Unifying Fish-Man District

"Waaah!!"

With a scream, the towering fish-man was sent flying by a punch, crashing heavily to the ground and unable to get back up.

"So, so strong! Too strong!!"

Behind him, the fish-men who had been watching erupted in excited shouts. "He's as strong as the legends say!"

"Boss Bright! Please let us follow you!!"

The fish-men shouted excitedly.

Bright withdrew his fist, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Hey, hey, hey, these guys sure know how to go with the wind!"

Behind Bright, Kuroobi sneered. "Wasn't their former boss just taken down?"

"P-please, let me follow you too, Brother Bright—"

The former boss, lying on the ground, said with difficulty.

"Shahahahaha, that's only natural!"

Arlong laughed loudly. "Bright is the man who inherited Brother Fisher Tiger's will and will completely change Fish-Man Island!"

Quit flattering me already.

Bright had a headache.

Brother Arlong was indeed on his side now, but the reversal in attitude was a little too extreme.

He walked over to the fish-man lying on the ground. "Then you know what to do next, right?"

"Of course."

The defeated fish-man slowly nodded. Though his body was weak, his eyes burned brightly. "Please lead us forward, Boss Bright!"

The fish-men born in Fish-Man District had never received much proper education. The principle they followed was simple: the victor ruled.

It was no different from the pirates of the New World. The weak attached themselves to the strong, eventually gathering into enormous pirate crews.

By the time he had dealt with that group of fish-men, it was already very late. Bright was ready to go home and sleep.

"At this rate, there aren't many left."

On the way back, Kuroobi said seriously, "We're very close to our goal of unifying Fish-Man District."

"All this hard work finally wasn't for nothing."

Hachi chuckled. "To celebrate, Bright, want some takoyaki?"

Bright glanced sideways at him. As an octopus fish-man making takoyaki, didn't he feel ashamed?

"No, I don't eat the fish faction," he said casually.

This period had really been busy.

More than a month had passed since he had officially decided to become the boss of Fish-Man District.

Bright's life over that month had been very fulfilling.

During the day, he trained under Jinbe's supervision. After dinner, he faced an endless stream of gang challenges. Later, when fewer people came to challenge him, he began going to provoke them himself.

After more than a month of effort, it was finally about to end.

Fish-Man District was the dark side of Fish-Man Island. Its residents were completely beyond the control of Ryugu Palace.

Order was maintained by gangs of all sizes, and nearly every area had an influential figure.

Winning the support of all those figures would naturally make him the head of Fish-Man District.

It was something Fisher Tiger had once accomplished.

And now, Bright was close to accomplishing it too.

With Jinbe and Arlong supporting him, there had not been many who opposed him to begin with. Even though the limited time each night meant he could only beat up a few people, progress had been quick.

Along with those who immediately switched sides at the first sign of trouble, he was very close to his goal of unifying all of Fish-Man District.

As Bright went home to sleep, somewhere in Fish-Man District—

"Captain Vander Decken! Captain Vander Decken!! This is incredible! That Bright guy is really incredible!"

Someone shouted frantically, "Another gang was defeated by him! Next, he really is going to unify all of Fish-Man District just like Boss Fisher Tiger did!"

"So what?"

In the dark space, a man's voice was cold. "I don't give a damn who rules Fish-Man District. Instead of worrying about that, think about where we can rob more money!"

"Damn it, those poor bastards in Fish-Man District can't be squeezed for any money! We should just go rob humans after all!"

The next day, when Bright was preparing to go to Mermaid Cafe for breakfast, Brother Arlong appeared before him right on schedule.

"Latest news," Arlong said. "Other than a few still sitting on the fence, the remaining idiots are preparing to join forces against you."

"Looks like they're pretty dissatisfied with me."

Bright smiled.

The fish-men of Fish-Man District came in all kinds. Some were friendly toward him, and naturally, many were sick of him.

"Do you think you're Beli? That everyone likes you?"

Arlong laughed loudly. "But it doesn't matter. As long as we crush them in the end, all of Fish-Man District will obey your every command."

Strictly speaking, the position of boss of Fish-Man District should have been more like a leader recognized by everyone, a shared ruler. He would not have absolute control over Fish-Man District, so obeying his every command was out of the question.

But it was enough.

"This is good too."

Bright stretched lazily. "Let's do it tonight. The sooner this ends, the better."

"Shahahahaha! I'll notify them and tell them to wash their necks and wait for death!"

"...It doesn't need to go that far."

Today was another full day of training.

When training ended, Jinbe said, "It's about time."

"What?" Bright had no idea what he meant.

"Your training in Armament Haki and Observation Haki should be about complete."

Jinbe smiled. "You've felt that you were just one step away many times already, haven't you?"

Bright nodded thoughtfully.

Just as Jinbe said, there had been several times before when he felt he was about to draw out his Haki, but every time, he fell just short and failed at the last moment.

"Tonight might be the opportunity."

Jinbe said, "You're ready, right, Bright?"

"Of course."

Bright smiled and nodded.

He suddenly found himself looking forward to it.

What exactly did using Haki feel like?

As night deepened, Bright arrived deep within Fish-Man District, not far from Sea Forest, accompanied by Jinbe and Arlong.

Following behind him were the various minor bosses who had acknowledged him as the leader of Fish-Man District.

Further behind them were the underlings of underlings.

"Isn't this too many people?"

Hachi looked back in surprise from time to time. "There have to be at least ten thousand people, right?"

"Shahahaha, Hachi, how many people in Fish-Man District do you think have decided to follow Bright now? This is only the more enthusiastic portion!"

Arlong laughed loudly. "Tonight is the final battle! Who wouldn't be interested?"

Hachi looked at Bright's back as he walked at the front. That child who had followed behind them since he was little was now going to unify all of Fish-Man District?

Soon, they arrived at the agreed location.

There were even more people here. Fish-men had almost surrounded the area, leaving only an open space in the center.

Just as Arlong had said, there were truly many people here to watch the excitement.

And tonight's opponents stood in the middle of the clearing surrounded by the spectators.

A large force led by several fish-man leaders. Bright estimated that their total numbers exceeded a thousand.

The faces of those fish-man leaders went pale the moment they saw the formation on Bright's side.

The difference in numbers was far too great.

Even Jinbe had come.

How could they possibly win in a direct battle?

Bright smiled and stepped forward two paces. "If I defeat you, you'll follow me, right?"

One fish-man gritted his teeth and stubbornly raised his chin. "That's right! Although you're a half-blood, if we lose to you, we'll have nothing to say!"

But—

Don't think we'll accept being outnumbered—

"Then let's begin."

Bright walked forward slowly. "It doesn't matter if all of you come at once. Your opponent is me alone."

"What!"

The fish-man who had spoken froze. "Bright, are you serious? There are more than a thousand of us!"

"You're the ones who should be worried."

Electricity began crackling across Bright's body. "It's only a thousand people. If you want to be my enemy, bring out at least a hundred thousand."

Jinbe merely smiled with his arms crossed.

If Bright truly went all out, a hundred thousand might really not be a problem.

He only needed to transform into a red dragon and breathe fire and lightning.

"Brother Bright!!"

Hearing Bright's bold declaration, the fish-men following behind him began cheering excitedly.

This was exactly the arrogance they wanted!

"He said a hundred thousand?"

Excited smiles also appeared on the faces of the fish-men opposite them. "What an arrogant bastard!"

"Hahahaha! Fine, come at us, Bright!! If you can win, then what's wrong with following you!"

"Then, let's begin!"

A blue figure shot forward like lightning, trailing long arcs of blue electricity.

So fast!!

The pupils of one of the leading fish-men contracted. He could not even see Bright's movements clearly.

The next instant, he felt a pain in his stomach and was kicked flying.

Like a cannonball, the fish-man flew backward, knocking away every fish-man in his path.

"What ridiculous strength!!"

Another fish-man leader cried out in panic. "What kind of monster is this guy—"

He only got halfway through his sentence before a large hand wrapped in lightning seized his throat.

"Waaah!"

With a scream, he was thrown away, knocking down every fish-man along his path.

Amid the searing pain, all he could see was a blue flash weaving back and forth through the crowd, accompanied by countless fish-men being sent flying.

"Everyone, attack him together!! No matter how strong he is, he's only one person!"

"No, he's too fast! We can't keep up with him at all!"

"Too strong! This guy is way too strong!!"

Cries of shock and screams rang out in unison.

"Shahahahaha! This is practically a slaughter!"

Arlong laughed loudly. "But that's only natural, because it's Bright!!"

Blue lightning leaped into the sky, then crashed down with a thunderous boom.

The ground shattered in an instant, and the spreading shockwave blew away the fish-men around him.

"That's enough!! Stop, Bright—no, Boss Bright!"

A fish-man shouted, "We lost!"

Bright slowly let out a breath and looked around. Very few fish-men were still standing.

He looked toward the fish-man who had spoken.

The fish-man was half-kneeling on the ground, panting heavily as he looked up at him with excitement. "That power—such overwhelming power!! Brother Jinbe and Arlong were right. You are the man who will lead Fish-Man District forward!!"

"Boss Bright!!"

"Boss Bright!!"

Cheers suddenly erupted.

At first, they came from the still-conscious fish-men who had originally opposed him. Then came the fish-men following Bright, and finally, every fish-man who had come to watch.

The unified cheers nearly shook the enormous bubble overhead.

Bright looked around. As far as his eyes could see, there were excited, fanatical smiles.

He clenched his right fist.

An invisible ripple silently wrapped around it.

Without even noticing, he had awakened it naturally.

Bright smiled and raised his right fist high.

"From today onward, I will lead you forward!"

"Yeah!!!"