Translator: PapaSmurf0700
While Usopp was graciously accepting the mermaid's praise, Sanji and Brook were confronting their own enemies.
"So, you're the Straw Hat Pirates' 'Soul King'?"
Standing before Brook was a fish-man no taller than Chopper, wearing a helmet and grinning with malicious glee. It was Daruma, one of the officers of the New Fish-Man Pirates, a cookie-cutter shark fish-man known for his cruelty. He excelled at burrowing through rock and setting deadly traps, and his razor-sharp teeth could chew through solid stone.
"Yohohoho! If you're looking for a swordsman, that could be anyone. But if it's a skeleton swordsman you seek, then I am most certainly your man," Brook replied, his demeanor as graceful as ever, even in the face of hostility.
"A Devil Fruit user… yet he can move freely in the sea…" Daruma muttered to himself, before shaking his head. "No matter." He glared at Brook's skeletal form. "My greatest pleasure is tearing the flesh from my enemies' bones. A body like yours… it's utterly disgusting!"
With a powerful kick, Daruma launched himself through the water. His small size granted him blinding speed, and in an instant, he was upon Brook. "I'll chew every one of your bones to dust!" he shrieked, his maw gaping wide to reveal rows of needle-like teeth.
Clang!
In a fluid motion, Brook drew the rapier from his cane sword, its steel blade intercepting Daruma's fangs with perfect precision. With a flick of his wrist, he used the blade's momentum to send the fish-man spinning backward through the water like a top.
Crash!
Daruma slammed into a coral house, taking a long moment to pull himself from the rubble.
"You damned bag of bones!" he snarled, his eyes burning with murderous intent. He pulled a handful of Energy Steroids from his pocket and swallowed them all in one gulp.
Among the New Fish-Man Pirates, only their captain, Hody Jones, treated the power-enhancing drugs like candy. The others knew to moderate their intake. While the steroids granted immense power, they also rapidly consumed the user's life force. But Daruma no longer cared. All he wanted was the strength to shatter the skeleton before him.
"Graaaah!"
As the drug's full effect took hold, Daruma's body swelled. Terrifying muscles bulged beneath his fur coat, and his eyes turned a bloodshot red. He roared at Brook like a cornered beast, but just as he neared, he swerved and dove headfirst into the ground. This was his signature tactic: creating a maze of tunnels to ambush and overwhelm his prey. Empowered by the steroids, his digging was now faster and far more ferocious.
"Yohoho, it seems the grand finale is about to begin," Brook mused aloud, feeling the tremors beneath his feet. He showed no panic, making no move to leave the area. He simply stood his ground, gripping his rapier and feeling the power thrumming within him.
This was no ordinary blade. After his reunion with Laboon, Brook had finally begun to understand the true nature of his Revive-Revive Fruit and the power of his own soul. He had asked Bai Ye to forge him a new blade, one that could properly channel the chill of the underworld. Brook had named it "Yellow Spring."
"From the underworld, a path to the shadows. Souls, emerge…" Brook whispered, holding the blade before him as a pale, ghostly aura began to gather around his body.
BOOM!
Just as Daruma burst from the ground to deliver a killing blow, Brook spoke, his voice soft yet carrying the finality of the grave.
"Party Music: Quinte Tierce Fantasia!"
In the blink of an eye, a sharp, potent mist of dark green energy erupted from Brook's body, completely enveloping Daruma. From the outside, a strange and ghastly scene unfolded: within the swirling green fog, the spectral silhouette of an afro-wearing skeleton hovered ominously.
"Fall."
"Aaaargh!"
With a soft command and a final scream, the mist receded, flowing back into Brook's body. He slowly sheathed his sword. As the click of the scabbard echoed through the water, a hideous gash appeared across the chest of the downed Daruma, blood gushing from the wound. Even after consuming a life-shortening dose of Energy Steroids, he had been defeated in a single, decisive strike.
-----
Elsewhere, another battle raged.
Bang!
Sanji planted his hands on the ground, using a powerful spinning kick to deflect a flurry of sword strikes. He straightened up, eyeing his opponent: Hyouzou, a drunken master of the Eight-Sword Style and a hired killer for the New Fish-Man Pirates. He was widely regarded as the finest swordsman on Fish-Man Island.
And yet, at this moment, he was being completely overwhelmed.
Hyouzou spat a mouthful of blood, his drunken haze evaporating. He now looked at Sanji with cold sobriety. "Just as I'd expect from the crew that brought down Arlong," he sighed, before pulling out his own supply of Energy Steroids, a dose even larger than Daruma's. He swallowed them without hesitation.
Seeing this, Sanji remained unfazed. "So, you're another one of those bastards, huh?" he asked casually. "I remember an octopus swordsman in that group. You two brothers?" He reached for a cigarette, only to find it soaked. He tossed it away in disappointment.
"Hmph. I am not like those fanatics. I simply take money for my services," Hyouzou grunted. Unlike Arlong and Hody, he held no deep-seated grudge against humans; his only loyalty was to coin. It was why he had never joined Arlong's crew, and why he served Hody now—the pay was excellent.
At that moment, the drugs took hold. Hyouzou's eyes blazed red, his temper flaring. "And do not compare me to the trash Arlong took with him," he snarled, referring to Hatchan, the very octopus swordsman Sanji had mentioned. "That fool couldn't afford me, so he settled for second-rate garbage!"
"As a swordsman," he roared, feeling the incredible power coursing through him, "I AM THE STRONGEST!"
Now in a state of frenzied rage, Hyouzou's attacks became wild and demonic. His eight blades sliced through the water, a whirlwind of death aimed at Sanji.
"The strongest? A swordsman?" Sanji said slowly. He raised his right leg, a simple forward kick delivered with such speed and force that it not only knocked two of Hyouzou's blades aside but also ignited into a searing flame. Pushing off with his left foot, Sanji launched himself above Hyouzou, twisting in the air as his flaming right foot descended like a meteor.
"You're not even in the same league as the swordsman I know."