For ordinary humans, there was no hope of resisting Fish-Men.
Even those who had fled by boat were doomed—Fish-Men were far stronger in the water than on land.
Those who dared resist had already been slain. The rest were herded into the village square, encircled by the snarling, predatory Fish-Men, whose cruel eyes promised nothing but malice.
Arlong swaggered forward, the massive serrated blade resting against his shoulder. The gathered Fish-Men parted to clear his path.
Perhaps because of the incident with Hachi, Arlong's mood was especially foul.
"I am Arlong, captain of the Arlong Pirates. You inferior creatures listen well! From this day forward, your village is under my protection. Every year, each adult will pay 100,000 Berries, each child 50,000. Fail to pay, and you have no right to live!"
His voice was as cold as the sea.
The villagers' faces went pale. A family of four would owe two to three hundred thousand Berries each year—an impossible sum for people who survived on fruit farming and fishing. Even if they scraped and saved, they could never hope to amass so much.
Terror spread across their faces.
Arlong saw it—and his lips curled into a cruel smile.
He raised his hand and pointed at a girl in the crowd.
She was sixteen or seventeen, clutching a younger girl tightly in her arms.
"We'll start with you."
At his words, two Fish-Men shoved through the crowd, dragging the girl and her little sister to Arlong's feet.
"One adult, one child—that makes 150,000 Berries." Arlong bared his teeth in a grin as he looked down on them.
The sisters were paralyzed with fear, clinging desperately to one another, unable even to raise their heads.
"Didn't you hear me, you worms?!" Arlong's eyes flashed murderously.
"M-my lord, we… we have no money," the elder sister stammered in terror.
"Then die!"
Arlong roared, raising his massive serrated blade high. His gaze swept across the crowd, savoring their terror, before he brought the weapon crashing down.
One execution would cow the rest. Millions of Berries every year—what better harvest?
The blade arced toward the sisters
BOOM!
A streak of fire like a falling star blazed down from the heavens, scattering sparks across the square before vanishing.
Arlong's blade stopped mid-swing, caught fast in a hand sheathed in Armament Haki.
For a heartbeat, the world fell silent.
Neither the horrified villagers nor the startled Fish-Men could comprehend what had just happened.
Arlong froze, eyes locked on the man before him.
Don.
He looked up at the towering saw-nosed Fish-Man, his Observation Haki already laying bare the village's plight.
He had read of such atrocities countless times since arriving in this world—but to witness it with his own eyes, to see pirates butchering innocent civilians, was another matter entirely.
"Who the hell are you?" Arlong demanded, his expression hardening. His eyes darted to Don's hand gripping the blade—blackened with Armament Haki.
Haki.
Of course Arlong recognized it—he was from the Grand Line, after all.
Don gave no answer. His gaze remained calm as it swept from Arlong to the other Fish-Men.
The two sisters at his feet gaped in disbelief, staring up at the man who had appeared from the flames.
Fire spread from Don's hand, racing along the length of the serrated blade. Arlong yanked and strained, but it would not budge. When the flames licked closer to his hand, he finally let go, retreating several steps.
"Kill him!" Arlong snarled.
[Fish-Man Pirate]
That was the label floating above their heads.
Arlong's name glowed white. The rest were gray.
To Don, they posed no threat.
The Fish-Men obeyed at once, brandishing weapons as they charged.
Don's hand fell to the hilt of Flame. The rasp of steel against scabbard whispered into the air.
Shhhk!
A single horizontal slash.
The absurdly long blade cleaved through two charging Fish-Men in a single stroke. Their bodies and weapons alike parted cleanly as Don strode past them.
Each step forward was accompanied by a blur of steel. Each swing of Flame carved down another pirate, their flesh no match for the razor edge of a sword that had long since reached the realm of cutting steel.
Blood—red and blue—splattered the ground.
"Bastard, stop!"
One Fish-Man leveled a musket, aiming not at Don, but at the cowering sisters.
Bang!
In an instant, Don was gone—then reappeared at the gunman's side, his kick sending the Fish-Man hurtling across the village. He smashed through debris and sailed clean over to the island's far shore, crashing into the sea amidst shattered planks and floating corpses.
The remaining Fish-Men recoiled in fear.
Moments ago, they had rushed him without hesitation. Now, staring at their bisected comrades and the blood staining the ground, they tasted true terror.
Don's silence was suffocating. His merciless blade seemed to squeeze the life out of the air itself.
He turned, flicking blood from Flame's edge.
Behind him, Arlong's glare burned with fury.
"Arlong-aniki!" the others cried in panic, looking to their captain.
"All of you—attack together! He's only one man!"
Arlong's voice was low and venomous.
"Yes!"
Roused by his order, the Fish-Men rallied, charging Don once more with weapons raised.
But Don paid them no mind. Whether they attacked or fled, the result was the same—death.
He slid Flame back into its sheath, right hand resting lightly on the hilt.
"Caress Slash."
His calm voice fell like a sentence.
Don vanished.
A dim streak of sword light flashed across the square.
Every eye saw it—the terrified villagers, the charging Fish-Men. A muted arc of death that seemed almost gentle.
But the villagers were not its target.
Don reappeared before Arlong. Behind him, the Fish-Men froze mid-charge. Their bodies split open along the line of the slash, collapsing in showers of blood.
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Fireborne Legends
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