Chapter 23: Booty

Chapter 23: Booty

Unable to contain herself, Caenis burst out laughing when she heard Arlong's threat. The enraged Fishman charged toward her, but she didn't even bother to dodge as he swung his sawtooth blade, the Kiribachi, at her neck.

To demonstrate just how outclassed Arlong was, Caenis raised her chin slightly, giving the former easier access to her neck as she stood with her arms crossed in contempt. The Endurance Parameter gave Heroic Spirits an exceptional degree of Shock Nullification, so Caenis stood her ground without moving a single centimeter despite the tremendous force behind Arlong's blow.

Parodying Arlong's words to Thomas, Caenis adopted a teasing sneer as she asked, "Seriously? You're this weak and dare to lecture others...?"

Seeing Caenis tank his full-powered blow without flinching, Arlong's eyes wavered as he instinctually took a step back, pulling his Kiribachi as if it were an actual saw. The moment he did so, Caenis reached up to grab the blade with her bare hand, shattering it like glass before kicking him in the gut faster than he could leap backward.

As Arlong was sent skidding across the ground like a stone across a pond, Caenis charged forward, intercepting him with a punting kick that sent the severely injured Fishman flying hundreds of meters into the air. Then, with a predominately red spear in hand, she reared back before releasing it like a crimson beam, piercing Along's body and the clouds above with enough force to create a void revealing the clear skies above.

While Thomas looked on in utter stupefaction, Caenis snorted through her nose, muttering, "Pathetic..." before raising her hand to casually catch the spear that came flying back to her like a sonic boomerang. A few seconds later, Arlong's body crashed into the ground, cratering it slightly as he lay sprawled out, unmoving, on the coral pavement.

Without sparing a glance at her downed opponent, Caenis returned to Thomas's side, asserting, "As feeble as he was, that deranged fish was beyond your capabilities. But don't let it bother you. You only recently completed your basic training. Once we start sparring 'seriously,' you'll get a lot stronger." The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Exhaling a sigh, Thomas resisted the urge to dispute Caenis's assertion. He was sure he could have done 'something' against Arlong, but she had intervened the moment he was in danger. Even Luffy sustained near-fatal injuries during his battle against the specist Fishman, so it wasn't like he expected to come out completely unscathed...

Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Thomas adopted a wry smile as he replied, "Thanks for the assist..."

Nodding in approval, Caenis was about to tease Thomas even more but stopped as she noticed Arlong attempting to stand. She hadn't aimed for anything particularly important, but she was surprised to see he was still conscious, remarking, "Tenacious bastard..."

Following Caenis's gaze, Thomas felt a mixture of guilt and determination as he said, "Let me handle the rest." The thought of beating someone who could barely stand felt wrong, but he was well aware of the kind of person Arlong was. The man was many things, but deserving of mercy wasn't one of them...

Rolling her eyes, Caenis dematerialized her crimson spear before crossing her arms and stating, "If you slip up a second time, no fucking for the next two months."

Though Caenis's words nearly caused him to trip, Thomas caught himself, regaining his wry smile as he replied, "Now I can't lose..." before making his way over to Arlong with a vibrant blue haze surrounding his fists. The latter looked up at him as he approached, coughing up a worrying amount of blood as he managed to get one of his feet under him, kneeling on the ground with a sizeable hole in his stomach.

Covering the hole with his left hand, Arlong glared at Thomas as if the latter was his nemesis, stating, "You...coward...needing to gang up...on a single person..."

Furrowing his brows, Thomas was tempted to call Arlong out on all of his bullshit but ultimately decided against it. Treating their battle like he was in a shonen anime had allowed Arlong to sneak attack him multiple times. He also had nothing to prove to the extremely specist man, so he raised his right fist and said, "You talk too much..." before attempting to slam it into Arlong's left cheek.

Though he was too injured to dodge Thomas's attack, that didn't prevent Arlong from trying to slice open the former's hand with his saw-like nose. However, while he managed to angle his nose properly, a sound similar to metal scraping against metal filled the area as the razor-sharp edges slid across Thomas's hand and forearm without penetrating the veil of Magical Energy protecting him.

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After receiving treatment, Thomas stood off to the side with Benienma, silently awaiting Drake's return while the Chiron and Caenis transported Arlong and his crew to the ship's brig. He noticed that Hachi was missing from the group of unconscious Fishmen, but as he always intended to let the comparably friendly Octopus go, Thomas didn't mention his absence to the others.

Since it never took her long to sus out the location of treasure, Drake emerged from the ruins of Arlong Park mere minutes after she wandered off, a tremendous smile on her face as she remarked, "Coming here was the correct choice. These damnable fish had close to six-"

With Benienma narrowing her eyes and placing her hand on the hilt of her katana, Drake's smile visibly cramped as she supplanted, "I found a stash of around twelve-and-a-half billion Belly in a hidden cellar. And since we don't have any lackeys, you get to help me carry it. Let's go."

Though he immediately followed after the pink-haired Pirate Queen, Thomas had a disbelieving expression and tone as he asked, "Twelve-and-a-half billion? With a B...?"

Raising her brows, Drake asked, "Why are you so surprised? You're the one who told us about the survival tax. As backwater as this island is, it still has a few thousand residents. Arlong and his crew must have been raking in between 200-400 million each month for the past eight years. If they hadn't spent any of it, we would have been looking at a payday of 20 billion, easy."

Realizing that Drake was telling the truth, Thomas's steps slowed until he had stopped entirely. The former initially turned to him with a confused look on her face, but when she saw the expression on his, it immediately morphed into a scowl as she declared, "We aren't turning over our booty to the people of this island. I don't mind if you want to help the villagers get back on their feet, but these are the spoils of our victory and the price of their lives. Maritime Law dictates that the spoils of a Pirate crew belong to the group that subjugated them. Do you think the Marines would return these funds to the people?"

Though he could see where Drake was coming from, Thomas couldn't help feeling conflicted.

Before Thomas could potentially make an enemy out of Drake, Benienma tugged on his sleeve, a serious expression on her face as she said, "Even spirits must pay a toll to traverse the Sanzu River, dechi. These people did not petition our aid, so we are under no obligation to return their money to them."

Blinking in surprise, Thomas stared down at the petite sparrow, asking, "Even you, Beni...?"

With a completely serious expression, Benienma asserted, "They willfully handed that money over to preserve their lives. We also have a lot of uses for it, so returning it to them would be punishing ourselves for performing a good deed, dechi."

Though he didn't fully agree with Benienma's take, Thomas only hesitated briefly before nodding in approval. He couldn't recall anything about Luffy and co returning Arlong's extorted loot, so it most likely ended up in the hands of the Marines. Thus, even though it made him feel like a complete and utter bag of dicks, he agreed to keep the money they had legally and 'fairly' plundered...

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(A/N: Benienma be like, "Just enough money to start up my Inn...")