Chapter 30: Senju Kannon
A moment later, Hashirama arrived before the gates of Arlong Park.
He had originally planned to just kick the front door down and slaughter the Fish-Men. After all, they were just a bunch of bottom-feeders who had been chased out of the Grand Line in fear. With his strength, he could have wiped them all out in less than a minute.
However, Hashirama then recalled Yumesaki's request to "make a bit of a scene," so he changed his plan.
"I have an idea."
He clapped his hands together and whispered, "Wood Release: Shinsu Senju!"
Instantly, amidst a thunderous roar, the earth shook violently. A massive Senju Kannon statue, hundreds of meters tall, erupted from the ground, standing tall before the gates of Arlong Park.
The tremors radiated out from the park all the way into the village. At that moment, every inhabitant of Cocoyasi Village looked up to see the wooden titan rising from the earth—sacred, terrifying, and magnificently huge.
Its body was larger than the tallest tower in Arlong Park. Its thousands of arms were positioned in various ways—some forming seals, some hanging loose, some raised high—but without exception, every single arm hummed with unimaginable power.
The face of the Senju Kannon looked down with a sense of divine mercy, its eyelids half-closed as it gazed upon the entirety of Arlong Park.
The Fish-Men were paralyzed with shock.
Including Arlong himself.
The appearance of this colossal statue was far too sudden; the Fish-Men's brains couldn't even process the situation. They had been eating and singing as usual—how had their front gate suddenly been blocked by a literal god?
"Who... who is that?!!!"
Arlong screamed in terror, his eyes darting toward the very top of the statue's head. There, standing tall, was a lone, peculiar human.
Hashirama's gaze swept over the panicked and terrified crowd of Fish-Men. He gently clapped his hands again.
In that instant, the Senju Kannon moved.
The first arm descended from the heavens, slamming into a Fish-Man with a sound like a mountain collapsing. Before the creature could even think of resisting, it was pulverized into a meat pastry by the giant wooden limb. Blood sprayed outward, coating his nearby comrades.
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"
A hysterical scream erupted from another Fish-Man. Gripped by pure horror, he instantly turned to flee. But before he could take even a few steps, the second arm of the Senju Kannon dropped from the sky.
BOOM!
The fleeing Fish-Man didn't even have time for a final word before he, too, was crushed into a pulp. Blood and viscera splattered everywhere.
The shadow of death swept over them like a landslide or a tsunami, instantly drowning the souls of every Fish-Man present. These creatures, who had once taken such joy in oppressing humans, were finally tasting true, unfiltered terror.
The next second, the third arm fell... then the fourth, the fifth... the thirtieth, the fortieth...
Arms that blotted out the sun rained down from the sky, pummeling every single inch of ground within Arlong Park. There was absolutely nowhere to hide.
Arlong, the captain of the crew, was directly smashed into a red smear by a descending limb. Hatchan, Chew, and the other officers fared no better. Not a single intact corpse remained.
The earth shattered, walls crumbled, and the once-opulent park was reduced to fine dust under the relentless bombardment. Billowing clouds of debris rose into the air, almost swallowing the entire site.
The thunderous booming continued for five full minutes.
When the noise finally died down and the dust began to settle, the once-mighty Arlong Park had been completely erased. No—more accurately, it had been replaced by a massive crater. Not even a fragment of the original structure remained visible.
And the Arlong Pirates, who had terrorized Cocoyasi Village for years, had naturally vanished along with it. Not even a single body could be seen.
Yumesaki watched the scene from a distance and couldn't help but palm his own forehead. "That 'scene' was a bit too big..."
Robin smiled. "Didn't you tell him to make it big?"
"I did say that," Yumesaki nodded, watching the Senju Kannon slowly begin to dissipate. He sighed. "But I didn't expect the guy to use that technique."
In Yumesaki's mind, he figured Hashirama might use a Wood Golem to flatten the park. Even that would have been massive overkill given the Arlong Pirates' level of strength.
But he truly hadn't expected Hashirama to pull out the Shinsu Senju. That wasn't just overkill; it was like using a tactical nuke to swat a fly.
Still, Yumesaki had to admit the results were spectacular.
The entire village of Cocoyasi was in shock. Everyone stood frozen, staring blankly at the void where Arlong Park used to be. The silence was so heavy that the sound of a pin dropping would have echoed.
A few moments later, Hashirama returned to report.
"Mission accomplished, Mr. Yumesaki. There are no survivors at Arlong Park."
"With an attack like that, if any of those Fish-Men actually survived, they wouldn't have been hiding out in the East Blue in the first place," Yumesaki grumbled for a second before waving his hand. "Whatever. Let's head back."
Since Nami wasn't in the village, Yumesaki didn't feel like chatting with the locals. The three of them began walking toward the shoreline.
"Wait! You three up ahead, please wait a moment!"
"Saviors, please stop for a second!"
At the harbor, just as Yumesaki's group was about to board their ship, two different voices called out from behind them.
Yumesaki stopped and glanced back. He saw a man and a woman running toward them at full speed.
And once again, they were two characters who actually had lines in the manga. One was the village sheriff, Genzo. The other was Nami's older sister, Nojiko.
By the time the two reached the group, they were gasping for air, drenched in sweat from the sprint.
Yumesaki asked, "Is there something you two need?"
Nojiko took a deep breath, her expression a complex mix of emotions. "The thing that happened at Arlong Park... it was you all, wasn't it?"
Yumesaki nodded. "That's right. It was us." There was no point in denying something so obvious.
With a heavy thud, Genzo dropped to his knees in front of them. "Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for saving all of us in Cocoyasi Village. We are truly, truly grateful."
During Arlong's reign, Genzo had tried more than once to save the village. But his strength was far too meager; he couldn't even scratch Arlong's power. He had been forced to watch as Nami "joined" the crew and threw herself into the dangerous sea at such a young age. He had cursed his own weakness countless times, but he had never been able to change a thing.
Now, the pirates who had been a heavy shadow over their lives were gone. The gloomy sky that had hung over them for eight years had finally been pierced by sunlight.
The gratitude he felt was overwhelming. Even kneeling wasn't enough to express a fraction of what he felt in his heart.
Nojiko patted Genzo's shoulder, then plucked up her courage to speak to the group. "Saviors, I am Nojiko, a resident of this village. Words cannot express how thankful I am that you wiped out the Arlong Pirates."
"Because of that, I want to hold a celebration feast. I hope the three of you can stay for a while, so that I—so that all of us in Cocoyasi—have a chance to properly thank you for this incredible kindness."
As she spoke, she bowed deeply toward the trio.
"I beg of you, please accept our gratitude."
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