When Bellamy regained consciousness, it was already the evening of the next day. He had slept for an entire day and night. No one had disturbed him during this time, which meant nothing major had happened on the ship.
Bellamy climbed out of bed, rubbed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Finally alive again." The wound on his chest still needed further attention. However, with his proficiency in martial arts, as long as he rested well, he would recover quickly.
Their biggest problem now was whether the ship they were on could even make it to the next island. Yesterday, Bellamy had successfully determined their location; they were currently near Gunkan Island in the East Blue, roughly less than a thousand nautical miles away. Gunkan Island, also known as Warship Island, was the legendary island of the Millennial Dragons. Legend had it that the bones of a Millennial Dragon could be used to create an elixir of immortality. Perhaps during their resupply stop on the island, he could investigate the secrets of this strange beast.
However, Bellamy felt that such legends were mostly to fool idiots. If immortality could truly be achieved, such dragon beasts would have been domesticated by the World Government long ago. Still a legend? Probably the slightest leak of any real secret would immediately result in a Buster Call. Millennial Dragons – not to be taken seriously.
Grrrrumble… Not long after waking up, Bellamy's stomach began to make a racket. His current level of hunger wasn't much better than when he had Gear Third active 24/7. If a Sea King were placed before him now, he'd probably just pounce and eat it raw. The supplies on board could probably last another three days; for a journey of nearly a thousand nautical miles, it would be just about enough if they ate sparingly. But that was if they ate sparingly.
Bellamy ran into the kitchen and, without bothering whether the ingredients were cooked or not, started stuffing them into his mouth. Before long, he had devoured all the supplies stored in the kitchen. After somewhat filling his stomach, he finally felt much better. This feeling of being driven mad by hunger was truly unbearable. Bellamy suddenly thought of Luffy, with his appearance of a starved ghost reincarnated – a spitting image of himself right now. "So, it's not me who's wrong, it's the world."
Having devoured half of the pirate crew's three-day rations in one go, Bellamy still felt a little guilty. For the next few days, everyone would just have to tighten their belts.
"Who touched my kitchen?!" It was dinnertime, and Mia quickly discovered the anomaly in the kitchen. Seeing the cook about to explode with anger, Bellamy feigned complete ignorance and quickly escaped to the deck for some fresh air.
Near the bow, Fish-Man Arlong lay on the ground like a dead fish, his state of life or death unknown. Mani had moved a small stool over and was staring intently at him.
"How's this Fish-Man?"
"Boss, he's not behaving at all!" Upon seeing Bellamy, Mani immediately started complaining to him. "This bad guy tried to trick me into going over to him just now."
"Heh, I'm not stupid." Although Arlong's limbs had been broken by Bellamy, his head was still intact. This fellow was a saw-shark Fish-Man; that large, serrated nose was usually used as a weapon. Even if a large part of it was broken, if it so much as grazed Mani, it would immediately leave a gaping hole.
"Well done. You can go rest." Bellamy rarely praised her. These two youngsters had been following him for so long; even if they hadn't made great contributions, they had at least put in some hard work. Mani was overjoyed at the praise and skipped back. Soon, Bellamy was left alone on deck.
Bellamy looked at the "dead fish" on the ground and couldn't help but sneer. "Get up. Stop playing dead." The thick malice emanating from this Fish-Man was practically overflowing. Arlong could fool others, but he couldn't fool him.
"Despicable human!" Having been seen through, Arlong, lying on the ground, abruptly opened his eyes and glared fiercely at Bellamy. "How dare you harm a noble Fish-Man! Release me quickly, or else—"
Before Arlong could finish his sentence, Bellamy stomped on his head, grinding it into the deck. "Don't be hasty. I won't kill you for now." Over the next few days, Bellamy had plenty of time to slowly deal with this Fish-Man. Consider it a way to pass the boring time at sea.
Three days later. Gunkan Island was already close at hand. Bellamy, holding the corpse of a dead fish, casually tossed it into the sea. Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu – easily obtained.
"Tougher than I thought." To have lasted three days – this Fish-Man's willpower was much stronger than Bellamy had anticipated. A pity. Falling into his hands, being stubborn only meant suffering a bit more. Why bother?
Fish-Man Karate: A superb martial art originating from Fish-Man Island. Almost all Fish-Men or Merfolk practice it, and occasionally, humans also learn it through fortuitous encounters, such as Koala. The world of One Piece had many famous and unknown fist styles: Elizabello II's King Punch, Lao G's Jiao Kuen, Dragon's Dragon Claw Fist, the Happo Navy's Hasshoken, Okama Island's Okama Kenpo, and one could even count Garp's Iron Fist.
But Fish-Man Karate was the most widespread, most complete system, and the fist style with the longest tradition in the world of One Piece. Bar none.
Bellamy was a Spring-Man; he would definitely take the path of close-quarters combat. Fish-Man Karate was a martial art he was determined to acquire. This time, even if he hadn't gotten it from Arlong, he would have found a way to get it from Hatchan; if not Hatchan, then other Fish-Men. He would even go all the way to Fish-Man Island if necessary – Fish-Man Karate, he absolutely had to learn it. As for Fish-Man Jujutsu, it was merely a variation of Fish-Man Karate. He could grasp it through analogy and wouldn't spend too much effort on it.
Fish-Man Karate was a very complete and extensive system. From the introductory Water Shot, Spear Wave, Tile True Punch, and Tile True Kick; to the proficient Samehada Palm, Shark Tile True Punch, Arabesque Tile True Punch, and Ocean Current Shoulder Throw; and finally to the ultimate secret art: Buraikan. It progressed step by step, a very complete lineage. Even an ordinary Fish-Man, as long as they practiced diligently, could possess a certain degree of self-defense. This was also what Bellamy valued most about this martial art. Many martial arts, like the King Punch, for example, very few people could actually master. In terms of technique, it was terribly executed.
Fish-Man Karate had passed through the hands of countless Fish-Men and had been passed down for who knows how many years. It had been revised and modified countless times during that period. It embodied the wisdom of innumerable Fish-Man martial artists in their fist training. It was enough for Bellamy to study for a lifetime.
"When the time comes, I'll go to the Grand Line and exchange pointers with Jinbe." The Fish-Man race had declined too severely; among so many Fish-Men, only Jinbe remained as a Fish-Man Karate master. Exchanging ideas with martial arts masters was a necessary path for Bellamy. Just as swordsmen all over the world wanted to test their skills against Hawk-Eyes, Bellamy naturally hoped for more fist style masters as well.