Nezumi's Sneak Attack, Arlong's Rampage

Walking into Nami and Nojiko's room, it could be said that the walls were bare.

There were only a few sea charts scattered across the floor.

"Do you like sailing?"

Nami nodded vigorously. "I do! My dream is to record every sea in maps drawn by my own hand!"

Looking at the spirited Nami before him, Roya thought, So Nami already had her own dream at this age.

"Then you need to work hard. Strive for your dream, but make sure to strengthen yourself as well. In this dog-eat-dog world, strength is extremely important too!"

"Mm, I will, Roya~"

Just as they were chatting, footsteps sounded outside.

Arlong and Nezumi looked at the small house before them, sinister, gloomy smiles spreading across their faces.

"Nami, Nojiko, you two are pretty bold! You actually dared expose me in front of White Dove!"

Before he even entered the room, Nezumi's voice was already shouting from outside.

It was clear that he was utterly furious.

Upon hearing Nezumi's voice, Nami and Nojiko instinctively moved closer to Roya.

"It's okay."

Roya spoke softly to the two girls, then casually picked up a pen from the table and walked to the door.

Outside, Arlong snarled, "Why waste so many words? Just kick the door down!"

As soon as Arlong finished speaking, the door was kicked flying.

It flew straight toward Roya.

"Is this how you knock on doors?"

Roya held the drawing pen, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

The presence of a peak Great Swordsman erupted completely at that moment!

Roya lightly drew a line through the air with the pen.

In an instant!

A terrifying sword-energy slash formed a semicircular arc before Roya and shot forward with incomparable sharpness.

It seemed as though even the air had been torn apart!

The fierce, blinding sword-energy slash cut the door in half, sending the pieces crashing to the ground, yet its power did not weaken in the slightest.

In the blink of an eye, it passed between Nezumi and Arlong, grazing their cheeks as it flew away.

Two bloody marks appeared on their cheeks.

This sudden scene left Nezumi and Arlong with no time to react at all.

They had never imagined that Roya would be behind the door!

But how was that possible?!

Nezumi had personally watched Roya leave!

Nezumi and Arlong stood frozen in place, feeling as though they had fallen into a bottomless abyss.

A chill like that of a thousand-year ice cellar enveloped them.

"Gulp."

Arlong swallowed hard.

His fists clenched tightly, veins bulging across them.

"Nezumi, you set me up? Didn't you say White Dove had already left?!"

Arlong gritted his teeth as he spoke to Nezumi.

But then he noticed that Nezumi was staring at Roya in utter disbelief.

Nezumi felt his body begin trembling as though it were beyond his control.

Shaking violently, he asked Roya, "M-my lord, d-didn't you leave from Cocoyasi's harbor? H-how did you suddenly appear here?"

"If I hadn't pretended to leave, how could I have lured out a shark like you?"

Arlong now understood that both he and Nezumi had been played by Roya!

Thud.

As soon as Roya finished speaking, Nezumi dropped to his knees before him and pointed at Arlong beside him. "It was him! He forced me to do it! I really wanted to be a good person at first. I really am a good person, my lord!"

"A good person who constantly squeezes us dry and slaughters innocents?!"

After hearing Nezumi's words, Nami could no longer hold back and stepped out from behind Roya.

A gleam flashed through Nezumi's eyes. As long as he could seize Nami, he would be safe!

With that thought, Nezumi suddenly kicked off the ground and rushed toward Nami behind Roya.

Just as he was about to grab Nami, Nezumi saw that his own body was still standing where it had been.

Then, his vision went black, and he fell into eternal darkness.

Roya had already seen through Nezumi's intentions, so the instant he took his first step—

Roya used the drawing pen in his hand, infused with the intent of a peak Great Swordsman, to cut off his head!

Roya softly asked the two girls behind him, "Are you scared?"

"No!"

Nami tightly held Nojiko's hand. Though she was only putting on a brave front and was still terrified inside—

She knew that if she wanted to pursue her dream in this world, she had to endure everything before her.

After seeing Nami and Nojiko's reactions, Roya nodded.

Then he looked at Arlong, who stood not far away.

"I'm curious. From what I know, you should be a slave who just escaped from the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, right? Why didn't you follow Fisher Tiger? Why did you come to the East Blue instead?"

Arlong had originally been looking for a chance to escape, but upon hearing Fisher Tiger's name—

His eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at Roya with a savage glare.

"Fisher Tiger!!! I will never acknowledge him! He actually wants peaceful coexistence with humans! Our fish-man bloodline is noble. We are naturally stronger than humans! We should enslave humans, not spout that bullshit about peaceful coexistence!"

"Strong? Can you beat me?"

Roya smiled faintly at Arlong.

"White Dove! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're an admiral! Today, I'll definitely kill you, then eat the two behind you!"

"Shark ON DARTS!"

Arlong's calves abruptly swelled, muscles bulging as veins rose across them. They propelled his entire body as he charged toward Roya.

Like a torpedo.

He intended to use his saw-like nose to pierce Roya's heart.

No matter how strong an admiral was, he could not survive without a heart!

Just as Arlong's fantasies ran wild, Armament Haki instantly wrapped around Roya's arm.

Like lightning, Roya grabbed Arlong's saw-like nose.

In an instant, Roya effortlessly crushed every serration on it, then hurled him straight into the sky.

Though it was a fight, every movement flowed as smoothly as an artwork.

Intense pain shot straight into Arlong's brain, making him cry out in agony!

As the wind howled past his ears, Arlong felt utterly miserable!

How could a human possibly possess such strength?!

Impossible!

This was absolutely impossible!

Didn't humans just like eating fruits?

Didn't they just like relying on external powers to make themselves stronger?

How could they surpass fish-men by so much in the innate advantages of bloodline?!

Even Fisher Tiger could never possess such terrifying strength!

"Damn it!!!"