The Sea Is Our Home Turf

"Are you the leader of these Fish-Men? Do you know that you ruined everything I had? My identity, status, wealth—they were all ruined because of you..."

Whoosh!

Sebastian answered with the sound of air splitting. He hurled the warhammer in his hand toward Treba Bruchi. The immense force wrapped around it left him unwilling to take it head-on, and he hurriedly dodged to the side.

Treba could dodge, but the ship beneath his feet could not. Already sinking, it became even more battered under the warhammer's attack.

"You slave traders have ruined how many people's lives? How do you have the nerve to question me like that?

"It seems you didn't just fail to understand our way of fighting. You didn't even investigate our circumstances. No wonder you're so eager to die."

Sebastian picked at his ear as though he had heard something filthy. Before Treba could retort, several splashes rang out from the depths in rapid succession.

Three enormous Sea Beasts emerged. Their bodies resembled marine fish, but their heads were those of a giraffe, rhinoceros, and chimpanzee.

Including the portions beneath the water, all three Sea Beasts measured around fifty meters long.

That was a basic trait of Sea Beasts. They were neither Sea Kings nor fish, but a special kind of marine mammal.

Babel stood atop the Sea Giraffe's head, holding a warhammer in his hand. It appeared to be the very hammer Sebastian had thrown.

"Sebastian! You bastard, did you throw that hammer at me on purpose?!"

"Yeah. Otherwise, I'd have had to go down and retrieve it myself. Didn't you just bring it back for me?"

"You!"

Seeing Sebastian openly admit it without denying anything, Babel's anger rose a few notches before quickly settling again.

"Hmph, is that so? Then I'll hold onto your hammer for you. There should be about one minute left. Let's see how you fulfill your promise to Big Brother.

"If you beg me now, I wouldn't mind helping you."

"No need. I'm not some hammer man who has to hold a hammer to fight. You're just trying to use this to stall me, aren't you?"

The two appeared to be bickering, but neither stopped moving. Sebastian assumed the opening stance of an attack, while Babel blew a conch shell in a rhythm signaling an assault.

The three Sea Beasts that received the command immediately charged toward the ship ahead. The vessel had already been snapped in half; even a fully intact warship would have only one fate before a Sea Beast attack—sinking to the bottom.

Treba understood that as well, but he had no time to concern himself with the Sea Beasts. Sebastian's attack had already arrived.

"Fish-Man Karate: Onigawara Seiken!"

Dense Armament Haki wrapped around Sebastian's fist. As it swung, even the air seemed to ripple.

Treba gave everything he had to narrowly evade the center of the attack, yet his body was still sent flying uncontrollably.

That was the essence of Fish-Man Karate. It dealt damage by striking water, and the moisture in the air became an extension of the attack. Its range was far greater than what the naked eye could see.

Blood surged through his body, while his muscles and bones trembled helplessly. Yet from the corner of his eye, Treba saw something even more terrifying.

He had avoided part of the attack, but the wreckage of the ship beneath his feet could not.

Meanwhile, the Sea Beasts under Babel's command had reached the ship. Taking advantage of their massive bodies, they rammed and tore at it, effortlessly reducing the vessel to fragments.

The crew aboard suffered horrific casualties. Blood mingled with seawater and splintered wreckage, drifting away with the currents to places unknown.

"Help... help me... Spare me..."

"Captain... save me..."

A few cries for help carried over, only to be quickly swallowed by the waves. Treba had no mind to heed them. Though there were only three Sea Beasts, their division of labor was extremely clear. At this point, there was no foothold left for him on the sea.

This was the most common and practical naval tactic used by Nereus's subordinates: sneak through the deep sea to the vicinity of the enemy ship, sink it first, then use the ocean as their home turf in battle.

The main purpose of raising those Sea Beasts was to attack enemy ships.

As long as officers like Sebastian could tie down the powerful enemies aboard and keep them from attacking the Sea Beasts,

the Sea Beasts could withstand cannon and musket fire and destroy a ship in a short time.

Once the ship sank, unless the enemy's strong fighters could fly or remain airborne, it would be difficult for them to contend with Fish-Men—especially Devil Fruit users.

Ace could fight Jinbe for seven days and seven nights on land, but lasting seven minutes in the water would already count as extraordinary vitality.

From the moment the ship was destroyed—or rather, from the moment Treba chose this path and was discovered by the Fish-Men before even making landfall—his defeat had already been decided.

Treba realized this, but it was too late. As gravity pulled him downward, Sebastian shot out and arrived at his side.

"You should be grateful. I promised Big Brother I'd deal with you in only five minutes. Letting trash like you die so quickly is already the greatest mercy.

"Fish-Man Jujutsu: Katamaguruma!"

Treba, unable to gain leverage in midair, was seized by Sebastian and hurled into the sea with monstrous strength and the techniques of Fish-Man Jujutsu.

The icy seawater, mixed with the stench of blood, brought a trace of clarity to Treba's swollen mind. At last, he realized just how dangerous his situation was.

"Those damned Fish-Men..."

Treba struggled to swim toward the surface, but his limbs felt filled with lead and refused to obey him.

Water could cushion impact, but that depended on how one fell into it.

Even diving from a high platform into a swimming pool could injure the body if one's posture was wrong, let alone Treba, who had been thrown in by Sebastian.

To him, the sea surface was no different from solid concrete. He did not even know how many bones inside his body had broken.

The essence of Fish-Man Karate was striking water, while the essence of Fish-Man Jujutsu was throwing water.

Because there was water within his body, Treba, thrown by Sebastian's Katamaguruma, suffered not only external damage, but had his blood churn within him as well.

Though the seawater constantly washed over him, a close look would reveal that blood seeped from his skin almost without pause. It was the result of tiny blood vessels beneath the surface bursting apart.

But that was not the most fatal part. Driven by his desire to survive, Treba stubbornly floated toward the surface, only for a tremendous force to suddenly seize his lower body.

"If you'd just obediently died, you could have suffered less. Looks like you didn't understand what I said well enough."

Sebastian had entered the water as well. Compared to Treba's struggle, he appeared utterly at ease.

For Fishmen, who possessed two respiratory systems, the sea was no different from land—if anything, it was even freer.

Distorted by the seawater, Sebastian's voice became deeper and duller, like the death knell of hell in Treba's ears.

Glug glug...

Countless bubbles rose from Treba's mouth toward the surface. He seemed to be trying to beg for mercy, but he could not utter a single word.

Both Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu could make use of air and the water within an opponent's body, but neither was as convenient as the real ocean.

At that moment, the surrounding seawater became Sebastian's aid, pressing down on Treba's body.

They were not far from the surface, and sunlight could still reach this depth. Yet Treba could no longer touch that warm sunlight again. As despair washed over him, his vision rapidly darkened...

Under Babel's command, the Sea Beasts continued clearing the surface. This group was erased in the ocean without even managing to stir up a ripple.

When Sebastian surfaced with the corpse, only a few surviving slave traders remained nearby.

"Babel! You bastard, couldn't you wait for me?!"

Sebastian paid no attention to the remaining men. Instead, he cursed at Babel, who had already ridden away atop a Sea Beast.

"Hahahaha! Swim back yourself! I followed your promise and kept strictly to the time! The instant five minutes were up, I headed back!"

Babel's laughter was laced with smug satisfaction. Just like the hammer Sebastian had thrown, this was how they communicated. They were companions, but also sworn rivals.

"We... survived?"

A slave trader clung to a broken wooden barrel as he floated on the sea, staring at the departing Fish-Men and muttering to himself.

It was the relief of surviving a disaster, but the feeling lasted only briefly.

Along with the howling sea wind, another conch horn gradually sounded. Then a sharp horn pierced through his body.

In the deep sea, a school of large fish with two horns on their heads, mouths full of sharp teeth, and bodies as sturdy as calves began the final cleanup.

They were Fighting Fish from the New World, equally savage marine creatures. Yet like those massive Sea Beasts, they were only one part of the legion.

"If we let you go, where would the people you sold have left to cry out their grievances? I hope you're reborn into a good life in your next life... No, people like you should fall into hell forever."

Standing atop the Sea Giraffe's head, Babel blew another conch shell and muttered something like an incantation. No one knew whether he was cursing them or praying for their souls.

Then he patted the Sea Giraffe's head again.

"Swim faster. Don't let that guy catch up. Tonight, I'll give you an extra two hundred pounds of seaweed!"