Chapter 021
The Arlong Side.
Arlong's bloodshot eyes glared with murderous rage, the veins on his forehead throbbing as if they might burst.
"You bastard... You've completely enraged me. DIE!"
Arlong roared furiously, gripping the Kiribachi—his massive serrated blade forged from his own shark teeth—and swung it at Rin with brutal force.
BOOM!
Rin raised the Thunder Robbery blade just in time, the steel crashing together with a thunderous shock. Sparks flew.
But the power behind Arlong's strike pushed Rin back slightly.
Rin narrowed his eyes, scoffing.
"If you've got the time to talk tough, better use it thinking how you'll survive."
With a sharp motion, Rin sheathed his blade, hand resting on the hilt in a poised stance.
"Draw—And Cut!"
He muttered under his breath.
His eyes turned icy.
In the next instant, a blinding flash of silver erupted—
A sharp sword ray carved straight through the air, its speed leaving an afterimage.
Arlong's eyes widened.
He moved to defend—raising the Kiribachi horizontally.
But—
SNAP!
The blade didn't just cleave through the air—
It cut through the Kiribachi itself, and a violent gash slashed across Arlong's mouth, sending blood spraying.
"Gah—!"
Arlong stumbled back, hand covering his face, glaring at Rin with seething hatred.
"Feel the wrath of a Fish-Man, you lowly human!"
He spat blood as he roared.
Then—
He flung away the broken remains of his Kiribachi, turning to leap into the massive seawater pool in the courtyard of Arlong Park.
To anyone else, it might've looked like a retreat.
But Rin knew better.
He'd read the original Straw Hat vs. Arlong fight.
This was no escape.
As a Sawshark Fish-Man, Arlong's deadliest technique required water.
His pointed shark nose could build up power underwater—then release it like a torpedo, firing at terrifying speed with enough force to smash through concrete.
In the water, he was at his most dangerous.
Rin stepped closer to the edge of the pool, watching intently.
He knew the strike would come fast.
Too fast for normal eyes.
But—
He stayed calm.
"Your attack is powerful..."
His tone dropped.
"...But it won't end me."
The water rippled—
Then exploded.
WHOOSH!
A black shadow launched itself from the water like a missile, blurring toward Rin at blinding speed.
"It is your honor to die beneath my nose, pathetic human!!"
Arlong's voice was like thunder as he shot upward.
But—
Rin remained still.
Eyes sharp.
Focused.
"Proud of that nose?" he said coldly.
"Then I'll break it today."
Rin had heard Arlong repeatedly insult humans—
Calling them inferior. Lowly.
It pissed him off.
He exhaled slowly.
"Kami-e!"
Paper Art.
His body loosened—like a sheet of paper on the wind.
He bent—
Twisted—
Flowed like water itself.
The shark nose missed its mark by mere inches, slicing through air where Rin's head had been moments earlier.
But as the strike passed—
Rin's eyes widened.
For a moment—
A flash.
A feeling.
In his mind, a vivid image formed.
The direction—
The angle—
The intent of Arlong's next strike.
It was like a radar ping.
"That was...!"
His eyes lit up.
"Observation Haki?!"
Somehow, in the intensity of battle—
His mind had broken through.
The will to survive—
The pressure—
Had awakened it.
His own Kenbunshoku Haki.
Not fully refined—
But awakened nonetheless.
There was no time to marvel at it.
Arlong shot past him.
Rin immediately turned—
"GET BACK HERE!"
He shouted, arm whipping out—
Grabbing the exposed ankle of the flying Fish-Man.
With a sharp yank, he reversed the momentum.
Arlong's body flipped—
SLAM!
He crashed into the stone floor, shattering tiles and sending cracks sprawling.
"GRRGH—!"
Before he could recover, Rin was already on him.
He placed his boot on Arlong's throat, pinning him.
His left hand gripped the Thunder Robbery blade.
"You call me lowly?"
He raised the sword, which now crackled with purple-blue energy.
"Let's see how proud you are... without that nose."
SLASH!
A clean arc of light.
"GUAAAAAAAH!!!"
The blade cleaved downward.
The pointed shark nose of the Sawshark Fish-Man—
Severed cleanly.
Even though Arlong's body was tougher than most humans—
It meant nothing before the edge of a Supreme Grade Blade.
Thunder Robbery was a blade of legend—
And even reinforced cartilage was like wet paper before it.
Blood sprayed.
Arlong let out a howl of agony, thrashing violently.
"B-Bastard!!"
His voice was hoarse, strained, feral.
The pain of losing the nose—
The symbol of his pride and identity—
It drove him deeper into rage.
But Rin
Didn't flinch.
His eyes were colder than ever.
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