Arlong's Death Star Was Twinkling

Just as Dunn left Shimotsuki Village, on the Grand Line, at Fish-Man Island, in Fish-Man District.

"Arlong, are you really not coming back?"

The blue-skinned Whale Shark Fish-Man Jinbe looked at the furious Great White Shark Fish-Man Arlong opposite him and spoke with a grave expression.

"You bastard, don't forget how big brother died! And now you've become a Navy lapdog!"

Jinbe's words seemed to enrage Arlong completely.

But he seemed to have forgotten why, as a pirate, he had been able to leave Impel Down.

After all, aside from Shiki, who had escaped years ago, no pirate who went in there had ever come back out.

Hearing himself called a Navy lapdog, Jinbe started to say something, then furrowed his brow and fell silent.

Arlong snorted coldly and turned to leave.

"Big brother!"

Shyarly, a Great White Shark Mermaid, saw Arlong turning to go and couldn't help calling out to him.

Arlong glanced back at his younger sister Shyarly, his expression dark and silent. He showed no sign of stopping.

Only after Arlong had been gone for a long while did Shyarly sadly look away and turn to Jinbe.

"He'll come around."

Jinbe sighed helplessly.

Jinbe knew that Arlong hated humans and the Navy because of what had happened to big brother Fisher.

But the difference in strength between the humans and Fish-Man Island was simply too great.

Besides, over the years, pirates had increasingly set sail to capture mermaids and sell them.

Shyarly nodded, reached into her chest, and pulled out a shining crystal ball.

Jinbe wasn't surprised to see her do that.

Shyarly was an extremely skilled fortune-teller.

But a moment later, Shyarly's face turned pale.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Shyarly's expression, Jinbe tensed and immediately asked her.

"I saw my brother's death. His head was delivered to the Navy."

Shyarly spoke with a pale face.

Jinbe's eyes widened, and he sprang forward, heading in the direction Arlong had just left.

But Shyarly, who had divined this outcome, didn't move.

The results of her divinations were one hundred percent accurate. Anything she divined was bound to happen.

Now, she no longer knew what to do.

Jinbe hurried to the harbor where people left Fish-Man Island.

"Jinbe, Arlong has already left."

The Fishman at the harbor replied to Jinbe's urgent question, but the answer made his expression darken.

"Gather the crew. We're setting sail."

East Blue.

Dunn had already transferred to another merchant ship.

The merchant ship from Shimotsuki Village wasn't making a long-distance trade run; its journey would take only seven or eight days. Dunn had changed ships at an island along the way, and his destination was Marine Base 16.

Perhaps he'd even get to see an old Navy friend.

Dunn sat on the deck, resting with his sword in his arms.

The passengers and crew on the ship kept glancing at Dunn curiously.

Koshiro's actions had given Dunn an idea for how to travel.

In this pirate-ridden world, setting sail on a merchant ship was extremely dangerous. If they ran into pirates and the crew couldn't fight them off, losing the cargo would be a minor concern. The most terrifying thing was that vicious pirates might kill everyone aboard.

That was why hiring guards was so common.

"Mr. Dunn!"

A woman's voice rang out. Dunn turned to see a tall, middle-aged woman with rough skin. She was also the captain of this merchant ship.

"We'll enter an area with frequent pirate activity the day after tomorrow. If we detour around it, we might have to spend an extra month at sea."

"No need!"

Dunn understood what the captain meant and shook his head.

"All right. We'll be relying on your protection, then."

Dunn's answer brought a smile to the captain's face. Her muscles, sturdier than a man's, bulged with her grin, making Dunn's eyelid twitch.

Seeing that Dunn had nothing more to say, the captain stopped bothering him and turned to leave.

But as soon as she was gone, a crew member came over to ask her about it.

"Captain, are we going to take the detour?"

Taking the detour was the best option, really. It would take more time, but they could avoid the waters where pirates were thickest.

"No need. We'll go straight through. With Mr. Dunn here, we don't have to worry about those pirates."

The captain waved her hand, looking utterly confident.

"Can that gentleman really handle them?"

One of the crew members looked unconvinced.

At the question, the captain immediately recalled Dunn approaching her and offering to serve as their guard.

At the time, she'd had the same doubts. Then she'd seen him draw his sword and unleash a slash.

As a merchant-ship captain who often sailed the seas, she knew plenty of things.

A swordsman was one of them.

But she'd only ever heard of one; she'd never actually seen one.

Dunn was the first true swordsman she'd ever met.

If this big shot hadn't offered on his own, there was no way she could have hired him.

Still, she wouldn't dare tell anyone without Dunn's permission. Besides, even if she did, these ignorant fools probably wouldn't know what being a swordsman meant.

"We're going straight through. Don't worry. We'll get through safely this time."

After all, Dunn was powerful enough to dominate even the Grand Line.

That was probably all she knew about him.

Over the next few days, Dunn finally understood what it meant for an area to have a lot of pirates.

On his previous trip from Marine Base 16 to Shimotsuki Village, he hadn't encountered a single pirate in three whole months.

This time, he ran into two or three groups a day. But calling them pirates was a stretch. They were just vicious criminals who hadn't been at sea for long.

Their so-called pirate ships were no more than little boats that could hold a dozen or so people.

Dunn dealt with them by sending a sword wave from far away and smashing their boats.

Those pirates probably didn't even have bounties.

Of course, not every pirate crew was small.

Dunn watched a pirate ship approach in the distance. He could already hear the pirates shouting and cheering.

The passengers aboard the merchant ship had long since returned to their cabins. The crew gripped their weapons, watching the approaching pirate ship warily.

Of course, many of them kept glancing at Dunn.

He was the one they were counting on.

"Sir."

The captain stood just behind Dunn and called out to him.

"Let them get closer. I want to ask them something."

"All right!"

Only after hearing Dunn's words did the captain relax.

Dunn still hadn't drawn his sword, and it had made her uneasy.

As the pirate ship drew near, the pirates aboard cheered even louder, their swords raised.

A merchant ship this large meant a rich haul. There might even be plenty of women aboard.

At the thought, the pirates could hardly wait.

Once they reached the merchant ship, the pirates prepared to leap aboard and fight. Then several crescent-shaped sword waves greeted them.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Boom!

The two huge masts holding up the sails snapped clean in half. The pirates below who hadn't gotten out of the way were struck head-on. The sudden shift in the ship's balance made the whole vessel list, then start to capsize.

Another sword slash split the wooden pirate ship apart.

"Once they're in the water, grab a few and bring them aboard."

Dunn spoke, then was about to turn away when he suddenly noticed something.

A figure leapt off the tilting pirate ship and hurtled toward the merchant ship.

"Damn you!"

The pirate flying at him had fury written all over his face.

"There's a capable one."

Dunn blinked, then flashed to where the man was about to land.

The moment the man touched down, before he could say a word, a scabbard slammed into his face with terrifying force.

The sharp pain and impact left him dizzy. Half the teeth in his mouth were gone.

He dropped and was out cold.

Looking at the unconscious pirate, Dunn beckoned to the crew.

"Tie him up. Bring him to me once he wakes."

As soon as he finished speaking, a crowd of crew members swarmed over and bound the unconscious pirate tightly with thick ropes.

"Mr. Dunn, what about those pirates?"

The captain pointed outside the ship.

The pirate ship had completely capsized. Water was pouring through the huge gash Dunn had carved into its side, and many of the pirates had fallen into the sea and were swimming toward the merchant ship.

"Do as you like."

Dunn waved a hand and headed straight back to his cabin.

Outside, the merchant-ship crew shouted excitedly without pause, mixed with the pirates' screams.

What a crazy world.

Dunn shook his head slightly.

Even ordinary people had little hesitation about killing, especially these crew members.

But Dunn was curious about why so many pirates had gathered in East Blue.

Wasn't East Blue supposed to be the safest sea?

Even if there were pirates, shouldn't they be afraid to gather like this?