Loshue could feel it that monstrous recovery coursing through his body like a divine gift. The gaping wound that should've crippled him was now nothing but a faint scar fading away. His strength didn't just return; it surged. He flexed his fingers slowly, a satisfied grin tugging at his lips.
But across from him, Arlong was far from calm.
"Y-you… are you a Devil Fruit user?!" Arlong's voice trembled. His shark-like pupils constricted to pinpoints as a chill ran down his spine. What he had just witnessed a man healing from a fatal wound within seconds was not something human.
Loshue didn't bother answering. He tilted his head, a faint, teasing smile on his face. "You can guess."
The air around him thickened, his presence swelling like a rising tide.
Arlong's fear quickly twisted into rage. "Even if you're a Devil Fruit user, I'll tear you apart! I'll crush your bones and grind you into paste to see if you can still heal from that!"
His roar echoed across the shattered hall. Driven by fury, Arlong's massive body tensed. His muscles bulged, veins pulsing blue beneath his skin.
"Shark On Darts!"
He lunged a living torpedo streaking across the ground, the jagged edges of his saw-like teeth gleaming like serrated steel.
But Loshue was already moving.
With a sudden burst, a deep crack thundered beneath his feet. He vanished from sight. In that instant, a shockwave split the air, a flash of light slicing through the dust. The collision came like the fall of a meteor.
Boom!
The impact was deafening. Air detonated around them, rippling outward in violent waves.
Loshue had combined two talismanic forces the Rabbit Talisman's speed and the Ox Talisman's strength. When fused, speed became mass, and force multiplied beyond reason. It wasn't just an attack. It was annihilation in motion.
The sound of breaking bone echoed through the hall.
Arlong's roar twisted into a scream. "My… my jaw!"
Blood sprayed as his prized weapon his steel-hard, serrated teeth shattered like brittle glass. His enormous body flew backward, smashing into the stone floor, kicking up clouds of dust and broken debris.
The pirates froze.
"What the hell happened?!"
"His wound was healed and he's even stronger now!"
"He's a Devil Fruit user! He must be!"
"No way! The Captain's bounty is twenty million! He can't lose to some kid!"
Their disbelief filled the air, voices trembling between fear and denial.
But the truth stood before them. Arlong the tyrant of the East Blue, the terror of Cocoyasi Village had been brought to his knees by a single man.
A low groan escaped from the pit of debris. Arlong dragged himself up, his body trembling, his jaw twisted grotesquely. Blood leaked from his mouth as he glared at Loshue with seething hatred.
He couldn't even speak now only a grating, animal-like rasp came from his throat.
Still, he was alive. Barely.
Loshue's shadow loomed behind him. The weight of his presence pressed down like a mountain. Arlong's instincts screamed danger, his body frozen in primal terror. He tried to turn, his every movement stiff, mechanical and then he saw it.
A fist.
A massive, blazing fist filling his vision.
The blade in his hand his cherished weapon, Kiribachi met the strike in desperation. The sound that followed was sharp and final.
Crack!
The weapon snapped cleanly in half.
Then came the punch.
Loshue's fist tore through Arlong's chest.
Blood spattered the broken ground.
"Impossible…" Arlong's eyes widened in disbelief. The mighty fishman pirate who once believed himself invincible could only stare at the gaping hole in his torso. For the first time, he truly understood Loshue hadn't been fighting seriously before.
He had been toying with him.
The surrounding pirates dropped their weapons in horror. The fear was tangible now cold, choking, absolute.
Loshue lifted Arlong effortlessly with one hand, his voice calm and cold. "Don't speak. I'll send you off myself."
With a flick of his wrist, he threw the pirate lord down. The impact shook the ground, and the tyrant of Arlong Park lay still broken and silent.
But before the dust could settle, the sound of hurried boots echoed from the hall's entrance.
Bang!
The doors burst open. A small, rat-faced Marine officer stumbled in, flanked by a squad of armed soldiers.
It was Captain Nezumi, the corrupt Marine who had long colluded with Arlong for profit and power.
"Arlong what happened here?!" Nezumi froze, his beady eyes going wide as he saw the scene: Arlong's lifeless body at Loshue's feet, blood pooling around the shattered tiles.
Just ten minutes ago, a pirate had run to him in panic, saying someone was challenging Arlong. Eager to show "support" for his secret partner and maybe extort some extra tribute Nezumi had brought an entire unit to put on a show of force.
He never expected this.
A lone man had brought hell to Arlong Park.
"Kill him!" Arlong rasped weakly from the floor, his last shred of defiance pushing through broken teeth. "Nezumi! I'll give you forty million Berries!"
Nezumi's eyes flashed with greed. "Forty million?" His heart pounded at the number.
Arlong had always been generous, but this was different enough money to buy a mansion, enough to vanish from the Marines and live in luxury for life.
He smirked. "You heard the man! That's a direct order from Captain Nezumi! Execute this criminal on the spot! I'll reward every one of you handsomely!"
The Marines raised their rifles, eager for blood and coin.
Loshue didn't move. His eyes, calm and cold, swept across the room.
"Captain Nezumi," he said slowly, "I came here for Arlong's crew. I don't want to fight the Marines. Leave now, and I'll pretend this never happened."
There was no fear in his tone, only quiet command.
But Nezumi just sneered. "Big words for a criminal! You dare cause trouble in Marine territory and still think you can walk away?" His smirk widened, the greed in his eyes glimmering like oil. "Surrender now, and maybe I'll consider showing mercy."
Loshue exhaled softly a sound halfway between a sigh and a growl.
"So be it."
He cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders as faint energy flared beneath his skin. "Seems like I'll have to clean house today."
The temperature in the hall dropped.
The Marines felt it first that crushing, invisible pressure that made their legs tremble.
Outside, the wind stilled. The air turned heavy.
Loshue stepped forward.
This was no longer a battle for survival.
This was judgment.