Within the royal palace of Fish-Man Island.
Queen Otohime stood in the grand hall with her two sons.
Neptune, with a gentle expression, looked at Shirahoshi, teasing her as she slept soundly.
A hint of sorrow creased his brow as he turned to Queen Otohime:
"He truly succeeded."
"But the predicament of Fish-Man Island... has become even more dire."
"It seems we won't be able to attend the World Conference now."
"What... what should we do?"
Queen Otohime lowered her head as well:
"But that day, I truly couldn't stop him."
"I heard the sound of his inner heart's..."
"Heart-wrenching cry..."
----
Fish-Man Island, at this moment, the fish-men and merfolk were utterly ecstatic.
Newspapers rained down upon the streets, and triumphant smiles adorned everyone's faces.
"Hero" Fisher Tiger.
A fish-man who dared to challenge a Celestial Dragon. This was their pride.
Those fish-men who had previously admired and followed Tiger, such as Jinbe, Arlong, and Hatchan,
resolutely departed Fish-Man Island, following Tiger.
----
Fish-Man Island, the backstreets.
A young Hody Jones, surrounded by his future companions,
gazed at the latest newspaper, his voice filled with admiration:
"Amazing, just as expected of the former boss of Fish-Man District."
"Even the Celestial Dragons are grinding their teeth. Those are Celestial Dragons!"
A fish-man with blue and green stripes beside him remarked:
"He taught those infuriating humans a lesson."
"Brother Arlong always said humans were trash."
"They are all lower species."
A slightly chubbier fish-man chimed in:
"Of course."
"The Sun Pirates are out at sea, teaching those humans a lesson everywhere!"
"They're so amazing!"
A flicker of madness crossed Hody Jones's eyes:
"Let's do our best, Sun Pirates!"
"One day, I will too."
"Wipe out all of those humans!"
----
The Grand Line, the first half.
Onboard the Sun Pirates' ship.
Hatchan, in the crow's nest, suddenly spotted a Marine warship approaching at high speed.
He quickly dropped his spyglass and rushed into the cabin.
"Boss! Boss! Trouble!!"
"Marines!!! The Marines are chasing us!!!!"
"Boss Tiger!!"
Inside the cabin, Arlong roared impatiently:
"What a racket, Hatchan."
"Be quiet."
Jinbe also said:
"Calm down a little."
Fisher Tiger, seated at the head of the table, frowned:
"Marines, are you sure?"
Hatchan nodded frantically:
"It's the Marine flag, I'm sure!"
Jinbe turned to Tiger:
"What do we do, Boss?"
Fisher Tiger let out a cold snort.
*Bang—*
A powerful fist smashed onto the table:
"What a foolish question."
Everyone stood up...
----
On the other side, aboard the warship.
Rear Admiral Karuda of Marine G2 Branch, commanding the attack, ordered a bombardment of the Sun Pirates.
"Take Tiger's head!"
*Swish swish swish—*
Several cannons fired simultaneously, but on the turbulent sea, not a single shot hit its mark.
On the Sun Pirates' ship, Arlong sneered:
"Not a single shot hit."
Then, he leaped into the sea, followed by several fish-men, charging towards the warship.
----
On the warship's side, multiple cannon bombardments yielded no effect.
Karuda couldn't help but panic. His Rear Admiral position was due to connections, and he wanted to earn merit to prove himself.
But now, it seemed he couldn't handle the situation...
*Boom!*
"What!"
Karuda looked on in terror.
A geyser of water erupted from the surface!
Then, several more water columns shot out. As the water dissipated, the fish-men hidden within were revealed.
Arlong, suspended in mid-air, sneered:
"Kill!!!"
With a physical prowess ten times that of ordinary humans, these fish-men were no match for the regular Marine soldiers.
Even with the advantage of firearms and cannons, they were utterly defeated.
Karuda, suppressing his panic, shouted:
"You damned fish-men, hand over those who were once slaves!"
"If you do, your crimes..."
*Boom!*
Before he could finish, the bottom of the ship shook.
A soldier who had broken through the deck from below yelled:
"Rear Admiral Karuda! They're attacking from the bottom of the ship!"
"The hull has been breached!!!"
Karuda, startled, lost his voice:
"What!"
In this vast, boundless sea, the hull being breached...
"Damn it!!!!"
----
On the other side.
An officer drew his sword at Jinbe:
"Hand over the slaves immediately."
"You have committed grave crimes!!"
"Mere fish-men, daring to resist humans!!!"
"You!!!"
*Boom—*
An afterimage flashed, and Jinbe's fist slammed the Marine officer's head into the wall.
Withdrawing his arm, the officer slid to the ground, motionless.
Jinbe closed his eyes tightly, then slowly opened them, gazing in the direction of Fish-Man Island, murmuring to himself:
"Allowing those who trade in slaves to run rampant."
"Those who liberate slaves become the culprits."
"Even so, we are still expected to love humans."
"Queen Otohime..."
----
Tiger was the last to reach the warship.
However, his oppressive aura was unparalleled.
Simply standing there, no one dared to approach him.
Tiger, expressionless, advanced towards the Marine soldiers surrounding him.
Suddenly, he threw a straight punch.
*Boom—*
Four soldiers collided, smashing through the warship's railing and falling into the sea.
Tiger then turned his gaze to the soldiers nearby.
He reached out and grabbed!
Lifting five soldiers, he walked to the railing.
He directly tossed the five lifted soldiers into the sea.
Turning back.
*Boom—*
Another punch sent several soldiers crashing into the wall.
Meanwhile, Karuda ordered the soldiers to adjust the cannons and aim at Tiger:
"Fire! Fire!"
"Aim at him and fire!!!"
Seeing Tiger turn his gaze towards him, Karuda swallowed hard:
"We have obtained intelligence."
"That you have harbored those slaves..."
Tiger instantly appeared before them, his large hand pressing down on the cannon.
The sound of twisting metal rang out, and the barrel was directly warped and shattered.
"You speak of former slaves?"
*Bang—*
He kicked Karuda flying:
"Do you have any proof they are among us."
Walking over, he grabbed Karuda:
"Check everyone's bodies."
"I heard every slave has a brand. Go and see if they have one."
Then, he extended his arm over the railing, looking at Karuda, who was desperately begging for mercy and crying for help.
Tiger, perhaps thinking of something, threw Karuda back onto the deck.
"I will spare your life."
"I am not like humans."
Having said that calmly, he turned and shouted to the Sun Pirates:
"Brothers, take anything valuable and provisions, then return to the ship."
The many fish-man pirates roared in unison:
"Ooooh!!!"
A moment later, as they were about to leave after their plunder.
*Boom—*
Arlong kicked a hiding Marine soldier out of the cabin.
Holding his serrated greatsword high, he grinned at the Marine soldier:
"You are to be executed."
"As a human, that alone is a grave sin."
Tiger, at the bow of the ship, suddenly turned back:
"Stop! Arlong!!"
But it was too late.
With a *riiiip*, heads were separated, and blood splattered onto Arlong.
It was then that Arlong seemed to hear Tiger's words and looked at Tiger with confusion:
"Huh?"
----
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In Kizaru's office, Borsalino, smoking a cigarette and reading a newspaper, listened to Stussy's report from below:
"Vice Admiral Borsalino, Rear Admiral Karuda of G2 Branch's warship has been sunk."
Borsalino turned a page of the newspaper:
"Oh~~?"
"Why would they challenge them~"
"I told them to report their position."
Stussy replied:
"It is said that as soon as they were within sight, they were instantly surrounded by the other party from the sea."
Borsalino put down the newspaper, clasping his hands behind his back:
"Oh~~"
"Kowai na~"
"As expected of experts in sea combat~"
"What kind of guys are there~"
Stussy said:
"They seem to have been pirates near Fish-Man Island before."
"Arlong's group is among them, but they were originally underwater, so their combat power is hard to ascertain."
Kizaru turned his eyes, recalling:
"Ah~ long~"
"I did hear about him before~"
Stussy continued:
"There was also a fish-man with a similar build to Tiger, but his name is unknown."
Borsalino exhaled smoke:
"Ah~"
"This is troublesome~"