Brawling

The so-called "Fish-Man Race" is a special race on this sea, their appearances often bearing half-human, half-fish characteristics.

Due to historical issues, until a few decades ago, the Fish-Man Race was still treated as "fish."

And because of their tough physiques, coupled with a monstrous strength twenty times that of ordinary humans, "Fish-Man slaves" were extremely popular in the slave market.

The Fish-Man Race's resentment toward humans had festered for a long time, and even the goodwill of a few humans could not ease the conflict between the two sides.

"The vast majority" of Fish-Men and "the vast majority" of humans regarded each other as enemies.

To break this deadlock, the then-queen of the Fish-Man Island's Ryugu Palace, "Otohime," advocated for "coexistence with humans," seeking to change the future of Fish-Men and Mermaids.

This great queen would even, in the near future, rescue a fallen Celestial Dragon and attempt to use that as a medium to establish a rational channel of communication with the World Government.

This act would, indeed, in the more distant future, create a rare Celestial Dragon who came to his senses, named "Saint Mjosgard."

But for now, Queen Otohime's stance still seemed naive, and the vast majority of Fish-Men remained hostile toward humans.

And at this very moment, another Fish-Man of considerable prestige among his race grew increasingly hateful toward humans, barely able to suppress his rage.

His name was "Fisher Tiger"!

Bang!

A heavy punch slammed down, landing squarely on Aiven Lindsey's cheek.

Fisher Tiger clenched his fist, veins bulging on his upper arm, trying to end the fight in a single blow from the start!

But as the punch landed, Tiger's expression couldn't help but stiffen.

He felt like he wasn't hitting someone's "face," but rather smashing his fist into a hard seabed, unable to budge it an inch!

"Ugh..."

Tiger grunted in pain, realizing that his opponent's strength was no joke, completely different from those human slaves before!

Long years of slavery had already driven this Fish-Man's disgust for humans to its peak.

He didn't want to haggle with humans, but now that a chance at freedom was right in front of him, even if it came from the mouth of a disgusting Celestial Dragon, Tiger wasn't willing to give it up easily.

He just wanted to go home, to see those brats in the Fish-Man District again, and the shining Fish-Man Island...

"Hey, human!"

Pulling back his slightly numb fist, Tiger quickly closed in on Lindsey and whispered, "Listen to me, I have a plan!"

His two hands grabbed Lindsey's wrists, creating the illusion of a stalemate, and he continued to explain:

"That Celestial Dragon, Saint Ecowina, he's an arrogant fool, easy to fool."

"He'll probably keep his promise. Just let me knock you down, and while he's getting cocky, we can escape!"

"..."

Tiger's suggestion wasn't unreasonable.

From a rational standpoint, fighting a Celestial Dragon to the end was no different from taking on the World Government and the Marines at the same time.

No one on this sea could do that.

Luckily, Saint Ecowina wasn't the type to kill indiscriminately; he just liked to flaunt his superiority.

If that could be satisfied, then both Lindsey and Tiger had a chance to make their move!

"Reasonable. I don't seem to have a reason to refuse."

Lindsey stared into Tiger's bloodshot eyes.

The former's height of over three meters, plus his perfect muscles, made him tall and sturdy among humans, but still a bit short of Tiger's massive body of over five meters.

But when it came to their momentum at this moment, the two were evenly matched.

Lindsey grinned, the pupils in his eyes already shifting into the shape of the Kun Trigram, his Devil Fruit Ability ready to burst forth, and he said excitedly:

"But I just want to experience for myself what a Fish-Man's punch really feels like!"

"..."

"You madman!"

Tiger muttered.

He had never seen a human like this; he felt the guy wasn't a real "person," more like a wild beast, exuding an aura that was extremely hard to read.

This feeling left Tiger uneasy, even a bit creeped out, and he couldn't help but roar:

"Don't you want to live? What the hell are you trying to do!"

"Enjoy the moment!"

Lindsey laughed, his wrists suddenly swelling, two Demon Horns sprouting from his head, and his skin turning crimson red.

In the blink of an eye, the "human" in front of Tiger vanished, replaced by a bizarre giant beast with thick limbs, even a head taller than him!

Earth Demon Form!

In this state, aside from the special ability to destroy the land, Lindsey's physical constitution had also been greatly enhanced, making his already terrifying monstrous strength even more astonishing.

He raised his thick, massive fist and slammed it down toward Tiger.

Bam!

Tiger crossed his arms to block, only to feel both hands go numb from the shock, forcing him to stumble back several steps.

"Tch..."

After this round of exchanges, genuine anger had been stirred up in Tiger's heart.

Was this a Devil Fruit user?

Whatever his ability, he was still a disgusting human being!

If he wanted to fight, then let him see the pride of the Fish-Man Race!

Thud!

Tiger stomped his rear foot against the ground, forcibly steadying himself, then clenched his heavy fist and swung it once more at Lindsey.

The strength of the Fish-Man Race was already twenty times that of humans, and Fisher Tiger was renowned across Fish-Man Island for his monstrous strength.

His fist—there were probably few people on this sea who dared to take it head-on!

Yet Lindsey had no intention of dodging, instead taking Tiger's punches fully.

Even while being hit, he burst out laughing.

"Come on, fish-man, let's trade blows!"

He clenched his own heavy fist and launched a fierce assault at Tiger in return.

The two exchanged blows back and forth, dull thuds mixed with roars and wild laughter echoing throughout the entire Arena.

On the blood-soaked spectator stands, Saint Ecowina was clapping and laughing excitedly.

"Good, good, what a fight!"

This was the feeling he loved.

The lowly commoners beating each other up while he, a Celestial Dragon, watched from the sidelines—truly the height of amusement!

And for Saint Ecowina, who had watched countless fights, he could naturally see the gap in strength between the two sides.

The fish-man was powerful, but ultimately no match for that unknown Zoan-type Devil Fruit user.

A victor was about to be decided!

On the field.

After the relentless exchange of blows, Tiger was already panting heavily.

On the other side, though Lindsey's face bore a few minor injuries, they were merely superficial wounds, and his eyes still gleamed with excitement.

In the blink of an eye, Lindsey spotted a gap in Tiger's defense.

He straightened his right index finger, put force into it, and then thrust it forward sharply, stabbing directly into Tiger's neck.

Pfft!

"Excellent!"

Saint Ecowina jumped up in excitement.

But when he got a clear look at the situation on the field, his expression twisted into one of utter bewilderment.

The bloody scene he had anticipated did not appear.

Lindsey's finger had not stabbed into Tiger's neck—instead, it had stabbed into the Explosion Collar around his neck!

"Metal and gunpowder are both processed minerals, and part of the land."

Lindsey had been pondering a question.

"Since I can destroy the land, what about 'metal'?"

The "pattern" in his pupils began to spin rapidly, then locked onto something in an instant.

In that moment, every vein of the Explosion Collar's interior—its structure, its materials, even the tiny flaws within it—were all perceived by Lindsey in his Earth Demon Form.

That feeling was like taking apart a toy as a child—everything suddenly became clear!

"All I have to do is destroy this part..."

Ability activated—

Crack!

Accompanied by a crisp sound, the Explosion Collar around Tiger's neck instantly came loose and clattered to the ground with a clang!

Under Fisher Tiger's stunned gaze, Lindsey clapped his hands excitedly and laughed loudly: "Find the internal weak point of the metal, then shatter it in one blow..."

"Haha, good, I've got it!"