In One Piece: I Can Copy Any Talent

Wasn't that handsome devil Noil?!

"Noil!"

"Big bro!"

"You brat!"

"My precious baby!"

Hearing the villagers' delighted cheers, Noil immediately grinned in satisfaction.

As expected, my popularity hasn't diminished at all!

Wait!

Had some strange forms of address slipped in there?

In the crowd, a certain orange-haired lolita who refused to reveal her name shrank her neck...

Watching the villagers act like starstruck fans, Arlong really wanted to point at Noil's nose and curse, "Who the hell are you?!"

This atmosphere, this popularity?

Who did he think he was?

Did he think he was some returning king?

Noil, the returning king, turned around and met Arlong's hateful gaze. A cold smile appeared on Noil's face.

He raised a finger and pointed at Arlong's saw-like nose.

"Stop staring, Arlong!"

"I'll be right there, and then I'll send you—straight to the afterlife!"

Chapter 13: Fish-Man Officers Instantly Defeated

Arlong's face immediately turned livid after Noil pointed at his nose and cursed him.

Seeing his boss humiliated, Kuroobi could not stand it any longer!

"You insignificant human, you're courting death!" Relying on his massive build, Kuroobi raised his fist and smashed it toward Noil's head!

Noil smiled disdainfully, casually lifted his hand, and easily caught Kuroobi's fist. It could not advance even an inch!

"What?!" Kuroobi stared at his own hand in shock.

Although he had not used his full strength, this human had caught his attack far too easily.

Noil had no time to care what Kuroobi was thinking. Grabbing his fist, he used the momentum to turn sideways and kicked toward his abdomen.

How much strength could a human possibly have...

"Urgh!"

Kuroobi suddenly felt tremendous force slam into him. His internal organs seemed to have been knocked out of place, and his towering body fell straight backward.

Under everyone's shocked gazes, Noil leisurely withdrew his leg.

If he had faced an opponent like this two years ago, he might have found him troublesome.

But now...

After two years of painstaking training, his physical attributes and Swordsmanship had long since broken through 300 points, making him somewhat stronger than the three main fighters of the Straw Hat Pirates had been when they fought the Arlong Pirates in the Original Story.

Moreover, with the help of Sovereign's Gift and the Way of the Haki Sword, his Armament Haki had reached the level where he could harden and coat anything at will.

How could I possibly lose?!

Kuroobi clutched his stomach and stood up, his eyes wide with disbelief. Two little topknot braids stuck straight up from his head, making him look hilariously like a paper New Year painting.

He roared, "Human! You brought this upon yourself!"

"Secret Technique! Fish-Man Karate!"

"Thousand Brick Fist!!"

Kuroobi assumed a stance and unleashed his proudest and most powerful killing technique.

A smile appeared on Arlong's face, and the Fish-Man underlings behind him looked delighted as well.

This was the strongest attack of Kuroobi, an officer of the Arlong Pirates and a Fish-Man Karate practitioner of the fortieth dan. What could that human possibly use to block it?!

Yet in Noil's eyes, the seemingly ferocious Thousand Brick Fist was nothing more than a paper tiger.

Buzz!

With a clear ringing sound, Haki instantly coated Noil's fist. He found the right angle and casually threw a punch!

Kuroobi, who had pounced forward like a wild wolf, was sent flying backward at even greater speed the instant they clashed, like a stray dog!

His body smashed heavily through a house. Kuroobi collapsed beneath the rubble, already unconscious.

His forearm had bent at a horrifying angle, clearly struck by tremendous force.

The pirates' Fish-Men stared at him in disbelief.

The dignified fortieth-dan Fish-Man Karate practitioner Kuroobi had actually been defeated by a single punch?!

Arlong's expression also turned ugly. He had seen it clearly—the brat had used Armament Haki!

Why could someone in the impoverished East Blue use Haki?

The officer who had been watching the fight could no longer sit by. While Noil was distracted, the kissing Fish-Man Chew thrust out his lips and launched a sneak attack.

"Hundred-Shot Water Iron Gun!"

Several water bullets shot rapidly toward Noil. Noil's face turned cold as he coated both arms in Haki and crossed them before his chest.

A series of impacts rang out, yet not one shot could injure Noil.

Annoyed at being ambushed, Noil immediately changed direction and charged straight at Chew!

"Stop!"

Arlong's eyelid twitched. He had wanted to stop Noil's charge, but Noil was far too fast. He ignored Arlong completely and punched Chew directly in the face.

Bang!

That obnoxious mouth was brutally smashed inward by Noil, who followed up with a knee strike!

After a flurry of chained attacks, Chew rolled his eyes back and collapsed. No one could tell whether he was alive or dead.

"Argh! Damn it!"

Hachi, the octopus Fish-Man and one of the three officers, flew into a rage when he saw his companion fall. He charged forward, determined to fight Noil to the death.

Seeing that face reminded Noil of something. Hadn't Hachi been redeemed later in the story?

What does that have to do with the present?!

As long as someone was an enemy, they all had to go down.

Hachi wielded a sword in each of his six arms and performed the Six-Sword Style, slashing toward Noil with overwhelming momentum.

A cold glint flashed through Noil's eyes. His right hand reached toward his waist and gripped the hilt. In an instant, he assumed a stance. A dazzling sword flash flared, and the blade cut through the air at incredible speed as he drew and slashed.

One sword against six. Such a vast numerical disparity did not give Hachi the slightest hope of victory.

All six blades shattered beneath Noil's draw slash, while a blood-red wound across Hachi's chest sprayed blood.

With the last officer falling, the Fish-Men of the pirate crew finally began to feel fear.

The advantage of their innate race was what had led these short-sighted Fish-Men to believe that their natural physiques alone were enough to crush humans.

Now, a single human had shattered that belief with two moves and one slash, then stomped on it twice for good measure!

How could they not be terrified?

After defeating the three officers, Noil showed not the slightest trace of pride. In the eyes of these Fish-Men, those three might have represented the pinnacle of strength.

But to him, they were nothing special.

In the Original Story, Chew was knocked unconscious by God Usopp with an iron hammer.

Hachi had been knocked unconscious twice by a severely injured Zoro with a single move, becoming the infamous "Old Eight."

Kuroobi had only nearly drowned Sanji by taking advantage of the underwater environment.

But!

Hey! There was no water in the village—how did that feel?!

The Arlong Pirates were defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates not long after they first set sail. Their strength was only enough to dominate the East Blue.

Setting aside Noil's mockery, Arlong was now looking at his capable subordinates, each of them looking like a dead fish.

Arlong finally exploded with rage!

Arlong glared viciously at Noil. A Goldfish Fish-Man brought over the black serrated Kiribachi, and after taking it, Arlong said with a terrifying expression, "Brat! I've changed my mind!"

"I'm going to capture you! Then I'll make you watch as I hack every person in this village to death!"

Arlong furiously raised Kiribachi and swung it down with tremendous force. Noil swiftly raised his sword to block it, followed by a flurry of slashes and parries.

Relying on the special nature of Kiribachi's serrated blade, Arlong suppressed Noil for a time. Yet amid Arlong's fierce assault, Noil's gaze remained utterly calm.

He was adapting to Arlong's attack rhythm. After Noil sent Kiribachi flying once again, he finally launched his counterattack.

Arlong was startled and hurriedly pulled Kiribachi back to block the long blade sweeping toward his neck.

The balance between offense and defense shifted in an instant. Taking advantage of Kiribachi's large size and its difficulty stopping once in motion, Noil rapidly flicked his wrist again and again, slashing toward Arlong's vital points.

Then Noil deliberately left an opening, and Arlong brought Kiribachi crashing toward the ground with tremendous force.

Noil seized the opportunity. Armament Haki surged from his palm and wrapped around the sword in his hand. He raised it and hacked down viciously at Kiribachi.

With a deafening boom, Kiribachi snapped apart!

And Arlong's heart shattered along with it!

Chapter 14: Arlong Flees

Looking at Kiribachi, broken into fragments, Arlong felt as though his heart were bleeding.

Although Kiribachi had not been made from any particularly valuable or useful material, its manufacturing process was troublesome, and it suited Arlong's fighting style perfectly.

Besides, it had accompanied Arlong for many years!

It was as if Noil had swung his sword and smashed Arlong's beloved second wife to pieces!

Veins bulged across Arlong's head. He nearly ground all his steel teeth to dust as he glared at Noil with bloodshot eyes.

"Filthy human! Die!"

Arlong's blue head suddenly thrust forward, his serrated nose stabbing out viciously like a spear!

Noil raised his sword and blocked the serrated nose. Arlong leaned closer, opened his cavernous mouth, and bit down toward Noil's neck.

Noil hurriedly freed one hand and covered it in Armament Haki. His arm hardened and turned black again, and Arlong's teeth clamped down on the iron-like limb.

He raised his leg and drove it into Arlong's body, forcing him away, then Noil quickly retreated.

This guy's entire body is a weapon.

Noil frowned, while Arlong also felt that the human before him was extraordinarily difficult to deal with.

Back on the Grand Line, Arlong had been one of the officers of the Sun Pirates, founded by Fisher Tiger. His knowledge was far beyond that of the frogs in the well from the East Blue.

He knew about the power system known as Haki. But as a pure-blooded racial supremacist, Arlong relied solely on his race's natural physical advantages and had never considered cultivating any other power.

Later, after Tiger died, Arlong was captured by the Marines and rescued by Jinbe, who had become a Shichibukai. After the two parted ways, Arlong stopped advancing through the Grand Line and instead began retreating.

Returning to the Weakest Sea—the East Blue—with a person and an experience like his, his upper limit of strength was only so high.

Arlong slowly reached his hand into his mouth and gripped his neat, sharp teeth.

Noil: ???

"Are you hungry?"

Arlong froze. A vein throbbed on his forehead. He yanked out his teeth, and a fresh set quickly grew in.

A whole row of neat teeth was pulled out by Noil; he clamped them in his palm and held them like a pair of clappers.