Chapter 237: Fish-Man Karate
Jinbe, a whale shark fish-man, stood over three meters tall, his posture upright and firm as an ancient tree, solid as a boulder, radiating immense physical power.
And indeed, this was no exaggeration.
Fish-men were born with ten times the physical strength of humans, and after dedicated training in martial arts, they became incredibly formidable.
Jinbe, the Knight of the Sea, was among the absolute best, having mastered Fish-Man Karate to its highest level—enough to briefly contend even with a Marine Admiral.
But facing the Dragon Slayer Swordsman, Jinbe showed no arrogance. Instead, he began cautiously probing his opponent's capabilities.
"Karakusagawara Seiken!"
With this technique, a violent shockwave instantly coalesced into a white energy wave, like a piercing ray of light, surging toward Rhodes.
Facing Jinbe's probing attack,
Rhodes remained utterly composed, not even drawing his sword. He simply clenched his fist, hardened it with Armament Haki, and struck out directly.
BOOM!
When fist collided with the white energy wave, a deafening explosion rang out.
An invisible shockwave rippled outward in all directions, stirring up a fierce gale.
In the howling wind, Rhodes' long hair billowed dramatically behind him, and his white coat fluttered wildly, yet he himself remained completely unmoved—standing firm as a mountain.
If this were a direct contest of raw physical strength with Jinbe, Rhodes might have been at a disadvantage, but a ranged shockwave attack was utterly ineffective against him.
After all, having undergone his life transformation, physical strength was no longer a significant weakness.
"Trying to gauge my abilities? Forget about such cautious probing attacks," Rhodes said calmly.
Jinbe's expression grew more serious upon witnessing this.
He had initially assumed Rhodes excelled primarily in speed and might be weaker in raw power, but Rhodes' physical strength, while perhaps not quite equal to his own, wasn't far behind either.
How did he cultivate such extraordinary physical strength?!
Jinbe was genuinely puzzled—Rhodes wasn't some special Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruit user.
"Very well."
Jinbe took a deep breath, assumed a proper Fish-Man Karate stance, and stomped heavily on the ground. His massive frame displayed extraordinary speed, almost instantly covering dozens of meters to reach Rhodes and unleash a devastating punch.
"Fish-Man Karate! Gosenmaigawara Seiken!"
The Five Thousand Tile Fist was a devastating martial arts technique that could shatter five thousand tiles with a single underwater punch.
The power of that strike was sufficient to easily demolish a reinforced steel wall.
Facing Jinbe's close-quarters assault, Rhodes didn't dare underestimate him. His right hand, which had been resting casually on his sword hilt, suddenly gripped the blade and slashed outward.
His sword strike was eerily silent, yet arrived faster than the eye could follow.
BOOM!
When sword met fist, a thunderous roar erupted.
The massive shockwave spread outward violently, even creating small craters and cracks in the specially reinforced floor of the training grounds.
Shirley and Robin were forced to retreat from the arena entirely, moving to safer ground outside.
"This power..."
"Who is that swordsman?! He can actually match Jinbe blow for blow!"
Many fish-men had gathered around to observe, all elite warriors trained in Fish-Man Karate, and they displayed expressions of disbelief and growing apprehension.
Rhodes gripped his sword with both hands, the blade pressing downward with tremendous force.
Jinbe, his fists coated in a thick layer of Armament Haki, relied on his fish-man strength to contend directly with Rhodes' power.
CRACK!
After a brief stalemate,
Rhodes' eyes flashed with realization. He understood that in pure brute force alone, he was no match for Jinbe, a dedicated martial arts master with natural racial advantages.
There was nothing disappointing about that, though.
After all, Jinbe was a fish-man with naturally superior strength, and a specialist in hand-to-hand combat at that.
Accepting this reality, Rhodes' movements became fluid and swift. A flash of silver-blue light, and he instantly appeared at Jinbe's right side, slashing downward with his blade.
But Jinbe's home-field advantage was no joke. His Kenbunshoku Haki, combined with his racial instincts for sensing water currents and vibrations, though somewhat strained, allowed him to react to Rhodes' incredible speed and barely manage to intercept with a defensive punch.
BANG!
Both combatants were pushed back several meters by the force of impact.
Seeing the thick layer of Armament Haki coating Jinbe's fists, Rhodes knew that without employing his Lightning-Enhanced Cutting technique, it would be nearly impossible to defeat this martial arts grandmaster.
"Perfect opportunity to test a new ability,"
Rhodes exhaled slowly, quiet excitement rising within him.
Electromagnetic Oscillation!
A strange, shimmering bolt of lightning suddenly crackled across Shodai Kitetsu's blade.
Upon closer inspection, one could see the lightning subtly vibrating at an incredibly high frequency, imbuing the blade with a chilling, terrifying cutting aura.
"Be careful now,"
Rhodes said, taking a deep breath, his expression growing grave. This special technique was far superior to his previous, cruder applications of lightning enhancement—amplifying the blade's cutting power to an entirely new dimension.
However, this also meant a dramatic increase in mental focus and physical stamina consumption, making it impossible to maintain indefinitely.
Jinbe also sensed an overwhelming sense of danger, but he had no time to overthink it as Rhodes charged forward with his oscillating blade.
"Samehada Shotei!"
A violent force erupted like a collapsing mountain or devastating tsunami, the phantom sound of crashing ocean waves faintly audible in the air itself.
With this technique, a series of dazzling shockwaves exploded through the atmosphere.
Rhodes, completely undaunted, unleashed a sword strike that seemed to cut through the very fabric of reality, slashing straight toward his opponent.
BOOM!
An unprecedented collision resounded across the entire area.
The clash between these two powerhouses was like two massive warships colliding at full speed, the sound shaking the earth for miles around.
The fish-men outside the training grounds were actually thrown backward by the sheer force of the shockwave, crying out in alarm and shock.
In the cloud of dust and debris,
Jinbe raised his fist to defend against Rhodes' strangely glowing sword, initially finding that the raw impact force wasn't excessively overwhelming.
But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief...
Suddenly, he felt the Armament Haki coating his fist being rapidly sliced through, making an ominous hissing sound!
Before he could properly react, he felt sharp, searing pain in his knuckles. He immediately realized the blade had cut completely through his tough fish-man skin, slicing into muscle and even scraping bone.
"Too sharp...!"
Jinbe was genuinely shocked, but his combat instincts were exceptional. He stomped his foot powerfully, and layers of force surged through his body like a rising tide. He vanished from his position with a whoosh, reappearing ten meters away in an instant.
Blood dripped steadily onto the ground, and a deep, bone-revealing wound had appeared across Jinbe's knuckles!
"What kind of technique is this..."
Jinbe's fish-like eyes were filled with wariness as he regarded Rhodes' blade with utmost seriousness.
His Armament Haki was far from weak—in fact, those who specialized in physical martial arts generally possessed exceptionally strong Busoshoku Haki.
But Rhodes' sword was simply too sharp.
He had encountered great swordsmen before, but he had never witnessed such devastating cutting power.
"Without considerable strength, how could I possibly challenge Whitebeard one-on-one?"
Rhodes casually twirled his sword and smiled confidently.
Electromagnetic Oscillation was a unique advanced technique derived from his previous lightning-enhanced blade sharpness, further amplifying Rhodes' offensive capabilities dramatically.
If he continued developing this ability, one day there would be nothing in this world his blade couldn't cut through.
"Tch..."
Feeling the stinging pain in his injured fist, Jinbe frowned deeply.
It seemed he would have to rely on his home-field advantage and the special techniques unique to fish-men to turn this battle around.
(End of Chapter)
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