"Why have you been looking so dirty these past few days?"
Shyarly asked Bright curiously as he wolfed down his food.
Bright did look quite disheveled. Aside from the marks from getting beaten up, there were many scorched patches on his body, a stark difference from the simple bruises and swollen face he used to have after training.
"I'm practicing a very interesting move."
Bright said with a smile.
Using electric current instead of moisture to perform Fish-Man Karate was absolutely an unprecedented attempt.
Compared to water, which made up most of the body, electric current was far more explosive.
Even with Jinbe's guidance, the experiment had remained arduous.
Bright's body could generate and store electric current, but if he used Fish-Man Karate techniques to directly turn that current into force that propelled his body, the electrical bursts would still injure him.
That was why he looked like this. During his experiments, he kept scorching himself with his own electricity.
Hearing Bright's words, Nana, the little mermaid girl freeloading nearby, asked curiously, "How interesting is it?"
Bright choked up. "Anyway, it's very interesting."
"How interesting is very interesting?"
The little girl tilted her head curiously. Her big, innocent eyes blinked and blinked, shining with nothing but confusion.
Bright pursed his lips.
What a little brat.
"Alright, silly girl, don't give big brother any trouble."
Mirian walked over with a cheerful smile and wiped her foolish daughter's mouth. "Big brother is getting stronger every day so he can protect Sister Shyarly."
"That's right, that's right! It's so enviable!"
The other mermaid ladies immediately chimed in.
"So this is childhood sweethearts? Why don't I have that?"
"Hey, handsome, while you're protecting Shyarly, could you protect us too?"
"Exactly, we don't feel very safe either."
Bright's mouth twitched.
"Honestly..."
Shyarly rubbed her forehead with a headache.
Maybe she should just fire all these employees?
"Wow! That's amazing!"
Nana looked at Bright with admiration. "I want to become stronger too!"
She excitedly waved her tiny arms. "Then if danger comes, I can protect Mother and all my big sisters!"
"Ahh! Nana!"
Then the little girl was instantly swallowed up by the mermaid ladies.
"How can there be such an adorable child?!"
"I'm very happy, but Nana..."
Shyarly could not help but chuckle. "If you encounter danger, remember to run away first, then hurry and find an adult for help."
"Aww..."
The little girl was deeply disappointed. "But I want to protect everyone myself."
"You can say that after you've become stronger."
Bright reached out and rubbed her little head. "Someone who can't even protect herself can't protect anyone else."
Nana seemed to understand, but not quite.
After that, training continued.
After the daily Haki training came martial arts practice.
With Jinbe's help, Bright continuously experimented with the Current Drive martial art he had envisioned specifically for himself.
It was not simply using electric current to stimulate his body and enhance his physical abilities, but truly using the current as energy to propel his body's movements.
Calling it Current Drive should not have been a problem.
The key issue was that electric current was much more violent by nature than water, and controlling it with precision was no easy task.
It was something that greatly tested patience and endurance.
Fortunately, Bright lacked neither.
Crackle!
Weak currents danced across Bright's right arm.
"Oh! Very good, very good!"
A delighted smile bloomed across Jinbe's face. "You controlled it! You did it, Bright!"
This was the first time!
"Bright, throw a punch! Try to send that punch flying!"
Bright merely nodded lightly, afraid that speaking would distract him and make all his efforts fail again.
He tentatively threw a punch.
Crackle!!
Before his fist had even completed half its arc, a dazzling burst of lightning suddenly erupted from his arm, and Bright let out a muffled groan at the same time.
Jinbe frowned.
He had failed.
Fish-Man Karate was restrained; moisture erupted inside the body rather than spraying outward.
The electric current that should have acted within his body had scattered outward. Without a doubt, this attempt had failed again.
"Fortunately, the electric current I can generate isn't that strong."
Bright shook out his arm.
It felt a little numb.
In his human form, the current he could generate on his own was naturally far weaker than the lightning he could create after transforming into a red dragon.
But that was just right. If overly powerful currents were forced to erupt inside his body, Bright feared he might blow himself to death.
"At least this was a very useful attempt."
Jinbe said seriously, "It proves that your hypothesis was correct. Electric current really can be used to perform Fish-Man Karate."
Bright smiled and nodded. This proved that he really could create an exceptionally powerful martial art.
Although almost no one would be qualified to practice it.
"However, Bright, is this just my imagination?"
Jinbe looked at Bright's nearly uninjured right arm. "Is the damage electric current does to you getting smaller and smaller?"
At the beginning, even a slight failure would leave his body scorched black.
That had been an electrical burst from inside his body, something he could not defend against.
"My body has gotten used to it."
Bright said with a smile.
"Huh?"
Jinbe could not understand.
But then he nodded slightly.
Perhaps this was one of the strange abilities Vegapunk had given Bright?
Jinbe had guessed correctly.
One of Bright's bloodlines came from the Giant Water Bear.
What Bright valued most was this ability.
The most terrifying thing about those creatures, which had existed for hundreds of millions of years, was their adaptability. As their environment changed, their bodies could rapidly change along with it. No terrible environment could do anything to them—lava, ice, lightning, even the vacuum of space.
Even if it was merely adaptation rather than evolution, it was already astonishing enough.
Although the ability was still weak, Bright's body was indeed gradually adapting to electrical bursts.
It was because of this ability that Bright had even considered whether he could use flames as well, creating something like a Lightning-Flame Dragon Mode.
But unfortunately, he only had the ability to breathe fire and could not generate flames at will, so that idea had to be shelved.
Still, while flames could not be used inside his body, they could be used outside it.
Wasn't Kaido's ultimate move like that?
He could make a move like Susanoo or something.
"At this rate, it should be completed in a few more days at most—an unprecedented Fishman Karate!"
Jinbe looked at Bright with eyes full of gratification.
He knew very well that once this move was completed, Bright's strength would make another leap forward.
The force provided by electrical bursts was far greater than that of water bursts.
Bright only needed to master the two types of Haki proficiently. He would not even need particularly profound attainments before he had enough power to contend with Jinbe, perhaps even surpass him.
This guy was truly becoming stronger every single day!
While the new martial art gradually took shape, Fish-Man Island remained peaceful. Arlong and Hody, who were under surveillance, had made no moves either.
But just when Bright thought this ordinary training routine could continue, an accident occurred.
One day, after finishing his training and returning to Mermaid Cafe, Bright unexpectedly discovered that the shop had already closed.
The business at this shop had always been excellent. Since returning, this was the first time he had seen it close so early.
He pushed the door open and found the mermaid ladies gathered together, anxiously discussing something. They were even startled by the sound of him opening the door.
"Oh, it's you, handsome. You gave me quite a fright."
"But it's good that you're back, handsome. I feel at ease all at once."
The mermaid ladies were either still shaken or had turned from worry to joy.
"So, what exactly happened?"
Bright looked toward Shyarly.
Shyarly slowly said, "Today, several mermaids disappeared from Mermaid Bay."
"What?"
Bright's pupils suddenly contracted.
Had something like this finally come before him?
Before you continue