Chapter 16: The Fall Of The Arlong Pirates

Boom boom boom—

“W-what’s happening?!”

Amid a tangle of roaring blasts, the upheaval came without the slightest warning. Octopus Fish-Man Hatchan burst out of a room in a panic, his six hands fumbling to grip his six swords.

Arlong Park had already fallen into chaos. Wails and screams echoed without end, Fish-Man underlings were sent flying everywhere, and the park’s buildings were collapsing one after another.

In the surging smoke and dust, a figure seemed to flicker constantly. Every time it paused, another Fish-Man underling would let out a scream and be hurled away.

A body crashed down near him. Hatchan hurriedly looked over. “Salt-Grill? Salt-Grill!!”

It was Salmon Fish-Man Salt-Grill, the banquet minister of the Arlong Pirates. They had been drinking together just last night, yet now he lay beside him on the verge of death, giving no response at all to his calls.

“A h-human? An intruder?!”

“Damn it!”

Hatchan charged forward with his six swords.

“I remember he once saved Rayleigh. Better not kill him, or it might cause trouble in the future.” Guan Yi gave him a glance, then his figure flashed sideways.

“Bear Form – Moving Iron Body!”

Thud—

Hatchan’s vision blurred, and then he saw a shoulder slamming toward him. The bulging upper-arm muscle made him think for a split second of Big Brother Fisher Tiger, and in the very next moment, as he went flying, he could no longer think of anything at all. He passed out.

“Hatchan! You human bastard! How dare you cause trouble in the Arlong Empire—Hundred Tile Crushing Fist!”

On the other side, a tall cartilaginous Fish-Man with fan-shaped fins on the outsides of his arms charged at Guan Yi in rage, striking out with the power unique to the Fish-Man race: Fish-Man Karate!

The Hundred Tile Crushing Fist meant that, underwater, this punch could shatter one hundred tiles at once, its power astonishing. In fact, for Kuroobi, who was 40th dan in Fish-Man Karate, his peak output was the Thousand Tile Crushing Fist. This enraged blow already carried the force of five to six hundred tiles.

“Kuroobi, officer of the Arlong Pirates, bounty 9 million Belly, life or death. Former crew of Fish-Man pirate crews and the Sun Pirates, has some ties to Jinbe, but should be… fine to kill.”

“Tiger Eagle Twin Form – Heart Gouge!”

After five years of basic training, Guan Yi had honed his Tiger Form to the level of the Great Worm. His master had judged that before long, he would definitely advance further, gaining the might of the White Forehead, glimpsing the realm of the Mountain Lord.

Now his Tiger Pounce was utterly ferocious,

and fused with the sharpness of the Eagle Form.

Halfway through Kuroobi’s Hundred Tile Crushing Fist, Guan Yi’s hand shot out after yet arrived before, like an Eagle Form Finger Gun, and pierced straight through his chest.

Pfft—

Blood sprayed. The power gathered in Kuroobi’s fist instantly dissipated, and his punch landed on Guan Yi’s shoulder like a feeble scratch. Struggling, he lowered his head to look at the hand that had pierced his heart, and never lifted it again.

Arlong Park fell silent in an instant.

The Fish-Man underlings who had seen the intruder and were instinctively shouting who-knows-what all froze where they were, though hardly any were still standing.

Fear was written all over their fish-like faces.

Flinging Kuroobi’s corpse aside, Guan Yi let out a long breath as the stench of blood rushed to his nose.

This was the first time he had killed. Even if the other was a Fish-Man, he had been a living being.

Fortunately, aside from strengthening the physique, Xing Yi Quan also tempered the mind. After five years of basic training, Guan Yi’s growth had been rapid. He felt only slight discomfort, and even that was instantly forced down.

His gaze turned to another figure, somewhat similar in build to Sanji, but a Fish-Man with two exaggerated lips, each three to four centimeters thick.

“Kissing Fish-Man Chu, officer of the Arlong Pirates, former member of the Sun Pirates, bounty 5 million Belly, life or death.”

Meeting his eyes, Chu could not help stepping back in panic. But immediately after, Guan Yi descended upon him like death itself, his bloodstained right hand reaching toward Chu’s chest.

“Human, go to hell!”

Just then, Chu suddenly opened his mouth and spat a bullet-like jet of water at near point-blank range, aiming for Guan Yi’s forehead.

But Guan Yi’s body moved like a nimble sparrow. With a light tap of his toes on the ground, he slipped sideways, and under Chu’s horrified gaze, appeared at his right flank. Guan Yi’s right hand traced a perfect arc.

“Stop!”

Pfft—

“I told you to stop!”

At the very moment Guan Yi’s hand pierced Chu’s heart, a furious roar exploded from behind. Arlong charged in, swinging his great saw sword down at Guan Yi in a rage.

He had never imagined that in the mere ten-odd seconds between his nap in that tallest building—the “Arlong Empire”—and rushing out when he heard the explosions, half of his Arlong Pirates would already be slaughtered, and even his two main officers gone.

“Die!”

His great saw sword, weighing a hundred kilos, backed by several tons of strength in his arms, came down in a wrathful, terrifyingly sharp blow.

Guan Yi judged that this strike could injure him, so he did not meet it with Bear Form. Instead, his body turned to thin paper and drifted lightly aside.

“Monkey Form – Paper Arts!”

The blade grazed the hem of his clothes and slashed toward Chu’s falling corpse. Arlong’s pupils shrank, but he clenched his teeth, not daring to pull back. With a crash, he cleaved Chu’s corpse away, using the blade to block Guan Yi’s stabbing fingers.

Clang—

A crisp ring echoed as Arlong was knocked sliding back.

Only now did he finally see Guan Yi’s face clearly—and indeed, he had absolutely never seen him before.

Damn it! Damn it! These humans, this guy, and that guy who suddenly came to assassinate me half a month ago—where are they all coming from?!

There was still a bandage wrapped around his neck.

Half a month ago, Arlong had gone through the closest brush with death in his life. In his sleep, a human had silently crept right up to his bedside.

If not for his instincts, if he had not opened his mouth in his sleep and taken a bite before his throat was pierced—biting through the man’s dagger and two fingers—he would already be dead.

And now this one—who is he?!

Arlong had always taken pride in the Fish-Man’s innate physique, ten times stronger than a human’s, but he had to admit that this human’s power was in no way inferior to his own. It was so overwhelming it resembled those monsters of the Grand Line—this was not someone who belonged to the East Blue.

Those strange techniques also felt oddly familiar.

“You bastard… you’re Navy?!”

Guan Yi stepped in with a three-hit combo of Crushing Fists.

“Boss Arlong, kill that bastard!”

Seeing Arlong trade several blows evenly with Guan Yi, a Fish-Man underling shouted in hatred—only to see Arlong sent flying by a punch from Guan Yi, his great saw sword knocked spinning from his grip.

Boom—

Arlong smashed through a building and spiraled down into the pool at Arlong Park.

The underlings’ panic had just surged up when it began to ebb.

Boss Arlong must have done that on purpose. Yes, he dove into that pool on purpose. In the water, we Fish-Men are ten times stronger than on land!

But as he swam underwater, Arlong himself knew the bitter truth.

That Navy “paper” technique that let him float and drift was too damnable. Against that, Arlong’s great saw sword was as clumsy as a child’s toy.

Still, he did not believe he would lose.

In Arlong’s eyes, humans were an inferior race. Fish-Men were born stronger. How could he possibly lose to a human?!

It would just take a bit more effort, that was all.

Chu, Kuroobi, just wait.

I’ll avenge you both right now.

Then I’ll make those humans pay back this debt with interest!

He accelerated through the water, the natural gifts of the Fish-Man driving him faster and faster, until in a flash, he exploded out.

“Shark On Darts!”

His body shot forth like a missile, crossing dozens of meters in half a second, aiming to skewer Guan Yi with his sharp nose.

Guan Yi could not help but smile inside.

His master had said, if you want to quickly defeat an opponent who’s at seventy or eighty percent of your level, you must force him into using the wrong move—and this was the wrong move.

Half a month ago, this attack would have been troublesome, but now…

The J-shaped Xing Yi, he was far too familiar with it.

Guan Yi twisted his body and raised his leg.

The timing was perfect. At the exact moment Arlong’s flying charge brushed past, Guan Yi’s right leg hammered into his abdomen.

He completely ignored that terrifying speed.

Precise—and lethal.

Thud—

A spray of drool mixed with blood burst from Arlong’s mouth. His fish eyes bulged. His powerful body bent into a bow under the kick, forcibly redirected as he was blasted twenty or thirty meters straight up.

Then he began to fall.

His expression was dazed, as if recalling the past that had made him begin to hate humans. But the fall was far too brief. He could not remember much, nor find time for regret.

Guan Yi’s body had already drawn back like a fully bent bow, his fist loaded with power, and he slammed it down into Arlong.

Boom!!!

Arlong’s chest caved in as he crashed down, bringing his so-called Arlong Empire crumbling with him. Together with his absurd dream of ruling over humans, it was buried beneath the ruins.