Chapter 12: Leon vs Arlong Park
Leon stood unflinching, his eyes fixed on Arlong. His posture remained relaxed, almost casual, as if he were discussing the weather rather than confronting a pirate with a twenty-million berry bounty.
"Arlong," he repeated calmly. "Your crimes include piracy, extortion, and murder. Your reign ends today."
The villagers watched with a mixture of horror and disbelief. Some had already begun backing away, expecting bloodshed. Nojiko gripped her sister's arm, whispering urgently.
"He's going to get himself killed."
Nami's expression remained carefully neutral, but her eyes betrayed her fear. "He doesn't understand what he's facing."
Arlong settled back in his throne-like chair, gesturing lazily to his officers. "Kill this human trash. Make it entertaining."
Kuroobi, Hatchan, and Chew moved to surround Leon in a triangular formation, their expressions confident. They'd dealt with human resistance before - this would be no different.
Leon calmly removed his Marine jacket, folding it before placing it on the ground beside him. "I'll be needing this clean afterward," he remarked, rolling his shoulders.
The fishmen exchanged confused glances at his confidence. Chew snorted, his lips pursing.
"Cocky human, chu. I'll wash that smirk off your face."
Leon's expression hadn't changed. "Whenever you're ready."
Chew struck first, cheeks bulging before he fired a high-pressure water bullet directly at Leon's head. The water cut through the air with enough force to punch through stone.
Leon tilted his head slightly. The water bullet missed by millimeters, shattering a decorative column behind him.
"Is that all?" Leon asked, his voice carrying across the courtyard.
Hatchan rushed forward next, all six arms wielding swords. "Take this! Takoyaki Punch!"
The octopus fishman's attack created a whirlwind of blades, each strike aimed at a different vital point. Leon weaved between them, his body shifting just enough to avoid each blade. His expression remained unchanged, almost bored.
"Six arms," Leon observed, "and you still can't land a hit."
In one fluid motion, Leon grabbed one of Hatchan's arms mid-swing, twisting it. The sword clattered to the ground as Hatchan yelped in pain.
Kuroobi seized the opening, launching a powerful karate strike aimed at Leon's exposed spine. "Hundred Brick Fist!"
Without looking, Leon sidestepped and caught Kuroobi's arm, using the fishman's momentum to throw him bodily into Hatchan. The two crashed into a wall with enough force to crack the stonework, dust billowing around them.
"Impossible," someone whispered from the gathered crowd.
Chew's expression shifted from confidence to concern. He fired multiple water bullets in rapid succession. "Water Gun Rapid Fire, chu!"
Leon moved fast, dodging each one while steadily advancing toward Chew. The fishman's eyes widened as Leon closed the distance between them with each step.
"Seriously? Is this your only trick?" Leon asked, now just feet away. "You rely too much on your fishman heritage."
Panic filled Chew's eyes. He attempted to retreat, but Leon was suddenly before him, movement too fast to track. Leon's fist connected with Chew's stomach with such force that the fishman's eyes bulged.
A spray of water and blood erupted from his mouth as he crumpled, gasping on the ground.
Arlong's expression darkened as he witnessed his officers being dismantled so easily. He gripped the arms of his chair, knuckles whitening.
The villagers watched in stunned silence, unable to process what they were seeing. Nami's face showed many emotions - hope battling against the belief that no human could defeat Arlong.
Nojiko gripped her sister's hand. "Who is he?" she whispered. Despite having met Leon, she still couldn't understand how he is so powerful.
"I don't know," Nami replied, her voice barely audible. "But he's going to die if he stays."
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At the harbor, Captain Jorgen paced the deck of the Dawn Trader, still periodically checking the sun's position. It was approaching noon real soon - their agreed departure time.
"He should have been back by now," the captain muttered, anxiety evident in his weathered features.
Henson approached, his expression grim. "The crew's getting nervous, Captain. They want to leave."
"We wait," Jorgen reiterated firmly. "Until noon, as agreed."
"And again captain, what if he doesn't return? We'd just be wasting time here, while he's getting himself killed..."
The captain stared toward Conomi Islands, conflict evident in his eyes. His mind drifted to his first encounter with Arlong years ago - watching helplessly as fishmen killed a merchant who "insulted Arlong with his prices."
The memory of having to sail away, pretending he saw nothing to protect his crew, still haunted him.
The only reason he still returned to this damned place, was that if no trade happened those poor villagers would suffer because they'd never be able to pay tribute...
His thoughts turned to Leon - the youg man's quiet confidence, the strength, those distinctive golden eyes.
Despite Leon not saying it, Jorgen had heard about who he was before.
"The boy is Garp's grandson," he said suddenly. "I'd stake my ship on it."
Henson looked skeptical but didn't argue. "Even if that's true, Captain, what chance does one recruit have against Arlong's entire crew?"
Before Jorgen could answer, a distant sound carried across the water - a roar of pain unlike anything they'd heard before. The crew fell silent, all eyes turning toward the direction of Arlong Park.
"That wasn't Leon," Jorgen whispered, hope rising in his chest.
On instinct his body started moving, first walking, then breaking into a run toward the gangplank.
"Captain!" Henson called after him.
"I have to see it," Jorgen - who just realised what he was doing - shouted back. "I have to see that monster fall!"
Several crew members exchanged glances before following their captain, loyalty, curiosity and hope overcoming their fear.
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Back at Arlong Park, the fishman captain rose from his chair, rage contorting his features.
His officers lay defeated around the courtyard - Hatchan struggling to rise, Kuroobi unconscious against a cracked wall, Chew curled in a fetal position, coughing blood.
"You dare?" Arlong snarled, shark teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "You dare to strike my officers?"
Leon stood calmly, not a hair out of place. "I haven't even started yet."
Arlong ripped off his Hawaiian shirt, revealing his muscular blue-skinned torso. Scars from old battles crisscrossed his chest - testaments to his years of piracy.
"I'll show you the difference between humans and fishmen!" he roared.
Arlong charged fast, his saw-like nose aimed like a spear at Leon's chest. The attack had impaled countless enemies before - none had survived direct contact.
Leon sidestepped at the last possible moment, grabbing Arlong's extended arm as he passed. Using the fishman's momentum, Leon slammed him face-first into the ground with enough force to crater the concrete.
"The difference between us isn't just species," Leon stated coldly. "It's will."
Arlong roared in fury, recovering quickly and spinning with a kick that would shatter a normal human's bones. Leon caught the kick with one hand, his expression unchanged.
"Eight years," Leon said, his voice carrying to the watching villagers. "Eight years of terror. For what?"
With a twist of his wrist, Leon snapped Arlong's ankle.
The fishman's scream echoed across the courtyard. He pulled back, hobbling on his injured leg, eyes wide with disbelief and the first flickers of fear.
"Who are you?" Arlong demanded, circling more cautiously now.
"Just somebody," Leon answered simply.
Arlong's mind raced.
This human moved unlike any he'd encountered before. A memory flashed - Admiral Kizaru's blinding light, the humiliation of his capture years ago.
But this was different. This wasn't Devil Fruit power; this was pure physical strength in a human form.
Shaking off the disturbing comparison, Arlong drew his saw-like sword Kiribachi, swinging it. "Die, human scum!"
Leon didn't dodge. Instead, he caught the blade between his palms, the metal edge stopping inches from his face. Gasps rose from the watching crowd.
With a sharp twist, Leon snapped the blade. The broken piece clattered to the ground, leaving Arlong holding a useless hilt.
"Your weapons break as easily as your empire," Leon taunted.
Arlong's rage reached new heights. He charged again, attempting to bite Leon with his razor-sharp teeth - teeth that could tear through steel.
Leon's fist connected with Arlong's jaw with such force that several teeth shattered on impact. Blood sprayed across the courtyard as Arlong staggered back, spitting broken fragments.
"My teeth," he gasped, genuine shock in his voice. "You broke my teeth!"
"Consider it a start," Leon replied.
Arlong spat blood, his expression a mixture of pain and growing fear. "You're no ordinary human."
"And you're no ordinary tyrant," Leon countered, circling Arlong. "You're particularly pathetic."
The statement hit Arlong harder than any physical blow. His eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I've met vermin like you before," Leon continued, his voice carrying across the silent courtyard. "Oppressors who hide behind strength they didn't earn. You claim superiority without having anything to show for it."
Arlong attacked with renewed fury, his movements becoming more desperate. "I'll tear you apart!"
Leon weaved through the attacks effortlessly, landing strikes to Arlong's body. Each blow connected with devastating impact, targeting vulnerable areas he saw.
"You're strong," Leon acknowledged after landing a particularly brutal hit to Arlong's kidney. "But not that strong. Not really."
Arlong doubled over, coughing blood. His breathing had become labored, his movements slower.
"Shark on Darts!" he roared suddenly, propelling himself like a missile toward Leon, using his remaining strength for his signature attack.
Leon caught him mid-flight, the impact creating a shockwave that cracked the ground beneath them.
The two figures stood frozen for a moment - Arlong suspended, his nose inches from Leon's chest, Leon holding him in place with seemingly minimal effort.
"How?" Arlong gasped, genuine fear now evident in his eyes. "How can a human..."
"Because I have a dream," Leon answered, his voice softer but no less intense. "While you've abandoned your for nothing but hatred against the innocent."
Leon slammed Arlong into the ground hard. The concrete shattered, creating a small crater with the fishman at its center.
Arlong struggled to rise, blood streaming from multiple wounds. His once-proud form now trembled with pain and exhaustion.
"Don't you mock me! We were slaves!" he shouted suddenly, desperation in his voice. "Humans hunted us, chained us, branded us as property! You know nothing of suffering!"
Leon's expression didn't soften, but his eyes showed understanding. "So you became exactly like those you claim to hate."
The statement struck Arlong like a physical blow. "I am nothing like them!" he protested.
"Look around you," Leon gestured to the terrified villagers. "You've created your own prison here, with you as the warden."
The comparison visibly shook Arlong to his core. He attacked again, all technique abandoned in favor of raw power. His movements were wild, unfocused - the desperate actions of a predator cornered.
Leon met each blow easily, gradually wearing Arlong down. The fishman's movements became slower, his breathing more labored with each exchange.
"Why won't you fall?" Arlong screamed in frustration after another failed attack.
"Because you're weak, I already told you," Leon replied.
With lightning speed, Leon delivered a punch that cracked Arlong's chest plate. The fishman staggered back, coughing blood, genuine fear now clear in his eyes.
Leon advanced, each step deliberate. "You had a choice, Arlong. You could have been better. Stronger."
Arlong attempted another attack, but Leon caught his fist mid-swing. The sound of bones crushing was audible as Leon tightened his grip. Arlong howled in pain, dropping to one knee.
"I understand, you know," Leon said, his voice suddenly softer.
Arlong looked up, confusion mixing with pain.
"I understand what drove you to cruelty. The need to feel powerful when you've been powerless."
Leon's golden eyes bore into Arlong's. "But that gives you no right to visit suffering on innocents. You should've been stronger. Dreamed bigger. Strove for vengeance against the actual ones who hurt you... But you didn't. You threw that all aside because of cowardice. You're just a waste now."
Something in Leon's gaze disturbed Arlong deeply. The fishman's expression shifted from pain to an unfamiliar emotion - almost like recognition.
It was the same expression the Celestials always had when looking down upon him from above - like he was less then shit beneath one's boots.
"Don't look at me like that," Arlong whispered, voice barely audible.
"Like what?" Leon asked.
"Like... like them," Arlong responded, not fully understanding his own reaction.
"You've become what you hate most," Leon stated coldly.
With sudden violence, Leon grabbed Arlong's jaw, fingers digging into the flesh. "These teeth that you've used to terrorize innocents..."
With a horrific tearing sound, Leon ripped Arlong's jaw partially free. Blood sprayed as Arlong screamed in agony. The watching villagers recoiled in shock at the brutality.
Leon used the partially attached jaw to strike Arlong repeatedly. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end?"
Arlong's eyes rolled back in his head from the pain. Leon released the mangled jaw, letting it hang grotesquely from Arlong's face.
"You're pathetic," Leon declared, voice cutting through Arlong's pained gasps. "You could have channeled your rage against those who truly wronged you. Instead, you became a petty tyrant over people who never harmed you."
Arlong tried to speak but could only produce gurgling sounds through his ruined mouth. Blood poured down his chest, pooling at his feet.
Leon grabbed him by the throat, lifting the massive fishman as if he weighed nothing, "An eye for an eye," he intoned. "A tooth for a tooth. Justice for evil."
In one fluid motion, Leon brought Arlong down across his knee. The crack of Arlong's spine breaking echoed across the suddenly silent courtyard. Arlong's scream was inhuman, carrying across the island.
Captain Jorgen and several crew members arrived at Arlong Park, breathless from running. They pushed through gathered villagers to witness the scene.
Jorgen froze at the sight before him - the broken bodies of fishmen officers scattered across the courtyard. At the center stood Leon, holding a barely conscious Arlong by the throat.
"My God," Jorgen whispered. "He's actually doing it."
One of the merchants fumbled in his bag, pulling out a camera with shaking hands. "The world needs to see this," he muttered, beginning to take photographs.
Leon addressed the beaten Arlong, his voice carrying across the silent courtyard. "You marked these villagers as your property," he said, his gaze briefly moving to Nami's tattoo. "Now I'll mark you."
Leon extended his index, raising it, hardening it with a bit of Haki and pointing it in front of Arlong's chest as he then punctured it.
"AAAAHHH!" Arlong roared in agony.
Leon though didn't stop there.
He pulled out his finger, and punctured another wound right to the previous one. Over and over he punctured Arlong's chest, each causing Arlong to jerk in agony till there were seven.
Seven wounds in a specific pattern. The punctures made Arlong eventually silently cry.
'Seven stars of the Big Dipper,' Leon thought to himself - remembering those same stars as the first form of calmness and clarity in this life, when his father set to sea, after fighting Akainu, and Leon gazed upon the star filled night sky above him.
Blood flowed from the perfectly placed wounds. "Let these scars remind you and everyone who sees them that justice exists in this world."
Leon dropped Arlong unceremoniously to the ground. The fishman lay broken, his body twitching.
Jorgen stared in awe, tears forming in his eyes. "It's over," he whispered. "It's finally over."
The merchant continued taking photographs, capturing the moment of Arlong's defeat for posterity.
A profound silence blanketed Arlong Park as the reality sank in. Leon stood amidst the destruction, blood covering his hands and splattered across his face - none of it his own.
He appeared completely uninjured, not even breathing hard.
Slowly, villagers began to approach, disbelief evident on their faces. Nojiko was among the first, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Is it... is it really over?" she asked, voice trembling.
"Yes," Leon confirmed simply.
Genzo approached next, studying Leon with wonder. "Eight years," the scarred man said, his voice breaking slightly. "Eight years we've suffered under him. Eight years we've watched our children grow up in fear, our elders die in despair. Eight years of paying for the right to simply exist."
Around him, villagers nodded silently, some wiping away tears. Each had their own stories of suffering, their own scars - visible and invisible - from Arlong's reign.
Nami remained frozen several paces back, her expression too many emotons, too tangled to name.
Her fingers unconsciously traced the tattoo on her shoulder - the mark of her own personal prison. Years of carefully constructed walls seemed to crumble inside her as she watched what she thought impossible become reality before her eyes.
Leon retrieved his Marine jacket from where he had placed it, shaking off debris before putting it back on.
The white fabric stood in stark contrast to the blood spattered across his hands and face. He straightened the garment carefully, then turned to face the gathered villagers.
His expression was solemn, his golden eyes meeting theirs one by one. For a long moment, he stood there in silence, the weight of their collective suffering hanging in the air between them.
The only sounds were the soft crying of some villagers and the distant celebration beginning to spread through Cocoyashi.
Then, to their collective shock, Leon's powerful frame bent forward.
He bowed deeply - not the casual nod of acknowledgment or the perfunctory bow of formality, but the profound bow of genuine remorse.
His head lowered, his broad shoulders hunched, his entire posture transformed from victorious warrior to someone who was truly sorry.
"On behalf of the Marines and the World Government who failed you," he began, his voice carrying clearly despite his bowed position, "I..." He faltered briefly, "I offer my deepest apologies."
He remained bowed, continuing with raw sincerity: "Eight years you suffered while those sworn to protect you took bribes to look away. Eight years you endured what should never have been allowed to begin. No words can restore what was taken from you - the time, the dignity, the lives lost."
His voice grew stronger, though he maintained his bow. "I cannot undo what has been done. I cannot return what was stolen. I can only stand before you and acknowledge this failure, this betrayal of everything the Marines should represent."
He remained silent for a long moment as Arlong's blood dropped from his face onto the ground beneath him. "For what little that is worth."
The villagers stood silent - stunned.
They were witnessing something none had expected - humility and genuine remorse from someone wearing that - that uniform that had for so long represented one thing and one thing only...
Their abandonment.
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter.
Do tell me how you found it.
So, Leon is pulling a Admiral Fujitora. Well, bowing instead of prostrating, but close enough, right?
What do you guys think of it?
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)