There were five of us standing at the edge of the forest: Luffy, Koby, Nami, Usopp, and me. Before us lay Arlong's stronghold—or rather, what was left of it. The building, once a symbol of terror and authority, was now a crumbling shell. Entire sections of the walls had collapsed, the stones scattered across the ground like the bones of a broken giant. The grand entrance arch, once imposing and marked with fish-man emblems, was split in two, leaning as though it might collapse at any moment. Broken beams jutted from the wreckage like splintered limbs.
An entire wing of the structure had been blown away or torn off, cast toward the sea. Nearby, the shoreline bore the scars of violent conflict. The sand was stained with wide dark streaks, and in the shallow water, reddish patches floated, slowly diluted by the waves. The place radiated the memory of violence, like a silent battlefield where the screams still echoed in the air.
Nami stepped forward a few paces, her gaze locked ahead. Her staff trembled slightly in her hand as her eyes scanned the ruins, filled with both shock and painful memories. She murmured, almost inaudible, "It used to be immaculate... They kept it pristine, like a symbol." She inhaled sharply, her lips tight. "And now..."
I slowly stepped beside her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's not their kingdom anymore, Nami. It's just a ruin now." She nodded, her eyes never leaving the scene. Behind us, Luffy stood silently, arms crossed, his serious gaze fixed on the wreckage. Usopp rested a hand on the strap of his tool bag, and Koby, visibly tense, scanned the surroundings as if expecting an ambush.
We had taken the place without facing real resistance, but what we found inside exceeded all my expectations. Through the collapsed sections of Arlong's base, an unlikely battle was unfolding. Torpedo-walkers—aquatic Heartless with blade-like fins—were fighting openly on land. Their movements were clumsy out of water, but their numbers made up for their lack of grace. In the nearby bay, several Aquatanks—larger, more ravenous—lurked beneath the surface. Their glowing blue eyes shone with a cold hunger as they observed the fish-men entrenched on the beach.
Arlong's troops were exhausted. Their scales gleamed with sweat, their weapons shook in their hands. One by one, they took down the Heartless... but for every one defeated, two more rose from the sea. The tide was endless."Boss! We can't hold on! My arms are burning!""They keep coming! They won't stop!""These aren't monsters! They're cursed demons!"
Panic set in. The youngest among them trembled, others staggered back, covered in wounds and dried blood. The soaked ground grew unstable beneath their feet. Morale crumbled. Arlong, standing atop a mound of rubble, bloodshot eyes blazing, was unrecognizable. His clothes were in tatters, his arms slashed. He looked like he had spent the night tearing his own base apart in a frenzy of uncontrollable rage. And barely four hours after collapsing from exhaustion, he had been awakened by the Heartless assault.
"FALL BACK!! WE'RE OUT!!" he bellowed, his voice hoarse, twisted by fury and panic.It was a cry of defeat. No strategy. No tactical retreat. Just escape.He knew what these things were. He had been receiving scattered reports for weeks—smuggled in by a corrupt marine lieutenant paid under the table. Rumors at first. Then warnings. Villages wiped off the map without marine response. Pirates slaughtered with no explanation. One constant: the creatures only attacked those with blood on their hands.And now, they were here. For him.
As the fish-men tried to flee north, hoping perhaps to escape the hell descending upon them, they stopped dead. We were there.Five figures standing before them, unmoving like judges. Luffy, Koby, Nami, Usopp, and I—eyes locked on their broken faces.
One of the fish-men spotted us—or rather, spotted her."Nami… get back!" he screamed in terror, as if seeing a ghost.He turned to flee in a panic, but Luffy hadn't moved.A second later, his fist sliced through the air.
"You touch Nami… I'll break you."The punch was sharp, brutal. It struck him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards. The soldier soared several meters before crashing into those behind him, toppling them in a confused mess of limbs and shouts.
Arlong, standing a bit further away, his body still shaken by exhaustion, saw the scene—and completely lost control.His bloodshot eyes widened, his muscles trembled with rage and fear."GET THE HELL OUT!!" he roared, teeth clenched, arms shaking. "I won't hesitate to kill you, you hear me?! I'LL RIP YOUR ARMS OFF ONE BY ONE!"
I took a step forward, and with a low rumble, spread my arms wide.A surge of shadows erupted behind me like a silent tidal wave.Five hundred Shadows materialized around us, forming a living, shifting wall. At my will, they spread outward, shaping an improvised arena—trapping the fish-men and us inside, cutting out the torpedo-walkers.
The fish-men instinctively stepped back, paralyzed before the oppressive flood. The torpedo-walkers retreated at once, halting their advance as if recognizing a superior authority. My reinforced Heartless had eclipsed them.
Arlong took a step back.And that's when Nami stepped forward.Her staff appeared in a flash of blue light, wind whipping around her.Her eyes, brimming with restrained tears, locked onto Arlong like he was the only thing left in the world.
"You'll pay… for Bell-mère… and for my sister!" she shouted, her voice raw with pain and hatred. She raised her weapon."You'll pay."
A bolt of lightning cracked through the air, slamming into Arlong and knocking him to his knees, groaning in pain, blood trickling from his lip.Around him, his men trembled. Their weapons dropped one by one, no one daring to pick them back up. They saw Nami.And behind her… the storm they'd sown for eight years, now come to collect.
That's when Luffy stepped forward. He turned his head toward us, then locked eyes with Arlong."I made Nami a promise. And I'm keeping it.You hurt her. You stole her smile, her freedom."He clenched his fists. His gaze had never been so serious."She's my navigator. My friend. And you're gonna pay. ALL of you."
With a shout, he leapt forward—followed closely by Koby, already in stance, and Usopp, who was loading his slingshot with renewed determination.
I remained beside Nami. She was breathing hard, her heart pounding, her gaze still fixed on Arlong."It's him. It's today," she murmured.
I nodded slowly, a shadow slipping beneath my feet."We're doing this together. This time… there's no going back."
The shark-man slowly rose to his feet, ignoring the chaos of battle around him. The screams, the clash of weapons, the pounding steps… all seemed distant, drowned by the storm inside his mind.His gaze fell on Nami.
There was no hatred in his eyes anymore.Only a tangle of emotions—dull rage at the collapse of his world, bitter helplessness at the end he saw coming, and a wounded pride as he watched this once-submissive human shatter her chains as fully as Fisher Tiger once had… and buried deep beneath the ashes of his pride, a hint of guilt he no longer knew how to silence.
He opened his mouth, but no words came.It was Nami who broke the silence.Her voice was soft… but firm, as sharp as the sea before a storm.
"Before this ends… I want you to know one thing."She stepped closer, her eyes locked on his."Hachi is alive. He's safe. He's with my sister."
She paused, letting the weight of her words settle.
"Despite everything you did to me… I don't hate fish-men."Her voice cracked slightly."But you… I hate you."
Arlong didn't answer. His shoulders trembled, his clenched teeth quivered.Then, slowly… two tears rolled down his cheeks.His body gave out, collapsing to his knees in the sand. His gaze lifted to the sky for a moment before blurring with the grief he had never learned to express.
"Hachi…" he breathed, his lips trembling."Thank God… you're alive…"
He bent forward, fists digging into the wet sand. Muffled sobs rose in his throat, shattering what remained of his mask.Then he looked up at me.He wasn't running. He wasn't hiding.His ocean-colored eyes were filled with painful clarity.
"You can kill me," he said in a rough, broken voice."Don't let her stain her hands on someone like me. Not her."
I stood still for a moment.Not from hesitation… but because of what I saw in his eyes.It wasn't a trick. No manipulation.There was no mask. No hatred.Only a man at the end of his rope. A fallen monster, tired, corroded by his own sins… and ready to pay the price.
The rage had drained from his features. All that remained was resignation… and perhaps, a flicker of peace.
I slowly raised my Keyblade, its glow dimmed by the black mist already rising from the ground. Arlong, still kneeling, didn't look away. He accepted his fate. Maybe with resignation… or maybe with the faintest hope of redemption.
With a slow, almost solemn gesture, I drove the blade into his chest.There was no scream. No howl.Just a breath.
Arlong's body stiffened… then cracked, like a glass statue under too much pressure. Shadow fragments burst from every fault in his flesh, and suddenly, a column of black flame erupted from his heart.It soared high—terrifyingly high—ripping through the sky like a burning wound of darkness. The energy it unleashed pushed back the sand, bent the trees, and churned the waves themselves.
From that infernal surge, something took form.A colossal Heartless slowly emerged, its body seemingly fused with the shadows of the ground. It towered over the ruins of Arlong Park, its muscular torso covered in abyssal scales and dark chitinous plates like the midnight sea. Its figure evoked a shark—twisted by something older, wilder, as if the abyss itself had given it birth.
Its massive arms ended in hooked, bladed claws as black as a void. Its dorsal fins had become thick obsidian spikes, and long harpoon-like spines emerged from its back, swaying like tendrils in the wind.But it was its eyes… its eyes that froze the blood.
Two glowing blue orbs, pupil-less and incandescent, radiating a predatory intelligence and endless hunger. On its chest beat the Heartless symbol, bright and defiant against the darkness of its form.Each pulse from that broken heart sent a ripple through the air, a tremor from the abyss.
Its gaping jaw, lined with uneven fangs, curled into a rictus of shadow, revealing a mouth as deep as a chasm.It didn't speak. It didn't need to.Its presence alone silenced everything around it.It felt like it had done the opposite of Kuro—that the Heartless had consumed the Nobody, giving rise to this monstrosity.
As the colossal Heartless finished rising from the ashes of Arlong Park, I glanced around.Farther off, Luffy, Koby, and Usopp stood among the debris.Arlong's crew lay unconscious or defeated, thoroughly neutralized. But even those three, our seasoned fighters, didn't look like victors.Their eyes were fixed on the towering creature… and none of them spoke.
"That's… that's him, right?" Usopp murmured, his voice shaky with a mix of disbelief and fear. "That's Arlong… but worse."
Koby swallowed, pale-faced."It's like… hatred ate the rest of him."
Luffy didn't move. He stared at the Heartless with rare intensity, arms crossed, the wind tugging gently at his red vest.
I stood beside Nami, who still hadn't looked away from the creature. Her face was hard, but her expression carried a deep silence.
"Nami… do you think we can leave him to guard the shoreline of our base?" I asked softly, not wanting to rush her.
She didn't answer right away.Luffy stepped closer, curious."What base?"
I turned to him, a small smile tugging at my lips."The deserted island we found—where you trained with Eisah's Heartless. Easy to defend since I've already released Heartless there.I want it to be our base.A fallback point… or maybe a training ground for dungeon runs."
Luffy nodded like it was the most obvious idea in the world."Perfect. It'll be named after your many companions," he said with a smile."'Heartless Island' — sounds cool!" he declared proudly.
I chuckled softly, shaking my head."Seriously? I was thinking more like Kingdom Hearts — since, you know, that's technically my name in your suggestion."
"Too bad, I like mine better!" he grinned."You found the place, set up the defenses, and now you've got that big guy to act as a guardian. It makes sense."
Nami finally broke her silence. Her eyes never left the towering figure of the Heartless, standing still like a cursed sentinel. Then she took a deep breath."Let him protect Hachi and Nojiko, then…" she murmured.Her voice barely trembled, but the weight of her words was immense."It's not forgiveness. But at least… he'll do something right."
She stepped closer to me and, in a gesture that was both unexpected and genuine, wrapped her arms around me from behind. Her forehead rested against my back.I felt the tension in her fingers, the emotion held just beneath the surface.
I nodded silently, then raised a hand and opened a portal with a slow motion.A circle of shadows formed in the air, drawing in a cold breeze.
The colossal Heartless began to glide toward the opening, offering no resistance, its gaze still locked on the distant sea.It didn't fight. It accepted.And with a whisper of darkness, it vanished.
The beach returned to stillness.
(Author's note: Here's an image of Heartless Arlong, and thank you for following this chapter ^^)