Arlong Pirates

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The flag of the Arlong Pirates
The flag of the Arlong Pirates

The Arlong Pirates (アーロン一味, Āron Ichimi) are fictional pirates from the anime and manga One Piece, led by Arlong. Every member of the crew is a Fish-Man.

Originally they were led by Jimbei, but when he became one of the Shichibukai the crew split up for as of yet unknown reasons, leaving Arlong in charge of his own crew, who he led out of the Grand Line and towards East Blue, which had much weaker prey. They believe they are above humans as the stronger species, looking down on them as mere maggots, though it should be noted that not all fish-men share this belief. They intended to take over the entire East Blue with the help of Nami, who they forced into making incredibly detailed maps for them.

Contents

[edit] Part in the Story

Eight years before the present storyline, the Arlong Pirates invaded an island and forced the residents to pay a large monthly tax for their own survival--100 thousand beli per adult, and 50 thousand per child. An ex-Navy member named Belle-Mère was only able to pay for her adoptive daughters Nami and Nojiko, so Arlong killed her as an example, leaving the girls behind. Seeing how skilled at map-making Nami was at such an early age, Arlong kidnapped her and forced her to become a map-making member of his crew. In order to convince her, he struck a deal--if she can somehow gather 100 million beli and give it to him, he will free her and her village and thus, Nami began her life as a thief. As a show of their power, the crew constructed their headquarters, Arlong Park, in clear sight of the village. They struck deals with corrupt Marine officials like Captain Nezumi in order to prevent attacks on them and started to build up their forces to take over all of East Blue.

During the present day, Arlong had already conquered over 20 villages. Nami was getting dangerously close to her goal, and Arlong was getting worried. If Nami left, he would lose a valuable part of the team, as her maps were essential for coming up with strategies. Thus, he told Nezumi where Nami kept all of her money and had him confiscate all of it, but Nami and the other villagers instantly realized that Arlong was behind it and finally decided to fight back.

After several long and difficult battles, Arlong Park was toppled by Luffy, freeing the entire island from his reign. He and his surviving crew were arrested, though Hachi managed to escape and start a takoyaki restaurant.

[edit] Pirate Flag

Arlong's flag is that of a saw-nosed shark turned to the left with the tail curving inward . Around the shark is a semi-oval with three curves emitting from it. Behind the shark is a crossbone. This flag is tattooed onto all members of the crew.

Another symbol that may or may not be Jimbei's flag is a sun-shaped tattoo that appears on several members of the Arlong Pirates. However, this has yet to be confirmed and Momoo doesn't have it (despite being a secret weapon).

[edit] Crew Information

[edit] Arlong

Captain (20,000,000 Belli bounty)

Arlong (アーロン, Āron) was a feared and ruthless pirate, once considered the most dangerous cutthroat in all of East Blue. The Sawshark Fish-Man was once a member of the Fish-Man Pirates, of which Jimbei was captain. But when Jimbei joined the Shichibukai, Arlong split from the group for as of yet unknown reasons, along with his own "Arlong Pirates," and left the Grand Line for easier targets.

When Arlong and his crew (consisting of Hachi, Chuu, and Kuroobi), first arrived on the island that would someday become Arlong Park, the first village he encountered was Cocoyashi Village (Coco Village in the 4kids English version), the home of Nami. Arlong then proceeded to extort money out of the residents of Cocoyashi Village. Adults would have to pay 100 thousand Beli (this setting's monetary unit), children would pay 50 thousand or be executed by Arlong's men. Bellemere (Nami's adoptive mother) only had 100 thousand Beli so she decided to pay for Nami and Nojiko and sacrifice herself. Arlong shot her in front of her children as an example of disobedience and then kidnapped Nami.

He forced Nami to become a part of his crew as a map maker, and told her that if she brought him 100 million Beli he would free her village and everyone in it, including her adoptive sister Nojiko. Years later, when Nami was about to fulfill her end of the bargain using money she stole from Monkey D. Luffy, Arlong arranged to have a corrupt Marine captain confiscate the money from her so she would be forever under his control.

Luffy, who followed Nami after being robbed by her, saw Nami brutally stabbing Arlong's tattoo on her arm in desperation (this was cut from the 4Kids dub). Angered by the obvious suffering Arlong had wrought against her, Luffy stopped her from hurting herself and unquestioningly accepted her plea for help. A long and arduous battle ensued between Luffy, Arlong, and the elites of their crews.

By the end of the fight, only Luffy and Arlong were left standing and Luffy was taking a beating from Arlong's high-speed diving attack Shark On Darts (Shark and Awe in 4kids dub) and his sword Kiribachi (Saw Shaped Sword), which resembled a long steel saw with teeth shaped like a shark's. Luffy seemed on the verge of defeat until the battle moved into the top of Arlong Park, where Nami slavishly made her maps for Arlong as a child. While there, Arlong asked Luffy if he could use her as well as he did. This enrages Luffy, as Arlong sees Nami not as a person, but as a tool. Luffy crushed the Shark Saw, and the tables turned dramatically.

After destroying Arlong's Kiribachi, using the full power of his attack Gomu Gomu no Ono/Gum Gum Axe, Luffy managed to send the full force of Arlong's attack Shark On Haguruma (Gear) attack through to the bottom of Arlong Park, breaking Arlong's cartilaginous back and destroying the building in the process. Given his strength of body and will, however, some speculate that the blow wasn't enough to kill him outright (also Luffy is known for not killing his enemies, no matter how cruel they are).

Recently, Hachi has said that Arlong, along with Chuu and Kuroobi, have been imprisoned by the government.

Trivia

  • Many of One Piece's primary villains are given distinct laughs. Arlong follows this tradition by starting his laughs with "Sha" (i.e Sha ha ha ha ha!)
  • In the fourth One Piece movie Dead End Adventure one of the characters, a Fish-Man called Willy, was said to be a former rival of Arlong.
  • Arlong appeared in One Piece Grand Battle 1,2, Rush and in One Piece Grand Adventure as a playable character. He appear in One Piece Unlimited Adventure as a Boss and a Playable character.

[edit] Choo

In the featurette: Take Aim! The Pirate Baseball King Chu's name was written as Chew on the back of his baseball shirt.

Seiyuu: Masaya Onosaka

Chu (チュウ, Chū) (Choo in the English version) is an Archerfish-man. In the Japanese version, he has a habit of saying "chu" (an onomatopoeic kissing-noise) after each sentence. Choo is one of the more cool-headed officers in Arlong's crew (though also possibly the most violent, as he shoots a Marine Captain before he even finishes talking) and can spit water out of his mouth as if it were a bullet. He ends just about all his sentences with "smek". ("chew" in the 4kids dub) He later fights with the apparently-outmatched Usopp, but he is ultimately beaten after Usopp wears him down by running away and setting him on fire, before repeatedly hitting him over his head with his "Usopp-Hammer" to knock him out.

He appeared in One Piece Grand Battle Rush and in One Piece Grand Adventure as Arlong support and also appeared in One Piece Dragon Dream as a sub-boss.

[edit] Kuroobi

Seiyuu: Hisao Egawa

Kuroobi (クロオビ, Kuroobi) is a ray-type fish-man. Kuroobi is one of the strictest members in his crew and has always been wary of Nami's supposed allegiance to Arlong. Kuroobi practices "Fish-Man Karate" (called "Merman Karate" in the now defunct 4kids dub) to fight his opponents. During the battle with the Straw Hats in the Arlong arc, he fights against Sanji whom he nearly defeats when the cook goes underwater to try and save Luffy. As a Fish-Man, Kuroobi has an advantage underwater. However, Sanji manages to force him up to dry land by breathing the air from his gills, suffocating him, and then promptly beats him into submission with his kicks.

[edit] Momoo

Momoo (モーム, Mōmu) (Mohmoo in the 4kids dub) is a giant "sea cow" (literally) that was brought from the Grand Line by Arlong's crew. It was he that destroyed Gosa Village. However when he encounters Luffy, Sanji and Yosaku's boat, he is promptly beaten, and used to tow their boat to the island. Later, during the battle at Arlong Park, he is called upon by Hatchan (his caregiver) to the fight against the Straw Hats. Despite memories of his first defeat, he does as told, only to be used in the Gomu Gomu no Kazaguruma, an attack by Luffy that takes out most of Arlong's forces, and then was thrown out of Arlong Park in the process, never to be seen again.

[edit] Other crewmates

While they are not named in the anime nor the manga, some of Arlong's crew were named in the One Piece Blue Databook.

  • Kaneshiro (カネシロ, Kaneshiro) - Shipwright
  • Pisaro (ピサロ, Pisaro) - Musician

[edit] Former Crewmates

[edit] Hatchan

Former Member

Seiyuu: Toshiyuki Morikawa

Hatchan (はっちゃん Hacchan?), called "Hachi" by most characters and called Hachiin by Camie, is an octopus fish-man. Hatchan is not very bright but a skilled swordsman, using rokutōryū ("six sword style"). He fights with Zoro during the fight between the Strawhat Crew and the Arlong Pirates. Despite having suffered a fever and severe blood loss from his unhealed wounds obtained in a duel against Mihawk, Zoro defeats Hatchan. Outside of battle, Hatchan is extremely helpful and friendly. It could be said that the only reason that he was mean to humans is because of the influence of his crewmates. He addressed Zoro politely when they first met, and even gave him a ride of a bay on his back. Later in the manga, in a side story told on title pages of the ongoing story, Hatchan goes on many adventures, meeting a mermaid called Camie, that ends with him opening a floating takoyaki restaurant.

Later, Hatchan is abducted by the Rosy Life Riders in an attempt to sell him into slavery. He is rescued by the Straw Hats after they met Camie. However, after becoming aware who Camie asked them to rescue, the crew objected. Only Nami deemed Hatchan to be harmless (probably due to recognizing his simple and helpful nature during her time with the Arlong pirates) and the Straw Hats agreed to help. He assists them in their battle with the Flying Fish riders and then rewards the pirates with his Takoyaki. He is currently helping to Straw Hats reach the New World via Fishman Island, which is the only route available to them as the only other route involves traveling over the Red Line, via the Holy Land of Mariejoa, the headquarters of the World Government. This would also entail abandoning the Thousand Sunny.

Hatchan claims to know an excellent "coating mechanic" on the Shabondy Archipelago and tells the Straw Hats that if they use anyone else, they won't make it to Fishman Island. He explains that, in order to reach the island, the must coat their entire ship with the soapy resin from the mangroves of the archipelago so that it can withstand the pressure of diving to Fishman Island. He is currently guiding them through the Shabondy Archipelago, and because of his newfound friendship with the Straw Hats, his old acquaintance Shakky is willing to coat the Sunny for free.

In Hatchan's Sea-Floor Stroll, it's revealed that Hatchan, along with Chu and Kuroobi, planned to open a takoyaki store when they were younger. His nickname Hachi could also mean eight in Japanese, a reference to him being an octopus fish-man.

Hatchan's name is quite strange. In the Japanese language, chan is a diminutive suffix, added to the end of someone's name, giving it the meaning of "cute" or "little". However, Hatchan insists that his name is Hatchan and that Hachi is just a nickname. When questioned on this, Oda replied that the chan is the same as the last name of "Chan" common in Chinese, rather than the suffix -chan.[1]

[edit] Nami

Main article: Nami (One Piece)

Nami joined the crew when she was only ten-years old as a way of helping her hometown, Kokoyashi village. She was promised by Arlong that if she raised 100,000,000 beli she could buy Kokoyashi village from him. She one day returns after tricking the Straw Hat Pirates and is tricked by Arlong after sending a Navy captain, Nezumi, after her stash of money. She leaves the crew joyously after Arlong is defeated by Luffy.

[edit] Crew strength

As Fish-Men, they are twice as strong as ordinary humans, 10 times stronger under water, and are not afraid to use cruel measures to incite fear and show how much stronger they are than humans. They are fearsome fighters and almost unbeatable under water. For the Straw Hats, this was the toughest of their early fights, pushing them all to their limits. Their leader Arlong was not bothered by Luffy having a Devil Fruit power and took advantage of his weakness to the effects of the sea (though Luffy would have sunk anyway due to the fact that his legs were trapped in rock). With Nami's maps, their abilities increase even further, as they can take advantage of ocean currents by blocking them with boulders to create whirlpools, among other actions. With the Navy focusing their attention on the Grand Line and the incapacitation of all other major East Blue pirate bands by the Straw Hats, there would have been nothing to stop them from taking over East Blue if the Straw Hat Pirates hadn't intervened.

[edit] See also

  • Jimbei
  • Arlong arc
  • Take Aim! The Pirate Baseball King

[edit] References

  1. ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.10 Chapter 83, Why is Hatchan's nickname Hachi?
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