What Did You Just Say?

For a moment, Rodney's eyes sparkled as he looked at Kuroobi. Compared to this world, the taijutsu of the Naruto world fell short in quite a few areas.

Naruto's taijutsu emphasized coordination and flexibility, while the taijutsu here was more straightforward and destructive. Of course, that was also because the people in this world had much stronger physiques.

But ordinary taijutsu could not compare to its destructive power.

The Marine Six Styles, Fish-Man Karate, Hasshoken... There were countless taijutsu schools. With the Sharingan's ability to observe movements, he could copy them perfectly, while Chakra could replace muscular force. There was no problem using taijutsu that looked similar but was not quite the same.

The only difference was that its power would vary depending on the user. But as his physical strength grew and his Chakra continued to increase, its power would definitely surge.

Thinking of this, Rodney smiled faintly. He imitated Kuroobi and assumed a stance, which enraged Kuroobi. "Damn human! You actually stole our Fish-Man Karate?! I'll definitely kill you! Fish-Man Karate: Rising Back Kick!"

A high kick came flying toward Rodney.

"Fish-Man Karate: Rising Back Kick!"

The two once again kicked at each other with the same attack. Kuroobi was furious. Being attacked with his own technique—and by a human he had always looked down on—made him especially enraged.

He possessed a black belt in Fish-Man Karate. In his heart, this was his pride. This human was trampling on his pride. He had no idea which traitorous fish-man had taught the pride of the fish-men to this disgusting human, who was now using it against him.

"I'll use the essence of Fish-Man Karate against you and make you understand that humans can never surpass fish-men!"

As he spoke, he placed his right fist beside his waist and raised his left hand in a knife-hand position.

100 Brick Fist!

In water, it could shatter a hundred bricks with a single blow, and that was used to measure the fist's power. Water resistance was immense, and even fish-men were affected by it. On land, this technique was faster because there was no water resistance, while its speed decreased in water.

"That stance..."

Watching Kuroobi's stance, Rodney's eyes captured his movements and the activity of his muscles. He assumed the same stance, and Chakra flowed toward his fist!

"Fish-Man Karate: 100 Brick Fist!"

"Fish-Man Karate: 100 Brick Fist!"

Boom!

Their fists collided, and immense force pressed against immense force. Neither Kuroobi nor Rodney retreated an inch.

A fierce wind swept through, flinging the roof tiles into the air. The surrounding trees shook violently, as though they might collapse at any moment.

The first to lose was Rodney. After all, he had imitated the technique with the Sharingan and Chakra. It was similar but not identical, and it was ultimately different from the genuine version.

The hand he had used to punch Kuroobi throbbed painfully and could not move for the time being.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have gotten carried away." Rodney retreated and stood on the roof. His right hand was temporarily unusable, but learning part of Fish-Man Karate was still worthwhile.

It would take some time to recover. For now... He lowered his gaze and saw Kuroobi looking smug. The stern fish-man was delighted that he had defeated this human in Fish-Man Karate.

So innocent...

"Hmph! Humans can never compare to fish-men! How could a mere human possibly be a match for a fish-man?" Kuroobi said.

At that moment, Arlong, Chew, and an octopus-man with six arms led a group of people ashore.

Huh? The Water Clone couldn't hold out?

Whatever. I'll just blow this place up...

He, Rodney, was an artist!

Arlong glared at Rodney with eyes bulging in rage. "Despicable human! You used that despicable trick again! My comrades! My comrades..."

It looked like the Water Clone had taken out quite a few fish-men underwater.

The Water Clone was especially useful in this kind of environment, much like a substitute. Shadow Clones would take away a considerable amount of Chakra, which was wasteful, but after giving a Water Clone some Chakra, he could leave it alone.

The only bad thing was that its memories did not return. Otherwise, he would not need to use Shadow Clones.

"Oh? Is that so... Shadow Clone!"

Another clone appeared beside him. With his temporarily usable right hand, he took three Shuriken from his waist pouch and threw them. The Shadow Clone also tossed out its Shuriken.

The Shuriken easily passed by Arlong and the others. Hachi, the octopus-man beside them, smugly said, "Humans are humans. They can't even throw a weapon properly."

Thin Steel Wire was tied to the Shuriken. Biting down on the wire, Rodney also pulled it back with his left hand.

The Shuriken spun in midair, changing its trajectory and binding the group!

"Hm? You think this flimsy thing can bind us fish-men?" Arlong sneered disdainfully, not taking Rodney seriously at all.

The Shadow Clone formed hand seals, with one of the Steel Wires clenched between its teeth!

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Scorching flames traveled along the Steel Wire and burned toward the four fish-men.

"Damn it!" Arlong hurriedly snapped the Steel Wire. Kuroobi and Hachi did the same, running toward the pool.

Chew did not do so. Instead, he opened his mouth and spat, choosing to extinguish the flames with the seawater in his stomach.

Unfortunately, how could flames ignited with Chakra and burning at such a high temperature be extinguished by such a small amount of seawater?

When the water touched the flames, it evaporated instantly.

Water could indeed extinguish flames, but when the flames were hot and powerful enough, a little water was useless.

"Ahhh!"

Chew was set ablaze. The scorching flames turned him into a torch, and the agony was unbearable.

The pain made him snap the Steel Wire. He leaped into the pool.

Not long afterward, Arlong, Kuroobi, and Hachi the octopus-man came ashore carrying Chew, who was burned on the outside and tender on the inside. Not a single patch of skin on Chew's body was intact, and his hair had been burned away completely.

Rodney received Healing Technique from his clone, and his right hand could move again. He still could not make any large movements, but as he looked at the heavily injured Chew below, he smiled and said, "You overestimated yourself. Fire does far more damage than water."

"Human! I'll kill you!" This time, Arlong no longer chose to watch. He had already heard Kuroobi say underwater that this human knew Fish-Man Karate. Such a threat had to be eliminated!

He made a huge leap, opened his mouth, and pounced toward Rodney. Rodney and his clone easily dodged, and the building beneath them was smashed apart. Arlong broke through the wall and emerged, now holding a large sawtoothed blade.

Great Sawtooth Blade!

Looking at the blade, Rodney clicked his tongue and clenched his fist. He felt he was almost ready, but against Arlong, he could only use hit-and-run tactics. His Chakra was still plentiful, but he had to remain cautious against a fish-man.

Arlong bent both legs and suddenly pushed off. Like a torpedo fired from a submarine, he charged over and swung his blade downward!

Shark Water Bullet!

"Leaf Dragon God!"

Rodney's body spun, and a dragon-shaped whirlwind appeared. It slammed into Arlong's blade and instantly sent him flying into the sea.

The Shadow Clone charged toward Kuroobi.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"

Invisible bullets of air struck Kuroobi, making him cry out in pain. Several bloody holes appeared in each of his arms and across his chest.

Blood gushed from the wounds.

"How could this be? What kind of ability is this?" Many Wind Style attacks were invisible. Unless they had mastered Observation Haki, possessed a Chakra-sensing technique, or had a Dojutsu like the Sharingan that could see Chakra, techniques like Vacuum Sphere posed an enormous threat to these people.

"An ability to send you to the afterlife!"

The Shadow Clone shouted coldly, but at that moment, waves surged, and droplets of water shot toward it like bullets.

Compared to the main body, Shadow Clones were far too fragile. Even a small attack would make them vanish. After being struck by those droplets, it disappeared instantly.

Arlong emerged from the sea unscathed. He had been the one to do that just now.

As a "shark species" among fish-men, he could make full use of this trait. He could display tremendous power in water and even use ordinary water like "buckshot." That was exactly what he had done.

"Let me show you the might of a mer-man!" As if grabbing an object, he scooped up a handful of seawater, sending countless droplets flying.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

The flames incinerated the droplets and evaporated them into steam, forcing Arlong to dodge. Rodney asked, "What did you just say?"