At this moment, the fish-men also realized something was wrong.
The one-sided slaughter they had imagined did not happen.
On this battleship, even the ordinary soldiers were several times stronger than those they had encountered on the previous warships during the pursuit.
Especially when a ferocious giant appeared on the upper deck of the ship.
These battle-hardened fish-men were gradually suppressed by the Marines surrounding them.
Arlong, sensing something was off, flashed a vicious light in his eyes.
Relying on his powerful physique, he broke through the encirclement, rushed to the railing, and shouted:
"Retreat!!!"
At the same time, he reached for a soldier's head, intending to grab a hostage.
Snap—
His wrist was firmly caught.
Douglas Bullet appeared before him in an instant on the upper deck, looking at him indifferently:
"Is this what you had in mind?"
With that, his massive palm pressed against Arlong's face.
Crack—crunch—
The sound echoed as his hand ground down mercilessly. Arlong's jagged, sharp nose was crushed into pieces.
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!!"
As Arlong's ear-piercing scream rang out, Bullet's hand pressed harder against his face.
Crunch!
The bones of his entire jaw shattered, ground into pulp, silencing his scream.
With his other massive hand gripping Arlong's wrist, Bullet gave a hard tug.
Rip—!
The entire arm was torn off and flung aside.
Bits of skin and tendon still dangled from his shoulder, fluttering in the air.
Fragments of flesh and splatters of bright blood littered the ground.
Pressing down on Arlong's head, Bullet forced him to his knees on the deck, trembling and struggling.
Two sharp cracks followed.
Two holes appeared in the deck.
Arlong's kneecaps were completely crushed under Bullet's stomp, mashed into pulp, leaving him stuck in the deck unable to move.
Bullet released the delirious, pain-stricken Arlong.
By now, the rest of the fish-men had all been captured as well—after all, this ship wasn't just crewed by ordinary soldiers.
Bullet's personal Roaring Assault Squad, whom he had led for years, were all here.
"Bring them over."
One by one, the fish-men of the Arlong Pirates, with broken legs, were dragged before Bullet.
He swept his eyes over them coldly.
"So now even trash like you dares to raid a battleship, huh?"
He stepped forward, flexing his palm.
Bang!
"Who gave you that courage?"
Bang!
"Hm?"
Bang!
The heads of three fish-men beside him instantly burst open, exploding like watermelons under Bullet's overwhelming strength.
Blood sprayed everywhere, drifting onto the terrified faces of the remaining fish-men.
Tap, tap...
The crisp sound of polished shoes echoed.
Bullet stepped before the fourth fish-man.
Placing his hand atop the fish-man's head, he spoke with an unsettling softness:
"Tell me, who gave you the courage?"
The sharp-beaked fish-man's mind went blank. Trembling, he stammered:
"I-it... it was... it was..."
Bullet frowned.
Crack—!
His palm exploded with terrifying force and speed, pressing down.
From the top of the head, he crushed all the way down to the deck. The man split in half from the neck, collapsing limply to the ground.
As for his head... it had long since disappeared.
Tap, tap...
Bullet stepped up to the fifth fish-man.
It was an octopus fish-man. Bullet looked down at him.
"Can you tell me?"
"Hm?"
Hatchan trembled, gulping hard, his mind blank as well.
But when Bullet's brow furrowed, survival instinct snapped him back to clarity.
"W-wait! Please wait, Bullet-sama!"
"We—we are from the Sun Pirates!"
"Jinbe is..."
"He is... one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
Bullet gave a faint laugh.
"Oh?"
"The Seven Warlords, is it."
Hatchan nodded frantically, trembling.
"Yes! Yes, Bullet-sama!!!"
"We're all—"
"Mmff!!!"
Before he could finish, Bullet clutched him by the throat and lifted him up.
Hatchan struggled desperately, his body writhing. Bullet's cold gaze fixed on him as he reached out with one hand.
Rip—!
An arm was torn off instantly. Bullet's indifferent voice followed:
"The Seven Warlords are nothing."
Rip—!
"Since when do you dare to attack us?"
Rip—!
Bullet tore off Hatchan's arms one by one, six in total.
Finally—
Bang!
His head exploded into a mist of blood.
Bullet turned to the remaining fish-men, speaking coldly:
"Who is your leader?"
The others looked in terror toward Arlong. Bullet cast him a sidelong glance.
"How convenient."
"Kill them all."
As his cold words fell, explosions rang out endlessly behind him.
Bullet walked up to the unconscious Arlong, hoisted him up, and gave a signal to his adjutant.
Moments later, a large wine cask was carried out, brimming with liquor.
Splash—!
Arlong was thrown in.
The intense pain jolted him awake instantly. But with all his limbs broken, he could only thrash madly, trying to escape in vain.
The more he struggled, the closer he drifted toward unconsciousness.
Just as he was about to collapse, Bullet grabbed him by the neck.
He shook Arlong's body in the wine barrel, then lifted him out.
Glancing at Arlong's mangled jaw, Bullet reached out and ripped the flesh off in one motion.
With the rotting flesh gone, Arlong's throat released ragged, painful gasps.
Bullet said coldly:
"Give him a strong injection of nutrients."
"And bring me the Den Den Mushi."
...
Late at night... after some inquiries.
A Den Den Mushi rang aboard the Sun Pirates' ship.
Buru-buru~ Buru-buru~
Jinbe instantly woke up, puzzled. Who would call at this hour...?
He answered the Den Den Mushi.
From the other end came Bullet's indifferent voice:
"Captain of the Sun Pirates, Jinbe?"
Jinbe frowned.
"Yes, it is I. And who are you?"
Bullet's voice replied:
"Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters, Douglas Bullet."
"A group of fish-men claiming to be from the Sun Pirates attacked a battleship. Did you order this?"
Jinbe's brows furrowed deeply.
"Fish-men?"
His heart sank. At once, he thought of Arlong and the others who had broken away days ago.
"Could you describe their features?"
Bullet's cold voice came from the other end of the line:
"I asked you a question."
"I wasn't asking you to question me."
Jinbe took a deep breath.
"No... The men of the Sun Pirates are all here on the ship."
At that moment, from the Den Den Mushi came a sound—painful, ragged breathing, horribly familiar.
Jinbe recognized it instantly... Arlong!
Before he could speak—
Crunch—!
A crisp snap echoed.
The agonized breathing stopped. Bullet's cold voice followed:
"Throw this trash into the sea to feed the fish."
-----------
The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total