Warm Memories and Brotherly Bonds

Chapter 41: Welcome to the Sabaody Archipelago

"He really had me scared here," present Chopper confessed. "I couldn't figure out just why attacking the Celestial Dragons was such a bad thing. I was afraid of what we were going to see here... and at first I thought it was because he didn't want us to attack them because he didn't want to cause them trouble. But..."

"But the truth was that he didn't want us to be the ones in trouble," Robin finished for him. "He knew what would happen if we fought back."

"But, of course Luffy, didn't listen even when he should," Nami sighed, looking around at the darkness. "Not that I mind it though... after all, those monsters would've taken Camie and Hachi as slaves. I don't think that I could live with myself for that.

"They deserved it if you ask me," Sanji said firmly. Anyone who was sick enough to want to buy slaves in the first place deserved nothing less than a good ass-kicking anyway. If this Holy Land, Mariejois was filled with people like the Celestial Dragons, then he knew that it had to be anything but 'holy'.

"Slaves... the Human shops..." Zoro muttered to himself in disgust, "If you ask me, it's people like them that make even the worst kinds of pirates seem humane in comparison. I admit that we're not saints, but at least we can be honest about it."

"Yeah, we don't go around thinking we're the greatest things since sliced bread," Franky added in revulsion. "The only thing that I regret about Luffy attacking that fat ass is the fact that we had to deal with an Admiral afterwards. But hey... what can you do?"

"Yeah," Nami nodded grimly to herself. "You know, it's people like them that make me almost feel bad for Arlong."

"But he's far from innocent," Brook reminded her. "He was no better than the Celestial Dragons. He was a hypocrite... accusing humans of looking down on Fishmen and thinking that humans are better than everyone else when he looked down on humans and preached about Fishmen superiority. In the end, he enslaved you no differently than the Nobles did..."

"Except he didn't make you wear exploding collar," Chopper whispered.

"He didn't need to," Nami said, her hand reaching up to touch her shoulder where her tattoo was. "He knew that I wouldn't leave my village. I guess... in a way... that was the chain that he kept me bonded with."

"Maybe... but you know, I think we're changing everyone's view on that," Robin reminded them. "After all... everyone on Fishman Island now sees that not all humans are bad. We won't be able to end discrimination on our own. But at least we did a lot to help end it."

"Yeah," Nami said smiling a little. "You're right... and maybe humans can see that not all Fishmen are bad." She wondered if she could bring Jimbei or even Hachi back to her home island someday and show them the same thing? That not all Fishmen are bad... and even the ones who had hurt them in the past can still change if they really wanted to. It was something to think about anyway, though she wasn't sure how well it will work out in the end.

But if she could forgive Hachi, then maybe everyone else back home can too?

She put that in the back of her mind as she causally watched the memory return and enjoy herself with the sights. Luffy was there of course, and he was with Camie, Hachi, and Pappug—as well as the memory counterparts of herself, Chopper, Robin, and Brook.

It really was a beautiful place, no one could deny that much. It was bright and open, filled with round buildings and bubbles drifting through the air. Everything seemed so carefree and new simply because they hadn't been to an island like this before. But that was also because it only seemed that way to them because they had no idea what really happened here either.

People were walking everywhere, doing their shopping, and carrying their baggage in bubbles attached to strings so that they looked like balloons. And though they were minding their own business, though everything seemed to be rather calm—and maybe they were imagining it—but there was a slight tenseness in the air.