Summary
Arlong, known as the Saw, is a sawshark fishman who served as the captain of the Arlong Pirates, an all-fishman crew, and was formerly a member of the Sun Pirates. He is the older brother of Madam Shyarly and is remembered as the primary antagonist of the Arlong Arc, holding the highest bounty in the East Blue before his defeat by Monkey D. Luffy. Like many One Piece characters, he possesses a distinctive laugh, "Shahahahaha." Arlong views humans as inferior and treats them with extreme cruelty, driven by a belief that his race is superior in every way. He is willing to slaughter humans but prefers controlling them through financial leverage, as seen with Nami and Nezumi. He has a keen eye for exploitable talent and is an excellent strategist, having spent eight years using Nami’s maps to plan his conquest of the East Blue. While he strictly honors monetary promises, he frequently exploits loopholes in his deals to gain unfair advantages. He is prone to violent outbursts, losing his temper easily. After being attacked by Usopp, he went berserk and had to be restrained by his crew to prevent him from destroying the town. During his battle with Luffy, the boy’s resilience enraged Arlong, causing him to act recklessly and severely damage his own headquarters in his destructiveness. Although he has been ill-tempered since youth, he was not always entirely brutal; he once instructed Jinbe to spare unconscious Marines. However, his arrogance grew over time, especially after Tiger’s death, which fueled his hatred and led him to misunderstand Fisher Tiger’s mercy. His crew’s murders caused humans to view him as a monster, and he ultimately enslaved humans, mirroring the oppression fishmen once suffered. Despite his extreme views, Arlong displayed strong loyalty to his crew and even to Nami, keeping her on the crew to preserve her talent rather than as a friend. He claimed she would remain a member forever and fought to keep her, while his officers often helped manage his temper. He also sought revenge when weaker crew members were harmed. Ironically, Arlong is a hypocrite who accused Koala of prejudice while preaching fishman superiority himself. Nevertheless, Hatchan noted that Arlong would never harm his fellow fishmen, caring for them deeply enough to fly into a rage when Luffy used one as a shield.
