Chapter 9: King's Haki vs. Shark's Teeth!
The setting sun cast long, bloody shadows across the courtyard of Arlong Park. The air was thick with the scent of seawater and the palpable tension of imminent violence.
Suzaku stepped forward, his movement casual yet deliberate, placing himself firmly between the terrified Nami and the army of aquatic monsters.
He didn't look back, but his voice carried clearly over his shoulder, calm and commanding.
"Rem."
"Rem is here," the maid responded instantly, her voice devoid of fear.
"You don't need to act this time. Your mission is to protect Nami. Don't let a single drop of blood splash on her."
Suzaku cracked his neck, the sound loud in the silence.
"Leave all these sushi ingredients to me."
Rem met Suzaku's back with her single visible blue eye. It burned with intense devotion and fighting spirit. She understood his intent immediately—this was a display of dominance. A statement.
Without any question, she nodded obediently and solemnly.
"Rem understands. Please be very careful, Master Suzaku."
She took a small step backward, subtly shielding Nami behind her petite frame. Her hand disappeared into the folds of her skirt, gripping the handle of her Morning Star, ready to obliterate anything that tried to bypass her Master.
She looked down at the trembling girl and added softly, "Rest assured, Miss Nami. Rem will take good care of our future Navigator."
Across the courtyard, Arlong sat on his beach chair, his eyes narrowing as he watched the human boy walk forward alone. The sheer disrespect made the veins on his forehead throb.
"Insolent monkey..." Arlong growled, his hand reaching for his massive sword.
"Brother Arlong!"
A Fishman with thick, pink lips and a face resembling aキス fish (Smelt-whiting) stepped forward. It was Chew, one of Arlong's officers. He puffed out his chest, sneering at Suzaku.
"Why would you personally deal with such a minor character? He's just a human child trying to play hero!"
"Nyu! Exactly!"
Another officer, an octopus Fishman with six arms, chimed in. Hatchan waved his six swords (or rather, his empty hands, as he hadn't drawn them yet) in the air.
"Leave it to us! Let this ignorant, inferior human taste the power of the noble Fishman race! We'll turn him into mincemeat!"
Upon hearing his subordinates' eagerness, Arlong's anger subsided slightly. He leaned back, baring his razor-sharp teeth in a cruel grin.
"Shyahahahaha! You're right! Why should a King dirty his hands with trash?"
Arlong waved his webbed hand dismissively.
"My brethren! Attack! Tear him apart! Wash away the shame of our noble race with his blood! Show him the despair of the weak!"
"OOOHHHH!!"
At his command, the dozens of Fishmen lounging around the pool sprang into action. They grabbed tridents, scimitars, and spiked clubs, roaring with bloodlust.
"Kill the human!"
"Die!"
They charged forward like a tsunami of scales and muscle, the ground shaking under their webbed feet.
Suzaku stood motionless in the face of the charge. However, his right eye twitched slightly.
He wasn't afraid. He was... annoyed.
Really? he thought, feeling utterly speechless. This is different from the entrance I had imagined!
Logically, the script should go like this: I stride forward, unleash a cool one-liner, mock these trash Fishmen for their ignorance, and then calmly deal with them while they look shocked.
But what happened? The other side said everything! They stole the speech about 'ignorant humans' and 'tasting power'!
He's saying all my lines! My villain dialogue! Damn it!
A perfectly good entrance, and the atmosphere was completely ruined by these noisy appetizers.
Suzaku sighed deeply. The playfulness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a cold, golden sharpness.
"You guys are too loud."
He took one step forward.
BOOM—!!!
It wasn't a sound. It was a spiritual impact.
An invisible yet immense pressure suddenly erupted from Suzaku's body. It expanded outward in a terrifying shockwave, distorting the very air around him.
The atmosphere turned heavy, like lead. The wind stopped. The seagulls froze in the sky.
Crackle. BZZZT.
Streaks of black and deep red lightning materialized from thin air, dancing wildly around Suzaku before lashing out across the entire courtyard like the judgment of a tyrant!
[Conqueror's Haki: Intermediate Rank - Release!]
The will of a King swept across the battlefield.
The charging Fishmen didn't even have time to scream.
One moment, they were roaring with bloodlust, their weapons raised high. The next, the light vanished from their eyes.
Thud. Thud. Clatter.
"Uh..."
"Gah..."
Foam spilled from their mouths. Their eyes rolled back into their heads, showing only the whites. Like marionettes whose strings had been cut simultaneously, forty fierce Fishmen collapsed to the ground.
Weapons clattered onto the stone. Massive bodies hit the floor with heavy, wet sounds.
In less than a second, the noisy, chaotic charge was silenced. The area was instantly cleared.
Only the wind remained, whistling softly through the jagged hole in the wall.
In the center of the unconscious bodies, Suzaku stood with his hands in his pockets, looking bored.
"What...?"
Arlong, who had been leaning back on his chair ready to watch a show, froze. His jaw dropped. The drink in his hand slipped from his fingers and shattered on the ground.
"What... happened?!"
He looked around frantically. His entire crew—his elite soldiers—were down. Just like that. Without a single blow being struck.
"Could it be... poison gas? Magic?" Arlong stood up, sweat beading on his blue skin. "Impossible! How could such a thing happen! This is the East Blue! The weakest sea!"
Behind Suzaku, Nami was completely stunned. Her mouth hung slightly agape, her tear-filled eyes wide with shock.
Her mind went blank. She had expected a bloody brawl. She had expected Suzaku to be overwhelmed by numbers.
"Why... why did all the Fishmen suddenly fall down?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "Did he... did he do that?"
Only Suzaku himself knew the truth.
His Conqueror's Haki had deliberately bypassed Arlong.
With his Intermediate Rank control, he could select his targets. He had knocked out the small fry but left the boss awake.
After all, he had just gained the [Vermilion Bird Bloodline] and Rem's combat experience. If he knocked Arlong out with Haki, who would be his punching bag?
If he didn't personally test the strength of this so-called "monster strength" Fishman, how could he gauge his own power in this new world?
Suzaku looked at the Fishmen sprawled all over the ground like salted fish drying in the sun. He chuckled, stepping over a unconscious shark-man.
"Youth is great," he quipped, his tone mocking. "They get tired so easily. Look at them, taking a nap right in the middle of a fight."
"You...!"
Arlong was in no mood for trash talk. The fear of the unknown was quickly replaced by humiliation and rage.
He was Arlong! The ruler of the East Blue! How could he be mocked by a human in his own territory?
"Don't get cocky, human!!"
Arlong roared. His face twisted into a grim mask of fury.
He crouched low, his powerful leg muscles bunching up like coiled springs.
"SHARK ON DARTS!"
Boom!
Arlong launched himself. He used the explosive power of his legs to shoot forward like a torpedo. His nose—a serrated, iron-hard saw blade—was the tip of the spear, aimed directly at Suzaku's heart.
The speed was incredible. To Nami's eyes, he was just a blue blur.
"Look out!" Nami screamed.
But Suzaku didn't dodge. He didn't even take his hands out of his pockets until the very last millisecond.
He watched the incoming torpedo with calm, golden eyes. Thanks to the basic Observation Haki he had awakened during his execution, Arlong's trajectory was as clear as a line drawn on paper.
Too slow.
Suzaku raised his right hand.
CLANG!!
A crisp, metallic sound echoed across the park.
Nami's eyes widened in disbelief. Even Rem raised an eyebrow in appreciation.
Suzaku hadn't dodged. He hadn't blocked.
He had caught it.
With just one hand, Suzaku had firmly grasped the fierce, serrated nose of Arlong mid-flight. The kinetic energy of the charge dissipated instantly, absorbed by Suzaku's enhanced skeletal structure.
"Wha—?!" Arlong's eyes bulged. He was suspended in mid-air, held by his nose. "Impossible! My nose is harder than steel! You stopped it with your bare hand?!"
"Harder than steel?" Suzaku scoffed. "Feels like plastic to me."
Immediately after, Suzaku's grip tightened.
"Get lost."
He swung his arm.
Using Arlong's nose as a handle, he casually flung the massive, 300-kilogram Fishman as if he were tossing a bag of trash.
Whoosh!
Arlong's massive body flew through the air, spinning uncontrollably.
CRASH!
He slammed into the tall, pagoda-style building behind him—the very building where Nami had been imprisoned for years.
Bricks and stones scattered. Dust billowed. A large, person-shaped hole was smashed directly into the second-floor wall.
"Arlong!" The surviving officers, Chew and Hatchan (who had barely withstood the Haki due to their distance), screamed in horror.
Before the dust settled, a roar came from the rubble.
"Die!!"
A huge chunk of concrete, weighing at least a ton, whistled out of the hole, hurled by a furious Arlong. It smashed towards Suzaku with terrifying momentum.
Suzaku didn't even look. He didn't move his feet.
He simply threw a casual backhand punch.
Pow.
The rock shattered into pebbles upon contact with his fist. His movements were fluid and effortless, like flicking away a speck of dust.
But the rock was a distraction.
The moment the boulder shattered, a blue shadow burst out from among the rock fragments!
Arlong was airborne, his face bloodied but his eyes burning with madness. In his hand, he held a massive, vicious weapon—a giant saw-sword with shark teeth serrations.
The Kiribachi.
"Got you now!!" Arlong roared, descending from the sky. He swung the massive blade down with all his might, intending to cleave Suzaku in two.
Swoosh!
The blade fell. It sliced through the air... and hit nothing but the stone pavement.
Crack!
The ground split open, but there was no sensation of cutting into flesh.
Arlong's heart sank. A cold sweat broke out on his neck. "Not good!"
"Too slow again," a voice whispered right next to his ear.
When Arlong looked back, his pupils constricted to the size of needles.
Suzaku was already standing beside him, ghost-like.
"Wh...?!" Arlong gasped. "So fast!"
He didn't even have time to lift his sword.
Suzaku's fist was already in motion. It wasn't a fancy technique. Just a straight right punch, fueled by the raw, explosive power of the Vermilion Bird.
BAM!
The fist landed squarely on Arlong's cheek.
The impact was sickening. Arlong's face deformed. Several of his regenerating teeth shattered and flew out of his mouth like shrapnel.
With a dull, heavy bang, Arlong was sent flying laterally across the courtyard. He skipped across the ground once, twice, before crashing heavily into the large saltwater pool in the center of the park.
SPLASH!
A huge wave of water erupted, soaking the surrounding deck.
Silence returned to the courtyard.
Watching Arlong—the monster who had terrorized twenty villages for eight years—being easily manhandled and sent flying twice, Nami's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Her trembling stopped. Her mouth closed.
The previous worry and paralyzing fear were gradually replaced by an incredible, blinding hope.
He... he's actually doing it.
What he said before... wasn't bragging after all? He wasn't just an arrogant boy with a death wish?
As the battle became increasingly one-sided, the thought she dared not hope for finally took root and bloomed in her heart.
He really can defeat Arlong.
No, he definitely WILL defeat Arlong.
He can liberate Cocoyasi Village. He can free me.
Once this thought surfaced, Nami couldn't help but feel a moment of trance. The nightmare that had been suppressed for so many years... the darkness that had swallowed her childhood... was it truly seeing the dawn?
Just then, a calm yet concerned voice came from beside her.
"Rem thinks crying isn't a good thing. It blurs the vision, making it harder to see the enemy."
Rem held out a pristine white handkerchief.
Nami hadn't fully recovered from her shock, but her hand subconsciously reached out and took the cloth.
She paused slightly, her fingertips touching her cheek. Only then did she realize that, at some point, fresh tears were streaming down her face.
"Thank you..." Nami whispered, wiping her eyes furiously. "I'm not crying. It's just... dust."
"If you say so," Rem replied, her gaze never leaving the pool.
In the center of the square, Suzaku slowly clenched and unclenched his fists, looking down at his hands.
Incredible.
Those few exchanges just now made him truly realize how powerful his body was. The [Vermilion Bird Bloodline] wasn't just about fire; it was about fundamental biological superiority. His muscles were denser, his reaction time faster, his skin tougher.
The physiques of people in the One Piece World were already monstrously strong compared to Earth. But now, he felt like he had become a monster among monsters.
"Come on out, fishy," Suzaku muttered, looking at the pool. "I know that wasn't enough to kill you."
Meanwhile, beneath the surface of the pool.
Arlong shook his dazed head, floating in the water. Blood drifted from his mouth, attracting small fish.
The cool seawater gradually brought him back to his senses, soothing the throbbing pain in his jaw.
"Damn it... where did this monster come from?!"
A wave of frustration and genuine fear surged in his heart.
"Why?! Why is the East Blue supposed to be weak? Why do I always run into guys like this?!"
First Kizaru, then Jimbei, now this kid?
But he quickly suppressed his panic. His pride as a Fishman, the arrogance that had been drilled into him since childhood, once again bolstered his will.
"Impossible... Fishmen are the noble race! We are the top of the food chain!"
He grit his regenerating teeth.
"There's no way I can lose to a lower species! My brethren... are watching! I am Arlong! I am the King of the East Blue!"
Thinking this, Arlong's eyes glowed red underwater.
In the water, I am invincible!
Arlong kicked off the bottom of the pool. Like an underwater missile, he swam rapidly towards the surface, accelerating to incredible speeds.
On the shore, Suzaku looked at the still water, feeling a bit puzzled.
"Could he have been knocked out with one punch? That would be disappointing."
Just then, the water surface rippled violently.
A low, gurgling shout echoed from the depths:
"FISHMAN KARATE: YABUSAME!" (Shark on Arrows)
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Several sharp, high-pressure water drops burst out of the pool. They weren't just splashes; they were compressed projectiles, moving as fast as bullets.
They shot towards Suzaku at high speed, aiming for his eyes and throat!
"Oh? Arlong knows actual Fishman Karate techniques? I thought he was just a brawler."
Suzaku raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"Alright. I've pretty much figured out his physical capabilities. He's strong for the East Blue, but compared to the New World... he's a joke."
He curled his lips in a bored smile.
"It's time to end this warm-up. Let's see how a fish likes to be grilled."
Suzaku spread his arms. He didn't use Haki this time. He reached deep into his bloodline, pulling on the primordial heat that slumbered there.
"Vermilion Art..."
He let out a low shout.
"FLAME FEATHERS!"
Fwoosh!
In an instant, the air distorted. Two scorching, dazzling fireballs materialized in his palms. They weren't normal orange fire; they were a deep, rich crimson, swirling with golden edges.
With a casual wave of his hand, he flicked the fireballs forward.
They didn't just fly; they streaked through the air like meteors, intercepting the incoming water arrows.
HISS—!!!
The collision was violent.
High-temperature divine flames met icy, compressed water.
There was no contest. The water didn't extinguish the fire; the fire consumed the water.
The water arrows evaporated instantly, exploding into a massive cloud of scalding white steam that engulfed the entire pool area.
"What?!"
Arlong, surfacing just in time to see his attack vaporized, froze in terror. The heat coming off the steam singed his skin.
"He... he can conjure fire?!"
Arlong's eyes widened until they threatened to split.
"A Devil Fruit user?! He's a monster too?!"
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