"I can handle this alone."
Zoro ignored Arlong completely as he spoke. "You can go check on Nami. She was fighting the Fish-Men who came in from the outskirts just now. She should be outside the wall."
"Her strength should be enough to deal with ordinary Fish-Men. Let's settle things here first."
Ren planted the Doran Sword beside Zoro, then stepped back and swapped the magazine of his Desert Eagle.
"I don't like taking unfair advantage," Zoro muttered, frowning. "Especially in a one-on-one fight."
"I just think we should keep it simple," Ren said flatly. "There's no point in having you step back while I rush in, get beaten half to death, and then you come save me so we end up fighting together anyway. That's too many steps. We can just skip to the last part."
Zoro was speechless for a moment."…Right. And I still have to protect you. What a despicable tactic. But it does suit your style."
He covered his face, sighed, and reluctantly accepted reality. Ren's shamelessness went far deeper than expected — his "bottom line" was more like a flexible suggestion.
"That's the spirit."Ren racked the slide of the silver Desert Eagle — click! — ready to play support.
Zoro drew the Doran Sword, switching from Two-Sword Style to Three-Sword Style, and opened with a fierce Oni Giri.
The gleam of steel flashed forward in an instant, slicing toward Arlong!CLANG—!
Metal clashed violently. Arlong's bulging arms strained as he caught the strike.With a vicious snarl, he swung his massive saw-bladed sword, the Kiribachi, tearing apart the three crossing blades of light.
BANG—!
A gunshot echoed. A hole bloomed in Arlong's chest and abdomen — yet his back showed no exit wound.The bullet had lodged deep in his ribs; cracks webbed outward from the embedded slug. His shark-like bones were far tougher than human ones!
So, that's the difference between a shark Fish-Man and others? Or is Arlong just a freak of nature!? That "steel skeleton" wasn't an exaggeration after all!
Ren's eyes narrowed as he recalled the description — Arlong, the monster who could bite through cannonballs and take explosions to the face without flinching.
But to Arlong, this was even more shocking.In the past, flintlock bullets couldn't even pierce his skin; they flattened against his muscle or bone. Yet this one… this one cracked the bone itself!
That gun—such power! I can't take many of those!
Though shaken, the towering three-meter Fish-Man refused to back down. He threw away his great blade, ripped out one of his own shark teeth, and clenched it in his hand — ready to fight bare-fanged with Iron Jaw Arts.
Within less than a minute,Arlong had sprouted three mouths — a fresh set of razor teeth forming even as both hands held jagged shark fangs.
He looked like a dying beast gone berserk.
Those three iron jaws clamped down without warning, locking all three of Zoro's swords in place.Then Arlong spun wildly, dragging Zoro with him like a human top, gouging circular scars into the ground as they spiraled toward the bay.
He was trying to reach the sea!
"Smart. Using him as a hostage to escape," Ren muttered, holstering the silver pistol. Then, without hesitation, he switched templates — First Calabash Brother!
Divine Strength!
Muscle Power E+!
Gigantification!
Muscle Power D!
A golden light burst forth as Ren's body expanded into a near three-meter-tall little giant.
His crimson eyes focused; the tomoe of his Sharingan spun furiously as his dynamic vision locked onto Arlong.
Ren leaped — the ground cracked beneath him like shattered porcelain — and his golden hand shot out midair, seizing Arlong's head with perfect precision.
Then—he pulled.
Arlong's massive body was yanked backward by sheer force. A second golden hand slammed down onto his face like an iron cauldron.
The jagged shark nose tore a bloody gash across Ren's palm before crunching out of shape under the pressure.
"Trying to run? In your dreams!"
Ren's roar thundered as divine strength exploded outward. His golden hands drove Arlong's skull straight into the ground.
BOOM—!
Dust shot up several meters high.The ground cracked and caved like brittle tiles, spiderweb fissures spreading across a ten-meter radius.
At the center of the crater lay Arlong's embedded head, half-stunned, still twitching as he struggled to rise.
Zoro, finally freed, hesitated — unsure whether to strike again.
Ren snatched Zoro's Wado Ichimonji from his hand and drove the blade downward toward Arlong's neck!
Arlong jerked his head up, jaws snapping shut. His shark teeth bit down hard, clamping the blade tip in his mouth.
"Eat, huh? Then eat this!"
Ren forced the blade down and simultaneously stomped hard.
Boots of Swiftness — Full Power!
A burst of kinetic force surged through his body as the war stomp landed.
BOOM—!
The impact cratered the ground anew; dust billowed outward in waves.The golden stomp crushed Arlong's ribs — his once-invincible body now battered beyond endurance.
Crackling sounds echoed — bones shattering under pressure.A gout of blood erupted from Arlong's throat as his lungs screamed under the weight.
Yet even now, the tyrant of the East Blue clung to his pride.He twisted violently, letting the sword slash across his cheek as he roared and heaved, throwing the "giant beast" off him.
"Damn human— I'll bite you to death! Shark-On-Tooth Grinder!"
He lunged like a torpedo, jaws gaping, blades of teeth glinting— aiming to devour the human who dared challenge him.
Template Switch – Third Calabash Brother!
Indestructible Vajra Body!
CRACK—!
The teeth shattered instantly against Ren's gleaming golden skin, shards scattering as divine light burst forth.
A radiant flash exploded from Ren's body — the Indestructible Vajra Body flaring at full power!
Arlong flinched, eyes instinctively narrowing from the searing light. His counterattack faltered for a split second — long enough.
"Die!"
Ren seized the opening, hooking onto Arlong's body in an almost beastlike grip.All his energy gathered in the edge of his palm, forming a cutting aura.
He plunged his hand into Arlong's chest — right through the bullet wound — and thrust upward, burying his entire arm in flesh and blood.His fingers wrapped around the beating heart beneath layers of bone.
Golden veins pulsed along his hand as his five fingers clenched tight—
—and crushed it into pulp.
"You… can't… possibly…" Arlong coughed up blood, staggering backward in disbelief.
The monstrous strength that could lift houses drained from his limbs; his body went limp, leaving only a hollow shell behind.
Ren landed lightly beside him, coldly watching as the tyrant fell with a thunderous crash.
The nightmare of Cocoyasi Village — the infamous Arlong of the East Blue — still twitched feebly.Fish-Man vitality was terrifying, but the end was inevitable.
"Is… is he dead?"
Nami's voice trembled as she appeared, dragging a beaten Fish-Man by her staff. Her pretty face froze in disbelief when she saw Arlong's fallen form.
Did they… really do it?Did they truly win?The gamble of her entire life— had they finally slain the monster who had haunted her for over ten years?
Ren said nothing. He reloaded his pistol, racked the slide, and pressed the silver Desert Eagle into her hands.
"One pull, one shot. End it yourself— and end everything he ever did."
Without another word, Ren turned and sprinted off toward Chester's direction.
Clothes!
Clothes!!
Clothes!!!
(End of Chapter)