Clash

"Damn it! Those bastards on the last island must have tipped off the Navy—we should have robbed them back then!"

"Cut it out, don't complain. Fisher Tiger won't be happy if he hears that."

"Don't just stand there! Anyone who can't fight, get down to the gun deck!"

"Yahoo! Shing-shing-shing, shing-shing-shing..."

Quite a few Fish-Men were grumbling and cursing, since most of the combatants came from the Fish-Man District.

Only Hachi was acting all excited, waving his six swords around while making sound effects with his mouth!

He had "I don't want to steer at all" written all over his face, and didn't even notice Brother Jinbe glaring at him.

Unlike the ships of ordinary single-vessel pirate crews, the Sea Bass had a dedicated gun deck below the main deck—actually two layers of gun decks.

On typical pirate ships, aside from the ram, armor, and more deck cannons, the cabin layout was more like a merchant vessel, with large cargo holds—since, in a way, pirates also had to "load cargo" everywhere they went.

But the Sun Pirates were different. They had no interest in looting or treasure hunting, and since the entire crew was of the Fish-Man Race, they didn't even need to stock fresh water. So they had two gun decks!

And because they were all Fish-Men, the crew quarters were positioned opposite to normal ships. Ordinary ships put the crew cabins on the first deck below the main deck for ventilation and dryness, but the Sea Bass's crew quarters were at the very bottom. Some Eve branches were used as materials to let sunlight reach the lowest level—the main body of Eve could transmit sunlight to the entire Fish-Man Island.

Sometimes, to stabilize the ship, they could let water in and soak—it was more comfortable. For the Fish-Man Race, this was probably the best environment of any ship.

As for Sig, who lost his Fish-Man traits when he slept, he was given special permission to hang a hammock on the deck...

Unlike Sig's first water battle, the Sea Bass charged straight at the southeastern fleet without hesitation, exchanging cannon fire with the Navy!

Unlike naval battles in low-martial-arts worlds, where it was all about cannon accuracy and armor thickness, this exchange had a key deciding factor—catching cannonballs barehanded!

"Fire!" Tiger gave the order with a timely wave of his hand.

Jinbe was personally steering. First, because his sailing skills were the best, and second... to give the "little brothers" a chance to train.

Unless the Navy sent a headquarters officer, Jinbe and Aladdin wouldn't step in. Tiger would go to the lead ship to keep an eye on things, worried that these wild kids might go berserk and start slaughtering.

The Sea Bass's gun positions scored first, blasting a hole in the outer armor of a frigate. Cheers erupted on the deck.

But just then, an enemy cannonball was about to land on the Sea Bass's deck. Kuroobi, wearing his martial arts uniform, leaped up and kicked the cannonball into the water, then landed back gracefully.

Another round of cheers and applause rang out.

Kuroobi was young, part of the New Generation on the ship, with great talent in Fish-Man Karate. He always kept a straight face, putting on the airs of an old-school martial artist.

But Sig keenly noticed Willy clicking his tongue in disdain.

Earlier, he had tried to poach Kuroobi, but got a blunt rejection that didn't save face.

When another cannonball came flying over, Willy let out a loud shout, stepped forward, and swung his iron hammer...

Duang—

A loud crash, and the cannonball was sent flying back, punching straight through the enemy's outer armor!

Even louder cheers erupted.

At this point, Willy was stronger than Arlong by a notch, since he was older—only a bit younger than Jinbe and the others, half a generation ahead of Arlong.

But this killer whale Fish-Man was a bit petty. Normally, this was a chance for the elite fighters to shine, but he rushed to show off. Sig clearly noticed many young Fish-Men curling their lips.

Still, even with internal rivalry, it was mostly within the bounds of healthy competition. When it came to real fighting, everyone united against the enemy.

"Listen up, Fish-Man Pirates! Drop your weapons immediately, hand over the escaped slaves from Mary Geoise, and surrender on the spot, or I will represent the World Government..."

The enemy warship blared threats through a loudspeaker while charging straight at them.

"Prepare! Enemy at three anchor chains..."

"Prepare! Enemy at ten gangplanks..."

Arlong and Willy spoke at the same time.

"Huh? Anchor chains? Did I hear that right? Does the Sun Pirates need that kind of thing?" Arlong sneered with a exaggerated face at Willy.

"Pfft, hahaha, gangplanks? Kid, are you afraid to leave the ship without a gangplank?" Willy shot back.

Anchor chains referred to the ship's anchor cables, and gangplanks were the boards used to disembark or board ships—both standard equipment on vessels.

Here, they were used to describe distance.

Though the lengths varied depending on ship size, by convention, one anchor chain was about sixty meters, and one gangplank was about twenty meters.

Sailors from the East Blue and South Blue liked saying "gangplank," while those from the North Blue and West Blue preferred "anchor chain."

Fish-Man Island was at the crossroads of the four seas... at the bottom of the ocean. Ships came from all directions, so both terms were used.

In truth, neither anchor chains nor gangplanks were very useful on the Sea Bass. Arlong and Willy were just using them to bicker.

Just as the two were about to butt heads again, "luckily" a cannonball came flying right at their faces. Both reached out and caught it simultaneously, then snorted and turned away from each other.

"Boys! Prepare for boarding!" Willy swung his tiger-head hammer.

"Follow me! Smash their cabins to pieces and feed them to the fish!" Arlong drew his serrated blade.

Hachi quickly chimed in from the side: "Brother Long means sink the Navy ships, but don't destroy the lifeboats. He doesn't mean to kill anyone. 'Feed them to the fish' is just a metaphor..."

"Shut up!" Arlong smacked him on the head with the hilt of his sword.

With that, Arlong led dozens of Fish-Men, jumping straight into the water. Willy would wait a bit longer, needing to protect the ship for now. And when the Fish-Men boarded, they didn't need gangplanks—they'd jump straight over or climb ropes!

Just as Sig was hesitating about which group to follow, Jinbe said calmly, "Sig, you protect me while I steer."

"Huh? Ah... yes, sir!" Sig's first reaction was that he'd misheard—protect Jinbe? Brother Jinbe could handle two warships with one hand on the wheel and the other free, right?

Though he had no idea what Brother Jinbe was thinking, Sig immediately agreed.