Part 10 - Who ordered sushi? 12/??

A simple pirate base didn't suit the fish-man, so with the money collected from the island's residents and from the parts of his ship, which he used to sail from the Grand Line, Arlong built himself a five-story mansion, surrounded it with a concrete wall, and created several pools within the grounds, one of which had access to the open sea. In general, he settled in with grandeur and even, one must admit, with taste. However, due to the color scheme — everything was bright and colorful — and the name, it immediately evoked associations with an amusement park or water park.

"They've set themselves up pretty well here," Johnny commented as their group approached Arlong's base. "Not bad, with a sense of style… and it definitely looks a hundred times more impressive than our base!"

"Do we even have a base?" Yosaku glanced at his friend. "I think we have a cozy little house by the sea, but definitely not a base."

Like all other pirates or Marines, the Straw Hat family had their own, so to speak, base, where they often stopped by to rest from the sea or just to relax. Although Yosaku was somewhat right, it was difficult to call their hideout a proper base. A small wooden pier built in a hidden bay and a two-story house nearby, looked after by Gaimon when they were away. And yes, considering that the island they chose for the base was considered cursed, thanks to Gaimon scaring away everyone who tried to land there for twenty years, there was no better place for a secret base… or rather, a secret vacation home, anywhere in East Blue. This was precisely why Luffy and Zoro had once appeared on this island, where they found a whole bunch of oddly-shaped animals and Gaimon — who, habitually trying to scare off the 'newcomers,'— nearly lost his life. Moreover, the island was located almost in the center of East Blue, so if Luffy suddenly got hold of some interesting information, the family could quickly get to any point in the sea.

"A base or a house, what's the difference?" Johnny didn't let himself be distracted. "The main thing is that Arlong's setup is cooler than ours, and that shouldn't be the case!"

"But ours is cozier," Nami contributed to the argument.

"Don't forget about the numbers," Yosaku reminded them. "Until recently, our family only had five people, plus Gaimon on the island. But how many people does Arlong have again?" He turned to the girl standing beside him, puzzled. "Did you tell us, and I forgot? Or did you not tell us at all?"

"I personally don't remember anything like that," Johnny immediately confessed.

"Fifty-six fish-men, including Arlong."

"Got it... so, should we start?" Yosaku asked, gesturing toward the large, closed, stone gates.

"Should I break them down, or should we enter politely?" Johnny immediately inquired.

"Hold off on starting; first, I want to talk to Arlong... I'm curious about what he'll say when I tell him about the Marines who stole the money meant for him."

"So should we wait outside?" Yosaku asked again, uncertainly.

"No, why? Just stay a little behind me; I'll introduce you as my assistants... If they don't recognize you themselves. Unlike the island's regular residents, the fish-men receive newspapers, so your faces should be familiar to them."

The trio entered Arlong Park, instantly becoming the center of attention for all the fish-men present. Johnny and Yosaku didn't bother to count them, but at first glance, all fifty-six fish-men that Nami had mentioned were here. It was understandable that the guys were immediately drawn to them. Johnny and Yosaku had heard of the fish-men race many times, but had never seen them in person, so they didn't even try to hide their interest.

"Nami, did you bring my money?" asked the fish-man, who was comfortably sprawled on a wooden beach lounger.

"That's exactly what I came to talk to you about, Arlong," Nami said, a smile blossoming on her face that could have made even the angels in heaven jealous.

Johnny and Yosaku immediately turned all their attention to Arlong. A wanted poster was one thing, but if it weren't for his very distinctive nose, among the other fish-men, it would have been easy to miss him. As it was, Arlong turned out to be a blue-skinned sawshark fish-man. His species was evident from his long, sharp nose shaped like a double-edged saw, as well as his impressive teeth and the shark fin on his back. He wore a colorful, unbuttoned shirt, similar to the ones Luffy liked to wear, flip-flops, dark brown shorts, a lavender belt, and a genuine ushanka hat, from under which a thick mane of black hair fell to his shoulders.

"Have you decided not to pay me?" Arlong asked.

"No, it's just that some Marines came to your island and took your money from me."

"Is that so?" Arlong tried to feign genuine surprise, but to the very biased eyes of Johnny and Yosaku, he did a lousy job of it. "Well, that's a shame to hear. However, there's something you're wrong about. Even though the Marines came to my island, they still stole your money."

"Am I a member of your crew or not?" Nami asked in response. "I've been robbed, so help me."

"Sorry, but I don't want to mess with the Marines anytime soon. While you were away, we had to sink several of their ships, so now we're trying not to draw any more attention to ourselves, or else we'll never get any peace. Nothing can be done, Nami; you were just unlucky. Don't worry, I believe in your abilities, and I'm sure you'll be able to gather another hundred million without much trouble. Besides, I've heard rumors that you've managed to hook up with a rather remarkable company... Although, judging by who I see behind you, it seems the rumors were true."