The Fish-Men's Attack! Dunn Became Flame

"Pirates! Pirates!"

A shrill, panicked shout rang out at the edge of the otherwise peaceful island village. The person who had shouted sprinted toward the village, yelling all the way.

Everyone who heard the shout ran outside and watched the person yelling about pirates rush past.

Then those closest to the shore looked out to sea and saw a pirate ship approaching in the distance.

A strange pirate flag fluttered in the wind: a red shark crossed over two bones.

The entire village erupted into chaos.

The Marine Base was nearby, so most pirates had avoided attacking this place in the past. It would take time, after all, and the Marines might corner them before they could get away.

Now, though, the villagers were reminded of how terrifying pirates could be.

Some tried to escape by boat from the other side of the island, while others grabbed metal objects such as pitchforks to use as weapons and fight back.

Boom!

The pirate ship came racing in without stopping at the shore. It plowed straight onto land and barreled into the village without slowing down.

The enormous ship smashed through houses, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.

"Men, round up everyone! Kill anyone who resists or tries to run!"

Arlong brandished the Kiribachi in his hand and bellowed.

The cheering Fish-Men charged off the pirate ship and raced into the village, shouting as they went.

In an instant, cries and screams rang out through the village.

Standing at the bow with his sword in hand, Arlong watched the scene with excitement, eager to see what they would gain from this raid.

Humans were greedy.

He had a plan.

Since there was a Marine Base nearby, they might be able to negotiate when the Marines arrived.

If he went too far, he might draw a large force of Marines, which would be bad for his plan to conquer the East Blue.

But if he could work with the commander of the local Marine Base, things would be simple.

"Shahahaha! I'm a genius!"

Arlong gave himself a pat on the back for coming up with the idea.

Hatchan was on the ship with Arlong.

Listening to the groans and screams below, Hatchan shrank back and quietly contacted Jinbe.

Jinbe had arrived in the East Blue several days earlier. He should be catching up soon.

I hope big brother Jinbe gets here quickly.

Otherwise, if big brother Arlong kills too many people, big brother Jinbe will be in a difficult position.

Brrr-brrr.

Arlong's ear twitched. He whipped around to look toward the sound, then hefted his sword and walked in that direction.

"Big brother Jinbe, hurry! Arlong's started. He's attacking a human village."

Hatchan spoke quietly into the Den Den Mushi.

"Can you talk him out of it?"

Jinbe's voice came through, sounding very serious.

"Big brother Jinbe, I can't stop big brother Arlong."

Hatchan's tentacles flicked involuntarily as he answered, clearly troubled.

"I understand. I'll be there soon."

Jinbe hung up the Den Den Mushi.

Hatchan sighed. When he turned around, his whole body suddenly stiffened.

"Hatchan, who were you talking to? How dare you betray me?"

A murderous glint flashed in Arlong's eyes as he glared at Hatchan.

Hatchan trembled, then fixed his gaze on Arlong.

"Big brother Arlong, humans are much stronger than us. Whether it was our captain, Fisher, or big brother Jinbe, they both wanted Fish-Men and humans to live in peace. If you do this, you'll ruin everything they worked for."

Hatchan summoned his courage and shouted.

"Damn it! Humans will never live in peace with us. What did big brother Fisher ever do to humans? And yet he died at their hands. In the end, he'd rather die than accept human blood.

"I'm the one who inherited big brother Fisher's will. Jinbe is just a coward."

Arlong glared viciously at Hatchan, swinging his sword wildly in obvious fury.

"If big brother Jinbe hadn't become a Shichibukai, the Marines wouldn't have released you, big brother Arlong."

Hatchan continued.

But those words seemed to strike a nerve with Arlong.

Until then, Arlong had only been swinging the Kiribachi through the air to vent his anger. But as soon as Hatchan said that, he gripped the sword and brought it down on him.

Hatchan clearly hadn't expected Arlong to attack him. He tried desperately to dodge, but couldn't quite get out of the way.

The three arm-like tentacles on his left side were sliced off.

The pain sent Hatchan crashing to the ground. He rolled around, screaming.

Arlong came to his senses. He looked at Hatchan, his tentacles severed, his expression shifting uncertainly. In the end, he didn't attack again.

Arlong turned and walked away, leaving Hatchan writhing on the ground.

In the village on the island, the Fish-Men were running rampant.

Anyone who dared to resist was killed.

The average Fish-Man was far stronger than the average human.

That was simply how they were born.

The villagers were ordinary people, mostly fishermen. Naturally, they were no match for the Fish-Men.

Watching his fellow villagers get killed, the village chief suddenly remembered the Den Den Mushi that young man had left behind not long ago.

He couldn't afford a Den Den Mushi.

He clearly remembered the young man's instructions: if pirates attacked, contact him with the Den Den Mushi.

Clinging to that thought like a lifeline, he pulled the Den Den Mushi from his pocket and fumbled to contact him.

Brrr-brrr.

The Den Den Mushi seemed to have just woken up. As the village chief worked it, it let out a few syllables.

The call connected quickly.

"You've been attacked by pirates?"

"Yes, Fish-Man pirates."

Hearing the voice from the Den Den Mushi, the village chief hurriedly answered.

But in the next instant, a Fish-Man carrying a sword rushed in. He spotted the village chief holding the Den Den Mushi and flew into a rage. He swung his blade, severing the chief's arm, then stepped forward to finish him off.

The Den Den Mushi remained connected, and the village chief's screams came through.

A ship drifted with the current across the calm sea. Dunn listened quietly to the screams coming through the Den Den Mushi. One was close—the village chief's dying cry. Others came from farther away, and there were many of them.

Boom!

Flames burst from Dunn's body. His knees bent slightly, then he shot into the sky.

Fire engulfed him. His legs transformed into blazing jets, and Dunn seemed to become a meteor streaking across the heavens, trailing a long tail of flame as he shot toward his destination.

Dunn had left a Den Den Mushi in every village nearby.

His purpose here was to save Bell-mère.

Of course, he didn't have feelings for Bell-mère or Nami.

He had thought of it, and he had the ability to help. He also needed the training, so he did it.

And now, the one he'd been waiting for had arrived.

Flames streaked across the sky.

As Dunn had expected, this way of moving was indeed very fast. Of course, it might not match Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit, but by burning through a great deal of stamina, he could briefly exceed several times the speed of sound.

Just a few minutes later, Dunn spotted the column of smoke rising above the target village.