Lost in thoughts about his uncertain future, Chu Yang looked a bit dazed.
In Tiger's eyes, the boy was radiating sheer confusion and helplessness. The Fish-Man patted Chu Yang's shoulder, offering a comforting smile. "How about this: you leave with me for now. We can figure out your next steps later."
Chu Yang looked up, surprised. "Leave to where? Fish-Man Island?"
"Do you really think I can ever go back to Fish-Man Island?" Tiger laughed bitterly. "After tonight, I'm going to be the most wanted man by the Marines in the entire world! Under these circumstances, returning home would only bring unimaginable disaster to my people."
Chu Yang sighed, realizing the harsh truth. "Fair point."
Tiger looked down at him seriously. "Would you be willing to set sail with me?"
The Sun Pirates? Chu Yang's heart skipped a beat. Realizing he really had nowhere else to go and no one else to rely on, he accepted Tiger's invitation without hesitation.
The two quietly made their way toward the docks, intending to hijack a pirate ship and flee. Naturally, every ship docked at the port had crew members standing guard, but given the late hour, most of them were asleep in their cabins.
Since it was just the two of them, and factoring in Chu Yang's total lack of navigational experience, Tiger planned to steal a small, three-masted caravel that would be easy to pilot.
Neither of them felt the slightest psychological burden about robbing pirates. They considered it robbing the rich to feed the poor—even if the "poor" in this case was themselves.
After locking onto a target, they prepared to make their move. The number of pirates on the small caravel was minimal; they wouldn't pose a threat at all.
However, just as Tiger rolled up his sleeves to clear out the cannon fodder and commandeer the vessel, a deeply familiar voice echoed from the docks.
"Boss Tiger! I've been waiting for you for a long time. Just what exactly are you doing?"
Chu Yang and Tiger whipped their heads around.
Standing on the shoreline was a massive crowd of Fish-Men. Leading them was a towering, heavily built, blue-skinned Fish-Man with a familiar topknot.
He looks incredibly familiar... Chu Yang's eyes widened. Isn't that the "Mere Yonko" Jinbe?!
Tiger's expression instantly turned stern. He had chosen to assault the Holy Land entirely alone specifically so he wouldn't implicate his brothers. He never expected them to follow him all the way here.
Looking up at the towering flames reflecting off the clouds above the Red Line, Jinbe deduced that Tiger had already succeeded. He stepped forward and spoke firmly, "I couldn't stop you from going to save those slaves... but you can't stop us from coming with you."
"Jinbe!" Tiger barked, genuinely angry.
Yet, beneath his anger was a deep, helpless resignation. He knew exactly how fiercely loyal Jinbe was.
"Boss Tiger, we might not have been able to help you up there, but we can definitely leave with you now!" Jinbe's eyes shone with a deep, unwavering resolve, as vast and unyielding as the sea itself.
"Yeah, Boss Tiger! Even if the Marines want to hunt you down, they'll have to step over our dead bodies first!"
"I've been sick of looking at those damn humans for a long time anyway! Let them come; I'll crush every last one of them!"
The rest of the Fish-Men erupted into a chorus of fierce agreement.
Deeply moved, Tiger realized he could never stubbornly talk this crowd down. He had no choice but to agree to let them join him on his voyage.
"I'm sorry, little brother. It looks like we'll be bringing a few more people out to sea with us," Tiger said apologetically, knowing full well that aside from himself, the other Fish-Men would harbor intense prejudice against the human boy.
It was only then that the Fish-Men finally noticed Chu Yang standing in the shadows. Instantly, the atmosphere plummeted, and dozens of expressions turned utterly hostile.
Jinbe was okay; while he didn't harbor any fond feelings for humans, he wouldn't actively display malicious intent toward a child.
However, a tall, jagged-nosed Fish-Man shoved his way to the front of the crowd.
Staring at Chu Yang with ice-cold, hateful eyes, he demanded, "Boss Tiger, who is this human brat?"
Tiger immediately stepped in front of Chu Yang, shielding him. "Arlong, he escaped Mary Geoise with me. And he saved my life."
"Saved your life, Boss?"
The young Arlong's hostility didn't wane in the slightest; if anything, his sneer grew uglier. "Boss, you aren't seriously thinking about bringing this human kid out to sea with us, are you? God only knows when the filthy rat will sell us out!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the rest of the Fish-Men echoed their agreement, their murmurs filled with blatant disgust for Chu Yang's human identity.
But Chu Yang was no longer a normal boy. Having just survived the brink of death and the torture of the branding iron, his mentality had undergone a drastic metamorphosis.
Faced with their naked hostility, he stared back at the crowd with a chilling, deadpan gaze.
I didn't hesitate to kill the jailers. I won't hesitate to kill you, either.
"All of you, shut your mouths!" Tiger roared, showing a rare flash of absolute fury toward his own crew. "Do you want me to act like those despicable humans and repay a life debt with vile ingratitude?!"
His thunderous shout instantly silenced the crew. Even Arlong snapped his mouth shut, though he still shot Chu Yang a venomous glare.
Thinks because I'm young, I'm an easy target to bully? Chu Yang smirked inwardly. It seemed that if he wanted to establish a foothold in the Sun Pirates, he would need to put Arlong in his place immediately.
Seeing the atmosphere grow suffocatingly tense, Jinbe stepped forward to smooth things over. "Boss Tiger, almost everyone here has suffered persecution at the hands of humans in one way or another. Their guard is high. I hope you can understand."
Tiger sighed heavily. Of course he understood. Even his own goodwill toward humans had been entirely extinguished. If Chu Yang hadn't genuinely helped him back there, he likely would have left the boy to fend for himself too.
Eventually, amidst an incredibly eerie and tense atmosphere, Chu Yang followed the Fish-Men onto the massive pirate galleon Jinbe had prepared beforehand.
Tiger personally hoisted the legendary flag of the Sun Pirates.
As the Jolly Roger snapped and danced in the night wind, the colossal ship slowly pulled out of the port, setting sail for the boundless, open ocean.
Standing on the deck, Tiger finally smiled, realizing he had never properly introduced the boy. "What's your name?"
"I'm Chu Yang!" The teenager's crisp, highly confident voice echoed across the deck.
"A very unique name." Tiger found the pronunciation a bit awkward, but he committed it to memory.
After enjoying the sea breeze for a while, Chu Yang decided to head below deck to rest. Suddenly, Arlong stepped up, volunteering with a wide, toothy grin to show Chu Yang to his quarters.
Tiger, assuming Arlong was trying to make amends and ease the tension, happily agreed.
A cold sneer tugged at the corner of Chu Yang's mouth. He didn't expose Arlong's petty little scheme. In fact, it was perfect; he had been wanting to have a "chat" with the sawshark Fish-Man anyway.
Arlong led Chu Yang into the ship's interior, heading deeper and deeper down the stairs. They completely bypassed the living quarters and descended straight into the damp, dimly lit cargo hold at the very bottom of the ship.
Stopping outside the storage room doors, Arlong suddenly spun around. The fake smile vanished, replaced by a look of absolute, murderous disdain.
"Human brat," Arlong sneered, "did you actually think I brought you down here to sleep?"
Arlong fully expected to see the boy tremble in sheer, panic-stricken terror. Instead, all he saw was a look of profound, mocking amusement.
The young Arlong was not yet the tyrannical early-game boss of Cocoyasi Village. And even if he was, he absolutely wasn't Chu Yang's match.
Furious that he didn't get the reaction he wanted, Arlong's face twisted savagely. He roared, "Listen to me, you little shit! While I'm still asking nicely, you're going to quietly throw yourself off this ship and drown!"
"So noisy."
Chu Yang casually raised his right hand.
Crack! A massive surge of thick wooden vines violently erupted from his arm! They expanded exponentially in a fraction of a second, entirely engulfing Arlong before the Fish-Man could even blink, pinning his arms to his sides and completely immobilizing him.
The jagged wood began to mercilessly constrict around Arlong's massive body.
The overwhelming, crushing pressure instantly suffocated him. Arlong's eyes bulged in absolute terror as he stared at the human boy. "You're... an Ability User?!"
Chu Yang didn't bother answering. He simply tightened his fist.
The wooden vines compressed tighter and tighter, snapping like pythons, until dark blood began to violently pour from Arlong's nose and mouth.
His internal organs were rupturing!
Seeing Arlong's face twist in agonizing, unbearable pain brought an immense rush of excitement to Chu Yang. A pure, genuinely happy smile bloomed across the boy's face.
And seeing that sadistic, joyful smile... sent a wave of absolute, bone-chilling terror straight through Arlong's soul!