"Come on, let's go grab a drink at Shyarly's place!"
Encouraged by the others, Arlong finally broke into a grin.
"My treat!"
"Yeah!!!"
Kuroobi and the others immediately burst into cheers, crowding around Arlong in excitement.
Unlike Arlong, who now served as a soldier under the Ryugu Army and drew a steady salary, they were still just street punks from Fishman District. And unlike merfolk, who mostly avoided eating fish and meat, fishmen were pure carnivores.
For them, drinking was a luxury they couldn't often afford.
The group left.
From the shadows of a nearby alley, Monet finally broke free from Yamato's hand covering her mouth, glaring daggers at her while her expression turned icy cold.
"A mere Yonko? That damn fish really knows how to talk big. Why did you stop me, Yamato?! I was about to slice that fish up into sashimi!"
"Hehehe, don't be mad, Monet!"
Yamato tried to soothe her, gently patting Monet's chest while her bright black eyes darted around.
"They mentioned launching some sort of 'holy war,' didn't they? Sounds like a conspiracy. We should sneak in and destroy their entire plot."
"You just want to mess around!!"
Monet smacked Yamato's hands away in frustration, clearly helpless when it came to dealing with her chaotic companion.
"Heeheehee, come on, let's go!"
Knowing that Monet had already cooled down, Yamato tugged on her hand and quietly followed after the group.
...
A short while later, near the plaza, inside a mermaid café—
"Shyarly! Gimme a few mugs of ale!"
Arlong swaggered in like he owned the place, his menacing demeanor clashing with the calm atmosphere and the café's patrons—both merfolk and human.
If it weren't for the Ryugu Army uniform on his back, the place might've erupted into panic.
"You're so loud! Keep it down, you're disturbing the other customers."
The reply came from Shyarly, only nine years old and still just an apprentice. She was visibly annoyed, but still got to work preparing the drinks.
Though she and Arlong were half-siblings and their personalities were polar opposites…
And even though she deeply disagreed with his views on humans...
It was thanks to Arlong that a three-year-old like her had even survived growing up in Fishman District.
"Tch! You brat—I'm your brother, is this how you talk to me?!"
Arlong slammed his hand on the bar and sat down with his crew, clearly irritated.
"This is exactly how I talk to you. Living like this will only lead to your own destruction."
Shyarly flung a tray of food and drinks onto the bar and rolled her eyes.
As a fortune-teller, she had read her brother's future countless times.
And no matter how the details shifted, Arlong's fate always ended in prison.
Her words instantly reignited Arlong's fury. He grabbed a drink and downed it in one gulp before pointing at the humans seated in the café and roaring:
"You brat! Are you saying I should treat them like you do?!"
Sensing things escalating, some customers quickly got up and left.
"Shyarly, I left the Belly on the table. I'll come back next time to try more of your coffee!"
As more customers walked out, Shyarly's temper flared as well.
"What are you yelling about?! These are humans who've lived peacefully on Fishman Island for years! They're not traffickers or raiders. Not all humans are the same!!!"
Every time Arlong came by, her café's business took a hit.
"Hmph!"
The humans fleeing the café only made Arlong more smug. He looked down arrogantly at his little sister and started spouting his usual nonsense.
"All humans are the same—trash, lowly creatures! Only fishmen are a superior race! Even our strength is dozens of times greater than theirs!"
Shyarly was trembling with rage, chest heaving as she struggled to find words for her idiot brother.
"If your race is so superior, then why are you all still trapped down here 10,000 meters under the sea?!"
A calm voice rang out.
"You wouldn't understand. We're just gathering strength to strike back!"
Arlong snapped back without even turning around.
"Hmph. All I see is a scumbag who bullies little girls."
A figure with long horns suddenly appeared beside Shyarly, patting her gently on the back.
"You okay?"
"Uh… yeah, I'm fine."
Shyarly looked up at Yamato's genuine concern and responded with a soft smile.
Arlong's pupils contracted.
He recognized her—this was one of the kids sent by Doflamingo.
Don't tell him… she heard everything he just said?
"Just a piece of trash who picks on little girls. If you hate humans so much... If you hate human traffickers so much, then what about the human auction houses on Sabaody Archipelago? Why don't you attack those?!"
Monet, a noble turned street orphan, now living a new life, instantly saw through Arlong's cowardice.
She stood by the door, glaring at him with undisguised contempt.
Arlong turned toward the green-haired girl, face darkening.
Those places were guarded by Celestial Dragons and the Marines.
How could he dare attack them? What strength did he have to fight back?
He struggled for a response.
"I… we're just… biding our time. Waiting to get stronger…"
"Excuses!"
Monet cut him off coldly. Her sneer deepened.
"Before BOSS even became a Yonko, when he'd just stepped into the Grand Line from the North Blue… He already stormed a human trafficking hub and saved countless people."
"You were born in the Grand Line and have strength dozens of times greater than a human's. So why haven't you saved your own enslaved kin? Is it lack of power? Or lack of courage?!"
"Admit it. Cowards like you are the real trash."
Her words shredded Arlong's mask to pieces.
She was right—he was afraid to strike at the Celestial Dragons.
"Woooah, nice one, Monet!"
Yamato clapped and cheered, eyes sparkling with admiration.
Even Shyarly's eyes were glowing with excitement.
Their praise made Arlong's face grow darker and darker.
"Since when do humans get to judge how we fishmen live?!"
Arlong bent his knees, and with a loud crack, shattered the wooden floor under his feet.
He shot toward Monet like a torpedo.
"Trash will always be trash. What's wrong? Can't even defend your own logic anymore?!"
Even with Arlong charging in like a missile, Monet's sharp tongue didn't falter for a second.
Whoosh!
Like a feather in the wind, she was blown aside, barely brushing past Arlong.
Twin ice spikes in her hands sliced across his body as she passed.
CRASH!
The café door exploded as Arlong smashed through, leaving behind a gaping, human-shaped hole.
"Arlong!!!"
Things happened too fast—Hachi and Kuroobi only now reacted, shouting in panic.
"I'm fine!"
Arlong's loud voice rang out from outside.
"Hurry and call Jinbei!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg