Fish-Man Karate Shows Its Might / The Kindling Flame: Amaterasu

A force surged up from the sea. A towering wave hurled Noil's ship into the air.

Two ferocious sea beasts rode the wave, their jaws gaping as they lunged at the ship from either side.

Noil gripped the railing and charged fearlessly at one of them.

He drew the Qingxing Blade and leaped above the beast. Raising the sword over his head, he slashed down with a fierce burst of Sword Aura.

Blood sprayed from the beast's head. It roared in pain, and Noil kicked off its skull to launch himself at the other one.

Let's try out a move from the Flying Heaven Imperial Sword Style on you!

Noil's dark eyes flashed. In midair, he twisted his waist and legs together, gripped the Qingxing Blade in reverse, and slashed at the beast's head.

"Dragon Hammer Flash!"

A terrifying blade of light cut through the water. The vicious strike drilled through nearly the beast's entire body.

Both sea beasts suffered grievous wounds and fell back into the sea. Noil landed smoothly on the deck and sheathed his sword.

Blood spread across the surface. With Observation Haki, Noil sensed that many sea beasts below seemed to be gathering again.

"What a pain." Noil stared at the water, his head aching. He was the only one aboard. If he had a few subordinates, they could fight these beasts for him.

Instead, a handful of sea beasts had him running himself ragged.

Drawn by the scent of blood, a pack of sea beasts swam toward the ship. Just as Noil prepared to fight again, a clear whistle rang out from somewhere in the distant fog.

As if they had received a signal, the beasts promptly abandoned Noil's ship and swam toward the sound.

Noil stared in disbelief. Were sea beasts really this organized?

He steered after them, intending to find whoever had blown the whistle.

That person could clearly control the beasts. Perhaps they could even help him escape the fog.

But he had overestimated his ship's speed. The beasts swam as though their lives depended on it, and he soon lost them.

It hardly mattered. Now that he was this close, his Observation Haki faintly picked up several people in the distance.

There were quite a few of them, and one had a formidable presence. It was still no match for Noil's, but the person was probably an expert by East Blue standards.

Curiously, their ship seemed to have been destroyed, leaving everyone in the water.

Then someone riding something sped toward Noil through the water.

The newcomer was dressed like a tribesman and rode a dolphin-like sea beast as fast as a speedboat.

"Die, outsider!" Red stripes painted the tribesman's face, and his words were thick with savage hostility.

Spear in hand, he used the beast to scramble onto the ship and thrust straight at Noil's head.

The savage had boarded without permission and attacked. Noil's anger flared.

Who the hell do you think you are? You think you can just decide I should die?

Noil did not bother drawing his sword. He caught the spear barehanded and squeezed, crushing its shaft.

With the weapon broken, Noil kicked the savage in the face. Blood immediately streamed from his nose.

"Damn you!" Knocked down in one move, the man sprang up and charged again, hands outstretched to strangle Noil.

The crude attack finally pushed Noil too far. He activated his Devil Fruit power.

His body swelled, and his hideous bear face became a fearsome sight. Noil seized the man in one enormous paw.

Seeing Noil turn into a bear-man, the savage finally looked frightened. "You turned into a bear?! You're not human! You're a demon!"

Noil grinned. "A demon? You tried to kill me without a word, and you're calling me a demon?"

His massive paw tightened. Bones cracked sharply, and the savage screamed in pain.

Just before his claws crushed the man, Noil flung him back into the sea. A red-spotted dolphin-like beast with fangs immediately swam over and caught him.

Back on his mount, the man seemed to forget his pain before his injuries had even healed. As he fled, he shouted, "You're dead, outsider! Red Leaf Island will be your grave!"

Noil watched him retreat and sneered. "Don't worry. I'll come find you soon."

The ship drew closer to the others. Noil could hear the sounds of fighting now. Had they gotten into a fight with the savages too?

As his ship passed through the thick fog, Noil finally made out the people in the water.

A group rode red-spotted beasts like the one he had seen before. They carried spears and watched their enemies in the sea like prey.

Four other people were swimming among the wreckage of a ship. It looked as though sea beasts had smashed their vessel apart.

Though the ship lay in pieces, Noil recognized the skull flag floating on the water. It had been a pirate ship.

The man Noil had beaten was among the riders.

He whispered something to a man who appeared to be their leader. The leader flew into a rage.

Noil ignored the tribesmen and studied the four pirates in the water with curiosity.

A pirate crew this small was either brand-new or, like Red-Haired's crew, made up entirely of tough fighters.

One young man's face suddenly caught Noil's attention.

Noil stared at him and muttered, "That face... those freckles. He looks so familiar..."

Fish-Man Karate Shows Its Power

Black hair, dark eyes, freckles, and an orange-red hat bearing a smiling face and a crying face.

Noil froze.

Was that Ace? Why had he run into him here?

Oh, right. Going by their ages, he and Ace were the same age.

Noil had set out to sea, so it made sense that Ace had become a pirate too.

Seeing Ace and the others staring at him, Noil called out, "Hello!"

A large ship had arrived, and its owner had greeted them. Ace realized Noil was not with the tribesmen and said happily:

"Hey! Can we come aboard for a bit? We can't fight properly in the water!"

Noil smiled and nodded. "I've got a score to settle with them too. Come on up."

Delighted, Ace climbed aboard with a crewmate in each hand. His remaining companion followed with a sniper rifle.

Back on a ship, the four pirates regained their confidence. Ace laughed exuberantly, planted a foot on the bow, and pointed at the tribesmen. "Come on! Let's keep fighting!"

Seeing that Ace had spent so long in the water without trouble told Noil what he needed to know.

Ace had not eaten a Devil Fruit yet. Otherwise, one charged-up Fire Fist would probably have reduced these men to ash.

Using their sea beasts to their advantage, the tribesmen spread out and surrounded Noil's ship.

"Foolish outsiders. You dared approach our sacred ground, and you even injured one of our people!"

The leader, the most muscular of them all, had strange red lines painted across his face. He pronounced their death sentence without a trace of emotion.

Ace shouted indignantly, "You were the ones who sent those sea beasts after our ship! You started this!"

The tribesman Noil had beaten pointed at them. "Kasa! Stop wasting words. Feed their flesh to our Red-Spotted Porpoises!"

Kasa, the savage leader, snorted. He took a wooden whistle from around his neck, drew a deep breath, and blew.

One of Ace's crewmates frowned. "They're calling the sea beasts again."

The same trick had caught them before. Whenever that wooden whistle sounded, scores of sea beasts surged up from below.

That was how their ship had been overturned on the spot.

Through Observation Haki, Noil sensed many enormous shapes rising beneath them and charging straight at his ship's hull.

Noil frowned. "Watch the ship for me. I'll deal with the trouble underwater."

He held his breath and jumped in. Ace hurriedly called, "Wait! I'm coming too!"

The three remaining crewmates looked helplessly across the deck as a horde of savages leaped aboard and surrounded them.

Can't we talk this out...?

Would you dare fight us one-on-one?

Underwater, Noil and Ace saw a swarm of sea beasts rushing toward them. Noil's face darkened.

There are way too many.

Those tribesmen really are vicious.

Beside him, Ace flexed his hands, clenched his fists, and charged into the swarm.

Even without the Flame-Flame Fruit, Ace was a formidable fighter.

One barehanded human plunged into a mass of sea beasts, sending a huge beast flying with every punch.

His hands and feet struck in rapid succession. Bubbles billowed through the water, and he halted wave after wave of attackers.

Noil refused to be outdone. When it came to fighting underwater, nothing beat his Fish-Man Karate!

Ever since he had acquired the Fish-Man Karate training manual, his hand-to-hand combat skills had soared. But he had never actually used the style in an underwater fight.

Noil took his stance and slowly spread his arms, palms open. Blue light seemed to gleam at his fingertips, which took on the shape of webbing.

Spear Wave: Group Rain—

Silently invoking the move, Noil swept both arms forward with force. Water gathered around him and shot out like cannonballs.

The powerful currents grew devastating underwater. Spear Waves struck the swarm one after another with the force of explosives, sending tremendous shock waves through the sea.

Several waves of beasts attacking the ship were driven back at once. Their ugly faces fixed on Noil in terror. They dared not approach, though they were unwilling to leave.

Ace could not speak while holding his breath, but he stared wide-eyed at Noil and gave him an admiring thumbs-up.

A thumbs-up from Ace!

Noil raised his brows smugly, then waved for Ace to move aside.

Ace paused before swimming away from the fight.

Noil brought his fists to his waist, then drew both hands back with the current, taking the opening stance of a shoulder throw.

Fish-Man Jujutsu had grown out of Fish-Man Karate and offered even greater control over the currents.

Ocean Current Shoulder Throw!

With the motion of a shoulder throw, Noil caught the seawater behind him and hurled a surge as vast as a flood forward.

The destructive current smashed into the swarm. Not even creatures that lived beneath the sea could withstand an assault like a natural disaster. The wave drove every last sea beast back into the depths.

Noil looked into the dim depths in delight. He had never expected Fish-Man Karate to be this powerful underwater.

It beat a certain someone's Village Police Fighting Style by a mile!

Seeing the enemy driven off, Ace swam over and patted Noil, tiny bubbles spilling from his mouth as though he were praising him.

Noil pointed upward. Ace nodded, and they swam back to the ship.

Meanwhile, Ace's three crewmates stood back to back on deck, defending themselves against the tribesmen.

Companions who would one day earn Fire Fist Ace's trust were hardly weak.

Despite being outnumbered, the three had held on this long. Many attackers lay on the deck, while they had suffered only minor wounds.

One of them, a blue-haired young man wearing a dark blue mask over his eyes, said anxiously, "Why isn't Ace back yet? We can't hold out much longer."

Another wore a skull mask, and nearly every accessory on his body bore a skull. He seemed particularly fond of them.

His voice was resolute as he gritted his teeth. "We have to hold on until the captain returns!"

"They're fighting sea beasts. If we can't even hold off these people, how can we call ourselves his crew?"

The last man wore a top hat and carried a sniper rifle. He raised it and fired so swiftly that his enemies were struck before they could react.

The face beneath the brim showed no emotion. Then his gaze sharpened, and the corner of his mouth lifted. "They're back," he said quietly.

Before the words had faded, Noil and Ace burst from the water and landed on deck. Ace stretched his muscles and glared at the tribesmen. "You think you can bully my crew?"

"It's time to settle the score!"

The Fire of Mercy: Amaterasu