Thank you?
Hearing these two words, the entire crew of the Arlong Pirates was momentarily stunned.
Then, they looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"Hey! This kid actually thinks we're complimenting him!"
"No wonder he's so naive. Cutting down a few trees and thinking he can block our way!"
The Salmon Fish-man named Salt Grilled stepped forward, impatiently reaching out to grab Xiano's arm. "Alright, kid, get out of our way. We don't have time to play games with you…"
Huh?
Salt Grilled looked down in confusion at his hand. What's going on? Why can't he move it?
He was the Banquet Chief of the Arlong Pirates, a ranking officer! How could a mere human resist his strength?
"Get up—!"
Salt Grilled refused to believe it, growling from his throat as he gradually increased his strength.
Finally, he used both hands, turned his back, and tried to lift with his shoulder, straining until his eyes were bloodshot and veins bulged on his forehead. Yet, the other party remained motionless, as if rooted to the ground.
"What's going on, Salt Grilled?"
"With that kind of strength, how can you call yourself an officer?"
"Are you putting on a one-man show?"
The surrounding Fish-men mocked him. After all, Salt Grilled's position as Banquet Chief wasn't particularly prestigious, and his status on the ship was only slightly higher than that of an ordinary Fish-man.
"Shut up!"
Kuroobi suddenly barked, and the surroundings fell silent. "You idiots, can't you see? It's not Salt Grilled's problem. This human kid is no ordinary guy!"
Within the Arlong Pirates, his authority was second only to Arlong, equivalent to that of a Vice Captain.
At his words, the other Fish-men began to scrutinize Xiano, their expressions turning uneasy.
"Step back, Salt Grilled. You really can't handle this kid."
Kuroobi cracked his neck, clenching his fists as he spoke indifferently, "Looks like my luck isn't too bad. In such a small village, I can still find someone worthy of being my opponent. Come on, let's see how much you're really worth!"
"Is that so? Unfortunately, in my eyes, you're not qualified."
Xiano looked at him and suddenly smiled. "Why don't you let that little purple-skinned shark behind you come forward instead?"
Little purple-skinned shark?
The Fish-men were stunned, instinctively turning to look behind them.
Only after noticing Arlong's suddenly darkened expression did they realize—this guy had the audacity to refer to their boss.
"Sha-ha-ha-ha—" Arlong forced a laugh. "Hey, Kuroobi, did you hear what this kid just said?"
"How dare you disrespect Captain Arlong!"
Kuroobi was furious, taking several steps forward. "Also! You little brat, I gave you face, and you still dare to look down on me? Stop being so arrogant! I'm a master of Fish-man Karate, 40th Dan!"
"Karate?"
Xiano tilted his head in confusion, as if hearing the term for the first time. "What hand?"
Kuroobi's expression turned ferocious, but just as he was about to act, he caught a glimpse of two bloody severed hands on the ground.
A searing pain suddenly shot through him.
Only then did he realize something. Trembling, he raised his arm and was horrified to find that only the part above his elbow remained…
When… when did this happen?
The surrounding Fish-men fell into dead silence.
Many Fish-men widened their eyes, having been staring intently, yet none of them could see when the black-haired human had made his move.
Standing at the very back, Arlong's pupils suddenly contracted, his face turning even colder.
He had seen it clearly—that kid had twisted off Kuroobi's hands in an instant.
And he hadn't used any weapons; he had torn them off barehanded!
This was supposed to be just the East Blue. How could there be such a troublesome guy here?
And at this very moment.
Under Kuroobi's panicked gaze, Xiano finally stood up slowly, stretched his neck slightly, and calmly walked step by step towards the Fish-men.
With each step Xiano took forward, Kuroobi trembled and took a step back.
When Xiano took a slightly larger step, Kuroobi retreated even faster, almost stumbling and nearly falling.
This tough Fish-man officer, who had always prided himself as a martial artist, was utterly terrified by what had just happened, lacking even the courage to face Xiano head-on.
"Why are you running?" Xiano asked softly, "I'm asking you, why are you running?"
"You, you, you, you..." Kuroobi screamed, scrambling backward, leaving a trail of blood, "Don't come any closer, stop, stop! Don't come any closer!!!"
"Fish-man Karate 40th Dan?" Xiano actually stopped, shaking his head slightly, "That's too much. When I eat fish, I never need more than two pieces!"
Whoosh!
The moment his words fell, Xiano's figure vanished from the spot, and in the next instant, he appeared in front of Kuroobi, effortlessly lifting him overhead.
Then, looking up at the struggling, muscular Fish-man above him, Xiano grinned ferociously, his hands gripping the Fish-man's waist and neck, and with a fierce pull in opposite directions—
"Kuroobi!" Arlong's expression changed drastically, and he took a step forward, wanting to save him.
But it was already too late.
Rip—!
"No!!!"
Arlong's roar and the sound of flesh and blood splattering erupted simultaneously.
Kuroobi's body split into two halves in mid-air, his dark blue intestines and a torrent of blood spilling onto the dirt road of the countryside.
Some of the internal organs flew out, landing on the faces of several Fish-men, who froze in place, staring at the chunks of flesh hanging from their noses, smelling the familiar yet alien stench of blood—
"Ugh—" They immediately bent over, vomiting uncontrollably.
Xiano looked completely unfazed, as if he had just thrown away trash, casually tossing the head and tail of the corpse to either side.
Then he raised his head, calmly looking at Arlong in the distance.
"...Despicable human, disgusting human, the lowest and most trashy species."
Arlong stared at him, his eyes bloodshot, gritting his teeth, almost squeezing the words out from his throat, "How dare... how dare you kill my comrade right in front of me!"
Clang! Arlong drew his Great Saw Sword from his waist, swung it fiercely, and roared in anger, "Everyone, attack! Let's kill him together!"
"Yes, Boss Arlong!"
The Kissing Fish-man Chew nodded, leading the surrounding Fish-men in a charge, while Arlong, with a grim face, tightly gripped the hilt of his sword and followed closely.
"Hachi will avenge Kuroobi!"
The Six-Sword Style Octopus Swordsman threw away his gourd and charged forward, tears of grief and anger streaming down his face. "Kuroobi was a good man! He treated Hachi well, and he treated all the Fish-man brothers with kindness! You beast, why did you kill him!!!"
Swish! Swish!
Six heavy blades slashed from different directions, but Xiano neither dodged nor evaded. Instead, he grabbed two of the blades with his hands.
The remaining four blades struck his neck, producing a metallic clang, but they failed to cut into his flesh, leaving only faint white marks.
"You think you can hurt me without even stepping into the Swordmaster Realm?"
Xiano sneered coldly, his palms suddenly exerting force. As he gripped Hachi's two hands, he delivered a fierce knee strike to Hachi's abdomen.
Boom!
Hachi's body was sent flying into the air, letting out a pitiful cry of pain.
But Xiano didn't miss the chance to pursue. With a flash, he stepped into the sky using Moon Walk, appearing precisely above Hachi.
"You ask me why I killed him?"
"Before you arrogantly set foot on my homeland, did you ever consider that you might die too? And now, you dare ask me this?!"
Xiano tightened his grip on Hachi's neck, watching the octopus Fish-man struggle desperately for air. He grinned, "Isn't this just hilarious?"
The ferocity in his eyes intensified as he ignored the six tentacles wildly thrashing against him, focusing solely on increasing the strength in his right hand, which was crushing Hachi's neck.
"Cough, cough..." The octopus Fish-man's face turned from red to purple, the veins around his temples bulging like earthworms, and his eyes began to roll back.
Just as they were about to hit the ground, Xiano yanked Hachi's head, along with his spine, clean off. The spurting blood splattered onto Arlong, who was charging forward.
Not wasting the headless corpse, Xiano grabbed it and swung it like a massive flail, sending the three or four nearest Fish-men flying violently, carving several trenches over ten meters long into the ground.
"...H-Hachi?!"
Arlong came to a halt, staring in disbelief at the scene before him. His body trembled violently as rage surged to its peak.
"You despicable—"
Arlong's eyes burned red as he suddenly looked up, only to see the terrifying, muscular figure rapidly closing in.
After locking eyes, Xiano grinned savagely at him, spreading his arms wide and slamming them together like swatting a mosquito in summer, aiming directly for Arlong's cheeks!
(End of Chapter)