The mist lay thick over the sea, hugging the ocean's surface like a heavy blanket of silence. Each creak of the Going Merry's wooden boards echoed louder than it should, swallowed quickly by the surrounding fog.
Luffy stood alone at the bow, silent. His eyes, sharp and focused, were locked on the barely visible coast ahead. His fingers curled around the edge of the railing. The salty wind tugged at the brim of his straw hat, but it didn't move. Shadows whispered beneath his feet, coiling around his boots like restless beasts. They stirred without a command, mirroring the storm brewing inside him.
Zoro leaned against the main mast behind him, arms crossed, watching Luffy without making it obvious. He had sensed it. Luffy had changed—his silence heavier, his presence darker.
Usopp sat beside the ship's cannon, fiddling with a pouch of smoke bombs, trying to distract himself from the anxiety building in his gut. His hands shook just enough to notice.
Sanji leaned against the railing, cigarette burning low between his fingers. His eyes weren't on the sea—they were on Luffy.
No one dared speak.
Only the quiet sound of the Going Merry cutting through the water filled the air, a ship carrying not just pirates—but purpose.
They had left behind the laughter of Baratie and the brief warmth of found companionship.
They were sailing into the past.
Nami's past.
And none of them intended to return without her.
Cocoyashi Village came into view like a ghost town rising from the mist. Thatched rooftops. Winding dirt paths. Palm trees leaning wearily from the wind.
As the Going Merry docked at the edge of the village, the crew disembarked in silence. Luffy was the first to touch the ground, the thud of his sandals striking the dock unnaturally loud.
Eyes peeked out from cracked windows. Doors creaked open just enough for fearful faces to appear. Mothers held their children close. Elderly villagers stared with disbelief and a trace of fragile hope.
Genzo approached slowly, his jaw set and pistol holstered but close at hand. The weathered sheriff's eyes were ringed with sleeplessness.
"You're her friends, aren't you?" he asked.
Luffy didn't blink. "Where is she?"
Genzo hesitated, surprised by the coldness in the boy's voice. "She went to Arlong Park. Alone. Thought it was her responsibility."
"She doesn't have to carry it anymore."
Genzo exhaled. "Don't underestimate him. Arlong's not human. He's a demon in a fishman's skin."
Luffy walked past him.
Zoro and the others followed without hesitation.
The villagers parted, stepping aside instinctively. They didn't know these pirates. But they saw something in their eyes that wasn't there in the last band of fighters who tried.
Determination.
And something colder in Luffy's.
Conviction.
The path to Arlong Park was lined with silence. The only sound was the crunch of sandals and boots on gravel. The heavy iron gates came into view, tall and painted with the jagged teeth of Arlong's shark emblem.
Luffy stopped in front of them.
A breeze stirred.
Then—
A black tendril rose from his shadow and snaked forward, pressing into the lock with a sharp metallic screech. The thick chains twisted unnaturally, metal groaning, then snapped apart in one violent wrench.
The gates swung open.
It was the sound of war.
Inside, Arlong stood at the center of the compound, arms crossed, grin wide and fangs gleaming. Beside him, restrained and bruised, was Nami.
Her face tensed in shock the moment she saw the straw hat silhouette at the gate.
"Luffy…"
But he didn't look at her.
His eyes were locked on Arlong.
"You."
Arlong scoffed, stepping forward, flanked by Kuroobi and Chew. "Another pirate brat here to die for a girl? She belongs to me."
"No," Luffy replied, voice low, cold. "You don't own anyone."
Before the fishmen could react, Luffy vanished.
One instant, he stood still.
The next, his fist shattered the sound barrier and buried itself deep into Arlong's gut. A crack erupted beneath the fishman's feet as he was launched across the compound, crashing through two thick pillars with a roar of stone and dust.
"GET HIM!"
Dozens of fishmen rushed forward. Kuroobi lunged with a furious punch. Chew spat water bullets.
Luffy didn't flinch.
The shadows at his feet surged like a tidal wave. Tendrils of black pierced through the charge, snapping spines and seizing necks mid-roar.
Zoro grinned and unsheathed his swords. "Let's clean up."
"Kick anyone ugly out of my way," Sanji growled, lighting a new cigarette mid-spin-kick.
Usopp trembled—then growled, raising his slingshot. "No one's taking her again!"
The compound erupted in chaos.
But Luffy walked calmly through the center, shadow blades coiling beside him like loyal beasts.
He stopped in front of Arlong's broken body.
Blood pooled beneath the fishman. His breaths came in shallow growls.
"You made her cry," Luffy said, stepping on his chest. "You hurt her. Stole her mother. Took everything."
"You humans are weak!" Arlong roared.
Luffy raised a hand.
A black spear formed in his grip.
"You're already dead."
He drove it through Arlong's chest.
The blood stopped.
The body stilled.
Silence fell again.
Then the system activated:
✅ Boss Eliminated: [Arlong – Shark Fishman]
✅ Shadow Extraction Available
✅ Evolution Condition Fulfilled: Shadow Monarch – True Awakening Unlocked
Luffy stood over the corpse as the shadows pulsed and surged.
He extended his hand.
Then, in a voice steady and commanding:
"Arise."
The shadows burst from beneath him.
Black tendrils coiled around Arlong's body like chains. The corpse twitched, spasmed—then slowly began to move.
Its eyes opened.
Blue. Hollow.
Obedient.
Arlong stood again—not as a tyrant, but as a puppet of the boy he once mocked.
The Shadow Army had gained its first general.
The entire crew stood frozen.
Usopp dropped his slingshot.
Sanji took a long drag, exhaled slowly. "That… was terrifying."
Zoro's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't a fight. That was an execution."
Nami stared at the shadow-Arlong in horror. Her breath hitched. But when she looked at Luffy, she didn't see rage.
She saw calm.
The kind that scared her more.
"You killed him?" she whispered.
Luffy turned slightly.
"I freed you."
Far away, deep within Marineford, a file was dropped on a Vice Admiral's desk.
"The Arlong Pirates," the officer said, "are gone."
The Vice Admiral raised an eyebrow. "Gone?"
"All of them. By a pirate."
A pause.
"Straw Hat Luffy."
A beat.
"There's also something else… survivors said the shadows… moved."
The Den Den Mushi on the desk rang once.
Then again.
The world had taken notice.
[End of Chapter 86]
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