Fruit

Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu were both techniques for manipulating water.

Bright could not casually unleash shockwaves powerful enough to pierce giants like Jinbe, nor could he fling droplets stronger than cannonballs, but putting in a little effort to give water droplets the force of bullets was quite easy.

Blood spread across the wide corridor.

Bright remained silent. He had not deliberately targeted these Marines' vital points, but neither had he intentionally avoided them.

In his previous life, he had only been an ordinary person. From childhood to adulthood, he had never even killed a chicken.

But in this life, he had grown up in the Fish-Man District, where bad kids were everywhere—a savage, violent shark.

He stepped forward, planting his foot on a hand reaching toward the Den Den Mushi that had fallen to one side.

Bright looked down at the Navy captain, whose flushed face was raised toward him in unwilling resentment.

Iron Body?

No wonder his neck was so tough.

"You... are actually... this strong?" The captain's hoarse voice was filled with disbelief.

"It just wasn't time to show it before."

Bright kicked the captain hard in the chest, sending the man crashing into the wall like a cannonball. Even the wall made of special metal caved in slightly.

"Now we're even."

Bright took a deep breath.

The first step of the plan had been completed perfectly. No doctor had come, sparing him from having to make his move in the prison. That had cut a great deal of distance from his escape.

All he had to do next was charge straight to the base's harbor, jump into the sea, and then no one would ever be able to stop him again.

Who could stop a fish-man in the sea?

He should thank this base's builders. They had made it too large and too complicated, to the point that even internal personnel could easily get lost, so maps had been engraved at certain key locations.

Now was the time for them to come in handy.

Bright loosened up his body.

Once he charged out of here, there would be no chance to catch his breath. He had to rush all the way to the finish in one go.

Otherwise, everything would be over.

After recovering the memories of his previous life, Bright had not really had any great ambitions.

He had originally only planned to muddle through a year in Impel Down, then return to Fish-Man Island, find a job, learn Haki and martial arts from Jinbe, and wait for Straw Hat Kid to set sail and the Revolutionary Army to overthrow the Celestial Dragons.

Joy Boy would eventually fulfill the promise he had made to the Mermaid Princess eight hundred years ago, right?

But unfortunately, he had been brought here.

He did not want to die of old age in prison, and he wanted even less to be quietly disposed of by the government once he lost his value.

So, he chose to resist.

Unfortunately, he was too large. None of these Marines' clothes fit him. Otherwise, his movements might have been much easier.

Bright took a few steps forward and slowly exhaled, continuously recalling the base layout map he had seen earlier.

Then, he lowered his body and took a deep breath.

"Ready—"

Every muscle in his body had tensed.

"Run!"

Explosive power burst forth, turning Bright's tall body into an afterimage as he shot forward.

In the blink of an eye, he had already rushed out of the bathhouse area. In other words, he had reentered the surveillance zone.

Bright repeatedly flicked both hands, smashing every surveillance Den Den Mushi along the way with water droplets.

But that only applied to this area, which he knew relatively well.

If he kept running forward, he would enter an area he had only seen on the layout map.

He would not be able to eliminate the surveillance Den Den Mushi immediately.

There was even a patrol squad of Marines coming directly toward him around the corner ahead.

"You are—"

The Marines were stunned when they saw Bright charging toward them. They still had no idea what was happening.

"Shark Skin Palm Strike!"

Water gathered in his legs before transforming into explosive force. Bright shot into the air like a shadow, then, before the Marines could react at all, stomped against the ceiling to redirect himself.

The next second, he crashed into the Marine formation like a cannonball.

3000-Sheet Whirlwind Kick!

Like a tornado sweeping through, the Marines were engulfed by the storm and sent flying like fallen leaves.

Bright did not stop at all. He strode forward.

There was not much farther to go.

Now, it was time to gamble on whether the Science Unit's reaction speed or his movement speed was faster!

In the surveillance room, the Marines finally noticed that something was wrong.

"That fish-man!! He's escaping!!"

"Damn it! Something happened! His target is the harbor! Notify the control room and lower the blockade gates!"

"Report to our superiors immediately! Stop him before he escapes into the sea!!"

The piercing alarm tore through the base's silent night. Flashing red lights set everyone's nerves on edge.

"Water Strike!"

Bright flung a series of water droplets, knocking away the last few Marines in front of him.

But he felt no joy at all.

This was already the fifth patrol squad he had defeated.

The intervals between their appearances before him were getting shorter and shorter.

It was only natural. His whereabouts had remained exposed. The longer this dragged on, the more people would block his path.

"Shark Skin Palm Strike!!"

Water gathered in his legs once more.

This explosive move had not originally been meant for travel, but he could not worry about that now.

Bright surged forward like lightning.

"Seventeenth Squad defeated!"

"Ninth and Thirteenth Squads defeated!"

"Damn it, even Major Koonitz was defeated!!"

"Don't worry, he can't escape!! Iron Wall awaits him ahead!"

"Haah... haah... haah..."

Bright gasped heavily, clutching his left shoulder with his right hand. A not-too-deep bloody hole there was still bleeding, and there were quite a few other injuries across his body as well.

The enemies surrounding him were growing more numerous and more powerful. Earlier, he had encountered someone proficient in Three Forms, Six Styles. During the encirclement, a moment of carelessness had allowed that man to pierce his shoulder with a Finger Pistol.

Fortunately, he had still managed to break out safely in the end.

Past the temporary warehouse ahead was the harbor.

Bright took a deep breath and pushed open the warehouse door.

"Fire!"

A roar came from behind the door.

Then came a rapid barrage like a storm.

Bright hid far from the doorway, watching helplessly as the wall outside was riddled with bullet holes.

He knew there had to be an ambush.

With that kind of firepower, there had to be at least several hundred men.

Once the gunfire briefly subsided, Bright quickly leaped over and poked his head out for a look.

Just one look, and then he immediately turned and ran without even glancing back, not hesitating in the slightest.

The warehouse was packed with Marines.

Behind them, the gate leading to the harbor had already been shut.

And in front of the Marines stood a man—a man wearing a Justice Coat, with the rank of Rear Admiral on his shoulders!

He could not win. Breaking through head-on was absolutely impossible.

Damn it, he could only carry out Plan B!

He could only take a gamble!

Bright forced himself to recall the base layout map and began the second round of his escape.

Inside the surveillance room.

"What's going on? That guy is running back!"

"Damn it, did he realize he definitely can't break through the encirclement?"

"Notify our superiors quickly! Stop sending troops to the harbor! That guy is moving toward other areas!"

The Marines rapidly adjusted their direction. This time, it was no minor skirmish. Every force was a unit of over a hundred men led by an officer at colonel rank!

Bright knew very well that as time passed, the Marine forces surrounding him would grow stronger and stronger, so he had to use his head.

He did not head directly toward his target. While searching for and destroying surveillance Den Den Mushi along the way, he began circling around. Once he had destroyed many of them, he started retreating.

"Damn it! We can't see that guy anymore!"

"Where did he hide?"

"It's fine! We've already surrounded that area! He can't escape even if he grows wings!"

Bright knew that even if he had temporarily escaped surveillance, the Marines would soon compress this entire space down to nothing. He did not have any time to catch his breath.

But it was already enough.

Bright immediately turned around and headed for his true destination.

More Marines should have already been led in the other direction, right?

When Bright reappeared on surveillance, the Marines in the surveillance room were startled.

"What's going on? Why is that guy heading deeper into the base?"

"It's fine! Colonel Ronald is nearby! He can't escape!"

Bright ran with all his strength, calculating as he moved forward.

Then, finally, just as he was getting very close to his destination, a Marine unit blocked the way ahead.

"Halt! This is as far as you go, fish-man!"

The Marine colonel holding a long sword shouted, "You have nowhere left to run. Surrender without resistance!"

Behind him, hundreds of Marine soldiers aimed their guns at Bright.

Bright did not hesitate at all. He burst forward at full speed.

He was gambling.

And he won the gamble.

"Damn it!"

The Marine colonel gritted his teeth. "Do not fire! Draw your swords! Capture him!"

This fish-man was important experimental material for Doctor Vegapunk.

The Marines drew their swords and charged at Bright under the colonel's lead.

"Shave!"

Bright's vision blurred, and the Marine colonel instantly appeared before him, slashing down mercilessly.

So fast!

Bright gritted his teeth—literally.

He opened his mouth wide and bit down on the incoming blade.

Crack!

A crisp sound rang out.

"What?"

The colonel's expression abruptly changed.

This guy had actually bitten cracks into his sword!

It was not some famed blade, but it was still a finely forged weapon!

What he did not know was that a shark's greatest pride was, of course, its bite force.

3000-Sheet Straight Punch!

After blocking the colonel's sword, Bright drove a fist into his stomach.

"Iron Body!"

The impact felt as though he had struck steel, but the colonel was still sent flying, crashing into the wall to the side like a cannonball.

Bright did not bother with the Marine colonel at all. Using the same trick again, he leaped up, kicked off the wall on one side of the corridor, and vaulted straight over the Marines, who did not dare fire. Then he sprinted forward at top speed.

"Urgh—!"

The fallen colonel clutched his chest, his face deathly pale as blood spilled uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth. This guy had terrifying strength!

But he immediately wiped away the blood and roared, "Go after him!"

Bright ran onward.

The Marines were all wondering where exactly he intended to go.

The farther inward he went, the fewer escape routes there were.

Then, something that surprised them soon happened.

Bright arrived in front of a large door.

He pushed it open and walked inside, then locked it from within.

He had finally arrived.

"Huh? Isn't that where they store discarded items?"

"Yeah, all the doctor's failed products are in there."

"Is that guy's destination here? Don't tell me he wants to use the tools inside to escape?"

"That idiot, everything in there is nothing but useless failures! If the doctor hadn't wanted to keep them as souvenirs, they would've been thrown into the dump long ago!"

"There's no surveillance Den Den Mushi installed inside, so we can't confirm what's happening in there."

"It's fine. It's sealed off in there—he has nowhere to run. Once we gather a few more people, we'll break through head-on!"

The Marines felt they had victory in the bag.

Bright locked the door. He had no time to carefully inspect the room and immediately began searching.

It didn't take much effort. He soon found what he was looking for on a platform in the corner of the room.

It was a fruit that had been casually left there.

It was fiery red, its skin resembling scales.

He'd won the gamble.

It really was here!

Thanks to Today's Rain Is So Heavy and Winter Evening Breeze for their 100-point donations. Thank you, thank you.

Also, the contract's been signed, so please support me with some votes!