After hearing the explanation, Kuroobi, Chew, and Hatchan finally looked relieved.
Then they ran off in different directions.
BOOM!
Another hole blasted open in the wall—right in front of Shyarly's pained eyes.
It was already wrecked once... now there was a second one.
Arlong swung his jagged sword Kiribachi in a wild arc toward Monet, his face twisted with rage.
CRASH!
The buildings in the blade's path crumbled like paper.
From that, Monet quickly assessed—there was no way she could take this fish-man head-on.
She pushed her Kami-e to the limit, weaving through the gusts whipped up by Arlong's savage swings.
To anyone watching, it looked like she was dancing on the edge of a blade.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
With Arlong's personal demolition crew hard at work, the restaurant's interior was a complete mess.
BOOM!
Following Monet's subtle feint, Kiribachi slammed into one of the restaurant's coral pillars—natural reef, incredibly tough.
Arlong's face turned crimson as he tried to wrench the blade free.
Seizing the chance, Monet slammed into Arlong's chest, driving her blade toward his neck.
"Heh heh~ Got you."
A glint of sly cunning flashed in Arlong's eyes.
His sharp hands snapped forward to grab her, while at the same time, he drove his nose straight toward her face.
"Fool!"
Her blade clashed with his nose with a resounding clang, and using the force, Monet flipped away, widening the gap between them again.
"You damn human!"
Arlong wiped the blood from his nose, then reached up and ripped out his own razor-sharp fangs.
He lunged forward with both hands, trying to slam them into her.
"Useless trash."
Monet's disdainful glare only made Arlong burn hotter with rage.
Blood surging, his speed spiked again.
The compressed air around him whirled violently, making Monet look like a helpless leaf in a storm.
But she twisted back gracefully and dodged the savage attack with a smooth backflip.
This time, though, Arlong leapt into the air—
And his feet shifted into the rudiments of Fish-Man Karate.
He spun rapidly, building up force with the swirling air, then opened his jaws wide—new teeth gleaming—and dove toward Monet lying on the ground.
"Die!!"
CRUNCH!
Three rows of teeth snapped shut with a chilling sound.
But they missed again—by mere inches.
The failed strike only deepened Arlong's frustration. His hands and head lunged again and again.
His rows of teeth slammed repeatedly toward the ground where Monet lay.
"Die die die die!!"
BOOM!
The floor beneath Monet exploded as her body suddenly surged with explosive speed.
With a swift motion, she delivered a crushing kick between Arlong's legs, and her twin spike-blades stabbed precisely into his sides.
THUD!
Arlong's face turned a liverish purple as he was launched back through the hole in the wall—
And crashed into the inner sea outside.
"Is brute force all you've got? What happened to your Fish-Man Karate? Or do you not even know how to use it?"
Monet brushed the dust off her clothes and kept moving forward.
If only she were a bit stronger, this lowly fish-man would already be skinned alive.
"Let me take it from here, Monet!"
Yamato swung Takeru from her back and stopped Monet from continuing.
(T/N: Takeru is a kanabo wielded by Yamato as her signature weapon.)
Even if that fish-man relied only on brute strength, he wasn't someone an ordinary human girl like Monet could handle alone.
"You really look down on me, don't you?!"
Arlong's voice, filled with rage, came roaring from under the sea.
Dozens of water droplets shot out of the sea and rained down over Yamato and Monet.
This was Arlong's proud technique—combining seawater, the traits of a shark, and his half-baked understanding of Fish-Man Karate.
Each droplet carried the force of a shotgun blast.
But Yamato didn't even bother to react.
With a smooth, heavy swing, her rounded spiked club met the droplets mid-air—
And the visible shockwave shattered every one of them.
Arlong, trying to sneak in from behind, was immediately slammed into the ground by the blow.
He lost consciousness on the spot.
Yamato turned to Shyarly, who was crouching nearby, and gave her a bright smile.
"All taken care of~!"
"..."
Shyarly looked at her unconscious brother and the restaurant, now a total disaster, and clutched her forehead.
This was going to be a big problem.
BANG!
The already battered front door was blown off its hinges completely.
A horde of grotesque fish-men stormed inside.
"Arlong! We're here to save you!"
...
Above the underwater apartment.
Buffalo was gathering intel.
"Internal Problem #2 of Fish-Man Island: The glaring disparity between rich and poor. The royal family lives in the sky, enjoying endless sunlight and ocean views."
"But the majority of citizens are crammed into tight, grimy underwater apartments."
"The lower the level, the worse the conditions—and the cheaper the rent."
"The higher the level, the more sunlight you get, but the rent skyrockets."
"Yet sunlight is a miracle, a gift from the Sunlight Tree to all living things."
"This kind of setup only fuels growing instability across Fish-Man Island…"
BOOM!
Weevil, happily licking bubble cotton candy, poked the focused Buffalo and pointed toward the explosion in the distance.
"Buffalo, that was in the direction Yamato and the others went. Looks like they're fighting!"
"?!"
Buffalo hadn't paid the explosion any mind—until his hand jerked violently mid-note.
His legs coiled and spun, launching him into the sky.
He stuffed his research notes into his coat and grabbed the binoculars hanging around his neck.
Through the lenses, he saw Yamato and Monet wreaking havoc in a swarm of fish-men.
"Damn, what's Yamato doing? And why's Monet involved too?!"
The image of the BOSS's face when he heard the negotiations with Fish-Man Island had gone sideways flashed through Buffalo's mind.
He shivered.
Then shouted below—
"Weevil! Jump up here! We're going in!"
"Okay!"
Weevil shoved the cotton candy—stick and all—into his mouth.
His bulky frame suddenly burst with incredible speed.
He leapt into the air and grabbed Buffalo's legs mid-flight.
"~Huff!"
Buffalo's face turned bright red as he struggled to carry Weevil through the sky.
"Weevil, you really need to lose weight."
"Lose weight? No way!"
Weevil shook his head furiously. Anything else, maybe—but eating less? Absolutely not!
"…Failure to communicate."
Buffalo took out the Den Den Mushi in his coat and dialed Señor, who was still napping at the inn.
...
Café.
"This is it? Weren't you going to make us 'pay a price' or something?"
Monet stood arrogantly, shrouded in her ghostly aura, one foot pressing down on Arlong's unconscious body. Her scornful gaze swept across the fish-men surrounding them.
Not a single one dared meet the eyes of the two kids in the center.
"Didn't you all say you were superior?"
"Hahahaha! Come on, bring it!"
Yamato, high on adrenaline, waved her club around, searching for the next punching bag.
She didn't care what the consequences would be from beating up these scumbags.
Shyarly, who had quietly done a reading on the side, hid in the corner, pale as ash.
She had just seen the future—
A vision of Fish-Man Island's utter destruction because of this.
"Stop!!"
A thunderous shout rang down from the sky.
A whale arrived at top speed, carrying Fisher Tiger and Jinbei.
"Boss!"
"Tiger-sama! Jinbei-sama!"
"Kick the humans out!!"
With the two former bosses of Fish-Man District appearing, the weak fish-men nearby suddenly became emboldened—like stray dogs seeing their master return. They began to jeer wildly.
They saw their comrades sprawled across the floor—and Arlong, unconscious under Monet's foot.
Even Tiger, known for his gentleness toward humans, clenched his fists unnaturally tight.
His expression darkened.
"Even if Arlong was rude to you at the entrance… that doesn't justify this."
"And why attack everyone on Fish-Man Island?!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg