Surging currents swirled around Tiger's body, and under his control those currents gradually converged onto his fists.
This was originally the principle behind Wave Crash, using the body's kinetic energy combined with the impact force of water to slam into an opponent. But Tiger had already integrated it into Fish-Man Karate.
Vagabond Drill is the secret technique of Fish-Man Karate, likewise relying on impact transformed from water currents.
The jetting water provided Tiger with even more propulsion. When he reached Akainu, the condensed water did not disperse; instead, it was compressed into a fist-sized shockwave that struck Akainu's body along with Tiger's punch.
Buzz!
"Do you really think Fish-Men don't get angry?!"
Boom!
"This is an order from the World Government. Those who violate World Government rules have no right to criticize."
A fist wrapped in Haki met Tiger's Wave Drill head-on. Due to the nature of Fish-Man Karate, even when an attack is blocked directly, its force is still transmitted through the water within the body.
As a result, magma blossoms occasionally exploded behind Akainu. Although his Logia-type body avoided the direct destruction from the impact, the aftereffects still remained.
"Even if that rule means handing over our own people to be slaves? Attacking our princess in front of forty-nine nations?!"
"Justice is absolute. Without order, even more people would be harmed by pirates like you. For the stability of the seas, necessary sacrifices are acceptable."
"Which eye of yours saw me as a pirate? Just because someone thinks differently from you, they're treated as pirates?"
"Fishman Island, as an affiliated nation, has always had ties with pirates. Whitebeard, Kaido, haven't your relationships always been close?
Being part of the World Government while still entangled with pirates, such evil should not exist!"
"Heh, shouldn't you be reflecting on why things turned out this way?
Only by overthrowing the order you uphold can a better world be built!"
Crack.
The continent that Regigigas had just lifted split open with a fissure under the clash between the two. Tiger's words had no effect on Akainu; behind him, a large amount of magma erupted like a volcano, his fist pressing even harder toward Tiger.
"Those words aren't for the likes of you to say!"
Many times, Akainu also felt that the World Government's actions were idiotic, but he would still carry out its orders. Even if unwilling, he would strive to accomplish the mission's objective.
Magma and water collided, and thick smoke mixed with the stench of sulfur gradually rose.
The ground beneath their feet reached its limit of endurance. Amid flying dirt and stone, Tiger was forced back several steps, finally stopping at the edge of the land.
But the battle within the smoke did not stop. Registeel took Tiger's place and entangled Akainu once more. The metal shell was left with many scorch marks by the searing magma, yet its core was likewise not destroyed.
As Tiger rejoined the fray, the battlefield once again devolved into a chaotic melee.
Not long after—
"Marine Fleet Admiral… it seems my training still isn't enough."
Looking at the burn marks on his right arm, Tiger took a deep breath.
Fighting an enemy like this on land was still a bit too difficult for him.
Or rather, the enemy was simply too strong. To contend head-on with Tiger while he had Palafin's power boost—just how terrifying the strength hidden within Akainu was went without saying.
After all, this was the only true standout of the Summit War, a man who could use his fists to contend with someone wielding the power of earthquakes.
Even so, Tiger showed no fear and quickly adjusted his state.
"Your Haki's not bad, but it's still not enough."
Akainu's magma body began to reassemble. Most of the damage Tiger had dealt earlier had already vanished, with only sleeves torn to rags remaining as evidence.
Akainu was a genuine tank; whether taking repeated blows from Whitebeard or fighting Aokiji for days and nights, his stamina proved it. He was completely different from someone who collapsed after just a few moves once stabbed in the side.
"Observation Haki really is a troublesome thing."
Observation Haki combined with a Logia-type body had always been extremely troublesome. Dealing damage to such an opponent was far more difficult than against ordinary foes.
Although Fish-Man Karate could exploit certain advantages, such attacks were only residual force. It was very difficult to deal real damage to an opponent of Akainu's caliber.
So, watching Akainu reassemble himself again, Tiger crouched down, both hands reaching toward the nearby sea.
"There's no need for me to fight you to the death. You won't understand what kind of gap exists between us."
"What are you rambling about? Even if you're a Fish-Man, you'll just be dried out by my magma."
"That's why I say you won't understand. Lord's power is the true power. You can burn flesh, but can you burn the sea? Fish-Man Jujutsu: Sea Dragon Whirlpool!"
Seawater condensed into a terrifying water dragon, and the surrounding sea level rose once more, directly submerging the land beneath their feet.
The water dragon did not attack Akainu. Instead, it coiled around the area, enclosing both Akainu and Tiger together. Before long, a sky-covering curtain of water spread out, isolating the two like a dome.
Palafin's moveset did not include Whirlpool; this was a domain Tiger formed by controlling water currents through Fish-Man Jujutsu and the Surf move.
"Devil Fruits are hated by the sea, so can you defeat the sea? The sea is our home field!"
Tiger clenched his fists together, and the water dragon whirlpool began to shrink its domain.
Tiger was not Akainu's match, especially on land, where he could only barely hold his own. Defeat was merely a matter of time, and not much time at that.
But as a Fish-Man, empowered by the strength bestowed by Arceus, he could turn the sea itself into his weapon.
Akainu was not Kuzan; he could not instantly freeze the ocean. Nor was he Kizaru, able to pass through the domain like a flash of light. Compared to others, Akainu's response to this kind of attack was the clumsiest.
"Great Eruption!"
When magma met water, it cooled into a special kind of rock. Tiger and Akainu were reshaping the terrain here in an even more extraordinary way, while Registeel kept searching for openings to attack.
Outside, the Marines were surrounding Regirock. The earlier large-scale attack had drained a great deal of Regirock's stamina, making it difficult to use such wide-area attacks again. Faced with these smaller, more agile opponents, Regirock instead fell into a disadvantage.
"Fire! Full barrage! Even if that thing can regenerate, it still takes time. Buy time for the others!!"
The warships on the sea surface had survived the previous round of attacks and were now providing artillery support. Elite Marines were also using their own methods to rush to their comrades' aid.
At that moment, a Marine carrying artillery shells looked up and wiped his sweat, but the shells in his hands suddenly slipped and fell.
"Hey! What are you doing? If you can't keep going, go rest!"
A nearby Marine caught the shell and scolded him, only to realize that the Marine he was berating wasn't looking at him at all, but staring blankly in another direction.
"Y-you… look over there…"
"What is it?"
"The island… it's being dragged away."
Not just the Marines, Fish-Men and Merfolk who had stayed behind in New Fishman Island also stared in disbelief at what was happening.
"No way… is this the so-called moving?"
"No wonder Boss Ti said we didn't need to pack our bags."
The message Tiger brought earlier was that they were preparing to relocate; everyone would be changing to a safer place to live.
That didn't strike anyone as strange. They simply assumed they would be moving to Mandrell's territory, an island that most Fish-Men currently regarded as interesting, safe, and welcoming to both Fish-Men and Merfolk.
Not packing any luggage also didn't seem odd. Fishman Island's specialty was bubbles, but these bubbles could only be used in the seas near the Sabaody Archipelago. Once they reached Mandrell's territory, those bubbles would be beyond the influence range of the Yarukiman Mangrove trees.
In those places, the bubble products would become nothing more than useless scraps, completely unusable.
At present, ninety percent of those remaining in New Fishman Island were Fish-Men. The most fundamental issue was that without those bubbles, young Merfolk would find movement extremely inconvenient.
What no one expected was that Tiger's so-called "moving" was meant in the most literal sense—moving the entire home away.
New Fishman Island continued to tremble faintly without pause. Each tremor meant that Regigigas, dragging New Fishman Island along, had taken another step forward.
Regigigas's strides looked slow, but its actual speed was the complete opposite. New Fishman Island was gradually receding at a pace visible to the naked eye.
Pop! Pop!
The bubbles within New Fishman Island began to burst one after another, indicating that they had left the range of the Yarukiman Mangrove trees' influence. Regigigas slightly raised its arms, preventing seawater from rushing directly into the island through the externally shattered bubbles.
Before long, Regigigas's massive figure shrank into a tiny black dot.
Watching Regigigas drag Fishman Island farther and farther away, the Marines made no attempt to stop it.
They understood the difference between fighting to the death and committing suicide. If an entire island could be dragged away so easily, their warships catching up would probably end with them being swatted aside in a single blow.
With the Fleet Admiral tied down by the enemy, there was nothing they could do.
At the same time, the clash between Akainu and Tiger also came to an end. Large amounts of cooled magma had raised the elevation of this land considerably. Looking at Regigigas already disappearing into the distance, Akainu's voice sounded heavy.
"So this was your objective?"
"Objective? You could put it that way. But you should be glad, the divine envoy's target was not you. It only wanted to move the island."
Tiger panted heavily as he steadied his surging blood. Even with Registeel's assistance, fighting Akainu was exhausting, and continuously manipulating seawater had been draining Tiger's stamina as well.
[It's time for you to leave.]
The same voice echoed in Tiger's mind. Registeel's and Regirock's states also seemed somewhat off.
"The day of change has already arrived. You will witness the future. And let me remind you, Fish-Men have been weak for hundreds of years. Now, that era is coming to an end. Tell those lofty figures to prepare themselves to face the fury rising from the deep sea."
When Regigigas first arrived here, it had used a similar method to speak to Tiger, so Tiger knew clearly that these were Regigigas's words.
With New Fishman Island already far away, there was naturally no longer any point in continuing the fight here.
Right in front of Akainu, Tiger dove straight into the deep sea. Ghis was where the Fish-Men were strongest.
As long as the gap in strength wasn't outrageously large, such as between Arlong and Vice Admiral–period Borsalino, if Fish-Men wanted to flee into the sea, humans simply couldn't stop them.
Devil Fruit users were especially helpless in this regard. Back then, the Sun Pirates had caused the Marines no small amount of trouble because of this, but after so many years, it seemed they had forgotten the problems the Sun Pirates once brought.
Rumble—
As Tiger departed, the sound of collapsing rocks came from behind Akainu. Regirock abruptly crumbled into a pile of rubble, and Registeel's body entered a state of decay, eventually turning into a mass of black metallic powder.
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