"What incredible speed!"
Jinbe was slightly startled, though his expression remained rock-solid.
In the next instant, his gaze sharpened. He let out a low grunt and threw a perfectly executed straight punch into the open air before him.
"Fish-Man Karate: Karakusa瓦正拳 (Arabesque Tile Punch)!"
Even without a direct target, the strike unleashed a 360-degree shockwave that rippled through the atmosphere in all directions.
"It's here! Jinbe-san's Fish-Man Karate!" a Fish-Man cried out, his face lighting up with relief. Though they resented Jinbe's current path, they had to admit that his mastery of Fish-Man Karate was the pinnacle of their race.
"What a strange move!"
Caught in the invisible pressure of the shockwave, Luffy felt his momentum being forcibly pushed back. Feeling the crushing weight on his chest, he gritted his teeth and stomped the air, using the counter-force of the shockwave to propel himself back with Geppo to create distance.
However, Luffy wasn't idle while retreating. His right fist tightened, and like a flash of lightning, he fired a strike straight at Jinbe's center.
"Gomu Gomu no... JET Bullet!"
The impact of a JET Bullet in Second Gear was far beyond anything Luffy's base body could produce. The shockwave from the Arabesque Tile Punch was insufficient to halt the sheer momentum of this strike.
Before Luffy had even finished the motion, Jinbe's Observation Haki had already sensed the trajectory. Yet, as the punch closed in, Jinbe realized he had still underestimated the youth.
The speed was simply too high. Even with the foresight to see it coming, he lacked the physical window to dodge. Since evasion was impossible, he had only one choice: endure.
"梅花皮 (Kairagi)!"
Jinbe barked the incantation, crossing his massive arms before his chest.
CLANG!
Luffy's fist slammed into Jinbe's forearms, producing a soul-shaking sound of clashing metal.
"Hiss... What is that? It hurts!"
Luffy retracted his hand, feeling a numbing vibration travel up his arm. Looking closer, he saw that the blue Fish-Man's arms had turned pitch black, reflecting a heavy, metallic sheen.
Armament Haki: Hardening!
For the World Government to select Jinbe as a Warlord, his combat repertoire had to be deeper than just Fish-Man Karate and Jujutsu.
While Luffy was shocked, Jinbe's heart was also pounding. He stole a quick, guarded glance at Rowan.
Luffy's punch possessed a terrifying equilibrium of speed and power. If he hadn't used Observation to predict it and Armament to tank it, he truly didn't know how he would have fared. To have such monstrous power at this age... is this the result of the Godfather's tutelage?
While Jinbe was lost in thought, the surrounding Fish-Men—seeing Luffy's pained expression—erupted into cheers.
"Jinbe-san is too strong!" "Hahaha! As expected of the Boss, he always makes us feel safe." "He truly is the strongest to ever come out of Fish-Man District." "If only he hadn't sold out to become a government dog..."
Rowan, however, wasn't surprised. He gave a slight, approving nod. That Armament proficiency is quite decent. It seemed that after their encounter years ago, the "Blue Fatso" hadn't slacked off. He had trained diligently to reach a bounty of over 400 million.
Furthermore, keeping up with Second Gear Luffy was a feat that demanded competent Observation Haki.
Amidst the Fish-Men's excitement, Rowan spoke up. "Luffy, if you keep dragging this out, you're going to lose quite pathetically."
Rowan knew that at Luffy's current level, he was no match for Jinbe. He let the boy fight first simply as a training exercise. He knew Jinbe's character well; even against a stranger, Jinbe wouldn't go for a kill, and with Rowan standing right there, he'd be even more restrained.
The best way to grow is to fight someone stronger!
"Right!"
Hearing Rowan's prompt, Luffy's expression turned fierce.
"Soru!"
He flickered forward, appearing ten meters in front of Jinbe. He whipped his arms back and let out a guttural roar.
"Gomu Gomu no... JET Gatling!"
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
"What... what kind of move is this?!"
Arlong, standing behind Jinbe, finally lost his composure. Absolute terror began to crawl into his heart. From his perspective, he could see the pink-skinned youth unleashing hundreds of fists in a single instant.
Looking at the dense, overwhelming storm of punches, Arlong felt a wave of despair. Even at this distance, he could feel the lethality behind every single strike. To him, it looked like he might survive a few hits through sheer Fish-Man constitution—but only a few.
The sheer volume of punches Jinbe was facing was beyond counting! How can a human brat be this terrifying?!
Suddenly, a realization struck Arlong. If the brat was this strong, how much more powerful was the old man who made even Jinbe act so submissive?
What if Jinbe couldn't hold the line? What would happen to him?
Arlong instinctively turned his gaze toward the estate entrance, where Rowan stood calmly puffing on his pipe. Sensing Arlong's gaze, Rowan looked back and gave him a light, meaningful smile.
Though Rowan's face was relaxed, to Arlong, it felt like a predator looking at trapped prey. A chill ran down his spine. He wanted to run, but under that old man's gaze, he didn't even have the courage to lift his feet.
"What is this technique?!"
In front of the villa, Jinbe felt the air tremble as the tide of punch-shadows crashed toward him.
The individual force of these punches was slightly lower than the previous JET Bullet, but the frequency was staggering. No ordinary fighter could withstand this. If his Armament Haki weren't so refined, even his superior Fish-Man physiology would have crumbled.
Even with Haki coating his body, the sheer intensity of the barrage began to slide his massive frame backward across the stone floor. Against such a relentless assault, Jinbe was forced into a total, desperate defense.
...BONUS CHAPTER IS COMING...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
⭐ Read chapters early on Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/Bagga_10 ⭐
BONUS CHAPTER REWARDS
• Every 20 reviews = 1 bonus chapter
• Every 40 Power Stones = 1 bonus chapter
Your support directly unlocks more content and faster releases.