Roy was awakened by urgent knocking on the door.
He opened his eyes, and before he could react, the door was pushed open. A genetically engineered soldier rushed in, his face deathly pale.
"Captain! The Sun Pirates under attack! Aladdin has sent a distress signal!"
Roy's pupils suddenly contracted.
He grabbed the Den Den Mushi and pressed the answer button.
From that direction came chaotic shouts of battle, explosions, and Aladdin's rapid breathing—
"Captain! We're surrounded! At least fifty ships! They've gone mad! They're all coming for us!"
Roy took a deep breath, his voice unusually calm. "Where's Fisher Tiger?"
" Fisher Tiger is covering the rear! He... he told me to lead everyone to retreat first!"
"Hold on. Reinforcements are on their way."
Roy hung up the phone and strode out of the room.
Bullet burst out of the corridor, his muscles taut and his eyes burning with rage.
" Roy! I'm going! Get some men and clear the area!"
Immediately after, Tesoro rushed out of the room, his body crackling with lightning. "Boss! The Ark Maxim is ready! We can set off anytime!"
Yamato charged forward, spiked his club, shouting, "I'm going too!"
Savi, Enel, Pea, and others rushed over, their emotions running high.
The conference room door was flung open, Kaido strode in, followed by King, Queen, Jack, and others.
"Hehehehe! I'm going too! I was just looking for a fight!"
He grinned, his eyes gleaming with madness. " Roy, show your men what real power is!"
Queen chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Let's go crush those bastards!"
Jack said in a deep voice, "Let me lead the charge!"
The meeting room was in chaos, with shouts of volunteers rising and falling.
Roy raised his hand, about to speak--
"Everyone, calm down."
A calm voice came from behind the crowd.
The Red Count, leaning on his cane, slowly walked to the front of the crowd. He tapped the ground lightly, making a "thud" sound.
The sound wasn't loud, but it silenced everyone.
Red Count looked at Roy, then at everyone else, and slowly began to speak.
"Now is not the time for a large-scale troop deployment."
Bullet frowned. "What do you mean? Fisher Tiger and the others are getting beaten up, and we're just going to watch?"
Red Count shook his head. " Pure Gold hasn't appeared yet. If we send out all our forces now, what will the World Government and the Navy do?"
He paused, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.
"They will directly attack Hachinosu."
"Research facilities, Bloodline Transplantation equipment, the lives of countless soldiers... could all be destroyed in an instant."
"Only when Pure Gold appears in the world will all the major powers focus their attention on Pure Gold."
"Only then will Hachinosu be truly safe."
Everyone fell silent.
The Red Count's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads.
Roy closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He knew the Red Count was right.
But Fisher Tiger's side...
He opened his eyes, which had regained their calm.
" Tesoro, Jhin."
The two immediately stepped forward.
"You two go. Make sure the Fish-Man are safe, but don't linger. After rescuing them, continue searching for the lanternfish."
Tesoro nodded solemnly. "Understood!"
Jin coldly replied, "Yes."
The two turned and left, their steps hurried.
Roy looked out the window and saw two streaks of light shooting into the sky in the night, speeding off toward the northwest.
Fisher Tiger... hang in there.
The New World Seas, the darkness before dawn.
Fisher Tiger couldn't remember how long he had been playing.
His fists were numb; he had suffered countless knife wounds and gunshot wounds. Blood flowed from his wounds, dripping into the sea and attracting schools of sharks.
But he can't stop.
Behind them was the direction Aladdin led the Fish-Man in their retreat.
He has to stop him.
A pirate captain swung his sword at Fisher Tiger, who dodged to the side and punched him in the chest.
The man's chest caved in, and he flew backward, crashing into the ship's side, never to rise again.
But more enemies surged forward.
"He's dying! Give it your all!"
"Grab him! Grab this Fish-Man!"
Broken ship planks, burning wreckage, and corpses floated on the sea. The fishy smell of the sea mixed with the stench of blood was nauseating.
Fisher Tiger stood on a wrecked piece of deck, panting heavily. He was covered in blood, both his own and his enemies'. He had so many wounds that he could no longer feel the pain.
Around him, a dozen or so pirate ships remained, surrounding him and eyeing him menacingly.
" Fisher Tiger! Surrender!" a pirate captain shouted from the bow of his ship. "You can't beat us!"
Fisher Tiger grinned, revealing bloodied teeth. "Surrender? I've never learned those two words in my entire life."
He took a deep breath and leaped up—
Fish-Man Karate: Spear Wave!
A jet of water shot out from his hand, blasting towards the ship like a cannonball!
boom!
The bow of the ship exploded, and the captain who had shouted the warning was blasted away!
But when Fisher Tiger landed, his legs buckled and he almost knelt down. He had reached his physical limit.
"Big brother!"
Aladdin's voice came from behind.
Fisher Tiger turned around and saw Aladdin leading several Fish-Man rushing back.
"Why are you back?!" Fisher Tiger exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"Nonsense! How could I leave you behind?" Aladdin grabbed him, "Let's go!"
Fisher Tiger gritted his teeth. "We can't leave. There are too many of them."
Aladdin looked at the menacing pirate ships around him, and his heart sank.
Yes, we can't leave.
Just then, a sinister voice rang out. "Running away? Why aren't you running anymore?"
Rakotto, the "Viper" captain, poked his head out of one of the ships. He looked at Fisher Tiger with a smirk, as if he were a piece of meat.
" Fisher Tiger, captain of the Sun Pirates, hero of Fish-Man Island. Tsk tsk tsk, didn't expect this, did you? You'd fall into our hands?"
Fisher Tiger stared coldly at him. "Enough with the nonsense. Kill me or torture me, just do it."
Rakotto laughed, "Kill you? No, no, no, you're a treasure. With you, we can find lanternfish. With lanternfish, we can find Pure Gold. Killing you would be such a waste."
He waved his hand. "Men, capture him alive!"
The pirates charged forward with strange cries.
Fisher Tiger gritted his teeth, ready to fight to the death.
Just then--
A flash of lightning suddenly lit up the horizon!
The light grew brighter and closer, so bright that it was blinding!
Someone looked up, their pupils suddenly contracting. "What... what is that?!"
boom--!!!
A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, hitting Rakotto's ship directly!
The entire ship exploded instantly! Rakotto didn't even have time to scream before he was engulfed by lightning!
Everyone stared in horror at the bolt of lightning.
Amidst the lightning, a figure slowly descended.
Tesoro.
His body crackled with lightning, his green hair dancing in the electric light, like Thunder God descending to earth.
"Hey," he grinned, "It's quite lively here."
The pirates paused for a second, then--
Run!!!
Some screamed and jumped into the sea, some frantically rowed to escape, and some were paralyzed with fear on the deck.
Tesoro watched the figures fleeing in disarray and sneered, "Do you think you can escape?"
He opened his arms wide--
" Mamaragan of Raigo!"
Click--!!!
Countless bolts of lightning descended from the sky, like rain, covering the entire sea area!
Each bolt of lightning struck a pirate ship with pinpoint accuracy!
Explosions, screams, and cries of alarm mingled together!