Boom!
Seawater surged violently.
At that moment, Arlong and the others were stunned.
Nami's eyes widened as well, her large eyes filled with shock!
Momoo, far larger than even a pirate ship, had actually been sent flying by Natsuya's punch!
What kind of strength was that!?
"Don't be afraid! So what if he's incredibly strong!?"
"Attack him with seawater! As long as he's hit by seawater, his whole body will lose strength!"
Arlong's low shout rang out afterward.
Having come back to his senses and seen everyone's expressions, his heart immediately sank.
Clearly, everyone, himself included, had been intimidated by the strength Natsuya had displayed!
Of course, that was hardly surprising!
As a combatant of the Arlong Pirates, Momoo's fighting power ranked among the very best in the crew.
Yet Natsuya had sent him flying so easily. Their feelings were easy to imagine!
But this would not do!
Before the battle had even properly begun, if everyone lost their fighting spirit, Arlong would have even less confidence in dealing with the strange youth before them.
Thus, he hurriedly spoke up to remind everyone.
Hearing Arlong's words, Kuroobi, Hatchan, and the others finally came back to their senses and launched attacks at Natsuya!
"Water Shot!"
"Water Wave!!"
"Seawater Jet!"
With Arlong leading the way, every Fish-Man began using their own methods.
Arlong swung his palm, firing streams of seawater like bullets.
Meanwhile, Hatchan and Chew sprayed seawater from their mouths.
Kuroobi and the others did not remain idle either.
In the blink of an eye, a massive barrage of seawater attacks swept toward Natsuya like a hail of gunfire!
Seeing this, Nami's expression changed inside the Different Dimension, and she instinctively clenched her little hands.
As for Natsuya, he merely raised an eyebrow.
It was worth mentioning that Arlong's repeated words had struck right at the heart of the matter.
Seawater truly was his current weakness!
As a Devil Fruit user, touching seawater would indeed leave him weakened.
However, in Natsuya's view, this weakness was not impossible to overcome.
Later in the original story, Luffy and Kid had been able to fight even while wearing Seastone. That was the best example!
Judging from Luffy's experience, as long as one came into contact with seawater and Seastone often enough, one could adapt to that weakened state!
At that thought, Natsuya immediately felt that he needed to make time for seawater adaptation training in the future. Otherwise, if an enemy truly exploited this weakness someday, it would cause no small amount of trouble.
Naturally, Arlong and the others were clearly incapable of that.
With a swish.
Natsuya's figure flashed, and he flew directly to the other side, evading all the seawater.
Immediately afterward, he raised two fingers and began thrusting them into the empty air before him!
A miraculous scene appeared!
The fingers Natsuya thrust out seemed to vanish into thin air.
Yet at the same time, traces of those fingers appeared behind Arlong and the others!
"Door-Strike Dog, open the Gate of Heart!"
While still completely bewildered, Arlong and the others had their Gates of Heart opened by Natsuya one after another, allowing him to hear their thoughts.
What? What was that!?
How strange. Something poked my back?
What's going on!?
"Hmph, playing tricks!!"
This time, most of the Fish-Men said nothing aloud. Only Natsuya overheard their thoughts.
Arlong, who stood at the front, frowned deeply, sensing that something was wrong.
He knew Natsuya's actions could not have been without reason.
This inexplicable situation was very likely already exerting some invisible influence on them!
At that thought, Arlong's heart sank.
Yet for the moment, there was nothing he could do. He could only continue attacking Natsuya!
Kuroobi and the others were the same. After coming back to their senses, they began firing seawater again.
But this time, Natsuya curled his lips into a smile and strolled forward to meet the seawater.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!
The seawater shot through the air, creating sharp whistles as it tore through the wind!
Yet at this moment, it was as though history had repeated itself.
Just as he had done when facing Colonel Mouse and walking through his barrage of bullets, Natsuya passed straight through every seawater attack!
"What!?"
Arlong and the others were instantly shocked.
Nami, inside the Different Dimension, was also filled with astonishment.
Natsuya, however, was not surprised in the least.
While overhearing their thoughts, he had already learned the trajectories of Arlong and the others' attacks.
With that, he only needed to use Paper Art to effortlessly evade every attack!
Even as he dodged, Natsuya continued contemplating his current state.
His main reason for coming to eliminate Arlong and the others was to test the role overhearing thoughts could play in battle, as well as the various changes involved in using it.
There was naturally no need to say more about its usefulness.
But regarding the changes while using it, Natsuya had gained a new understanding.
How should he put it?
It was rather troublesome.
First was the duration of overhearing thoughts.
It had been said before: the more power he expended, the longer he could overhear thoughts.
But this time, although Natsuya had expended the same amount of power, the duration for which each Fish-Man was affected differed.
As a result, the effect of overhearing thoughts became inconsistently long and short.
Furthermore, once the number of targets increased, Natsuya found it somewhat difficult to keep up with all their thoughts.
A few people were manageable, but what about more than ten? Or even dozens?
And one must not forget that he still had to divide his attention to fight during all this.
"Looks like this ability is better suited for one-on-one combat."
Natsuya gained some insight, but then an idea suddenly struck him.
"No, perhaps I can develop a more suitable technique based on this situation."
Natsuya suddenly thought of that possibility.
After all, every technique was rough and imperfect when first developed.
But it could be strengthened and improved according to actual circumstances.
And right now, Natsuya felt that this ability to overhear thoughts could be enhanced and refined.
First, there was the issue of duration. Ideally, it should be made consistent.
As for the number of affected people, it would be best if it could be increased or reduced according to Natsuya's wishes.
Right, and there was also the activation method.
To open a Gate of Heart and overhear someone's thoughts, Natsuya first needed to use Door-Strike Dog to poke the center of their back.
But that prerequisite for the technique seemed somewhat troublesome as well.
Could that part be simplified too?
As Natsuya thought about these things, inspiration quickly came to him.
And so.
The next moment.
Arlong and the others discovered in surprise that two tiny Air Doors had suddenly appeared on Natsuya's face!
The two Air Doors connected together and rested across Natsuya's nose bridge like a pair of glasses!
Arlong and the others froze.
Nami was also deeply puzzled by the sight.
"What was that!?"
But Natsuya's spirits lifted, and he smiled.
Without a doubt, this glasses-like phenomenon was the result of his improved ability to overhear thoughts!
"Let's call this move Mirror of Heart Door!"
Before you continue