48 Chapter 48: Progression

As the Strawhat pirates were officially confronting the Fishmen pirates, one of the Fishman was actually missing at the moment.

Hatchan, better known as Hachi, being an octopus Fishman, has eight appendages and an octopus-like face. He has pink skin and grey hair styled with five spikes.

Hachi has a muscular build and has suction cups on his six arms, which he can use to cling on to walls. With the same Sun Pirate mark printed on his forehead as many of his fellow fishmen, one can easily identify his previous alignment.

With a ridiculous gourd strapped on his back for the purpose of transporting others, Hachi was looking for their pet seaking.

Previously, he had tried to lure it out with his unique call, along with a wholly roasted animal. Alas, it was for naught as the sea cow never showed up.

Deciding to take the initiative, Hachi set off to search for the seaking of his own accord.

Almost an hour has passed since then, but no cow.

"MOOOHH...MOOO~"

A loud cry reverberated through out the surrounding area. With both his hands cupped to the sides of his mouth, Hachi gave it a final try.

Shaking his head in disappointment, Hachan had no choice but to give up on that stupid cow.

From the start, Hachi had only wandered the perimeter of the island near Arlong Park, thus, he was only a few minutes walk away from it.

Dejectedly, an octopus Fishman made his way back to Arlong Park with his shoulders drooping a little, not knowing the things that awaited him there.

Booom!

Just as the pagoda-like tower was within reach, a sound reminiscent of an explosion rang out that startled him. There was a brief flash of yellow light but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"What's going on~nyu!?"

Putting the restricting pot on his back down, Hachi dashed at full speed towards the pool.

As he got closer, he heard the angry shout of a familiar voice which only added on to his momentum.

Soon, Hachi got past the clearing and the pool area came into sight.

At first, he was confused as to exactly what was going on. Observing everything before his eyes, he could see the awed faces of many villagers whom looked familiar, two blondes who were comically arguing, and worst...many, if not all, of his fellow Fishmen, laid waste on the ground.

Scratching his head furiously in confusion on how this could possibly happen, Hachi stepped over a fragment of concrete which used to be part of the tower.

Most parts of the structure looked as if it took a massive hurricane head on, sparsely leaving behind undamaged areas. Even then, the Arlong Tower stood tall, and did not crumble into pieces.

"Who's the bastard that did this~nyu!!?"

His body convulsed violently as if he was trying to shake off a poisonous snake which accidentally crawled on him, Hachi felt anger rising from the pits of his stomach. As a simple man, he didn't bother hiding how he was currently feeling at the moment.

Making a B-line straight for the nearest human, Hachi already drew out all six of his swords, making him look particularly dangerous.

By now, some people had already noticed the reappearance of another one of the Fishmen who they remembered as one of the strongest.

"I'll kill you!"

With rage already consuming him just like Arlong, Hachi swung three of his swords at the first human he came into contact with.

Usually, he wasn't like Arlong and the rest. While he, too, harbored some hatred for humans considering all of the things he experienced in his life, it wasn't to the point of wanting to kill all of them for it. He did not share the other's view of humans being an inferior species compared to Fishmen, even then, Hachi still tagged along with Arlong and the others because they were his friends...people he grew up with.

However, witnessing the sorrowful conditions of so many of his fellow Fishmen, it made him go into a momentary state of frenzy.

Clink!

Just as Hachan thought his swords were going to slice through the human like a hot knife through butter, it didn't happen. The sound of metallic clash resounded instead.

With the red in his eyes slowly fading back within, Hachi glanced in front of him to take a better look at what happened just now.

In front of him, a man who looked like he was in his early adulthood stood there. With a single katana laid out in front of him in an almost lazy manner, green hair fluttered about in the wind.

For reasons unknown to Hachi, the young man's skin tone looked a little unnaturally dark, as if he just came out of a burning building.

"Who the hell are you~nyu?"

Bewildered as to how someone was actually able to stop his rampage, Hachi asked the young man in front of him.

"Me? I'm Roronoa Zoro. Who the hell are you?"

A scary glint flashed briefly in his eyes as Zoro introduced himself, which unnerved the Fishman a little.

"Nyu~ You're the famous 'bounty hunter'? Ah..my name is Hachan, but my friends call me Hachi."

Hachan's voice turned a bit subservient as he introduced himself as well, however, when he remembered what these humans have done, the same anger surged through him again.

"Roronoa Zoro, What you've done here is unforgivable! I'll take revenge for my brethren~nyu..."

"It wasn't even me who did this...but oh well. I've been itching for a fight as well. So bring it, octopus-face!"

With an almost animalistic grin on his face, Zoro charged towards the six swords wielding Hachan as well.

...

Meanwhile, at Nami and Nojiko's house.

A moment ago, the two sisters brought Genzo's limp body inside the house so that they could leave it there temporarily.

Luffy and the others, as well as the villagers, had already headed for Arlong Park, so they had to go as well.

The place was eerily silent, it was as if not even the wind dared to interrupt the solemn atmosphere.

With the uncomfortable silence hanging in the air, Nami wiped away the last of her tears and headed out together with Nojiko.

"Hang on a minute." Nojiko suddenly said. She walked past Nami and headed inside her own room.

The room was average. With a single bed in the left corner and several other things such as a table, few chairs, and a book shelf. The interior of the room was mostly wooden, so it lacked even the basic carpet.

A bit higher on the same side as the bed, there hung a picture. The picture was framed plainly, however, it meant a lot to both Nami and Nojiko.

This was because in the picture, the figure of a busty woman in her late 20s stood there with a smile. On both sides of her body, two young girls were also there, beaming up at her as if vying for her attention. Naturally, this was the picture of Bellemere and the young Nojiko and Nami.

Upon entering the room, the first thing Nojiko noticed was naturally the picture which she spent many nights gazing at, however, she shook off the sorrowful nostalgia which couldn't help but assault her.

As she wasn't there to reminisce the past, Nojiko had to straighten her state of mind which was being tempered continuously throughout the entire day.

Rummaging through her room, books, pillows, and bedsheets, among other things, flew about in the air.

"There you are.."

With a contented sigh, Nojiko lifted up a large rectangular box which was covered in dust. Embroidered in nothing but the color black, the box appeared to be very simple at a glance.

However, those who are fooled by its outer appearance would surely suffer a painful death for underestimating the content within.

With the unassuming case strapped firmly across from her left shoulder to the opposite side of her hips, Nojiko walked out of the house with a resolute expression.

Standing in front of the porch, Nami quietly waited for her sister to emerge. After a few minutes, Nojiko finally came out. The woman looked like she was finally rid of something that had been poisoning her for years because her facial features became much better. No longer filled with grief or loss.

'I need to toughen up as well..' Nami thought.

"Let's go." Nojiko motioned for the both of them to finally make their way to Arlong Park.

During the journey, Nami kept glancing at the thing strapped onto her sister in bewilderment and slight curiosity. After all, she did not remember Nojiko possessing something like that, even though it looked a bit familiar.

"What is that on your back?" Unable to hold it in any longer, Nami finally asked the question.

However, all she got in return was a shake of Nojiko's head and an annoying smirk she was getting used to.

"You'll find out later."