Cocoyasi Village!
Flames and gunpowder smoke filled the air.
The wanton laughter of the fish-men, mingling with the pain and cries of the villagers, created a somber symphony.
In the sudden gust of wind, windbreaker flapped violently.
Leno landed on the roof.
He glanced over the scene. It was still not too late.
"Human, you actually call the noblest fish-man in the world ugly?"
Leno looked down.
He gazed at the glaring, blatant sawtooth shark-human.
"Well, you are really ugly!" Leno retorted.
"You are courting death!"
Leno's disdainful gaze, scornful tone, and biting words pierced the dragon's heart like a sharp sword.
"Kill you!"
Arlong's forehead bulged with blue veins, and his footsteps pounded the ground.
Click!
The ground crumbled and gravel flew around.
A gust of air surged under his feet.
Then, he launched into the air like a shell from a cannon.
"No one can stop my move!"
Arlong grinned.
His sharp, jagged nose was a weapon, powerful enough to pierce rock.
"Careful!" Bell-mère warned kindly.
The fish-men watched with amusement.
They were relaxed and unconcerned about Arlong.
They had encountered many weak opponents in East Blue, the weakest sea in the world. Men like this one were nothing new.
"Arlong is the pride of the fish-men, a cadre of the Sun Pirates, and the heir to Big Brother Tiger's will!"
To these fish-men, Arlong was a noble fish-man who cherished his people.
"God, save us!"
"Let a miracle happen!"
The villagers covered their mouths, their faces etched with horror.
They prayed for a miracle but were also filled with fear.
Leno did not draw his sword.
He observed the extremely fast yet seemingly slow Arlong, clenched his right fist, and swung it forward, colliding with Arlong's jagged nose.
Instantly!
The fist and the jagged nose clashed.
Boom!
A muffled, thunderous explosion reverberated through the air.
The fierce airflow surged with Leno's fist.
Shock!
Horror!
Incredible!
In everyone's eyes, the once-arrogant Arlong's nose crumpled under the impact as if it had hit the hardest material in the world.
The nose shattered piece by piece.
Then, Leno's fist dented Arlong's face visibly.
Arlong's eyeballs bulged, filled with fear and disbelief.
The next moment.
His head exploded!
Immediately following, the tall, strong fish-man's body shattered.
Former Arlong, who had used his superior body to crush many weaker foes and break their spines, was now reduced to scattered remains.
It was as if he had been hammered by hundreds of tons.
His body exploded in all directions, raining down like a blood-soaked storm.
The fish-men of the Sun Pirates watched with bulging eyes and gaping mouths, stunned and terrified.
The words escaping their mouths were almost silent.
They were so shocked they lost their voices.
Bell-mère, Nami, Nojiko, and countless villagers stood wide-eyed, covering their mouths.
They couldn't believe that such a powerful Arlong was obliterated with a single punch!
[Ding! You defeated your opponent, and you scanned for talents: Sawtooth Shark Bloodline (A), Shark Muscle (A Grade), Iron Teeth (B Grade), Iron Bone (B Grade), Strange Power (C Grade)]
The system beeped.
The dragon's talents appeared before Leno.
No S-level talent.
No surprise.
Arlong's power was merely the ultimate use of his own talents.
[Please choose a talent as soon as possible!]
Leno pondered between the two A-level talents.
"Choose Shark Muscle!"
Leno wasn't particularly interested in the [Sawtooth Shark Bloodline].
He already had the Mink tribe Bloodline, which suited his aesthetics better.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for duplicating talent: Shark Muscle!]
[Talent introduction: Shark muscles contain powerful strength, can tear rocks, and have perfect lines.]
"This isn't bad!"
Leno squinted slightly.
His muscles trembled, as if becoming more perfect and possessing greater explosive power.
[Ding! It is detected that the Host has similar talents: Lord of Gluttony, Life Return, Cat Power, Cat Speed, Mink Bloodline, Shark Muscle. Please find more similar talents to integrate and improve!]
"Isn't that enough?"
"It's really challenging to upgrade from S rank to SS rank!"
Leno snapped back to reality.
All around, there was a dead silence.
The entire village was silent.
Fish-men and humans alike fell under the hands of Leno.
There were no words to express their feelings at that moment.
Arlong, who had boasted about creating the Empire and despised humans, was now reduced to scattered blood and mud.
It was as if a fly, once noisy and aggressive, had been swatted without even a whimper.
Leno withdrew his blood-stained fist, took out a handkerchief, and wiped it.
"Noble race? Don't be disgusting!"
He leaped lightly and landed on the ground.
A set of teeth left by Arlong was still twitching.
They clacked open and closed as if trying to bite someone.
"Well, the mouth is still hard!"
Leno walked over and stomped it into pieces.
With a crisp sound.
The fish-men, previously in shock, began to regain their senses.
"He killed Arlong!!!"
"That damn human!!!"
"Damn humans, avenge Arlong!!!"
Instantly, various voices erupted among the Sun Pirates.
Some fish-men stood still, bewildered.
Others panicked and feared.
And some, fierce and fearless of death, charged toward Leno.
"Fish-man!"
"Water Cannon, Chirp!"
"Kill!"
Leno looked at them.
"Fearing the strong and bullying the weak, is this the future you fish-men believe in?"
A strong wind, along with Leno's fist, blew toward them.
The fist stopped half a meter away from Leno.
"In that case, you are no different from those you hate, right?" Leno said calmly.
"What?"
Kuroobi was stunned.
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+30 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg
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