"Pirates, it's pirates!"
On the edge of a relatively peaceful island village, a terrified, high-pitched scream rang out.
The person who shouted it ran frantically towards the village, yelling as they ran.
People who heard the voice ran out and watched the person shouting about pirates run past.
Then, those closer to the shore looked towards the sea and saw a pirate ship approaching in the distance.
A strange pirate flag with a red shark at the intersection of two bones fluttered in the wind.
At that, the entire village erupted in chaos.
This place was very close to a Marine base.
Most pirates in the past wouldn't attack here, as it would take time, and they might get cornered by the Marines.
But now, these people were reminded of the terror of pirates.
Some wanted to escape by boat from the other side of the island, while others picked up metal objects like pitchforks as weapons, wanting to resist.
BOOM!
The approaching pirate ship didn't dock at the shore but charged directly onto the land, crashing into the village without slowing down.
The massive pirate ship smashed houses to rubble, kicking up billowing clouds of dust and smoke.
"Lads, round everyone up for me! Kill anyone who tries to resist or run!"
Arlong roared, brandishing the large sawtooth blade in his hand.
The cheering Fish-men charged down from the pirate ship, rushing into the village with jubilant cries.
In an instant, cries and screams echoed through the village.
Arlong stood on the ship's bow, watching the scene with excitement, awaiting this raid's harvest.
Humans were greedy.
He had a plan.
Since there was a Marine base nearby, he might be able to negotiate when the Marines arrived.
If he went too far, he might attract a large number of Marines, which would be detrimental to his plan to conquer the East Blue.
If he could cooperate with the commander of this nearby Marine base, things would be simple.
"Shahahaha, I'm a genius."
Arlong gave himself a thumbs-up for coming up with this idea.
Besides Arlong, the octopus Fish-man Hachi was also on the ship.
Hearing the wails and screams from below, Hachi shrank back and quietly contacted Jinbei.
Jinbei had arrived in the East Blue several days ago.
By now, he should be close to catching up.
He hoped Jinbei would hurry.
Otherwise, if Arlong killed too many people, it would surely put Boss Jinbei in a difficult position.
Buru buru.
Arlong's ears twitched. He spun around to look in the direction of the sound, then hefted his blade and walked toward it.
"Boss Jinbei, you have to hurry! Arlong has started! He's attacking a human village!"
Hachi whispered into the Den Den Mushi.
"Can you dissuade him?"
Jinbei's voice rang out, clearly very serious.
"Boss Jinbei, I can't talk Arlong out of it."
Hachi's tentacles twitched involuntarily as he replied, troubled.
"I understand. I'll be there soon."
Jinbei hung up the Den Den Mushi after speaking.
Hachi sighed. When he turned around, his body suddenly went rigid.
"Hachi, who were you contacting? You dare betray me?"
A vicious glint flashed in Arlong's eyes as he stared menacingly at Hachi.
At his words, Hachi's body trembled violently, then he stared back at Arlong.
"Arlong, humans are much stronger than us! Both Boss Tiger and Boss Jinbei worked to allow Fish-men and humans to coexist peacefully. What you're doing now will destroy our big brother's efforts!"
Hachi shouted, mustering his courage.
"Bastard! Humans can never coexist peacefully with us! How did Tiger treat humans? But in the end, he died at their hands! Even on his deathbed, he refused a transfusion of human blood!
I am the one who inherited Boss Fisher's will! Jinbei is just a coward!"
Arlong glared ferociously at Hachi, swinging his blade wildly, clearly enraged.
"If Boss Jinbei hadn't become a Shichibukai, you wouldn't have been released by the Marines, Arlong!"
Hachi continued.
But this sentence seemed to strike a nerve with Arlong.
The sawtooth blade that had been swinging through the air to vent his anger now came slicing down toward Hachi.
Hachi clearly hadn't expected Arlong to actually swing at him.
He tried his best to dodge but couldn't evade it completely.
Three of his left tentacles were severed in one slash.
The intense pain sent Hachi falling to the ground, rolling and screaming.
Arlong snapped back to his senses. He looked at Hachi and his severed tentacles, his expression shifting unpredictably. In the end, he didn't attack again.
Arlong turned and walked away, leaving Hachi writhing on the ground.
In the village on the island, the Fish-men were on a rampage.
Anyone who dared to resist was killed.
The physical constitution of an average Fish-man far surpassed that of an ordinary human.
This was an innate advantage.
The villagers were just ordinary people, mostly fishermen, so they were naturally no match for the Fish-men.
Seeing his fellow villagers being killed, the village chief suddenly remembered the Den Den Mushi left by that young man not long ago.
He couldn't afford a Den Den Mushi himself.
He clearly remembered the young man's words: if they encountered pirates, they should use the Den Den Mushi to contact him.
At this thought, as if grasping at a lifeline, he took out the Den Den Mushi from his pocket and fumbled to make a call.
Buru buru.
The Den Den Mushi seemed to have just woken up. Under the chief's operation, it let out a few syllables.
The call was quickly connected.
"Attacked by pirates?"
"Yes, it's the Fish-man pirates!"
Hearing the voice from the Den Den Mushi, the village chief hurriedly replied.
But the next moment, a Fish-man carrying a blade burst in.
Seeing the chief with the Den Den Mushi, he became enraged, swung his blade, and severed the arm the chief was holding it with, before moving in to deliver the final blow.
The Den Den Mushi wasn't hung up, and the chief's agonizing scream was transmitted through it.
...
On the calm sea, a ship drifted with the current. Cyrus listened quietly to the screams coming from the Den Den Mushi.
Some were close, like the village chief's final cry; others were distant, and there were many of them.
BOOM!
A burst of flames erupted from Cyrus's body. Bending his knees slightly, he shot into the sky.
Flames enveloped his entire body, his legs spewing fire like jets.
Cyrus transformed into a meteor streaking across the sky, leaving a long trail of fire as he headed in one direction.
Cyrus had given a Den Den Mushi to every village in the vicinity.
Although his purpose here was to save Bellemere.
Of course, it wasn't that he had any particular designs on Bellemere or Nami.
He just thought of it, had the ability to do it, and it happened to be part of his training, so he did.
And now, the one he was waiting for had arrived.
Flames streaked across the sky.
Just as Cyrus had thought, this method of travel was indeed fast.
Of course, it might not compare to Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit, but by expending a large amount of stamina, his speed could briefly surpass Mach several times over.
In just a few minutes, Cyrus saw the thick smoke rising from the burning target village.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator