They had been sailing for a few hours until they finally arrived at Conomi Islands.
"W-we-we're here!" said a terrified Johnny.
"Is Nami really there?!" asked Usopp while hiding.
"We've arrived. The problem is what lies ahead. First, we need to find out where Aneki-Nami left her ship," said Johnny.
"Should we cut our way through?" asked Zoro, ready to fight.
"What the hell are you thinking?!"
"YOU'RE CRAZY!! We still have no clue where she could be!!"
Usopp and Johnny shouted at Zoro before immediately tying him up.
"There it is!! I found it! The Going Merry! She anchored it over there!" shouted Usopp while looking through binoculars.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Untie me! And you, Oliver, why aren't you doing anything?!" yelled an angry Zoro.
"You're injured. It's best for you to stay still until you recover," Oliver said without taking his eyes off the island.
"It's a strange place to leave the ship. According to the map, it's near a place called Cocoyashi Village," Johnny said, ignoring Zoro.
"Untie me!" Zoro shouted again before trying to free himself.
"Don't waste your energy; it looks like you're about to faint from all the yelling," said Usopp while patting him, which hurt.
"That's true, you're really injured, Zoro. I don't want to explain to Luffy that you bled to death," said Oliver, supporting Usopp.
"Leave it all to me now! I'll bring the woman back!" Usopp declared, motivated and full of energy.
"You're acting like this now because you know she's not at Arlong Park," Johnny pointed out.
"Let's move forward! Take us next to the Going Merry!" Usopp ordered.
"Yeah, yeah..."
They rowed until they reached the shore of the island, but as they were arriving, they noticed a group of Fishman.
"Why the hell did you just pass by?!" Zoro asked them.
"SHHHH!" Usopp and Johnny hushed him.
"Didn't you see them?! Did you see those Fishman?! They're part of Arlong's crew!" said a scared and crying Usopp.
"This isn't going to work; it looks like Arlong has control over this whole area," Johnny said, realizing they might not reach the island.
"Hey, the Fishman just jumped into the sea," Oliver said, noticing they were heading toward the ship.
"Let's get out of here!"
"Affirmative!"
They both shouted before jumping into the sea to escape.
"DON'T RUN AWAY, GET BACK HERE!!" yelled an enraged Zoro. "UNTIE ME!!"
"Why are you worried? They're just fish with legs," Oliver said dismissively about the Fishman.
"Hehehe, we got them," said a Fishman as he climbed onto the ship.
"Wait, there are only two of them?" asked another Fishman.
"They must have fought, so just surrender..."
Oliver punched one of them in the stomach, making him drop to his knees.
"YOU BASTARD...!!" another Fishman yelled.
The Fishman threw a punch, but Oliver dodged it, moving behind him to grab and choke him with his arm, leaving him breathless.
"For being a fish, you're really stupid," Oliver said, letting go of the Fishman, who passed out and fell into the sea.
"You... You're going to tell me everything about your crew, or else..." He placed his hand on the Fishman's face, electrocuting him. "...you'll end up like fried fish. Got it?"
"Y-yes," the Fishman said, scared, looking into Oliver's eyes.
--
--
Usopp and Johnny had reached solid ground, where they were left stunned upon seeing a completely destroyed village.
"What the hell happened in this village?!" Usopp asked.
"This… this must be Gosa Village, the town that was raided by Arlong a few weeks ago," Johnny responded.
As they walked, they witnessed the destruction—houses were flipped upside down.
"I've heard that Fishman are ten times stronger than humans from birth!" Johnny explained. "In other words, this must be the true power of those who come from the Grand Line! This is what happens to villages that resist Arlong's power!"
Johnny noticed a Fishman nearby and immediately ran to hide.
"Huh? What's wrong, Johnny?" Usopp asked.
"You almost got away," said a Fishman behind him.
Usopp turned around and, upon seeing the Fishman, panicked and took off running.
"WAAAAAIT!" the Fishman shouted.
Usopp ran as far away from him as possible.
"Muahahaha! You'll never catch me! I'm used to situations like this! Catch me if you can!" Usopp taunted, keeping his distance.
As Usopp ran, a boy appeared in front of him.
"I found you, Fishman! This is for my father!" the boy said before tripping him.
"Wha—?!" Usopp shouted as he fell face-first.
"Prepare to die, Fishman!" the boy yelled, attempting to stab him, but a woman hit him on the head.
"Don't attack the Fishman!" the woman scolded him.
The woman who stopped the boy was young, with short, bluish-purple hair tied with a red ribbon. She wore a tight, sleeveless, light-yellow shirt that revealed a series of purple tattoos, and black pants.
"Look carefully—he may seem like one, but he's human… though just barely," the woman said, eyeing Usopp's large nose.
"'Just barely'?!?" Usopp shouted, offended.
"Wait, come here!" yelled the Fishman, who had gotten closer.
"He's coming!" Usopp exclaimed upon seeing him so near.
"A Fishman!" the boy shouted.
"This time, it's a real one," the woman said.
"Everyone, get back! I can't run away and leave a woman and a child in danger!" Usopp declared, standing in front of them.
"Hey, you! The suspicious-looking guy! Have you finally accepted your fate?!" the Fishman taunted as he prepared to grab him.
"Quite the opposite! I'm going to give it my all and fight!" Usopp said, readying his slingshot.
"I said, don't attack the Fishman!" the woman shouted before knocking Usopp out with a hammer blow to the head and grabbing him by the hair.
"You, give me that guy," the Fishman demanded from Usopp.
"There's no need, he's just a nobody," the woman said, trying to make him leave.
"I don't think you heard me. I said, GIVE HIM TO ME," the Fishman ordered aggressively.
"Was there another one?"
Oliver arrived, grabbing the Fishman's head and slamming it against the ground before immediately punching him with Electro, ensuring he wouldn't get up.
"You sure are bold for just a mere fish," Oliver said, lifting the unconscious Fishman's head. "Did I knock him out with the first hit or the second one?"
"YOU! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" the woman yelled, shocked at what Oliver had done.
Oliver looked at her and realized she was Nojiko.
"Of course, I took down three Fishman," Oliver said, stepping back slightly to grab Zoro, who was unconscious.
"Do you have somewhere I can leave these two?" he calmly asked.
"Because of what you just did, the Fishman will attack the village. That was a stupid thing to do," Nojiko reprimanded him.
"Don't worry about that. They won't know if they don't find them," Oliver replied while looking for a way to carry Usopp.
"Follow me," Nojiko said, leading him.
Oliver looked for a place to hide the Fishman and decided to conceal him among the destroyed houses before following Nojiko to the house where she and Nami had grown up.
They arrived at the house, passing by the tangerine field.
"This place is quite far from the village," Oliver commented.
"It's quieter," Nojiko responded.
They entered the house, where Oliver left Usopp and Zoro.
"I'll leave them here if that's okay," Oliver said. "I can't take them with me."
"Where are you going?" Nojiko asked. "If you run into the Fishman, they'll attack you—or worse, attack the villagers."
"I'm going to better hide that Fishman I beat up so they don't cause any trouble. I'm also here looking for someone, so I can't waste time," Oliver explained.
Oliver left the house and headed toward the village.
A few minutes later, Usopp woke up screaming.
"W-where am I?" Usopp asked, looking around.
"You're finally awake. This is my house," Nojiko said while sitting.
"You're that woman! Who are you?! What happened to the Fishman?" Usopp asked.
"Your friend took him down and left him half-dead," the woman said, pointing at Zoro, who was still sleeping. "I'm Nojiko. I grow tangerines here."
"Friend? Johnny?!" Usopp asked about his companion.
"I don't know if that was his name, but he had bluish hair," Nojiko answered.
"That must've been Oliver. He's really strong," Usopp said, looking around for him. "Where is he?"
"He said he was going to look for someone," Nojiko explained.
"If it's him, I'm sure he'll succeed," Usopp said confidently in Oliver.
Meanwhile, Oliver was walking through the forest, making sure no one was around.
'Good, there's no one here.'
Without checking his condition, he quickly purchased a Combat Style Gacha Token.
"Just one."
He summoned the gacha machine and inserted the token.
He spun the wheel, and when the sphere appeared, it shone with a bright golden color.
A screen displaying the combat style and its usage appeared, making Oliver grin widely.
--
--
I want to comment on the Devil Fruit voting. A reader mentioned that we should quickly choose the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Fenrir, before Loki gets it.
I searched to see if it had been revealed that this was Loki's fruit, but I couldn't find anything.
Still, that comment made me a bit uneasy since, at the moment, Fenrir is winning by a landslide. So I thought of an alternative just in case.
If it is revealed that Loki's Devil Fruit is the Fenrir model (before Skypiea ends in the fanfic) and the winner is the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Fenrir, it would be replaced with the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Garm.
Just so you're aware.