As the lightning faded, a faint scorched smell still lingered in the air.
Only that silent figure remained standing in the center of the deck. The brief shock lasted only an instant—
"Surround him!"
Arlong was the first to react.
He abruptly lowered his body and leaned his shoulders forward.
Fangs protruded from the corners of his mouth, and his eyes turned savage.
He looked like a ferocious beast that had been provoked.
The oppressive presence of a Fish-Man erupted without restraint at that moment!
"Crack—"
Fine cracks spread across the deck beneath his feet.
On the other side, the blond-haired Jinbe had already taken position.
His breathing was steady, his feet spread apart as he lowered his center of gravity.
It was a karate stance that allowed him to intervene, block, or counterattack at any moment.
He did not strike rashly, but his gaze had already locked onto Rock.
The other Fish-Men quickly spread out as well, pressing forward, sealing the sides, and cutting off any retreat.
The shrinking semicircle advanced layer by layer. In the span of a single breath, Rock was completely surrounded.
The air turned abruptly cold, and even the sea breeze seemed to have been pressed down.
Fisher Tiger's gaze never left Rock.
That face.
That aura.
—it felt familiar to him.
A scene buried deep in his memories was forcibly dredged up.
During one of his voyages back when he was still an adventurer, there had been a sea before a storm.
The image of the sky splitting apart, of lightning piercing through sea and sky, bloomed in his mind.
"Hey, hey, hey..."
Tiger's throat tightened.
Cold sweat slid down from his temple.
Meanwhile, Arlong could no longer hold himself back.
The impatience he had forcibly suppressed, the irritation caused by the children playing