"You… weren't you imprisoned in a Marine jail… no, you were in the East Blue…"
Jinbe frowned, a strange confusion clouding his thoughts, as if something important had slipped from his memory.
Arlong, his mouth smeared with blood, twisted his face into a grotesque grin and burst into harsh laughter.
"Brother Jinbe, what are you talking about? We are partners of the Sun Pirates. How could we ever leave our homeland!"
He turned toward the shadowy figures behind him, his grin widening.
"Everyone, come look. Brother Jinbe is back!"
"Shark hahaha, Brother Jinbe is back!"
Jinbe slowly lifted his head, his eyes widening as he took in the familiar street.
"You all…"
"Oh, Brother Jinbe, you're finally back."
"We missed you so much!"
"We swore we would never be separated. Where did you go?"
The Fish-Men before him, once familiar, now stood with blood dripping from their mouths. Their bodies moved stiffly, unnatural and jerky, as eerie black smoke seeped from them. Their laughter echoed, distorted and chilling, as they closed in.
"Everyone… what happened to you? Why do you look like this?"
Jinbe's voice trembled. Pain gripped his chest as he stared at them.
These were not the comrades he knew.
This was not how the Sun Pirates should be.
Yes, they were fierce and intimidating by nature, but deep down, they longed for dignity, for hope, for a better future.
Not this.
Not these twisted forms swallowed by darkness.
The sight sent a cold shiver down his spine.
"Jie, jie, jie!"
The monstrous Fish-Men spread their claws, their jagged teeth glinting as they laughed.
"Boss Jinbe, what are you saying? Everyone is happy!"
"Join us, Boss Jinbe. We are family!"
"Don't say such unpleasant things. Join us, join us!"
They pressed closer, forming a suffocating wall of darkness.
"This is not real… this is a dream…"
Jinbe staggered backward, his breathing turning ragged.
"Huff… huff… I…"
Everything he had worked for, every effort to guide his people toward reason and away from blind violence, felt meaningless now.
Had he failed?
Had everything fallen into ruin?
"Am I… dreaming?"
Under the crushing pressure, his mind struggled to regain clarity.
"Jinbe, what are you hesitating for?"
A familiar voice cut through the chaos.
Jinbe froze.
"That voice… could it be…"
He looked up sharply, eyes locking onto the source beyond the monstrous crowd.
"Brother Tiger, is that you!"
The voice was unmistakable. Steady, powerful, and once filled with warmth.
"Jinbe, come. Come to me…"
"Brother Tiger, I'm coming!"
His thoughts unraveled again.
"Fish-Man Karate: Arabesque Brick Fist!"
Without hesitation, Jinbe charged forward, striking down the monstrous Fish-Men blocking his path.
"Fish-Man Jujutsu: Tidal Current Shoulder Throw!"
Bodies fell aside as he pushed forward desperately.
But the voice continued, now carrying a different tone.
"Jinbe, have you forgotten my suffering?"
"Have you forgotten what those humans did to us?"
"You lowered yourself to serve the Marines, becoming their weapon…"
"No, that's not true! Brother Tiger, I didn't…"
Jinbe's voice cracked as pain surged through him.
Mocking laughter surrounded him.
"Jie, jie, Jinbe betrayed us."
"He abandoned Brother Tiger."
"He is nothing but a servant to humans now."
"Strait Jinbe? He is just a cowardly fish who switched sides!"
"No, that's not true!"
Jinbe roared, his voice filled with desperation.
"I still carry our people's future. I want to lead us into the world above the sea!"
A sharp voice pierced his mind.
"Stop lying to yourself. You have forgotten us."
Jinbe did not realize that the voice he trusted had changed. It no longer sounded like Tiger. It was twisted, filled with malice and hatred.
"Jinbe, you disappoint me."
"When I entrusted the Sun Pirates to you, I never imagined you would fail like this."
"They killed me. And you chose to serve them."
"I haven't forgotten! But you believed in Queen Otohime's ideals…"
"But I never told you to worship humans."
The voice echoed like a curse.
"Kill him. Kill him. Use the God King's head to declare war. Fish-Men are the superior race."
"Shirogai… I can't…"
Jinbe trembled, his eyes unfocused.
"Kill Shirogai… no… no…"
At last, he broke through the crowd.
Before him stood a broad, familiar figure in the darkness.
"Cough… don't kill Shirogai… he is a good man…"
Jinbe's voice weakened as if his strength had been drained.
"Brother Tiger, I never betrayed our people. I only wanted to change things through proper means…"
Darkness began to seep into his body.
"You came, Jinbe."
Tiger stood with his back turned, surrounded by a heavy, sinister aura.
"It really is you…"
Jinbe whispered.
"How are you alive?"
"Alive?"
Tiger repeated, his voice strange and hollow.
"I sold everything to the devil. And I crawled back from hell."
Slowly, he turned.
Gurgle… gurgle…
His body twisted and expanded, becoming a massive, grotesque creature the size of a small Sea King.
"Brother Tiger…!"
Jinbe's eyes widened in horror.
The creature's distorted face still carried traces of Tiger, but its jaws stretched wide, filled with jagged teeth.
"Jinbe… I am no longer human."
Jinbe stood frozen.
Then he turned around.
All the Fish-Men behind him had transformed as well, their forms massive and monstrous.
"This really is a nightmare…"
The ground beneath him suddenly collapsed.
Darkness swallowed him as he fell into an endless abyss.
…
In the void, Jinbe floated silently.
Then his body began to change.
It grew larger, more monstrous. His face turned cold and lifeless. His fangs sharpened, crossing like blades.
Black wings spread behind him.
"Follow the Master's command."
His eyes opened, empty and cold.
"Shirogai…"
He vanished instantly.
"Must die."
…
In the depths of darkness, a voice whispered:
"First, Shirogai, your comrades will be devoured by Imu and turned into the blade that betrays you."
"Just like before."
"You never learn."
===
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