Arlong’s expression grew solemn as he stared at Lucas, who was slowly approaching him and looked no different from an ordinary human.
“What kind of person are you?” he asked in a deep voice.
“Me?
The lowly human in your eyes!”
Lucas answered coldly, gripping his sword with both hands.
Seeing his hands trembling, the Fish-Men immediately relaxed and began laughing mockingly.
“Just as expected of a lowly human!
You can’t even hold your sword properly.
Why don’t you let me use your head as a piss pot?”
Several Fish-Men charged forward, laughing wildly.
Charged Iai Slash!
A sharp glint flashed through Lucas’s eyes.
A massive sword arc swept horizontally across the battlefield.
The Fish-Men didn’t even have time to cry out before they were all cut down at the neck by a single slash!
The sword arc was already somewhat dim, yet its momentum remained unchecked.
It continued forward and cleanly sliced through a nearby building, cutting it in half from the foundation.
Lucas slowly returned his sword to its sheath.
Against the backdrop of the collapsing building, everyone present was utterly stunned.
“A… A sword can actually cut a building in half?!”
“My God!
What kind of strength is that?!”
High above Lucas, a Marine surveillance Seagull transmitted everything that had happened back to the Marine branch.
The Rear Admiral at the Marine branch was visibly shocked.
He slammed his hand against the table.
“How is this possible?!
He’s a Sword Master?!
A Sword Master has appeared in the East Blue?!”
One had to understand that even Roronoa Zoro, after returning two years later following the Paramount War in the original story, had only just become a Sword Master.
Someone possessing the strength of a Sword Master could already be considered a mid-level powerhouse even in the New World!
Beside the Rear Admiral, the highest-ranking officer of the Marine branch—the Vice Admiral, Krieg—put down the documents in his hands and replayed the footage.
“What a genius.
He isn’t actually a Sword Master, yet he’s managed to unleash a Sword Master’s level of slash through a clever technique!”
Indeed.
By exploiting the tremendous friction between the sword and its sheath, Lucas had managed to unleash a powerful slash resembling the sword pressure of a Sword Master.
“This man must be recruited into the Marines.
Under no circumstances can we allow him to become a pirate!”
The Vice Admiral made the final decision.
Meanwhile, Lucas had no idea that he had already entered the sight of the Marine high command.
Standing before him were an enraged Arlong and several of his badly wounded officers.
Lucas swept his eyes over them disdainfully.
“Arlong, whose bounty is worth 20 million Berries… I’ll be taking your head.”
Arlong looked at the Fish-Men lying dead and wounded all around him.
His eyes turned bloodshot.
“You lowly human!
You… bastard!”
He stomped both feet against the ground and charged toward Lucas.
His saw-like nose tore through the air with a sharp whistle as he instantly closed the distance.
Lucas stared coldly at him and raised his sword horizontally.
Clang!
The crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out.
A tremendous force drove Lucas backward several steps, but his footing remained perfectly steady.
Seeing this, Arlong burst into laughter.
“We Fish-Men are the superior race!
Our natural weapons—our noses and teeth—are incredibly powerful!
Die, lowly human!”
Hearing this, Lucas chuckled coldly.
“That nose really is hard.
Unfortunately for you, you ran into me!”
Then… let’s use you to test my new move!
Lucas’s expression suddenly became solemn.
As Arlong charged toward him once again, Lucas slowly closed his eyes.
Ghost Shadow Flash!
Everyone felt their vision blur for an instant.
Lucas disappeared from where he had been standing.
Arlong’s body seemed to freeze in midair.
Shock and terror appeared in his eyes.
The next moment, Lucas’s figure appeared behind Arlong.
The corners of his mouth curled upward as he slowly returned his sword to its sheath.
A sound of steel slicing through flesh rang out.
An X-shaped sword flash instantly tore Arlong’s body into four pieces, his eyes still filled with disbelief.
So… fast!
I actually… lost to a lowly human?!
A look of unwillingness remained in Arlong’s eyes as his body crashed heavily to the ground.
Lucas paid no attention to Arlong’s final thoughts.
After all, to him, Arlong was nothing more than a minor character.
He looked at the sword in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.
This move was one he had created by combining the Iai Slash with Captain Kuro’s Shakushi.
Ghost Shadow Flash!
“How is this possible?!
He’s actually this strong?!”
“He… He killed Arlong with a single sword strike!”
Outside Arlong Park, the watching villagers were so shocked that they could hardly be any more astonished.
Lucas had already shocked them by slaughtering a group of Fish-Men and cutting through a building.
But those Fish-Men had merely been insignificant members of the Arlong Pirates.
After living under Arlong’s rule for so many years, the villagers had come to regard his strength as an insurmountable mountain.
Yet at this moment, Arlong’s supposedly invincible and overwhelming image came crashing down.
So Fish-Men were only this strong after all!
Even Fish-Men, whose physical strength was said to be ten times that of humans, were nothing more than this!
Seeing Arlong cut down with a single sword strike, the two remaining officers of the Arlong Pirates swallowed nervously and began retreating in fear.
Lucas found it somewhat boring.
He drew his sword.
A flash of sword light swept across the area.
In the blink of an eye, the entire Arlong Pirates crew had been wiped out, leaving only one terrified Fish-Man standing there—
Hatchan( Hachi).
Hachi was an important figure in the original storyline, practically a supporting character in his own right.
With Silvers Rayleigh still around, Lucas wasn’t going to kill him casually.
Besides, Hachi wasn’t bad by nature.
And Lucas might need to learn Haki from Rayleigh in the future, so he decided to spare him.
Seeing Lucas standing motionless and staring coldly at him, Hachi swallowed nervously.
He cautiously shuffled backward a few small steps.
Then—
Splash!
He leaped into the water beside him and quickly fled the area.
After watching Hachi leave, Lucas’s body swayed slightly.
He barely managed to support himself with his sword.
He smiled bitterly.
As expected…
The Charged Iai Slash and Ghost Shadow Flash consumed far too much stamina.
He wasn’t a Sword Master, yet he had forcibly unleashed power on the level of one.
Even though he had accomplished it through a clever trick, the strain on his stamina was enormous.
With barely a tenth of his stamina remaining, Lucas was treated as a hero by the villagers and carried back toward the village amid their cheers.
Amid the crowd, Nami, whose face was still streaked with tears, stared blankly at him.
Lucas immediately sensed her gaze.
He turned his head and smiled at her.
When Nami saw the intense look in his eyes, she remembered Lucas shouting that he wanted her to become his woman.
Her pretty face immediately flushed red.
Along with her embarrassment, however, a faint sense of happiness gradually welled up inside her.
She turned her head away, too shy to meet Lucas’s eyes.
The villagers cheered as they carried Lucas back to Cocoyashi Village.
This time, they truly allowed themselves to celebrate.
The entire village became a sea of joy.
After finally managing to extricate himself from the crowd, Lucas slowly walked over to Nami and Nojiko, who were happily celebrating together.
He smiled slightly and said to Nojiko,
“I want Nami to become my navigator.
Is that all right?”
Nojiko glanced at Nami, whose face was burning red.
How could she not understand what her little sister was thinking?
She smiled and nodded.
“Of course!”
The two exchanged smiles.
Nojiko then quietly walked away and rejoined the celebrating villagers.
The villagers also tactfully moved away, leaving Lucas and Nami alone with plenty of space around them.
Lucas slowly walked over and sat down beside Nami.
Nami turned her head away, too embarrassed to look him in the eyes.
Lucas smiled.
He reached out and gently caressed her pretty face, then lightly turned her head toward him.
Staring into her somewhat flustered eyes, he spoke in an overbearing tone.
“From today onward, you’re mine!”
“W-Who’s yours?!
You pervert… Mmph!”
Before Nami could finish speaking, Lucas leaned forward and kissed her.
He domineeringly captured her soft lips with his own, gently kissing her.
Nami’s eyes instantly lost their focus.
Her body became flushed as she instinctively responded to the kiss.