Swoosh!
A flash of cold light suddenly flickered across Shioyaki's eyes, and then the hand he was using to grab the little girl was suddenly severed. Blood spurted out, landing on the spot where the little girl had been standing.
That place was already empty.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Shioyaki let out a shrill scream, intense pain sweeping through his body, causing him to retreat subconsciously. With this retreat, he realized that the hand he used to grab Kalei had also been severed.
What happened?
He didn't know, wasn't sure, and hadn't seen it at all.
But...
"Enemy attack!"
Shioyaki shouted a warning, and then his entire body suddenly bent, flying backward with a crash as if he were being folded. A deeply sunken fist print had appeared right in the middle of his abdomen.
"The way you look, you don't seem like a superior race. You look more like a fish on a chopping board."
Indifferent words arrived with the wind, and a tall figure appeared nearby.
Shioyaki, who had lost both arms, finally saw that it was a young human holding a long blade.
It was him, definitely him!
In just an instant, Shioyaki understood who had just attacked him.
A human powerhouse whose strength far exceeded his own.
Damn it, when did Gosa Village get such a strong person!
No, stay calm, calm down.
Can't die here!
Need to stall for time... wait for reinforcements.
After all, he was a former member of the Sun Pirates who had spent time in the New World.
Cold sweat appeared on Shioyaki's forehead, and he said through gritted teeth, "I was talking about them, what does it have to do with you?"
Hiroto frowned. "Are you saying I'm not human?"
"...I am a member of the Arlong Pirates, this is the Arlong Pirates' territory, and my Captain is a pirate with a bounty of 20 million berries."
Shioyaki quickly changed his tune, bringing up Arlong.
No matter what this human's intention was, hearing Arlong's bounty of 20 million berries, he would surely be wary...
Before the thought could finish, Shioyaki heard a sneer.
"Just 20 million?"
"..."
Shioyaki's expression froze as he looked at the young and powerful human enemy, his eyes suddenly widening.
"You're Hiroto! The Head-Chopping Swordsman with a 70 million berries bounty? Why are you here!?"
Hiroto pointed to the street on the left. "If you're asking why Kuroobi and the others didn't manage to kill me, unfortunately, just like your subordinates, they're all dead."
Shioyaki instinctively looked over, only to see a green-haired human standing there, with his wailing compatriots lying scattered behind him.
His lips quivered as he turned his head, looking at the indifferent man staring down at him with fear in his eyes.
Hiroto stepped forward and reached out, grabbing Shioyaki's neck. While snapping it, he activated [Gluttony]. Then he did the same to the remaining Fishmen.
[Panel Updated]
[Underwater Breathing (Green) → Fish-Man Gills (Blue)]
[Entry - Fish-Man Strength (Green) acquired!]
[Entry: Fish-Man Gills]
[Quality: Blue]
[Type: Passive]
[Effect: When in the sea, extract large amounts of oxygen through breathing just like a Fishman.]
[Cost: None]
[Note: The ocean is your playground!]
[Entry: Fish-Man Strength]
[Quality: Green]
[Type: Active]
[Effect: Consumes stamina to activate, temporarily increasing arm strength by ten times (E-rank).]
[Cost: Stamina]
[Note: Endless Power!]
As the information appeared, Hiroto couldn't help but smile.
Fish-Man Gills was simple and direct, jumping from providing a normal human's lung capacity to breathing freely like a Fishman. The gap between the two was immense.
A normal person's full lung capacity is enough to hold out for a long time, but it's certainly not enough for prolonged combat. This meant that Hiroto's combat range now spanned sea, land, and air.
Even though factors like visual obstruction still existed underwater, it was already a very strong supplement to his weaknesses.
But the most important thing was [Fish-Man Strength].
It was just as he had expected.
Although it was only green quality, the effect of a 'tenfold' increase was what Hiroto cared about most.
If [Fish-Man Strength] was fused well, couldn't it produce another orange entry with a multiplier?
He wasn't sure, but Hiroto thought it was worth a try.
Arm strength isn't a total increase of the Strength attribute, but rather one link in the construction of the Strength attribute. It represents the explosive power of the arms and shoulders.
As a swordsman, arm strength was an extremely important factor for Hiroto. An increase in arm strength would inevitably increase the power of his close-range slashes.
It was precisely because of this that he had Zoro show mercy so he could devour all these Fishmen.
However...
Hiroto shook his head as a massive amount of memory fragments flooded his mind, so many they could even be called a fragmented personality.
This was also why he didn't often use [Gluttony]. Whether it was a human or a beast, devouring would inevitably bring 'impurities' that would subtly and imperceptibly influence him mentally.
As for using his own willpower to resist and purge them... since it was something he had actively consumed, there was no way to handle it like resisting an external intrusion.
"You... you... you killed a Fishman!?"
At that moment, a voice filled with shock rang out from behind Hiroto.
Kalei stared blankly at Shioyaki's corpse—the powerful Fishman he couldn't resist even with all his strength.
A Fishman, believed to be invincible to humans, had just died so casually at the hands of a young man?
No, that wasn't right. The other party wasn't an ordinary person.
The Fishman had just said that he was a pirate with a bounty as high as 70 million berries.
"Are you Head-Chopping Swordsman Hiroto?"
Kalei suddenly thought of the face on the bounty poster he had seen in the newspaper earlier, it was identical to the man standing before him.
While speaking, he looked to the right of the street, where his daughter stood unharmed and at a loss.
"Yes." Hiroto replied simply with a single word.
He was about to leave when he heard a thud.
Behind him, Kalei knelt on the ground, his head buried deep against the earth. "I am truly grateful!"
The little girl, who had walked over out of anxiety, saw her adoptive father's actions and instinctively tried to follow suit. But she was immediately picked up by Hiroto.
He tossed the girl back to the man and waved his hand. "Get up. If you're really grateful, help me keep an eye on the ship at the harbor."
(End of Chapter)
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