Arlong took another step forward. The ground trembled under his weight. His saw-like nose gleamed beneath the moonlight like a sharpened blade. He looked at the pile of his twelve men sprawled out like a star, their eyes spinning with little stars still circling above their heads, then let out a harsh, scornful laugh.
"Shahahaha… Look at this. My fishmen warriors, the superior race… reduced to a pile of washed-up fish by land vermin and a purple brat. Truly pathetic."
He slowly turned his head toward Nami, who still stood in the doorway, her hands clenched tightly against the frame.
"Nami… For six years, you've been a good little obedient human. You drew your maps, you paid your debt without complaining too much. And now? You're hiding these clowns?" His smile turned crueler. "Your debt just tripled. And this time, I won't just take your money. I'll take your village, your freedom… and your life if you keep defying me."
Nami took a step back, her back pressing against the doorframe. The familiar fear tightened her throat, but she didn't lower her gaze.
Arlong raised his massive arm, muscles bulging to the extreme.
"Enough of these childish games. I'll show you what fishman superiority really means."
He slammed his fist into the ground. The impact was so violent that the sand erupted into a massive geyser. The shockwave shook the entire house. Popeye was hit head-on. His body flattened like a sheet of paper, his arms stretched in impossible directions for several meters. He stayed stuck to the wall like a crumpled poster for three long seconds, then slowly slid down to the floor. A second later, he got back up, shook his head, spat out his twisted corkscrew-shaped pipe, and swallowed another can of spinach. His arms swelled again, this time growing larger than his own body.
Arlong sneered.
"Even with your ridiculous muscles, you're no match, human."
He turned toward SpongeBob, who was bouncing around cheerfully. With a quick motion, he grabbed him between two fingers and squeezed with all his strength. The yellow sponge was compressed into a tiny wrinkled ball the size of a walnut, his eyes popping out of his head like springs. Arlong tossed him like a ball. SpongeBob spun through the air at high speed, crashed into a palm tree, bounced seven times, changing direction with each impact, then slowly returned to his normal shape, laughing nervously.
"Hehehe! That tickles everywhere!"
Tom leapt onto Arlong's shoulder with a battle cry. He dug in his claws and began scratching like a whirlwind. Arlong shook his arm violently. Tom stretched like elastic over several meters, held on, then was flung into the air. He flattened completely against the roof of the house with a huge "SPLAT!", stayed stuck there like a cat-shaped stain for a few seconds, then peeled himself off and dropped back onto his feet, his head still slightly flattened.
Jerry, meanwhile, zigzagged between Arlong's legs at impossible speed. He ran up along his tail, jumped onto his saw-like nose, grabbed one of its sharp teeth with both hands, and pulled with all his might. The tooth stretched like chewing gum before snapping back into place. Arlong shook his head in rage. Jerry was launched away, spun through the air like a top, hit the ground and flattened into a thin gray pancake, then puffed back up like a balloon and stuck out his tongue at the giant.
Elian slowly raised both hands, palms open, and guided a series of thin cords that wrapped around Arlong's arms and legs. The saw-shark growled, tensed his muscles, and snapped the cords… but each broken strand instantly reformed into a loop around him, as if they were alive.
Bugs Bunny, still hiding behind his chair, calmly pulled on a string. A huge wooden hammer fell from the sky and slammed onto Arlong's head with a loud "BOING!" The fishman's head sank into his shoulders like an accordion, his eyes popping out of their sockets on springs, then everything slowly returned to normal.
"You're really starting to annoy me," Arlong growled, his voice still filled with arrogance, but now tinged with growing irritation. "Fishmen don't lose to insects like you."
Nami watched the scene, eyes wide. She saw Arlong striking with a force capable of sinking a ship, and yet… no one stayed down. Tom flattened and got back up. SpongeBob was crushed and bounced back. Elian kept going no matter what. Even Popeye, after being smashed into the wall, came back with arms bigger than his body.
For the first time in six years, she felt a small crack in the fear that had lived inside her.
"They… they don't fall," she whispered, her voice trembling but filled with awe. "Even against him… they don't fall."
Arlong caught that whisper. He slowly turned his head toward her, his smile growing colder and more menacing.
"You really think these vermin are going to save you, Nami? You belong to me. Your village belongs to me. And after this ridiculous display, I'll make sure no one ever dares to defy me on this island again."
He raised his arm once more, this time with a clear intent: to strike directly at the house and destroy everything in a single monstrous blow.
The group braced themselves. Tom and Jerry stood side by side, ready to leap. Elian raised his hands higher. Bugs Bunny prepared another string. SpongeBob puffed up his cheeks like a balloon. Popeye clenched his enormous fists.
Arlong raised his massive arm, ready to crush the house in a single blow. His arrogant smile widened, certain that everything would end here.
"It's over, vermin. I'm going to—"
He didn't have time to finish his sentence.
Popeye, who had just swallowed another entire can of spinach, swelled up like a hot air balloon. His forearms became enormous, larger than his own torso. He took a deep breath, clenched his pipe between his teeth, and charged.
"Argh! I've had enough of your attitude, you big fish!"
He leapt into the air and delivered a monumental uppercut. His fist slammed into Arlong's jaw with a heavy, violent thud. The saw-shark's head snapped back brutally. A trickle of bluish blood ran from his lip. Arlong staggered, took several steps back, and brought a hand to his jaw, surprised by the real pain.
Popeye didn't stop. He followed up with a series of powerful blows. Each impact made the air vibrate. One punch to the stomach doubled Arlong over. Another to the ribs drove him back even further. The third, a straight to the face, made something crack. Arlong spat blood and dropped to his knees in the sand, his breath knocked out of him.
Meanwhile, Elian decided to step in… in his own completely ridiculous way.
He slowly raised both hands, palms open, then made a strange gesture as if he were lifting an invisible carpet. Suddenly, a large slab of ground (sand, dirt, and grass included) peeled off the earth with a "schlop!" sound and lifted into the air like a giant pancake. Elian spun it once above his head like a pizza, then calmly placed it over Arlong, crushing him underneath as if putting a lid on a pot.
Arlong found himself trapped beneath the slab of terrain, growling in rage. Only his arms and saw-like nose stuck out from the sides.
"What the—?!" he roared, his voice muffled.
Elian, with a calm and slightly goofy smile, clapped his hands once. The slab flipped over like a pancake, sending Arlong flying into the air before he crashed heavily onto his back. The fishman spat out sand, dazed.
Popeye seized the opening. He grabbed Arlong by the collar and delivered a rapid series of punches to his face and torso. Each hit drove the fishman back a little more. Arlong tried to retaliate with a tail strike, but Popeye blocked it with his swollen forearm and answered with an even more powerful uppercut that lifted Arlong off the ground.
The saw-shark crashed down heavily, his breath ragged. Blood flowed from his mouth and nose. His saw-like nose was slightly cracked. For the first time, his arrogance visibly faltered.
Elian, still just as ridiculous, decided to go even further. He raised his hands again and made a "rolling pin" motion. The ground beneath Arlong suddenly transformed into a long strip of terrain that began to roll like a carpet. Arlong was literally wrapped inside it like a giant sushi roll, leaving only his head and saw-like nose sticking out.
"Let me out!" Arlong shouted, furious, struggling inside.
Elian made a small flick of his finger. The roll of earth unraveled in a sharp motion, launching Arlong like a rocket. The fishman spun several times in the air before crashing heavily onto his back, completely disoriented.
Popeye jumped again, his massive fists raised. He struck Arlong several times in a row, each blow shaking the ground. Arlong tried to shield himself with his arms, but Popeye's raw strength was too great. The saw-shark groaned in pain, his massive body reeling with each impact.
Nami, still standing in the doorway, watched the scene with wide eyes. Her hands were trembling, but this time a mix of disbelief and hope was growing inside her.
"They… they're beating him…" she whispered, her voice shaking. "Popeye is really hitting him… and Elian… he's doing nonsense and it's working…"
Arlong, still lying in the sand, tried to get back up. His legs trembled. He managed to rise to his knees, blood running from his mouth, his gaze filled with rage and disbelief.
"…Impossible… A human… and that ridiculous kid…"
Popeye stood ready, his fists still enormous. Elian, meanwhile, waited calmly, hands raised, ready to lift another part of the ground or pull off another absurd stunt.
The captain of the fishmen, for the first time in a long while, truly seemed to be in trouble.
Arlong was on his knees in the sand, his breathing rough and uneven. Bluish blood flowed from his mouth and nose. His saw-like nose was slightly cracked at the base. He tried to stand, his muscles trembling, his gaze still filled with rage and disbelief.
"…Impossible…" he growled through clenched teeth. "A human… and that ridiculous kid… can't defeat me…"
Popeye stood ready, his fists still enormous, prepared to strike again. Elian kept his hands raised, a calm smile on his lips.
That's when Bugs Bunny stepped forward casually, hands in his pockets, calmly chewing his carrot. He stopped a few meters from Arlong and looked him up and down as if observing a bad joke.
"Eh, doc," he said in a laid-back, perfectly detached tone. "You really don't look so good. Maybe you should take a little nap."
Arlong lifted his head, his eyes burning with anger.
"You… the rabbit… You dare mock me?!"
Bugs Bunny shrugged with a slight smirk.
"Mock you? Me? Never. I'm just gonna help you get some sleep."
Out of nowhere, he pulled out a red sign with "DANGER – TNT" written across it in big white letters. He calmly planted it in the sand right in front of Arlong, then tapped it twice with his finger.
Nothing happened for two long seconds.
Then, with a sharp whistle, a huge black rocket marked "ACME" burst out of the ground right beneath Arlong's feet. The saw-shark barely had time to widen his eyes before the rocket blasted off at full speed, carrying him with it.
Arlong shot up into the night sky, screaming in rage, his body spinning violently. The rocket kept ascending until it became a small glowing dot… then exploded in a massive, multicolored "BOOM!" like a firework.
Debris slowly fell back down. Arlong spiraled back from the sky and crashed heavily into the sand a few meters from the group, face-first.
He didn't move.
His massive body lay still, completely knocked out. Blood still trickled from his mouth. His breathing was weak and irregular. He had lost consciousness.
Bugs Bunny took one last bite of his carrot, looking perfectly satisfied.
"And that's that. Nighty night, doc."
He turned toward the group and shrugged casually.
"Classic."
Nami remained frozen for a long moment, eyes wide. Her hands were trembling, but this time it wasn't just fear. A nervous, disbelieving laugh escaped her. She brought a hand to her mouth, tears in her eyes.
"Is… is it over?" she whispered. "Arlong… he's really down… because of a rabbit…"
Elian smiled softly. Popeye let out a satisfied "Argh!" Tom and Jerry shook hands, proud of their contribution.
Bugs Bunny tossed the end of his carrot over his shoulder and concluded casually:
"Shall we head back? I'm hungry."
The night grew calm again. The captain of the Fishmen lay unconscious in the sand, defeated.