Soon, the massive pirate ship loomed over Lu Yu's small, battered vessel.
"Lu Yu?"
"Dragon Hunter Pirates? You really dare to call yourselves that!"
"Now, burn your pirate flag yourself."
"I'll allow you to end your own life."
Arlong sat on his high seat, his face full of mockery and amusement.
If Lu Yu had chosen this name, he should have been prepared for the consequences.
"Arlong, a slave once imprisoned by the Celestial Dragons."
"After being freed by Fisher Tiger, he joined the Sun Pirates."
"Later, he formed the Arlong Pirates."
"Nothing more than a stray dog who lost his home. Too scared to even set foot on the Grand Line, so he hides in the weak seas of the East Blue."
"And now, you think you have the right to be arrogant?"
They say you shouldn't hit someone in the face when insulting them, and you definitely shouldn't expose their deepest wounds. But Lu Yu didn't care.
He struck straight at Arlong's pride, branding his words onto the fish-man's soul like a red-hot iron.
Arlong, who had been grinning moments ago, instantly turned livid. His amusement was gone—replaced by pure fury.
Lu Yu's words had ripped open the wound he wanted to forget, pouring salt and acid into it.
"Boss Arlong, kill him!"
"Damn humans! Just as filthy and vile as ever!"
"You dare mock us? We are the Arlong Pirates! Tremble before us!"
A chorus of enraged shouts erupted from the fish-men crew.
Arlong's entire body trembled with rage. His twisted expression showed just how deeply those words had cut him.
With a sharp, grating sound, Arlong drew his massive saw-blade sword, Kiribachi.
Then, without hesitation, he dove into the sea.
His top officers—Hatchan, Kuroobi, and Chew—followed instantly. They sensed a dangerous aura from Akame and knew they couldn't afford to hesitate.
BOOM!
Arlong accelerated in the water, bursting out like a torpedo. His Kiribachi slashed toward Lu Yu in an instant.
"Little bug, die!"
To Arlong, Lu Yu—just 1.8 meters tall—was nothing more than an insignificant pest.
A mere human could never match the raw strength of a fish-man. And with the added momentum from his aquatic acceleration, Arlong believed his power had reached its peak.
There was no way this weakling could withstand his strike.
CLANG!
A deafening clash rang out.
Arlong's eyes widened in shock.
With just one hand, Lu Yu had effortlessly raised his sword and blocked the full force of his attack.
In that instant, Arlong realized something terrifying.
He had made a grave mistake.
But it was too late to turn back now.
The battle had begun.
If he couldn't kill Lu Yu now, then he would be the one to die.
"Die!"
"DIE!"
Panic surged through Arlong's mind. The more he thought about it, the more desperate he became. He swung his saw-blade wildly, each strike fueled by fear and rage.
Slowly, the rage faded.
Only fear remained.
Driven to his limits, Arlong's power suddenly surged beyond its normal constraints.
"Not bad," Lu Yu remarked, blocking each attack effortlessly. "The natural fighting power of fish-men is indeed remarkable."
"But your arrogance makes you unfit for life on land."
With ease, he parried every single one of Arlong's frenzied slashes.
Meanwhile, Akame had already finished off Kuroobi and Chew. Hatchan, despite being a skilled swordsman, was severely injured. After being wounded by Murasame, he made the desperate choice to cut off his own arm and retreat into the sea.
Akame didn't chase him. She had no experience fighting underwater, and she wasn't about to start now.
Instead, she stood silently, watching Arlong with cold, predatory eyes. The moment Lu Yu gave the order, she would end him instantly.
Arlong felt like he was facing an immovable mountain.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake it.
At the same time, he could feel the icy gaze of death itself watching him from the side.
This chilling sensation made him feel like he was sinking into an abyss of despair.
"Akame, go help Roelki clean up the battlefield," Lu Yu instructed casually.
Hearing his words, Akame tossed the corpses of Kuroobi and Chew overboard, then used them as a springboard to leap toward the Dor and Alec Pirates.
"Impossible!"
"This is impossible!"
"How can a mere human possess such overwhelming strength?!"
Arlong's mind shattered under the weight of this realization.
"I'll kill you! I'll KILL YOU!"
"ARRRRGH!!"
He had completely lost himself in madness. No longer thinking rationally, he threw everything he had into his attacks.
The same man who had plunged countless villages into darkness and fear was now experiencing that same terror himself.
And standing before him was an unshakable force—
A darkness he could never hope to overcome.
"I think it's time to wrap this up."
Lu Yu's voice was calm, almost mocking.
"Arlong, bounty of 20 million berries..."
"The highest bounty pirate in the East Blue..."
"And this is all you've got?"
"You call yourself a pirate?"
"Don't make me laugh."
The moment he finished speaking, Lu Yu unleashed his Armament Haki.
Up until now, he had been blocking Arlong's attacks purely with physical strength.
Now, with his Haki coating his sword, he swung down with terrifying force.
KRRSH!
The strike cleaved through Arlong's Kiribachi and carved a massive wound across his chest.
One blow.
That was all it took to completely shatter Arlong's fighting spirit.
Lu Yu followed up with a powerful kick, sending Arlong crashing into the sea.
He was no longer a pirate.
To Lu Yu, Arlong was nothing more than a stepping stone—a way to gain reputation.
Killing him? That was unnecessary.
He wasn't Luffy, who went around doing free work for the Navy.
Besides, Lu Yu could already sense the scent of the Navy closing in.
With Arlong defeated, the remaining fish-men abandoned ship and fled into the sea, too terrified to even retrieve their own vessel.
This worked perfectly for Lu Yu, who immediately claimed their pirate ship as his own.
On the other side, with Akame joining the fight, the Dor and Alec Pirates were swiftly wiped out.
Ding! "Congratulations to the host! Your broken ship has absorbed resources and upgraded to a Primary Extremely Evil Battleship!"
As the system notification rang, Lu Yu's small, tattered boat transformed before his eyes.
A menacing black dragon head appeared at the bow. The hull expanded to twice its original size, now adorned with ominous black and red accents. Rows of fearsome cannons lined its sides, and even the pirate flag grew larger and more intimidating.
Just the sight of it exuded overwhelming dominance.
A fitting ship for the journey ahead.
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