One Sword Style: Blue: Water Flash Slash!

Nami grew anxious:

"What do we do, then? Fish-Men are best at boring holes through the bottoms of ships. If we don't stop them, once the ship sinks, we won't be a match for them, no matter how many of us there are!"

Ivan raised a hand and adjusted the small round sunglasses that had appeared on his nose at some point:

"Relax, don't worry... because I'm really strong!"

Before he had finished speaking, Nami's vision blurred. When she looked again, Ivan had vanished without a trace from her side.

Blue: Soru!

An invisible gravitational force suddenly pulled, and Ivan's figure became an afterimage as he shot out over the sea at astonishing speed.

But when he landed on the surface, he showed no sign of sinking. Instead, he stood directly on the seawater.

He then raised a hand and tapped the surface lightly. The vibrations traveled through the water, drawing the attention of the shadows below.

When the shadows gathered beneath the surface, Ivan slowly curled his lips into a somewhat fierce smile:

"Surprise, Fish-Men, I'm here to spread some warmth!"

Chew, the kissing Fish-Man, craned his neck and studied Ivan standing on the sea with curiosity. Clearly wary, he said:

"Kuroobi, this guy can actually stand on water. Could he be a Devil Fruit User?

Why don't we wait for Boss Arlong to get here, then take him down together?"

Kuroobi thought nothing of it. He waved a hand impatiently, signaling for Chew not to worry:

"What are you afraid of? I know this guy. Isn't he that Ensign White Dove who came to pick a fight a while back and got his ass kicked?

With what little ability he has, even if he really did eat a Devil Fruit, he's no match for me. Besides, we're in the sea right now. This is Fish-Man territory, and hell for Devil Fruits!"

Kuroobi looked up, his gaze fixed on Ivan standing on the surface, and sneered:

"What an idiot. You're a Devil Fruit User, yet you dare to stand on the sea and face us Fish-Men. Today I'll send you to a watery grave!

Fish-Man Karate: Sea Wave!"

The instant his shout rang out, the muscles in Kuroobi's arm knotted, dark veins spreading across it like vines.

Using a technique unique to Fish-Men to channel his strength, he swung his arm hard into the seawater.

The powerful blow stirred the surrounding currents, sweeping up a great mass of seawater into a watery fist that thundered toward Ivan!

The attack had the force of a cannonball. If it hit a Devil Fruit User, they would be engulfed by seawater and lose all ability to fight back.

Kuroobi, Chew, and the many other Fish-Men wore fierce expressions as they waited eagerly for what would happen next.

In their eyes, this guy named White Dove was already a dead man!

Above the surface, Ivan naturally noticed what the Fish-Men underwater were doing.

It had to be said, this really was a killing move.

An ordinary Devil Fruit User struck head-on by this attack would almost certainly lose the ability to fight back on the spot.

Unfortunately for them, they were facing Ivan.

Never mind the terrifying gap in their strength-Ivan wasn't even a real Devil Fruit User!

Cold light flashed in a streak as Ivan drew his long sword and plunged most of the blade into the seawater.

A clear, deep blue light burst from Ivan's palm and raced along the blade, suffusing the entire sword with a translucent glow in an instant.

He lowered his gaze to the Sea Wave rushing toward him, his voice solemn and icy:

"One Sword Style: Blue: Water Flash Slash!"

The blade sliced through the water faster than the eye could see, its gravitational pull drawing the current along with it. A massive sword qi made of water rushed toward the torrent below the surface!

The Spear Wave Kuroobi had unleashed was torn apart in an instant. Like a bug being crushed, the water slash cut through it with barely any loss of power and swept through several Fish-Men below.

The next second, every Fish-Man, Kuroobi included, went rigid.

Then identical splits opened across their waists, and their bodies were cleanly severed in two!

Chew, the only Fish-Man left, stared at the scene in terror, his eyes wide and his heart racing faster and faster:

"What the hell was that?!"

Had such terrifying swordsmanship really come from a swordsman of the East Blue, the Weakest Sea?

What was a monster like this doing in the East Blue instead of fighting and making a name for himself in the Grand Line?!

Chew didn't dare linger a moment longer. He spun around and beat his tail desperately, wanting only to get as far away as possible.

He had to make it back alive and report everything that had happened here to Boss Arlong!

But his speed was far too slow compared to the water slash.

A slash of water, condensed into a blade, silently caught up to him. Chew's body suddenly stiffened, and the next second, a great gush of scalding blood burst from his back, staining a wide expanse of water red.

In the space of an instant, this last Fish-Man, too, fell completely silent.

Having dealt with everything, Ivan vanished from the surface of the sea. When he reappeared, he was standing steadily on the deck.

From Nami's perspective, he had only been gone a brief moment.

She couldn't help stepping forward to ask curiously, "Why are you back? You haven't dealt with those Fish-Men yet, have you?"

"What are you still doing here? Aren't you going to deal with those Fish-Men?"

Ivan stretched lazily and said in a casual, relaxed tone, "Don't worry, I've taken care of them all."

"Huh?" Nami froze, her face full of astonishment.

But before she could recover, a glaring patch of red welled up from beneath the sea behind the warship.

Then mangled flesh and severed limbs floated to the surface, staining a wide stretch of sea red.

Only then did Nami believe that Ivan really had dealt with the Fish-Man sentries.

The sight gave her even more confidence in Ivan.

Perhaps, with Ivan's help, she really could kill Arlong and rescue Cocoyasi Village from hell!

Once the warship had fully docked in the harbor, Ivan and his companions disembarked one after another.

Their arrival soon drew the attention of the villagers of Cocoyasi Village.

But as the villagers looked at the Marines, their faces showed no trace of delight. Instead, they were full of disgust and wariness.

After all, over the past few years, they had often seen Captain Nezumi and Arlong acting like brothers.

In their minds, the Marines had long ceased to be saviors. They were bastards who colluded with pirates and oppressed the people!

But when their gazes swept over the crowd and fell on Nami, their pupils suddenly contracted, and the disgust on their faces gave way to shock.

Although Nami had treated the villagers harshly in recent years, beating and berating them at the slightest provocation, they all knew the truth.

Nami hadn't truly joined the Arlong Pirates. She was helping the villagers in her own way!

So when a hot-tempered villager saw Nami standing in the middle of the hateful Marines, he immediately picked up a sickle and shouted angrily:

"Damn Marines, what have you done to Nami? Give her back, now!"

Nami froze at the furious shout and looked blankly at the villager who had called out.

Hadn't they always hated her?

Why were they so worried?

The question flashed through Nami's mind, but she had no time to dwell on it. She quickly stepped forward and put herself between the angry villagers and Ivan, afraid that the two sides might actually clash.

She took a deep breath and raised her voice to explain to everyone:

"Everyone, calm down! Major White Dove isn't a bastard like Nezumi. He's here to help us!"