Hearing Nami's words, the villagers instantly fell silent. The wariness on their faces dissipated slightly, but they still maintained a vigilant look.
Some villagers even spoke up to warn her:
"Nami, don't be fooled by them! You know that damn Nezumi; they're in cahoots with Arlong!"
Nami hurriedly tried to explain, but was stopped by Ivan.
After stopping Nami, he turned his head to look at the village road in the distance. A cloud of dust was rising there, and beneath the dust was a group of fish-men who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
Ivan walked toward those fish-men, turning his head to smile at the many villagers: "I know you don't believe me, but it doesn't matter. You'll believe me soon enough."
Seeing this scene, the villagers hesitated to speak.
They vaguely sensed that this Marine seemed a little different from Nezumi and his scum. They wanted to stop him to prevent a direct conflict between him and those fish-men.
After all, in the villagers' inherent understanding, fish-men were invincible existences. Even Marines were definitely no match for these monsters.
But it was all too late. While they were hesitating, the fish-men had already arrived.
At the very front of this group of fish-men was a red-skinned goldfish fish-man.
Seeing Ivan slowly walking toward them, the goldfish fish-man Kaneshiro sneered disdainfully:
"Hahaha, another Marine scum who doesn't know how to live or die! To actually dare come knocking on our door to die, you must be tired of living!
Brothers, kill him! I want to pound him into meat paste!"
"That's right! Kill him! Show the Marines what we're made of!"
Noticing the reactions of these fish-men, Ivan instantly understood.
It seemed Hatchan hadn't passed the news here at all. These guys had absolutely no idea of his strength.
But this was perfect. He could wipe out all these fish-men in one go!
Looking at the group of fish-men baring their fangs and brandishing their claws as they rushed over, Ivan raised his hand and held up a finger.
A sharp azure blue suddenly swirled around his fingertip. With a slight twist of his wrist, his fingertip drew a horizontal line in front of his chest:
"One-Sword Style: Blue: Horizontal Cut!"
The moment his voice fell, a piercing sound of breaking air exploded abruptly!
A condensed blue slash turned into a straight horizontal line tearing through the air. In an instant, it swept through the group of fish-men and slashed straight into the ground behind them.
The next moment, the sound of flesh tearing could be heard incessantly.
The fish-men rushing at the front still maintained their punching postures, but their bodies suddenly stiffened, and neat cracks quietly blossomed from their waists.
In just a split second, this group of clamoring fish-men was cleanly cut in half at the waist, blood mixed with internal organs splashing all over the ground!
Amidst the wails of the many fish-men, Ivan turned his head to face the many dumbfounded villagers of Cocoyasi Village standing behind him.
He pushed up the round sunglasses on the bridge of his nose slightly, the corner of his mouth curling into a flamboyant smile:
"Hahaha, are these the trash fish that tortured you so miserably?
Follow me. Today, I'll clean up this rotting meat for you completely!"
With that, he didn't even look at the villagers' reactions and walked straight toward the towering Arlong Park in the distance!
Behind him, the villagers were in an uproar.
They hadn't expected that this Marine Major who appeared suddenly would really want to help them!
Even more unexpectedly, this Marine officer was so powerful. With just his index finger, he could unleash such a powerful attack. Perhaps he really could defeat the terrifying Arlong!
They began to weep with excitement and followed behind Ivan in unison, walking toward Arlong Park. They wanted to witness the death of that tyrant with their own eyes!
However, on the way to Arlong Park, the villagers didn't forget to talk enthusiastically with Nami.
This puzzled Nami even more. She choked up a little and asked, "I... I've been beating and scolding you all this time. Why are you still so nice to me..."
The villagers looked at each other and revealed even kinder smiles.
Finally, Nami's sister, Nojiko, hugged Nami and explained gently:
"Nami, everyone knows you joined the Arlong Pirates for everyone's sake, and that you pretended to be annoying for everyone's sake too.
So no one hates you. Instead, we worry about you. It's just that everyone pretended not to know."
This sentence made Nami unable to suppress the emotions surging in her heart any longer, and she burst into tears: "Waaaaah..."
Ivan noticed this scene behind him, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.
Leading a large group of people, the speed was naturally not fast. However, Ivan didn't mind, because he knew that after he killed dozens of fish-men, Arlong would definitely come to kill him.
After all, in Arlong's eyes, humans were as lowly as pigs and dogs, but every fish-man was his flesh-and-blood brother connected by blood!
Sure enough, not long after, a large number of fish-men appeared in front of everyone.
At the very front of the fish-men stood a burly figure a full 2.6 meters tall.
It was none other than the leader of the Arlong Pirates, the sawshark fish-man Arlong!
While the two sides were still far apart, Arlong's arrogant and domineering laughter rolled over, carried by the sea breeze:
"Shahahaha! Lowly humans! I didn't expect you to really dare gather to resist me. That's perfect! I'll kill all of you to deter other villages."
But soon, Arlong stopped in his tracks. He swept a glance over the crowd, and his expression suddenly became as gloomy as ink. He questioned in a deep voice:
"Where are my brothers? Where are they?"
Arlong suddenly realized that there were no signs of his fish-man brothers beside the crowd, which immediately gave him a bad premonition.
Ivan spread his hands, seemingly helpless: "You kill fish when you encounter them, obviously! Otherwise what? Keep them for the New Year?"
"You... you, you, you lowly human!" Arlong was instantly enraged.
Those brothers of his were elite fish-men who had followed him back from the Grand Line, surviving nine deaths!
They had once joined the Sun Pirates together, weathering storms side by side for decades. Their bond had long surpassed that of blood relatives.
But now...
Dozens of brothers who had gone through life and death with him had perished at the hands of this human before him, whom he viewed as an ant!
Arlong's eyes turned red with anger. His mouth split open to the roots of his ears in extreme rage as he snarled through gritted teeth:
"Lowly humans! I'm going to tear you all to shreds!"
Before his voice faded, he took the lead, charging toward Ivan and the others with the numerous angry fish-men behind him.
Facing this scene, the villagers behind turned pale. After several years of brutal rule, the terror of fish-men had long been imprinted deep in their souls.
Moreover, fish-men were inherently stronger than them. They were no match for any single fish-man, so they didn't dare fight them.
Ivan hadn't counted on these villagers anyway. After all, for ordinary people, a difference of several times in wrist strength meant a crushing effect.
His tone was faint as he ordered Tashigi and the others: "Tashigi, take these villagers and stay far away. Leave these fish-men to me."
Barton was somewhat worried: "Major Ivan, are you going to deal with so many fish-men alone?"
Ivan saw through Barton's concerns, looked at the charging fish-men, and lightly moved his limbs:
"Hahaha, who are you underestimating? I am very strong!"