"Watch out behind you!"
"Big Brother Hatchan!"
The two fish-men by the pool watched Reiner in terror. Before their warning could reach Hatchan's ears, the bullets had already struck.
Hatchan, who had been charging forward, had no time to feel the pain in his back before he stumbled and crashed heavily to the ground.
"Bzzzt—bzzzt—"
Slash! Slash!
The two fish-men by the pool were also taken care of by the Chainsaw Devil.
Hatchan braced himself on the ground with his arms and turned back with difficulty to look at the sneering Reiner, a trace of unwillingness on his face.
"Y-you... despicable!"
After saying that, he passed out.
What kind of nonsense was that!?
Reiner strode over indignantly, gripped his gun in reverse, and smacked Hatchan's octopus head a few more times.
"Who's more despicable than you lot?" Reiner said disdainfully.
He looked around. The fish-men had mostly been dealt with.
All those who dared fight were lying on the ground, while nearly everyone else had fled.
Zoro had long since defeated the fish-man officer Chuu and had joined Luffy in fighting Arlong.
Reiner turned to look at the Sword Devil fighting Kuroobi.
"Damn freak!"
Kuroobi cursed under his breath, staring grimly at the Sword Devil before him.
He was being suppressed in both speed and strength, and even his opponent's swordsmanship was superb.
With that terrifying arm strength and that bizarre appearance, was it a Devil Fruit user or some kind of cyborg?
Kuroobi rushed forward, swinging the enormous blade-like fish fin on his arm at the Sword Devil.
"Fish-Man Karate: Arm Blade Slash!"
The Sword Devil crossed its two blades and viciously slashed down at Kuroobi's fish fin.
Slash—!
The long blade swept through and severed the blade-like fish fin outright.
The Sword Devil did not stop. It raised its hand and slashed again, carving another wound across Kuroobi's chest.
"Aah!!!"
Reiner was not surprised by this. It had been created using Zoro's template, with its physical abilities and combat skills replicated perfectly.
Combined with the Three-Sword Style that matched the template so well, its strength was infinitely close to Zoro's.
If it could not suppress a mere fish-man officer, then the template would have been a complete waste.
"Looks like I can only use that move."
Kuroobi clenched his teeth, his expression grave. One arm stretched straight out while the other rested at his waist as he assumed a formal karate stance.
"Fish-Man Karate: Thousand Brick Fist!"
The heavy punch carried crushing force, even blasting out an explosive roar through the air.
The Sword Devil dragged its two blades across the ground, sending sparks flying as it charged straight at Kuroobi's fist.
Just as it closed in, it suddenly bent its legs and crouched low before launching itself forward in a powerful leap.
The two figures crossed in an instant.
A flash of cold light came with a low hum of steel.
The Sword Devil slowly turned around and flicked the blood from its blades onto the ground.
Two-Sword Style Iai, Cross Slash!
Two intersecting gashes appeared across Kuroobi's chest. Blood suddenly sprayed out, and his body went limp as he slowly collapsed.
"Now Arlong's the only one left."
Reiner looked toward the only place on the battlefield where there was still movement, beneath the massive tower-like building.
Luffy and Zoro were fiercely battling Arlong, who was clearly already at a disadvantage.
He put away the Sword Devil and Chainsaw Devil, leaving only the Wolverine Undead created from Kuro's template as it walked into the shadows.
With its explosive speed, even under normal circumstances Arlong would not have been able to guard against a sneak attack from it, much less in the middle of an intense battle where he was being suppressed.
On the battlefield at that moment.
"Shark Darts!"
Arlong bent his legs and kicked off the ground fiercely. The next instant, he shot toward Zoro like an arrow loosed from a bow, opening his gaping mouth to reveal a row of sharp teeth as he prepared to bite down viciously.
Zoro neither dodged nor yielded. He raised his two swords behind him, poised to strike.
"Tiger Hunt!"
As their figures crossed, a deep gash had already appeared across Arlong's chest.
Yet Arlong's vitality was incredibly tenacious. The moment he landed, he gritted his teeth through the pain and charged at Zoro's back.
"Gomu Gomu no Spear!"
Luffy pressed the soles of his feet together and drove a powerful blow into Arlong's abdomen, interrupting his charge.
"Damn it!"
Arlong growled through clenched teeth, his eyes fixed tightly on the two as he kept searching for a way to break the deadlock.
"If this keeps up, I'll definitely die here."
While fending off their attacks, Arlong scanned his surroundings.
Then he suddenly spotted Nami outside the battlefield, and a spark flashed in his eyes.
"Even though there are two people beside her, they don't seem very strong. If I can capture her as a hostage..."
After considering it for a moment, he used the chance when Luffy knocked him flying to turn and charge toward Reiner and the others.
However, at that moment.
Slash! Slash!
Just as Arlong was building momentum, his legs suddenly gave out, and a wave of searing pain shot through his waist.
He looked down to find several claws brutally plunged into his side!
Arlong's face was filled with disbelief. Following the claws upward, he saw a ferocious-looking man silently staring at him with cold eyes.
Arlong could not sense any presence from him, not even the slightest killing intent.
If he did not move, Arlong would not even regard him as a living creature. Like a pebble or a fallen leaf, he simply could not draw attention.
Arlong turned his hand into a blade and struck with all his strength, chopping into the Wolverine Undead's neck so hard that its head was knocked crooked.
"Aah!!!"
Arlong gritted his teeth, grabbed the Wolverine Undead's hands, and endured the pain as he pulled the claws free. Then he staggered onward toward Nami.
However.
Slash! Slash!
The familiar intense pain came from his waist again. Arlong turned around in disbelief.
"W-why?"
"But I..."
Arlong's pupils contracted. The "man" whose neck he had nearly severed with one blow had plunged his claws into Arlong's waist again, his head hanging crookedly to one side.
Even Reiner felt that looked painful, while Usopp covered his mouth and trembled.
Why was this guy so obsessed with carving out the man's kidneys!?
Did Kuro have this kind of fetish when he was alive?
Had that fighting style been preserved too?
Clang—!
He pulled the claws free again. Blood surged out, and Arlong fell to the ground, unable to rise again.
He had already suffered too many injuries during his fight with Luffy and Zoro, and his strength was nearly spent.
Those final two kidney stabbings were the last straw that broke the camel's back.
"Arlong... fell?"
Nami stared incredulously at Arlong, lying motionless in a pool of blood.
That powerful, brutal figure that had haunted her like an inescapable nightmare had actually fallen one day?
"It's over, it's over. Let's go."
"It's over?"
Nami looked at Reiner as he jumped over the wall, as though waking from a dream.
For some reason, her eyes welled up. She fought back tears of joy and nodded heavily.
"Let's go!"
Reiner led Nami and Usopp out from behind the wall.
"Great job, Luffy, Zoro, and Reiner's undead."
"You'd better make that clear, Nami."
"Shishishi, got it, got it. You're very strong."
"That was so perfunctory."
"Under my brilliant leadership, Arlong was finally defeated. Not bad, you guys."
"Yeah, yeah, it's all thanks to you, Usopp."
"You're being perfunctory too."
Reiner and the others came before Arlong and reunited with Luffy and Zoro. The group gathered around him.
Looking at the barely breathing Arlong on the ground, Reiner handed the gun to Nami.
"You want to do it?"
Nami hesitated for a moment. Looking at Arlong on the ground, her gaze gradually became resolute as she took the gun.
The others watched silently.
Everyone present had seen bloodshed before.
When Luffy was six, he had personally witnessed Lucky Roux shoot a mountain bandit in the head at point-blank range.
Over the past two and a half years, Zoro had also made a living by hunting down wanted criminals.
And Nami had personally watched Arlong shoot Bell-mère to death as she tried to protect Nami and Nojiko.
She had only been eight at the time!
No one foolishly believed being a pirate was just playing house. They had all set out to sea, staking their lives on their own goals and dreams.
Click!
Nami pulled back the bolt and pressed the muzzle against Arlong's head.
Facing the enemy who had murdered her mother, the devil who had forced the people of Cocoyasi Village to live without hope, Nami's eyes showed a determination she had never possessed before.
She had dreamed countless times of Arlong's death. Without the slightest hesitation, she pulled the trigger.
Bang—!
After the gunshot.
It was as if the enormous boulder that had weighed on her for so many years, leaving her unable to breathe, had finally shattered and vanished without a trace.
Nami let out a breath. Her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground as the gun fell carelessly from her hand.
"Wipe the blood off your face."
Reiner handed her a handkerchief and patted her shoulder.
He crouched down, and Azure Flame surged from his hand, covering Arlong's body.
Before you continue