Hiro let out a slow exhale, still feeling the ghost of tension twitching in his muscles as he made his way back from Arlong Park.
Every instinct he'd honed in his old life had been firing on all cylinders, pushing him through the encounter on sheer nerve and grit. His hands hadn't stopped trembling since he'd left that place.
"Damn…" he muttered, flexing his fingers as he tried to shake off the strange, lingering numbness. Being in the presence of something that strong – something so alien – had lit a spark in him, a twisted mixture of fear and fascination.
The raw, animal strength those Fishmen possessed… it clawed at him.
Hiro was still coming to grips with how weak he was in comparison. He'd come face-to-face with a beast from another world and knew he wouldn't have lasted a minute in an actual fight.
It grated on his nerves, stoking a frustration he hadn't felt in years. He might have finessed his way out of the situation with Arlong today, but Hiro knew that talk would only get him so far in this new world. He needed power.
With every step back to the Marine base, his mind turned, ticking through the same cold, calculated assessment of everything that had happened.
Bluffing about his connection to the New World and painting himself as a "reluctant big shot" Marine had gotten Arlong to back off and cough up his dues. But Hiro knew he'd barely escaped by the skin of his teeth, and he couldn't allow that kind of risk to fester.
Back in his quarters, he set down the duffel bag with the ฿5,000,000 Arlong had paid – a fortune compared to his Marine salary.
But as he stared at the bag, its significance paled against the furious pounding in his chest. One thing was clear: he wasn't going to stay weak. He needed to find a way to climb higher, to claw his way into real power.
As he stepped through the Marine base, Hiro's eyes narrowed, and his stride took on a lethal rhythm. Nezumi's office was dead ahead, and Hiro's patience had run out.
Without hesitation, Hiro barged in, ignoring the surprised look on Nezumi's ratty face as he struggled to get out a greeting.
"What the—" Nezumi barely managed before Hiro lunged, planting a heavy boot square in Nezumi's chest, shoving him back against the wall.
Before Nezumi could shout or even process what was happening, Hiro was on him, pinning him in place with a merciless grip on his throat.
"Do you think you can play games with me?" Hiro growled, his voice low and venomous. He tightened his hold on Nezumi's neck, cutting off the man's air as he watched him squirm.
"H-Hiro… what the hell are you doing?!" Nezumi choked out, face turning purple as he clawed at Hiro's iron grip.
"I'm making myself clear," Hiro said, voice dripping with contempt. "Don't pull any of your filthy schemes on me. Ever." He leaned in close, lowering his voice into a deadly whisper. "If you set me up with Arlong or anyone else one more time, I'll tear your miserable heart out myself."
Nezumi gasped for air, face twisted in a mix of fear and shock, but he managed a weak nod, desperate to placate the fury staring him down.
Hiro smirked, a cold gleam in his eyes, and released him abruptly. Nezumi staggered, clutching his bruised throat as he coughed and wheezed, trying to regain his breath.
But Hiro wasn't done.
"Did you think I'd be easy to handle? That you could treat me like some grunt and have me play along?" He took a step forward, pulling his revolver from his belt, its metal barrel catching the dim light as he brought it to Nezumi's face. "I don't think you get how things work with me."
"H-Hiro, you're insane!" Nezumi managed, his words slurred from fear and the pain radiating through his jaw.
"Maybe," Hiro said with a humorless grin. Without warning, he brought the revolver's handle down against Nezumi's face, the sharp crack of bone reverberating in the cramped room.
Nezumi's head snapped back, and he crumpled to the floor, blood and broken teeth spilling from his mouth.
"And don't think about trying to report this. If I catch a whisper of you snitching, I'll make sure you won't be around to enjoy that big mouth of yours," Hiro warned, his voice like ice.
Nezumi's eyes flickered with a sliver of terror, and he nodded weakly.
Satisfied, Hiro gave him one last cold look before stepping over his battered form, feeling the pulse of his own rage settle as he left Nezumi broken and humiliated on the office floor.
Back in his quarters, Hiro dropped onto his bed, the duffel bag resting on the nearby chair.
Despite the rush of satisfaction after putting Nezumi in his place, he still felt a deep undercurrent of frustration gnawing at him.
Sure, he'd asserted his control over Nezumi, but that wasn't going to be enough. This was a world where people could level mountains with their bare hands, where monsters and Marines alike possessed powers Hiro couldn't even fathom yet.
And here he was, little more than a thug with a bit of bluster and a few guns that didn't pack half the punch he'd need to survive here.
"Damn it…" he muttered, staring at the ceiling. He'd come far enough to recognize that he wasn't strong enough to get what he wanted. Not yet, at least.
What he needed was training – serious training.
He wasn't sure if the Marines here had any resources that could help him, or if he'd have to take matters into his own hands.
But he knew one thing for certain – he couldn't afford to be weak. Not here, not now.
The thought of facing off against Arlong again crossed his mind, and the memory of those hulking Fishmen brought a surge of adrenaline to his veins.
If he was going to survive, he'd have to get stronger, fast.
But how?
As he drifted off into a restless sleep, visions of the ocean filled his mind – the endless expanse of waves, the fearsome depths where creatures like Arlong came from.
In that vast world, strength was everything, and he was a small fish surrounded by predators. If he didn't find a way to become one of them, he'd be devoured whole.
In the dark, his resolve crystallized, steeling his mind for the journey ahead.
Tomorrow, he would find a way. He would find the strength to carve his place in this world, no matter the cost
Advanced Chapters @Patreon.com/Imperial_Writing