Jinbe Retreats, Garp Arrives

"Brother Jinbe."

Violent shockwaves blew the Sun Pirates' ship away, and the Fish-Men on board cried out in terror at the horrific sight.

Above the sea by the beach, a fire tornado collided with the seawater below, causing massive amounts of white steam to spread.

The swirling flames rotated within the steam, dyeing the white mist a vibrant orange-red.

The rotating air carried the white mist, spreading it toward the surroundings.

Dunn, his body wreathed in flames, gripped Flame—which was also wreathed in fire—his eyes fixed on the scene created by Torch.

His Observation Haki could clearly see the situation inside.

"As I thought!"

Dunn whispered to himself.

He had already realized earlier that the Mera Mera no Mi did not hold much of an advantage when fighting on the open sea.

After all, seawater countered fire.

This wasn't because seawater countered the ability user, but because water itself naturally countered fire.

Unless he could develop his flames in the future to the point where seawater would be evaporated and dried up before it could even get close, or perhaps ignite the seawater itself.

But this planet was an ocean world; to achieve such a feat, his stamina might not be enough.

"Water Heart: Ocean Current Shoulder Throw!"

A violent shout erupted from within the flames, and then a massive volume of seawater was pulled up as if by an invisible giant hand.

The pulled-up seawater smashed through the fire tornado, surging toward Dunn.

The sheer volume of rushing seawater was an astonishing sight.

Dunn raised his hand, and his flame-wreathed sword slashed down fiercely, sending out a fiery sword beam that cleaved the incoming seawater apart.

The cleaved seawater split open, and the momentum of the attack collapsed due to that single strike, crashing onto the ground on both sides. The water shattered, sending spray flying everywhere.

Jinbe, with half his body exposed above the water, stared fixedly at Dunn, his expression grave.

"A Devil Fruit user?"

With such control over fire, Jinbe's first reaction was naturally that he was an ability user.

And very likely a Logia type at that.

Jinbe dared not step onto the shore now.

If he remained in the seawater, he could use it to counter the flames.

Once he stepped onto land and left the water, he had no confidence in facing someone who could control fire like this, especially if they were a Logia user.

Especially since he had felt during their brief exchange that his opponent was also a formidable swordsman.

Not far away, cheers erupted from the pirate ship.

Dunn, who had been confronting Jinbe, turned his head to look at the pirate ship from which the cheers had erupted, lifting Flame slightly in his hand.

Jinbe naturally noticed the shift in Dunn's attention.

His heart tightened, but the next moment, Dunn was already in motion.

Swish!

A simple, unadorned slash cut through the air, heading toward the pirate ship floating on the sea.

Jinbe's expression tightened. He slapped the surface of the water, his body cutting through the waves as he rushed out to intercept the slash, crossing his arms with Armament Haki coating them.

"Plum Blossom Skin!"

His defensive stance met the slash Dunn had unleashed.

Bang!

Jinbe was sent flying backward by the strike, crashing into the water beside the pirate ship.

The cheers on the pirate ship came to an abrupt halt.

"You all, leave now!"

Jinbe surfaced from the water again and immediately ordered the Fish-Man pirates on the ship.

"Boss Jinbe."

The Fish-Men wanted to say more, but the next slash was already heading their way.

Jinbe's expression tightened as he rushed out again.

The result was exactly the same as before; Jinbe was struck down once more, crashing into the seawater.

The pirates on the ship finally realized what was happening: this man was clearly using them as tools to attack Brother Jinbe.

The pirates on the ship were furious, but they had no choice; they could only follow orders and sail the ship away to avoid becoming a tool to attack Jinbe.

As the pirate ship moved away, Dunn looked at Jinbe on the sea, feeling somewhat conflicted.

Should he go into the water to fight this guy?

That was impossible.

Although he had been deliberately training his swimming, his current physique allowed him to stay in the seawater for an hour or two without issue, but to fight a Fish-Man Seven Warlords of the Sea who had mastered both types of Haki while in the water?

Dunn knew Jinbe reasonably well.

Jinbe was currently in his prime, or rather, had just entered his prime. With Fish-Man Karate combined with his ability to manipulate water currents, his combat power received a massive boost while fighting in the ocean.

If they were on land, Dunn wouldn't necessarily lose even without activating Indomitable, relying instead on his powerful physique and Devil Fruit ability.

But in the ocean, at least until he obtained the ability of Burning Ocean, his fruit powers would likely fail to exert much force once submerged in seawater.

Of course, that was assuming he didn't activate Indomitable.

If he did activate Indomitable, that terrifying strength and all-around boost might even allow him to one-shot Jinbe.

But Dunn had no intention of activating Indomitable so casually.

Frankly, it wasn't worth it.

Moreover, there was a certain period of weakness after activating Indomitable.

Dunn on the shore and Jinbe in the water stared at each other, then Jinbe flipped over and dove into the sea, his figure vanishing.

He left?

Dunn waited for a while, but Jinbe did not reappear.

This encounter couldn't be considered a formal battle for either Dunn or Jinbe; at most, it was a mutual probe.

Dunn sheathed his blade, pulled the flames back into his body, and turned to walk back toward the village.

The villagers who had been captured were still where they were, and they only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Dunn.

Dunn walked over, glanced at these people, and then headed in a certain direction.

Everyone's eyes followed Dunn as he walked into the village chief's house.

On the floor lay a crushed Den Den Mushi, along with an old man whose arm had been severed and who had a large, diagonal gash across his chest; he was already breathless.

Dunn lowered his head slightly, stood in place for a moment, and then turned to look at the tall figure in a Marine uniform standing at the doorway.

"Come to think of it, are the Marines always a step behind?"

Looking at this man, Dunn asked directly, his tone quite unfriendly.

Unexpectedly, the old Marine standing outside, who was known for his blunt temper, didn't get angry. He looked at the dead man in the room and sighed.

"There's no helping it. The ocean is too vast; even the Marines can't control everything, and besides, some Marine soldiers..."

Garp wanted to say something, but he stopped himself.

He looked at Dunn.

"You fought Jinbe?"

"You saw that?"

Dunn was taken aback. He was certain that Garp had definitely not been there when he fought Jinbe earlier.

Or rather, Garp had been outside the range of his Observation Haki at the time.

"I received word that Jinbe came to the East Blue looking for a group of Fish-Men—the ones dead outside, right? He couldn't take these corpses with him, and there are signs of a battle by the shore, traces of being scorched by flames."

Garp looked at Dunn.

Dunn raised his hand to shoulder his Flame, walking past Garp.

"Yeah, I didn't want to fight that guy in the water. If it were in the sea, I'd be at a disadvantage."

Garp watched the straight back carrying the blade, then looked back at the person who had died in the room.

"Did you know this person?"

"No, we just exchanged a few words earlier."

Dunn paused his steps, then turned his head to look at Garp.

"To be honest, I don't like pirates, and of course, I don't like you Marines either, so don't bother me in the future, alright?"

Garp's expression stiffened.

Dunn's words left Garp not knowing how to respond.

"I'll borrow one of your ships to head back. Also, help me convert these Fish-Man pirates into a bounty, and use half of it to help this village rebuild."

As he spoke, Dunn lifted his feet and headed toward the seaside.

On the water there, a Marine warship was anchored, and small boats filled with Marines were rowing toward the island.