In One Piece, as Hashirama Senju

[66] Before A Supreme King

Chapter 66: Before A Supreme King

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As the terrible feeling of dread filled with the eventual feeling of being misunderstood by many, further mixed with the feeling of guilt knowing their savior would die soon after—Nami and Nojiko bit their lips to stop their tears from creating a mess.

"Oh god, what are you punishing those girls for..."

"Fucking fish bastards... if only we were stronger."

"Hey, shh, careful! What if they heard you?"

The crowd whispered from around the fishmen who were keeping Nami and Nojiko captivated. Those two girls were the most adorable ones this island had to offer, and everyone liked them. To see them in this state, hurt all of the islanders deeply—but they could do nothing but curse under their breaths.

The seven fishmen took the opposite side of the crowd, standing under the palm tree. While the humans made a crowd before them, all wearing dreadful expressions.

The 8-foot-tall fishman that was Arlong seemed delighted now that all islanders were gathered. His tall head looked around, in search of the foolish man who had come to this island, but he couldn't notice him amidst the crowd.

Arlong sat down on the concrete platform that was circling around the root of the palm tree. He threw the two girls forward, causing them to fall to their faces—earning a nasty bruise on their shoulders.

"Ahg-"

Both girls grunted at the same time, and the islanders looked visibly pained at that. Arlong didn't even flinch and waved his hand at the crowd.

"I am not going to tie them up. I am sure they won't run. They know the consequences if they do, shahaha."

"Now, where do I start? I knew humans were lowly and trash, and I knew they stab each other on their backs—unlike we great fishmen. It always amuses me to see the betrayals. This feels sweet on my tongue, actually. Reminds me of the old days..."

The old days when the Sun Pirates were backstabbed by the family of the human child they saved. The old days when Vice-Admiral Borsalino washed the floor with them. That incident had killed the little bit of faith Arlong had in humans.

"To go to the point from the get-go,"

Arlong grabbed a piece of paper from one of his comrades and raised it above his head, allowing all to see what was the content of the paper. A series of gasps left the people at once.

"A bounty poster. The young human Nami brought this time around, has a bounty. It's a big number, too. Thing is, he is a weakling. All that bounty is because he kidnapped a princess. He is not that strong."

"Do you humans know the goal I gave Nami? Eight years ago, I told her to give me a hundred million berries. If she did, she would have bought off all of your lives. I would have left the island and left you, humans, alone. That was the goal, that was my promise to her."

Not that he was ever going to live up to that promise. But he wasn't going to mention that.

Arlong put the bounty post down and continued his words while wearing a grin.

"Finally, she got the chance to pay the bounty to me. She just had to sell that boy to the marines and pay me. However, did she do that?"

The islanders slowly exchanged glances. They knew the hard life Nami was leading for them, so they didn't believe the implication Arlong was doing, but it did confuse them. Why did she not sell a criminal? Why not take the easier route?