Outside Arlong Park.
Hundreds of villagers lay defeated on the ground, while a dozen fishmen surrounded them, laughing and mocking.
Even though the villagers had known they would lose, they hadn't expected to lose so miserably.
They had gathered the strength of the entire village, yet they had not even seen Arlong himself.
It had taken less than five minutes for just one of Arlong's subordinates to defeat them all.
The physical strength of fishmen was several times greater than that of ordinary humans. The villagers had no way to resist.
Were the Arlong Pirates truly invincible?
The villagers lay there, eyes dull and filled with despair.
"Hang these inferior humans from the flagpoles and let them dry to death!"
"Let the rest of the island see what happens to those who dare resist."
Kuroobi's face twisted with cruelty as he gave the order without hesitation.
Inside Arlong Park.
Captain Nezumi and Arlong were drinking happily on the balcony.
Having just received 100 million berries from Nami, the massive sum had put both of them in a good mood.
Watching Nami's expression of anger and desperation, neither of them felt the slightest guilt. Instead, they found satisfaction in her suffering.
"Arlong, are you planning to destroy another village? If Headquarters gets wind of this, it could be troublesome."
Looking down at the defeated villagers, Captain Nezumi frowned slightly.
Arlong had already destroyed several villages, adding up to nearly ten thousand people.
A disappearance of that scale could easily attract attention from higher up in the Marines.
"Relax. Your cut will be increased by 20 percent."
After eight years of cooperation, Arlong had already figured Nezumi out.
Human lives meant nothing to him. The only thing Nezumi cared about was money.
"In that case, happy cooperation."
Nezumi nodded in satisfaction, his ugly face looking even more despicable.
As long as the money was right, there was no problem.
If anyone from above asked questions, they could simply claim that other pirates had raided the village and that the Marines had arrived too late.
"Wait, that little thief girl is back, and she brought someone with her… That's…"
Nezumi's eyes widened in shock.
"It's the strongest bounty hunter. He's here for us!"
Nezumi's first instinct was to run. He had heard all about Caelan's reputation.
Caelan was powerful and ruthless toward evil.
Not long ago, Nezumi had even received orders from his superiors to try recruiting Caelan into the Marines.
If Caelan discovered his collusion with the Arlong Pirates, Nezumi knew he was finished.
"What are you so afraid of? He's just another rookie from the East Blue. I'm a big-name pirate who returned from the Grand Line."
Arlong sneered.
He did not believe anyone from the East Blue could be truly strong. In his eyes, the so-called strongest bounty hunter was just another overconfident ant.
"If he dares meddle in my business, I'll make sure he disappears."
"But he won't even get past my men."
Arlong was confident in the strength of his fishmen.
They were elite soldiers brought directly from Fishman Island, with physical abilities far surpassing those of ordinary humans.
His three officers were all former members of the Sun Pirates, just like him.
In Arlong's opinion, any one of them could easily defeat Krieg.
"That's good. Let's make the so-called strongest bounty hunter vanish right here."
Nezumi forced himself to calm down, shifting his attention back to the battlefield below.
…
Outside Arlong Park.
"Release the villagers right now! The one standing next to me is the strongest bounty hunter in the East Blue!"
Nami glared at the fishmen holding the villagers captive, her heart burning with rage. She wished she could kill every last one of the Arlong Pirates.
But across from them stood more than a dozen tall fishmen, including the three officers of the Arlong Pirates.
On Nami's side, there was only her and Caelan. The difference in numbers was overwhelming.
Suppressing her anger, Nami tried to use Caelan's reputation to intimidate the fishmen and rescue the villagers peacefully.
"Hahaha! The strongest bounty hunter in the East Blue? You're scaring us so much!"
"I thought it was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
The fishmen all burst into laughter.
Having returned from the Grand Line, they only feared true monsters like the Four Emperors or the Warlords of the Sea.
"Nami, stay back! You're no match for these fishmen!"
The villagers, still lying on the ground, were completely hopeless. Hundreds of them together hadn't been able to stand up to even one fishman.
What could Nami and Caelan possibly do?
The villagers grew more anxious. They were ready to die but didn't want Nami to throw her life away too.
"Sir, please take Nami and leave. Don't worry about us."
The village guard captain, Genzo, looked desperate as he pleaded with Caelan.
The other villagers shared the same thought. Nami had endured eight years of humiliation to save them.
They couldn't bear the thought of her dying here.
A kind girl like Nami deserved to live a better life.
Only Nami's sister, Nojiko, still held hope in her heart.
She had read the newspaper with Nami, seeing the photo of Caelan destroying an entire pirate ship with a single strike.
While the Arlong Pirates were certainly strong, Nojiko felt they were nowhere near that level of power.
Maybe, just maybe, even Arlong was not a match for this man.
But the fishmen did not share that fear.
They had surrounded Caelan and Nami, with the three officers of the Arlong Pirates watching Caelan closely.
Though they scoffed at Caelan's reputation, their eyes were not blind.
They could see the power in his strong body, and the black aura swirling around him made them uneasy.
"Leave the girl here, and we'll let you go."
Kuroobi spoke first, eyeing Caelan with caution.
If possible, he would rather avoid fighting someone like Caelan.
Even if they won, they would likely suffer losses.
Next to him, the octopus fishman Hachi waved his six arms, each holding a sword, cutting a nearby tree into pieces.
The smooch fishman Chew opened his mouth wide and fired water bullets, smashing another tree to splinters.
The other fishmen stretched their bodies, showing off their fishman karate.
Clearly, they were trying to intimidate Caelan.
"Well? Are you scared?"
"Walk away now, and we might let you leave alive."
Kuroobi spoke proudly. This was their signature technique, and they were confident in it.
The villagers looked on, stunned, growing even more fearful of the fishmen's strength.
Nami's expression changed as she listened.
She turned to glance at Caelan nervously, worried he might back down.
But she had no intention of blaming him if he chose to leave. This wasn't his fight, after all. Whether he stayed or walked away was his choice.
Seeing that Caelan's expression remained unchanged, Nami felt a slight sense of relief.
She quietly made up her mind. If they survived this, she would give everything she had to repay Caelan.
"Actually, I'm not scared at all."
"It's just that you're far too weak."
The fishmen's intimidating display, which terrified the villagers, was nothing but a clown show in Caelan's eyes.
Heracles had mastered countless martial arts, transcending the limits of human skill and reaching the realm of the divine. Even though much of that skill was lost in his Berserker state, the fighting instinct remained deeply engraved.
To Caelan, the fishmen's martial arts were better than the sloppy fighting of the Krieg Pirates, but they still looked like children playing at combat.
"So, you really intend to fight us?"
Hearing Caelan's calm mockery, Kuroobi's face grew serious as he confirmed Caelan's intent once more.
Caelan did not bother responding with words. Trash like this did not deserve his explanations.
Instead, he reached back and slowly removed the massive greatsword from his back, his action alone expressing his answer.
The villagers and Nami stared at him with growing worry.
But Nojiko's eyes lit up. She remembered the photo in the newspaper.
The slash that had destroyed Krieg's flagship was not something these fishmen could withstand.
(To be continued.)