"Big Brother Jinbe!"
The violent gust of air blew the Sun Pirates' ship away. Seeing the terrifying scene, the Fish-Men aboard cried out in alarm.
Above the sea beside the beach, a fiery tornado collided with the seawater below, spreading a vast cloud of white steam.
The spinning flames whirled inside the steam, dyeing the white mist orange-red.
The swirling air carried the white mist outward in every direction.
Dunn, wreathed in flames, gripped Flame, which was also engulfed in fire, and watched the scene Torch had created.
Observation Haki let him clearly see what was happening inside.
"Just as I thought!"
Dunn muttered to himself.
He had already suspected that the Mera Mera no Mi wouldn't give him much of an advantage when fighting at sea.
After all, seawater countered fire.
It wasn't because seawater countered Devil Fruit Users; water itself countered fire.
Unless he could eventually develop his flames until seawater evaporated and dried up before it could get close, or make the seawater catch fire.
But this planet was mostly ocean. Pulling off something like that might take more stamina than he had.
"Water Heart: Ocean Current Shoulder Throw!"
A loud shout rang out from within the flames. Then a vast quantity of seawater rose as if pulled up by an invisible hand.
The lifted seawater smashed through the fiery tornado and surged toward Dunn.
The torrent rushed forward with tremendous force.
Dunn raised his hand and brought down his flame-wreathed sword in a fierce slash. A fiery sword wave shot out and cleaved through the oncoming seawater.
The divided seawater split apart, its momentum broken by the slash. It crashed against the ground on either side, shattering into splashes.
Jinbe, half his body above the water, stared fixedly at Dunn, his expression grave.
"A Devil Fruit User?"
Seeing someone control fire like that, Jinbe's first thought was naturally that he was a Devil Fruit User.
Possibly even a Logia.
Jinbe didn't dare come ashore now.
In the water, he could use the seawater to counter the flames.
But if he left the sea and faced someone who could control fire—and might have a Logia ability—he had no confidence at all.
Especially since their brief clash had also shown him that his opponent was a formidable swordsman.
Some distance away, cheers rang out from the pirate ship.
Dunn, who had been facing off against Jinbe, turned toward the pirate ship where the cheering had broken out and slightly raised Flame in his hand.
Jinbe noticed the shift in Dunn's attention.
His heart tightened, but in the next instant, Dunn was already moving.
Whoosh!
An unadorned slash cut through the air, heading for the pirate ship floating on the sea.
Jinbe's expression tensed. He slapped the surface of the sea and shot forward, cutting through the water to intercept the slash. He crossed his arms, Armament Haki coating them.
"Plum Blossom Skin!"
His crossed-arm defensive stance collided with the slash Dunn had unleashed.
Bang!
Jinbe was sent flying by the slash and crashed into the water beside the pirate ship.
The cheers aboard the ship stopped abruptly.
"Get out of here!"
Jinbe surfaced again and immediately ordered the Fish-Man pirates aboard the ship.
"Captain Jinbe!"
The Fish-Men heard him and started to protest, but another slash came at them.
Jinbe's expression tightened, and he rushed forward again.
The result was exactly the same as before. Jinbe was slashed back into the water.
The pirates aboard the ship finally understood. This man was clearly using them as a way to attack Big Brother Jinbe.
The pirates were furious, but there was nothing they could do. They could only follow the order and sail away, so they wouldn't become tools for attacking Jinbe.
As the pirate ship moved farther away, Dunn looked at Jinbe in the water, feeling somewhat troubled.
Get in the water and fight him?
No chance.
He had been deliberately training his swimming, and with his current physique, he could stay in the sea for an hour or two without trouble. But fight a Fish-Man Shichibukai who wielded both forms of Haki underwater?
Dunn knew Jinbe fairly well.
Jinbe was at the peak of his strength—or perhaps had only just entered his prime. Fish-Man Karate, combined with his ability to control water currents, gave him a tremendous boost in combat power underwater.
On land, even without activating Indomitable, Dunn could fight him with his powerful physique and Devil Fruit ability and might not lose.
But in the ocean, at least until he gained the Burning Ocean ability, his Devil Fruit powers would likely be far less effective.
Of course, that was without activating Indomitable.
If he activated Indomitable, its terrifying power and all-around boost might let him take Jinbe down in one blow.
But Dunn had no intention of activating Indomitable at the drop of a hat.
To be honest, it wasn't worth it.
And after activating Indomitable, he would be weakened for a while.
Dunn stood on the shore while Jinbe remained in the water, the two of them watching each other. Then Jinbe flipped over, dove beneath the surface, and disappeared.
He left?
Dunn waited a while, but Jinbe didn't resurface.
Neither Dunn nor Jinbe had fought in earnest this time. At most, they had tested each other.
Dunn sheathed his sword. The flames around him died down, and he turned and walked back into the village.
The villagers who had been captured were still there. They only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Dunn.
Dunn walked over and glanced at them, then headed in one direction.
Everyone's eyes followed him as he walked into the village chief's house.
On the ground lay a trampled Den Den Mushi. Nearby was an old man whose arm had been severed and whose chest bore a deep diagonal slash. He was already dead.
Dunn lowered his head slightly and stood there for a moment before turning to look at the tall figure in a Marine uniform at the doorway.
"Come to think of it, are the Marines always a step behind?"
Looking at the man, Dunn asked bluntly, his tone rather unfriendly.
Unexpectedly, the old Marine, who seemed rather straightforward, didn't get angry. He looked at the dead man in the room and sighed.
"Can't be helped. The sea is too vast. Even the Marines can't control everything. Besides, some Marine soldiers..."
Garp started to say something, then fell silent.
He looked at Dunn.
"You fought Jinbe?"
"You saw it?"
Dunn froze. He was certain Garp hadn't arrived while he was fighting Jinbe.
Or rather, Garp had been outside the range of his Observation Haki at the time.
"I received word that Jinbe had come to the East Blue looking for a group of Fish-Men. Those dead outside, I assume? He couldn't take their bodies with him. There are traces of a fight by the shore, and signs of scorching from fire."
Garp looked at Dunn.
Dunn lifted Flame and rested it on his shoulder, then walked past Garp.
"Yeah. I didn't want to fight that guy in the sea. I'd be at a disadvantage there."
Garp watched Dunn's straight-backed figure as he carried his sword on his shoulder, then glanced at the dead man in the room.
"You know him?"
"No. We just exchanged a few words earlier."
Dunn paused, then turned to look at Garp.
"To be honest, I don't like pirates. And, of course, I don't like the Marines either. So don't bother me in the future."
Garp's expression stiffened.
Dunn's words left Garp unsure how to respond.
"Let me borrow your ship to get back. Also, turn these Fish-Man pirates in for bounty money, and use half of it to rebuild this village."
As he spoke, Dunn headed for the shore.
A Marine warship was anchored offshore. Smaller boats packed with Marines were heading toward the island.
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