Chapter 17: The Unseen Tide
As the battle in the plaza intensified, Arata became a ghost of golden lightning, a stabilizing force moving through the chaos. He did not seek the glory of the final blow on major foes; that was the Straw Hats' right, their crucible of growth. Instead, he became their unseen tide, turning the flow of the countless minor skirmishes that threatened to overwhelm them.
He saw Usopp, the brave sniper, perched high above, taking shot after shot. But a group of fish-men were scaling the structure, intending to silence him. Arata didn't intervene directly. Instead, he focused his will on the metal rungs of the ladder they climbed. A surge of electromagnetic energy, subtle and unseen, turned the ladder into a superconductor. The lead fish-man, his hand on a rung, let out a choked cry as a powerful, non-lethal jolt ran through him and his companions, sending them tumbling back into the water below. Usopp, unaware of the source of his salvation, cheered. "My sniping prowess scared them off! The great Captain Usopp strikes fear once again!"
A smile touched Arata's lips. Let him have his moment.
He saw Nami, using her perfected Clima-Tact to create mirages and lightning strikes of her own. Her control over weather was impressive, a testament to her intellect and two years of training. But when a particularly large fish-man broke through her illusions, Arata acted. He didn't summon a competing bolt. He gently amplified the one Nami was already forming. Her "Thunder Breed Tempo" erupted from her staff with twice its usual power and diameter, slamming into the fish-man and sending him flying with a satisfying yelp of pain. Nami blinked in surprise, looking at her staff. "Wow! I'm even stronger than I thought!"
He was a silent partner, a divine editor refining their work without altering the core authorship.
His most significant intervention, however, was for Brook. The skeleton was a whirlwind of swordplay and soulful music, but he was surrounded, his thin frame at risk of being crushed. Arata decided on a different approach. As Brook launched into a song, his sword flickering, Arata focused on the sound waves themselves. Using his own "Drum of Ruin" principle on a microscopic scale, he imbued the notes with a subtle, concussive rhythm that resonated with the water. The fish-men surrounding Brook suddenly found themselves disoriented, their balance off, their attacks becoming clumsy and uncoordinated. Brook, seizing the opening with the grace of a lifetime performer, danced through them, his sword a blur, knocking them out with precise strikes.
"Yohohoho! It seems my music has a physical impact after all!" Brook mused, playing a triumphant riff.
Through it all, Arata kept a part of his awareness always on Robin. He saw her fighting with calm efficiency, her clutch techniques more refined and powerful than ever. She was a master of her craft, and watching her work was a privilege. He intervened only once more when a fish-man tried to attack her from behind with a net. A spark of lightning, smaller than a firefly, shot from Arata's position and landed on the net. The netting, instantly superheated, fused into a useless, molten lump, shocking its wielder. Robin turned, saw the disabled weapon, and her eyes flickered towards Arata across the plaza. She gave him a slow, deliberate nod. It wasn't thanks, not yet. It was acknowledgment. A recognition of a shared purpose.
Meanwhile, Luffy's battle with Hody Jones reached its climax. The shark-man, bloated with dozens of Energy Steroids, was a monster of pure hatred. But Luffy's will, his resolve to protect his friend Shirahoshi and the island, was a force of nature in its own right. Arata watched, mesmerized, as Luffy unveiled his new technique.
"Gear Fourth... Snakeman."
The transformation was bizarre, a testament to Luffy's limitless creativity. His body became a coiled spring of power and speed, his punches curving through the water with impossible trajectories. Arata's Future Sight, honed on lightning, could barely track the attacks. It was chaos given form, a storm of fists that overwhelmed Hody's brute strength.
Arata felt a profound respect. This was not the power of a god or a fruit. This was the power of a human spirit pushed to its absolute limit, refusing to break. This was the man who had declared war on the World Government for Robin. Seeing this, Arata knew his mission was just. This crew, this family, was worth any price.
The final, decisive "King Cobra" strike echoed through the water, and Hody Jones was defeated. A collective sigh of relief seemed to pass through the water itself. The New Fish-Man Pirates, seeing their leader broken and their numbers decimated, lost their will to fight.
The battle was won.
As the Straw Hats regrouped, bruised but triumphant, their attention inevitably turned to the enigmatic figure who had fought alongside them. He stood apart, not seeking to join their circle, his golden eyes watching them with a calm, assessing gaze. The bubble of silence around him returned, more potent than before. They had all felt his influence, seen his power. Now, in the aftermath, the question hung heavy in the water.
Who was he? And what did he want with their archaeologist?
Luffy, ever direct, was the one to break the silence, scratching his head as he looked at Arata. "So... who are you again?"