Humans and Merfolk Are Different

"Hmph!"

Before Arlong could respond, the fish-man Kuroobi let out a cold snort and couldn't help stepping forward first.

"Crafty human!"

"No matter what you say, if you want to challenge Arlong, you'll have to defeat me first!"

The moment the words fell.

Kuroobi dashed straight up to Will, planted his stance, and pulled his fist back in a charging motion.

Fish-man Karate: Hundred Tile Crushing Fist!

Kuroobi finished his charge, aimed at Will's chest, and swung a heavy punch.

Boom—!

Yet that fist slammed into Will's chest without budging his body an inch.

"What?!"

Kuroobi froze at the sight, then couldn't help revealing a shocked expression: "How is this possible!"

Will felt no pain in his chest, only a slight itch.

So he spoke flatly, offering a reminder: "Put some strength into it."

Kuroobi snapped back to reality, then roared loudly as he charged and swung again:

"Die already! Thousand Tile Crushing Fist!!"

Boom—!!

But this punch landed on Will's abdomen, still producing no effect at all.

Will carefully gauged the force of the blow, frowning slightly:

"You can't even hit hard enough to hurt someone, and you still claim you fish-men are stronger than humans?"

"Damn it! Don't you dare insult us fish-men!!"

Hearing this, Kuroobi was consumed by rage, and he threw another full-power punch.

But this time, his attack didn't land on Will.

Instead, Will caught his fist with one hand, holding it steady.

Kuroobi tried to pull his fist back, but found he couldn't.

He felt as if his fist was embedded in steel, completely immobile.

After personally experiencing his opponent's caliber, Will felt deeply disappointed.

Then he looked at the fish-man with the twin braids before him and said flatly:

"Today, I'll teach you one thing."

"There's a difference between humans and fish-men."

"You punch me, and I'm fine. But if I punch you, you'll die."

The moment the words fell.

Will released the other's fist, and his free hand shot out in an instant, leaving a blur between them!

Iron Body: Inch Punch!

Boom—!

With a dull thud, Will's fist briefly contacted Kuroobi's chest before swiftly retracting.

The struck Kuroobi stood frozen in place.

Then he felt his heart burst with a "bang" inside his body.

Immediately after, an indescribable pain wracked his frame, making him jolt violently.

Then the force Will had concealed in his chest suddenly erupted, sending Kuroobi flying backward, feet leaving the ground.

Boom—!

After crashing through several unlucky fish-men along the way, Kuroobi smashed straight through the courtyard wall and flew out entirely.

He lay in a cloud of dust, unmoving.

Will remained expressionless, slowly withdrawing his hand and standing still.

But the fish-men present were all stunned by the sight; many gaped unconsciously, staring blankly.

Even Arlong, watching this, wore a look of shock and uncertainty.

Because even he could never have so easily taken two punches from Kuroobi head-on.

Much less taken Kuroobi out with a single punch.

But the dumbfounded octopus Hachi beside him wasn't thinking that far ahead.

Seeing his comrade Kuroobi sent flying by that damn human, he immediately raised his six large blades with fury, shouting anxiously:

"You bastard! You've thoroughly pissed me off!"

Then he introduced himself unprompted: "Don't underestimate me—each of my swords weighs 300 kilograms!"

"That's way heavier than the weapons you humans use, you jerk!"

After saying that, Hachi pressed the six blades together, aiming their tips at Will before him, and roared with full force:

"Six Sword Style: Octopus Jar!"

"New Spring!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Hachi charged forward violently, his entire body like a sharp blade.

But Will had already lifted his right leg the instant Hachi assumed his attack stance.

Rankyaku: Vacuum Spear!

In the split second Hachi moved, Will snapped his leg forward, kicking out a straight, pale-blue line of slashing energy that shot ahead like a spear.

Seeing that pale-blue beam far faster than his own speed, Hachi's eyes couldn't hide a flicker of terror, but he had no time to dodge.

Pshh—!

The pale-blue slash made contact with Hachi, easily shattering the six blades, then pierced straight through his chest without losing momentum.

Hachi didn't even have time to feel the pain; he opened his mouth and vomited a large pool of blood.

Then he collapsed weakly to his knees, his six arms drooping to the sides.

Trembling, he slowly lowered his head, staring at his chest and muttering: "Such a big... hole..."

After that, Hachi lay down slowly on the ground, his eyes gradually losing their light.

But Will paid no attention to this, instead noticing a figure who had taken the chance to run over to the pool.

A fish-man was there, frantically sucking in water with his mouth, his belly rapidly swelling.

Meanwhile, Arlong on the other side seemed to be stirring as well.

So Will decisively lifted his leg and kicked hard at the ground, aiming straight for Arlong's position.

Rankyaku: Ground Walk!

A pale-blue slash raced along the ground toward Arlong, slicing through every stone and brick in its path.

Kami-e: Ghost Step!

After pinning down Arlong's attention, Will's footwork grew erratic, and using the enemy's blind spots, he swiftly moved to the poolside.

The fish-man Chuu had been nervously watching the human while sucking in water and building up power.

But just as the human launched an attack at Arlong, he couldn't help blinking.

In that instant, the human vanished from his sight.

"Huh? Where'd he go?!"

Chuu stopped sucking water in alarm, stood up, and looked around in confusion, completely unaware that someone was silently watching him from behind.

"Watch out! Dodge!"

After evading the ground slash, Arlong immediately noticed Chuu's situation and shouted with a twisted expression!

Soft Palm: Brain Tremor!

But Will gave the enemy no time to react; he raised both hands and struck Chuu's temples on either side of his head.

Two special forces pierced straight through the skull, causing his brain to shake and rattle for several seconds.

The next moment, Chuu suddenly bled from all seven orifices, his eyes quickly losing their luster, and his hands slowly fell limp.

Then his whole body collapsed powerlessly into the pool beside him.

And because his belly was filled with a large amount of seawater, Chuu's body kept sinking until it reached the bottom of the pool.