The Flag

Arlong had never imagined Kuina could stop her forward momentum like that. It was as if she had foreseen his attack with his nose and dodged before it came.

He had no time to think. Unable to halt his charge, he could only drive his head toward the ground.

But as Arlong's head dipped, Kuina raised her right leg and slammed an upward kick into his chin.

Bang!

A shockwave burst from his chin and swept outward.

The kick made his bloodshot eyes roll back and lifted his entire body off the ground.

As Arlong rose, Kuina swiftly lowered her right leg and planted her feet. Twisting at the waist, she spun and whipped her left leg into his side.

Bang!

Another, heavier impact rang out, sending an even stronger shockwave in every direction.

"Pfft!"

The kick made Arlong cough up a mouthful of blood.

His massive body changed course under its force and hurtled toward the Tower-Shaped Building behind him.

With a crash, he smashed through the building and struck the wall beyond it.

"Pfft!"

The impact against the wall made Arlong spit up blood again.

He slumped against it, shaking his head and clutching his side with his left hand as he coughed.

"Cough, cough, cough...!"

The kick had injured him internally, but it had also reminded him what ability let his opponent dodge every attack before it came.

He raised his head. The red faded from his eyes, replaced by horror.

Through the great hole in the building, he looked at Kuina outside and shouted,

"That's Observation Haki, isn't it?"

Kuina looked at Arlong in confusion. Had she beaten him senseless? His voice was so faint.

"What did you say?"

Arlong's body was slowly recovering. He straightened up

and repeatedly reached into his mouth, pulling out his teeth.

Each new set that grew in was sharper than the last.

By the end, his mouth held a huge set of teeth like steel blades.

He glared at Kuina and roared, "Don't think Observation Haki means I can't do anything to you! If these teeth catch you, I'll crush you in an instant!"

Then he bent his legs, pushed hard off the ground, and shot forward.

Headfirst, he charged at Kuina like a torpedo.

Kuina watched him approach, a trace of disdain flashing through her cold eyes.

Arlong might have looked fast to anyone else, but to Kuina, he was still too slow.

She turned slightly aside and easily avoided him.

What Kuina did not know was that Arlong had no intention of fighting her to the death.

The moment he realized she could use Haki, he knew he could not win, even at the cost of his life.

He had spent too long on the Grand Line not to know about Haki.

Against people like them who had none, it gave its users an overwhelming advantage.

You could not hit them, but they could hit you.

Under those conditions, no amount of strength could change the outcome.

And his opponent was a Swordmaster, the kind of fighter with the deadliest attacks.

With the waterway almost within reach, Arlong could not help feeling relieved.

Once he reached the sea, he would no longer have to fear her.

The sea was the home ground of the Fish-Man Race.

In the water, their strength doubled, and they moved even faster.

He would hide in the depths until those two terrifying people left. Then he would still be the Arlong who ruled the entire island.

"Hm?"

A puzzled look suddenly crossed his face. The waterway should have been right in front of him. Why was it still so far away?

It was as though he had stopped in midair.

But he could feel himself flying forward!

Then he suddenly noticed that the silver-haired human who had been on the wall was now standing beside him.

"Wow, you almost got away. How scary!"

Kuta feigned surprise as he watched Arlong continue flying within his Space Domain.

"You bastard! What kind of ability is this?"

Arlong had realized something was wrong. He was flying, but it was as though he were flying in place.

He had not been frozen. The space ahead of him had been stretched.

He stopped himself and stood at the edge of the pool. One step ahead lay the sea he longed to reach, yet that single step had become a distance he could never cross.

He looked at Kuta, his face full of terror. None of his usual arrogance remained.

Just then

a huge Sea King with the body of an ox and the tail of a fish surfaced in the distance.

It roared and sped toward Arlong Park.

Its target was clearly Kuta, standing beside the pool.

Arlong's eyes lit up when he saw the Sea King. A glimmer of hope rose in him, but what happened next crushed it completely.

Kuta did not even look at the Sea King. He simply drew his sword, swung it, and sheathed it.

A silver-gray Slash cut the Sea King cleanly in two.

Arlong's pupils shrank to pinpoints. He could barely speak. He knew what it meant for a swordsman to unleash a Slash that enormous.

"G-G-Great..."

"Great Swordsman."

Kuta regarded Arlong with a teasing smile. "Guess what ability I'm using to trap you. There's a prize if you get it right!"

"A Space... Space-type Devil Fruit."

Arlong answered through a full-body tremble.

"Hmm..."

Kuta lowered his head and stroked his chin in thought, then looked up at Arlong with a smile.

"Too bad. Wrong answer. That means a punishment."

"Now, what should it be?"

"How about I sentence you to death?"

Kuta delivered the cruelest words with a mocking look.

When Arlong said nothing, Kuta nodded and went on. "No answer? I'll take that as a yes."

Like hell I agree!

Arlong stared at Kuta, his eyes filled with terror and rage. The pressure around him kept him from opening his mouth.

He struggled frantically like a drowning man, but it was no use.

"Kuina, finish it!"

Kuta turned to Kuina with a smile.

Kuina pursed her lips and looked coldly at Arlong.

That bastard nearly made me look like a fool in front of Kuta. If he'd escaped, I'd never have heard the end of it.

She walked up to Arlong and drew her sword. Her blade swept diagonally toward his neck, ready to take his head.

Sensing the blade rush toward him, Arlong struggled even harder. His once-savage eyes were now filled with grievance and humiliation.

He would rather have fought Kuina to the death than die this helplessly.

The blade passed through Arlong's neck in an instant, and his struggling body went still. A longing to live remained in his eyes, but it changed nothing.

Kuta looked at the lifeless Arlong and withdrew his Space Domain.

Arlong's massive body immediately toppled into the pool.

Splash!

It raised only a modest splash. Arlong would have scored well in a diving competition.

Then his head and body separated.

He would never have imagined that, here in the East Blue, a human would behead him like a fish pinned to a cutting board.

Perhaps that was simply his fate as a fish.

The Flag

Noon.

The roads of Cocoyasi Village were packed with people and alive with noise.

When the villagers who had lived under the Arlong Pirates' rule heard that the crew had been destroyed, they hurried to Cocoyasi Village.

The Arlong who had loomed over them for six long years had finally fallen.

They brought what little grain, fruit, and meat they had, hoping to honor their heroes with the grandest feast they could manage.

The feast would also mark their farewell to the past and the beginning of a new life.

After Kuta and Kuina wiped out Arlong, they returned to the ship for the Ahua Trio. Together, they searched every corner of Arlong Park and found several hundred million Beli.

As for the two marines who had accompanied Nezumi to Arlong Park, Kuta gave them no chance. He sent them to Hell without much pain.

He did not believe Nezumi would have brought two uninvolved marines to make a deal with Arlong.

Even if those two had not been central to the scheme, they were Nezumi's trusted accomplices.

Kuta left the Navy Warship anchored offshore alone. Most lower-ranking marines had no idea what their superiors were doing.

And even if they knew their officers were committing crimes, there was little they could do.

They had neither the connections nor the courage to expose it.

Too many examples had shown them what happened to those who were caught: not only would they suffer, but their families might suffer too.

So Kuta had no intention of troubling the lowest-ranking marines.

They were only trying to support their families.

As for Arlong Park, he had burned it down.

In the room on the fifth floor, he had seen maps piled high and a bloodstained pen left on the desk.

He could picture a small, slender figure working in that cage-like room, doing something she had once loved but now despised.

A person's dream should not be trapped in a cramped room. It belonged out on the boundless sea.

All he could do was light the fire that burned away the prison in the girl's heart.

Then she could truly do what she loved and pursue the dream she had held since childhood.