Chapter 18 — Nami Gets Drunk
As the pirate with the highest bounty in the East Blue, Arlong carried an ego as sharp as the jagged teeth of a shark. His pride was inseparable from his very being. And why wouldn't it be? As a sawtooth shark Fish-Man, his body alone was a weapon.
A serrated nose that could slice through bone, arms capable of lifting entire houses with ease, steel-like bones that refused to break, endlessly regenerating teeth, and a jaw strong enough to crunch through a cannonball in a single bite. These were not exaggerations—they were terrifying facts. On top of that, Arlong wielded the elite Fish-Man technique known as Water Shot, turning ordinary droplets of water into razor-sharp, bullet-like projectiles.
Even with all that, his bounty of twenty million berries didn't truly reflect his strength. Compared to Krieg, who had burned, murdered, and plundered his way to a 17 million bounty purely through ruthless efficiency, Arlong's raw power exceeded it by an unmeasurable margin. Yet, none of that meant the slightest thing against Jack.
Jack, now fully transformed into the fearsome Honey Badger, raised his right hand once again. A soft pink glow pulsed across his skin, the unmistakable signature of the Slip-Slip Fruit activating.
This—this was his ultimate trump card, the culmination of everything he had survived and mastered after dancing on the edge of death. Only in this form could he truly claim the title of a dual Devil Fruit user: Honey Badger Fruit + Slip-Slip Fruit.
Technically, his full beast form should have been the strongest—but it was simply too ugly. Jack had rejected it without hesitation. It wasn't necessary. This mode alone was more than sufficient.
Slip—slide.
The friction between Jack's feet and the ground vanished completely. Yet, he remained in full control of his movements. While his burst speed didn't quite rival the likes of Soru from the Six Powers, it came terrifyingly close.
Because Jack wasn't just ignoring the friction beneath his feet—he had erased air resistance as well. Every step, every pivot, every twist of his body was unhindered, fluid, instantaneous. The battlefield became his personal arena, and the enemies around him, nothing more than helpless prey.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arlong and his men could barely register his movements. Their eyes followed shadows, shapes, phantoms, but never the man himself. Every strike Jack delivered was precise, lethal, and clean. From a distance, it appeared as if Jack alone had surrounded the entire Arlong Pirates crew, cutting through them like a storm of death.
Blood pooled on the ground. Screams echoed, then faded. Arlong gasped for breath, his chest heaving under the weight of his injuries. One moment of carelessness and Jack could be upon him, delivering strikes that could have disemboweled him had his Fish-Man skin not been so resilient.
"Bastard! Stop running! If you've got the guts, face me!"
Humiliation and rage intertwined in a deafening roar. Arlong's pride as the strongest Fish-Man in the East Blue screamed in defiance. Yet in the blink of an eye, nearly everyone he had brought with him lay dead. The officers—once fierce and confident—were nothing more than collapsed bodies, fates uncertain, scattered across the battlefield.
A vicious glint sparked in Arlong's eyes. He knew—he had to act. If he didn't, he would be finished.
Spreading his arms in a desperate attempt to protect his vital points, he surged forward at full speed, aiming straight for Nami, who watched helplessly from afar.
Nami's heart skipped a beat. Without a second thought, she turned and ran.
By now, it was clear to her—Arlong was doomed. The pirate hunter, whom she had once dismissed as a rotund, harmless man, was overwhelmingly powerful. He had crushed Arlong's crew completely, effortlessly. Nami wasn't about to become a hostage—or worse, a casualty.
Seeing her flee, Arlong's frustration boiled over. Another deep gash ran across his back, pain flashing across his face, yet he summoned every ounce of strength left in him. With a deafening roar, he slammed his fist into the pool before him.
Water Shot!
Droplets imbued with lethal kinetic force shot through the air like a relentless hailstorm. The sound of piercing whistles filled the atmosphere as Nami sprinted desperately, barely daring to glance back at the sheer terror she had unleashed.
And yet… the pain never came.
Blinking through tears of fear, she forced her eyes open—and saw the impossible. The pirate hunter she had assumed to be a simple, fat lamb stood firmly before her, arms outstretched, body a living shield. He had taken the attack meant to kill her.
"Y-you okay…?" she stammered, her voice trembling.
Jack's calm figure seemed impossibly reassuring. Nami's heart ached with a mix of gratitude and guilt.
"Get farther away. This guy is dead for sure!" Jack growled, his eyes flashing.
Arlong, meanwhile, had completely lost the will to fight. The attacks meant to injure or even kill Jack had bounced off him harmlessly, slipping from his body as though he were made of liquid. Zoan user? What had he just witnessed? That ground-sliding movement, the effortless deflection of deadly Water Shots…
It no longer mattered. Jack had already decided. Nami was safe, and the rest—well, they would pay the price for crossing him.
"SHARK·ON·DARTS!"
How he even managed to shout such a cringeworthy name was a mystery.
Arlong charged, his jagged nose glinting like a blade under the sun, his eyes filled with a mix of fury and desperation. But Jack didn't even flinch. He simply twisted his torso with fluid precision. Arlong's razor-sharp snout scraped along his body—and did nothing. Not a scratch. Not even a bruise. It was as if the attack had passed through him entirely, leaving only the faintest ripple in the air.
Jack didn't waste a moment. He raised his right hand high, the veins on his forearm taut with energy, and slammed it down with all the force he could muster.
The clawed hand, encased in the glowing Infinity Gauntlet, tore through the air like a meteor. It pierced directly through Arlong's spine, pinning him to the ground as if he were nothing more than a puppet. His struggles grew weaker with every second, his mighty limbs flailing pointlessly. The Fish-Man's strength—legendary as it was—meant nothing here. He was completely immobilized.
Arlong's eyes widened in shock, and then he spat out a massive mouthful of blood, his body trembling from the pain and the realization that it was over.
"Why… why could you… slide away… my attacks…?" he rasped, choking on his own defeat.
Jack leaned slightly closer, his voice low, cold, and malicious, carrying a weight of satisfaction only a predator could muster.
"Ever heard of a dual Devil Fruit user?" he whispered.
With that, he struck again—this time clean and merciless. The blow severed Arlong's fish head in a single motion, a swift arc of death. The head rolled across the battlefield, eyes wide in disbelief, shock etched permanently on its grotesque features.
Silence followed for a heartbeat. Then, Jack released the stacked transformations, the glow from his Devil Fruits disappearing in a subtle shimmer. He returned to his normal form, his breathing even, his posture relaxed.
"Only a few minutes, and I'm already this tired…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "If I get more fruits later… won't I just… drain myself dry in a second?"
Looks like this reckless, pay-to-win method of enhancing himself with Devil Fruits needed a lot more practice. Otherwise, forget snapping fingers—he'd explode first!
Picking up Arlong's 'valuable' head, Jack walked toward Nami, the villagers drawn by the noise, and his crew.
"You really did it?!"
Staring at Arlong's head, hatred, anger, disbelief, relief—countless emotions surged through Nami all at once.
"I keep my promises. The Arlong Pirates have been completely wiped out. Inside should be the wealth they extorted and plundered over the years. How you return it to its rightful owners is up to you, Nami."
Turning against Nami over money would be unbelievably stupid.
Jack knew his only real goal was to abduct—no, recruit—this incredibly easy-on-the-eyes genius navigator. Everything else could wait.
With that, he left freely, leading his people away under the villagers' respectful gazes.
After he left, no one knew what Nami said—but the villagers' cheers echoed across the entire island!
That night, all the alcohol was brought out into the square, and the villagers celebrated wildly!
And Nami, honoring her promise, drank more than a dozen barrels of liquor in front of everyone's horrified stares—until she finally collapsed drunk.
Jack didn't take advantage of the opportunity. He simply smiled and had Nojiko take her home instead.