"Splish-splash, back to normal!" Luffy, at the bottom of the seawater pool, shot upwards with tremendous elastic force after Sanji shattered the rock chained to his foot, shouting with great energy.
Tom's eyes had returned to normal. He was gripping the gradually shortening fishing rod with both hands, descending toward the ground. His head throbbed, and he felt his strength had been mostly drained—the earlier explosive burst of power had placed a heavy burden on his already overworked body.
Hanging in mid-air, Tom saw Arlong below walking toward the rod he'd planted in the ground. He was about to act when Luffy came flying up from below. Before Tom could make a sound, Luffy rammed into him, sending him flying diagonally downward.
"Don't crash into me!" Zoro, seeing Luffy regain consciousness, tried to drag his wounded body to the side to avoid getting in the way. But after taking a few steps, he felt something behind him. He hurriedly turned around to look.
"What are you two doing?!" Sanji had just climbed ashore from the pool, barely catching his breath, when he saw Tom and Zoro slam toward him. He quickly jumped to the right, avoiding them, but was unfortunately struck by the rod in Tom's hand.
"Finally made it back. How should I make my entrance? Something too ordinary wouldn't suit the great and heroic Captain Usopp." Usopp, outside a wall of Arlong Park, was stroking his chin, wearing a serious expression, thinking about how to appear before everyone for maximum shock value, when the wall before him burst open. His eyes nearly popped out as he was sent flying straight backward by the three people crashing out.
"Sorry about that, guys!" Luffy, heading down toward the ground, saw Tom and the others lying in all directions outside the wall and offered a very sincere apology.
"I'm going to kill him someday!" Tom, Zoro, and Sanji, lying outside the wall, spoke in unison, with deep resentment, voicing their most genuine thoughts.
"Can someone tell me… what just happened?" Usopp, hit by all three, was the worst off, already seeing stars, unsure what was happening.
If Usopp hadn't seen Tom plummet rapidly from the sky and split open the Arlong Empire building with one rod upon returning, he wouldn't have been so seriously thinking about how to outshine Tom's moment.
What Usopp didn't expect was that Tom barely had any chance to show off before being completely wrecked by Luffy, dragging Usopp down with him.
Actually, Usopp could have returned faster, but on his way back, a huge shadow loomed over him, and he seemed to hear a strange, low sound.
Usopp was scared into a cold sweat, his breathing grew heavy, his heart pounding nervously, his legs shaking uncontrollably. As he slowly looked up, about to see the monster above him, he passed out cold, but not before unleashing his ultimate move, "Tomato Mold."
When Usopp regained consciousness, everything was normal again.
Nami, Johnny, and the others were just recovering from the shock of Tom splitting the five-story building with one strike when Luffy appeared, lifting everyone's spirits.
But just as Nami happily called out "Luffy!", she saw Tom casually get knocked flying by Luffy, causing Zoro and Sanji to be sent flying as well, and finally Usopp suffering along with them.
Luffy's appearance brought misfortune to Tom and the others, leaving Nami nearly petrified. The surrounding Coco Village villagers also dropped their jaws.
"Are Big Brother Zoro and the others okay?"
"Don't know… they're already…" Johnny and Yosaku were somewhat worried, seeing none of those outside the wall getting up.
As for Nojiko, she climbed out from the other side of the pool, luckily avoiding the misfortune. Earlier, after jumping in to stop Hatchan, Sanji was only a few meters from Luffy at the bottom of the pool when he saw her in danger and urgently swam up.
But just as Sanji was about to attack Hatchan, the wounds Hatchan sustained split open, gushing大量 blood, leaving him unable to block Sanji from saving Luffy.
It turned out after Zoro's "Tatsumaki" hit Hatchan, his wounds wouldn't reopen if he stayed still. But using his "Octopus Sashimi Fist" in the pool against Nojiko caused them to tear open.
"Rubber bastard! You really aren't dead!" Arlong's expression became extremely ugly upon seeing Luffy.
Tom had already destroyed eight years of his charts and kicked down the sawshark head ornament bearing his pirate flag, putting Arlong in a terrible mood.
Now this troublesome rubber man was back to bother him. That he wasn't screaming in rage like a madman was already an accomplishment.
"Gum-Gum Headbutt!" Luffy, in the air, stretched his neck long and slammed it into Arlong's head on the ground.
After headbutting Arlong backward, Luffy landed and extended his left leg in a sweeping kick. "Gum-Gum Whip!"
"Gum-Gum Bullet!" Luffy kicked Arlong off balance and followed up with a punch to his stomach, knocking him down.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy threw punches nonstop, furiously pummeling the fallen Arlong. Afterward, he said with satisfaction, "Great!"
Seeing Luffy beat Arlong until he couldn't fight back, beating him senseless, Nami, Johnny, and the others were dumbfounded, thinking Arlong was already finished.
But very soon, Arlong stood up as if nothing happened. Johnny and Yosaku were so shocked their mouths hung open. "Those attacks were completely useless!"
"Did you just do something?" Arlong casually brushed off the dust from his clothes, asking Luffy.
"Yep. Warm-up exercises." Luffy cracked his knuckles, expression calm.
"You trash are really trying hard. It would have been better for you to die peacefully at the bottom of the sea." Arlong glanced at the split-in-half building and spoke darkly to Luffy.
"Is that so? I'm glad I was saved." Luffy did some warm-up movements, not rushing to attack. His body had been in seawater for some time and really needed to loosen up.
"Do you know how angry I am right now?" Arlong said to Luffy, then looked toward Tom and the others. "My dear comrades, one by one, defeated by your companions who are like ants! Kuroobi lost to that cook. Hatchan was beaten by Zoro. Even the Arlong Empire I spent eight years building was almost reduced to rubble by that guy! I won't let any of you die comfortably!"
"Hey! Listen here! That long-mouthed Fish-Man officer? I took care of him. Don't ignore my existence!" Usopp, standing in the distance, shouted indignantly after being overlooked.
"Really? You actually beat a Fish-Man officer? Not bad, Usopp." Tom's words triggered Usopp's old habit again. He couldn't help boasting smugly. "Of course! It was a really hard-fought battle! Look at the mud and wounds on me…"
Unfortunately, before Usopp finished bragging, Tom, Zoro, and Sanji all sat down together. None of the three listened to his nonsense. He immediately shouted, "Listen to me properly!"
"Even Big Brother Usopp beat a Fish-Man officer? Looks like those Fish-Men aren't that amazing after all!"
"Right! That's what I think too! When we challenged them, if it weren't for their numbers, we would've won!" Hearing Usopp's glorious achievement, Johnny and Yosaku seemed to regain their confidence.
"So Tom did this? I initially thought it was an earthquake and the building's poor construction quality that caused it to split." Luffy said to Arlong.
"Fool! Do you know the biggest difference between us?" Arlong's face darkened. His anger had reached its peak.
"Don't know. If I had to say… the chin?" Luffy looked at Arlong's pointy chin, his expression completely serious, clearly having thought about it.
"Or the webbed hands? Can you paddle like a duck?" Luffy saw the webbing on Arlong's hands, wearing an expression of sudden realization.
"It's race, you idiot!" Arlong snapped, roaring in rage. "You damned humans! I won't hold back anymore!!"
"He ate something strange…" Zoro had been watching Luffy's movements. He saw Arlong pull something from his pocket and toss it into his mouth, sensing something was wrong.
"It's not some stimulant, is it?" Tom had just said this when he saw Arlong's muscles bulge like balloons. In an instant, his body became much bulkier, his physique larger, standing nearly twenty centimeters taller.
Arlong's purple-blue skin gradually turned dark purple. The black hair on his back grew longer, turning gray-white. His murderous eyes turned completely red, filled with bloodthirsty desire, terrifying to behold.
"What is this? A Fish-Man exclusive transformation?" Luffy said in surprise, looking at Arlong, now at least a full size stronger.
"I've never seen Arlong change like this in eight years. It must be a mutation from what he ate." Nami felt deeply uneasy.
"What are you still doing there?! Get far away!" Tom used his rod to prop himself up, shouting toward Nami. He saw that with every step Arlong took toward Luffy, an extremely clear footprint was left in the ground. Though not deep, it showed Arlong's strength had changed drastically.
"Seems really wrong…" Zoro also stood up, gripping his swords tightly, ready to support.
"Can't afford to be careless at all…" Sanji put his dress shoes back on, ready to fight.
"This feeling is bad. Everyone's getting tense." Though Usopp hid behind the others, he also took out his slingshot and put on his sniper goggles.
"Struggle all you want! I thought dealing with lowly humans like you wouldn't require this. But as repayment for hurting my comrades and destroying eight years of my work, I'll let you witness the true power of Fish-Men!" Arlong forced Luffy back with a punch, went to the pool's edge, scooped a handful of seawater, and threw it toward Tom and the others.
"Be careful! This guy's strength is no joke!" Luffy urgently warned. Even someone as thick-skinned as him could feel the dangerous aura rushing toward him from Arlong's missed punch.
"That's obvious just by looking." Tom and the others barely avoided the thrown water. Usopp would have been hit if Tom hadn't pulled him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The water Arlong threw missed them and smashed deep craters into the ground, as if it had been bombarded.
"Throwing a bit of seawater with power like a cannonball… he's a monster." Usopp had seen the power of Chew's water cannon, but Chew needed to absorb大量 water for it to barely compare to artillery.
Now, Arlong throwing just a tiny bit of seawater caused destruction no weaker than artillery fire. This not only shocked Usopp but also left Tom and the others momentarily stunned.
Earlier, Zoro and Sanji felt like they were hit by a shotgun blast from Arlong's thrown water. Now, if hit by the casually tossed seawater, their bodies would likely fall apart on the spot.
"As expected, what he ate caused his strength to skyrocket." Zoro was panting heavily from just moving. Tom and Sanji beside him weren't much better. Only Usopp behind them wasn't panting, though his legs were shaking nonstop, nearly cramping.
"What did you eat? Is it better than meat?" At this critical moment, Luffy asked this question, making Tom and the others lose their minds on the spot. The four shouted together, "Idiot!"
"I can't tell you that! I never thought anyone in the East Blue could force me to take a forbidden drug! I admit your strength caused me a certain amount of trouble! But you'll soon experience just how insignificant you are! Lowly humans defeating Fish-Men is absolutely impossible!"
When Arlong saw Luffy escape the pool, he decided to take the drug he'd kept for years, brought from Fish-Man Island. He only had a few and was reluctant to use them.
But seeing Tom suddenly burst out with astonishing power, destroying his charts and the Arlong Empire building, though he was unwilling to admit it, Arlong truly felt a sense of crisis he had never felt before.
If Tom joined the fight with Luffy, Arlong had no guaranteed victory. Combined with Zoro fighting with injuries that would have killed an ordinary person, it deeply shocked him.
Sanji fighting Kuroobi in water and returning safely to land to quickly finish him off also left a strong impression.
Whether it was Luffy, Tom, Zoro, or Sanji, Arlong's killing intent toward these four had never ceased.
If only one of them were here, he wouldn't care. But with all four together, he increasingly felt he needed to eliminate them quickly to avoid endless trouble later.
With the Arlong Empire already split in half by Tom and destined to collapse sooner or later, Arlong felt there was no need to hold back while fighting here. To be safe, he decided to take the forbidden drug and use one hundred percent of his power.
"First, I'll kill those eyesore humans." Arlong scooped another handful of seawater, aiming at Nami and the others. "Watch closely what fate awaits those who dare resist me!"
"Stop!" Luffy, seeing Arlong attack ordinary people, punched Arlong's chest, making him step back several times. But the water in Arlong's hand still spilled out.
"You guys go help them! I won't let him attack them again!" Luffy said to Tom and the others while entangling Arlong in combat.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arlong hurled the water toward the Coco Village villagers behind Nami. Nami's face instantly turned pale. Though Tom had warned them to leave, how far could they run in such a short time?
"No!" Nami took a step forward, wanting to block the incoming water with her body.
"You should've listened to me earlier! What are you doing standing there stupidly, you foolish woman!" Tom used his rod to block several water droplets, scolding Nami behind him in annoyance. The droplets slammed heavily into the rod, numbing his hands.
"You insulted Miss Nami again! After this, I'll teach you a lesson properly!" Sanji braced his hands on the ground, his legs spinning rapidly, kicking away many droplets, but his left shin bone showed a fracture.
"You still have the mood to argue over these trivial things? The power in those droplets is stronger than artillery shells! Be serious!" Zoro gripped Wado Ichimonji with both hands, slashing repeatedly, cutting the incoming droplets in half. The force made his wounds bleed even more.
"Help me if you have time! Special Attack: Fire Star Four-Shot Barrage!" Usopp continuously aimed his slingshot at the droplets flying toward the villagers. Four fire stars barely blocked one droplet.
"Is everyone okay?" Nami saw Tom and the others—just blocking the droplets had them showing signs of exhaustion. Usopp was slightly better. She understood these people were truly at their limit.
"It's up to Luffy. We can only do our best to help him now." Zoro's face had only a trace of color left, lips cracked from excessive blood loss.
"That guy was first covered in wounds by Hawk Eyes, then left with many injuries from fighting Krieg. Facing a Fish-Man several times stronger than before, who knows how much strength he can use in this condition." Sanji had personally seen Luffy's fight with Krieg—hands and legs pierced by spikes, injured by explosions. Coming to Coco Village with these injuries, Luffy clearly wasn't at full strength either.
"Then let's support him from the rear." Usopp quickly suggested.
"You're a sniper. That's only natural." Tom gasped for breath, slowly stepping forward. "If we can figure out how that stinking fish throws seawater, maybe we'll find a way to counter it."
"Wait! What are you doing?" Nami saw Tom swaying even while walking and hurriedly called out to him.
"I'm going to learn that stinking fish's water-throwing move. Seems interesting." As Tom said this, his jet-black pupils quickly turned dark red. Golden light gradually appeared around his pupils, but this time the glow was dim, only surrounding half the pupils, different from usual.
In truth, Tom knew very well he was completely running on fumes, so exhausted he was nearly unable to even activate his Devil Fruit ability.
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T/N :
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