When Garp suddenly made his move, Wood could have stepped in to block the punch aimed at Arlong, but he hesitated at the critical moment.
To be honest, since Tiger was still alive, Arlong wasn't as bad as he might have been otherwise, but he was still far from being a good guy. Wood stepping in to take Garp's furious punch wouldn't just injure himself, but also potentially put him at odds with Garp.
If Garp had been attacking Tiger or Jinbe, Wood wouldn't have hesitated to intervene, but for Arlong? Sorry, Wood didn't have much affection for him.
Arlong's loyalty to his comrades couldn't be questioned, but his personality and actions were another story. If one day he dragged the entire Sun Pirates into trouble, Wood wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.
"Boom——————!"
As Garp's punch landed, a powerful shockwave erupted between them, scattering debris and sending the Fish-Men who had been standing next to Arlong flying.
Despite Garp's formidable punch, the relatively unremarkable Arlong somehow survived!
Of course, his survival wasn't due to his own strength, nor because Garp held back—it was because someone else had taken the hit for him.
While Wood chose to turn a blind eye to the punch aimed at Arlong, the same couldn't be said for Tiger. This man was incredibly loyal and caring, and Arlong had followed him through life-and-death situations many times. Despite Arlong's flaws, Tiger couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
One was a hero of the Fish-Men, who had rescued his people and wreaked havoc in the Holy Land of Mariejois; the other was the hero of the Marines, who had captured the Pirate King and was recognized as such across the seas.
In terms of height, Garp, though already over two meters tall, still seemed small compared to the Fish-Man Tiger.
The clash between these two heroes was surprisingly short, leaving everyone present in shock.
Tiger had stepped forward just in time to shield Arlong from Garp's powerful punch, but the outcome was far from what the Fish-Men had expected.
Tiger wasn't called a hero of the Fish-Men just for his deeds; his strength played a significant role in earning that title.
To put it bluntly, Jinbe and the others called him "boss" because Fisher Tiger was the strongest among the Fish-Men.
On Fish-Man Island, even King Neptune might not be a match for him.
So in the eyes of most Fish-Men, their boss Tiger was invincible.
But just now, all the Fish-Men present saw their hero, Fisher Tiger, get sent flying hundreds of meters by a single punch from the old Marine.
That's right—Tiger, who had crossed his arms to block Garp's punch in front of Arlong, looked utterly battered.
In terms of size and weight, Tiger was several times larger than Garp, but even so, he was still sent flying by Garp's punch.
The moment Tiger took the punch head-on, the bones in his arms nearly shattered instantly, and his large body skidded hundreds of meters across the ground before coming to a stop.
With just one punch, Garp proved that while both might be heroes, the title of "Marine Hero" carried far more weight than that of the Fish-Man Hero.
Was Tiger strong? Absolutely. He had caused chaos in Mariejois and escaped afterward.
Tiger's strength was such that he could likely hold his own in the New World.
But unfortunately, while Tiger was strong, his opponent was on another level entirely.
Even now, before he had aged significantly, Garp's strength could easily rank among the top three in the world.
In Wood's estimation, Tiger's strength was on par with an elite vice admiral from headquarters—about the same level as Momousagi.
However, Garp, despite technically being a vice admiral, could likely handle the younger Admirals with ease.
Seeing their revered leader Tiger taken down with a single punch, the Fish-Men of the Sun Pirates, disregarding the disparity in strength, grabbed their weapons and charged at Garp.
Leading the charge were Arlong, with his serrated sword, and Jinbe, employing Fish-Man Karate.
If Tiger, the strongest of the Fish-Men, had been severely injured in one blow, it was obvious what fate awaited Jinbe and Arlong when they challenged Garp.
Though the Fish-Men of the Sun Pirates could normally take on a hundred humans each, they were clearly out of their depth against Garp.
Within just a few exchanges, the Sun Pirates, who had torn through Enies Lobby, were left scattered across the ground when faced with a boss-level figure like Garp.
As Garp effortlessly dispatched his comrades, Tiger slowly stood up again. His arms hung limply at his sides, but he forced them up, preparing to continue fighting Garp.
However, just as Tiger, filled with the resolve to die fighting for his comrades, was about to charge at Garp, a figure suddenly stepped in front of him.
"Tiger-boss, take the Sun Pirates and the people from Tom's Workers and leave now. As for my crew, I'm counting on you to get them out of here. Let me handle Vice Admiral Garp. I'll hold him off and buy you enough time to escape."
Hearing Wood's words, Tiger and the other Fish-Men, including the fallen Jinbe, were all stunned.
When they realized what Wood meant, Tiger's first instinct was to refuse.
Others might not know who Wood really was, but Tiger was well aware. This wasn't the first time Wood had risked his life to protect the Fish-Men. It didn't make sense to have him bear the burden again.
If someone had to stay behind to fight this Marine hero, it should be Fisher Tiger, not Wood, who had already sacrificed once for them.
"Now's not the time for courtesy. Even if I stay behind, I'm confident I can survive. Besides, if you stay, do you really think the other Fish-Men would listen to me and leave?
Right now, we don't have a ship, and the only way to escape Enies Lobby is through the water. If they refuse to go, Tom's Workers and my crew will be left behind to die.
This whole operation to storm Enies Lobby happened because of my request. It's only right that I take responsibility now that things have gone south."
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 320+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a