Ares's "Toy" When He Was Young

The sea roiled with turbulent waves.

Ares also noticed the enormous blue Fish-Man speeding through the seawater toward him.

"An enemy?"

A sharp glint burst from his eyes. It was a high-spirited, burning desire to fight.

Ares spread his mouth wide, revealing two rows of teeth as white as jade, and said excitedly, "Then I'll use this enemy to test the results of my training these past few days!"

His eyes, several times larger than those of an ordinary person, fixed brightly on the Fish-Man in the water. At the same time, his heart began to pound fiercely.

Excitement and anticipation!

A powerful surge of delight rose in his heart. He's so fast in the water!

If I learn how he generates force while swimming, will I be able to reach this speed in the water too—or even surpass him?!

With that, he stopped and focused intently on the Fish-Man shooting toward him.

Seeing Ares's expression, the Fish-Man Sebastian laughed smugly. "Foolish pirate, have you been scared silly by my speed in the water?"

"In seawater, we Fish-Man Race possess an exceptional advantage!"

"This is the mighty ability God bestowed upon the Fish-Man Race!"

In just a moment, the several-hundred-meter distance between them had shrunk to dozens of meters.

He reached out with his finned hand and scooped up the seawater, then flung it away in one fluid motion.

The seawater in his hand split into more than a dozen small water spheres.

Like bullets, they possessed tremendous penetrating power. They tore through the seawater and shot toward Ares at high speed!

They moved faster than bullets, yet still produced a series of sharp whooshes in the water.

"Great Flying Shark!!!"

This was an attack created from Fish-Man martial arts. It could turn harmless water droplets into lethal weapons comparable to, or even more powerful than, bullets!

"What an unusual technique!"

Ares was immediately astonished. This martial art was beyond his expectations and completely different from some of the Body Arts Whitebeard Newgate had taught him.

That attack was also deeply imprinted in his mind.

Faced with the Fish-Man's fierce attack, Ares suddenly bent his knees. His legs curled like a frog's before he kicked backward with explosive force.

Boom!

A large mass of seawater surged up, and his body abruptly shot more than ten meters forward, allowing him to evade the bullet-like water spheres.

Three seconds passed!

Including the time before that, roughly ten seconds had passed in total.

Fish-Man Sebastian also suddenly arrived in front of Ares. His voice was filled with judgmental contempt. "Go to hell!"

"Anyone who stands in the way of the Byrnndi World Pirates must die!"

He brought his feet together and gave them a gentle flick like a fish's tail. In an instant, he crossed the final few meters and appeared before Ares.

He threw a punch, driving the surging current toward Ares's face.

The next second.

Sebastian's expression changed, filled with disbelief. His heart jolted, and he shouted, "Impossible!"

"How can a human move so fast in the sea?!"

His confident punch had actually missed!

His expression immediately turned solemn. "No, that's not right. He clearly wasn't this fast before. Could it be that he was already fast in the water, but simply hadn't shown it?"

Sebastian looked up at Ares, who had raised his head above the surface to breathe, and sneered. "You almost fooled me, but in the sea, you have no chance of winning!"

"Five seconds. I'll take you down in five seconds!"

Ares drew a fierce breath, then plunged his head into the sea. His heart raced with excitement. What an unusual swimming method. It increased my speed in the sea by a huge amount.

I haven't completely mastered it yet, but I've already gained a lot. However...

I still can't quite grasp that method of attacking with seawater!

He reached out and tried to imitate the Fish-Man by grabbing the seawater, but its flow made it impossible for him to seize it with one hand and condense it into the kind of water spheres Sebastian had formed.

Ares firmly believed that if he kept studying and training, he would one day learn the Fish-Man Race's special attack as well.

But he had no time to comprehend it now, because Sebastian was already swinging his fist at him.

This time.

Ares also swung his fist to meet it. The seawater's resistance immediately made him feel as though the power in his fist had been weakened tremendously.

The resistance of seawater far exceeded that of air.

His punch felt extremely awkward. Not only had its power weakened, but its speed had also dropped considerably.

He finally understood why the strange, ugly blue Fish-Man before him had been boasting so arrogantly.

Boom!

Two fists of roughly equal size collided violently in the seawater, producing a dull impact.

The seawater around them churned into chaos.

"What?! This kid's strength is incredible!" Sebastian was shocked. His opponent was being suppressed by the seawater, yet that punch had still matched his own evenly.

What terrifying physical strength!

His expression changed drastically, and he cursed, "Damn it!"

Then he roared and threw another fierce punch. "Fish-Man Karate—Water Shot!!"

"Armament—Shatter Mountain Fist!"

Ares also let out a booming roar. His arm instantly turned red and hot, and thick, terrifying veins bulged from beneath his skin, winding across it like green snakes.

Even the cold seawater hissed as it evaporated, while vast amounts of white mist rose toward the surface.

The sight of his bizarre arm made Sebastian's heart jolt violently, and a powerful sense of unease welled up inside him.

Boom!!

Sebastian suddenly felt an enormous, irresistible force surge through his fist and slam into his body.

His body was sent flying backward in an instant.

A streak of bright-red blood gushed from his mouth. Mixed into the seawater, a stream of bubbles rose from his lips with a gurgle.

Ares grinned, secretly delighted. The captain was right. Fighting really can temper me. His punch seemed almost completely unaffected by the seawater's resistance.

If I can learn it, I'll definitely become stronger.

He did not pursue the advantage. Clamping his legs together, he swam to the surface with a splash, took another deep breath, then plunged his head back into the sea.

I have to learn more from that Fish-Man!

That was what he was thinking. It was just like several years ago, when he hunted on his home island. He would torture the beasts until they were on the verge of death, stopping only when they were barely clinging to life.

He would squeeze almost every bit of ability out of them!

Unlike ordinary children, whose toys might actually be toys, Ares's toys were the ferocious beasts scattered across the island.

The differences in their living environments had led them to encounter completely different things during childhood.

But they shared one thing in common: it was genuinely fun, and they were deeply interested in it!

When Ares raised his head above the surface for the second time, Bundy World could not help frowning. He muttered with some dissatisfaction, "What is that guy Sebastian doing??"

"Thirty seconds have already passed. Why hasn't he dealt with the enemy yet?!"