Want to read ahead? Join in my Patreon for only $7 to get early access to all upcoming chapters!
> > Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations < <
•───────• · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · •───────•
Chapter 138: The Frog in the Well and the Heavenly Yaksha
The boundary between the Grand Line and the East Blue.
The sea breeze carried the salty scent of blood as it whipped up layers of whitecaps.
A pirate ship with a ferocious design broke through the waves.
Its figurehead was a sawshark with its maw wide open, and the sail was painted with the bright red emblem of the Sun Pirates—but it had been crudely painted over, revealing an even more violent aura beneath.
On the deck, a group of bizarre-looking humanoid creatures were laughing unscrupulously.
"Shahahaha! Finally left that damn Grand Line!"
Sitting on the captain's throne was a towering sawshark fishman.
He was bare-chested, his pale blue skin displaying a black sun tattoo on his chest. Most striking were his long, saw-like nose and teeth capable of crushing steel.
Arlong.
Former cadre of the Sun Pirates, now the Admiral of the Arlong Pirates.
He clutched a large piece of bloody meat in his hand and took a savage bite, as if venting some long-suppressed anger.
"That bastard Jinbe, actually ran off to be a dog for the humans, becoming some Shichibukai!"
Arlong spat out a piece of bone, his eyes sinister.
"Saying it's for the future of Fish-Man Island, for peace... utter bullshit! Fishmen are born a superior race, possessing wrist strength ten times that of humans. Why should we coexist peacefully with such lowly creatures?"
Beside him, Chew, the kissing gourami fishman, spat on the deck, his long lips twitching.
"Big Bro Arlong is right. Big Bro Jinbe is too soft. Since the Government granted us amnesty because he became a Shichibukai, we should make good use of this opportunity."
"That's right!"
Hatchan, the six-sword style user, waved his six arms, smiling naively.
"Nyu, nyu! The East Blue is the weakest of the four seas. If we go there, we can definitely become kings and dominate!"
Arlong stood up, his massive shadow covering half the deck.
He spread his arms and laughed arrogantly.
"Not just kings, but supreme rulers!"
"We will build an empire belonging to fishmen! The Arlong Empire!"
"We'll trample those weak humans underfoot, making them pay money every month just to live! Those with no money die! Those with money become slaves!"
"Those trash Marines in the East Blue can't possibly stop us!"
The fishmen on the ship erupted into deafening cheers.
In their eyes, leaving the monster-infested Grand Line and coming to the East Blue, where even a bounty over ten million was rare, was simply a wolf entering a flock of sheep.
Just then, the fishman in the crow's nest suddenly shouted.
"Big Bro Arlong! Ship spotted ahead!"
Arlong looked up impatiently.
"You need to report such a small thing? Whether it's a merchant ship or a passenger ship, just ram and sink it! Loot all the treasure, kill the men, keep the women!"
"No... something's wrong!"
The lookout's voice trembled slightly.
"That ship... is huge! Very huge! And... it has a flamingo emblem!"
Arlong frowned and strode to the bow.
On the horizon, a gargantuan ship, suffocating in its size, was slowly approaching.
The ship's design was extremely flamboyant, decorated with giant sunglasses patterns on both sides. The hull was pink, and the sail bore a crossed-out smiley face emblem.
Even from a distance, the oppressive aura emanating from it seemed to solidify the wind on the sea.
"Flamingo?"
Arlong narrowed his eyes, his saw-like nose twitching twice.
"Never heard of such a figure in the East Blue. Could they be from the Grand Line?"
Behind him, Kuroobi said in a low voice, "Big Bro Arlong, that emblem... I think I've seen it somewhere. It seems to belong to a major family in the underworld."
"Major family?"
Arlong sneered, greed overcoming his caution.
"Doesn't that mean there's a lot of money on board?"
He turned around, looking at his subordinates who were eager for action.
"Boys! It seems even the heavens are helping us celebrate!"
"Sending such a fat sheep right as we enter the East Blue! Pull alongside! Let these humans see what a true overlord of the sea is!"
"YEAAAHHH!!"
The fishmen let out bloodthirsty roars, steering the ship at full speed toward the pink giant.
.....
Numancia Flamingo.
On the luxurious open-air deck, white parasols and exquisite lounge chairs were arranged.
A blond man draped in a pink feather coat sat with his legs crossed, swirling a glass of red wine in his hand.
He wore a pair of exaggerated sunglasses, and the corner of his mouth forever held that unruly, arrogant smile.
Donquixote Doflamingo.
Royal Shichibukai, King of Dressrosa, and Emperor of the Underworld, "Joker."
Beside him, Trebol, a sloppy man draped in a quilt with mucus dripping from his nose, leaned his face extremely close.
"Ne, ne, Doffy, looks like a little bug is charging over."
Trebol sniffled, his voice sticky and disgusting.
"Seems to be a Fishman ship. Should we catch a few for the auction house? The price for fishman slaves has been pretty good lately."
Doflamingo took a sip of red wine, looking through his sunglasses at the shark-headed pirate ship charging like a mad dog.
"Fishmen?"
He snorted disdainfully.
"Jinbe just became a Shichibukai, and here pops up a group of his kind who don't know the meaning of death. Looks like trash released from Impel Down or somewhere."
"Truly a buzzkill."
Doflamingo put down his wine glass, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.
"I'm in a hurry to meet that 'God,' to buy that 'miracle' that can overturn the world."
"At a time like this, a fly actually dares to block the way."
By now, Arlong's ship had closed in on the Numancia Flamingo.
Compared to the Flamingo, which was like a moving castle, the Arlong Pirates' ship looked like a broken tricycle parked next to a luxury car.
But this didn't affect Arlong's confidence.
"Shahahaha! Humans up there, listen up!"
Arlong jumped onto the bow, waving his massive saw-blade sword "Kiribachi," his voice piercing through the sea breeze.
"I am Arlong of the Fishman Pirates! Hand over all your treasure! Otherwise, I'll scuttle this ship and feed you all to the sharks!"
The fishmen brandished their weapons. Some even jumped directly into the sea, preparing to attack from underwater.
Doflamingo slowly stood up.
The sea breeze blew his pink feather coat, making it rustle loudly.
Walking with his signature splayed gait, he approached the railing and looked down from high above at the clamoring fishman below.
"Fufufufufu..."
A low and unique laughter rolled from his throat.
"Arlong? Never heard the name."
"But, you just said you were going to scuttle my ship?"
Arlong looked up at the human standing high above.
For some reason, being stared at by that man in sunglasses, he felt a chill rising from the depths of his soul.
It was the biological instinct of fear towards an apex predator.
"Cut... cut the crap!"
Arlong forcibly suppressed the unease in his heart, roaring in embarrassment and anger.
"Mere humans, don't be too arrogant! Fishmen possess ten times your strength! At sea, we are invincible!"
"Boys! Get him! Chew this broken ship to pieces!"
"YES!!"
Over a dozen fishmen leaped from the water, splashing as they charged toward the deck of the Numancia Flamingo.
Arlong also powered his legs, launching himself like a cannonball. opening his mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, he lunged straight for Doflamingo's throat.
"Die! Lowly creature!"
Doflamingo stood in place, not even lifting a finger.
Even the arc of his smile didn't change in the slightest.
Just as Arlong's sharp teeth were less than half a meter from Doflamingo's neck.
Hum!
An extremely faint vibration suddenly came from the air.
Arlong's body jerked rigid in mid-air.
Not just him.
All the fishmen who had leaped out of the water froze eerily in the air, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
"Wha... what is happening?!"
Arlong's eyes widened in terror.
He realized he couldn't move.
From head to toe, except for his eyeballs and mouth, not even a finger obeyed his command.
An invisible force bound his limbs and bones, as if countless unseen steel wires were digging into his flesh.
"Is this your so-called ten times strength?"
Doflamingo lowered his head slightly, the gaze behind his sunglasses filled with mockery and cruelty.
"Even your qualifications as a puppet are barely passing."
He gently hooked the pinky finger of his right hand.
SPLURT!
Arlong's right arm, the one he was so proud of, was severed cleanly at the shoulder without any warning.
Blood gushed out like a fountain.
•───────• · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · •───────•
Support this Fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones. For Advance Chapters:
Visit > Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations