I'm the World's Strongest

"As you wish!"

Satoru Gojo ignored Arlong beside him and agreed to Nami's request, as though defeating Arlong were a trivial matter.

"You damn brat, you're ignoring me completely! You're asking to die!"

An angry voice came from beside him, followed by a blade that swung straight at Gojo.

Gojo stood motionless as he watched the blade coming toward him. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was frozen with fear.

Clang!

"What?!"

When his earlier strike failed to cut through Gojo's arm, Arlong had assumed he was wearing some kind of protective gear, so this time he aimed straight for his neck.

But that did nothing either.

Could his body be impervious to blades and bullets, just like my nose?

"How is that possible?"

An inferior race couldn't possibly be tougher than my nose!

"Learn your lesson already! Didn't you just try a slash like that?"

"What's going on? Is this a Devil Fruit ability?" Arlong guessed.

"No, no, no. This isn't a Devil Fruit ability. To put it simply, you missed!"

"Impossible! I definitely cut you. There's no mistaking how the blade felt!"

The blade's vibrations had definitely traveled into Arlong's hands. He didn't believe he had missed.

"What you just struck was the 'Limitless' between you and me."

Gojo raised his right hand and gestured with his index finger and thumb.

"Here, let me demonstrate. Hold out your hand."

He spread his fingers and gestured to Arlong, paying no mind to the fact that they were enemies.

There's no killing intent. I'll give it a try.

With that thought, Arlong held out his hand and slowly brought it toward Gojo's, until he could move it no closer.

There was clearly still some distance between them, yet he couldn't get any closer.

"See?" Gojo said.

Not only Arlong, but everyone else present found the sight unbelievable.

So this was "Limitless"?

"Rather than saying you stopped, it's more that the closer you get to me, the slower you move."

Gojo continued explaining patiently, as though he were teaching a student.

"All right, let's get back to our fight!"

"Damn it! How could an inferior race have an ability like this?!"

If he couldn't break through this "Limitless," he would never be able to defeat Gojo.

A human, someone from a race he considered inferior, actually possessed an ability like this!

Impossible!

"Then I'll smash your 'Limitless' to pieces first, and then I'll chop you to pieces! Boys, attack with me!"

"Yes!"

With that, Arlong swung his huge blade at Gojo over and over, and the members of the Arlong Pirates swarmed him.

Gojo still made no attempt to dodge, letting them charge at him.

"Watch out!"

After taking Nojiko and the two children aside, Nami silently watched Gojo fight.

She already knew a little of Gojo's strength, but she had no idea just how strong he was.

At that moment, she was very worried about him.

But that worry was unnecessary.

The Arlong Pirates' attacks couldn't break through Gojo's "Limitless."

Their attacks, which couldn't even count as scratches, bored Gojo immensely.

Then let's finish this quickly!

"Is that all your attacks amount to? Then it's my turn."

The moment Gojo finished speaking, Arlong and his men tensed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In a single instant, every member of the Arlong Pirates was sent flying backward, without any time to react.

So fast! That was their last thought before they went flying.

Of course, everyone else present thought the same.

Especially Koratt and his men, who had experienced it firsthand.

"Blue."

Gojo moved straight to Arlong's side and planted a foot on his chest, mocking him. "So this is a noble Fish-Man? Why are you lying on the ground howling? How pathetic!"

"You bastard!"

Arlong's eyes widened as he roared in fury.

"What? Angry? Can't accept it? Isn't this how you've always treated these villagers? It's just that you're the one being trampled underfoot now!"

As he spoke, Gojo slowly increased the pressure.

"Aah!"

Feeling the mounting force, Arlong cried out in pain.

"Arlong!"

Hachi and the other officers struggled to get up as they watched Arlong's miserable state, but they were too badly injured to stand anytime soon.

"Aaah!"

Gojo didn't stop because of their cries.

"Stop! Arlong used to be an officer of the Sun Pirates! If you kill him, Jinbe of the Shichibukai won't let you get away with it!"

To save Arlong, Hachi could only invoke Jinbe's name, hoping the name of Jinbe of the Shichibukai would frighten Gojo.

Gojo narrowed his eyes slightly. Jinbe of the Shichibukai is a decent guy. If I get the chance, I'll recruit him into my Jujutsu Pirates!

"As long as you let us go, we won't have Jinbe of the Shichibukai come after you. How about it?"

Seeing Gojo hesitate, Hachi thought he had been frightened.

"Not interested! A mere Shichibukai means nothing to me! The man standing before you is the World's Strongest!"

With that, he crushed Arlong's chest underfoot.

"Arlong!!!"

"Damn human!"

Gojo turned to Koratt and said, "Tie up all these flies. They're Fish-Men, aren't they? Sink them into the sea and feed them to the fish!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Arlong Pirates had been a legend of invincibility in these waters. Thrilled to see Gojo defeat them single-handedly, Koratt answered at once.

Then he led his men in tying up the Arlong Pirates.

Gojo, meanwhile, walked over to Nami.

"I've taken care of them for you!"

"Mm!"

Tears flowed down Nami's cheeks. Her lips parted, and though she had a thousand things to say, only a single sound came out.

For so long, Nami had borne the burden of all of Cocoyasi Village alone.

Every day, she had risked being caught, or even killed, to steal money.

As a girl, she had shouldered far too much.

At last, she could lay down that burden!

Watching Nami cry, Gojo gently rested her head against him.

"From now on, Cocoyasi Village is under my protection. Don't worry! After all, I'm the World's Strongest!"

Gojo made that promise with a broad grin.

"Mm! Thank you!"

Nami didn't know just how strong the World's Strongest was, but she had never felt as safe as she did at that moment. She believed he could do it.

"No need to thank me! We're friends, aren't we?"

At Nami's home.

Gojo, Nami, Nojiko, and some of Cocoyasi Village's elders had gathered to celebrate the village's liberation.

Koratt and his men were absent; they had gone to raid Arlong Park.

Before long, Koratt came over and whispered in his ear, "Lord Gojo, according to the Arlong Pirates, they plundered at least eighty million Beli, but we only found a little over fifty million. I'll go torture them right now and find out where the rest is!"

"No need. I know where the rest is. Go spread the word that the Arlong Pirates were defeated by the Jujutsu Pirates and Arlong was killed, but the Jujutsu Pirates also suffered heavy losses."

Captain Nezumi's collusion with Arlong was what had allowed Arlong to run rampant here.

Of course, Captain Nezumi couldn't deal with Arlong himself, but he could have reported him to his superiors. Instead, he had chosen to accept bribes.

Since Gojo had decided to protect Cocoyasi Village, this cancer had to be removed.

"Sir, this..." Koratt was somewhat puzzled.

"Go do it."

"Yes!"

Koratt didn't quite understand Gojo's request, but seeing how firm he was, he asked no further questions.