"Excellent!" Auguro smiled in satisfaction.
"Then I shall go deal with the Arlong Pirates first!"
Swoosh!
Before his voice faded, Auguro and Rukia Kuchiki vanished from the crowd's sight.
Seeing this, the villagers were finally convinced that Auguro and Rukia were truly no ordinary people!
Perhaps they really could end the Arlong Pirates' reign of terror! Hope began to sprout in everyone's hearts.
Arlong Park.
Auguro and Rukia suddenly appeared at the main gate, startling the fish-man guard.
"Hey! You two, who told you to come near here! Get lost immediately!" the unnamed fish-man yelled viciously.
All of Arlong's subordinates were devout believers in fish-man supremacy. In their eyes, humans were weak and inferior, fit only for slavery.
Auguro remained silent. A murderous glare flashed in Rukia Kuchiki's eyes, and she immediately drew Sode no Shirayuki.
He who offends the Soul King must be executed!
Puff!
The fish-man didn't even see how Rukia Kuchiki attacked. He only registered a flash of silver light before his head flew off, and blood spurted out like a geyser.
A Vice-Captain of the Gotei 13 possessed power equivalent to at least a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral. Dealing with these fish-men was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!
Inside Arlong Park, Arlong's nose twitched a few times, and his expression instantly darkened. As a sawshark fish-man, he was extremely sensitive to the smell of blood and immediately realized something was wrong at the gate.
Just as he was about to send someone to investigate, a huge crash echoed. Rukia Kuchiki had severed the massive gates of Arlong Park with a single cut, sending them crashing into a nearby building.
The colossal noise alarmed the entire Arlong Pirate crew. Within seconds, Auguro and Rukia were surrounded by dozens of fish-men.
"Humans, you've got guts! How dare you kill one of our magnificent Fish-Men!"
Arlong's eyes turned bloodshot as he looked at the headless corpse outside the gate.
"Take them down! I want them to taste every single torture in this world and die in the deepest agony!"
With Arlong's command, all the fish-men charged simultaneously at the pair.
Rukia Kuchiki's gaze sharpened. With a Flash Step, her figure vanished from in front of everyone.
The next second, a flash of her blade.
The fish-man charging at the front instantly fell, his head severed. Rukia Kuchiki's figure did not stop, weaving through the group of fish-men like lightning. The Sode no Shirayuki in her hand sliced through the air, easily harvesting the lives of the fish-men like a Grim Reaper's scythe.
"Damn it! How can a human be this strong?"
Kuroobi, an executive of the Arlong Pirates, roared in a low voice. Seeing Rukia Kuchiki slaughtering his crew, Kuroobi's eyes darted toward the static Auguro. Based on the pair's interaction, the young boy was clearly of a higher status than the woman!
If he could capture him, perhaps he could force Rukia Kuchiki to stop! And compared to the fierce Rukia Kuchiki, this frail-looking boy was clearly a much easier target!
Kuroobi shifted his weight, charging toward Auguro with murderous intent.
Auguro raised an eyebrow at the sight. "Trying to capture the king to defeat the army? Not a bad idea! However, with your strength, I doubt you can pull it off!"
Seeing Auguro stand perfectly still, Kuroobi thought he was paralyzed by fear, and a look of triumph crossed his face. I got him! Humans were truly weak creatures! Fit only to be slaves to the glorious Fish-Men!
However, just as he was only a step away from Auguro, Auguro suddenly raised his right hand, pointing his index finger at Kuroobi's head.
"Hadō Number Four, Byakurai (Pale Lightning)!"
Zzzz!
Pure Reiatsu converged at his fingertip, and a white bolt of lightning, the width of two fingers, shot out violently.
What?!
At such close range, Kuroobi had no time to react. To his horror, the white lightning instantly pierced his forehead, leaving a clean, bloody hole visible from both the front and back.
"Damn it, is he a Devil Fruit user?!"
Arlong was horrified. As a former member of the Sun Pirates, he had sailed the Grand Line and knew about the existence of Devil Fruit users. He naturally mistook Auguro's Kidō for a Devil Fruit ability.
"That bastard! How is there such a powerful person in the East Blue?!"
A sense of retreat immediately surfaced in Arlong's heart. He had run away to the weakest of the four seas to rule like a tyrant precisely because he feared such truly powerful individuals. Now, facing his old nightmare again, the deeply buried fear within him instantly surged out.
"Bastard! You dared to kill Kuroobi!"
A fish-man with thick lips and a strange red blush on his face roared. The next second, a water bullet the size of a basketball shot out of his mouth, hurtling toward Auguro like a cannonball.
Auguro's body flickered, using Flash Step to evade several meters away.
Boom!
The water bullet exploded on the ground, leaving a shallow crater. Auguro's face darkened instantly. From his perspective, the fish-man's so-called attack was merely spitting at him! It might not have done damage, but it was incredibly disgusting!
"I remember you're named Chuu, aren't you?"
Auguro quickly recalled the fish-man's identity: Arlong Pirate executive, Chuu the kissing fish-man, with a 5.5 million Berry bounty! His ability was to shoot water like bullets.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you manners, to not spit in public?!" Auguro said with a look of utter disgust.
"Die for me!"
Chuu spat another water bullet, this time more than twice the size of the previous one!
You're not going to stop, are you?
Auguro was enraged. He lifted his right hand with a dark expression, and a solemn, authoritative chant began to emerge from his mouth.
"Ruler, wearing a mask of flesh, all creation, winging its way, man-named! Scorching light and chaos, turn southward, advance across the sea! Hadō Number Thirty-One, Shakkahō (Red Flame Cannon)!"
Whoosh!
A massive fireball, over half a meter in diameter, rapidly formed in Auguro's palm and slammed straight into Chuu's water bullet.
Sizzle!
The water bullet was instantly vaporized upon impact, but the Red Flame Cannon didn't shrink in size. Before Chuu could react, the roaring Red Flame Cannon slammed heavily into his body.
Boom!
The intense flames burst forth instantly. Chuu was incinerated into a pile of charcoal before he could even scream.
Arlong's cold sweat instantly poured out. Two of his executives were killed in the blink of an eye. Neither of these two people was someone to trifle with!
"Ah…"
Screams continued as Rukia Kuchiki effortlessly harvested the lives of the Arlong Pirates. No fish-man survived a single swing of her blade!
Arlong knew he couldn't hesitate any longer. In such a short time, his pirate crew was already reduced by half!
Thinking this, Arlong plunged without hesitation into the pool behind him.
The next second, the water pool began to violently churn. A massive column of water gathered, suddenly surging out of the pool, standing like a gigantic water dragon in the air.
"Fish-Man Karate: Great Tidal Wave!"
Arlong hovered in the center of the water column, a savage, cold smile plastered on his face. Water was the Fish-Men's home turf!
That's why he had built several large pools in Arlong Park, all connected to the sea. They could aid him in battle and offer an easy escape route. And because it was seawater, this move was a natural counter to the Devil Fruit user before him!
"Human, remember this well! On the high seas, Fish-Men are the true rulers!"
Rumble!
The colossal water flow, blotting out the sky, rushed toward Auguro to crush him.