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The Conglomerate- One Piece SI Ch.3
🕑 Added 2025-05-22 14:49:59 +0000 UTCChapter 3
NAMI
Nami had only ever felt such fear in the presence of Arlong, but even then, she had only ever felt it when Arlong had been angry, yet this marine. He was different. The power emanating out of him was not like that killer, and dreadful aura that Arlong gave off.
No, it was different. More refined and controlled in a way.
“I think I asked you a question, girl?” the marine asked again, looking straight at her.
“Are you a pirate?” he asked, and she gulped down as both Genzo and Nojiko suddenly stepped forward and shielded her from the marine.
“Yes, she is,” Nojiko replied as the new Marine captain raised a brow.
“But only because the marines here have joined hands with the Arlong Pirates,” Genzo added.
“She only joined the pirate crew to protect us, to save enough gold so that she may buy back our freedom from the Arlong Pirates,” Genzo added, as Nojiko finished.
“And if you intend to punish her for it, then you will first have to go through us,” and she could hardly make sense of it, as she saw Nojiko and Genzo stand up for her, shield her from the Marine who was now rubbing his chin.
“Wait a second,” suddenly his eyes widened, and the pressure pushing down on them suddenly vanished.
“You are Nami, right?” he suddenly asked, and the frown on his face was replaced by a subtle smile, as she blinked nervously.
“Yes, I am Nami,” she replied, and he began to chuckle.
“Oh. I see, I see,” he began, and he seemed genuinely happy on hearing her name for some reason.
“Do you know him, Nami?” whispered Nojiko, and she shook her head. She was not dumb. She would remember if she had met such a powerful marine in the past.
“She just admitted to being a pirate! You must arrest her,” that rat-faced bastard screamed, but the new Marine captain, Captain Bartolomeo, had an expression.
“Shut up you scum!” and he drove the man’s face into the ground, and Captain Nezumi screamed out in pain Bartolomeo pushed down his face.
“I think I have a pretty good idea about what is going on here,” he whispered, before he pulled back his leg and kicked Nezumi into the gut, sending his body flying into a nearby tree.
“Incompetence, I can tolerate. Fear, I can understand,” he whispered as he walked towards him.
“But greed and corruption. Those two things have no place in the Marines,” and Nezumi squirmed as he tried to crawl away, but Bartolomeo pulled him by his neck and threw him towards them.
“Tie him up,” he ordered as the once-feared Nezumi crawled to their feet.
“And leave Arlong and his men to me,” and with that, he turned away until Nojiko called out.
“Just like that?” she asked, and the marine stopped and turned around to face them.
“Yes, just like that,” he answered.
“You have my apologies for the corruption and incompetence of my fellow Marines, but our job is to protect the innocents, and it seems we have let you and your village down for years now,” he said, and the cloak on his back moved because of the gust of wind; the words on it shone brighter than they had ever shown as he continued.
“But, there is no need to worry anymore, for I am here now. I promise you, by tonight Arlong and his crew will have answered for their crimes,” and he again moved but this time it was her who spoke up.
“Wait!” and he sighed as he turned to face them.
“Just say what you have to at once,” he spoke, as if he were talking about a simple brawl.
“Do you have any idea who Arlong is?” she questioned, for he was not a simple pirate. This marine commander may be strong, but he was alone, and Arlong had a whole crew behind him—a crew of Fishmen.
“He is a fishman, and he has a whole crew. You cannot beat him,” she pleaded, for as happy as she was that a competent and honest Marine officer had come to help them, she did not wish to see them die.
“Is that so?” he asked, and suddenly she heard his name being called out from behind.
“NAMI! NAMI!” and she glanced back and saw Luffy rushing towards him with a few of his crewmates.
“Luffy wait...” but the rubber man was already there, standing behind her as he stared at the new Marine Captain with a frown.
“You!” Luffy whispered in the most serious tone she had ever heard him use.
“What are you doing here?” The words surprised her, as Luffy seemed familiar with this captain.
“Long time no see, Luffy-kun,” the Marine captain waved his hand at Luffy like an old friend, before continuing.
“We will catch up later. I need to go and take care of a few pests,” and with that, he flew into the air and headed towards Arlong Park, the headquarters of Arlong Pirates.
“Huh!” Nojiko sighed as she turned towards Luffy.
“Do you know him, Luffy-kun?” she asked her captain, who nodded.
“Sort of,” and that was enough for her as she ran towards him and shook him.
“Then you need to go and stop him! He plans to go against Arlong and his crew all by himself,” she warned him, but Luffy was unmoved as he looked at her.
“There is no need for that,” he replied, looking into her eyes.
“Arlong and his crew do not stand a chance against him at all,” and he said that with sheer confidence.
“Why?” Nojiko questioned, and a fire sparked in Luffy’s eyes as he answered with a smile.
“Because he is a person whose dream is as big and grand as mine,” he announced, looking to the sky.
“And what is that dream?”
“He plans to be the Hero of Marines....”
0000
CAPATAIN BARTOLOMEO
This world was vast, comprising of over one hundred and seventy islands. As a marine, it was his responsibility to protect the people on all these islands, yet even for an organization as vast as the Marines, this task was near impossible.
The age of piracy set afoot by the words of Gol D Roger only added to the problem, yet the Marines themselves were no better. The once vaunted and respected organization had become a shell of itself, as it was reduced into a lapdog of the World Government.
And while before they were protectors, now most of the Marines were simply morally corrupt people who thought only of enriching themselves. Bartolomeo had seen firsthand the destruction and despair that piracy could bring to a small island.
And he was not the only one. In those darkest hours, when you have lost everything you hold dear, a person needs hope to cling to. An ideal to look up to.
Long ago, he had decided to be that hope, that ideal. He was going to change the Marines, and remove their parasitic relationship with the Hidden Hands that thought to control the world.
It was a suicide mission, one which put his life at great risk. But it was something that he had decided years ago, and he was not going to stop.
Arlong Park, the headquarters of the Arlong Pirates was a massive castle, build with red and white stone. It was beautiful, its architecture inspired by the Fishman Island, yet at this moment, Bartolomeo hated it more than ever.
For he knew that this was built using the blood, sweat, and tears of the people of this village. That its entire presence was a slap on the existence of the Marines.
“Hibari,” he whispered to the Den Den mushi, as all of the Arlong Pirates gathered outside and gazed at him as he stood up in the sky, looking down at them.
“Yes, captain,” his ensign replied from the other side.
“Is it done?” he asked.
“Yes, sir we have taken command of all the Marine forces in the area and have encircled the island. No Pirate will be allowed to escape,” and that was good, a simple precaution, one that was quite unnecessary, but he had a reputation to maintain.
“Good,” and with that, he put it down as the captain of this crew walked out. And even for Fishmen, Arlong was powerful. His nose was shaped like a sharp one, and his large body cut a daunting figure as he smiled.
“Are you so afraid of us that you refuse to come down and greet us?” and his crew laughed, as he continued to taunt him.
“But you are right to fear us, after all, we Fishmen are superior to your measly race,” he said, and he laughed. Yet Barto lowered the transparent platform, keeping him in the air.
“No, I do not fear you weaklings,” Barto replied as he landed on the ground, his hands still tucked in his pockets.
“Though I cannot say the same about your stench,” and that shut up the laughter, for the Fishman much like regular fish had a characteristic smell, and the taunt made the man angry.
“You dare insult us, you puny human?” Arlong taunted, as Barto smiled and rasied a brow.
“And you think yourself too important you damn fish,” and he was angry. Arlong was proud, proud and naive yet suddenly the rage vanished from his eyes as he began to laugh.
“HAHAHAH! You have courage, I will give you that human,” he shouted, as his voice cut through the clearing.
“But you seem to lack even the basic ability to count,” and he looked him in the eye.
“There are dozens of us, while you stand all alone,” and he smirked.
“All your fellow marines are too scared to even approach my island,” and he pointed at the ships maintaining the perimeter, as Bartolomeo.
“You see, they are not staying away because of fear. But because I do not wish to waste fuel on scum like you,” and that seemed to be the final straw as Arlong snarled and commanded his men.
“Attack!” and more than two dozen men all rushed towards him, and he drew in a deep breath as he brought forward one of his hands, and crossed his index and middle finger, as a dome-shaped barrier was erected around him.
“SHINRA TENSEI!”
BOOOM
BOOOM
BOOOM
“AHHHHHA!” “HAAAA!” “GAHHHHH!”
And in the blink of an eye, the once-mighty Arlong Park was reduced to rubble as the barrier tore through the ground, and the pirates alike were thrown back, the whole area turning to rubble.
And he had not even moved an inch, as he stood there defiantly and watched the cloud of dust thin out, as he heard a man’s coughs.
“GAKH! GUGH!” and a figure pushed himself out of the rubble, pushing away logs and stone, and it was none other than Arlong, who was now bleeding out of his mouth as he glared at him with fear and anger.
“You!” Arlong snarled, and he was not the only one who had managed to survive the attack, much to his surprise.
Two others rose besides him, an octopus-shaped Fishman and one more he could not categorise.
“You dare destroy my life’s work,” Arlong snarled as he stepped forward, as his two henchmen joined him.
“You puny human!” and he stood tall as he answered.
“If your life’s work is built on the blood, sweat, and tears of innocent people, then I will destroy it a thousand times over,” and Arlong scoffed.
“Innocent! You of all people should know that you humans are not innocent,” he continued as his lips thinned.
“You despise my kind. Enslave them. I will do to you humans what you lot have done to my kind for years!” and with that, he aimed straight towards.
“SHARP ATTACK!” and he was fast, much faster than a human, yet as he was a few meters away from him, his body stopped as it collided with the barrier he had erected around him.
“AGHHH!” he screamed as his prized nose twisted, and his two henchmen tried to attack him again, yet their attacks were repelled again as he smiled.
“The barrier around me is indestructible,” he replied and watched them all pale as Arlong nursed his prized nose.
“I could stand here all day and yet none of your attacks would be able to pierce it at all,” and that was the power of his devil fruit, the Barrier-Barrier fruit, one perfect for his vision.
“Your grievances may be genuine, Arlong. But you are no hero. You took out your anger and rage on the weak and helpless. You have destroyed thousands of lives in your rage, and for that, you shall pay,” and at that, he raised his hand, and this time the Barrier was not transparent but opaque, as they followed his fingers and looked to the sky.
“Grand...” he whispered as the massive barrier began to move at a blinding speed and rushed towards the ground.
“...Fall!”
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
0000
Comments
FallenMetalGod
Thank you. It looks like things are heating up. It's quite interesting that Bartolomeo knows Luffy already. Great job, as always, and I can't wait to see the fallout with Arlong.
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the chapter.
f_2004_nashef
Thx for the chapter
TypistTyphon
Good chapter
