OP: The Flame Pillar Of Justice

Arlong stood at ease, laughing loudly as he watched the Marine warship approaching from afar.

"Kuhahaha! Humans really are hopelessly inferior! Just 2 million berries, and they come crawling to us like dogs!"

Kuroobi, standing beside him, joined in the mockery.

"Indeed, Arlong. If we fishmen had control over the Navy, we'd never allow our own kind to be oppressed like this. Humans truly are pathetic."

"Kuhaha! Of course! We fishmen are the race of the gods—superior to all others on this planet!"

Sssshhhhhh—

As the Marine warship came to a halt at the gates of Arlong Park, Hachi—on gate patrol—called out.

"Nyuuu, Arlong! Should I open the gates?"

"Go ahead, Hachi. Open it up and welcome our new friend."

With Arlong's approval, Hachi dove underwater and unlocked the entrance to Arlong Park.

As the massive gates opened, the Marine warship slowly entered the central pool of the park.

From the ship's deck, a lone man leapt down to the ground.

Arlong scanned the visitor.

He was tall—likely over 190 cm.

The Marine coat draped over his shoulders signified his officer rank.

His long blond hair was streaked with fiery red.

He wasn't heavily armed—just a single sword at his waist.

"Hooh… a swordsman this time? Nezumi was just a trigger-happy rat."

The officer spoke calmly.

"Are you the Arlong with the 20-million-berry bounty?"

Arlong, who had been lounging arrogantly, sat up straighter.

"Yeah, I'm Arlong. Judging by that coat, you're an officer from Branch 77, huh? Mind telling me your rank?"

The officer didn't answer.

Instead, he asked a question of his own.

"Why haven't you asked about your crewmate Chew yet?"

The sudden shift in topic made Arlong frown with suspicion.

"Hey, hey… don't tell me you're claiming you killed Chew or something?"

"No. I didn't kill him."

"Kuhahaha! Yeah, didn't think so. Chew may have a lower bounty, but he's one of my top three officers! No way he'd lose to an inferior human like you!"

Arlong stood and walked over to the officer.

"So, where is Chew?"

"He's dead."

"…What?"

The Marine's reply stunned not just Arlong, but all the surrounding fishmen.

Their shock quickly morphed into seething hostility.

"You… you dare joke like that…!"

"Wait, Arlong! You don't have to deal with him yourself!"

As Arlong clenched his teeth and looked ready to kill the Marine officer on the spot, a white-skinned fishman stepped forward to stop him.

It was none other than Kuroobi, the highest-ranking among the three officers of Arlong Park—bearing a bounty of 9 million berries.

"Hey, human. I don't know what kind of trick you pulled to kill Chew… but if you showed up here alone, you must've come ready to die, right?"

"And what exactly do you mean by 'ready'?"

The Marine officer calmly replied.

Kuroobi shook his head in exasperation.

"Tch tch… they say pups don't fear tigers… Did you hit your head, or are you just naturally stupid?"

The officer continued, unfazed.

"To be 'ready' is to steel your heart for what's to come. It means you've prepared your mind to face something truly great."

"What the hell are you talking about?! FISHMAN KARATE—HUNDRED TILE TRUE FIST!"

Kuroobi, no longer interested in words, launched his fist straight at the Marine's face.

BAM!

A loud crack rang out like a steel object smashing into stone.

"Oh? Fish-man karate…"

CRACK!

Without budging an inch, the Marine officer grabbed Kuroobi's wrist mid-attack—calmly, almost casually.

"How many dans are you?"

"W-What? GRAAAHHH!"

Before Kuroobi could answer, the Marine crushed his arm with a single squeeze—no added force, just the raw pressure of his grip.

"Kuroobi!"

"I asked how many dans you are. Fishman or not, I assume you can hear me."

"…F-Forty… 40th dan…"

"40th dan… You were already ranked 40th dan eight years ago." "You've spent all that time leeching off these villages, living in luxury—yet you're still at 40th dan?"

"W-What are you trying to say?!"

The Marine officer released Kuroobi's crushed wrist and assumed the exact same stance.

"…That stance… FishMan Karate?!"

The surrounding fishmen gasped in shock.

A human, using what they believed to be a martial art exclusive to their own kind?

"Kgh… Don't get cocky just because you can mimic a stance! FishMan Karate is a martial art optimized for our anatomy!"

Grabbing his shattered wrist with his left hand, Kuroobi forcibly snapped the bones back into place.

"FISHMAN KARATE!!! CEILING TILE TRUE FIST!!!"

This was the strongest technique Kuroobi—FishMan Karate, 40th dan—could deliver.

"FishMan Karate. Original Tile True Fist."

Unlike Kuroobi's shouted technique, the Marine officer calmly and briefly declared his counter.

"Wh-What…?"

"M-My body's…!"

"I can't move…!"

A massive shockwave of condensed moisture pressure slammed through the area—crushing most of the fish-men standing nearby.

BOOM!!

With a thunderous impact, dozens of fishmen stationed near Arlong Park's central pool were blown away like ragdolls.

And Kuroobi, who had taken the blow head-on, somehow managed to withstand it—

at first.

"Ha… Hahaha! See?! Kuroobi! That's how you—huh?"

Arlong's relief was short-lived.

Because the very next second, he witnessed something that chilled him to the bone.

THUD!

Still locked in his striking stance, Kuroobi collapsed backward—his chest caved in by an enormous fist-shaped dent.

His abdomen had been punched so deep, it crushed his internal organs completely.

"I wanted to show the minimum respect due between fellow martial artists…"

"…But you weren't worthy of that."

Chew was dead.

Now, Kuroobi had fallen.

Dozens of their subordinates were unresponsive or groaning—just caught in the shockwave had rendered them half-dead.

Arlong himself, standing just behind Kuroobi, was unharmed—but he felt that punch's terrifying wind pressure firsthand.

Negotiation had failed.

And this Marine… was not someone he could take lightly.

"H-Hey… why are you doing this?"

"Why?"

"You really think that's a valid question right now?"

Of course the Navy hunts pirates.

Even asking was stupid.

"L-Look, let's talk, okay? You do know who I am, right? I'm Arlong! With a 20-million bounty! I was once called the Warlord of the FishMan Underworld of the New World!"

The Marine officer didn't flinch.

Not even a blink.

Arlong was getting desperate.

"If we work together—I mean, if you ally with me, I can help you rise through the Navy ranks! You could easily make Rear Admiral… no, even Vice Admiral in no time!"

No matter how ideal a deal Arlong proposed, the Marine officer didn't respond—he just kept walking toward him with heavy, purposeful steps.

"D-Damn it! Stay back! I said don't come any closer!"

Half-paralyzed with fear, Arlong wildly swung his fists.

The last time he felt this kind of dread was back in the New World—when he faced Borsalino.

"Tekkai: Collapse."

It was just a clenched fist.

A simple punch from someone far smaller than Arlong.

A smaller body. A smaller fist.

And yet—

Thud!

Arlong was forced to his knees.

"Kh… grkkk!!"

This punch… it's even stronger than Jinbei's…!

Maybe it was just his imagination, dulled from eight years of lounging around and playing king.

But it didn't change the fact that it was a blow of overwhelming power.

Damn… if it's come to this… there's only one thing left.

Damn it… damn it!

Arlong, thoughts swirling, tried to suppress his pride and put his plan into action.

"What is this? Do you actually think this is going to get you forgiven?"

Arlong dropped to both knees.

And began to beg.

"I'm sorry! Please, spare me just this once…"

"I'm sorry! Please, just once… I beg you…"

"Please! Just once!"

He rubbed his hands together like a pathetic fly—groveling at the Marine's feet.

"It was my fault! Take all my assets! Send me to Impel Down! I'll do whatever you want, just please… spare my life!"

Tears and snot ran down his face.

The once-feared Arlong now looked utterly pitiful.

Just then—

At the entrance to Arlong Park, the residents of Cocoyasi Village began to gather.

"Arlong… is crying?"

"He's on his knees begging…?"

"Did the Marines come to save us?"

Voices trembled with disbelief, their shock quickly turning to excitement.

Spotting the villagers, Arlong turned toward them and began slamming his forehead into the ground.

"I was wrong! People of Cocoyasi Village, please spare me…!"

"A-Are you insane?! You've stolen so much from us over the years!"

"That's right! Over the past eight years, at least a hundred people have died because of you and your crew!"

With the Marine's support behind them, the villagers finally vented their long-suppressed rage.

Arlong stayed there, forehead to the dirt, unmoving.

But he stopped begging.

Crack.

Something broke.

Suddenly, Arlong's body swelled massively.

In just one second, he grew beyond 3 meters.

Then he slashed across his own belly—drawing blood.

With that blood coating his fingers, he flicked it toward the gathered villagers.

"Even if you kill me… you won't be able to save them!"

"Water Shot!!"

Using his own blood as a medium, Arlong unleashed a FishMan technique—hurling high-pressure liquid like a bullet using his raw strength.

It was a wide-area technique, meant to indiscriminately strike multiple targets.

"Flame Breathing... Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"

The Marine officer, now standing in front of the villagers, unsheathed the sword at his waist and swung it in a wide arc.

From his blade erupted intense flames, rising into a towering wall of fire that completely blocked Arlong's blood-forged water shots.

"This is the moment I've been waiting for!"

Just as the flame wall began to fade, Arlong—soaked and steaming—launched himself like a living cannonball toward the Marine's heart.

No, not a human cannonball—a FishMan cannonball.

Having consumed something to boost his strength, Arlong's body turned crimson, and the speed at which he launched from the water was nearly three times his normal.

The villagers couldn't react fast enough to such speed.

But the Marine officer calmly raised his sword.

No special technique. No flashy move.

Just a simple, basic downward slash—a foundational cut in swordsmanship.

And with that, he intercepted Arlong's lightning-fast charge midair.

"Too slow."

"GRAAAAGHH!!"

Arlong screamed in agony as 40% of his upper body was sliced open, writhing in pain.

Only now did Arlong realize—none of this was luck.

"Y-You... Who the hell are you...?"

The Marine officer sheathed his sword and approached the broken Arlong.

"Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters... [Flame Pillar] Rengoku."

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