As Aron and his officers walked out of the collapsed building's debris, Usopp glanced at Luffy beside him and spoke.
"Luffy, what's the difference between what you just fired and the one you shot at Aron before?"
"Not much different from my Dragon-Slaying Bullet."
"Dragon-Slaying Bullet?"
"All the techniques I use with my Devil Fruit are part of my Qi Gong system—a special branch I developed to kill strong foes and reptilian freaks. It's called [Dragon-Slaying Qi Gong].
"And the basic move where I gather my power in one spot and fire it is the [Dragon-Slaying Bullet]. What I just used was the [Dragon-Slaying Burst Bullet]—where I collect as much power as I can in an instant, split it into small shots, and fire them at once."
Usopp looked around awkwardly. "Kind of weird to be naming your moves right now…is it really necessary?"
"…Are you asking me that seriously?" Luffy shot back.
Just then, Zoro, Sanji, and Nami all fixed grim looks on Usopp. Zoro spoke up first.
"You should name special moves you put your all into, Usopp. Gives you that extra focus when you use them—like a signature attack."
"I don't care much about fancy 'special attacks,' " Usopp scoffed.
"Still, deciding on a name for a technique is essential—whether you're teaching it, learning it, or using it in combat," Zoro continued.
"Especially when the name jumps into your head—it drives your spirit, like Rayleigh taught me."
"Hey, Cook—wasn't that just saying 'getting pumped up'? Isn't that the same thing?"
"I never said I cared about special attacks," Usopp muttered.
"Special attack…so you just shout out a name like a cartoon hero when you use it?"
"Ah…well…"
Usopp trailed off as the other three glared at him, silently judging his idea.
"That's a no-go…" Zoro shook his head.
"Usopp, naming a move and actually yelling its name are two different things," Sanji said. "Better to throw ten more punches than waste time shouting. That's only allowed in cartoons."
'Shouting technique names mid-fight is a cartoon-only concession. In Baratie, Zoro never screamed 'Three Thousand Worlds'—he just said it in his head.'
'If opponents really shouted their move names, I'd smack them ten times over while they moved their lips.'
'Glad reality buffed out that cartoon nonsense.'
'I'd be too embarrassed to do it myself.'
"Got it, Luffy…still, I get what you guys mean."
"I want to give my own special move a name, too!" Usopp declared.
"Alright, but first let's handle what's in front of us." Luffy said, turning back to watch Aron and his crew, now in a different form, stride toward them.
'His hair's gone white and he's gotten stronger—must be those Energy Steroids that trade lifespan for power.'
'It was originally one of the treasures of the royal family on Fish-Man Island: a pill that boosts your strength tenfold for a while.'
'In the original story, that fish-man Hody Jones stole it from Ryugu Palace and mass-produced it in pill form.'
'He fed it to thousands of fish-men, then staged a coup on Fish-Man Island.'
'But Aron never took it in the original—I wonder if this world's different.'
As Luffy thought, Aron knelt on one knee and bowed his torso. Then he picked up the body of a dead fish-man comrade, a hole eaten clean through his chest, and embraced it.
"I'm sorry, Eddy…this is my fault. I was too weak, and you died because of me."
"You know it well. You were weak, so you died."
"…Alright, enough small talk, yeah?"
"I heard that. You got any fancy move names of your own?" Aron spat.
"Stop it!!!"
KUNG!
Aron slammed the ground with his fist. The packed floor of Arlong Park cracked like a spider's web around him.
"Can't you see my dead comrades here?! And you're cracking jokes with that mouth of yours?!"
"What, you want me to apologize?" Usopp fired back.
"…Humans have always been like this." Luffy muttered.
As the fish-man pirates glared at Luffy, Aron put his comrade's body down, left the officers at his back, and towered over Luffy.
"You think us fish-men are no different from fish dragged up in a net, don't you?"
"Do you even know what happens when you take those pills?"
"If you gain more than you lose, I don't care."
"I'll build a paradise on Earth for fish-men, not in the dark seabed of Fish-Man Island—here, in East Blue."
"I won't waste my lifespan if it helps me achieve that!"
"Your tongue's too long, you shark bastard."
"Kill them all!!!"
Aron roared, and both sides charged at each other.
*****
"Wait, Nami! Where do you think you're going?!"
"Genzo, I have to go!"
Nami, her forehead, left arm, and right leg wrapped in bandages, dashed away from Genzo's calls.
"You're hurt too—stay here!"
"I won't listen, Uncle."
"Nojiko…"
"Nobody can stop her now. She never listens anyway."
"Aren't you worried?"
"…I love how brave she is—my little sister."
With Nojiko's smile and Genzo's stern look behind her, Nami ran on.
Her breath grew ragged and her legs wobbled, but she kept going.
BANG!
Suddenly, Nami heard a gunshot and saw a figure fall in the distance.
"Usopp!!!"
"Nami…!"
Nami sprinted toward the fallen Usopp, who lay clutching his side with a gun in his hand.
"Are you okay, Usopp?! What happened…!"
"Nami…I got one down."
Usopp lay on the ground, holding up one finger. Nami looked in that direction.
Choo, one of the fish-man officers, lay sprawled with a small hole in the center of his forehead, blood trickling out.
"While I was running…I told him his lips moved faster than my bullet."
"Then he shot a water jet—but it only grazed my leg."
"With that skill of his…so I let him hit me a few times and gave him one hole in the head. Hahaha…ugh!"
"Usopp…"
"Help me up…we have to get back to Luffy."
"Right, let's go together."
Nami slung Usopp's arm over her shoulder, and they moved forward.
*****
While Nami supported Usopp, Zoro faced off against Hatchi and Sanji fought Kuroobi.
Hatchi, wielding six swords—three in each hand—swept them down at Zoro.
"Why are you defying us? Humans just have to listen to what we say!"
"Eight years…plenty of time for a predator in his herd to teach the livestock their place."
"You're still just a human! Can't you see how many swords I'm holding?!"
"As Boss said, you can't beat us biologically!!!"
"You don't get it…"
Hatchi unleashed all six swords at Zoro.
"As a girl, I…can't become the world's greatest swordsman."
KLANG!
In an instant, Zoro, remembering his promise to Kuina, blocked the six blades with his three swords.
At the same time, Hatchi's upper body was cleaved, and he collapsed, gushing blood from his chest.
"Biology or not…I hate that excuse!" Hatchi sputtered as Zoro's two remaining swords behind his back shattered into pieces.
'They were borrowed—can't give them back now.'
'Better check on the Cook's fight than Luffy's right now.'
Zoro dropped the broken hilts and held his remaining sword in his right hand as he turned to the sound of rapid blows exchanged between Sanji and Kuroobi.
"The Boss thinks Nami's useful so he's sparing her—but I'm different!"
"Starting with you, I'll kill every last villager and Nami too!"
"A rat who made habit of betrayal…"
"Who made a stingray call me that?" Sanji asked as Kuroobi swung a heavy arm.
But Sanji wasn't there—he'd slipped behind Kuroobi and sprang up from the ground.
"Try holding out, like your Boss did."
"Already…!"
"Time for your tidy-up, ray rat!"
'Slice!'
THUD!
Sanji drove his elbow into Kuroobi's nape. Kuroobi's head and torso slammed to the ground, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
"You took long enough—I finished it ages ago." Zoro said as he approached Sanji.
"Ages ago my ass. Think I didn't see you beat that octopus?" Sanji shot back.
"Did I have time to watch you fight when I was winning? Would've preferred that."
"Marimo, if you weren't hurt…"
"You're the one who got knocked out by Aron…"
"Guys!"
"Nami!!!"
They all turned at Nami's voice. She approached, holding Usopp on her shoulder.
"You two okay…?"
"Hand Usopp over, Nami. We're in better shape than you're in now."
"Right, Nami. We're still good to fight."
"Ah…thanks."
Zoro and Sanji swapped shoulders to hold Usopp, and Nami looked toward where Luffy and Aron stood.
Aron had just launched a punch at Luffy, smashing off a chunk of earth as he propelled himself forward.
"Luffy…!"
"Don't interfere, Nami."
"Sorry, but we can't help."
"If you get tangled up, it'll only hinder Luffy."
Luffy lightly swung his arm at Aron. Aron rocketed backward into a building, smashing through its wall before collapsing to the ground.
"I'm…not done yet…!"
"Those pills are insane."
Aron, crumpled, looked down at his shredded left arm and side.
GROAN…GROAN…
His bleeding wounds began to make grotesque sounds and writhe.
In moments, Aron's arm and side had fully regenerated. He balled his fist and lifted it.
Water instantly formed around his fist, gathering into droplets like pearls that encased his knuckles.
"One reason fish-men are superior: we can manipulate water." Aron declared. "That includes water in and outside the body. My droplets can easily shatter rock."
"I even killed Nami's mother with this!"
"Aron…!"
At the same moment, dozens of water droplets flew toward Luffy from Aron's fist.
Luffy swung his Haki-encased arm and created a golden shield that stopped the droplets head-on.
"Bragging about that? Spraying bubbles like a kid's water gun?"
"Only a few elite fish-men who control water use [Fish-Man Karate]. With one strike, they can shake the water in an opponent's body."
"You can pretend you're fine on the outside, but I know your insides have been turned upside-down!"
"No, you idiot—I'm fine inside."
"Ha! That swagger won't last. And I've got the steroids' insane healing too!"
"With this power, I could rule all of East Blue!"
"Someone who gets so pumped they lose situational awareness…" Luffy muttered.
'If Aron had been only slightly stronger than me, I'd have been on edge. I tested his pill power lightly—but his regeneration is beyond imagination.'
'And the internal damage from [Fish-Man Karate] hits all through your core. Even healed, that'd be annoying—if not truly dangerous.'
'I've had enough cushion that I can't drag this out—or my friends will get caught in it. Hmm?'
Luffy looked around and saw dozens of sheets of paper scattered across the ground.
He picked up one at his feet.
"A map…"
"Oh…is that from the survey room?"
"Did Nami make these?" Luffy asked.
"Don't touch them, human. Do you know their value?" Aron snarled.
"You destroyed Nami's room. These are the maps she spent eight years making."
"Aron!" Nami cried.
"Nami, I brought a bothersome foe, but the result's the same—I'll win!" Aron snarled.
"I survived alone, so I could kill these villagers—and Nami too—all by myself."
"Then I'll bring hundreds from Fish-Man Island. I can do it now."
"Choose now! If you stay with me, I'll spare the villagers…!"
Aron's voice trailed off as Luffy cut him off.
"Nami, what should we do with these?"
Nami looked down at the maps she'd drawn over eight years, then met Luffy's eyes.
"You spent eight years on these…" Luffy said softly.
"Luffy…"
"If you want, I'll kill him and keep every last one."
"He's dying—stop the posturing!"
"You can sell them if you like—they're yours."
"So…do whatever you want."
Nami recalled memories from her childhood.
The first was when she got her room at Arlong Park.
"Nami, from today on this is your room. I've set up a desk, pens, and books to help you map the world."
The second was when she deliberately made a bad map.
"You brat! You tricked me with a fake map?! You don't care what happens to these villagers?!"
The third was a few days after that beating, when her face and body were still swollen.
"I brought books from the looted town to help you make maps. Don't leave this room until you finish one proper chart!"
Nami drew maps through tears.
Though she'd wanted it since she was a child, she wasn't happy.
In her memories, she never once enjoyed making maps.
"Burn them all, Luffy."
"What are you saying, Nami?!"
Nami, wearing Luffy's straw hat, shouted.
"Charting maps was my dream—but making them here wasn't fun!"
"It just made me angry and cry! So please, Luffy!"
"Please burn every last one!!!"
"Okay."
Luffy formed a Dragon-Slaying Bullet in his palm—but it glowed red instead of gold.
"It's a bad deal power-wise, but it can't be helped."
"Fire's better for burning paper."
"No, don't!"
As Luffy swung the red bullet in his hand, flames poured out in all directions.
Aron leapt at him, but he and the maps around him were engulfed in fire.
"Ugh…how dare you burn my maps—!"
"They weren't yours—they were Nami's."
The papers and everything around them were blackened to ash. Aron, scorched, stood up from the center.
"Do you know their worth?!" Aron spat.
"Nami's talent's beyond imagination. How many can draw a chart that precise in this sea?"
"How great fish-men are, or how precise maps are—that's not up to me."
"There's only one important fact now."
Luffy's Haki flared and took the shape of a dragon's head around him.
The dragon opened its jaws wide toward Aron and the ruined building behind him.
"Hurting my crew once was enough."
[Dragon-Slayer Roar Blast]!
[Fish-Man Karate: Sharkskin Fist]!
Aron rushed in with water swirling around his arms—this time, the water covered his entire arm and whipped forward with his punch.
'The water around his arm…it's being pushed away…!'
But the dragon's energy beam blasted through the water, striking Aron's body.
KWAANG!!!
In an instant, the fish-man officers' vision turned golden as they were sent flying backward.
The torrent of Haki swept away the ground and wreckage in its path.
The hill of Aron and debris vanished without a trace, leaving a cratered plain.
'So this is Luffy's…true full power…!'
The stunned officers gathered at the crater's rim—over a kilometer of earth carved out down to the horizon.
As the dust settled, Usopp, leaning on Zoro and Sanji's shoulders, whispered with trembling lips:
"Luffy…you won, right?"
"Yeah, Soggy. I won."
The broken building rubble lay around Luffy like gravel. He turned and looked at Nami.
"Nami."
"Luffy…"
"From today on, you're a crew member, right?"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy—what's your name?"
Hearing Luffy's words, Nami recalled their first meeting and tears filled her eyes.
Then she ran into his arms:
"I was from the start!"
"Thank you for thinking that."
Nami smiled in Luffy's embrace.