Not long after Gern and the Snake Princess departed…
"Pah!!"
Arlong struggled up from the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva, and glared in the direction Gern had left.The hatred in his eyes had not faded in the slightest—if anything, it had grown more venomous.
"That guy's nothing but a pretentious human," he muttered through clenched teeth, his voice dripping with contempt.
"Arlong!!"
Jinbe whirled around and roared, his voice echoing through the Sea Forest.
"Do you have any idea what kind of disaster you almost caused just now?!You nearly brought annihilation down on the entire Fish-Man Island!!"
"Hmph! Disaster?" Arlong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered, pointing in the direction Gern had gone."What could he possibly do to us?!
He was just trying to scare you!Jinbe, you were fooled!"
"Have you forgotten? He's a Devil Fruit user!In ten thousand meters of deep sea, he would be the one in danger!"
"You really think he'd dare use force on Fish-Man Island? Pull some so-called 'suppression' down here?Wouldn't he drown himself first?!"
"That 'suppression' nonsense of his was nothing but empty bluffing!"
Looking at Arlong's smug, self-satisfied expression—as if he alone had seen through everything—Jinbe felt his heart sink into icy despair.
Arlong had completely misunderstood what Gern truly meant by suppression.
To Arlong, it meant nothing more than brute force.
He didn't understand power, nor politics, nor how authority truly crushed those beneath it.
Jinbe let out a heavy sigh, trying with the last shred of patience left in him to pull his wayward brother back from the brink.
"Arlong… I know.I know you suffered terribly in prison. And Brother Tiger's death shattered you, so you ended up like this…"
"Shut up, Jinbe!"
Arlong cut him off violently.
"You don't have the right!You don't have the right to lecture me in Brother Tiger's place!"
"You chose to bow your head to humans—you're a traitor!"
Seeing the hatred etched into Arlong's bones—hatred so deep it could never be dissolved—and sensing the dangerous obsession that could explode at any moment and drag all of Fish-Man Island into the abyss…
The final trace of hesitation vanished from Jinbe's eyes.
He drew in a deep breath.
His gaze hardened, turning heavy and resolute.
His massive hand slowly clenched, and the surrounding seawater responded as if pulled by an invisible force, spiraling toward his palm.
In the very next instant—
Jinbe's enormous body burst forward with shocking speed, completely disproportionate to his size!
"Fish-Man Karate — Seal Flow!"
With a low shout, Jinbe appeared directly in front of Arlong.
Arlong had no time to react.
The webbed palm slammed precisely onto his face.
This wasn't a simple physical strike.
A finely controlled current of water surged forward like an unbreakable shackle, instantly sealing Arlong's mouth, nose, and even his vocal cords.
Not only was he unable to speak—
A supple yet overwhelming force suppressed every movement of his body.
"Ugh—!!"
Arlong's eyes bulged wide with disbelief and fury.
All he could manage were muffled groans as his body trembled violently under Jinbe's absolute strength and control, completely unable to break free.
Looking down at Arlong struggling beneath his hand, pain flickered through Jinbe's eyes—but it was overshadowed by unyielding resolve.
"Arlong… I'm sorry."
Pinned by Seal Flow, unable to move or speak, Arlong felt it clearly—
The unconcealed killing intent radiating from Jinbe.
And when Jinbe's earlier words echoed in his mind—
"If he dares again… I will kill him with my own hands."
—Arlong finally realized it.
This time, Jinbe was serious.
He truly intended to kill him.
In an instant, the terror of death washed away Arlong's arrogance and obsession.
He didn't want to die.
He still wanted revenge against humans.
He couldn't—absolutely couldn't—die here, suffocating under his own brother's hand!
"Ugh! Ughhh!!"
Arlong began to struggle wildly, his eyes filled not with rage anymore, but fear and desperate pleading.
Sensing the frantic, hopeless struggle beneath his palm, Jinbe's hardened heart trembled.
They had once fought side by side under Brother Tiger…The memories surged unbidden into his mind.
At last, Jinbe released the water sealing Arlong's mouth and vocal cords.
But his massive hand remained locked around Arlong's neck like an iron vise, keeping him firmly restrained—preventing any counterattack or escape.
The instant he could speak again, Arlong screamed hoarsely.
"Stop! Stop it! Jinbe—stop!"
"We're brothers!Brother Tiger brought us together—don't you remember?!"
"Brother Tiger… he would never want you to do this to me! Never! Jinbe!"
"I—I was wrong! I'll leave!I'll leave Fish-Man Island! I won't stay in the New World!"
"No—I'll go to the Four Blues!Some remote, forgotten corner where no one cares!"
"I swear I'll never come back and cause trouble for you or Fish-Man Island again!!"
"Please, Jinbe!Brother Tiger told you to take care of everyone… we're brothers!!"
Tears streamed down Arlong's face as he begged incoherently, clinging to Tiger's final wishes and their shared bond as his last lifeline.
Those words—
"Brother Tiger told you to… we're brothers…"
—hit Jinbe like a sledgehammer.
His hand around Arlong's neck began to tremble from the force of his grip.
Agony and inner conflict twisted across his face.
After a long, agonizing silence—
As if all his strength had drained away—
Jinbe slowly, painfully released his grip.
Arlong collapsed limply to the ground, clutching his neck as he coughed violently, gasping for air in ragged gulps.
His face was filled with the relief of a man who had narrowly escaped death.
Jinbe turned his back on him, unwilling to look at that pitiful sight.
His voice was hoarse, exhausted, and heavy with powerlessness.
"Remember what you said today, Arlong."
"Leave Fish-Man Island.Leave the New World."
"And never come back."
"Don't let me ever hear that you're using any cause or banner to commit something irreversible."
"Because next time…"
"I won't hold back."
...