Sanji spoke to the Fish-Men as he stepped toward them.
"Damn captain... what am I supposed to do if he and the first mate both leave me here?"
He thought that as he recalled what had just happened.
Back on the Going Merry, he watched Zoro gripping the rope tied to the two horns on the head of a cow-like [Sea Water].
****
"Luffy, this is going to be okay, right?"
"It's fine, Zoro. Sanji beat it up pretty good, so if it heads the wrong way, just pull the rope in the opposite direction and it'll steer itself back."
"Taming a [Sea Water] to pull the ship is a neat trick if you can pull it off—I know because I've done it."
"First, let's secure the rope somewhere..."
As soon as Luffy grabbed the rope from his wheelchair, with the [Sea Water] pulling the Going Merry forward at speed, Usopp called out.
"Zoro, you need to turn left from here."
"Got it, so pull the rope this way then..."
Wooooaaaah!
"Hey, Zoro! You haven't tied it down yet!"
"And you should be pulling the other way—why that way...!"
"Then you do it!"
"I want to do it too!"
"T-The rope...!"
"Zoro!"
Suddenly, as the [Sea Water] let out a cry, Zoro's body flew into the air, still clinging to the rope.
The other end of the rope whipped violently and wrapped around one of the wheels of Luffy's wheelchair, so...
"Whoa, whoaaa!!!"
"Sanji! Catch Luffy, quick!"
"I can't swim!"
"Luffy!!!"
And with that, Luffy and Zoro floated away with the [Sea Water], disappearing from Sanji and Usopp's sight.
****
Recalling that moment, Sanji turned to Nami, who stood beside Arlong.
"It's been a while, Nami."
"Hey, Sanji. I see you're with Usopp—so you've become Luffy's crew member, huh?"
"That's right, and you look every bit like a poor princess captured by a monster."
"But where's Luffy..."
"Nami, do you know this guy?"
"No, Arlong... we've only crossed paths once."
"Right, whether you know her or not doesn't matter much."
Saying that, Arlong stared at the hole in his right hand.
Blood continued to flow from his palm, where fish-man webbing typically would be.
"The important thing is that those lowly humans made me bleed!"
"As a cook, I hate sharks like you—you taste awful."
"Compared to other fish, you smell way too much like urine."
"What—urine...?!"
"Calm down, boss! First let's tend to your wound!"
"Right! We'll take care of those humans!"
After three Fish-Men walked past Arlong, he spoke to the one beside him.
"Hand over the medicine you stored earlier, now."
"Boss, Hody told you—the medicine shortens your lifespan when taken..."
"Just give it to me, now!"
"Ah, fine!"
Arlong took the small pill from the Fish-Man at his side and swallowed it in one gulp.
Meanwhile, two of the Fish-Men raised pistols, and the remaining one stepped right in front of Sanji.
"Hey, big-nosed human, don't you interfere again."
"If you do, one of you will for sure die."
"S-Sanji, maybe it's best to back off for now..."
"Three against one, Usopp—isn't that too few?"
"Hahaha! You really don't know, do you? A Fish-Man's average strength is ten times yours!"
"Ten times?"
"Exactly! And you, a mere human...!"
Before the Fish-Man could finish, Sanji kicked him square in the jaw.
Then, before the first Fish-Man could even hit the ground, Sanji swept his leg into the side of another.
"I've cleaned fish as big as you a thousand times in the restaurant kitchen."
"You bastard...!"
The Fish-Man who took the kick flew into a house wall, and the last one aimed his pistol at Sanji, so...
Bang!
"Nice shot, warrior of the sea."
"Of course—warrior of love!"
The last Fish-Man collapsed, a hole by his head, courtesy of Usopp's rifle shot.
"Those Fish-Men went down in an instant."
"Are you bounty hunters?"
"Those guys are strong!"
As the villagers marveled at the duo's feat, Kuroobi spoke among the Fish-Man pirates watching them.
"Do you want to die, you two?!"
"N-No, that's not it...!"
"Say one more word! I'll kill you along with them...!"
"Stand aside, Kuroobi!"
"Boss!"
While Kuroobi was speaking, Arlong – the whites of his eyes stained red – charged at Sanji.
"You human have the nerve to kill my men?!"
"You ingredient dare answer back to the cook?!"
"Die!!!"
As Sanji dodged Arlong's savage punch, Usopp aimed his rifle at the fish-man, so...
Crash!
"T-The wall...!?"
"Stay still, big-nosed human. If your finger twitches, I'll shoot my water cannon at you immediately."
Chuu of the Fish-Man Pirates smashed through the wall where Usopp hid with his water cannon and said.
"What kind of water breaks walls?!"
"If you shoot my boss, I'll kill you. If you shoot me, the boss will attack you next."
"So just pray for that slim chance your friend might win."
"Sanji...!"
While Usopp held his gun and spoke with Chuu, Sanji's kicks and Arlong's fists kept trading blows.
Sanji narrowly dodged Arlong's fist, which was two heads larger than him, while Arlong blocked Sanji's kicks with his limbs.
"Your texture is surprisingly tough."
"Rats like you... get caught once and you're dead!"
Saying that, Arlong crossed his arms to catch the incoming kick.
"Huh?"
"Quit flopping around, damn shark!"
But just as Sanji landed his kicking leg in front of Arlong, his other heel sliced into the back of Arlong's neck.
Slice!
Thud!
"Boss!"
"...!"
The moment the Fish-Men heard the dull sound echo from Arlong's neck, everyone there widened their eyes as they stared at them, so...
"The medicine's effect is more than...!"
"Can he withstand this?"
Grrrrr...!
Arlong turned his head and grabbed Sanji's leg, which was still in midair.
"You're too late!!!"
Crash!
Arlong hurled Sanji's leg toward a house in front of him.
The wall of the house crumbled upon impact, and debris from the broken building crushed Sanji's body, so...
"How the hell is his hand already...!?"
Through the fragments of the shattered house, Sanji's eyes landed on Arlong's hand—his bandages had come undone.
The center of his palm wasn't a hole but a small scar.
"Humans! Huuuuuman!!! I'll kill you all!!!"
"The boss has lost it!"
"We have to stop him! Otherwise he'll smash this place to pieces like Gosa Village!"
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
Arlong slammed both hands into the ground multiple times while prone, causing the earth to crack around him like a spiderweb.
The Fish-Men rushed to hold Arlong's arms, and Kuroobi said.
"Stop it, boss! If you wreck it this much, the protection money we collect will be too little!"
"I don't care about that anymore! With this power, we'll expand the number of villages we dominate!"
"Everyone restrain him! We're heading back to Arlong Park!"
"Let me go! I said let go!!!"
As Kuroobi's words echoed, most of the Fish-Men surrounded Arlong and led him away from the village, while Chuu kept looking back at Usopp as he walked and said.
"Just you wait, you humans—there won't be a next time."
"You're not coming, Nami?"
"...Fine."
Nami heard Chuu's words, turned with a cold look, and followed the Fish-Men.
Usopp watched the Fish-Man pirates retreating and ran over to Sanji.
"Sanji!"
"Everyone... please help those kids over there."
"Genzo, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, so hurry..."
Hearing Genzo's words while being supported by Nojiko, the villagers ran with Usopp toward Sanji.
Sanji, who was collapsed, was helped to his feet by Usopp and one of the villagers, and then someone walked toward them:
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Standing over three meters tall, his body was extremely fat.
Interestingly, his limbs were relatively short compared to his massive torso.
"You okay, Sanji?"
"That straw hat... is that you, Luffy?!"
"Huff, huff... yeah, it's me."
It was Luffy, now much fatter than before, surrounded by a faint golden aura.
The bandages wrapped only around Luffy's arms, and the coat he usually wore hung around his neck like a scarf.
"What happened to you! More importantly, how did you know we were here?!"
"From a distance, huff... it looked like you were in a fight with someone..."
"That was Arlong, Luffy. That shark guy is insanely strong."
"He was strong from the start... but in the middle of the fight he suddenly got even stronger."
"Anyway, I'm glad you're not badly hurt, Sanji."
"I had you lining up to blow that guy's head off, huff, huff... from a distance...!"
After Luffy said that and the glow in his golden eyes faded, Usopp spoke up.
"Wait, Sanji—Luffy got dragged away by the [Sea Water], remember?"
"Isn't that guy a fake?"
"Usopp, the captain who just tried to shoot beams from his eyes, huff... can't you even recognize my face?"
"You're too different! The chubby cheeks on the side of your face are the size of a person's head!"
"You said Luffy got dragged away with Zoro! Where's Zoro who went with you?!"
"I'm right here."
"Zoro!"
Zoro appeared walking alongside Luffy's sagging side belly.
Zoro was carrying a man with lavender hair in a wheelchair, and Sanji pointed at him with his finger.
"Who's the guy you're carrying?"
"Ah, this guy's a Marine... Luffy, what did you say his name was again?"
"Huff... Prinprin... hhrrhuff...!"
"Uh... in any case he's a Marine, and his rank is Rear Admiral."
"Wait a minute!"
At that moment, Genzo, who had been sitting in a chair, stood up and walked toward them.
"Are you Prinprin? The one the Gosa Village people said they called...!"
"Yeah, that's me... I got taken down by Arlong, and I lost my ship and crew too."
"So it was true that a Marine got beaten by Arlong..."
"...Embarrassingly, yes."
"Mr. Prinprin, you did your best, huff, huff...!"
"That's enough, Luffy. If you keep talking, you'll choke yourself."
"No wonder Prinprin wasn't answering his calls—he got beaten by Arlong."
"Is there a doctor around? This guy on my back is badly injured."
"Follow me for now! Everyone, lend a hand!"
So the old man, along with some other men, lifted Prinprin down from Zoro's back.
After they took Prinprin, his chest soaked in blood, somewhere else, Usopp looked up at Luffy and spoke.
"So it really is Luffy..."
"This guy... huff, I really doubted you...!"
"I had my reasons... anyway, what happened back there? And who was that Marine guy?"
"The [Sea Water] dragged Zoro and me... huff, huff!"
"Zoro... can you just explain it?"
"Well, you see... hmm?"
Luffy waved his now plumper, thicker hands through the air.
The golden light that emanated from his fingertips formed numbers and letters in the air, and as they drifted down onto the ground, they inscribed the following:
1. Rescued a stranded Marine on a small, remote island during the [Sea Water]'s rampage.
2. Regained control of the [Sea Water] and found the spot where the Going Merry had landed as we drifted at sea.
3. After landing there, I devoured the [Sea Water] to heal myself, then came here.
4. I used an inefficient method that sacrifices 90% of the energy gained from eating to speed up healing.
5. Thanks to that, I'm almost fully healed, but I'm so stuffed it's hard to breathe.
6. So unless it's necessary, don't talk to me.
Usopp spent a moment reading the words engraved on the ground with Sanji before looking up.
"Luffy, is number 4 even possible in reality, or is it just the power of the fruit you ate...?"
"That is... huff, huff!"
"Ah, sorry! Sorry! Either way works for me!"
"In the original story, Luffy's belly would just balloon when he ate a ton, but he never looked this uncomfortable."
"Luckily my skin can stretch enough for me to eat, but there's so much food in my stomach that it's hard to breathe."
"Original Luffy could eat his fill and still talk and fight just fine—why can't I?"
****
While Luffy was lost in thought, two people stood on the beach of Cocoyasi Village.
The Going Merry lay there, and on the sand before it was a giant animal skeleton.
"Wow~ that horned skull is huge! It's about the same size as the ship!"
"I know... but why is that skeleton here, and whose ship is that anyway?"
"The only ship that ever comes to our village is Arlong's."
"That's true."
As the two boys were admiring the bones and the Going Merry, one of them glanced out across the sea beyond the ship.
"Is that... Marines?"
What the boy saw was a ship with a blue hull bearing the Marine symbol.
****
"Usopp, since you and Sanji got here first, explain what's going on."
"Luffy, you look tired, but there's been quite a bit of action on our end too."
As the warship approached the village, Usopp answered Luffy's remark.
"Up until now, Nami was here."
"What?"
"Nami stayed right by that guy's side while Arlong was fighting Sanji—she was his ally!"
"Hey, Usopp, that's not even confirmed yet!"
"Cook, shut up—Usopp saw it, didn't you?!"
"You better hush too, Marimo—you weren't even here a moment ago!"
"Marimo? What's that?"
"It's a seaweed thing—it looks exactly like your head."
"Are you trying to pick a fight now?"
"I'm a gentleman—I don't fight patients, but if you pick on me, I won't hold back."
"Oh yeah? Your body's not exactly normal either, is it?"
"Then go ahead and check!"
"Both of you knock it off! What good does it do to fight among ourselves right now?!"
While Usopp tried to break up Zoro and Sanji's glare-down, Luffy watched them from above, thick veins bulging on both his fists.
"Nothing's going the way I planned."
"More than those two fighting in this situation, the thing that pisses me off the most is that I, pig that I am, can't do anything."
"I thought it'd be fine since I'm stronger than the protagonist in the original story, and that everything would work out more easily."
"But because of some unforeseen natural disaster, my body ended up like this."
"Watching my crew fight right now, all this pig can do is breathe in and out."
"Was I just too arrogant?"
"Um... do you guys know Nami?"
"...?"
While Luffy and his crew were causing a commotion, Nojiko spoke to them.
"I'm Nojiko, Nami's older sister."
"Nami's sister...? Both of you are so beautiful!"
"Thanks for the compliment. So you and Nami..."
"We're Nami's companions, and I'm especially close to her...!"
"Ignore Curly-Brow's words."
"We're pirates—Nami betrayed us and stole our money."
"Marimo, you said you couldn't hear it straight from Nami, right?"
"I see... then who's the captain among you?"
"..."
After hearing Nojiko's question, the three hesitated for a moment and then all turned their heads in the same direction.
"Guys, if my own crew sees me like that, what does that make me?"
They stared at Luffy, short, stout, his right arm raised.