Fish-Man Island, Mermaid Cove.
After the World Government's Administrative Division finalized the construction site, several hundred human workers in matching uniforms began clearing and preparing the area. One by one, pieces of heavy machinery were unloaded from ships and hauled to shore by transport vehicles.
Such a bustling scene naturally caught the attention of many nearby mermaids and fishmen, who had never seen so many humans before in their lives.
"What are those iron monsters? They make such loud rumbling noises!"
"They're all dressed the same—just like the Neptune Army. How interesting~"
"I heard they're from the World Government, and they even returned some of our people who were captured before!"
"But what exactly are they doing here?"
One by one, stunningly beautiful mermaids, with graceful and delicate features, watched with curiosity. Some lounged in the water, others sat on seashells, their wide, gleaming eyes observing the construction crew and the Navy personnel standing guard nearby.
At the same time, more and more fishmen began arriving after hearing the news. Compared to mermaids, fishmen had a much rougher and more diverse appearance. Their forms varied wildly, with heights ranging from barely over a metre to more than three or four.
What none of the mermaids or fishmen realized, however, was that they were just as much a visual spectacle to the humans.
To the male-dominated crew of construction workers and Navy soldiers, the mermaids in the cove were like something straight out of a fairy tale—breathtaking, surreal, and alluring. Many of them were dressed in bikinis, which only intensified the effect.
As for the fishmen, they barely received a passing glance—more out of curiosity at their strange appearances than anything else—before everyone's attention returned to the mermaids.
As a result, neither the workers nor the soldiers noticed the malicious, disdainful stares hidden among the crowd of fishmen.
"Arlong, why are there so many of these filthy humans here?"
Chew, a fishman of the kissing fish species, scowled as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and muttered with disgust.
"Yeah, what are the Neptune Army even doing?" growled Kuroobi, his muscular arms sprouting massive fins that rippled with tension.
"They must've made some sort of deal with these lowly creatures," said Arlong, his seventeen-year-old fists clenched tightly and his eyes bloodshot with anger.
They were all fishmen born and raised in the Dark Zone, orphaned and abandoned by their parents. Since childhood, they'd been immersed in the harshest realities of life—both in environment and in human nature.
Especially Arlong. As a child, he had once yearned for sunlight, for the beautiful things he'd heard about in the human world. But as he grew older, every human he encountered proved to be wicked, vile, or cowardly.
Gradually, he came to embrace the belief that humans were an inferior race, while fishmen were superior. To him, humans were so weak and pitiful that they didn't deserve those beautiful things—let alone equality with fishmen.
"We can't let them succeed. We have to put a stop to this!"
Arlong growled with venom in his voice, declaring his decision to the group of fishmen youths around him—most of them just sixteen or seventeen years old.
"What do we do, Arlong?"
"Yeah, just say the word and we'll follow your lead!"
Arlong swept his gaze over Hatchan, Chew, Kuroobi, and the others. He was pleased to see their unwavering support. Lowering his voice, he quickly issued his orders.
"There's eight of us in total. Hatchan, Chew, Kuroobi—you're with me. We'll take care of the Marines. Pisaro, Kaneshiro, Take, Shioyaki—you four split into two teams. Two of you will sabotage their equipment. The other two, go after the workers. Remember—move fast. And keep your ears open. The moment you hear me shout 'Retreat', dive into the water and head straight back to Fishman District. Got it?
In Arlong's mind, humans were pathetically weak—only dominant because of their sheer numbers. The real advantage, he believed, was that humans couldn't breathe underwater. Once they made it back to the sea, there was nothing the humans could do to stop them.
"Understood!"
Hatchan, Kuroobi, and the rest all nodded in unison. None of them saw this operation as particularly risky.
It was common knowledge: fishmen were ten times stronger than humans. And these eight were even stronger than the average fishman. The only things worth paying attention to were the firearms the humans carried—and how to avoid getting caught by the Neptune Army afterward.
Quickly, the group split into two teams. One of them silently circled around to flank the crowd. They were preparing for a pincer strike.
At that moment, a column of workers from the construction team, toolbox in hand, were following behind utility vehicles, heading slowly toward the construction site under the watchful eyes of countless merfolk and fishmen.
Even the Marines on guard didn't expect any trouble. The whole scene in the Mermaid Cove was just too idyllic. Some Marine soldiers even accidentally locked eyes with a few beautiful mermaid girls—both parties blushing awkwardly in response.
"Now!"
Suddenly, chaos erupted.
Four hulking shadows leapt out from both sides of the crowd, charging toward the center of the road—full of malice—targeting the vehicles and the workers.
"Who goes there?!"
"Stop right there!"
The surrounding Marines weren't completely lax. Though caught slightly off guard, they responded quickly—either raising their rifles or drawing their swords to intercept.
Meanwhile, Arlong, Hatchan, Chew, and Kuroobi seized the moment—striking while everyone's attention was locked on the diversion created by Pisaro and the others.
[Bang!]
"Ahhhh—!"
In that same instant, four Marines were struck down. They barely had time to cry out before collapsing to the ground. Some were knocked unconscious immediately, while others writhed on the floor in pain, clutching their injuries.
"It's Arlong's gang!"
"Why are they doing this?!"
Gasps erupted from the surrounding merfolk and fishmen. Some who recognized Arlong and his crew glared at them with disgust. These eight had been causing trouble for years, and were already infamous among the citizens of Fishman Island as thugs and hooligans.
But faced with such a violent outbreak, no one dared stay to watch. The crowd quickly scattered. Some dove straight into the water and swam away as fast as they could, afraid of getting dragged into the mess.
The scene devolved into total chaos.
In under a minute, more than ten workers had been attacked. An excavator, marked with the emblem of the World Government, fell over.
"Take them down!"
Marines in the distance had noticed the disturbance and were rushing to assist. Seeing this, Arlong knocked out four more soldiers and shouted: "Retreat!"
The moment the word left his mouth, he spun around and prepared to make his escape. But just then, a nearby squad of Marines had already reached the scene.
A sharp whistling sound split the air.
A burly Marine closed in on Arlong at high speed. He stood around 1.8 metres tall, and his right fist—already primed with strength—was clad in cold iron knuckle-dusters as it cut through the air, aiming straight for Arlong's face.
"Humph~"
Arlong looked down disdainfully at the puny human before him. Though only seventeen, his sawshark lineage had blessed him with an impressive height of 2.4 metres—and he was still growing.
He showed no fear as he swung his massive, bowl-sized fist head-on, colliding with the Marine officer's iron knuckle-duster mid-air. A heavy thud erupted at the point of impact, and the surrounding air rippled faintly, as though a small explosion had gone off.
"How is that possible?!"
Arlong stared in shock at the Marine who had just clashed fists with him. The man had only been pushed back four or five metres and seemed virtually unfazed. Since when had humans become strong enough to rival fishmen?
Just then, the Marine cracked his wrist nonchalantly and sneered.
"You're a big guy, I'll give you that. But your punch? Pretty pathetic. Or is it that fishmen don't get enough to eat?"
"You dare mock the superior race of fishmen, you lowly scum?!"
That single sentence was enough to ignite Arlong's fury. Without another word, he charged forward with explosive momentum.
But he failed to notice that Hatchan, Chew, Kuroobi, and the others were each being tied down by other Headquarters officers. In the chaos, more than a dozen figures clashed, their movements so fast they blurred into afterimages.
At the same time, the number of armed Marines in the vicinity continued to swell.
Eventually, a Marine major arrived on the scene. He glanced around at the brawl, then turned to a nearby soldier for a status report.
"Major Hodgson," the Marine said angrily, "we've spoken to several local fishmen civilians and confirmed that these eight attackers are a gang of thugs from Fishman District. Word is, they're radical racists who view humans as an inferior species."
"What? Humans are the inferior species?"
Major Hodgson—a towering figure with chestnut-red hair well over 2 metres tall—was incredulous. As far as he remembered, fishmen weren't even considered human beings in the past; they were classified as mere sea creatures.
It was only around two hundred years ago that fishmen began to be recognized as a demi-human race—and even now, many humans still hadn't changed their mindset.
The major observed the ongoing melee for several seconds, then shook his head.
The junior officers were competent, no doubt—but they clearly couldn't subdue these fishmen thugs quickly. What mattered now was restoring order to the construction site. Letting this drag on any longer would be a failure on his part.
[Whoosh—]
He vanished in an instant.
The next second, he reappeared directly in front of Arlong. The fishman barely registered a dark blur before everything went black. He had no time to react before a devastating downward kick slammed into the top of his skull.
[Bang!]
With a loud crash, Arlong's forehead hit the ground first as he crumpled to the floor. The impact was so great he nearly passed out. His head throbbed violently with dizziness and pain.
A black leather boot—polished to a shine—pressed down firmly on his head.
"Oi. This your boss?" Major Hodgson asked, foot still pinning Arlong to the ground as he called out to Hatchan, Kuroobi, and the others.
The fishmen instinctively turned to look.
Their eyes went wide. The fighting stopped instantly.
"Arlong!!"