Utterly Shocked (Thanks to Cai Bu Shi Wei Zhen Tian for the 28,500 Qidian Coins)
Ironically, due to their long history of suppressing Fish-Men uprisings, the main navy is quite experienced in dealing with Fish-Men.
Under the specific command of Petty Officer First Class Tashigi, the "White Hunter" launched a textbook-perfect bombardment towards the direction of Arlong Park.
The first wave of small fry is one thing, but when dealing with the remaining Fish-Man, we need to force them to stay on the shore as much as possible.
With a thunderous roar, spherical shells traced beautiful parabolic arcs as they landed above the Fish-Man Paradise.
The swarm of miscellaneous Fish-Man scattered in panic, trying to escape.
Fortunately, these shells are not high-tech like the Buggy Bombs; although they will explode, their destructive power is very limited.
However, some of these special shells, when they landed on the beach, unfolded into huge fishing nets.
Some of the Fish-Man were preparing to jump into the sea to fight the navy were immediately entangled.
"That's typical of the Navy Headquarters!"
Arlong's expression grew increasingly grim; these marines before him were far more powerful than the useless 16th Branch.
As a member of the Sun Pirates, Arlong's strength is not bad.
While it cannot compare to Jinbe and Aladdin, it is far more than a mere 20 million bounty can represent.
If it weren't for the 16th Branch accepting bribes to cover for him, Arlong's bounty would have been at least 30 million.
Faced with the encirclement and suppression by what appears to be an old enemy of the G-2 Branch, Arlong's fierce and violent temper is fully unleashed.
He bent his thick, blue body and leaped high into the air.
At the same time, he took out a set of terrifying shark teeth from his Barry with each hand, and with the new set that grew in his Barry, Arlong suddenly had three sets of sharp teeth.
Just as Zoro used his Three-Sword Style to cut through cannonballs, Arlong used his three sets of teeth to simultaneously bite three cannonballs aimed at his underlings.
With just a little force, the three shells exploded and shattered instantly.
As the smoke from the gunpowder dissipated, Arlong landed back in the same spot unharmed, except that his yellow floral shirt was now black and tattered.
This scene was clearly seen by Nami, who was holding a telescope at the bow of the "White Hunter".
This naive Cat Burglar was so frightened by Arlong's fierce demeanor that he took three steps back, cold sweat pouring down his face.
It turns out Ma Qiao was right...
Arlong's limits go far beyond biting through rifles; he can actually bite through artillery shells!
Nami cried out in despair, "Ma Qiao! Commander Smoker, shouldn't we wait for Vice Admiral Garp to join the battle to avoid unnecessary sacrifices?"
She couldn't imagine what kind of power it would take to fight against such a powerful Fish-Man.
This level of physical strength far exceeds what a normal human can handle.
However...
The world of One Piece has no shortage of abnormal humans!
Ma Qiao and Smoker turned around at the same time.
Nami forcefully held back the tears that were about to well up in her eyes.
She realized that these two guys were looking at her as if she were an idiot.
Even Tashigi, who had just organized the landing craft and was preparing to make a final request to Smoker, showed a confused expression.
"Mr. Ma Qiao, is this the great pirate you were talking about, someone who can rival Admiral Kizaru and possesses the strength of Shichibukai?"
"I feel like..."
Tashigi ultimately didn't say anything explicitly.
As someone with a vivid imagination, Tashigi had already conjured up a scenario where Mr. Ma Qiao was spouting nonsense based on hearsay or being deceived by weak pirates.
She doesn't doubt Ma Qiao's character, so she can only doubt Ma Qiao abilities.
After all, Mr. Ma Qiao is just an ordinary citizen, so it's normal for him to believe everything he hears.
However, this will inevitably damage the perfect image that Mr. Ma Qiao has always held in her mind.
Smoker thought roughly the same thing.
Smoker could tell that the Fish-Man was indeed not weak, but let alone Shichibukai, even Shichibukai officer could easily deal with him!
However, what even Tashigi didn't know was that Smoker, this seemingly reserved guy, actually admired Ma Qiao more than she did.
Therefore, Smoker chose to trust Ma Qiao rather than the facts at hand.
"Hmph, quite adept at hiding their true abilities!"
He pulled out Jitte from behind his back, exhaled a smoke ring, and said, "Tashigi, I'm going to meet that long-nosed guy. You lead the men to land on the beach!"
With that, Smoker transformed into a cloud of smoke and soared into the air, flying towards Arlong's direction.
To everyone's surprise, it wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't turned into smoke, but the moment he did, Arlong, who was sharpening his teeth with cannonballs on the shore, was terrified!
Because Smoker had only been transferred to the East Blue for two months, and Arlong wasn't an ambitious man like Crocodile or Doflamingo who was keen on reading newspapers, he didn't know that the disheveled rogue naval officer in front of him was the new garrison commander of Loguetown, the strongest fighting force of the Navy in the East Blue.
In fact, even if the Loguetown came to attack, Arlong would not be intimidated.
Because in a sense, Arlong is currently the strongest pirate in the East Blue, and he has no fear of the strongest navy in the East Blue.
However, if the strongest navy in the East Blue is a Logia user, then that's a different story.
Smoker's ability to easily transform his body into an elemental form immediately reminded Arlong of the fear he had felt when he was dominated by a certain sleazy, flashy man.
"Seven years ago, your Navy used Logia to beat me up on the Grand Line. Seven years later, I'm hiding in the countryside, and your Navy is still using Logia to beat me up! Damn it!"
Arlong cursed loudly, already harboring some thoughts of a strategic shift in his mind.
However, back when I was all alone, I could easily switch sides without any problems.
Over the years, having ruled more than 20 islands in the Gorome Islands, including Cocoyasi Island, Arlong has amassed a tremendous fortune.
This money is currently kept in the vault of the Fish-Man Paradise; it has neither been moved nor packed up.
Arlong, who was obsessed with money, found it difficult to give the order to abandon the treasure and flee for their lives.
"No matter what, let's get in the water first!"
Having experienced being completely overwhelmed by Logia user, Arlong has thought about how to deal with it over the past seven years.
The best option is to hide underwater and use the depth of the water as cover.
Unless one possesses a high level of Observation Haki, even light cannot detect itself amidst the chaotic refraction of the ocean currents.
Arlong is now taking a gamble: the guy who's coming to besiege him, this nobody, can't possibly be proficient in Observation Haki!
With that thought in mind, Arlong's legs once again unleashed astonishing power, and he leaped into the sea.
As for the large net covering the sea surface, trapping many Fish-Men and minions, it was nothing more than a matter of biting through it with one bite for Arlong.
However...
"Momoo!"
I'm not afraid of god-like opponents, but I'm afraid of pig-like teammates.
Just then, with Hachi's call, a huge shadow leaped up from the sea, sending Arlong, who was suspended in mid-air, flying back onto the beach.