The Price of Arrogance

"Don't... come any closer!" Choo spat forward once again.

Ling Donglai burst forward once more, forcibly changing direction midair for the second time as he leaped up. Electricity erupted!

Armament · Fire Fist!

Ling Donglai punched Choo's hard fish head. The high heat evaporated the water on his body's surface, then the 100,000 Volts of electricity surged in, destroying his neural signals.

"Get me seawater, you idiots!" Kuroobi shattered the ground with a stomp and used Fish-Man Karate to meet Ling Donglai's fist head-on.

After killing Choo, Kuroobi had already reached Ling Donglai. In that hurried moment, he could only answer fist with fist!

Their fists flew in rapid exchanges. Ling Donglai's fists carried a faint coating of Armament Haki, using Fire Fist to dry out his enemy before injecting electricity into him.

However, Kuroobi was a martial fighter who practiced Fish-Man Karate. He forcibly suppressed the current inside his body and was not afflicted by paralysis.

After exchanging several more blows, Ling Donglai took one of Kuroobi's punches head-on, withdrew his attack, and rushed out of Aquatic Park. The remaining fish-men were carrying buckets of seawater as they closed in around him!

Having no teammates meant high mobility. He could fight when he wanted and retreat when he wanted.

Likewise, having no teammates meant that one loss left no future.

Never be foolish.

As long as I could kill people and get away unscathed, I was the winner!

"You killed so many of us fish-men and still want to run? Do you take me, a captain, for a fraud?"

Kuroobi reached into a wooden bucket filled with seawater. The instant he drew his hand out, he hurled a massive sphere made entirely of seawater.

Water Shot!

Ling Donglai was struck directly in the back. He lost his strength for an instant, then accelerated away again.

"Chase him! He's badly injured. He can't get away!" Kuroobi ordered the surviving fish-men.

"I'll make him understand the price of arrogance!"

"So hungry..." Ling Donglai coughed twice and spat blood onto the ground. Then he took out the dry rations he carried and ate them. His body began breaking down their nutrients to replenish his stamina and recover from his injuries.

For the strong, powerful physical endurance and recovery were practically bugs. For beings like that, food was the best medicine for restoring health.

Even if they were severely injured, simple bandaging and a large amount of food could slowly restore them, let alone Zoan ability users.

The ground shook. The fish-men kicked open tightly shut doors, stormed inside with weapons in hand, and dragged out the trembling villagers within.

"Search carefully. If any human is hiding the wanted criminal, kill them on the spot!" Kuroobi patrolled the streets, his muscles taut as he remained alert for a possible attack at any moment.

"They split up into pairs. Aren't they just asking me to pick them off one by one?"

To Ling Donglai, being injured was no reason to end the fight, because the greatest strength of Zoans was their enhanced physical capabilities!

Though compared to other cheat-like Devil Fruits, this advantage of Zoans barely amounted to anything.

Ling Donglai lowered his body's activity to a minimum and padded silently over to open a home's window. The room was empty... no, there was breathing beneath the bed. The owner of the house was already hiding under it.

"Whoever's inside, come out!"

Right on schedule, vicious fish-men kicked open the room's door. But what they saw was the bare-chested wanted criminal!

The two fish-men opened their mouths wide, about to cry out.

But Ling Donglai's hands were already resting on their shoulders, and electricity destroyed the neural systems in their brains.

"I found you!"

The instant Ling Donglai made his move, Kuroobi seemed to sense something. He charged over at high speed, smashed through the wall with one punch, and struck at Ling Donglai.

Finishing Move · Thousand Brick Fist!

Kuroobi's punch was fast and ruthless. The surging force made Ling Donglai cough up blood and sent him flying through the back wall of the house.

"The Brick Fist is about smashing bricks in the deep sea. As a cartilage fish-man, I can shatter a hundred bricks!"

"Then why don't you call it the Hundred Brick Fist?" Ling Donglai climbed out of the rubble and looked at Kuroobi curiously.

"Shut up!" Kuroobi reached toward the buckets held by the two dead fish-men, dipped his hand in seawater, and attacked Ling Donglai again.

A strange perception interfered with Ling Donglai. As Kuroobi moved and threw his punch, Ling Donglai strangely sensed the way he was moving.

It was an effect caused by the current that had entered Kuroobi's body.

Ling Donglai's electricity was hidden within Kuroobi's body, reporting Kuroobi's movements back to Ling Donglai. At the same time, whenever Ling Donglai used electricity, the current within Kuroobi's body could sense it as well.

This was two-way perception!

"No wonder you were able to find me immediately!" Ling Donglai suddenly understood.

"Hmph, now you know. You have nowhere to run!" Kuroobi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. As a martial artist, Ling Donglai was an evenly matched opponent.

"You're strong. With such a frail human body, you've trained yourself to the point of rivaling a fish-man. But that's all. You will lose beneath my fists!"

"Run? You don't seem to understand the wisdom of kiting. Without anyone else or seawater around, I can fight you all day!"

Ling Donglai clenched his fists. "Let me make this clear: I will kill all of you. That is the only ending!"

A dazzling bolt of lightning struck Kuroobi.

"Can you really withstand my lightning? Discharge!"

"AAAAARGH—"

Kuroobi was wrapped in electric light. His body was inevitably paralyzed, and even his thoughts became utterly muddled. Ling Donglai's residual current was still inside him. After countless clashes of fists, the electricity in his body had gradually built up, only to be completely detonated by Ling Donglai's Discharge. Caught between attacks from within and without, his flesh had begun to cook.

"Your fists... are truly despicable!"

Amid the lightning, Kuroobi realized his mistake. He had forgotten that Ling Donglai's lightning was the deadliest thing about him. Even their leader Arlong would fall into a helpless state of paralysis if he was unlucky enough to get hit, much less Kuroobi.

The fact that he had not been paralyzed during their earlier exchanges had made him think that paralysis was not something Ling Donglai could use freely, and he had gradually let down his guard...

"How interesting. Pirates calling someone else despicable?" Ling Donglai pressed both hands against Kuroobi's temples and exerted a little force.

Kuroobi was defeated and killed!

Now, only the small fry remained.

Ling Donglai's ears twitched as he heard the other fish-men rushing this way.

Killing Time · 100,000 Volts!

Dazzling Azure Thunder pierced through the air once more, like the light of justice shining upon the fish-men.

Printed and mailed it, not sure when the status will change. Hurry up and invest, and while you're at it, please vote.