Duel with Jinbe

After stacking Hokage Chu Yang's talent, potential, and strength, Chu Yang learned everything far faster than ordinary people.

Just four short days later, Chu Yang's proficiency in Fish-Man Karate had risen to another level.

Jinbe decided to assess Chu Yang's training results.

The two held a unique Fish-Man Karate match on the deck.

Other than Fish-Man Karate, neither side was allowed to use any other skills.

At first, the fish-men aboard thought Jinbe was joking. How could a human who had only been on the ship for a week possibly learn Fish-Man Karate so quickly?

It would be nearly impossible even if he had started learning in the womb!

With doubts still lingering, every member of the Sun Pirates witnessed the match between Chu Yang and Jinbe.

Even Arlong was present. His upper body was wrapped in bandages as he stood at the edge of the deck.

His eyes never left Chu Yang for even a moment.

"You attack first!" Jinbe stood openly right in front of Chu Yang, not even taking a defensive stance.

"Alright." Always direct and decisive, Chu Yang did not refuse. He drew his fist back to his waist and leaned slightly backward, like a tightly coiled spring.

Chu Yang gathered his strength in his fist, then threw it with force. The power of his punch formed a fierce shockwave in the air.

Fish-Man Karate: Vacuum Tile True Fist

This was a move Chu Yang had improved upon after studying Jinbe's Karakusa Gawara Seiken.

It had greater range and more concentrated power.

Because of Wood Release, Chu Yang's cellular activity was steadily increasing. The power of this punch was already no weaker than Jinbe's original move—perhaps even stronger.

Jinbe had not yet realized how powerful the punch was. Only when the cannonball-like shockwave neared him did he feel its terrifying pressure.

"Shark Tile True Fist!"

The muscles in Jinbe's thick, powerful blue arm bulged menacingly as he smashed a fist viciously into the air before him.

Boom!

The air seemed to be torn apart by brute force into countless streams, surging wildly in every direction and directly knocking over the fish-men watching nearby.

Arlong stared at the two of them in utter shock. They had exchanged only one move, yet the commotion had already exceeded anything he had imagined.

"This guy actually learned Fish-Man Karate?!"

"And he's evenly matched with Brother Jinbe!"

"Could he have fish-man blood too?"

The fish-men discussed it among themselves, staring at Chu Yang in amazement. Tiger stood with his mouth agape, unsure how to express what he was feeling.

"Not bad, kid!" Jinbe showed Chu Yang a smile for the first time, abandoning his earlier dismissive attitude. "In that case, I'll have to seriously fight you!"

Chu Yang smiled, excitement flaring in his eyes, faintly carrying the same bloodthirsty fervor as before.

Arlong shuddered violently at the sight, a chill rising in his heart.

The two began fighting again, abandoning meaningless probing and going straight into the simplest, most brutal close-quarters brawl.

Fist against flesh!

Yet the difference in size between the human Chu Yang and Jinbe was immense. It was hard to believe Chu Yang could remain standing beneath Jinbe's fierce onslaught.

With his adolescent body, Chu Yang was only slightly taller than Jinbe's waist, and his thighs were not even as thick as Jinbe's arms.

When their fists clashed, it was like two matchsticks striking against two logs that would take several people to encircle.

The visual contrast made the match especially alarming to everyone watching.

Tiger was terrified that Chu Yang's small body would be broken by Jinbe's fists the very next second.

And indeed.

Every clash made Chu Yang feel as if his body was about to fall apart. The force transmitted through Jinbe's fists was like invisible waves battering every muscle and bone in his body.

An ordinary person would have been unable to endure it long ago.

But Chu Yang's regenerative ability was unimaginably powerful, giving him the foundation to stay standing.

Moreover, Jinbe had not used Haki, so everything remained within Chu Yang's limits.

Chu Yang and Jinbe fought from noon until sunset!

They continued until the stars filled the sky before finally stopping!

Jinbe had run out of strength...

He simply lay on the deck, gasping heavily. His entire body was covered in bruises, making for a miserable sight.

Chu Yang on the other side was also battered and bruised.

However, Chu Yang had one advantage over him: he was still standing.

Before everyone's eyes, Chu Yang, who had studied Fish-Man Karate for only one week, had actually fought Jinbe to a draw without using Wood Release.

The result shocked everyone!

Just one week!

Chu Yang had truly gone from a novice who knew nothing about Taijutsu to an elite of Fish-Man Karate.

Tiger stared blankly at Chu Yang as though he were some unidentified monster.

Having seen Chu Yang's abilities at Mary Geoise, Tiger had never believed he was an ordinary boy, but Chu Yang's talent still left him stunned.

Jinbe said speechlessly, "Kid, you really can take a beating!"

Chu Yang grinned. "You can't take as much of a beating as I thought."

"Ha ha ha!" Jinbe laughed loudly. "This time, I'll count it as my loss. We'll do it again next time, but I won't hold back then."

Chu Yang said irritably, "If you use Haki, I can't beat you. Forget it."

Jinbe replied, "You can use your Devil Fruit ability too."

Chu Yang still shook his head. "Can't beat you, can't beat you..."

Jinbe immediately felt a headache coming on, then came up with a compromise. "How about this? I'll teach you Haki, and we'll have another match using Haki in the future."

Chu Yang revealed a satisfied smile, then slowly collapsed onto the ground. He truly could not hold on any longer.

From that day onward, no one in the Sun Pirates spoke ill of Chu Yang anymore.

Nor did anyone dare look at Chu Yang with discriminatory hatred.

Wherever Chu Yang went, all he felt were the respectful gazes of others.

This was respect for the strong.

Only Arlong dared to be angry without voicing it. Even when passing Chu Yang, he would lower his head and quickly walk by him.

Two days after the match, Chu Yang eagerly sought Jinbe out again to learn Haki from him.

He truly loved this state of learning anything twice as fast as others.

Every moment, his strength was improving significantly.

It was intoxicating, impossible to break free from.

"What a monster." Jinbe, whose body was still covered in bruises, could not help sighing when he saw Chu Yang had already fully recovered. "Tell me honestly, are you really human?"

"Isn't that obvious?!" Chu Yang rolled his eyes and asked, "What part of me doesn't look human?"

Jinbe clicked his tongue in wonder and shook his head. "No part of you looks human..."

"Don't insult me by beating around the bush!" Chu Yang snapped with an exasperated laugh. "Hurry up and teach me Haki!"

Left with no choice, Jinbe obediently began explaining the power of Haki to Chu Yang.

At the same time, Tiger sat in the captain's cabin with an extremely grim expression. In his hand were the newspaper and Reward Order delivered by the News Coo that morning.

The Reward Order featured Tiger himself, with a bounty as high as 500 million Beli!