It's a fish-man, catch him! They sell for a lot of money!
Don't let the female mermaid escape! If she gets in the water, we'll never catch her!
She's worth at least 70 million Berries! Catch her even if it kills you!
It wasn't just Hack. To the fish-men and merfolk, humans were creatures to be feared and hated. There were rough fish-men too, and some of them were violent towards humans. But the more they saw humans who treated them not just as a different species, but as slaves from the start—not just pirates, but even regular adventurers—the more the people of Fish-Man Island grew to hate humans.
"I'm sorry to rush you after just freeing you, but we don't have time. Can everyone run with us?" (Daz)
"No problem, kid. We'll carry the mermaids who can't run as fast! We have more stamina than you humans!" said a rescued fish-man.
"...That helps. Amisu."
"Yes, these three are okay too! I'll have three of our people carry them!" said Amisu after checking the three kuja girls
"Good. The Captain is fighting our strongest enemy outside. Everyone, no matter what's happening, run straight for the ship."
'What good people they are' thought hack.
When they first met, they were wary of each other because they didn't understand one another. But that changed when the boy they all respected—the pirate leader named Kuro—showed up and spoke to them in a friendly way. Some of his crew tried to overcome their own prejudice and talk to them, while others, like the two girls with Devil Fruit, spoke to them without any hesitation at all.
Even the young pirate named Daz, the only one who had been suspicious of Hack, was now seriously helping to save his fellow fish-men. He must want to go help his captain, Kuro, right away.
"Damn... it... You guys, get up! Do you know how much money we're losing!? If they sell the fish-men, they'll get even stronger—"
A pirate who was protecting the fish-men jumped out and knocked down a mafia man who was trying to block their path, hitting him with the sheath of his sword.
"Don't be ridiculous. We might steal things, but we'd never stoop so low as to treat people like animals."
One of the pirates, a handsome man, knocked down enemies with a look of pure disgust on his face, clearing a path for them to escape.
"...Lord Daz."
Hack spoke to the boy running next to him—the one trusted by the other pirates to be their leader's second-in-command.
"What is it?"
"This 'Black Cat' crew... is a good pirate crew."
Daz snorted softly.
"Of course," was all he said.
"Stand back, I'll open it!"
Amisu climbed the ladder leading to the door they had come through and forced it open—
A loud, clashing sound, like heavy rain hitting metal, echoed from outside. As the only one who could see what was happening, Amisu froze, stunned by the battle.
–
Amisu had seen Captain Kuro fight before, back when she was captured as a slave.
She watched as he fought Capone Bege, who was firing cannons at them without caring if they were hit. Kuro seemed to teleport, disappearing and reappearing to kick cannonballs into the air or stop Bege when he charged forward using his Devil Fruit power.
At that time, Amisu and Toya were amazed that a person could be so fast. They knew he was strong enough to carve out a cave with his kicks just to hide their ship.
"Ngh...!"
No, that wasn't it. What she was seeing now was on a completely different level.
"Just by starting to use Haki... and seeing his moves... he can do this much...!"
It looked like a giant firework was going off on the ground.
The hawk-eyed man, the one who scared even the Marines, was smiling, but he was also sweating as he desperately swung his sword. The area around them was lit up, even though it was night. A constant, high-pitched clanging sound filled the air as a huge amount of sparks flew everywhere.
"..."
One by one, the rest of the Black Cat crew came up behind Amisu. Even Daz and the skilled fighter Hack could only stand there, stunned, not knowing what to do. The fish-men, mermaids, and the three girls they had just rescued were also staring at the fight.
Even as they watched, Hawk-Eyes continued to perfectly block the storm of invisible attacks, but small cuts kept appearing on his cheeks and hands.
"I have met many swordsmen who claimed to have godlike speed. But they were all just using cheap tricks and acrobatics... or they were just liars and cheaters." (Mihawk)
The only sound was the clashing of blades as invisible attacks came from every direction. Facing this, Hawk-Eyes's smile grew wider. In the time it takes to blink, he readjusted his grip on his sword.
"You are different. You are not a swordsman, and you seem to avoid fighting, but you have clearly trained and built up your skill."
His sword swings became even faster, and the clanging sound grew even louder and higher-pitched.
"I admit it. You are a warrior who will truly reach the speed of a god."
"—That is why this was a good fight for me as well. Thank you."
In the next moment, Hawk-Eyes's sword seemed to disappear, and at the same time, there was the sound of steel shattering.
The five blades of Kuro's remaining cat-claw glove broke into pieces. The pirate in the black suit, whose movements no one had been able to follow, suddenly appeared in front of Hawk-Eyes, still glaring at him with sharp eyes.
"I am truly grateful to have fought you."
Hawk-Eyes's slash was several times faster than before. For a moment, it was as fast as Kuro's own speed. (Mihawk)
Kuro instinctively kicked at the blade. He must have blocked it, but the blade did not stop—
A flower of fresh blood bloomed from the torn suit, and the Black Cat collapsed to the ground.
In that instant, two figures lunged at Hawk-Eyes.
"Captain!"
The first was the ship's first mate, who had earned the name 'Steel Blade' for his strength and leadership in the last battle against the Marines.
"How dare you!"
The second was a female sword user who was becoming the leader of the ship's combat unit, though she was still mostly unknown and had no bounty yet.
Daz and Amisu attacked the strongest swordsman in the Grand Line, one with an arm turned into a blade, the other with a drawn sword.
"Wait, you two."
Hawk-Eyes tried to say something, but they weren't listening. Daz spun his arm, which had turned into a drill-like blade, and swung it down at his enemy's head.
"Your spirit is good, but..."
Daz's special move, which had broken or knocked away most of his opponents' weapons, was easily stopped by Hawk-Eyes's sword. He didn't even use the blade; he used the hilt of the sword, holding it in a reverse grip.
"Daz! Get down!"
Surprised, Daz froze for a second, then instinctively ducked as the voice commanded. Amisu, who had jumped forward, swung her sword sideways, but it was also stopped by the hilt.
"Damn it! Damn, damn, damn!", shouted Daz.
He easily parried their next two attacks, then cut down a ghost that flew at him and sliced away an arm that tried to choke him, stopping all their attacks at once.
"Calm down. This man is alive. The wound is much shallower than I expected."
"You should get a ship's doctor quickly."
"A man like Kuro is too promising to let his story end here."