"Sha~ hahaha, mere unknown pirates, and you dared stand up for Nami?
Tell me your names. I'll spread the tale of how you threw your lives away."
Luffy had long been unable to hold himself back. He stepped forward, clenching his right fist until it cracked.
He shouted at Arlong, "I'm Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. Arlong! You dared bully my navigator like this—have you prepared yourself?!"
The moment he heard that introduction, Arlong's expression darkened.
"The Straw Hat Pirates... I didn't expect it to be you."
The fish-men, including the octopus fish-man Hachi, also turned grim.
Captain Nezumi had just warned them today that it would be best not to clash with the Straw Hat Pirates.
Yet the moment they met, the conflict had already become irreconcilable.
The whale fish-man Kuroobi quietly spoke into Arlong's ear.
"Big Brother Arlong, are we fighting or not?"
Arlong truly hesitated.
But as he looked at the humans before him, memories of the time humans had oppressed him surfaced, filling his eyes with hatred.
Thinking of that, Arlong simply could not bring himself to compromise with humans.
Besides, based on what they knew, this group was not some freak like Buggy.
A moment later, Arlong suddenly burst into laughter.
"Sha~ hahaha, just a pirate crew made up of inferior humans. Today, we'll use their corpses to feed Moumou."
"Boys, prepare for battle!"
"┗|｀O′|┛ Aoo~~"
The terrifying aura of the fish-men frightened the villagers who had been furious just moments ago.
But when they saw the expressions on the Straw Hat Crew's faces, they were utterly shocked.
Every member wore a confident expression.
What did that mean?
It went without saying.
In the eyes of the Straw Hat Crew, these terrifying fish-men were nothing.
Sanji lit a cigarette and exhaled a puff of fish-shaped smoke.
"They could be sashimi, shark fin porridge, grilled octopus... ah, there are so many dishes I could make. I can't decide."
"Pfft~"
Nami could not hold back her laughter at that teasing remark.
But Arlong and the others instantly flew into a rage when they heard it.
"Looks like unless we kill a few of you today, you won't realize just how grave a mistake you've made."
"Boys, go all out today. It doesn't matter if you kill every one of these villagers. They're just cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered."
"Kill all the men! Leave the pretty women behind to vent your lust on!"
"┗|｀O′|┛ Aoo~~"
At Arlong's words, the numerous fish-man underlings were immediately roused.
Their bloodthirsty, sadistic instincts began to spill forth.
In an instant, they charged toward the Straw Hat Crew and the villagers.
Can Yue exchanged a glance with the Straw Hat Crew.
"I'll cripple Arlong first. You protect the villagers."
After all, it was Can Yue whom Nami had hired, so Luffy had no intention of fighting the enemy leader this time.
Before Luffy and Zoro could even make a move, Sanji was already brimming with enthusiasm.
"No one gets to bully Nami and Miss Nojiko's family in front of me!"
With a swish, everyone instinctively divided up their roles.
Can Yue walked toward Arlong step by step.
Luffy blocked the kissing fish-man, Chuu.
Zoro held Wado Ichimonji in one hand as he stopped Hachi, the practitioner of Six Sword Style.
Sanji stopped the whale fish-man Kuroobi.
Nami, Usopp, Johnny, Joseph, and Chouchou were responsible for holding back the fodder of the Arlong Pirates.
The battle began.
After all this time training, Nami had greatly improved both her physical fitness and her skill with the spear-staff.
She was still somewhat weaker in raw strength when facing ordinary fodder fish-men.
But in terms of combat technique, she practically crushed them.
The spear-staff techniques Can Yue taught me are amazing!
The more Nami fought, the more confident she became.
She skillfully took advantage of the principle that a longer weapon was stronger.
Combined with her nimble footwork,
every strike targeted one of the fodder fish-men's vital points, high or low.
At that moment, a burly, ball-shaped fish-man blocked Nami's direct blow with his body.
The front end of her staff sank deeply into the ball fish-man's fat.
"Hehehehe, Nami, I've been craving that body of yours ever since you became an officer."
With a lecherous expression, he stared fixedly at Nami, who could not pull her staff free.
He stretched out both hands, about to embrace her.
The villagers began to worry and were about to rush forward to save Nami.
"Don't move! If you come up here, you'll only be throwing your lives away."
There was not the slightest fear on Nami's face. Instead, a crafty smile appeared.
"Craving my body? Let me show you how powerful this stick of mine is first."
As she spoke, Nami gripped the shaft with her right hand and gave it a light twist.
The portion of the staff buried deep inside the ball fish-man suddenly extended.
A roughly forty-centimeter-long blade instantly emerged from the tip.
The forty-centimeter spearhead pointed directly into the ball fish-man's body and instantly pierced his kidney.
"Ah!!"
Nami yanked out her weapon. The staff that had been used for smashing and striking had now transformed into an orange spear.
Holding the spear one-handed, Nami looked like a valkyrie as she stared at the ball fish-man kneeling on the ground.
Amid the enemy's terrified gaze, she thrust through his head with a single strike.
"Tch, craving my body? Do you have what it takes?"
With that, Nami retracted the spear back into a staff, intending to use dirty tricks on her next victim.
In another direction,
Usopp darted and weaved, eventually running behind a boulder.
He pulled back his slingshot and fired his homemade bizarre ammunition at the fodder fish-men.
"Deadly Move: Chili Sauce Star; Deadly Move: Sour You to Death Star; Deadly Move: Bird-Slaying Lead Ball Star.
Deadly Move: Chouchou Droppings Star!"
The numerous hidden weapons struck without fail, hitting the fish-men tangled up with Nami, Johnny, and Joseph.
One fish-man after another exposed openings because of Usopp's despicable tactics and suffered defeat.
Especially the fish-man struck by the Chouchou Droppings Star—the overwhelming stench left him utterly disoriented.
In the end, Nami, playing dirty tricks, stabbed him with her spear and knocked him unconscious.
"My god, Nami's companions are incredible."
"Our Thieving Cat is pretty amazing too."
Nojiko and the villagers had been nervous at first, but once they saw that not a single fish-man could come within five meters of the banquet area,
they began cracking sunflower seeds, drinking wine, and eating oranges, enjoying the spectacle as though they were watching a play.
"Although I really want to praise Nami's spear-staff skills, that dog is obviously fiercer."
Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing that.
Other than being a little noisy.
Chouchou, transformed into his dog demon form, had wrapped his tail around the enhanced Great War Spear.
He swung it with all his strength, every blow causing a violent explosion with a radius of around two and a half meters.
The key was that Chouchou did not just swing it around. At certain moments, he could suddenly adjust the angle of the spear's attack.
Direct Thrust, Diagonal Stab, Returning Dog Spear.
He used each technique with great proficiency.
Chouchou even got so fired up that he skewered three fish-men at once, then smashed them repeatedly into the ground.
Using the heat from the explosions, he started cooking.
Some fish-men were cooked just like that...
Why were so many fish-men unable to get close to the villagers?
It was mainly because of the protective ring created by Chouchou's explosions.
Can Yue, who had already walked up to Arlong, nodded slightly as he watched Chouchou, Nami, and Usopp's performances.
Nami's spear-staff techniques were still not very refined, but Can Yue was quite satisfied with her ability to adapt her fighting style to the situation at any time.
Though it was a little ruthless.
Usopp's improvement was that he could easily evade the fish-men's attacks and then find suitable sniping positions.
As for Chouchou, Can Yue had not expected him to learn spear-staff techniques so quickly. Did Chouchou have exceptional talent in this area?
As for the other three, they were purely playing around. They could end the battle whenever they wanted.
His thoughts returned to reality.
Can Yue fixed his gaze on Arlong.
"Arlong, choose how you want to die."
Before you continue