"Whoaaa!!"
"Arlong-aniki spoke the truth!"
"Even Fish-Men and Merfolk have to be split into districts—this is all Neptune's fault!"
"Today, the Fish-Men shall rise in greatness!!"
It wasn't just Hody Jones and the other Fish-Men—every single one of them was fired up by that thunderous speech.
Even the Fish-Man guards from Ryugu Palace were visibly shaken.
As one side's morale rose, the other faltered. The people from Fish-Man District, who had once been forced to keep their heads down, now stood proud.
The moment Neptune witnessed Arlong's display of power, he knew—this wasn't an enemy that could be fought head-on.
Thankfully, it seemed Arlong's attention was locked solely on him, and his attacks remained at range.
If he could stall until the transformation wore off...
Neptune rode atop his beloved whale, Hoe, soaring into the sky.
"Arlong, you're just a fool drunk on power!"
"You think rebelling will change anything?!"
"The current state of Fish-Man Island is already the best outcome we could've hoped for."
"Otherwise, Fish-Man Island would've been consumed by the greed of humans long ago!"
"Do you have any idea how much we've sacrificed just to allow the Fish-Man Kingdom to hold onto this tiny patch of land?!"
Arlong's massive form moved with terrifying speed.
Buildings crumbled like bubbles beneath him, crushed effortlessly.
The surviving citizens of Fish-Man Island scattered in panic.
But far more were trampled under Arlong's feet.
Still, the nearly mindless Arlong paid no attention to the insects below.
"Hahaha! Doing nothing—is that what's right?!"
"We Fish-Men would rather die fighting than rot away in the shadows of Fish-Man District!"
Boom!
The ground beneath Arlong's feet exploded into a spiderweb of cracks.
His enormous body shot toward Neptune like a fired arrow.
Seeing the devastation left in Arlong's wake, Neptune's eyes glimmered with sorrow.
Even though he had deliberately chosen a location far from civilian areas, the casualties were still unavoidable.
All of this was the result of Arlong's ambition.
At the tip of Neptune's trident, swirling water had gathered into a massive column.
Even Hoe's flight was slightly impeded by the force.
With a furious roar, Neptune thrust the massive stream downward at Arlong.
Arlong, fully consumed by madness, made no effort to dodge.
Of course, being airborne and unable to use Geppo, he had no way to evade anyway.
Instinctively, he raised his massive claws to shield his head.
Thoom!
He took Neptune's long-charged attack head-on.
Like a kite with its string cut, Arlong plummeted from the sky.
Boom!!
A massive crater was left on the ground where he crashed.
Scales peeled back from his body, torn open by the raging water.
His blood pooled into a deep red basin.
"Phew... That should buy us some peace for now."
Neptune exhaled heavily after confirming Arlong's condition and turned his gaze back toward the main battlefield.
The next instant—
A thunderous boom erupted below.
Arlong, who had only been pretending to be unconscious, shot back toward the sky with terrifying speed.
Feigning death and deception—these were instincts of wild animals.
And sea creatures especially excelled at it.
By the time Neptune realized what was happening, it was too late.
Arlong slammed into him from below and dragged him from the sky.
Smoke and dust billowed outward.
Watching from a distance—
Senor Pink raised his left hand, capturing the scene with a Den Den Mushi, nodding in satisfaction.
He flicked the ash from his cigarette and said with certainty:
"Neptune's done for."
Once a crazed beast like Arlong gets in close, Neptune wouldn't have time to use his Merfolk Jujutsu.
With his soft body, he'd be shredded to bits by that shark.
"Do we still need to keep these two Merfolk alive?"
At some point, Kuro had withdrawn from the battlefield, returning to his normal form.
He held Fukaboshi and Ryuboshi by the collars as he asked.
"N-No... Please..."
Fukaboshi and Ryuboshi, faces stained with tears and eyes wide with terror, stared helplessly at the rising smoke.
They choked out fragmented pleas from their throats.
"F-Father... S-Save... us..."
But there was no reply from their father—only Senor Pink's merciless voice.
"It's over. Dispose of them."
Crack!
With lifeless eyes, Fukaboshi and Ryuboshi collapsed to the ground.
Kuro pulled a handkerchief from his collar, wiped his palms, adjusted his glasses, and turned back to the battlefield.
"Is this level of transformation something anyone can achieve?"
Arlong was strong compared to regular humans, but to the monsters in the combat division, he was nothing special.
If only he could use that form too...
Senor Pink, recalling his own limited understanding of genetics, offered an explanation.
"No. Fish-Men and Merfolk are genetically different from humans. Their offspring look nothing like their parents."
"Their genes carry information from every fish in their ancestral lines."
"Arlong's just a lucky idiot. We figured at best he'd seriously injure Neptune and we'd finish the job."
"But to think he did this well!"
Originally, according to the Boss's plan, once Fish-Man Island fell into civil war—
The underground bounty posters would start featuring Fish-Men and Merfolk.
And the orders would come under the name of the Celestial Dragons.
...
"Damn it!"
Neptune was a mess.
The gem-studded crown on his head was gone without a trace.
His once pristine and unmarred body was now caked in dirt, slashed and bruised from head to tail.
He struggled to hold off Arlong's claw with his golden trident.
Behind him, his massive tail swung with all its strength toward the Arlong clinging to his back.
"Raaagh!"
Even the beast-like Arlong howled in pain from the strike.
But despite the injury, he completely ignored the damage to his back.
Instead, he drove his knees again and again into Neptune's gut.
Time passed.
Watching the trident's shaft bend more and more and staring into Arlong's maw filled with jagged fangs,
Neptune's scalp tingled with dread.
Was no one going to save him?!
Didn't Senor Pink say this form wouldn't last much longer?!
"RAAAHH!!"
Seeing the prey so close yet still out of reach, the beast inside Arlong grew even more frenzied.
He let out a furious roar, spittle flying all over Neptune's face.
Then he bit down hard at the trident blocking him.
His bite was already strong enough to shatter cannonballs—
But in this enhanced state, it was exponentially more powerful.
CRUNCH!
...
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg