"Is this brat... truly that terrifying?"
The Fish-man lackeys huddled behind Jinbe were staring wide-eyed, their mouths agape. A storm of punches like that—only Boss Jinbe could have possibly tanked it.
Opposite them, Luffy's jaw was clamped shut, his expression frantic. Low growls tore from his throat as he pushed himself to the absolute limit.
"Yaaaarrgh!!!"
Luffy hadn't anticipated that the blue fatso Fish-man would be this strong. His full-power Second Gear Gatling couldn't even breach the man's defense. His breathing was becoming ragged. Second Gear was already a massive burden on his vascular system, and maintaining a high-intensity move like Gatling made the drain on his stamina exponential.
I can't keep this up. It's doing nothing.
After over a minute of continuous fire, Luffy knew he had to switch tactics. He halted his aching arms, gasping for air for less than a second. But he didn't give Jinbe a moment to recover. Still in Second Gear, he whipped his arms back, stomped the air with Soru, and rocketed toward Jinbe.
"Gomu Gomu no... JET Bazooka!"
When he was just two body-lengths away, Luffy's forward momentum came to a sudden halt. The tension in his overextended arms snapped back, and he slammed both palms into Jinbe's center with the force of a high-speed collision.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
At full effort, the speed of his palms was so great it nearly bypassed the sound of the air breaking.
The JET Bazooka. At his current level, this was his most lethal attack—the convergence of his peak speed and raw power.
"Such pressure! His final move?"
Luffy didn't know Haki yet, meaning he wouldn't be considered a top-tier threat in the New World. But facing this strike, Jinbe didn't show the slightest hint of complacency. His expression was grimmer than ever.
Truly worthy of being the brother Ace constantly speaks of. To have this much combat power at such a young age...
Jinbe could sense that in a few years, this boy's achievements would rival Ace's.
But now... I am no longer that reckless, green-headed sprout from the old days!
"Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique: Onigawara Seiken (Demon Tile True Punch)!"
With a thunderous shout, Jinbe's right fist surged with a massive amount of Armament Haki, turning his entire arm into a limb of obsidian. He thrust his fist forward to meet Luffy's strike. This punch lacked the flashy speed of Luffy's attack, but it carried a weight as heavy as a mountain.
BOOM!!!
The two techniques collided, and the resulting roar echoed across the entire island!
At that moment, everyone felt the ground beneath their feet sway violently. The Fish-man dregs turned pale, terror creeping onto their faces. Aside from the officers who came from the Sun Pirates, most of these were just thugs from Fish-man District who came for the "easy life" Arlong promised. They had never seen a clash of this magnitude.
Even Hatchan and Chew watched with horrified eyes. Arlong retreated several steps, his breath hitching in his throat. This collision was like a heavy bomb detonating in their hearts.
In the center of Arlong Park, only Rowan remained calm. The shockwaves alone were enough to shatter boulders and crack the earth—so what was it like at the center of the impact?
"Who won?!" "Where's Boss Jinbe...?"
Arlong stared into the epicenter. The floorboards had been reduced to splinters and dust, creating a screen that obscured everything.
Suddenly, a slender figure was sent hurtling out of the dust cloud.
"It's the human brat!" Arlong's eyes sharpened as he recognized the figure.
But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Jinbe's familiar, stout form was also sent flying backward.
CRA-RUMBLE!
Jinbe's massive body plowed through several Fish-man lackeys, using them as meat-shields, before smashing into the villa wall. He finally came to a stop, half-embedded in the stone.
"Jinbe-san! Boss! Are you okay?!" Hatchan and Chew scrambled over in a panic. Even Arlong looked on with tense nerves.
When they saw that Jinbe merely had a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth and his complexion remained healthy, the weight on their hearts finally lifted.
On the other side, Luffy—who had been launched first—didn't hit the ground. He was caught steadily by Rowan. Unlike Jinbe, Luffy's face was pale and haggard, his energy completely spent. The blood at the corner of his mouth was much more prominent. The winner of this clash was clear.
"Great-Grandpa... sorry. He's too strong. I couldn't beat him... I lost face for you..." In Rowan's arms, the exhausted Luffy panted, his tongue lolling out.
"It's alright. You did remarkably well. Leave the rest to me," Rowan said softly, patting the boy's head.
He gestured to the dazed Nojiko and handed the boy over to her.
He had expected this outcome. Despite the specialized training, Luffy was still a fifteen-year-old kid. Until his stamina matured, he couldn't bridge the gap to a veteran powerhouse like Jinbe. Currently, his combat level was perhaps around the Enies Lobby arc level—maybe a bit less.
However, Rowan was genuinely surprised that Luffy had managed to actually injure Jinbe. Even if it was just a minor, negligible scratch, it proved how desperately Luffy had fought. Jinbe, after all, was one of the strongest Warlords—hardly comparable to someone like Crocodile in a head-to-head physical brawl.
Crumble...
The sound of falling debris signaled Jinbe being pulled out of the wall by his subordinates. Watching the Fish-man wipe the blood from his lip and walk back as if nothing had happened, Rowan marveled at the natural gifts of the Fish-man race. Their physical constitution and recovery were truly blessed by the sea.
Jinbe spared a glance at the pale Arlong but said nothing. He walked directly to Rowan, his face calm. He took a deep breath and spoke:
"Mr. Rowan. Arlong and the others have realized their mistakes. Please, give them a chance. I swear upon my name that they will never show their faces on the high seas again."
"Give them a chance?"
Rowan shook his head. He gestured back to Nojiko, who was supporting Luffy, and then pointed toward the gates where the villagers of Cocoyasi were gathering, drawn by the tremors of the battle.
"I don't have the right to give that chance," Rowan said flatly. "You should ask the villagers who have lived under their violent, tyrannical rule for six years. Ask them if they want to give a chance."
"What was that noise?" "What's happening?" "What?! A Marine! A Marine has come to save us!" "The heavens have eyes!" "Don't let them go! You can't let them leave!" "Marine-sama, please, you must punish the Arlong Pirates!" "They committed such atrocities and think they can just walk away? How can I face my dead family?!"
Having heard the explanation from Nojiko, the villagers were gnashing their teeth in hatred. Several elders were weeping, recounting the horrors of the last six years. The list of crimes went on for ten minutes.
"Did you hear that?" Rowan asked.
Jinbe's expression became incredibly pained. He looked back at the trembling Arlong, then gritted his teeth. He unfastened his wind-swept cloak and dropped into a Fish-Man Karate stance.
"Then I have no choice," Jinbe said solemnly. "I will have to defeat you, Mr. Rowan, before I take them away."
At this moment, Jinbe's gaze was more focused than it had ever been. Decades had passed. He was no longer the green-headed apprentice, but a Shichibukai who shook the world.
And you, Mr. Rowan, though you are a legend... you are a hundred-year-old man in his twilight.
I, Jinbe, have no reason to fear you anymore!
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