Chapter 125: Fighting Fish

"Hoo~"

"So the East Sea has fellows like this too?"

"Those eyes... no mistake! The finest prey!"

Dellinger licked his finger, his gaze turning bloodthirsty. The corners of his mouth even curled uncontrollably, baring a set of sharp teeth like a shark's.

The killing intent Dellinger had inadvertently revealed alone was enough to send cold sweat pouring down the backs of the surrounding competitors, who instinctively pulled away.

"Prey?!"

Hearing Dellinger's words, Ah Jin's brow furrowed slightly.

Though he did not know where this inexplicable hostility had come from, not a trace of fear showed on his face.

For long before stepping onto the arena, long before two months ago, he had already resolved that even if it cost him his life, he would be the last man standing in the Martial Arts Tournament.

No matter what happened now, no matter what opponent he faced, nothing could shake his resolve.

Besides...

"That posture, and the fin on his back — a fish-man hybrid?"

Looking at the sharp teeth in Dellinger's mouth, Ah Jin instantly thought of the ferocious fish-men from Cocoyama Village.

He muttered:

"I'm not a professional chef, but by the captain's way of putting it, to kill a fish you should gut it open, right?!"

Saying so.

Ah Jin lowered his head to look at the crutches in his hands, and for a moment regretted not bringing along a handy blade before stepping onto the battlefield.

"Forget it."

"An ordinary blade probably couldn't even cut through this fellow's hide, right?!"

Those words instantly made Dellinger's face turn utterly ugly.

The fighting fish bloodline had granted him powerful innate gifts, so much so that by his teens he had already become an executive of the Tang Jikede family.

That talent had carried him to several victories in the Corrida Colosseum and let him slay countless New World experts, but it had also left him with some less-than-pleasant memories.

At this moment.

Dellinger was deeply stung, his entire body trembling with rage:

"Seeking death!"

With a furious roar, Dellinger's figure vanished from the air in an instant.

The fighting fish's formidable natural gifts, combined with self-abusive training day after day, and battle experience carved out through hundreds of life-and-death fights in the Corrida Colosseum.

Even among the executives of the Tang Jikede family, his combat power was not weak, and his speed was as fast as a ghost.

Whoosh!

A piercing boom rang out through the air.

The ferociously violent half-fishman had, in the blink of an eye, crossed the distance between them and come in for the kill!

The specially-made high-heel on Dellinger's right foot swept sideways toward Ah Jin like a long blade...

"Battle-Axe High Heel!"

The high speed, paired with the fish-man's naturally formidable physique, granted Dellinger physical abilities beyond imagination; he had once used this very strike to bore through several warships.

In the East Sea, he should have been invincible!

Thinking of this.

The corners of Dellinger's mouth had already curled into a savage grin...

Boom!

After a thunderous crash, the arena floor cracked apart like a spider's web, fissures spreading outward in every direction.

Dust filled the air.

In an instant, it drew everyone's gaze.

The first to react were the competitors on the arena floor.

They instinctively retreated, fearing that even a moment's delay would mean being caught up in Dellinger's attack.

"Monster!"

"A monster through and through!"

"For the sake of slaughter, for the prize, he's already thrown the arena's rules out the window, hasn't he?!"

The spectator stands.

Yet the faces of the audience, who had come to watch a bloody slaughter, twisted with almost perverted excitement.

Many of the spectators here were devotees of fighting tournaments, having watched major competitions all over the world.

As for the names of each arena's star fighters, they might not know every last one by heart, but at the very least they knew their personalities and traits.

"That fellow Dellinger already showed an unusually bloodthirsty side back in Dressrosa!"

"Coming here, he's probably just looking to satisfy his killing instincts!"

One spectator couldn't help turning to explain to the people beside him, only to see pair after pair of bloodshot eyes blazing with surging adrenaline.

It was only the opening.

Yet they were already trembling with excitement, utterly anticipating the blood-soaked spectacle to come:

"This explosive right from the start? Looks like the East Sea's Martial Arts Tournament definitely won't disappoint!"

Others, however, felt uneasy at the sudden eruption of conflict.

"They say Dellinger has fighting fish blood flowing in him — naturally more ferocious than ordinary people."

"Will the audience really not be caught up in it?"

Speaking thus, the spectator glanced at the dense ranks of guards surrounding them, and a trace of security spontaneously rose in their heart.

"However, facing an attack like this, Donquixote Doflamingo's opponent is probably—"!

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out.

Instantly, it dragged everyone's attention back, and they all turned to look at the arena.

There, Dellinger, who had been charging with overwhelming momentum, was sent flying backward directly out of the dust cloud; upon landing, his legs cracked the reinforced stone slabs of the arena floor.

Dellinger glanced at the slightly indented wound on his chest, then lifted his head to gaze into the distance, revealing an expression of utter surprise:

"This guy... is strong!"

In the distance, the dust cloud slowly dispersed.

Ah Jin stood in the center of the arena, his chin slightly raised, his gaze sweeping over everyone with disdain.

The iron crutch in his hand spun at high speed, generating bursts of sound that tore through the air, so piercing that it made the eardrums of everyone in the arena ache.

The crowd, which had just quieted down, boiled over once again!

"This guy... what a terrifying aura!"

"Who is he?"

"I've never heard of such a figure before!"

"That attire certainly carries the flavor of the West Blue mafia."

"West Blue? No, aside from the Flower Country, no other faction in the West Blue could achieve this level; that means it must be the South Blue, or perhaps even Paradise or the New World of the Grand Line?!"

The crowd spontaneously began speculating about Ah Jin's true identity.

Although they did not know how strong Ah Jin was, anyone who had ever paid attention to the Corrida Colosseum would absolutely not be unaware of Dellinger's reputation.

He was a ruthless monster of fish-man mixed blood, a fierce individual capable of winning the championship at the Corrida Colosseum while still in his teens.

An existence capable of so easily neutralizing the offensive of such a monster could absolutely not be some nameless nobody.

"I have watched countless similar tournaments, yet I have never seen this face!"

"Does that mean he is a newcomer?"

"Could a mere newcomer achieve this level?!"

Everyone began speculating about Ah Jin's identity, yet not a single person associated him with the East Blue.

After all, as the sea area universally acknowledged as the weakest, the East Blue had not produced any formidable fierce characters in recent years.

The only powerful pirate worth mentioning was one who had risen only in the last few months, and even among them, only the captain, Gao Wen, was famous.

Just at this moment.

An excited voice broke through the crowd's discussion.

"I remember now; I once saw this guy's face on a wanted poster."

"Demon Person Ah Jin, bounty of twenty million Berries, one of the officers of the Gao Wen Pirates."

"The East Blue could have such a character?!"

"Judging solely by the strength this guy has displayed, if placed in the Grand Line, his bounty would probably exceed one hundred million!"

"Damn it!"

"Looking at it this way, the previous rumors were actually true; the mastermind behind this martial arts tournament really is that Knight Gao Wen."

Some people subconsciously speculated, linking the martial arts tournament to the Gao Wen Pirates due to Ah Jin's presence.

However, they were immediately rejected by those around them:

"How is that possible? Would a pirate do something like this without caring about losing their life?"

"I heard from unofficial channels that the financial backer behind this martial arts tournament is the Goa Kingdom, and that they even exerted effort to help Dove Port pass through the various restrictions imposed by the World Government."

"However, Demon Person Ah Jin should also be aiming for the Devil Fruit; on this point, there is no dispute!"

"Only his strength exceeded expectations."

"But a character like this should be an isolated case in the East Blue; it is even possible that Knight Gao Wen himself is not his match..."

Amidst the audience's deliberations.

A guard standing nearby pressed down on his hat with his hand; the smile at the corner of his mouth simply could not be restrained, and he even worked several degrees harder.

On the arena floor.

Ah Jin and Dellinger remained in a standoff, neither side making any further move.

This was solely because, at some unknown point, the competing contestants surrounding them had already encircled them.

The sharp edges of blades and swords brought waves of chill.

At the same time, this stirred up in everyone's hearts the courage to directly face the two monsters.

"Alone, none of us can defeat those two monsters; only by joining forces to eliminate them first do we have any possibility of advancing!"

A contestant holding a long spear looked at the two individuals in the center of the arena and involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

A trace of fear flashed in his eyes, yet in the next instant, it was filled entirely with greed.

"Join forces!"

"Only by joining forces can we win the prize money! Drive out these two monsters!"

The voices of the crowd grew increasingly excited; holding their respective weapons, they looked at Ah Jin and Dellinger with malicious intent.

When a person is situated within a group, especially one with a strong common goal, their self-awareness and ability to reason are suppressed by the collective will, thereby exhibiting craziness and executive capability beyond imagination.

At this moment, the group of arena contestants was precisely in such a state; indeed, the faces of quite a few people were visibly turning completely red.

That was the effect caused by extreme mental excitement leading to excessive secretion of adrenaline, which then stimulated the human body.

At the same time, this would greatly enhance their physical capabilities and weaken their perception of pain, resulting in combat power far exceeding their normal state.

"Kill!"

A sudden, furious shout erupted from the crowd, and immediately everyone swarmed forward, gripping their weapons tightly as they charged toward Delinger and Ah Jin in the center of the battlefield.

Ah Jin's expression remained unchanged; his figure flashed nimbly to evade the incoming blades and swords, while he swung the iron crutch in his hand, knocking one after another of the small fries out of the arena.

His gaze, however, fell upon Delinger opposite him:

"Do you still want to fight?!"

"Let's deal with these small fries first!"

"That is exactly my intention!"

In the next instant.

The two simultaneously turned and charged into the crowd, directly sending everyone flying.

Quite a few people fell into the water pools surrounding the arena, able only to helplessly declare their elimination.

Some unlucky bastards were struck directly by Delinger's attacks, sent flying dozens of meters to crash against the protective barrier at the arena's perimeter, their flesh and blood a blurred mess.

At this very moment, the surviving contestants finally realized a problem.

Facing monsters like Ah Jin and Delinger, numbers meant absolutely nothing!

Gasps from the spectator stands rose wave upon wave, countless people overwhelmed by the formidable strength displayed by Ah Jin and Delinger.

Very quickly.

The only ones left standing in the arena were Ah Jin and Delinger.

Facing each other, sparks seemed to flash continuously within their interlocking gazes—that was the madness of surging fighting intent burning!

(End of Chapter)