DXD: The Awakening Of Phenex

"Who the hell is this guy, Nami-san?" Sanji asked, his voice full of irritation as he stared intently at Riser, his eyebrows furrowed in distrust. His eyes, however, softened as they shifted back to Nami.

Nami quickly glanced at Sanji, trying to find the right words. "He's... Riser. He helped me in the village and said he wanted to take down Arlong too."

Sanji narrowed his eyes, still staring at Riser. "And how do we know we can trust him?" His tone was filled with skepticism as he took a step forward, shielding Nami from any potential threat.

Riser smiled faintly, watching the scene before him.

'This is why I came to this world. In DxD, my focus was power and destruction, but here... here I can just watch situations like this unfold firsthand.' His eyes gleamed with a mixture of excitement and curiosity, appreciating the unpredictability of the moment.

Sanji crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently. "Are you going to answer us or not?" he pressed, visibly bothered by Riser's silence.

Riser, however, simply averted his gaze from Sanji and turned his attention to Nami, ignoring the provocation.

"Are these the friends you said you trusted?" he asked, his voice calm and without a hint of concern.

"Yes, they're my friends. They came to help me, just like you," Nami replied, nodding slightly, still a bit hesitant as she observed the growing tension between the two men.

Sanji huffed, clearly dissatisfied with Riser's lack of a direct answer, but he remained silent, deciding to keep an eye on him until he was sure of his intentions.

Zoro, who had been standing a bit farther away, observing the situation, decided to step in. "Hey, Sanji, relax a little. If he helped Nami, then maybe we should give him a chance. Besides, we have more important things to worry about right now."

Sanji glared at Zoro with irritation. "You're always so confident, aren't you, mosshead? What if he's a spy for Arlong?"

Zoro shrugged, clearly unconcerned. "If he is, then we'll deal with it when the time comes. For now, it seems like he's on our side."

Riser chuckled softly, clearly amused by the situation. "Better listen to the mosshead, Target." He looked directly at Sanji, keeping a challenging smile on his lips.

Sanji frowned, confused. "Target? What are you talking about?"

Riser subtly pointed at Sanji's eyebrows. "Referring to your... unique feature. It looks like a target drawn on."

Sanji was visibly irritated, gritting his teeth as his eyebrows furrowed even more. "What?! Who do you think you are to talk about my eyebrows like that?!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Zoro burst into laughter, clearly amused by the nickname given to Sanji. The laughter echoed through the area, adding even more tension to the moment.

Sanji turned to Zoro, eyes blazing with rage. "What's so funny, mosshead? He called you 'mosshead' too!"

Zoro stopped laughing immediately, his expression becoming serious. "My name is Zoro, not mosshead." He drew one of his swords, pointing it directly at Riser.

Riser merely raised an eyebrow, still smiling faintly. "You'd better put that sword down, or I'll make the wound on your chest even bigger, mosshead."

Zoro had a wound on his chest, covered by bloodied bandages, and Riser's comment made the swordsman grip the hilt of his sword even tighter, his expression hardening. The atmosphere grew heavier, and the tension between Riser, Sanji, and Zoro increased with each passing second.

Sanji also looked ready to act, his fists clenched, while Nami looked nervously between them, trying to think of a way to prevent an internal fight among her allies.

...

Arlong, watching the scene from a distance, glared at the three men and Luffy with visible anger. The fish-man captain felt utterly ignored, something that had never happened before.

Luffy had just landed a punch on Arlong, sending the fish-man crashing against a wall. However, instead of continuing the fight, Luffy and the others were arguing among themselves, no longer paying attention to him.

'How dare these inferior humans act like this in my home?' Arlong thought, his rage boiling. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Riser, Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy with pure hatred.

"ARE YOU IGNORING ME?!" Arlong roared, his deep voice echoing through the park. He slowly stood up, his muscles tensing, and his gaze filled with fury. "I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET SETTING FOOT HERE!"

Immediately, everyone present turned their attention to Arlong. The fish-men around were ready to attack, their eyes fixed on the enemies before them. The tension in the air was palpable, and the fish-men pirates were just waiting for their leader's order to act.

Nami, hearing Arlong's shout, shivered. The sound brought back painful memories of the time she was under his control. Her heart began to race, and fear was evident in her eyes as she took an involuntary step back.

Riser watched Arlong and Nami's reaction, reflecting on the situation.

'As much as I'd like to finish off all these fish-men and paint this place red, now is not the time for a bloodbath.'

Arlong raised his arm and shouted, "ATTACK!"

The fish-men rushed toward the group, ready to fight.

Riser sighed, diverting his eyes from Arlong. "Soru."

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the spot, reappearing beside Nami.

FWOOOSH!

Sanji and Zoro were stunned by Riser's speed. Both widened their eyes, clearly impressed by the sudden movement and how quickly he moved.

"Soru."

Riser disappeared again, this time emerging outside Arlong Park.

FWOOOSH!

The villagers and Nojiko were there, along with Usopp, who was hiding behind Nojiko, clearly scared.

Riser looked at Usopp, who shrank further behind Nojiko, trying to avoid any direct confrontation.

Nami, who had been brought by Riser, was stunned by how quickly he moved. She looked at Riser, still processing everything that had happened in a matter of seconds.

Riser gave Nami a slight smile. "You'll recover soon. Watch from a distance."

Nami nodded, starting to understand the situation and allowing herself to trust Riser a little more. She looked at her sister and the villagers, realizing that, this time, there were people willing to fight alongside her.

Riser climbed onto the wall and watched the fight unfold according to the anime.

'Come to think of it, I don't quite remember what happened to Arlong, and in this alternate universe, everything will be even harder to predict. I'll kill them all if Luffy doesn't ask me to join the crew. I can influence things in other ways.'

....

Hatchan charged at Luffy, preparing to attack. He opened his mouth, ready to unleash his strike.

"Tako-Hachi Black!"

Before Hatchan could spit ink, Riser acted.

"Soru."

FWOOOSH!

Riser appeared above Hatchan, his expression cold and determined. He raised his fist and, with a powerful movement, delivered a direct punch.

BAM!

The impact of the punch was devastating. Hatchan was violently thrown to the ground, creating a huge crater. Blood and pieces of flesh scattered as all that remained of the fish-man was an unrecognizable mass within the crater.

Zoro and Sanji narrowed their eyes, surprised by Riser's brutality.

The fish-men around were shocked. They always believed they were ten times stronger than humans, but seeing one of their own being destroyed like that was traumatizing.

Arlong, full of hatred, shouted, "Damn human, how dare you kill one of my kind?!"

Riser smiled coldly, thinking to himself. 'I'm not human. I'm a Devil. But that's something no one in this world needs to know.'

Luffy looked at Riser, his expression serious. "You didn't have to kill him."

Riser stared back at him, his voice firm. "Are you going to stay here in the village protecting the citizens forever? Because if so, I'll apologize and let you handle it your way."

Luffy fell silent, reflecting. He knew he couldn't stay there forever. He wanted to be the Pirate King, and that meant moving forward. But at the same time, he didn't want to kill anyone unnecessarily.

Zoro intervened, cutting into Luffy's thoughts. "Stop thinking, Luffy. You're not good at it. I don't mind doing the hard things, whether it's cutting down the fish-men or facing Riser. You're the captain, and the captain has to be strong. Whatever your decision, we're with you."

Luffy turned to Arlong, eyes filled with determination. "Arlong! After I beat you, you're going to promise never to set foot in this village again, got it?!"

Arlong scoffed, letting out a cruel laugh.

"Shahahaha! Beat me? You're an idiot, boy. I'm going to kill every one of you, then I'll kill all the villagers! And then, I'll force Nami to make maps for me for the rest of her life!"

Arlong's words echoed through the park, filling the air with a sense of despair and rage. Luffy, however, clenched his fists, his gaze growing even more determined.

"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else, Arlong!" Luffy shouted, charging toward the fish-man, determined to put an end to his reign of terror.

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