"That was amazing, Jinbe!" Luffy couldn't help but praise.
"I apologize, my strength is still far behind yours, Brother Luffy," Jinbe replied modestly.
Modesty aside, Jinbe's strength was indeed immense. While he might not be at the absolute top tier of the sea, his power was definitely first-rate. Most importantly, Jinbe was a specialized sea combatant. In the water, virtually no one could match him!
Looking around, only the officers were left standing at this point.
Though the Squid Fish-Man had managed to block the wax Kaido's Raikou Bagua once, he couldn't withstand it two or three times and was still easily defeated by Little 3.
The Striped Fish-Man was knocked out by Brook's Arrow Tail Slash.
The Moray Eel Fish-Men were turned into "grilled eels" by Franky's Laser Cannon.
The Dharma Shark-Man was effortlessly struck by Zangao's Hypnosis spell and fell into a deep sleep.
As for Usopp, Chopper, and the Heart Pirates crew, they were stuck fighting the regular soldiers, or "miscellaneous fish," and hadn't even gotten assigned an officer. As they noted, they truly couldn't even get a warm-up.
There was no need to detail the process at all; the strength of these Fish-Men was simply too pathetic.
In contrast, the fight involving Tashigi was a little more interesting to watch.
Hyouzou's Seven Swords Style was incredibly aggressive, as he slashed frantically at Tashigi. Beneath all the wild slashing, you could still spot a foundation of swordsmanship, which explained why he dared to call himself the number one swordsman of Fish-Man Island.
However, he was still no match for Tashigi.
Tashigi didn't even need to use Haki. She simply combined the Marine Six Styles with her swordsmanship to hone her moves. It didn't take long for her to adapt to Hyouzou's sword style. Then, with a single counter-move, she cut down all seven of Hyouzou's swords, ending the fight instantly.
Tashigi had been kind enough not to deliver a finishing blow.
But as soon as she turned away, Hyouzou quickly rolled up seven more swords from the ground and charged at Tashigi. A purple liquid, clearly poison, dripped from the tips of the blades.
Tashigi couldn't help but sigh.
She had originally intended to let her opponent live, but since he was so determined to die, she had no choice but to finish it.
"One-Sword Style: Slash Shiyu!"
A slash wrapped in Haki instantly swept away all of Hyouzou's knives and cut a huge, gushing wound across the Fish-Man's chest and abdomen. Hyouzou immediately collapsed to the ground.
The battle was completely over!
With the help of the Straw Hats, the fight had ended easily, leaving the Fish-Man Island civilians and soldiers in utter disbelief. Of course, some couldn't help but panic. If humans are this powerful, won't they endanger Fish-Man Island? they worried.
"Thank you, Lord Luffy! Thank you, everyone!" Shirahoshi cried out loudly at that moment.
"Hahaha, you're welcome! We're friends!" Luffy laughed heartily.
Immediately, Jinbe, King Neptune, the three princes, and Shirahoshi all laughed as well, and the atmosphere instantly became joyful.
At this point, many of the Fish-Men and Mermaids recalled Whitebeard. When Whitebeard said, "Neptune is my friend," Fish-Man Island enjoyed a long period of peace. Now they had the Straw Hat crew as friends of the royal family—what a wonderful thing!
So, what was there to be afraid of?
Friends were not scary!
Then, Hody Jones and the other captured enemies were rounded up. Shark Star was given a hint to execute Hody Jones as soon as possible. Such a disaster could not be allowed to continue. Since Shark Star wanted to avenge his mother's murder, he immediately accepted the order and left.
On behalf of Fish-Man Island, King Neptune thanked the Straw Hats and offered to hold another banquet.
When Luffy heard the word "banquet," his grin stretched almost from ear to ear.
But before that, the Straw Hats wanted to properly explore Fish-Man Island. After all, Jinbe had immediately brought them to the Dragon Palace when they first arrived, and they hadn't gotten a chance to see the rest of the island.
Neptune naturally had no objection. He originally wanted to be the guide himself but was restrained by the Left and Right Ministers. He eventually had to entrust the task to Jinbe.
Princess Shirahoshi also joined the group. It had been a long time since Shirahoshi had toured Fish-Man Island herself.
"Mermaid Café! Mermaid Café! Mermaid Café!" Sanji and Brook kept chanting, leaving Jinbe no choice but to take them there first.
The common Fish-Men and Mermaids enthusiastically helped guide the Straw Hats. A few Mermaid girls even invited them to visit their homes, which sent Sanji and Brook into a frenzy of excitement. However, Nami quickly put an end to that with her fists.
On the way, Carl noticed a starfish and a green-haired Mermaid girl and immediately recognized them.
Carl greeted them, "Isn't this the famous fashion designer, Pappagu, and Camie?"
Pappagu and Camie looked very surprised. "We didn't expect the Lightning Swordsman to know us! It's an honor!"
"Hehe, I heard that the clothes designed by Master Pappagu are very popular. Why don't you take us to your clothing store? We want to buy some new clothes."
"My pleasure!"
Pappagu was truly honored, and smiles bloomed on his face. If the Straw Hats recognized his clothing, his name, Pappagu, would certainly become even more famous.
Robin and Marie naturally followed Carl. Nami, upon hearing about beautiful clothes, immediately followed suit and even dragged Tashigi along.
Carl took the girls and separated from the main group, heading to Pappagu's clothing store.
As for why Carl suddenly wanted to buy clothes, it wasn't a whim, nor was it because he had any intentions toward Camie. It was because he didn't want Nami to go to the Mermaid Café. The owner, Madam Shyarly, was Arlong's sister, and it was better for her not to see Nami.
The group soon arrived at Pappagu's clothing store. Nami immediately pulled the girls to try on outfits, trying on one after another as if they would never tire.
Carl, as the only man, naturally became the commentator.
Carl, being highly emotionally intelligent, offered nothing but exaggerated compliments. Anyway, the girls all looked beautiful.
Tashigi was a little reluctant at first, but she eventually let loose and enjoyed herself. Girls love shopping, especially for clothes and jewelry, and even the serious Tashigi was no exception.
Seeing that everyone loved the items, Pappagu generously said, "I want to thank the Straw Hats for saving Fish-Man Island, so you can take whatever you like. Don't be polite to me."
Nami's eyes lit up. "Really? Well, I'll take all of them!"
Pappagu was stunned. He had probably never met someone so brazen, but he couldn't go back on his word, or his respected image would be ruined. So, while his heart bled, he pretended to generously pack Nami's clothes, a very strained smile on his face.
"Nami, is it okay for us to do this?" The kind-hearted Tashigi couldn't bear it.
"It's perfectly fine; it's what we should do," Nami said matter-of-factly. "Master Pappagu said to take whatever we like. If we take too little, wouldn't that disappoint the master? So we took them all. We shouldn't be polite to Master Pappagu!"
Tashigi suddenly felt a little dizzy. "It... it seems to be that way."
Pappagu felt immense internal pain. Then I guess I should thank you!
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