up the rest of the water inside him, before the other smashed into the side of his face. Chew was flung to the right, but Gin followed. He brought both tonfa up before bringing them down on top of his foe's back. The former Krieg pirate did not let up, hitting him as hard as he could. Finally, he struck the back of the fishman's head, knocking him unconscious and leaving an imprint of his face in the concrete.

Gin stood over his bloodied opponent, not a hint of pity in his eye.

Gin versus Chew.

Winner: Gin

End of Chapter 15

There we go, the first half of the fight. How was it? Better that the fight with Krieg or worse? I want to know what you think! Also, I know this may be a dirty tactic, but I want to upload the next chapter before Friday. And I will, if I can get more than six reviews on this chapter (substantial reviews if you can. At least if it was better or worse). If I do get those reviews, chapter 16 will come out on Wednesday with 17 on Friday. If I don't, happy waiting!

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods