Jinbe

Saint Nusjuro: "Then find the person who truly proposed this plan and have him open up the route."

Saint Topman, Saint Warcury, Saint Mars, and Saint Saturn could not help exchanging glances, the corners of their mouths rising slightly afterward.

That was right!

Whoever came up with the plan should carry it out.

As for the claim that this plan had been proposed by the Celestial Dragons—

They did not believe a single word of it.

It was not that there were no elites among the Celestial Dragons, but they knew what most Celestial Dragons were like. More importantly, the Celestial Dragon who had proposed this plan was clearly not among the elites.

Time passed bit by bit. Ener and his group had even sailed beyond the waters surrounding the Alabasta Kingdom.

"Captain, something seems off." At that moment, Nami, serving as lookout from high above, pointed ahead and cried out.

"What?"

Ener rose to his feet in surprise.

He then went to the bow and looked in the direction Nami was pointing, only to see someone half-emerged from the sea, staring at him.

A Whale Shark Fish-man, with windblown eyebrows and sideburns, a topknot-like hairstyle, a thick, short black beard on his chin, and a lightning-shaped scar at the corner of his left eye.

He had a massive build, two large fangs protruding from his lower jaw, the sun emblem of the Sun Pirates at the center of his chest, and he often wore a patterned yukata.

Damn, every detail matched.

Wasn't this Jinbe, one of the Shichibukai?

He was the tenth member of the Straw Hat Pirates in the original story, and his strength was formidable. He could even block Big Mom's attacks on his own.

Ener's brows furrowed. He would not believe that encountering Jinbe in the middle of this vast ocean was a coincidence.

Had he come specifically for me?

Could it be because of Arlong?

That shouldn't be it!

In the original story, Arlong had been defeated by Straw Hat. In the end, Jinbe had even joined the Straw Hat Pirates!

Could it be because I had killed Arlong?

"Whoosh..."

Gin, Zoro, and Lina flashed to Ener's side together. The three of them tacitly placed their hands on their weapons.

Ener stopped them. "Don't attack. This guy isn't someone you can handle yet."

Gin, Zoro, and Lina were slightly startled. Lina, who had already become a Master Swordsman, asked curiously, "Who is he?"

Ener said, "Jinbe the Sea Knight, one of the Shichibukai. He's a Fish-man, and he's extremely powerful. In the water, he's practically invincible."

"One of the Shichibukai?"

"A Fish-man?"

Gin, Zoro, and Lina were startled again, all the more curious. They were curious about the strength of the Shichibukai, while Fish-men reminded them of Arlong from East Blue.

They exchanged glances. None of them were fools.

They quickly understood where the problem lay.

Nami had naturally heard their conversation as well. Her face turned grave, her eyes filled with worry. "Commodore Ener..."

Before Nami could finish, Ener had already cut her off. "Don't worry. I can handle it."

As everyone stared in shock, he leaped up and landed in the sea.

"Huh?"

Not only were they stunned—even Jinbe, standing in the ocean, froze for a moment, his eyes full of confusion.

Who was he?

Jinbe the Sea Knight!

The strongest of the Fish-men.

In the sea, no one in the world could be his opponent. Even Akainu would have to kneel before him!

So what was with this Commodore?

Had he gone mad?

Ener possessed Fish-man genes. Once he entered the sea, he was like a fish returning to water!

With a kick of his legs, Ener shot through the water like an arrow loosed from a bow.

"This..."

Jinbe was utterly dumbfounded at the sight, even more shocked than when Ener had first jumped into the water.

It was not because Ener was swimming quickly. After all, powerful humans were not slow swimmers either. He had personally seen Dark King Rayleigh swim across the Calm Belt.

What shocked him was Ener's swimming style.

That was a way of swimming only Fish-men possessed. And as Ener drew closer, Jinbe even saw the distinctive Fish-man traits on Ener's hands.

When Ener reached him, Jinbe asked in great surprise, "You're a Fish-man too?"

Ener nodded, then shook his head. "Only partly, I suppose. There must have been Fish-men among my ancestors, so I inherited Fish-man blood. And this bloodline only manifested recently."

"A half-Fish-man with Fish-man blood!" Jinbe understood at once.

But precisely because of that, the look in Jinbe's eyes as he watched Ener became several shades more complicated.

"Whew..."

Jinbe took a deep breath and calmed himself. Then he looked at Ener. "Was it you who killed Arlong and the Fish-men under him?"

Ener nodded, answering candidly, "That's right."

He added, "But they deserved to die. They committed slaughter in East Blue and harmed countless people. Their deaths were the only way to quell the public's fury."

Jinbe did not doubt him, but sorrow still lingered in his heart. "Arlong... he still couldn't let it go."

Ener understood that Jinbe was referring to Arlong's hatred of humans.

And it was precisely because he hated humans that he had committed those atrocities in East Blue, acts that outraged both gods and men.

After his sorrow passed, Jinbe looked at Ener again, his gaze even more complicated. "Although I know this cannot be blamed on you. You're a Marine, so naturally you could not stand by while Arlong harmed humans. But I still have to fight you."

After saying that, he added, "Sorry for the trouble."

Ener did not press him for answers. Instead, he looked at Jinbe meaningfully. "It seems you have your own difficulties. In that case, let's fight."

Jinbe fell silent for a moment, then pointed at a small deserted island not far away. "Let's go over there. Fighting in the water would put you at too much of a disadvantage."

Ener did not refuse. "All right."

At the same time, he understood what Jinbe meant. Jinbe did not want his Fish-man bloodline to be exposed. Ener could not help wondering who had threatened Jinbe into making things difficult for him.

Those two from the Holy Land?

Did they have that much influence?

This was one of the Shichibukai, not one of their lackeys.

The two exchanged one final glance, then turned and sped toward the little island. Within a few breaths, they burst out of the sea at the same time and landed on the island.

"Fish-man Karate: Five Thousand Brick Fist!"

Jinbe attacked first. He raised his hand and threw a straight punch at Ener.

This move used a fist with enough power to split five thousand tiles and shatter the opponent.

It was a signature technique of Fish-man Karate.

"Iron Body: Utsugi!"

This was a technique randomly produced by the system, and its original user had been Lucci of CP9. It was a special derivative of Iron Body that used Iron Body to rebound the opponent's attack. The stronger the force of the strike, the stronger the rebound, and an ordinary person's fist would be destroyed in an instant.