Sanji, the Nyaban Brothers, and the others arrived from behind, stopping beside Allen to confront Arlong's crew.
Among the Fish-Men, a kissing Fish-Man wearing a tank top, sporting two blush marks on his cheeks and a trumpet-like mouth, stepped forward.
With one hand in his pocket, Chew glared at Allen's group with hostile eyes. "Unfamiliar faces. Who are you guys, chuu."
"Chuu? What a weird verbal tic."
Allen looked baffled, but he was always enthusiastic about introducing himself. The corners of his mouth curled up as he calmly said, "My name is Allen, captain of the Demon Lion Pirates. Please remember my name well."
"Pirates? Hahaha!"
"It's been a long time since any pirate dared to run wild around here!"
"Demon Lion Pirates? Never heard of them."
"Boss Arlong, let us finish these guys off!"
As soon as Allen spoke, a burst of loud laughter erupted among the Fish-Men, their eyes burning with fervent excitement.
Arlong also let out a cold sneer.
Ever since he occupied the Conomi Islands, the number of pirates who dared to enter these waters could be counted on one hand. Even Don Krieg, known as the overlord of the East Blue, had fled in panic after challenging him.
"Interesting. I don't know what you're doing here, but it doesn't matter. I have no interest in the origins of corpses."
Arlong's tone was icy and mocking.
As his words fell, the ferocious Fish-Men instantly understood his intent, grabbing their weapons and preparing to charge.
"Watch this! Water Gun!!"
*Swish!*
The kissing Fish-Man, Chew, launched the first attack. His tubular snout contracted before rapidly spitting a high-pressure beam of water straight at Allen!
Faced with the sudden assault, Allen stood completely motionless, his face devoid of any emotion. Behind him, two figures—one fat and one thin—leaped out.
*Clang!*
Sham's eyes darkened as he lightly swung his blade, the cold gleam precisely slicing the water beam apart.
Buchi blocked Chew's path, sneering, "Trash that can't even get past us doesn't deserve to fight the boss."
"He actually blocked Brother Chew's Water Gun so easily!"
"Who are these two?"
"Wait a minute, I think I've seen them on a wanted poster!"
The Fish-Men were momentarily stunned, but someone soon recognized them and hurriedly pointed at Sham and Buchi, shouting, "I remember now! They're the duo with a 7 million Berry bounty, the strongest combatants of the Black Cat Pirates, the Nyaban Brothers!!"
"Seven million Berries? Their bounty is even higher than Chew's."
Another Fish-Man officer stepped forward. His face was stern and unsmiling, and he had two small pigtails sticking up from his head.
Kuroobi crossed his arms over his chest. Wearing a sleeveless martial arts uniform that revealed his muscular arms, he stared at Allen with disdain.
"Unfortunately, combat power can't be measured by bounties. Let me test just how much weight you really carry."
With that, Kuroobi spread his legs and assumed a Karate stance. Pushing off the ground with explosive force, he shot forward like a cannonball!
"Here it comes! It's Brother Kuroobi's Fish-Man Karate!"
"Get him, Brother Kuroobi!"
Seeing him take action, the Fish-Men immediately boiled over with excitement.
"Fish-Man Karate! Five Hundred Brick Fist!!"
Kuroobi tensed his muscular arm, shouting loudly as he threw a punch straight at Allen!
However.
Another dark silhouette darted out from behind Allen at blinding speed!
*Bang!!*
Under the shocked gazes of all the Fish-Men, including Arlong, the howling fist was forcefully intercepted by a black shoe, the impact sending out a shockwave of wind.
As the wind pressure settled, a few strands of blond hair fluttered down. Sanji, with a cigarette clamped in his mouth, held his leg against the opponent's fist and said indifferently, "Like they said, if you want to fight our captain, you should at least have your boss step up."
"You bastard..."
Looking at the suddenly appearing Sanji, a rare trace of solemnity flashed in Kuroobi's eyes.
In the back, the Fish-Men's eyes widened even further, their jaws dropping in utter disbelief.
"He... he actually blocked it..."
"That's a Karate punch capable of breaking five hundred tiles..."
Seeing this scene, Arlong's expression grew slightly more serious. He stared at Allen with piqued interest.
"Demon Lion Pirates? How amusing."
Even though the Nyaban Brothers and Sanji displayed strength on par with his Fish-Man officers, Arlong still didn't truly take them seriously.
Mere humans could never naturally be a match for Fish-Men. In his mind, he had long since brainwashed himself into believing this was an ironclad rule.
Arlong grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. He cracked his knuckles, the joints popping loudly, and pointed his saw-toothed nose straight at Allen, smiling savagely.
"Looks like we have a little show to kill some time today."
Seeing him prepare to fight, Kuroobi, Chew, and the other Fish-Men also revealed mocking smiles.
But right at that moment.
"Stop it, Arlong!!"
An angry shout rang out from the side. A slender figure suddenly rushed into the center of the impending battlefield, placing herself right between Allen's group and the Fish-Men.
"Nami?"
Seeing the newcomer, both Allen's group and Arlong's crew were clearly taken aback.
Arlong frowned, questioning her in a displeased tone, "Why are you here? You've been gone for so long this time, why didn't you say anything when you got back?"
"I'm not so deprived of freedom that I have to report every single thing I do to you, am I?"
Nami looked up at Arlong, her aura not losing to his in the slightest, and sharply retorted, "On the contrary, why are you in Cocoyasi Village? I heard you laid a hand on the villagers."
A dark, hidden gloom flashed deep within Arlong's eyes, but he held back from lashing out at her. Instead, he looked toward Genzo in the distance and said deeply, "Because he was secretly hoarding weapons. I warned him before; hiding weapons is tantamount to rebellion."
"Is that so? Then how many weapons did you find him hiding?" Nami pressed again.
This time, Arlong's face turned ugly, and he found himself momentarily speechless.
Nami sneered. "Just because of a single sword that hasn't even been used in battle, you're going to forcefully pin the crime of rebellion on Genzo? Could it be that you..."
"Enough!"
Arlong shouted, cutting her off, his eyes fixed dead on Nami.
If it weren't for the fact that he needed her abilities, he would have loved nothing more than to slap her to death right then and there.
But he couldn't do that. To build the East Blue into his ideal Fish-Man empire, Nami's cartography skills were absolutely essential.
Thinking of this, Arlong could only forcefully suppress the raging anger in his heart and say coldly, "Whatever! Since you're speaking up, I won't pursue this matter any further. It's just a worthless life anyway."
"But that crew...!"
Saying that, Arlong turned his gaze to Allen's group, the Fish-Men behind him itching for a fight.
"You can't touch them either."
Nami spread her arms, blocking Arlong's crew, her eyes resolute. "They are my business partners from the outside. You haven't forgotten our agreement, have you? I still need them to help me make money."
Seeing her actually protecting this group of pirates, Kuroobi was the first to lash out, scolding, "Don't get carried away, Nami! No matter who these guys are, since they raised their hands against us, we absolutely cannot let them go! Even if Boss Arlong agrees, I won't!"
"Stop twisting the truth, Kuroobi! From start to finish, wasn't it only you guys who attacked them? I haven't even demanded an explanation for you nearly killing my partners!"
Nami glared at him, her tone completely uncompromising. Then, she turned back to Arlong.
"I know the rules. One hundred thousand Berries for an adult. I'll pay their tribute to buy their lives."
Hearing this, Arlong didn't get angry; instead, he threw his head back and laughed loudly. "You're actually willing to spend money on others? Hahaha! This is truly a rare sight, Nami. It seems they really are important to your 'business'."
"Good, good. That's exactly how it should be. There is nothing more reliable in this world than money."
Saying that, he leaned down and sneered at Nami. "For the sake of you and the money, I accept. But their heads aren't that cheap. You'll have to pay their bounty amounts."
Hearing this, Nami's heart trembled.
Even though she knew Arlong wouldn't lay a hand on her, if she hadn't heard from the villagers that they had saved Genzo, she wouldn't have rashly stepped in to protect them.
But the thought of having to hand over so much of the treasure she had painstakingly gathered—treasure that was finally nearing the one hundred million Berry mark—made her heart ache as if it were being sliced by a knife.
"Fine, I understand."
Nami gritted her teeth and nodded in agreement.
At this moment, her gratitude toward Allen's group had completely vanished, leaving only a burning fury that made her want to flay them alive.
*These bastards, I definitely have to find a way to extort a massive sum out of them later!*
In the back, Allen placed a hand on Sanji, who was itching to fight, and silently watched everything unfold.
Arlong was right here and wasn't going anywhere. Killing him now, killing him later, killing him tonight, or killing him tomorrow made no difference.
Since there was no rush, he preferred to interact with Nami first.
Allen knew about her agreement with Arlong, and he was well aware that only when Nami's illusion of buying back the village was completely shattered would her will to resist truly awaken.
A person driven into a corner was always far more likely to offer their absolute loyalty than someone who still had a way out.
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