"ROOOAAARRR—!"
The roar tore through the Arlong Park, shaking the minds of everyone present. Hachi and Kuroobi, already rattled, lost what little composure they had and charged straight at the beast.
A swipe and a crushing bite sent both of them flying, their bodies thrown aside like something made of paper.
'Taunt… the same ability as last time.'
But this time, Leo was ready. The roar didn't catch him off guard but behind him, several villagers began moving, drawn toward the beast in a wild charge.
Fortunately, Zoro and Sanji also struggled but remained out of the influence of the Roar.
"Zoro, Sanji—stop them!" Leo shouted. "Knock them out a little—they'll come back to their senses."
He didn't wait for their reply.
His arm darkened with Armament Haki as he stepped forward and met the bear head-on.
Fist and claw collided.
Both Leo and the bear were thrown back from the impact, sliding across the ground.
Half of Leo's strength was still sealed, but the Haki behind his blows had clearly built the missing gap.
"Come to your senses, you fool!"
"Iron Body."
Leo hardened himself just as the incoming paw crashed into him. Enduring the blow, he seized its claw, twisted it back at an unnatural angle until it dislocated, then he leapt up and drove a series of punches into the bear's skull.
For a moment, the beast staggered, its balance breaking due to the repeated hits.
Seeing the opening, Leo moved in, trying to lift and drag him toward the nearby pond but the next instant, both massive paws clamped around him.
Grabbing his smaller frame, the bear hoisted him up and drove him into the concrete with a brutal German suplex.
The impact cracked bones in his back, splitting the skin of his head as blood seeped out, and buried half his body into the shattered concrete below.
"Crashhhhh!!!"
Before Leo could recover, the beast straightened again, raising its claws to finish him but two figures intercepted.
"One Sword Style: Destroyer of Demons!"
"Collier! Cotelette!"
Zoro's blade carved through the thick fur, drawing shallow cuts that began to heal almost instantly. Sanji's kicks followed, slamming into its ribs and neck but only managed to anger it further.
Still, it was enough time for Leo to get out of the danger zone.
Leo burst out from the rubble, his head still ringing but forcing his body to move, he launched a brutal kick into the bear's stomach, sending it stumbling backward.
Zoro didn't miss the chance. His blade flashed again, slicing lightly at the tendons. The beast dropped to its knees with a roar, then lashed out blindly, swatting Zoro away.
Sanji followed up, driving a crushing kick into the back of its head, slamming its face forward into the ground but the creature flipped in the next instant, retaliating with a savage kick of his own that sent him crashing into the pond.
"ROOOAAARRR—!"
The roar shook the air but was cut short.
Leo's leg slammed into its jaw from the side, disrupting the skill mid-release.
By now, he understood the bear's fighting pattern.
'The more blood it shed… the stronger it became.'
So he changed tactics, instead of injuring him, he struck deep internal wounds.
Each Haki coated hit bypassed the nerves, sending force rippling through the bear's muscles and bones without spilling blood outside.
Soon his muscles swelled unnaturally under the repeated internal damage, the regeneration struggling to keep up.
The beast roared not in rage but in pain.
The bear charged again, tearing up the ground with each step.
"Got any ideas?" Zoro muttered, barely dodging a swipe.
Leo wiped blood from his lip, "Yeah. We throw him in the pond."
Zoro paused mid-stance. "…That's your plan?"
"Unless you want to kill your berserk companion, yes." Another swipe came. Zoro ducked, Leo jumped both landing on opposite sides of the beast.
Then they moved at the same time.
Zoro slid low, slicing lightly behind the bear's knee not deep enough to draw blood, just enough to break its balance. As it stumbled, Leo dashed in, grabbed a fistful of loose skin, and shouted—
"Push!"
"I am pushing!"
For a moment, it looked ridiculous.
Two humans trying to shove a ten-foot raging bear who refused to budge slowly overpowering them.
Then—its foot slipped on the already cracked, wet ground near the pond.
"Oh…, it's actually working," Leo shouted.
"Don't jinx it—"
With one final combined shove from both of them they pushed the bear to the edge of the pond while Sanji surfaced behind the bear locking his arm around the bear's neck diving into the pond with him..
At first, the bear thrashed violently, water exploding in all directions. Then, slowly he sank.
A few seconds passed.
Then bubbles started rising to the surface.
"…Did we just drown Usopp?" Zoro asked.
Before Leo could answer—
Splash!
Sanji surfaced nearby, dragging an unconscious Usopp with him, coughing as he caught his breath.
"Look behind y…"
Relief barely had time to settle when a sharp claw tore across Leo and Zoro's backs.
Before they could react, multiple powerful kick slammed into both of them, sending them flying straight into the pond.
Leo twisted mid-air just enough to catch a glimpse of a smiling fishman.
Arlong.
The bastard had been waiting for them to lose their guard.
Splash!!! Splash!!!
The moment Leo hit the water, his body dropped like a heavy stone.
The single seastone cuff around his wrist easily weighing over 50 kilos dragged him down. As a Devil Fruit user, his strength vanished the second he submerged.
'Damn it…'
Beside him, Zoro forced himself to move despite his open injuries. Gritting his teeth, he dove after Leo, grabbing hold of him and kicking upward.
But Leo's weight dragged them both down.
"Shit…!"
Bubbles escaped his mouth as Zoro struggled, his open wound screaming as salt water turned red around them.
Then with another splash, Nami arrived followed by Sanji, who had just thrown Usopp off to the villagers.
Together, the three of them grabbed Leo and, with sheer effort, dragged his sinking body back to the surface.
All four of them burst out of the water, gasping for air.
Soon the reason why Arlong and his minions hadn't followed them in the water became clear.
Luffy had already rejoined the fight, somehow holding off multiple fishmen on his own.
Leo coughed the water out of his lungs, dragging air inside, testing the drawback of eating a devil fruit for the first time.
'Damn… I need to do something about this Devil Fruit weakness…'
Zoro and Sanji didn't wait. They jumped back into the fight, giving Luffy space to focus on Arlong alone.
One by one, the remaining fishmen went down—Hachi, Kuroobi… everyone except Arlong.
But they couldn't help Luffy. The earlier fight with the bear had taken its toll; both Zoro and Sanji were visibly exhausted after defeating the Arlong Pirates commanders.
Soon, the final clash shifted inside Arlong's tower.
And not long after the entire structure collapsed.
With Arlong's defeat, the last of the fishmen fell, and the village finally erupted in celebration.
Leo watched from the sidelines standing up and walking towards the group dragging Usopp along with him.
Back in human form, most of his injuries had already healed, yet his body still trembled with lingering pain. His frame looked slightly more built than before or maybe it was just swollen from the beating; it was hard to tell.
Soon he regained consciousness and when he heard what had happened his face went pale.
"You… you're saying I… lost control?" he muttered, horrified. "I almost killed everyone…?"
"So," Leo asked, "how did you end up eating that Devil Fruit?"
At that question, the exhausted eyes of his crew turned toward him.