Arlong's gaze fell upon the red-haired woman who had just spoken.
She leapt down from the ship, two children, one older, one younger, following closely behind her. The rest of the group remained on the deck.
"Hm? You filthy humans, do you, "
Before Arlong could finish his threat, the red-haired woman suddenly interrupted him.
With a blur, she vanished from sight and reappeared right in front of Arlong.
Her leg swept high, crashing down hard upon his head. The blow sent the fish-man flying several meters backward, smashing into the ground with a thud.
The sudden strike left all the surrounding fish-men momentarily stunned. Then rage took over, and they roared as they charged toward the woman, her two young companions included.
In the past, when faced with troublesome foes, the fish-men would swarm their enemy and crush them through sheer brute strength. But this time, they had run into a wall of steel.
Kushina alone was enough to take on a hundred of them, Arlong included. Even without using her Devil Fruit power, her taijutsu alone was enough to force them into a panicked retreat.
Compared to the towering fish-men, Arata's frame appeared much smaller, but his defense was formidable, and his movements quick and fluid.
Skilled in various ninjutsu, he handled a dozen attackers at once without breaking a sweat.
When he unleashed a Fire Style technique, the watching fish-men mistook him for a Devil Fruit user. Believing that defeating him would yield a prize, more of them swarmed toward him.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Arata quickly raised an earthen barrier, dividing his enemies and picking them off one by one.
Meanwhile, Yuna's battle was going quite differently.
After more than ten days of training, she had already mastered Soru and Kami-e.
In the chaotic melee, each time she darted past an enemy, she would release a brief pulse of dulling light that froze them in place. In that instant, she knocked them unconscious with ease.
Her movements were subtle, her hand gestures barely visible.
To onlookers, it seemed as though each fish-man she faced simply collapsed at her touch, swift, precise, and elegant, like a taijutsu master with decades of experience.
When Kuroobi saw the little girl cutting down his comrades like that, he hurriedly brought reinforcements to assist.
But Yuna, using Kami-e, effortlessly dodged their attacks, weaving between them like a playful breeze. She even seemed to be enjoying herself.
Gradually, she began to sense the direction of incoming attacks before they came. Immersed in this strange awareness, she fell into a trance-like state.
Seeing her close her eyes mid-battle, Kuroobi's grin widened. He silently slipped behind her as his men pressed their assault from the front, then suddenly sprang from her blind spot with a raised blade, aiming to cut her down.
On the deck, Tsunade saw this and instinctively moved to intervene, but Arima caught her arm before she could act.
Just as Tsunade turned to question him, she sensed her daughter nimbly sidestep the deadly strike coming from behind, without even opening her eyes.
Yuna's movements grew lighter, her steps graceful, like a butterfly dancing through flowers.
"Arima, you knew this would happen?" Tsunade exclaimed.
Arima smiled. "Yeah. I saw it a moment earlier. Honestly, I'm surprised myself, didn't expect the kid to awaken Observation Haki this soon."
"As expected of my daughter!" Tsunade beamed. "And Arata's doing great too. Looks like all that training finally paid off!"
It was only natural that such talented siblings would show rapid progress, yet Tsunade couldn't help but feel proud from the bottom of her heart.
"Brother-in-law! I want a Devil Fruit too!"
Nawaki, Tsunade's younger brother, watched his niece tear through enemies and couldn't help the itch in his heart. He wanted powers like that as well.
Arima chuckled. "All right, all right. In a few days, I'll head to Impel Down. There are plenty of former sea kings locked up in Level Six, one of their Devil Fruits should suit you nicely."
"Heh, thanks, brother-in-law!" Nawaki grinned, turning his attention back to the battlefield.
On the other side, Natsuka seemed tempted to join the fight, but seeing the current state of things, she realized it wasn't necessary.
The three of them had it handled. Instead, she turned to Nami, who was watching the battle below with rapt attention.
"Nami, have you ever thought about staying on our ship?" Natsuka asked casually.
"Stay… on your ship?" Nami blinked. "Natsuka, I, I've never even dared to think about that. Just having your help is already more luck than I deserve."
She glanced shyly toward Arima, then quickly turned her head away, afraid he might notice.
"I think Kushina would really love for you to stay," Natsuka teased, smirking.
"And my brother, knowing him, I'm sure he'd want you to stay too. What do you think? He's pretty handsome, isn't he?"
At that, Nami's face flushed pink. "I… I could really travel with you all?" she asked softly.
"Of course! Kushina's basically a half-trained navigator anyway. If you join us, you two can guide the Konoha Senju together, it'll make things a lot easier for everyone."
Nami's eyes sparkled with wonder. The kind of future she had never dared to dream of suddenly felt within reach.
But then, her thoughts turned to her sister, Nojiko. If she left… Nojiko would be alone in Cocoyasi Village.
The thought made her hesitate.
Natsuka saw it immediately and said gently, "No need to rush. Take your time. We'll be staying here for a day or two anyway."
Nami nodded, gaze drifting back to the fight below, though this time, her eyes were distant, her mind elsewhere.
Before long, the battle ended decisively. The Arlong Pirates, overwhelmed by Kushina's overwhelming offense and the children's coordinated attacks, were utterly defeated.
Arlong himself screamed in pain as he was pummeled mercilessly, his body battered and broken.
Even as he lay crumpled on the ground, he still tried to sneer at the red-haired woman towering over him, but before he could utter another insult, she knocked him out cold with a single punch.
"Heh! Still got the nerve to mouth off at Kushina-sama? If Arima weren't such a kind man, I'd have turned your fish bones into soup already!"
Kushina dusted off her hands and looked down at the unconscious Arlong at her feet.
"Y-you… damn… filthy humans… you're all… low, "
Bang!
Before he could finish, Kushina kicked him square in the jaw, sending him into blissful unconsciousness.
"Think I'm easy to mess with just because I've been quiet?!" she huffed, grabbing Arlong by the collar.
With Arata and Yuna in tow, she leapt high into the air, landing gracefully on the deck of the Konoha Senju.
"Arima, we're back!"
"Father, we're back!"
Arima met them with a small smile. He nodded approvingly at their performance, then pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his Kamui space and dialed a number.
"Yo, Arima! Took you long enough to call me!"
"Vice Admiral Garp, I'm at Cocoyasi Village in the East Blue. Ran into a band of pirates harassing the locals, took care of them."
"Oh? Someone actually dared attack you? Don't tell me you were just fishing for trouble again?"
Arima's expression darkened. "You really think that little of me?"
"Ha! My mistake, my mistake. So, what's this call about?"
"I need you to come clean things up. The local Navy branch is colluding with pirates. I figure you wouldn't want me, a pirate, handling your housework for you."
Garp snorted. "Fine, fine. You've got a point. Three days, I'll be there. Don't move from that spot."
"Good. Then I'll see you soon, Vice Admiral Garp."
Arima hung up the line.
Garp stared at the Den Den Mushi in his hand and muttered, "That brat's got no patience."
Then, turning to his adjutant, he barked, "Full speed ahead to the East Blue branch! I want to see which idiots have the guts to collude with pirates under my watch!"