Luo Chen threw the large wooden chest he was carrying in his left hand onto the ground.
Just as he was about to speak, a dozen more fish-men poured out from the main gate of Arlong Park.
The fish-man in the lead was nearly three meters tall, with a nose as long and sharp as a saw. He wore wooden sandals, black shorts, and a patterned, open-front short-sleeved shirt, and he carried a giant saw-sword in his hand.
Arlong's vicious gaze fell upon Luo Chen, and he slammed his saw-sword into the ground.
The stone tiles on the ground shattered and flew everywhere.
"Was it you who killed Hachi and Chew and the others?"
Luo Chen smiled. "You look pretty angry. What, are fish-men allowed to kill humans, but humans aren't allowed to kill beasts like you?"
He knew Arlong was an extreme racist and intentionally provoked the fish-man.
As soon as Luo Chen spoke, the killing intent in Arlong's eyes grew stronger. He said coldly:
"I'm going to saw you into mincemeat and sprinkle you in the sea to feed the fish."
He held his giant saw-sword and strode forward. "Remember this: humans are naturally weaker than fish-men. It is the law of nature that we rule you and slaughter you."
Luo Chen couldn't help but laugh. "You're not very bright, but at least you're valuable, and that's all that matters."
He had no intention of wasting any more words on Arlong.
What nonsense about the natural laws of humans and fish-men.
In the end, in the world of pirates, ninety-nine percent of all creatures followed the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak.
He pointed a finger, and the ground split open.
A thick tree shot up into the sky, its branches like sentient serpents, lashing out at Arlong.
Arlong stomped, shattering the ground beneath him, and his figure shot forward, swinging his saw-sword to cut down all the branches assailing him from every direction.
"Are you a Devil Fruit user?"
Arlong asked coldly.
His movements, however, did not slow. He closed in on Luo Chen in an instant, swinging his giant saw-sword down.
Luo Chen calmly sidestepped, easily dodging the blade.
Beside him, the earth was shattered. The power of the saw-sword was terrifying, and the slash made the nearby ground tremble.
He caught the saw-sword with one hand.
Arlong tried to pull it back with all his might, but the blade didn't move an inch. His expression couldn't help but change, a hint of gravity appearing amidst his anger and killing intent.
"Your strength... you shouldn't be a Marine from an East Blue Branch."
Luo Chen remained silent, raised his leg, and kicked out with force.
Arlong wanted to dodge, but two small vines had appeared from the ground at some point and were now wrapped tightly around his ankles.
BANG!
Luo Chen's powerful kick sent Arlong flying over ten meters, causing him to crash through a wall of Arlong Park.
His subordinate fish-men were aghast and quickly ran over to check on their boss's injuries.
The villagers of Cocoyasi behind Luo Chen were also astonished.
This was the first time they had ever seen Arlong sent flying by a human.
In their minds, Arlong was incredibly powerful, able to destroy a house with a single casual blow. He was not someone an ordinary Marine could handle.
Nojiko's expression was now a mixture of complexity and confusion.
She said in a low voice, "This person... he killed a fish-man not long ago, and he told me that as long as he got Nami's one hundred million Berries, he was willing to help us get rid of Arlong..."
Genzo and Nami, who were beside her, were stunned and turned to look at her in unison.
The anger had long since vanished from Nami's face, replaced mostly by shock at Luo Chen's combat prowess.
Arlong was actually at a disadvantage.
What kind of power was hidden within the body of that Marine named Luo Chen, who looked no different from an ordinary person?
She blurted out, "Why didn't you agree?"
Nojiko pursed her lips. "I didn't think he could actually beat Arlong. And what if he was a liar?"
Hearing this, Nami fell silent.
If it had been her, she wouldn't have believed it either, not unless she had seen Luo Chen kick Arlong away with her own eyes.
"I'm sorry, Nojiko..." Nami apologized.
"It's fine." Nojiko shook her head, indicating that she didn't mind.
A long-absent smile appeared on her face. "Nami, this time we might really be able to escape Arlong's control. It's just that your one hundred million Berries is probably gone..."
Nami smiled. "If it's gone, it's gone. It hurts a lot, but if it means we can get rid of Arlong, I'm willing."
Listening to their conversation, a strange expression appeared on Genzo's face. He hesitated and said:
"Actually, when Luo Chen took your one hundred million Berries earlier, he said he would return it after he was done using it."
Hearing this, Nami and Nojiko were taken aback.
Nami was speechless. "Mr. Genzo, how can money be returned after it's been used? Luo Chen must have been lying to you."
Nojiko also nodded. "Although I'm very grateful to Luo Chen for dealing with Arlong, one hundred million Berries is an extraordinary sum of money. No sane person would ever return it."
One hundred million Berries. This was a very large fortune.
Arlong, who ruled over twenty villages, only had a bounty of twenty million Berries from the Marines.
Theoretically, one hundred million Berries could buy the heads of five Arlongs.
Luo Chen had taken the one hundred million Berries; they absolutely did not believe he would return it.
Genzo said no more. In truth, he didn't believe it either.
Everyone focused their attention on Luo Chen's fight.
Arlong had not been defeated yet.
Nothing was decided.
If Luo Chen lost, they would still be unable to escape their fate of death.
...
From within the collapsed wall, Arlong threw off the rubble and stood up again.
His face was contorted in pain, and there was a clear trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
Evidently, Luo Chen's kick had injured him badly.
Arlong's eyes were still filled with a vicious glare. He shot a venomous look at Luo Chen, then leaped into the narrow waterway beside him.
Seeing this, the villagers of Cocoyasi all became worried and tense.
Nami, who best understood the characteristics of these fish-men, quickly warned:
"Be careful! Arlong's strength increases immensely in the water! He can use the water to accelerate his attacks!"
As soon as her voice fell, a huge wave surged up in the waterway.
It was as if a large cannon had been fired from under the water.
With a loud BANG, a black shadow shot out like a sharp arrow.
Arlong's speed was so fast that the villagers couldn't see him clearly; he was like a fleeting arrow.
Luo Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. Facing the charging Arlong, he stomped his foot.
The earth in front of him tore open.
This time, it wasn't a tree that shot out, but a green wooden dragon several meters long.
The wooden dragon flew out and collided with the charging Arlong.
In an instant, wood splinters flew everywhere. The wooden dragon's momentum did not decrease as it continued forward.
Arlong, however, was sent flying as if he had hit a trampoline, a spray of blood arcing through the air.
He crashed heavily to the ground in the distance. His hard, long, serrated nose was now bent and collapsed against his face.
Arlong clutched his nose and screamed in pain, rolling on the ground in agony.
"Boss Arlong!"
"Boss! Are you alright?!"
"..."
The fish-men were terrified and worried, and they all crowded around him.
Luo Chen pointed a finger in the air. The wooden dragon that had flown past circled back and charged toward the dozen or so fish-men.
Bang, bang, bang...
The fish-men had no time to dodge or defend themselves and were sent flying in all directions, coughing up blood.
Wooden vines rose from the ground, wrapping tightly around all the fish-men.
On the ground, the rolling Arlong quickly shouted, "Stop! Don't kill them!"
Luo Chen acted as if he hadn't heard and slowly clenched his hand.
More than a dozen screams echoed across the sky in unison. Blood flowed everywhere, dyeing the waterways and lakes of Arlong Park red.
Arlong roared in anguish, his heart pierced with pain, his eyes as red as blood.
To him, these fish-men were no different from his own family.
Today, however, they had all been slaughtered by Luo Chen.
"Leaving you alive would only be a future disaster," Luo Chen said coldly.
These fish-men were deeply influenced by Arlong's ideology and were accustomed to cruelly persecuting humans.
Since he had the strength today, he might as well kill them.
It would save them from seeking revenge in the future.