Elsewhere, Gin and the Nyaban Brothers faced off against Hachi and Chew respectively, each demonstrating overwhelming combat prowess.
Gin wore his usual gloomy expression, his face contorting into a demon-like visage. He looked at Hachi, who was wielding six swords, and sneered,
"Six-Sword Style? You're just swinging six heavy swords around blindly. You think you're worthy of calling yourself a swordsman with that level of skill?"
"What did you say?! You damn bastard, how dare you look down on the great Hachi!"
Hachi glared viciously at Gin, flailing his arms and wildly swinging his six swords in the air as he roared,
"To think you'd call my swordsmanship blind swinging! Unforgivable! Now I'm really mad! I'm definitely going to slaughter you this time, you bastard!"
"Take this! [Six-Sword Style・Octopus Marvelous Leg Swords]!"
Before his voice even faded, the furious Hachi charged forward with his six swords, the cold blades carving chaotic, erratic arcs through the air.
Gin remained composed. He spun his tonfas with both hands, the two iron balls whistling through the air, and stood his ground, waiting for his opponent to approach.
The moment Hachi reached him, Gin's eyes darkened, and he sprang into action!
"[Demon Club・Chaotic Waves]!"
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two tonfas blurred into afterimages in his hands. The iron balls struck out continuously like a torrential storm, landing precisely on the sword blades with resounding metallic clangs.
Tremendous force traveled from the blades down to his hands. Hachi felt all six of his arms go numb, his expression turning incredibly grave.
But he didn't dare stop. Enduring the agonizing pain from the torn, bleeding webbing of his hands, he continued to swing his swords.
Until.
Clang!!
"What?!"
Under Hachi's horrified gaze, one of his swords was knocked out of his grip by an iron ball, flying through the air before stabbing into the ground, vibrating violently!
In his panic, Hachi's movements involuntarily faltered.
Seizing the opportunity, Gin's face turned fierce. He gripped his tonfa tightly, swung it in a half-circle, and smashed it into Hachi's chest with all his might!
"[Demon Club・Heavy Strike]!"
"Oh no!"
Hachi hastily pulled back, crossing his remaining five swords in front of his chest to block.
Clang—!!
Accompanied by a crisp metallic ring, the five longswords shattered into pieces beneath the heavy, pitch-black iron ball!
Bang!!
The iron ball struck his chest dead on! The devastatingly heavy blow sent Hachi flying like a human cannonball, crashing through a wall and slamming hard into the building!
"Hachi!"
"Impossible!"
Witnessing this scene, all the surrounding Fish-Men couldn't help but cry out in shock.
The villagers fighting alongside the pirates nearby were equally astounded.
Genzo's jaw dropped, unable to close for a long time as he stared at the scene in disbelief.
"A Fish-Man officer... was actually taken down..."
"These guys... they're so strong...!"
Nami gripped a long staff with both hands, her eyes slightly dazed amidst her shock.
Although she had resolved to rebel against Arlong with everyone, she had prepared herself to fight to the death, expecting tragic sacrifices and a high probability of failure.
The current situation was completely different from what she had imagined.
Taking out an officer less than two minutes into the battle? What was this? Since when were Fish-Men this weak?!
"Hey, isn't that him?!"
"Gin the Demon Man, with a bounty of twelve million Berries!"
"Wait a minute! Isn't he one of Don Krieg's men? Why is he with this crew?!"
The battle had erupted so suddenly, with both sides clashing almost the moment they met, that no one had the time to notice earlier.
It wasn't until Hachi's defeat that the Fish-Men finally reacted, recognizing Gin's identity one after another.
"So it's you. Didn't I hear that Don Krieg entered the Grand Line? Why are you here, and acting as someone else's subordinate to boot?"
Arlong stepped forward from the rear, eyeing Gin with a mocking expression.
"Could it be that you were terrified of the Grand Line, so you chickened out and betrayed Don Krieg?"
"I don't need to explain anything to you. I will be wherever my captain needs me to be."
Gin's tone was icy, spinning the tonfas in his hands in response.
At that moment, Allen walked up and placed a hand on Gin's shoulder, saying calmly,
"Leave this one to me. You go deal with the rest of those Fish-Men."
"Understood."
Gin nodded in agreement. He shot a cold glare at Arlong before he couldn't help but warn Allen,
"Be careful, Captain. This guy is strong. He's on a completely different level from those small fry."
"Yeah, don't worry."
Allen smiled dismissively and stepped forward, walking toward Arlong.
Right at that moment.
Whoosh—Bang!!
A dark silhouette flew past Allen and crashed violently into a nearby wall. Rubble scattered as a cloud of dust slowly began to spread.
The massive commotion drew everyone's attention, and they turned to look.
Kuroobi lay amidst the ruined wall, his eyes rolled back into his head. His limbs were fractured and twisted, and his bloodied body looked utterly miserable.
"Kuroobi!"
Arlong's face twisted with a mix of fury and astonishment.
He had only looked away for a moment, yet Kuroobi had already been defeated!
"Another... another officer has fallen...!"
"I remember his opponent was...!"
The villagers looked at Sanji in disbelief, so shocked they were left completely speechless.
Why did it feel like this battle wasn't nearly as difficult as they had imagined?
No, it was more accurate to say it was far too easy. It hadn't even been a few minutes since the fight started.
Genzo rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He half-suspected he was dreaming.
The Fish-Men, who had seemed invincible to him, had just lost two officers right off the bat. Judging by Sanji and Gin's performances, it looked as though they hadn't even broken a sweat.
"If this keeps up, they might actually be able to wipe out Arlong's crew...!"
Nami excitedly tightened her grip on her staff.
She had figured Allen's crew was fairly strong, but she truly hadn't expected them to be this powerful.
Fish-Men, possessing ten times the arm strength of a human, were already as strong as monsters. Yet, these guys were monsters among monsters!
On the other side, having finished off Kuroobi, Sanji slowly lowered his leg. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he called out to Allen,
"Hey, are you sure you don't need our help?"
"Of course. Taking care of Arlong will be just as easy for me as it was for you guys to handle those small fry."
Allen said confidently, the corners of his mouth curling up. Keeping his eyes on Arlong, he cracked his knuckles with a loud pop.
Seeing his demeanor, Arlong couldn't help but let out a sinister laugh.
"You arrogant human. I've seen far too many guys like you. You get a little bit of strength and start thinking you're invincible..."
"Today, I'll show you the true gap between us! The innate power of a Fish-Man is something a lowly creature like you could never even begin to fathom!!"
Arlong's expression grew increasingly ferocious. He bent his knees, slowly crouching down to gather power, and aimed his jagged, saw-like nose straight at Allen.
With a powerful thrust of his legs, he launched himself forward! The ground instantly shattered, leaving a small crater in his wake.
Bang!!
Amidst the flying rubble, Arlong's entire body shot forward like a human arrow!
"[Shark・ON・DARTS]!!"
With a savage visage, Arlong vaulted over the pool in a flash of lightning, arriving right in front of Allen as he viciously thrust his jagged nose forward!
*'A human arrow? What the hell does that have to do with strength?'*
Allen scoffed dismissively, suddenly raising his foot to deliver a brutal kick right to that jagged nose!
Bang!—Crack!
The terrifying force far exceeded Arlong's expectations. With a crisp crack, his jagged nose—which boasted the hardness of steel—was forcefully bent into a perfect ninety-degree angle!
"Ahhhhh! My nose!!"
His agonizing wail echoed through the skies above Arlong Park.
Arlong's eyes were completely bloodshot. Upon realizing that his pride and joy had been deformed, physical pain and deep-seated indignation intertwined within him.
"You damn bastard! I'm going to tear you to absolute shreds!!"
Driven beyond the brink of rage, Arlong completely erupted. Veins bulged on his forehead as he turned his body into an arrow and launched himself forward once again!
This time, however, his weapon of choice was his teeth.
"[Shark・ON・Cogwheel]!!"
"What's this, the Way of the Bite?"
Looking at that mouthful of sharp, piercing steel teeth, Allen frowned and had no choice but to take things seriously.
He knew full well how terrifying Arlong's bite force was. Combined with those steel teeth, he could even crush cannonballs. If he got bitten, he would definitely lose a chunk of flesh.
While it wouldn't be wise to take the attack head-on, dodging it wasn't a difficult task either.
Allen pushed off the ground and leaped high into the air, easily evading Arlong's assault.
Missing his target, Arlong's feet skidded across the ground, leaving two black scorch marks. He quickly spun around and flashed a sinister grin at Allen, who had yet to land.
"Let's see how you dodge this! Die, you bastard!!"
Thrusting his legs with explosive force, the ground shattered into rubble as Arlong's body catapulted forward once more!
"Allen!!"
"Watch out!"
Seeing this, panic immediately washed over the faces of Sanji, Nami, and the others.
"[Shark・ON・Cogwheel]!!"
With a savage glare, Arlong opened his bloodthirsty maw and hurtled toward Allen at breakneck speed.
Facing those two rows of menacing iron teeth, Allen didn't show the slightest hint of panic. Instead, he offered a mocking smile.
The next second, he reached for his waist, drew his gun, and aimed it squarely at Arlong's head!
"What?!"
The moment he saw the pitch-black barrel of the gun, Arlong's expression changed, his pupils shrinking in sheer terror!
His teeth could crush cannonballs, but his skull certainly couldn't stop a bullet.
Bang!!
The gunshot rang out! The bullet blasted forth on command.
In that moment of absolute peril, Arlong gritted his teeth and forcefully twisted his body, relying on his immense core strength to dodge in mid-air!
Smack!
The bullet grazed his cheek, drawing a streak of crimson blood, before striking the base of his ear. A blue ear was sent flying into the air...
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