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"Too late, they're already here."
Alex chuckled, stretching lazily as he stood up.
Douglas Bullet, on the other hand, downed the remaining rum in his wooden mug in one swift gulp.
The two of them then walked out of the tavern.
Outside, the once-bustling street was now eerily empty. At the far end, a group of armed fishmen stood in formation, blocking the road.
Clearly, they had sealed off the town.
"Locking down the whole place? Quite the grand display for a bunch of small-time pirates," Bullet sneered.
"Come on." Alex patted him on the shoulder, and the two began heading toward the port.
"Stop right there! One more step, and we won't be so polite!" a sharp-mouthed fishman with a spear barked at them.
But before he could say another word, Douglas Bullet had already moved.
A moment later, a few more bodies were left on the ground.
The townspeople, watching from behind their windows, gasped in terror.
To them, Arlong was already a demon. But the man before them was far worse—he was an unstoppable force of destruction.
As Alex and Bullet neared the port, a ship adorned with a crossed-bones symbol and a red, sharp-snouted shark emblem came into view.
"They sure got here quickly," Alex mused with a smirk.
"Well, consider this a good deed for the Marines," Bullet said casually. "Maybe they'll give us a 'Model Pirate' award someday."
As the ship docked, a dozen pirates leaped onto the shore.
Leading them was a fishman with a long, serrated nose, wearing an open-front casual shirt.
A sun tattoo—the mark of the Sun Pirates—was emblazoned on the left side of his chest, while another tattoo, representing the Arlong Pirates, adorned his left forearm.
This was none other than Arlong, captain of the Arlong Pirates.
To his left stood a fishman with a trumpet-shaped mouth, six arms, and multiple tufts of silver-gray hair. He had a kind yet foolish-looking face and bore the Sun Pirates' tattoo on his forehead.
This was Hatchan, who would later be freed by Luffy, but for now, he was one of Arlong's officers.
To Arlong's right stood another officer, Kuroobi—a cartilaginous fishman with two spiked ponytails and the Sun Pirates' symbol on his right chest.
Behind them stood the rest of the Arlong Pirates' lackeys.
"And who the hell are you two?" Arlong growled upon setting foot on land. "Daring to stir up trouble in my territory? You must have a death wish!"
Douglas Bullet spoke calmly. "Douglas Bullet. Ever heard of me?"
"B-Bullet?" Arlong's face twisted in shock.
He had read this morning's newspaper—one of the headlines detailed the escape of the legendary pirate from Roger's era, Douglas Bullet, and a young accomplice, who had broken out of the heavily guarded deep-sea prison, Impel Down.
Now, the man standing before him claimed to be Douglas Bullet.
And the young man at his side… was an exact match for the one in the headlines.
A cold sweat dripped down Arlong's forehead.
He had been ruling the area unchallenged, but that was only because there were no real powerhouses in these waters.
Now, faced with two absolute monsters, his confidence wavered.
"Boss, should we just kill them?" Kuroobi asked coldly, unaware of the gravity of the situation.
Unlike Arlong, he hadn't read today's paper and had no clue who Douglas Bullet was.
Arlong's face went pale.
But with all his men watching, he couldn't afford to lose face.
"Why are you here?" Arlong asked, trying to sound intimidating.
"Nothing much," Alex said, folding his arms. "We just stopped by for a drink, and then some fishman from a so-called Arlong Pirates came over and picked a fight. So, things ended up like this."
"Then it looks like there's been a misunderstanding," Arlong forced a smile. "You should leave. I don't feel like fighting today."
He desperately hoped they would take the offer and go.
That way, he could save face and still avoid a battle he knew he couldn't win.
But he was delusional if he thought it would be that easy.
"Leave?" Alex's face darkened. "You can leave after you kneel down and kowtow three times!"
He had read about all the atrocities Arlong had committed in the area.
Even he found them disgusting.
And now, the bastard had the audacity to act all high and mighty?
This wasn't just an insult—it was a joke!
Arlong's expression instantly turned grim.
Kuroobi, however, could no longer contain his rage.
With a sudden burst of speed, he lunged at Alex, throwing a powerful punch straight at his face.
But Alex didn't move. He simply stood there, smiling.
Just as Kuroobi's fist was about to land—it stopped.
His knuckles hovered just ten centimeters from Alex's face.
Yet that ten centimeters became an insurmountable gap.
A moment later, blood spurted from Kuroobi's mouth.
His eyes widened in shock as he looked down.
A fist had already buried itself deep in his gut.
He wanted to speak, but no words came out.