"The sound of that experience notification… never gets old." Luffy flicked the thick blood from his fist as he spoke.
"Kuroobi!"
Arlong stared in disbelief. In just a moment of carelessness, one of his most trusted lieutenants had been killed.
His eyes welled with tears.
He remembered the days they had grown up together in Fishman District, how they dreamed of the surface world, escaped the clutches of slave hunters, and vowed to become stronger together.
Then came the day they met Fisher Tiger. Arlong had led his brothers to follow Tiger in pursuit of their shared dream.
After Tiger's death, Arlong and Jinbe had clashed in ideology. But these few brothers had stayed loyal and followed Arlong all the way to the East Blue.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
To think that a comrade who had bled and survived alongside him in the Grand Line, in the New World, would die like this, here, in some backwater sea.
Arlong had come to this place to dominate humans, to return to them the pain and humiliation they had inflicted on his kind.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
"Damn humans! I'll kill you!"
Blinded by rage, Arlong could no longer contain the fury inside him.
He clenched his fists and charged at Luffy with explosive speed. His muscular arms, as solid as rebar, coiled with power and crashed down like cannonballs.
Luffy tensed.
Since setting out to sea, this was the first time he had truly gone all out.
As Arlong's punch flew toward him, Luffy braced his legs.
Boom!
The ground cracked beneath his feet from the force, and then Luffy launched himself forward, even faster than Arlong.
His small frame blurred, leaping up into a spinning kick. A full 360-degree turn, left leg extended level with the ground.
That small foot slammed into Arlong's waist with terrifying force.
His body crumpled inward. Eyes bulged, face contorted.
Arlong was sent flying.
Boom!
He skidded over ten meters across the ground before coming to a stop.
"Boss Arlong!"
"Big Bro!"
"No way... Arlong lost?!"
"Damn it!"
The fish-men panicked. If even Arlong couldn't beat this kid, then what kind of fate awaited them?
"Damn you! Damn human!"
Arlong staggered up from the rubble.
"Damn it!!"
He rushed at Luffy again, swinging his fists.
Luffy grabbed his punch mid-air, twisted his body, and flung Arlong away in the same direction he was charging.
Boom!
Arlong crashed again, his jagged nose gouging a deep trench in the ground.
Not far away, Nami and the others watched as Luffy tossed Arlong around like a toy.
Luffy stood his ground, looking down at the fish-man sprawled before him.
"What's wrong? Lying down feels good?"
"DAMN HUMAN!!"
Blood oozed from Arlong's split skin, but his fish-man regeneration was slowly healing the wounds.
He opened his mouth, sharp teeth gleaming more dangerously than any weapon.
"AAAHHHH!!"
Even knowing the difference in strength, he couldn't give up.
For Kuroobi.
For his loyal brothers who followed him here.
For everything they believed in.
He had to fight.
"DIE, YOU HUMAN BRAT!"
He lunged with his jaws wide, aiming to bite Luffy's head clean off.
Eyes bloodshot, he was pure rage, no thoughts, just the drive to kill.
Boom!
Luffy's fist smashed into his face again. Arlong went down.
"Damn human!"
Boom!
"Damn human!"
Crash!
"Damn…!"
Thud!
Again and again, Arlong rose, only to be knocked down, beaten, sent flying, and slammed into the earth.
The surrounding fish-men wanted to help their boss.
But the sheer shockwaves of the fight were so intense they could barely stay standing.
Ten minutes passed.
Boom!
Arlong collapsed to the ground once more.
Covered in blood, he pushed off with one arm, trying to rise. His other hand clutched his knee.
He had taken a brutal beating, his mind foggy, body failing.
Only his will kept him moving.
"D-damn… h-human…"
Luffy stared at him coldly.
Arlong staggered to his feet and threw a punch,
but his eyes were so clouded, he couldn't even gauge the distance properly.
His fist swung into empty air, and the momentum sent him crashing into the dirt.
Luffy casually picked up a long sword that had fallen nearby during the chaos.
He walked over to Arlong, blade dragging behind him and leaving a deep groove in the soil.
Arlong propped himself up, eyes barely able to focus on Luffy and the weapon in his hand.
His Mental Power still burned, but his body, his body had reached its limit.
Tears welled in Arlong's eyes. His voice was choked with blood as he cried:
"DAMN YOU, HUMAN!!!"
Luffy stood above him, expression calm.
For the first time since their fight began, his face showed no amusement or mockery.
He spoke in the tone of a teacher addressing a failing student.
"Arlong… don't you get it yet?"
Arlong's cloudy eyes flickered with confusion.
"It's not humanity that's truly detestable…"
"…It's weakness."
Two streams of tears rolled from Arlong's eyes, soaking into the earth below.
He used the last of his strength to turn over and lay on his back, arms spread wide. He stared up at the clouds.
"The sun over the sea… it's beautiful," he murmured.
Luffy knelt beside him, placing a hand gently over Arlong's eyes and closing his lids.
"Please… I beg you… let the others go…" Arlong whispered hoarsely.
"Sorry," Luffy replied, voice low and flat.
"I made a promise to my navigator… not a single fish-man here leaves alive."
Arlong's mouth twitched. Bloodied tears seeped from beneath Luffy's hand, trickling down his cheeks and onto the earth.
"I'm sorry… everyone…"
Shlunk.
The sword pierced Arlong's chest, straight through his heart.
He had already lost too much blood, so barely any spilled.
"Big bro!"
"Boss!"
The fish-men collapsed to their knees, weeping in anguish.
From the slums of Fishman District to this place, Arlong had always been their pillar, the one who gave orphans like them a future.
Because of Arlong's decision, they had seen the world beyond the sea.
With his death, their world shattered.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
[Ding! Host has slain a bounty target pirate. Gained 1,350 EXP.]
[Ding! Host has met requirements. Shop System unlocked.]
[Ding! Host has slain a bounty target pirate. Gained 3,000 gold coins.]
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