After Lily sent them flying, the Kung-Fu Dugongs still refused to give up. They climbed back to their feet and charged at Amon and Lily again.
They had not even figured out who had attacked them the first time, so they were ready for another round.
"They're coming again."
Lily puffed out her cheeks and was just about to use telekinesis once more when Amon stopped her with a hand.
Telekinesis would not settle this. The Kung-Fu Dugongs only respected fists and feet. If you beat them in close combat, then they would accept it.
"Let me handle it. It's been a while since I stretched my limbs."
He rolled his shoulders and wrists as he spoke.
He had spent too many days lazing around on the ship. Now that he was finally off it, it was the perfect time to move a little. Besides, he found the Kung-Fu Dugongs pretty cute. Picking up a batch of disciples on the side did not sound bad either.
With that, Amon rushed straight at them, hands and feet moving together.
From Lily's point of view, it was a one-sided beatdown.
Amon moved through the group of Kung-Fu Dugongs with ease, punching one away, kicking another aside, never letting a single one get close. Before long, every last dugong had been knocked flat.
They were not weak, not by normal standards. But in front of Amon, they were nothing worth mentioning.
And he had not even used any real strength. If he had, this entire group would have been dead already.
"Much better."
After loosening up, Amon stretched and let out a satisfied breath.
Moving around like this felt good.
Just as he was about to leave, the Kung-Fu Dugongs followed after him.
Lily thought they still refused to accept defeat, but then all at once, the whole group dropped to their knees before Amon.
That caught her completely off guard.
Then she listened to what they were saying and looked even more stunned.
"Master, they say you're very strong. They want to take you as their teacher and follow you."
So it was exactly like the story said.
Amon was not surprised. In the original story, the Kung-Fu Dugongs were famous for being fiercely combative, but once someone defeated them, they would immediately acknowledge that person as their master.
"So you want me as your teacher?"
He looked down at them with amusement.
"Master, they say yes."
Even without Lily translating, Amon could already tell from their expressions. The strongest-looking dugong in front was especially eager, nodding nonstop with burning eyes.
"You want to become my disciples? Fine, then."
A wicked little thought came to him at once.
"All right, line up. One arm's length to the left and right, two arm's lengths front and back. Stand properly. I'll teach you martial arts right now."
"The name of this technique is... the Seventh Broadcast Calisthenics, Soaring Eagle Style."
With a perfectly serious face, Amon began teaching the Kung-Fu Dugongs a hilariously ridiculous set of calisthenics from memory.
The funniest part was that they actually learned fast. Before long, the whole group was following along with surprising accuracy.
"Very good. Keep it up. Follow the rhythm. One, two, three, four. Five, six, seven, eight. Two, two, three, four. Five, six, seven, eight."
Watching an entire formation of Kung-Fu Dugongs doing broadcast exercises after him gave Amon a deep and shameless sense of satisfaction.
"All right. Practice this set every day and it will definitely do wonders. I expect great things from all of you. Don't disappoint your master."
"Your master still has business in Alabasta. I need to go sell Jars. My Jars are all extraordinary treasures. They'd definitely help you a lot if you opened them. Sadly, you probably don't have any berries, so I suppose that's that. We'll meet again if fate allows."
By the end, even Amon started laughing at himself.
These were dugongs, not people. There was no way they would understand all that. He really was getting addicted to selling Jars.
Shaking his head with a self-mocking smile, he waved and prepared to leave.
But just as he turned, the strongest Kung-Fu Dugong stepped in front of him and blocked his path.
Amon was still wondering what it wanted when Lily translated.
"Master, it says it wants to open a Jar. It wants to know if one crown is enough."
"What?"
That actually threw Amon.
A Kung-Fu Dugong that understood opening Jars?
Had it really understood everything he just said? That was absurdly intelligent.
Wait.
Could this actually be the same dugong Luffy meets ten years later? These things all looked roughly the same. It was not impossible.
"Tell him to bring it out and let me see."
After a moment's thought, Amon decided selling a Jar to a Kung-Fu Dugong was not bad at all.
Maybe this really was the one Luffy would meet later. And even if it was not, a creature this clever clearly had some fate with him.
He was not losing anything by selling a Jar anyway.
Once Lily relayed the message, the Kung-Fu Dugong ran toward a stretch of beach and came back dragging a large golden crown.
Amon estimated it was worth well over a million berries.
"Master, it asks if this is enough. If not, it says it can go find more. It says there used to be quite a lot of gold floating in the sea."
"That's more than enough. Ask him which Jar he wants. He can choose for himself."
That crown was easily valuable enough.
Amon was not some crooked merchant, but he also had no intention of giving back the extra value. For one thing, he had no habit of making change. For another, a Kung-Fu Dugong had no real use for cash anyway.
"Kuha!"
After Lily translated, the Kung-Fu Dugong pointed at a blue-green Jar in front.
"Master, it says it wants that one."
"The blue-green one? Fine. Tell him he just needs to smash it open."
Amon was growing fond of this unusually intelligent little creature.
Maybe it really was the same one Luffy would meet later.
If so, that would be another future connection.
"Clang!"
The dugong had plenty of spirit. The moment it heard Amon say smash it open, it did not even wait for Lily to finish translating. It simply threw a punch.
The Jar shattered at once.
And three items fell out.