Chapter 65: The Unique Natural Talent Of The Fish-Men!
Arlong stared at the empty space where Hachi's arm should have been, his eye twitching.
He glanced at the golden-brown, crispy octopus leg roasting over the campfire, then back at Hachi's somewhat excited face.
"Hachi," Arlong's voice was laced with suppressed rage, "have you... lost your mind?"
Hachi blinked his round eyes: "Huh? Boss, what's wrong?"
Arlong pointed at the grill: "Those damned humans are roasting your arm! And you're actually praising how delicious it is?!"
Hachi looked down at his severed arm, then at the grill, and suddenly understood:
"Oh! Boss, you've misunderstood! This isn't my arm!"
He pointed at the grill, speaking seriously:
"This is the octopus I caught this afternoon! It's huge! I specifically saved a few legs thinking we could roast them tonight!"
The courtyard fell into brief silence.
Arlong's crew—Kuroobi, Chew, and all the Fish-man underlings—were all stunned.
They couldn't comprehend Hachi's thought process.
His own tentacle gets cut off, yet not only is he not angry, but he's eating octopus he caught with the people who did it?
And praising how tasty it is?
Meanwhile, by the campfire...
"Pfft—HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Lufia was the first to burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as she doubled over:
"Hehehe! We actually fooled them! So funny!"
Zoro held his swords, a mocking smile curling at the corner of his mouth:
"Looks like they were really scared. So much for the fearsome Fish-men..."
Sanji elegantly flipped the food on the grill, his tone disdainful:
"Who would actually eat a Fish-man? How disgusting."
Arlong's face turned from blue to red, then from red to purple.
He clenched his fists tightly, his sharp nails digging deep into his palms, almost drawing blood.
Furious beyond measure.
But just as he was about to erupt, he suddenly noticed something.
That blond cook... did he just greet Nami?
Arlong turned to look at Nami, his voice icy:
"Nami. These people... are they the 'tails' you brought back with you?"
Nami's heart skipped a beat.
She looked at the three reckless idiots by the campfire, feeling both anxious and angry.
They had agreed to "plan carefully," to "wait for the signal"!
And what happened?
They acted on their own again! And made this mess!
But what's done is done...
Nami took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
A clever idea came to her.
"Yes," she lifted her head, wearing just the right amount of chagrin, "I messed up this time. I took their treasure, and they followed me here."
She paused, looking at Arlong with a helpless tone:
"As a member of the Arlong Pirates... please help me deal with these guys, Arlong. After all, I'm just a Navigator, not good at fighting."
Arlong stared at Nami, his fierce pupils gleaming with scrutiny.
He didn't completely believe her.
But he had absolute confidence in his own strength.
Even if these guys were really brought by Nami to deal with him... so what?
In the face of absolute power, any schemes or tricks are just jokes.
"Hmph." Arlong sneered coldly and stopped looking at Nami.
He turned and barked at Hachi:
"Hachi! You idiot! Get over here now! How long are you going to stay with the people who hurt our comrade?!"
Hachi shrank back, giving Arlong a fearful glance.
He muttered under his breath, shuffling back into the ranks of the fish-men:
"They're actually not bad people... even though they killed so many fish-men, they spared my life. Pirates are all about killing each other anyway... Haven't we killed plenty of humans too? You even killed Nami's foster mother, and she still became our..."
"SHUT UP—!!!"
Arlong's roar cut off Hachi's muttering.
He glared fiercely at Hachi, "How dare you compare us to those lowly humans?! Let me tell you once more—we fish-men are the supreme race in this world!"
Arlong's voice echoed through the courtyard, filled with fanatical racial superiority:
"The life of one fish-man is more valuable than a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand humans!"
After speaking, he turned his gaze to the three by the bonfire.
His eyes looked at them as if they were already corpses.
"Having committed such grave crimes..." Arlong said slowly, his voice icy cold, "I shall execute you publicly. Let all humans witness the true gap between our races!"
He raised his hand and waved:
"Seize them!"
The fish-man grunts surrounding Arlong surged forward all at once!
Over a dozen fish-men, each brandishing weapons, charged toward the bonfire with furious roars.
Lufia stood up, wiping the grease from her hands.
She glanced at the charging fish-men, then at Arlong, grinning:
"Though I don't understand what you're saying... as long as we defeat these guys, Nami can peacefully become our navigator, right?"
Sanji kept his hands in his pockets: "Miss Lufia understands the situation perfectly."
Zoro drew his swords, "It's that simple. Just cut them down."
The battle began.
Or rather, a one-sided slaughter commenced.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
Lufia's fist shot out like a cannonball, sending the first charging fish-man flying.
"Neck meat, shoulder meat, spine meat, saddle meat, breast meat, thigh meat... Stir-fried Mutton!"
Sanji's figure moved like a phantom, each kick precisely striking a fish-man.
"Three Sword Style: Onigiri!"
As Zoro advanced, his sword lights wove like a net, three fish-men simultaneously falling with screams.
In just thirty seconds.
All dozen-plus charging fish-men were defeated.
They lay scattered across the ground, moaning, unable to get up again.
Arlong's face darkened completely.
The officers behind him also dropped their condescending expressions.
"It seems..." Kuroobi cracked his knuckles, "they're not ordinary humans."
Chew's long mouth twitched, as if preparing something.
Lufia, Zoro, and Sanji stood together, looking at the remaining "main course" across from them.
Simultaneous smiles appeared on their faces.
"Just as planned." Zoro said, "One each."
He paused, looking at Hachi:
"Wait. Four—this guy went back to their side."
Hachi had now returned to the fish-man ranks, his severed arm having somehow regenerated completely, good as new.
Hearing Zoro's words, he puffed out his chest:
"It wasn't fair fighting two against one! And I didn't even have my weapons!"
Hachi took six swords from a grunt.
Yes, six.
Holding one in each hand.
"My Six Sword Style," Hachi declared confidently, "has no reason to lose to your Three Sword Style!"
Zoro's eyebrow twitched.
He tightened his grip on his sword hilts, battle intent igniting in his eyes:
"Fine. Then I'll be watching closely."
Arlong seized the moment to boast:
"See this? This is the innate talent unique to us Fish-men! Regeneration, strength, speed... you humans could never hope to match it!"
Sanji flicked his cigarette ash, his tone flippant:
"Such impressive regeneration... would indeed be a useful trait if used as ingredients. Could be harvested infinitely, sustainable development."
Those words completely lit the powder keg.
Killing intent boiled in Arlong's eyes.
He wasted no more words.
Raising his hand, he pointed at Lufia and the other two:
"Kill them!"
Almost simultaneously, Lufia pressed down on her straw hat:
"Let's fight!"
The brawl erupted!
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