The East Blue was simply too small after all. Even Arlong, whom he had held some slight expectations for, only amounted to this much.
He possessed immense arm strength, yet he only knew how to fight in the most primitive way. He couldn't even use Fish-Man Karate.
Perhaps he had stayed in the East Blue for so long that he had forgotten how to fight.
"This battle ends here."
A hint of disappointment and disdain flickered in Allen's eyes. He stopped in his tracks and sank into a half-crouch.
Throwing his right arm back, he clenched his fist while simultaneously relaxing all the muscles in his body, staring blankly ahead.
It wasn't until Arlong charged right up to him, dragging the jagged sword Peak Cutter.
A fierce glint flashed in Allen's eyes, and his body sprang into action!
Power surged from his ankles up through his body, channeling all the way to the fist at the end of his arm. Turning his entire body into a whip, he unleashed a strike that broke the sound barrier!
"Sonic Punch!!"
Allen roared as he threw the punch, smashing it fiercely into Arlong's neck!
Boom!!!
Accompanied by a deafening sonic boom, a terrifying shockwave surged outward with Allen at the epicenter!
"Gah—!"
Arlong's pupils trembled violently as they lost focus. He spewed a mouthful of blood, his body sent flying backward by the overwhelming force!
Bang!! Bang!!
A blue streak of light tore through the air, smashing through the walls and blasting a hole straight through the towering building.
...
The entire area fell dead silent. The lingering echoes of the sonic boom reverberated through every corner of Arlong Park as everyone stared at the center of the battlefield in lingering fear.
"B-Big Bro Arlong..."
Staring at the mist of blood lingering in the air before Allen, the Fish-Men's pupils dilated, their eyes filled with utter bewilderment.
Weapons clattered to the ground, and some of them simply collapsed, their legs giving out from under them.
"...Hey, what kind of technique was that? No, that completely exceeded the realm of a mere technique, didn't it?"
Sanji was so shocked that he stood frozen on the spot, not even realizing that the cigarette in his mouth had burned down to the filter.
Nami was even more stunned, standing rooted to the ground with a blank stare.
If everything around her hadn't felt so incredibly real, she would have started to doubt whether she was dreaming.
Clap—clap.
Allen clapped his hands together, standing up and dropping his stance.
Taking a Sonic Punch directly to the throat, Arlong didn't even have a chance of being resuscitated.
He glanced down at his right arm. A burning pain radiated from his shoulder and arm, but it was nothing serious.
The punch he had just thrown only barely reached the threshold of the speed of sound; it wasn't the ultimate form, the "Supersonic" Whip. Otherwise, his entire arm would likely have suffered comminuted fractures by now.
*'This body still needs to be strengthened a bit more. Since I have money now, buying Sea King ingredients needs to be put on the agenda immediately,'* Allen thought to himself.
Shortly after, he turned his head and swept his gaze across the area.
Seeing that the Fish-Men present had basically lost all will to resist, Allen didn't plan on wasting any more time on them. He directly instructed Sanji,
"You and Gin lead everyone to clean up the battlefield. The people originally from Cocoyasi Village will stay behind as well. The rest of the divisions, follow me inside to loot the spoils of war."
"Got it. Leave this place to us."
Sanji replied, looking down to light another cigarette.
Hearing that they were going to loot the spoils, the dazed pirates finally snapped back to reality, erupting into excited cheers.
"Whoa!!"
"We're coming, Boss!!"
"Long live the Boss! Long live the treasure!"
The pirates' faces were filled with fanaticism as they impatiently rushed into the towering building.
In contrast, the villagers of Cocoyasi Village were all still standing in a daze.
"Arlong... was actually defeated..."
"Does that mean... we're finally free...?"
Recalling everything they had endured over the years, the villagers wore blank expressions, as if they were just waking up from a dream.
"Yeah... we're free. Everyone is... finally..."
Nami's voice gradually choked up. She lowered her head deeply, covering her face with her hands as hot tears uncontrollably welled up in the corners of her eyes.
Realizing that they had been liberated from Arlong's rule, the villagers clenched their fists in excitement. After a moment of silence, they finally couldn't hold back any longer and erupted into heaven-shaking shouts.
"Whoa!!!"
"We won!!"
"Waaah!!"
"Hurry! I need to go tell the people in the other villages!!"
"Me too! I'm going too!!"
Unstoppable cries of excitement and thrill echoed through the sky.
"Tch, they have absolutely no discipline. They're completely unqualified to be pirates. As expected, I should just kick them all off the ship."
Allen scoffed to himself, the corners of his mouth, which was biting down on a cigar, inadvertently curling up slightly.
He looked up at the sky. At some point, the sun had completely sunk below the sea, leaving only a crescent moon hanging solitarily in the night sky.
Clusters of torches were lit one after another in the night, spreading out from Arlong Park and rapidly making their way toward every village on the island.
"Looks like tonight is going to be a sleepless night of revelry. I need to hurry up and finish preparing the ingredients."
Sanji patted his forehead and complained.
Gin's mouth curled into a slight smile. "It's really tough on you, having to start busying yourself with a banquet right after finishing a battle."
"Can't be helped. Who told me to be a chef?"
Sanji, cigarette dangling from his lips, shrugged and sighed. "I naturally can't stand seeing others go hungry. I guess you could call it an occupational hazard."
Gin smiled silently and put away his tonfa. Turning his head to look at the towering building in the distance, a look of emotion seemed to flash in his eyes as he said,
"The Captain is truly strong. When I first heard we were going to the Grand Line, I couldn't control the fear in my heart. The scenes from not too long ago kept flashing through my mind."
"However."
"Now, I no longer have that fear. Instead, I've started looking forward to it. I just feel like someone like him shouldn't remain in the East Blue."
"It's as if some people are simply destined to stand above the seas..."
Gin stared at Allen's back, muttering silently to himself.
For some reason, every time he looked at Allen's back, this inexplicable feeling would instinctively well up inside him.
"Stand above the seas, huh..."
Sanji murmured in response, then scoffed,
"You're giving him too much credit. He's just a willful bastard, a reckless idiot."
"Trying to drag a retired, disabled old man into being a pirate, attacking the Marines, making villagers who have never touched a weapon go to the battlefield... He only does things that are completely inhumane."
"However."
Changing the subject, Sanji slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. Gazing at Allen, he said calmly,
"I actually really want to see just how big of a storm a willful idiot like him can stir up on the seas, or if he'll just die in obscurity."
"Is that so? It looks like you've already bet your future on him," Gin said with a faint smile.
"Don't make it sound so dramatic."
Sanji waved his hand dismissively, then turned and walked away without looking back.
"I'm just a chef who happened to find a captain I acknowledge, that's all."
...
Meanwhile, inside the only building in Arlong Park, the towering structure.
"Boss! Over here, we found it!"
"It's cash! So much cash!"
Inside Arlong's treasure room, several pirates shouted excitedly. Staring at the stacks of Berries covering the floor before them, their eyes burned with fanaticism.
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