Jinbe looked a bit confused.
What was this guy suddenly talking about?
Aren't we all comrades?
Sasaki's mouth twitched slightly as he leaned toward Jinbe's ear and whispered, "This guy beat up every single one of us these past two days."
Jinbe was slightly taken aback.
That aggressive?
"Though I'm still unwilling to admit it, this guy who became a Devil Fruit user is really strong!"
Sasaki's voice sounded truly resentful. "I was no match for him. He really gave me a harsh beating!"
Not just him — Durin, the Jonathan brothers, every pirate captain got beaten by Flock.
That guy was already quite strong, and now as an Ancient Zoan user, his close combat abilities improved even more.
Sasaki got thoroughly beaten.
"But," Jinbe was a little puzzled, "why would he do something like this?"
Hadn't they already fought enough on that island?
Before Sasaki could explain, Flock loudly declared, "I want to prove to Lord Ian that I'm the strongest among all the allied pirates under his command!"
All for such a trivial reason?
Jinbe shook his head helplessly. "Sorry, I'm not in the mood to play with you right now."
He still had to arrange his comrades, and tens of thousands were waiting for him.
"If anyone should be sorry, it's me!"
Flock broke into a wide grin, his white teeth almost gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
"Because only the strong have the right to make decisions!"
Ignoring Jinbei's opinion completely, the man lunged directly at him.
Jinbei's brows furrowed tightly.
This guy really wouldn't let it go.
"Hahaha!"
Nearby, Tiger, who had voluntarily stepped back to support Jinbei in maintaining order, laughed heartily, "Jinbei, then give him a good beating!"
Jinbei took a deep breath.
Since this guy was asking for trouble, he might as well give it to him.
"Haha!"
Flock laughed as he took quick, light steps, fists raised to guard his head. Suddenly, he lowered his body and swung at Jinbei's side with a stabbing punch.
His fist was incredibly fast, too quick for an ordinary eye to catch, even sound couldn't keep up!
Besides speed, his fist was wrapped in dark, intense Armament Haki, and his power was certainly not weak.
As one of the top boxers, Flock had absolute confidence in his fists!
This strike was meant to leave the man before him as bruised and battered as Sasaki.
However—
Smack!
A clear sound rang out.
Flock's eyes widened in shock.
His fist was caught by Jinbei's large hand.
Between the fingers, the blue webbed skin perfectly wrapped around Flock's fist.
"Hah!"
With a fierce shout, Jinbei powered up his right hand and forcefully threw Flock aside.
The tall man's expression changed drastically.
Such monstrous strength!!
Far stronger than that Sasaki guy!
Jinbei swung Flock up like a whip, then slammed him heavily onto the ground.
The ground instantly cracked like a spiderweb where he hit.
But Flock's strength was no empty boast either.
The moment he was slammed to the ground, his entire body was wrapped in haki.
Even so, a trace of fresh blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
But he didn't lose his fighting ability because of it.
Using his abdomen to generate power, he sprang up with a fish-like leap, performing a reverse hook kick, his right foot smashing toward Jinbe.
Jinbe raised his arm to block.
Flock rolled over smoothly and in the next instant transformed into a giant ape.
"Good!"
Flock laughed loudly. "Now this is more like it!"
"Rapid Cannon Fist!!"
In his giant ape form, which wasn't that different from human shape, Flock didn't even need to enter his beast mode to enjoy the agility and dexterity of a beastman.
His huge fist came crashing toward Jinbe like a cannonball.
Jinbe's brow furrowed.
If that's the case—
He pulled his fist back to his waist, readying his stance.
"Fishman Karate Secret Technique—"
A pitch-black haki covered his fist, the moisture transforming into shockwaves pulsing along it.
Jinbe leapt up.
"Oniwa Seiken!!"
He threw a punch.
The next moment, the two fists collided.
The pitch-black haki crackled like lightning, sparks jumping wildly.
The fierce wind blew, causing the bamboo leaves to squint unconsciously.
So strong, this Fishman senior!
Facing Flock's full power, this guy didn't show any weakness at all!
More than that — he wasn't just holding his own—
"Waaah!"
Suddenly, Flock screamed in pain.
Sasaki watched in surprise as Flock's right fist bent awkwardly, his right shoulder grotesquely popped backward, as if it had been completely dislocated.
Then, Flock's massive body spun like a top, flying through the air and crashed heavily into a house far away.
"..."
Sasaki was stunned.
No way? Flock got defeated this easily?
He looked at Jinbe's back in disbelief.
They're both Fishmen, so why are you so strong?
Jinbe shook his hand.
His aura and strength were still very strong, but compared to him, they were quite lacking.
The biggest difference between the two sides was in skill.
Ordinary boxing techniques fell far short of his masterful Fish-Man Karate ultimate moves.
"Big Brother Jinbe!"
Suddenly, an excited voice called out from behind.
Jinbe turned around in surprise and saw Sasaki's eyes shining.
"Could you please teach me how to become stronger?"
Huh?
After getting beaten up by Jinbe, Flock immediately became obedient.
After all, the gap in strength was very clear—he had his hand bones fractured and a dislocated shoulder from Jinbe's punch.
In front of Jinbe, he suddenly became very respectful.
This guy was arrogant toward the weak, but quite humble in front of the strong—very genuine, one could say.
Not just him, the other pirate captains also showed great respect to Jinbe after realizing his power.
In this way, Jinbe somehow became the big brother figure to many pirate captains.
Jinbe even complained to Ian that those guys were now all aiming to defeat him.
Ian just smiled and said, "Isn't that a good thing?"
Ian hadn't yet planned to train his pirates like a strict military force.
Pirates should act like pirates; if they got too disciplined and obedient, the world government would surely feel uneasy again.
But having ten pirate crews was still a bit chaotic—having a big brother to lead them was not a bad thing.
After settling the new immigrants, Ian began the next step of his plan.
Most of the pirates in the hive Island sea area had already been eliminated in the previous "Battle Royale."
However, not all pirates were eager to join Ian's ranks.
Many still roamed these waters.
Ian knew very well that many of them harbored hostility toward him.
So, what had to be done next was to ruthlessly hunt down these guys.
Ian wanted to make the Hive Island sea area a forbidden zone for pirates.
Now, the conditions were ripe.
Somewhere in the sea a distance from Hive Island, a pirate ship was slowly sailing forward.
On the ship, the pirate captain flipped through a newspaper.
"Unbelievable," he exclaimed.
"Out of dozens of pirate crews, only ten have survived and joined Ian's banner!"
"Really? Good thing we didn't go there. Otherwise, we'd probably be dead without a trace by now."
"I just don't get what Ian is trying to do."
His subordinates around him kept sighing,
"So many pirates want to be under his command, yet he forces them to kill each other."
"He can't possibly support all those pirates, right?"
"That's the arrogance of an Emperor."
The pirate captain casually said, "He only accepts the strong and looks down on the weak."
He sneered, "Good thing I have no interest in joining Ian's crew!"
"Is the Pirate Emperor really that great? One day, I'll pull him down from his throne!"
It was clear this pirate captain wanted to make a name for himself by going head-to-head with one of the Four Emperors.
But then, suddenly—
Buzz!!
Sharp explosive sounds came from the sky.
The pirate captain looked up in surprise.
He saw three huge birds spreading their wings, diving down toward the ship from the clouds.
Wait.
His expression changed gradually; his eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open.
Those weren't birds!
Or rather, they were birds made of steel!!
"It's the Bombers of the Beast Pirates!!"
The pirate captain sprang up, shouting sharply,
"They're coming for us! Be careful! Take cover! Hide quickly!"
But they were out at sea, on the ship—where could they possibly hide?
The three bombers swooped past the ship in the next instant.
But as they passed, they left behind a precious gift.
With a whistling sound, bombs began to fall, crashing down and striking the pirate ship at an angle.
Then.
Boom!!
A huge flower of fire instantly blossomed over the sea.
The blazing flames shot up like a magnificent volcanic eruption.
**********
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