Fish-Man Karate

Arlong looked at Chu Yang, whose eyes had turned red, and wanted to beg for mercy, but the fear of death left him too terrified to speak.

Arlong stood there with his mouth open, trembling uncontrollably.

As Chu Yang watched blood continuously spill from Arlong's body, he suddenly recalled the agony of the Celestial Dragons' branding iron being pressed viciously against his chest.

The fury of being butchered by others because of his weakness ignited the killing intent in Chu Yang's heart.

He would never let anyone trample him again!

"What... what are you trying to do?!"

Arlong, who had nearly passed out, was jolted awake by the chill emanating from Chu Yang.

"If you kill me, you won't be able to stay on this ship anymore! Brother Tiger won't allow someone who killed a companion to remain!"

Arlong screamed hysterically, trying to restore Chu Yang's reason.

"Earlier..." Chu Yang said coldly, "if I hadn't agreed to you, would you have spared me? Would you have spared an ordinary human?"

Arlong was instantly speechless. Just as Chu Yang had expected, he had never intended to spare him. Even if he did not kill Chu Yang, he would have thrown him into the sea and left him to fend for himself.

Afterward, Arlong only needed to claim that Chu Yang had left on his own. He might not have been able to fool Tiger, but Tiger would not have been able to do anything to him.

Arlong was certain that Tiger would not turn against his own kind over one person.

"You're no different from the humans you despise..." Chu Yang sneered, abandoning his intention to kill Arlong as he began releasing the wooden vines binding him.

It was not because Chu Yang had gone soft-hearted. If he killed Arlong here, he truly would not be able to remain aboard the ship.

More importantly, someone had arrived...

The burly blue giant stood behind Chu Yang, his hands coated in Armament Haki resting on Chu Yang's shoulders, ready to save Arlong at any moment.

Chu Yang dispelled his Wood Release, turned to Jinbe, and asked calmly, "When did you get here?"

Jinbe glanced at the blood-covered Arlong, shock flashing through his eyes.

He lowered his voice as much as possible, trying to sound calm. "When Arlong said he was taking you to rest, I felt something was wrong. That wasn't like him. Just in case, I followed you two the whole way."

Jinbe gave a bitter smile. "I was afraid he'd do something foolish. Turns out I was right, but I never expected..."

Chu Yang let out a breath, as though he wanted to expel all the pent-up frustration in his chest. "You never expected I'd nearly kill him instead?"

Jinbe nodded and said in an understanding tone, "No wonder Brother Tiger said you saved him. So you're a Devil Fruit User."

The repeated use of Wood Release had nearly drained Chu Yang's Chakra. He was exhausted now, his eyelids drooping as he said weakly, "If you don't plan on throwing me off the ship, take me somewhere to rest."

"Right now, all I want is to lie in bed and get some proper sleep."

Before leaving the lower storage room, Jinbe helplessly looked at Arlong, who was badly injured and unconscious by the doorway, then sighed with a complicated expression.

Arlong's hatred for humans ran deeper than that of most Fish-Men aboard the ship. If he did not correct his way of thinking soon, he would likely suffer a major loss at Chu Yang's hands in the future.

Out of consideration for Chu Yang, Jinbe specifically arranged a single room for him before quietly leaving.

After settling Chu Yang in, Jinbe hurriedly called for the ship's doctor to treat Arlong. Soon afterward, the news that Arlong had been severely injured and knocked unconscious by Chu Yang spread throughout the ship.

At first, Jinbe had considered covering for Arlong, but he eventually abandoned the idea.

There were quite a few Fish-Men aboard the ship who shared Arlong's views.

To keep those people from doing anything stupid, a proper deterrent was necessary. With that in mind, Jinbe felt it was better to let the news spread.

Chu Yang, who was snoring soundly in bed, had no idea that because of this incident, Arlong had become the laughingstock of the entire ship.

The next day, Chu Yang slept until noon before appearing on deck beneath the blazing sun. He noticed that the Fish-Men's gazes toward him were noticeably different from yesterday.

There was far less disgust in their eyes, replaced by astonishment and fear.

A very obvious sense of distance separated both sides.

"Looks like they already know." Chu Yang glanced around, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. From now on, there would finally be less noise in his ears.

Chu Yang had no intention of becoming friendly with these Fish-Men. The Sun Pirates were merely a temporary place for him to stay.

"What happened yesterday was my responsibility." Tiger walked over from the bow, his face full of exhaustion as he apologized to Chu Yang.

"I'm not the one who got hurt, so there's no need to apologize." Chu Yang replied flatly. "Though that guy called Arlong probably won't be getting out of bed for the next ten days or half a month."

"That's fine too. At least he won't keep picking fights for no reason." Tiger looked troubled. Although he was a Fish-Man himself, he did not like Arlong's violent and radical way of handling things.

"If you need anything, just tell me." Although he had declared the founding of the Sun Pirates, Tiger clearly did not regard Chu Yang as one of the pirate crew. He remained very polite.

They were companions who traveled together for only part of their separate journeys. They could not walk hand in hand to the end, and both of them understood that without needing to say it.

Chu Yang thought for a moment before speaking. "I want to learn some combat techniques from Jinbe. Can you have him teach me?"

"Jinbe?" Tiger paused, then smiled. "Of course. You have a good eye. That kid's strength and potential are both extraordinary. In a few years, he'll probably become one of the finest among the Fish-Men."

Chu Yang smiled.

Obviously!

That was Jinbe, one of the "mere Four Emperors"! The title of Shichibukai was not given to him for nothing!

What Chu Yang wanted to learn from Jinbe was not merely Fish-Man Karate, but also the more important Haki. He had already witnessed Jinbe's Armament Haki yesterday.

Not long afterward, Tiger brought Jinbe over and explained that Chu Yang wanted to learn combat from him.

Jinbe still held deep wariness toward humans at the time, but because Chu Yang had done Tiger a favor, he treated him as an exception.

Jinbe reluctantly agreed to Chu Yang's request.

That very day, Jinbe began putting Chu Yang through hellish training.

Whether Jinbe was harboring a degree of vengefulness or simply wanted to finish the task sooner, his teaching methods were exceptionally rough and wild.

Nearly every time training ended, Chu Yang had to be carried back to his room.

As miserable as it was, Chu Yang completed the basics of Fish-Man Karate in just three days, and his proficiency soared like a rocket.

His progress was so fast that Jinbe found it unbelievable. In Jinbe's eyes, Chu Yang was learning Fish-Man Karate faster than most Fish-Men.

But Chu Yang was undeniably human...

If he had not known that Tiger would never permit it, Jinbe truly wanted to cut Chu Yang open and see whether he had Fish-Man organs inside.

"This is insane!"

Unconvinced, Jinbe continued intensifying Chu Yang's "torment." Yet Chu Yang was now like a sponge without limits, madly absorbing everything that could benefit him.