The air in that corner of Fish-Man Island felt… wrong.
Heavy.
Crowded.
Hostile.
Giovanni stood alone at the center of it all, surrounded on every side by armed fish-men. Weapons glinted under the dim light. Eyes burned with anger, suspicion, and hatred.
At the front—
Arlong and Hody Jones.
And behind them…
A sea of bodies.
Giovanni slowly exhaled through his nose.
Then looked around once more, taking it all in.
"…So," he said casually, "let me get this straight."
He shifted his shoulders, loosening his stance just slightly.
"You brought me all the way out here…"
His eyes landed on Arlong.
"…just to do this?"
Arlong smirked, baring his sharp teeth.
"Don't act confused now, human."
Hody Jones stepped forward half a pace, arms folded behind his back.
"You should feel honored."
His voice was cold.
"Not many humans get to see this side of the island before they die."
Giovanni tilted his head slightly.
"…Die?"
He let the word hang for a second.
Then sighed.
"You two are serious?"
Arlong's grin widened.
"You don't understand your situation, do you?"
He spread his arms wide, gesturing behind him.
"Look around!"
Giovanni didn't even turn his head.
"I did."
Hody spoke again, voice carrying easily across the crowd.
"You're surrounded."
Arlong laughed.
"Over fifteen thousand fish-men are here right now."
A murmur of approval rippled through the crowd.
Weapons lifted slightly.
Feet shifted.
Confidence swelled.
Arlong pointed at Giovanni.
"Fifteen thousand."
He leaned forward.
"And you're alone."
For a moment—
Silence.
Then Giovanni smiled.
Amused.
"…Fifteen thousand?"
He repeated it like he was tasting the number.
Then he scratched lightly at his cheek.
"That's it?"
The reaction was immediate.
Arlong's grin twitched.
Hody's eyes narrowed.
The crowd stirred again, this time less confidently.
Giovanni sighed again, this time louder.
"Man…"
He shook his head slowly.
"That's actually kind of disappointing."
Arlong's voice hardened.
"…What?"
Giovanni looked up at the sky for a second, as if genuinely thinking.
"You know…"
He raised one hand slightly, gesturing lazily.
"If there were like…"
He glanced back at them.
"Let's say… a hundred thousand of you…"
A small grin crept across his face.
"…then I could at least flex a little bit."
Silence.
Then—
Anger.
Arlong's veins bulged.
Hody's expression darkened further.
Behind them, the crowd erupted into noise.
"Who does he think he is!?"
"He's lost his mind!"
"Kill him!"
Arlong stepped forward, furious.
"You're bluffing."
Hody nodded slightly.
"A human backed into a corner," he said. "Nothing more."
Giovanni just looked at them.
Still smiling.
Still calm.
Still not moving.
Hody lifted his hand.
"Kill him."
That was all it took.
The crowd surged.
Fifteen thousand fish-men moved at once.
Weapons raised.
Feet pounding.
Voices roaring.
A tidal wave of bodies rushing toward a single man—
Who didn't move.
Not a step.
Not a twitch.
Arlong grinned viciously.
"Finished."
Hody watched silently.
And then—
It happened.
No movement.
No warning.
No visible action.
Just—
Presence.
A wave.
An invisible, overwhelming force that burst outward from Giovanni like a detonation without sound.
The air cracked.
The ground trembled.
And the world—
Bent.
The charging fish-men faltered mid-step.
Eyes widened.
Breath caught.
Then—
One by one—
They dropped.
Bodies hit the ground.
Weapons slipped from hands.
Voices cut off mid-shout.
Like a forest collapsing in an instant—
Thousands fell.
Ten thousand.
Fifteen thousand.
All of them.
Unconscious.
Silenced.
Gone.
The entire battlefield became a sea of fallen bodies in the span of a heartbeat.
And at the center of it—
Giovanni stood.
Still.
Calm.
Untouched.
Arlong's grin vanished.
Hody's eyes widened for the first time.
"…What…?"
Neither of them understood.
Neither of them could understand.
This wasn't strength they recognized.
This wasn't brute force.
This wasn't something you could measure in muscle or numbers.
This was something else entirely.
Giovanni slowly lowered his gaze back to them.
"…Now," he said quietly, "it's just you two."
Arlong took a step back.
Hody didn't move.
"W-What did you do!?" Arlong barked.
Giovanni didn't answer.
He vanished.
Arlong's eyes widened—
Too late.
A flash of steel.
A blur of motion.
Giovanni appeared behind him.
Slash.
Blood.
Arlong screamed as a clean cut opened across his chest, sending him staggering forward.
At the same time—
Hody moved.
Or tried to.
Giovanni was already there.
Another flash.
Another strike.
Hody's body jerked as a slash tore across his side, forcing him back several steps.
Both of them froze.
Breathing heavy.
Bleeding.
Shocked.
They hadn't even seen it.
Giovanni stood between them now, sword lowered slightly at his side.
His expression had changed.
The playfulness was gone.
The amusement was gone.
What remained—
Was intent.
Cold.
Clear.
Decisive.
'These two…'
His grip tightened slightly on his sword.
'They can't be left alive.'
Images flashed in his mind.
The future.
Arlong's tyranny.
Nami's suffering.
Hody's madness.
Fish-Man Island drowning in hatred and blood.
'They cause too much harm.'
His eyes hardened.
'If I let them live…'
His stance shifted.
'It only gets worse.'
Arlong staggered, clutching his chest.
Hody steadied himself, breathing uneven.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them understood what they were facing.
Giovanni raised his sword.
'No more.'
He moved.
Faster than before.
Straight for Hody.
The blade came up—
And then down.
"Davy Sword Style: Conquest."
The air itself seemed to scream as the strike descended—
Laced with something deeper.
Something heavier.
Something that pressed against the world itself.
Conqueror's Haki.
Focused.
Sharpened.
Embedded into steel.
A strike meant not just to cut—
But to dominate.
To end.
Hody's eyes widened.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't react.
Couldn't—
CLANG.
The sound rang out.
Metal met resistance.
The strike stopped.
Giovanni's eyes widened slightly.
His blade—
Blocked.
He looked up.
And saw him.
A massive figure.
Broad.
Powerful.
Wrapped in presence.
Fisher Tiger.
The blade pressed against his arm, hardened, unyielding.
Fisher Tiger looked down at Giovanni calmly.
"…That's a lot of bloodlust," he said.
Giovanni's eyes narrowed.
Their gazes locked.
For a moment—
Neither moved.
Elsewhere—
---
Queen Otohime walked quickly through the streets of Fish-Man Island, her expression tense.
"Have you seen him?" she asked a group of citizens.
"A human boy. Blonde hair, Black coat—"
One of them nodded quickly.
"Yes! He went that way with some mermaids earlier."
Otohime's heart tightened.
"Mermaids. To the lawless zone…?"
She turned immediately.
"Thank you."
And began moving faster.
Her steps became hurried.
Her breathing sharper.
A bad feeling settled deep in her chest.
She stopped another passerby.
"You, have you seen a group heading toward the lower district?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. There was a large gathering. Something felt off—"
That was enough.
Otohime's eyes widened.
"No…"
She turned and ran.
Truly ran now. Or swam.
Her royal composure abandoned.
Her heart pounding.
'Please…'
Her mind raced.
'Please don't let me be too late.'
As she rushed toward the darker side of the island—
Toward the place where hatred had gathered—
Toward the place where Giovanni now stood face-to-face with Fisher Tiger—
Panic surged within her.
---
Find early chapters and daily updates on my patreon
[Patreon.com/tenten100?]
Follow me on Instagram [www.instagram.com/tenten100_?]