The sounds of fighting echoed continuously throughout Arlong Park—punches landing, bodies hitting concrete, and the occasional pained grunt from the fishmen.
After several minutes of one-sided beatings, a hoarse roar suddenly cut through the chaos: "How dare you inferior races treat my brothers like this!"
Perhaps awakened by the loud commotion and Bonney's particularly enthusiastic participation in the group beatdown, Arlong finally stirred from where he lay crumpled in the crater. Seeing his crew members being thoroughly thrashed without any hope of resistance, his eyes turned bloodshot with rage.
He angrily yanked his two razor-sharp fangs from his mouth, gripping them like twin daggers, then quickly dove into the swimming pool that connected directly to the harbor.
As a saw-shark fishman, Arlong's teeth were not only incredibly sharp but could regenerate infinitely. The grotesque sight of him pulling out his own fangs didn't even slow him down—if anything, it made him look even more monstrous.
"SHARK ON DARTS!"
Arlong launched the same attack technique again, but this time he had the full length of the pool to build up momentum underwater. His body coiled like a loaded spring before exploding forward, using not only his serrated nose as a battering ram but also extending both fang-filled fists like the prongs of a human trident. He rocketed toward Deuce and the others like a living torpedo.
Despite the impressive power behind Arlong's assault, Deuce and his teammates didn't even bother to look up from their work. They continued their systematic beatdown of the Arlong Pirates with single-minded focus.
"'Humans are stupid,' huh?" WHAM! Carrot punctuated her question with a lightning-fast kick to one fishman's ribs.
"'Humans deserve to die,' right?" CRACK! Bonney, still in her adult form, delivered a bone-crushing punch that sent another pirate flying.
"'Inferior race,' was it?" THUD! Brook's rapier connected with surgical precision.
Each crew member seemed to be working through their anger at the fishmen's earlier insults, and every rhetorical question was followed by another devastating blow to their captive opponents.
Witnessing this scene, Arlong's vision turned even redder with fury. He gnashed his regenerating teeth and surged forward with murderous intent, determined to make these hateful humans pay for ignoring him.
However, just as that thought crossed his mind, Arlong suddenly found himself staring at nothing but deep blue sky.
Jerry honestly didn't know whether to laugh or lose his temper at what he was seeing.
Valuing one's crew and wanting to protect them—that might have been one of Arlong's few redeeming qualities. But whether he was too desperate to save his subordinates or still addled from his earlier face-plant into the concrete, the shark fishman had made a critical tactical error. He was actually trying to bypass Jerry entirely to attack Deuce and the others.
Naturally, Jerry wasn't about to let Arlong get anywhere near his friends.
In a flash, Jerry appeared directly in the charging fishman's path. He crouched low, timing his movement perfectly, then launched upward with a devastating uppercut. water swirled and condensed around his fist as it connected solidly with Arlong's jaw.
"Water Dragon Fist!"
The water coating Jerry's knuckles instantly transformed into a massive serpentine dragon, carrying the now-broken-toothed and bloody-faced Arlong straight up toward the sky like a rocket.
But Jerry had no intention of stopping there. He kicked off the ground and chased after his airborne opponent at breathtaking speed, soaring upward until he overtook Arlong's ascending trajectory. Jerry arched his body gracefully, swinging his right leg in a perfect arc before delivering a crushing downward kick to the stunned fishman.
"Dragon Descent"
The rotating, compressed water dragon seemed to take on a life of its own. It executed a sharp mid-air turn, carrying Arlong with it as both plummeted toward the earth like a falling meteor.
BOOM!
The thunderous impact sent shockwaves rippling outward in all directions, shaking the very foundations of Arlong Park.
The tremendous noise was so loud that residents throughout Cocoyasi Village couldn't help but turn their attention toward its source.
"Is that coming from Arlong Park?"
"What could be making such a racket?"
"Who knows? Hopefully that ugly place finally collapsed and crushed those bastards!"
People in the streets of various villages throughout the Konomi Islands whispered among themselves, speculating about the disturbance.
Due to the distance, they had no way of knowing what was actually happening, much less understanding the specific details of the battle. Even so, that didn't stop them from praying in unison—though their prayers were hardly for Arlong's well-being. After years of brutal oppression under the fishman's rule, they could only hope that whatever was happening would finally free them.
Jerry glanced down at Arlong, who was now buried under a pile of collapsed wall debris and surrounding rubble, clearly in no condition to get back up anytime soon. Satisfied with his work, he turned to check on his friends.
He found that they had already finished subduing the remaining Arlong Pirates and were now searching for thick ropes and chains to properly restrain their captives.
Seeing Jerry approach, Deuce's expression grew serious. "Jerry, we just questioned them about a few things. This group of fishmen came to East Blue about seven or eight years ago and have been systematically attacking and occupying dozens of villages ever since."
"They've been extorting protection money from these communities. Anyone who couldn't pay and anyone who dared to resist was ruthlessly eliminated..." Deuce shook his head grimly. "I never imagined such things were happening in what's supposed to be the most peaceful of the four seas."
Deuce was about to continue when the sound of marching footsteps suddenly echoed from beyond Arlong Park's main entrance—the same path they had used to enter.
Moments later, a squad of uniformed Marine soldiers quickly occupied the gateway. After entering the park grounds, they rapidly formed a battle formation, pointing their muskets directly at Jerry and his friends with military precision.
"There they are! It was this group of criminals who dared to attack me! Arrest them all and don't let a single one escape! Anyone who tries to run gets shot on sight!"
A slightly shrill male voice rang out, followed by the appearance of a thin man wearing a Marine captain's hat. His face was covered with several medical patches, clearly showing recent injuries.
"Yes, Captain!" the Marine soldiers responded in perfect unison, their discipline impressive despite their corrupt leadership.
The soldiers were about to advance when their commanding officer's voice suddenly turned uncertain and fearful.
"Wait... this... the Arlong Pirates? What happened to them? You people..."
The captain's gaze swept over Arlong's motionless form in the crater, took in Shioyaki's unconscious body near the entrance, then lingered on the bound and beaten fishmen that Deuce's group had secured. His pointing finger began to tremble uncontrollably.
Hearing the hesitation in their leader's voice, the confused soldiers turned to look at him, waiting for clearer orders.
Skull observed the newcomer and nodded with certainty. "That should be someone from the local 16th Marine Branch. The one with the rat-like whiskers there is Captain Nezumi."
He pointed at the officer, whose stereotypical rodent-like facial hair made identification easy.
Earlier on the road, after Bonney had beaten up his subordinates, she had also kicked Captain Nezumi to the ground, though Skull hadn't gotten a clear look at his face during the chaos.
"A rat?" Jerry said coldly, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes as he stepped forward. "He's pointing guns at us. Time for another beatdown—let's hit him until he can't recognize his own reflection."
At that moment, the marine who had been staring intently at Jerry suddenly paled and rushed forward, whispering urgently in Captain Nezumi's ear: "Captain, they... they might be from that pirate crew."
Captain Nezumi took a deep breath, struggling to regain his composure, then tilted his head toward his subordinate. "Which pirate crew?"
"The Black Star Pirates who returned from the Grand Line—" Before the marine could finish his explanation, Jerry raised his hand dismissively.
"I'm not used to having so many gun barrels pointed at me. Let's go!"
With that declaration, Jerry charged forward, immediately followed by Cavendish, Brook, Carrot, Bonney, and Kotatsu.
BANG! BANG BANG!
The Marine soldiers instinctively pulled their triggers, sending dozens of bullets flying toward Jerry's group.
"Water Wall!" Jerry swept his arm in a wide arc, creating a curtain of water that rose just in time to intercept every single projectile before splashing harmlessly to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the entire crew crashed into the Marine formation like tigers descending on a flock of sheep, their momentum absolutely unstoppable.
The branch Marines stood no chance whatsoever against Jerry's battle-hardened crew. After a brief but intense skirmish filled with the sounds of fists meeting faces and bodies hitting the ground, the soldiers lay scattered across the park grounds in various states of defeat.
"P-please, Lord! Please spare my life!" The wounded Captain Nezumi scrambled backward along the ground, staring up in terror at Jerry, who was approaching with clenched fists and murder in his eyes.
"Hah!" Jerry had no intention of wasting any more words on corrupt scum like this. He leaped up dramatically, and as he came down, threw a devastating punch that connected squarely with Nezumi's rat-like face.
THWACK!
Captain Nezumi crumpled to the ground and lay motionless.
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