Short Summary
Luffy... help me...
—Nami
Nami has suddenly taken the Going Merry in the midst of the battle with Krieg and sailed back to her hometown, Cocoyashi Village, which is ruled by a tyrannical fishman pirate, Sawtooth Arlong. Luffy and his crew arrive to both reclaim the ship as well as their navigator. Along the way, they learn of Nami's past and get involved in the island's struggle for freedom from the fishmen pirates, leaving the East Blue forever changed.
Main Summary
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After leaving the Baratie, Sanji, Yosaku, and Luffy take the time to relax. The three strike up a conversation about the Seven Warlords of the Seas ("Shichibukai" in the Japanese version), who are government-sponsored pirates that had their bounties canceled in exchange for servitude to the Marines. Yosaku also mentions the island he was talking about from earlier and how it's connected to an infamous Fishman pirate named Arlong. Yosaku deduces there's a connection between Arlong and Nami; on the Merry earlier, some of Johnny's and Yosaku's Wanted posters fell from their pile, and upon seeing Arlong's, Nami's attitude suddenly changed, and soon after, she tricked the duo and pushed them overboard.
Meanwhile, Nami manages to make it to Conomi Island and its main base, called Arlong Park. She encounters a young boy whose father was killed by the Fishmen, and he wishes to take revenge. Nami just slaps him aside and throws some Berries at him to make him go away before meeting up with Arlong and his crew inside, revealing her allegiance to them. At the same time, Zoro, Usopp, and Johnny reach the island, but the latter two take note of the Fishmen that reside on it. Zoro hopes to fight them, but is knocked out and tied up by the two to avoid any trouble. However, a Fishman sees their boat and swims to them. Usopp and Johnny abandon ship, leaving Zoro to be captured. Their luck on land doesn't last either, as they wind up in a village where all the houses have been upturned. Another Fishman spots them and the two run for it. Johnny manages to hide himself, while Usopp is attacked by the boy from earlier, who mistakes him for a Fishman. He in turn is stopped by a purple-haired young woman, who clears up the misunderstanding.
With the real Fishman getting close, Usopp prepares to fight him, but is knocked out by the woman to avoid any trouble. Back out at sea, Luffy's group runs into a sea cow Sea King, who was attracted by the lunch they're having. Both Luffy and Sanji subdue it and use it to carry them to the island much more quickly. Usopp, meanwhile, wakes up in the woman's home in a village called Cocoyashi, and she introduces herself as Nojiko. She convinces the boy to give up on his quest for revenge before talking with Usopp, who discovers that Nojiko is Nami's adoptive sister, Cocoyashi is Nami's hometown, and Nami is part of Arlong's crew. It soon dawns on Usopp that he put Zoro in grave danger by leaving him behind. Elsewhere, a tied-up Zoro is dragged before Arlong, and likewise finds out about Nami's status as his crewmate. However, after hearing Arlong gloat about how Nami will betray one of her own for money and seeing the disturbed reaction from Nami, Zoro throws himself into the pool to test if she's truly is as cold-blooded as Arlong says. Nami's conscience gets the better of her and she dives in to save him. However, to save face with Arlong, she beats Zoro up to assure the Fishman she's still part of his crew, and orders for Zoro to be thrown into the dungeon.
Later that day in Cocoyashi, Arlong visits the village and confronts the town's sheriff, Genzo, over collecting some weaponry, which he sees as rebellion, though Genzo denies it as just a simple hobby collecting. Usopp and Nojiko watch from nearby as she tells Usopp about the monthly fee the village is forced to pay Arlong to avoid being killed. Arlong prepares to kill Genzo to make an example of him, but is stopped by Usopp, who fires a explosive star at him. He runs as the Fishmen chase after him, while Arlong's crew is forced to drag him away before he goes berserk and destroys the town. Nami arrives in town shortly afterwards, but the villagers give her the cold shoulder except for Genzo and Nojiko. They visit a grave belonging to someone named Belle-mere, where Nami reveals she almost has the money to buy back Cocoyashi from Arlong. Meanwhile, Zoro, who was freed by Nami, has beaten up all the Fishmen until he meets Hatchan, another of Arlong's subordinates, who, thinking Zoro is part of the Marines that Arlong pays off, offers him a ride back into town. However, once Zoro makes it to the village, he hears about the Fishmen capturing Usopp and tries to rush back to the park. Unfortunately, Usopp is presented to Arlong and Nami, the latter of whom offers to kill him. Usopp attempts to escape but is caught, seemingly stabbed by Nami, and thrown into the pool, which is enough to convince Arlong and his crew, as well as Johnny (who's watching from a distance), that she really is on Arlong's side.
Luffy's group finally arrives at the island and instantly (and almost literally) runs into Zoro. As they regroup, they meet up with Johnny, who reports what happened to Usopp. Nami finds them and tells the group to take their ship and leave, but Luffy refuses, and she leaves angrily. As the bunch are figuring what to do next, Usopp appears alive and well. He explains that Nami actually saved him by stabbing her arm when she pretended to stab him, and he merely fainted into the pool when she "killed" him. Nojiko arrives and, seeing that the group are determined to regain Nami, tells them her backstory. Their foster mother, Belle-mere, was in the Marines and fought in a battle on a unnamed island that saw most of the residents dead. She was near-death herself she was found by Nojiko, then a small child, who was carrying a baby Nami. Belle-mere willed herself back to life and took the two girls back to Cocoyashi Village in a raging storm. Once all three were cured, Belle-mere decided to adopt the two girls and retire from the Marines.
Years passed, Nami and Nojiko grew into young girls, and while the three of them weren't financially sound, they lived as happily together as any family. On one fateful day eight years ago, Nami got into a fight with Belle-mere and fled into town. Genzo found her and explained Belle-mere's past to Nami, who went back home hoping to make amends. However, around the same time, Arlong's crew also landed. Arlong instantly took over the island, instating the "pay or die" system. They found out about Belle-mere's house and went to collect the money; Belle-mere tried fending them off, but was no match. Since she didn't have enough money to cover all three of them, she agreed to pay the sum only for her two daughters, sacrificing herself for them. Arlong agreed, and after a tearful goodbye to her daughters, Belle-mere was murdered by Arlong right in front of their eyes. Hatchan then took note of the maps that Nami had drawn, which impressed Arlong. He kidnapped Nami and took her to his headquarters. When Nami returned to the village, she showed them the Arlong Pirates tattoo on her arm, showing that she had joined Arlong's crew, to the villagers' dismay. However, when she and Nojiko were alone, Nami revealed the deal she made with Arlong to buy back Cocoyashi's freedom for one hundred million Berries, never truly being on Arlong's side. And so as the years passed, Nami would venture out and steal as much as she could, stockpiling it to someday pay off the sum.
Back in the present, the group (or, at least, those who listened to the story—Luffy just wandered off since he doesn't care about Nami's motives and wants to help her regardless, and Zoro slept through it) is astonished and indeed realize how much Nami has sacrificed for her home island. Meanwhile, a few Marines come to the island, having gotten the villagers' S.O.S to help them. They make the mistake of attacking Arlong beforehand, prompting his crew to retaliate and sink the ship with the Marines on board. Another group of Marines led by a corrupt Captain named Nezumi, who is being paid off by Arlong, heads to Nami's house and accuses her of harboring illegal money. Nami at first denies this claim, but when the Marines get dangerously close to finding her hoard, she snaps and attacks them. Genzo states that the money is for Cocoyashi, and explains to a startled Nami that he and the entire village always knew about this after forcing Nojiko to tell them. However, they've kept quiet to avoid worrying Nami and putting any more pressure on her.
The Marines begin to dig up the money, and Nami tries to attack again. A Marine sets his gun-sights on her, and Nojiko jumps in the line of fire and gets hit in the arm. Nami is furious, and goes to Arlong Park and confronts Arlong about sending the corrupt Marines to search her house. He, of course, denies it and mocks her, claiming if she lost the money, she'll just have to start again. Nami rushes back to the village, where Genzo is rallying the villagers to fight Arlong. Nami tries to dissuade them, but fails, and they head for Arlong Park. Distressed and angered, Nami stabs the Arlong tattoo on her arm until Luffy stops her. She tries to tell him to go away, but eventually breaks down and asks for his help. Luffy gives her his Straw Hat and yells skyward that he will. He, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji head to Arlong Park, where, luckily, Johnny and Yosaku, after overhearing Nami's story and trying and failing to take on Arlong, have stalled the villagers and convinced them to wait for the Straw Hats to arrive.
Luffy breaks his way into the compound, identifies Arlong, and punches him without delay. This prompts the rest of the Fishmen to attack, along with Mohmoo, the sea cow from earlier. Luffy takes them all out easily by grabbing Mohmoo and using him to knock out the majority of the pirates, leaving only Arlong and his officers (Hatchan, Kuroobi and Chu). However, this attack leaves Luffy's legs stuck in the ground, and Arlong picks up the concrete around his feet and throws him into the pool to drown, proclaiming it to be a game in which Luffy's crewmates must beat the Fishmen to save him. After a very rough start—Usopp runs away with Chu chasing him, Sanji is seemingly knocked out by Kuroobi, and Zoro is suffering a fever from his wound from Mihawk—the crew starts to gain ground. Despite his wounds, Zoro manages to beat Hatchan in a sword fight. Sanji dives into the water to help Luffy and is at first left at a disadvantage when Kuroobi starts pummeling him. However, after seeing that Nojiko and Genzo are helping Luffy, he manages to force Kuroobi to the surface and returns the favor. Far outside Arlong Park, Usopp nearly chickens out of his battle with Chu, but after remembering that the others are fighting for Nami's sake, gains the courage to face the Fishman, winning by being intuitive with the tools he has.
Arlong is now the only Fishman left, and a battle-worn Zoro and Sanji are no match for him. Nami arrives, and Arlong gives her the choice to either rejoin his crew willingly—and in return, he'll spare the villagers, but will still kill Zoro and Sanji—or refuse, in which case, he'll kill everyone on the island except for her and force her to rejoin him. Deciding to believe in her friends' promise to save her, she asks the villagers to fight Arlong with her and die together, and they gladly agree. Zoro buys Sanji some time to go into the water and help Luffy. Despite a scare from Hatchan, Sanji manages to break the rock around Luffy's legs and he re-enters the fight, engaging in a final brawl against Arlong. Both trade blows around the park, with Arlong repeatedly bragging about how superior Fishmen are to humans. Nevertheless, Luffy stays on even ground with him. Eventually, the battle moves into the top floor of the building, which happens to be where Nami made her maps for Arlong.
Arlong gloats that he makes good "use" of Nami's talents and that he'll be her "friend". This only serves to anger Luffy, who starts wreaking the room, feeling Nami's despair within it and reasoning that it's the best way to help her. As Nami watches furniture get tossed from the room, she silently thanks him for it. Arlong decides to finish the fight with a spinning shark bite, but Luffy brings down his Gum Gum Ax move on him at the last second, slamming Arlong through several floors of the building and finally knocking him out. However, the building destabilizes and collapses with Luffy still inside. Everyone looks on, stunned, wondering who won, until Luffy rises from the rubble, yelling out the iconic line...
The citizens of the various villages on the island party for three days. Zoro gets his wounds bandaged and properly stitched up, as does Nami, though she requests a new tattoo of her own design (a hybrid of tangerines and a pinwheel, as tribute to Belle-mere and Genzo respectively) to replace her old Arlong tattoo. Sanji flirts with the females of the island, while Usopp tells his tall tales to a captive audience. Luffy, while wandering around trying to find food, stumbles upon the grave of Belle-mere while Genzo is visiting it. He makes Luffy promise that he won't ever make Nami cry, and Luffy agrees. After the partying dies down, the Straw Hats prepare to leave. Johnny and Yosaku bid the crew farewell and take their leave, and Nami arrives, running right past all the confused citizens, who try to say their goodbyes to her before she jumps onboard the Merry as it shoves off. She then pulls up her shirt to reveal that she's just pick-pocketed all of their wallets, much to the anger and disbelief of the villagers. Despite this, they all wish Nami well as she and the Straw Hats leave Cocoyashi. As Nojiko and Genzo watch the crew go, she realizes he doesn't have his pinwheel on his hat. We get another brief flashback: when Nami was a baby, Genzo's rough-looking face caused him to unintentionally scare her, so he put a pinwheel on his head to make Nami smile, and kept it there throughout her childhood. In the present, Genzo states he doesn't need it anymore, and we see that he has put it on Belle-mere's grave as Merry sails off into the distance.
Meanwhile, Nami manages to make it to Conomi Island and its main base, called Arlong Park. She encounters a young boy whose father was killed by the Fishmen, and he wishes to take revenge. Nami just slaps him aside and throws some Berries at him to make him go away before meeting up with Arlong and his crew inside, revealing her allegiance to them. At the same time, Zoro, Usopp, and Johnny reach the island, but the latter two take note of the Fishmen that reside on it. Zoro hopes to fight them, but is knocked out and tied up by the two to avoid any trouble. However, a Fishman sees their boat and swims to them. Usopp and Johnny abandon ship, leaving Zoro to be captured. Their luck on land doesn't last either, as they wind up in a village where all the houses have been upturned. Another Fishman spots them and the two run for it. Johnny manages to hide himself, while Usopp is attacked by the boy from earlier, who mistakes him for a Fishman. He in turn is stopped by a purple-haired young woman, who clears up the misunderstanding.
With the real Fishman getting close, Usopp prepares to fight him, but is knocked out by the woman to avoid any trouble. Back out at sea, Luffy's group runs into a sea cow Sea King, who was attracted by the lunch they're having. Both Luffy and Sanji subdue it and use it to carry them to the island much more quickly. Usopp, meanwhile, wakes up in the woman's home in a village called Cocoyashi, and she introduces herself as Nojiko. She convinces the boy to give up on his quest for revenge before talking with Usopp, who discovers that Nojiko is Nami's adoptive sister, Cocoyashi is Nami's hometown, and Nami is part of Arlong's crew. It soon dawns on Usopp that he put Zoro in grave danger by leaving him behind. Elsewhere, a tied-up Zoro is dragged before Arlong, and likewise finds out about Nami's status as his crewmate. However, after hearing Arlong gloat about how Nami will betray one of her own for money and seeing the disturbed reaction from Nami, Zoro throws himself into the pool to test if she's truly is as cold-blooded as Arlong says. Nami's conscience gets the better of her and she dives in to save him. However, to save face with Arlong, she beats Zoro up to assure the Fishman she's still part of his crew, and orders for Zoro to be thrown into the dungeon.
Later that day in Cocoyashi, Arlong visits the village and confronts the town's sheriff, Genzo, over collecting some weaponry, which he sees as rebellion, though Genzo denies it as just a simple hobby collecting. Usopp and Nojiko watch from nearby as she tells Usopp about the monthly fee the village is forced to pay Arlong to avoid being killed. Arlong prepares to kill Genzo to make an example of him, but is stopped by Usopp, who fires a explosive star at him. He runs as the Fishmen chase after him, while Arlong's crew is forced to drag him away before he goes berserk and destroys the town. Nami arrives in town shortly afterwards, but the villagers give her the cold shoulder except for Genzo and Nojiko. They visit a grave belonging to someone named Belle-mere, where Nami reveals she almost has the money to buy back Cocoyashi from Arlong. Meanwhile, Zoro, who was freed by Nami, has beaten up all the Fishmen until he meets Hatchan, another of Arlong's subordinates, who, thinking Zoro is part of the Marines that Arlong pays off, offers him a ride back into town. However, once Zoro makes it to the village, he hears about the Fishmen capturing Usopp and tries to rush back to the park. Unfortunately, Usopp is presented to Arlong and Nami, the latter of whom offers to kill him. Usopp attempts to escape but is caught, seemingly stabbed by Nami, and thrown into the pool, which is enough to convince Arlong and his crew, as well as Johnny (who's watching from a distance), that she really is on Arlong's side.
Luffy's group finally arrives at the island and instantly (and almost literally) runs into Zoro. As they regroup, they meet up with Johnny, who reports what happened to Usopp. Nami finds them and tells the group to take their ship and leave, but Luffy refuses, and she leaves angrily. As the bunch are figuring what to do next, Usopp appears alive and well. He explains that Nami actually saved him by stabbing her arm when she pretended to stab him, and he merely fainted into the pool when she "killed" him. Nojiko arrives and, seeing that the group are determined to regain Nami, tells them her backstory. Their foster mother, Belle-mere, was in the Marines and fought in a battle on a unnamed island that saw most of the residents dead. She was near-death herself she was found by Nojiko, then a small child, who was carrying a baby Nami. Belle-mere willed herself back to life and took the two girls back to Cocoyashi Village in a raging storm. Once all three were cured, Belle-mere decided to adopt the two girls and retire from the Marines.
Years passed, Nami and Nojiko grew into young girls, and while the three of them weren't financially sound, they lived as happily together as any family. On one fateful day eight years ago, Nami got into a fight with Belle-mere and fled into town. Genzo found her and explained Belle-mere's past to Nami, who went back home hoping to make amends. However, around the same time, Arlong's crew also landed. Arlong instantly took over the island, instating the "pay or die" system. They found out about Belle-mere's house and went to collect the money; Belle-mere tried fending them off, but was no match. Since she didn't have enough money to cover all three of them, she agreed to pay the sum only for her two daughters, sacrificing herself for them. Arlong agreed, and after a tearful goodbye to her daughters, Belle-mere was murdered by Arlong right in front of their eyes. Hatchan then took note of the maps that Nami had drawn, which impressed Arlong. He kidnapped Nami and took her to his headquarters. When Nami returned to the village, she showed them the Arlong Pirates tattoo on her arm, showing that she had joined Arlong's crew, to the villagers' dismay. However, when she and Nojiko were alone, Nami revealed the deal she made with Arlong to buy back Cocoyashi's freedom for one hundred million Berries, never truly being on Arlong's side. And so as the years passed, Nami would venture out and steal as much as she could, stockpiling it to someday pay off the sum.
Back in the present, the group (or, at least, those who listened to the story—Luffy just wandered off since he doesn't care about Nami's motives and wants to help her regardless, and Zoro slept through it) is astonished and indeed realize how much Nami has sacrificed for her home island. Meanwhile, a few Marines come to the island, having gotten the villagers' S.O.S to help them. They make the mistake of attacking Arlong beforehand, prompting his crew to retaliate and sink the ship with the Marines on board. Another group of Marines led by a corrupt Captain named Nezumi, who is being paid off by Arlong, heads to Nami's house and accuses her of harboring illegal money. Nami at first denies this claim, but when the Marines get dangerously close to finding her hoard, she snaps and attacks them. Genzo states that the money is for Cocoyashi, and explains to a startled Nami that he and the entire village always knew about this after forcing Nojiko to tell them. However, they've kept quiet to avoid worrying Nami and putting any more pressure on her.
The Marines begin to dig up the money, and Nami tries to attack again. A Marine sets his gun-sights on her, and Nojiko jumps in the line of fire and gets hit in the arm. Nami is furious, and goes to Arlong Park and confronts Arlong about sending the corrupt Marines to search her house. He, of course, denies it and mocks her, claiming if she lost the money, she'll just have to start again. Nami rushes back to the village, where Genzo is rallying the villagers to fight Arlong. Nami tries to dissuade them, but fails, and they head for Arlong Park. Distressed and angered, Nami stabs the Arlong tattoo on her arm until Luffy stops her. She tries to tell him to go away, but eventually breaks down and asks for his help. Luffy gives her his Straw Hat and yells skyward that he will. He, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji head to Arlong Park, where, luckily, Johnny and Yosaku, after overhearing Nami's story and trying and failing to take on Arlong, have stalled the villagers and convinced them to wait for the Straw Hats to arrive.
Luffy breaks his way into the compound, identifies Arlong, and punches him without delay. This prompts the rest of the Fishmen to attack, along with Mohmoo, the sea cow from earlier. Luffy takes them all out easily by grabbing Mohmoo and using him to knock out the majority of the pirates, leaving only Arlong and his officers (Hatchan, Kuroobi and Chu). However, this attack leaves Luffy's legs stuck in the ground, and Arlong picks up the concrete around his feet and throws him into the pool to drown, proclaiming it to be a game in which Luffy's crewmates must beat the Fishmen to save him. After a very rough start—Usopp runs away with Chu chasing him, Sanji is seemingly knocked out by Kuroobi, and Zoro is suffering a fever from his wound from Mihawk—the crew starts to gain ground. Despite his wounds, Zoro manages to beat Hatchan in a sword fight. Sanji dives into the water to help Luffy and is at first left at a disadvantage when Kuroobi starts pummeling him. However, after seeing that Nojiko and Genzo are helping Luffy, he manages to force Kuroobi to the surface and returns the favor. Far outside Arlong Park, Usopp nearly chickens out of his battle with Chu, but after remembering that the others are fighting for Nami's sake, gains the courage to face the Fishman, winning by being intuitive with the tools he has.
Arlong is now the only Fishman left, and a battle-worn Zoro and Sanji are no match for him. Nami arrives, and Arlong gives her the choice to either rejoin his crew willingly—and in return, he'll spare the villagers, but will still kill Zoro and Sanji—or refuse, in which case, he'll kill everyone on the island except for her and force her to rejoin him. Deciding to believe in her friends' promise to save her, she asks the villagers to fight Arlong with her and die together, and they gladly agree. Zoro buys Sanji some time to go into the water and help Luffy. Despite a scare from Hatchan, Sanji manages to break the rock around Luffy's legs and he re-enters the fight, engaging in a final brawl against Arlong. Both trade blows around the park, with Arlong repeatedly bragging about how superior Fishmen are to humans. Nevertheless, Luffy stays on even ground with him. Eventually, the battle moves into the top floor of the building, which happens to be where Nami made her maps for Arlong.
Arlong gloats that he makes good "use" of Nami's talents and that he'll be her "friend". This only serves to anger Luffy, who starts wreaking the room, feeling Nami's despair within it and reasoning that it's the best way to help her. As Nami watches furniture get tossed from the room, she silently thanks him for it. Arlong decides to finish the fight with a spinning shark bite, but Luffy brings down his Gum Gum Ax move on him at the last second, slamming Arlong through several floors of the building and finally knocking him out. However, the building destabilizes and collapses with Luffy still inside. Everyone looks on, stunned, wondering who won, until Luffy rises from the rubble, yelling out the iconic line...
- LUFFY: NAMI!!! YOU'RE ONE OF US NOW!!!
The citizens of the various villages on the island party for three days. Zoro gets his wounds bandaged and properly stitched up, as does Nami, though she requests a new tattoo of her own design (a hybrid of tangerines and a pinwheel, as tribute to Belle-mere and Genzo respectively) to replace her old Arlong tattoo. Sanji flirts with the females of the island, while Usopp tells his tall tales to a captive audience. Luffy, while wandering around trying to find food, stumbles upon the grave of Belle-mere while Genzo is visiting it. He makes Luffy promise that he won't ever make Nami cry, and Luffy agrees. After the partying dies down, the Straw Hats prepare to leave. Johnny and Yosaku bid the crew farewell and take their leave, and Nami arrives, running right past all the confused citizens, who try to say their goodbyes to her before she jumps onboard the Merry as it shoves off. She then pulls up her shirt to reveal that she's just pick-pocketed all of their wallets, much to the anger and disbelief of the villagers. Despite this, they all wish Nami well as she and the Straw Hats leave Cocoyashi. As Nojiko and Genzo watch the crew go, she realizes he doesn't have his pinwheel on his hat. We get another brief flashback: when Nami was a baby, Genzo's rough-looking face caused him to unintentionally scare her, so he put a pinwheel on his head to make Nami smile, and kept it there throughout her childhood. In the present, Genzo states he doesn't need it anymore, and we see that he has put it on Belle-mere's grave as Merry sails off into the distance.
Arlong Arc has the following tropes
- All for Nothing: The eight years of suffering Cocoyashi Village endured without fighting back while waiting for Nami to collect the 100 Million Berries becomes this when Nezumi confiscates her money, driving the villagers to finally decide to fight back against the fishmen.
- Anchored Attack Stance: The Gum Gum Windmill requires Luffy to embed his feet in the ground before twisting his body into a coil, then spinning his grabbed enemy at a dizzying rate. While the attack works, it also leaves Luffy stuck in the ground and unable to escape when Arlong rips up the surrounding cement and tosses it in the water.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: Given the hell Arlong put the island through, it's natural this is their reaction to Luffy finally defeating Arlong.
- Arc Villain: Arlong is the main threat of the titular arc, holding the inhabitants hostage and forcing them to pay his loans.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Kuroobi. The guy's name means "black belt".
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Slimy, corrupt Captain Nezumi of the Marines looks like a humanoid rat.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Mohmoo, Arlong's pet sea cow.
- Badass Crew: This was arguably the event that turned the Straw Hats from a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits into the tight-knit True Companions that they are today.
- Barehanded Blade Block: One of Hachi's techniques does this with all three pairs of arms. When he tries it on Zoro, he misses all three times.
- Beat Them at Their Own Game: After throwing Luffy into the water, Arlong claims it's a game for the rest of the Straw Hats to beat his crew and get Luffy back, fully expecting his crew to win. The Straw Hats prove him wrong.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Nami's response to hearing the villagers take up their arms against Arlong is to stab the tattoo of the Arlong Pirates on her left arm furiously, temporarily leaving a nasty scar there. However, said scar gets covered by her new tattoo afterwards, and can never be seen again, not even a little bit.
- BFS: Arlong's "Kiribachi" sword, which he uses against Luffy in the climax of their fight, tearing up Arlong Park in the process.
- Blow You Away: This is first time Zoro uses his "Three Swords Style: Tatsumaki" technique. And Hatchan becomes the unlucky test subject.
- Blown Across the Room:
- Kuroobi gets kicked by Sanji through one end of Arlong Park and out the other end.
- Arlong gets slammed though several floors of the building by Luffy, which ultimately defeats him.
- Broken Bird: It's revealed that Nami has been this all along for eight years.
- Book Ends: At the end of her introductory arc Nami refused Luffy's offer to join his crew, even slapping away his hand he offered in a high five, because of her anger towards pirates. After Arlong is defeated Nami and Luffy wordlessly high five, signifying that she is ready to let go of her past and begin her life anew as the navigator of Luffy's ship.
- Boom, Headshot!: How Arlong kills Bellemere in the manga.
- Bowdlerise: The anime changed Bellemere's death from being shot in the head to being shot in the chest — not that that lessened the impact any. In the 4Kids version, this was changed to her simply being thrown into a dungeon and supposedly starving to death.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: What Nami tries to do with Luffy and the crew, for multiple reasons: She doesn't want to see them get hurt by involving themselves in her problems, and she's also close to paying off the debt to buy Cocoyashi Village and doesn't want them to potentially mess this up and endanger the townsfolk. However, her efforts to do this don't work.
- Break the Cutie: Nami really gets put through the emotional wringer in this arc. It's powerful because it's the first time she's seen as vulnerable.
- Breaking Speech: Arlong loves doing this, and does so many times to Nami. The most prominent one is when he offers her a Sadistic Choice during the final battle:In the eight years you've been with us...how many times did you try to kill me? Assassins...poisons...ambushes... And the result!? I'm still here, ain't I?! You, of all people, should know that no mere human can kill me! Now listen. I'm not going to kill you...but I won't let you go! You're going to be my little cartographer forever. But I'm a reasonable Fishman! I don't want to hold a young girl against her will. I'd prefer that you keep working for me of your own free will. Now, I'm about to kill every human here...except for you. However, if you're willing to rejoin my crew, and agree to be an officer and draw ocean charts, I'm willing to spare the people of Cocoyashi Village. * Kicks Zoro and Sanji on the ground in front of him* But these two die, of course. They've caused me too much trouble. So what's it gonna be? Come back to me now and save your beloved villagers, or stick with these weaklings and try to fight me together! But if you look at the shape these two are in, you can see what a tragic mistake that would be! Well, Nami?! Are you my shipmate...or theirs?
- Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: The earliest instance in the series. Nami ditches the Straw Hats and claims she was working for Arlong all along and using them the whole time. While the former is technically true and the latter may have also been true at first, she'd begun to genuinely enjoy her time with them, and underneath her cruel façade, she's actually heartbroken after betraying them. Luffy later sees Nami in complete despair because Arlong screwed her over and everyone in her village is about to go fight him and die, and unites his crew to fight the Fishmen. After the Straw Hats win, Nami finally admits that she's one of them and rejoins the crew for real this time.
- Cavalry Betrayal: After enduring eight years under Arlong's rule, during which the Marines couldn't or wouldn't aid them (due to both the Arlong Pirates' blockade and the Marines being more focused on the Grand Line), one Marine ship finally reaches Cocoyashi Village — and is immediately sunk by Arlong. The only other Marines who come to the island have been paid off by Arlong for a long time, so instead of arresting him, they go after Nami and confiscate her money, which makes the village's situation even worse.
- Cerebus Syndrome: Easily the darkest and most serious arc in the series up till now.
- Cerebus Retcon: Initially played straight with Nami's greed and distrust of pirates. In this arc, we find out her hometown was taken over by pirates, and she struck a deal with the leader to buy back the town from him if she gathered enough money. It's ultimately subverted when the arc is over, as Nami is still obsessed with money and treasure. Considering that she was stealing things before Arlong showed up, it likely has more to do with her poor background.
- Cement Shoes: Luffy unintentionally gives himself these during the battle, which Arlong uses to try to drown him.
- Chekhov's Gunman:
- Johnny and Yosaku talk about the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a group that Mihawk is a part of, and mention that Arlong's old boss, Jimbei, is another member. Jimbei is formally introduced in the Impel Down Arc.
- Hatchan states that he's the second-strongest swordsman in all of Fishman Island. We see the No. 1 strongest swordsman in the Fishman Island Arc.
- Comically Missing the Point: While taking a walk through Cocoyashi Village, Luffy witnesses Genzo talking with group of Marines about Nami. Luffy...wonders why Genzo has a pinwheel on his hat.
- Corrupt the Cutie: Arlong is responsible for, essentially, making Nami into the exceptional thief she is today, though she was always something of a pickpocket even when she was younger. There's also that tattoo he puts on her, but she has it changed at the end of the arc.
- Covered with Scars: Genzo, ever since Kuroobi chopped him up for getting in Arlong's way eight years ago.
- Cowardly Lion: Usopp has his first real fight during this arc, and he almost gives in to his cowardice and plays dead before standing back up to challenge Choo.
- CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable: Nojiko and Genzo have to take turns doing CPR on Luffy underwater, while his head is stretched out of the pool. The 'clean and pretty' part is likely justified due to Luffy having rubber for ribs and lungs.
- Cruel to Be Kind: Nami encounters a young boy who wants to kill Arlong to avenge his father. Realizing the boy doesn't stand a chance, she hits him with a staff, condescendingly tells him that Arlong doesn't have time for him and leaves him a stack of bills. Unfortunately, her point doesn't sink in until Nojiko stops the boy, explains Nami's intentions and tells the boy that she has no patience for those who would get themselves killed when Nami chooses to persist despite how painful things are.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Zoro vs Arlong's generic Fishman crew members. Result: the Fishmen don't stand a chance.
- Luffy vs. Mohmoo, twice. The first time, Sanji joins in, and the second time, Luffy sends Mohmoo flying away from the park.
- Destroy the Abusive Home: Luffy does this for Nami near the end of his battle with Arlong, firstly by smashing up the cartography room where she would be forced to draw sea charts until she bleed, and then eventually all of Arlong Park as well.
- Didn't Think This Through: Luffy's pinwheel attack using Mohmoo. Though it takes out the vast majority of Arlong's forces, it also leaves him stuck in the ground and vulnerable against Arlong himself.
- Dirty Cop: One of Arlong's first scenes is him paying off Marine Captain Nezumi. This is implied to be a regular occurrence. Later, Captain Nezumi confiscates all of Nami's money at Arlong's behest, and after the Straw Hats take Arlong and his crew down, Nezumi gets a bounty put on Luffy's head.
- Epunymous Title: One of this arc's central chapters (and the corresponding volume) is titled Namida - "Tears". Keep the sound but swap in a few different characters, and you've got Nami-da - "It's Nami."
- Everybody Knew Already: For the past eight years Nami has been working for Arlong while secretly trying to buy Cocoyashi Village from him, in the process seemingly drawing the ire of the townsfolk for working with the person who killed her mother out of greed. After Nezumi steals her money, Nami is shocked to find out Genzo, and the entire village, knew about Nami's plight shortly after she told Nojiko. The reason they had been so cold to her is so that, if she ever decided she couldn't take working for Arlong anymore, she wouldn't stay out of obligation to them.
- Evil Gloating: After Kuroobi kicks the crap out of Sanji underwater, he mocks Sanji's chivalry and starts gloating about how, after he kills him, he'll then kill Genzo and Luffy, Zoro and Usopp, all the villagers, and Nami. Since telling Sanji he can't protect anyone is one of his berserk buttons, this only serves to piss Sanji off even more, and once they get out of the water, he lays a total smackdown onto Kuroobi.
- Exact Words: Arlong told Nami that if she can pay off their agreed sum, he'd free the village. While he didn't lie per se, he never said he wouldn't try to prevent her from getting it, and uses some underhanded means to ensure that the money Nami gains will be taken from her, forcing her to start all over and leaving her stuck in his employ. He lampshades it when Nami confronts him about the Marines confiscating her money, demanding to know when he explicitly broke their agreement.
- Face of a Thug: Cocoyashi Village's sheriff/mayor Genzo has a built-in Kubrick Stare. He used to scare the infant Nami because of it whenever he so much as looked at her, so he put his iconic pinwheel in his hat to cheer her up.
- Face Palm: Zoro's reaction to Luffy getting his feet stuck in concrete and being subsequently unable to move, while Sanji gives a Flat "What" and Usopp has a Jaw Drop. Zoro has several more face palms throughout the arc.
- Fantastic Racism: Arlong and many (if not all) members of his crew towards humans. Though later we learn why...
- A Father to His Men: A nice change from his villain predecessors, as Arlong considers his crewmates his "brothers". However, only on this instance is he better, and is generally considered to be one of the most monstrous villains in the series.
- Faux Affably Evil: Arlong seems like a nice guy... if not for his short temper, violent rampages, casual racism, and the fact he effectively enslaved a girl to draw maps for him until her hands bled.
- Fishman Shield: Luffy uses one to defend himself from Arlong. Arlong doesn't take this well.
- Fish People: The Arlong Pirates are all made up of fishmen, who are their own distinctive race.
- Forced to Watch: Nami and Nojiko are forced to watch Arlong kill Belle-mère before their eyes.
- Foreshadowing:
- The fact that Arlong has a habit of paying off Marines is one of the first major signs of the corruption in the organization and the World Government as a whole.
- Arlong will not be the first pirate who has established himself ruler of an island, as we'll see late in the Grand Line.
- Furry Reminder: The Fishmen, with their super-strength and ability to breathe underwater, are terribly difficult foes, especially if you take them on underwater. But Fishmen don't use lungs underwater, they use their gills. And what happens to a fish when you force oxygen through its gills?
- Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!: The residents of Cocoyashi Village endured eight years under Arlong's rule in hope that Nami would buy their freedom. When Arlong betrays the deal, the villagers decide to march on Arlong Park and either take their freedom back or die trying.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: Luffy spins Mohmoo around like a flail to take out a large chunk of the fishmen.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Arlong. The guy nearly wrecks Cocoyashi Village over Usopp firing gunpowder at him.
- Happily Adopted: Nami and Nojiko, after Belle-mere took them in as very young children.
- Heroic Second Wind: Zoro and Sanji successfully defeat Hachi and Kuroobi, respectively, but Arlong then easily beats both of them and leaves them on the ground, barely conscious and looking like they're down for the count. But once they hear Luffy cough up water and start breathing again, they're both able to get back up; Sanji jumps into the water to go free Luffy's legs, and Zoro stalls Arlong in the meantime.
- Holding Out for a Hero: The people of Cocoyashi Village chose to do this instead of fighting back once Arlong set up base, partly out of concern for Nami. Once Arlong goes back on his word with Nami, they decide they've got nothing to lose, and plan to fight and die with dignity, but Johnny and Yosaku convince them to hold true to this a little longer so the Straw Hats can come in and beat the Fishmen.
- Hope Spot:
- The islanders manage to get a distress call out to the Marines to save them, but then Arlong and his crew easily sink them.
- Nami, meanwhile, thinks she's only one heist from raising the money to buy the village. Before she can leave, though, corrupt sailors on Arlong's payroll show up to take her stash.
- I Can't Do This by Myself: In response to Arlong's "Reason You Suck" Speech, Luffy admits that he can't become the Pirate King or even get by without his True Companions, because he doesn't have the various vital skills that they do. Arlong laughs at him and asks if there even is anything he can do. Luffy's reply? "I can beat you."
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: After the day is saved Genzo has a private talk with Luffy at Belle-mere's grave and tells him that, if Luffy does anything to take away Nami's smile, he will hunt him down. Of course Luffy has no intention of doing that.
- If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: A non-verbal one when Zoro, while tied up, throws himself into the pool to see if Nami is as cold-blooded as Arlong says. She's not, and rescues him.
- Jerkass Realization: Usopp's fight with Choo sees him realize how bad his Dirty Coward behavior looks in comparison to the struggles of everyone else, and resolves to fight.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Some people of Gosa Village, the last town Arlong destroyed, managed to send a distress call to the Government for a rescue. However, Commodore Purinpurin decides that, instead of evacuating the people, his time would be better spent fighting Arlong. The first cannonball he fires at Arlong Park is chewed to bits by Arlong himself, while Hatchan, Choo, and Kuroobi personally sink his ship with a maelstrom.
- Lightning Bruiser: Arlong. Especially underwater. Hatchan, Choo, and Kuroobi are likewise pretty fast.
- Loan Shark: Arlong is a literal example.
- Loophole Abuse: Arlong promised he would let Nami and Cocoyashi Village go if the former brought him 100 million beris. To ensure Nami fails without directly breaking the promise himself, Arlong gets Nezumi to confiscate all of her money.
- Loyalty Mission: The whole arc is Nami-centered, and reveals her backstory and problems of her hometown. After the Straw Hats free the town from Arlong, she truly becomes one of the True Companions.
- Making a Splash: Arlong and Choo come to mind. Choo can spit water with the force of a gunshot, and if there is a large enough source nearby, upgrade this to wipe out parts of a forest. Arlong, meanwhile, can do the same just by throwing water with his hand.
- Mama Bear: Belle-mere gave up her life for her children than rather deny their existence. That said, she also had a pragmatic reason for doing it; she knew that any attempts to smuggle Nami and Nojiko off the island were pointless, since the Fishmen must have sunk every ship on the island already.
- Merciful Minion: Nami pretends to stab Usopp, while really stabbing her own hand, to save him from Arlong.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Hachi teeters on this. Perhaps due to being the spaciest of Arlong's three officers, he's the most pleasant toward humans and only loses it when he sees that Zoro previously beat up all the other Fishmen. But he's also a terror in battle, and doesn't exactly have any qualms about Arlong's enslavement of Cocoyashi village.
- Minor Injury Overreaction: Just harming a Fishman in any way will get Arlong angry enough to level an entire village. When Usopp snipes Arlong at one point, the shark brings a building down and has to be dragged back to Arlong Park by his crew so he doesn't destroy Cocoyashi in his rage.
- Moral Myopia: Arlong is a racist who crossed the
Moral Event Horizon eight years ago by killing Nami's mother and treating her horribly ever since. But then he treats his own men like his family and calls Luffy a coward when the latter uses Arlong's True Companions as a shield. - Moving the Goalposts: When Nami tells Arlong that she is close to buying Cocoyashi village from him the fishman has a corrupt marine captain confiscate Nami's money. When she furiously confronts him about this, Arlong feigns shock and says that Nami will just have to start all over again unless she wants something to happen to the villagers. This is what leads Nami and the villagers to realize that Arlong never had any intention to honour the deal and that he will keep them under his thumb for the rest of their lives unless they do something.
- Mr. Exposition: Unlike later side-characters who usually have at least one defining quirk, Johnny and Yosaku pretty much exist solely to explain things to the Straw Hats (and by extension, the audience) and later hype them for their showdown with Arlong's crew.
- Mugging the Monster: Poor Mohmoo. Out for a free lunch, gets a free ass-kicking from Luffy and Sanji instead.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Hatchan. The sextuple-wielding Octopus Fishman swordsman.
- Not Afraid of You Anymore: Deconstructed. The Cocoyashi villagers finally decide to fight back against Arlong after being fed up with his years of oppression, but they do so out of desperation, knowing they don't stand a chance against the fishmen. This becomes the last straw for Nami, who hits a Rage Breaking Point.
- Not So Invincible After All: To the people of the island, the fishmen were unstoppable monsters that no one in the East Blue could stand against. Even when Cocoyashi decide to fight back, it's only because they'd rather die than live under Arlong's rule any longer. Then, Luffy and his friends step in and start taking out the fishmen one by one, much to Cocoyashi's amazement.
- Now That's Using Your Teeth!:
- Arlong, a shark-type fishman, has teeth and jaws that can bite through cannonballs with no issue. And they immediately grow back whenever they break.
- Luffy actually tries biting Arlong back a few times, but since his teeth and jaws aren't nearly as tough, all it does is annoy Arlong.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Nami and Nojiko are left mouth agape when they see Arlong about to kill Bellemere in front of them.
- Zoro is visibly shocked when he realizes that the ship Luffy, Sanji and Yosaku are on is about to crash right into him.
- The looks on the 77th Branch members, when they realize they're about to be sunk into the Arlong Pirates' artificial maelstrom, just scream "We're so screwed!"
- The horrified look on Nami's face when she learns that Arlong betrayed her says it all.
- Arlong has a minor one when he realizes Zoro beat Hachi and caused him so much trouble...all while suffering from a wound that would kill a normal person. He sees Zoro as such a threat that he decides to kill him immediately, though luckily, Luffy rejoins the fight in time to prevent this.
- Plan B Resolution: Cocoyashi Village allowed themselves to suffer under the Fishmen for years with no resistance due to hoping that either the Marines would liberate them or Nami would buy back the village. When the honest Marines are easily repelled by Arlong's forces and the corrupt ones pull a Cavalry Betrayal and confiscate Nami's money, the villagers feel they have nothing left to lose and are prepared to fight the Arlong Pirates to the death. Fortunately, they have one more alternative: the Straw Hat Pirates beating the stuffing out of Arlong and his crew.
- The Power of Trust: After Arlong breaks the pact and reveals the location of her treasure to a Marine, Nami is in complete despair knowing that all of her hard work she did for years is gone and that the villagers are going to die fighting Arlong. With nowhere else to turn, she begs Luffy to help her, effectively placing the lives of her loved ones in his hands. Luffy responds by giving Nami his straw hat—entrusting her with his most valued treasure just as she did for him. Nami chooses to reciprocate this trust by arc's conclusion; at the climax, Arlong tells Nami that he'll spare her village if and only if she decides to join him as his navigator. Although she initially panics, she remembers the trust that she and Luffy placed in each other and promptly turns down Arlong's offer.
- Rage Breaking Point: Two are reached in quick succession:
- For the villagers, Nezumi and his forces stealing Nami's money and shooting Nojiko in the shoulder. This makes the citizens too angry with Arlong and his rule to stand for it anymore, and they decide to fight back and liberate their island or die trying.
- For Nami, the aforementioned rebellion, as she knows the villagers stand no chance against Arlong. This causes her to snap and stab her tattoo repeatedly while screaming Arlong's name, until Luffy stops her and she breaks down in tears.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Arlong plays it straight by giving them to humans, but Luffy inverts it by explaining why he sucks, and why he needs his crewmates to help him become Pirate King.
- Red Baron: Arlong "The Saw". The world starts to hear about "Straw Hat Luffy", too, when he receives his first bounty at the end of this arc.
- Rescue Arc: The earliest one of series. The Straw Hats fight Arlong for the freedom of Nami and her hometown.
- La Résistance: A low key one that Genzo has been keeping at bay for Nami's sake. Once Arlong betrays her, all bets are off.
- Rule of Symbolism: In the anime adaptation, when Arlong makes his We Can Rule Together speech to Nami, the scene repeatedly cuts to a shot of a butterfly stuck in a spider web. At the exact moment that Nami tells Arlong to screw off, the butterfly pulls itself free, right before the spider can grab it. And just to really hammer it home, that same butterfly later lands on Nami's head.
- Sacrificial Lamb: The 77th Marine Branch, a self-proclaimed "semi-elite" unit, is destroyed effortlessly by just three fishmen to establish the threat posed by Arlong's pirates.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- Mohmoo tries to do this when he sees Luffy again. Arlong manages to get him to fight by threatening him, but again, Mohmoo doesn't last long.
- Despite being invited back to the Arlong Pirates towards the end of the arc, Nami leaves them for good so she can side with the Straw Hats.
- Smash the Symbol:
- When Nami hits her Rage Breaking Point, she repeatedly stabs her own shoulder where her Arlong Pirates tattoo is located, out of pure hatred. Luffy has to stop her from mutilating herself further.
- At the climax of Luffy's battle with Arlong, Luffy's final attack smashes through the ceiling of Arlong Park, knocking down the Arlong Pirates flag, and eventually Arlong Park itself, signifying the end of the tyrannical Fish-Man's rule of the Conomi Islands.
- Shark Man: Arlong is a saw-nosed shark fishman.
- Shouldn't You Stop Stealing?: So Arlong, the guy responsible for Nami's terrible childhood, who forced her to steal to free her village and survive, has finally been toppled! The village is free! And now Nami wants to travel alongside her saviors: The Straw Hat Pirates! Hoora- Wait! Where's my wallet?! That little-! No, Nami hasn't changed in the slightest...
- Staged Shooting: With the two in full-view of the Arlong Pirates, Nami pretends to kill Usopp by stabbing him in the chest. In reality, she stabbed herself in the hand while it was placed on him.
- Super Not-Drowning Skills:
- Even using the most charitable interpretation, Sanji holds his breath in Arlong Park's harbor for at least four or five minutes, and most of that time is spent getting the tar kicked out of him by Kuroobi. By the end of it all, he still has enough air left to blow into Kuroobi's gills, forcing Kuroobi to surface.
- Even Luffy, whose status as a Devil Fruit user means he should have Super Drowning Skills, is able to stay alive an awfully long time underwater (albeit unconscious) before Nojiko and Genzo tug his head above-surface.
- For that matter, Nojiko and Genzo each spend several minutes underwater themselves, for even longer than Sanji, performing CPR on Luffy.
- Super Spit: The specialty of Choo, the Arlong Park officer who faces Usopp. It's fitting for an archerfish-type Fishman.
- Tattooed Crook: All of the Arlong Pirates, even Nami. Many of them have another sun-shaped tattoo, which later becomes a plot point in the Sabaody Archipelago Arc and has its history fleshed out even more in the Amazon Lily and Fishman Island Arcs.
- Team Power Walk: The four male Straw Hats do this as they head towards Arlong Park, in one of the most iconic moments of the series.
- Token Good Teammate: Hatchan is the least cruel out of Arlong's pirates.
- Traitor Shot: A variant. Nami puts on all appearances as The Mole working for Arlong, but freezes up when Arlong says "she'll even forget about her own parent's death for money", which tips off Zoro that something's up.
- Tranquil Fury: When Luffy and Arlong's fight moves to the cartography room, Luffy realizes just how much Nami has suffered there, and enters this mode. The exact moment can even be pinned, as Luffy's hand noticeably twitches when Arlong says no one could "use" Nami as well as he does.
- True Companions: Luffy's value in this trope is mirrored by Arlong's. The difference lies in how they treat Nami: Luffy respects her as a person, and without question, goes to stop whoever's upsetting her. However, Arlong is limited by his bigotry; while he highly values her and calls her this, he actually considers her to be something more akin to a Team Pet, or worse, a tool. And because of his Fantastic Racism, he's never really respected her as a person, and thinks appealing to her materialism will keep her happy and loyal.
- Unstoppable Rage: Arlong's temper is the stuff of legend, almost flipping over his own Arlong Park base and later doing severe damage to it with a BFS in the climax of his fight with Luffy. Sanji compares him to a enraged Sea King.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: How Nami draw her staff to hit the young boy
- Wake-Up Call Boss: Arlong is the strongest villain Luffy faces in the East Blue, and is the first to be a true physical challenge to him. Luffy comes close to death and/or being seriously maimed several times during their fight. Fittingly, while his defeat of other pirates in East Blue like Buggy and Don Krieg does also play a role in Luffy earning his first bounty of 30 million Berries, taking down Arlong is the direct impetus for it.
- War Is Hell: Alluded to in Nami's backstory.
- We Can Rule Together: Arlong isn't quite this generous, but his "surrender to me and rejoin my crew" speech to Nami has shades of this.
- What Does He See in Her?: When the Straw Hats go to rescue Nami, Kuroobi mocks Sanji for coming all the way to Arlong Park for "that kind" of woman.
- What You Are in the Dark: After baiting Choo into chasing him way out into the countryside, Usopp realizes he can just play dead, cover himself in a little dirt, and go back claiming he fought bravely. But remembering how fearlessly everyone else - even Nami herself - has acted against the fishmen, he changes his mind and chooses to fight Choo man-to-man.
- The Worf Effect: Commodore Purinpurin and his crew of dedicated Navy men pick a fight with Arlong in order to free the island from his tyranny, and end up being sunk in a maelstrom made by Arlong's three top officers. Not only does this display show how dangerous Hatchan, Choo, and Kuroobi are, but also why Arlong wants Nami's navigational abilities for his own.
- Worf Had the Flu:
- Defied. Zoro fights Hatchan while still suffering from the wound Mihawk gave him (it even re-opens, as Arlong finds out) and runs a fever. He manages to win regardless.
- Played straight when Zoro briefly fights Arlong to buy Sanji sometime. Arlong has a minor "Oh, Crap!" when he realizes this is the case and that Zoro gave his men so much trouble with injuries that would've likely killed any normal person.
- Would Hit a Girl:
- Zoro tries to cut Nami down when she drowned Usopp down the river, although Sanji intervenes.
- Arlong beats up Bellemere and kills her by a headshot. Although the anime changed it to a shoot in the chest and in the 4Kids dub, he sends her to a dungeon.
- Would Hurt a Child:
- Nami smacks a young boy with her staff when he threatens to kill her.
- Bellemere has no problem hitting her young daughters. One is Played for Laughs, another is for drama.
- Arlong also physically abused a young Nami.
- You Are a Credit to Your Race: A much darker variation: When Arlong goes into one of his racist tirades against humans, Nami tells him she's heard it before, and Arlong apologizes, making an exception for her and saying she can't help what species she is. He also continuously states that Nami's navigation skills make her a genius, and that she's the one human he values most.
- You Are Not Alone: Upon learning Arlong backstabbed her and stole her fortune she would have used to buy her village's freedom, Nami starts crying and begs Luffy for help. He simply puts his hat on her head and moves Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp to attack Arlong for making her cry.
Story Impact
- Nami permanently joins the Straw Hat Pirates as their navigator, making them ready to reach the Grand Line. It also explains her unusual behavior in the previous arcs (her hatred of pirates in the Orange Town Arc, and one of her warnings to Zoro at the Baratie when she manipulates Sanji).
- The first non-human race of the series is presented with the Fishmen. The Fishmen's racism against humans seems to stem from their own discrimination from past treatment, as revealed in the Sabaody Archipelago, Amazon Lily, and Fishman Island arcs.
- Jimbei's name is revealed, although he will not appear until the Impel Down Arc (459 chapters after being mentioned). Also, since Sanji learns from Yosaku about Jimbei's connection to the Arlong Pirates, he will later confront Jimbei about this when they meet during the Fishman Island Arc.
- In the Sabaody Archipelago arc, some of the Straw Hats visit Sabaody Park, a park that resembles Arlong Park. The similarity is confirmed in the Fishman Island arc, where it's revealed that Arlong Park was built in the image of Sabaody Park due to the Fishmen's desire to be accepted into human society.
- Sometime after this story arc, prior to the Summit War Saga, Hatchan stars in the manga mini-arc "Hatchan's Sea-Floor Stroll," which reveals that he escapes from the Marines and opens his own takoyaki stand. The Straw Hats visit this stand in the Sabaody Archipelago arc. This manga storyline also introduces several characters that are included in the same arc, including Hachi's new friends Camie and Pappagu, and the Macro Pirates, who develop a grudge against him.
- In addition to mentioning Jimbei, Yosaku also reveals the existence of a group of seven pirates hired by the government: the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
- Nezumi's report, as well as Luffy's defeats of Buggy and Don Krieg, give Luffy his first bounty.
- This arc introduces Mohmoo, who gets hurt by Luffy's and Sanji's attacks. He later falls under the command of the Wet-Hair Pirates during the Fishman Island Arc (522 chapters after his last appearance).
- After defeating the Arlong Pirates, the Straw Hat Pirates gain a bad reputation amongst the New Fishman Pirates.
- Hatchan states that he is the second-best swordsman on Fishman Island, foreshadowing the appearance of the best swordsman, Hyouzou, in the Fishman Island arc.
- This is the first arc to suggest that Luffy recruit a doctor for his crew when Dr. Nako suggests it while treating the crew's wounds from the battle. However, it's not until the Drum Island Arc that this idea is taken more seriously, ultimately leading to Tony Tony Chopper being recruited into the crew.
