Chapter 312: The Ultimate Weapon

Jinbe did not waver, assuming the opening stance of Fish-Man Karate, his gaze filled only with resolve:

"The moment I appeared here, I already placed life and death beyond consideration."

"If I have any request,"

"it is that matters end with me today; please do not vent your fury upon the innocent fish-men here."

"The vast majority of fish-men on this island merely wish to live peaceful lives; toward humans, they feel more fear than hatred."

At these words,

Shark Star, standing behind Jinbe, suddenly tightened his grip on the spear in his hand.

In the look he cast upon Jinbe, there was nothing but unspeakable respect.

He finally understood why even his own father, Neptune, the King of Ryugu, held a respect for the Jinbe before him that came from the depths of his heart.

Apart from formidable strength, it was mostly this great righteousness.

"Mr. Jinbe..."

Not only Shark Star, but all the fish-men around them wore expressions of deep sorrow.

They clenched their teeth, standing silently behind Jinbe.

It was not that they were indifferent, but because they knew that intervening now would only profane this man's will.

"We... fish-men are still too weak."

"Everything on Fish-Man Island rests upon Mr. Jinbe's shoulders; even at a time like this, he is forced to step forward under coercion from Hody and his gang."

"He..."

"suffers too much, and bears too heavy a burden."

Whoosh—!

The sea breeze suddenly turned biting, rocking the pirate ships in the harbor, while the Jolly Roger of the Lionheart Knight fluttered up and down.

Gao Wen stood beneath the pirate flag, slowly, bit by bit, tightening his grip on Guanshi Zhengzong:

"Then let it be as you wish!"

"If you do not die from this slash, then I will leave my flag on Fish-Man Island!"

"Good!"

Jinbe understood, a trace of gratitude appearing in his eyes, yet his gaze hardened the next instant, filled only with surging fighting spirit!

When experts clash, a single glance suffices to probe each other's depth.

At this very moment, merely standing before Gao Wen, Jinbe felt the illusion of being seen through from top to bottom, while Gao Wen appeared to him like an unfathomable abyssal sea.

Looking into those eyes, there was nothing but endless darkness!

But Jinbe knew clearly that in this battle, even if his opponent were Whitebeard or that monster from the Marines, he had not the slightest room to retreat.

He must win, and could only win!

Thinking of this, fire nearly erupted within Jinbe's pupils.

He had never been one to retreat in the face of difficulty; if necessary, he could place life and death beyond consideration, facing even a Yonko-level figure without the slightest fear!

He stepped forward.

"Fish-Man Karate - Secret Technique - Onigawara Mas—!"

Before Jinbe's full-power punch could even be launched, a silver radiance flashed, closing in on him in an instant!

So fast; at such speed, there was no time to react!

The crimson Lei Guang flashing in the void gave Jinbe an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

What surfaced in his mind was solely the celestial phenomenon triggered when he had once watched Whitebeard clash with Red Hair from afar!

"It's the same as Whitebeard's..."

"Conqueror's Haki!"

"Correct, but there's no reward!"

Gao Wen's cold and sharp voice exploded beside Jinbe's ear, and immediately after, a fierce blade light fell upon Jinbe's shoulder!

Hiss—!

A piercing noise burst forth, causing everyone's ears to suffer momentary deafness, yet they could no longer attend to such things.

For a silver-white sword qi pierced through Jinbe's body, slicing open everything behind him!

The harbor's land, the pirate ships along the way, even the seawater farther out...

This sword qi soared all the way to the film enveloping Fish-Man Island, tearing and distorting it until it nearly pierced through, only to dissipate at the very last instant.

Yet those present could no longer smile.

"How... how can such a thing be?!"

On the broken pirate ship,

the leading pirate collapsed onto the deck; beside him, his companions wailed, but he could no longer hear them, his gaze fixed on the figure in the center of the battlefield, feeling that this world was utterly unreal!

"This is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!?"

"No!"

"That man slashed down Golden Lion, defeated Hawk-Eye, and is hailed as the world's greatest swordsman of the present age!"

"But... isn't such power a bit too exaggerated?!"

The pirates present felt their legs turn to jelly.

Shark Star and the contingent of Neptune's royal guards he led trembled so violently that their fighting spirit instantly dissipated by more than half.

"This is... the power of humans?!"

"I originally thought that compared to humans, fish-men at least held advantages in physical capabilities and combat power, since our greatest disparity lies in lacking so many human schemes and tricks."

"But now it seems I was too naive!"

Shark Star took a deep breath, the look in his eyes as he gazed at Gao Wen now filled with indescribable awe.

He also finally understood why even Tiger, who had once been a slave, would rather die than go to war against humans.

This gap in power was simply too vast.

So vast that relying solely on Gao Wen's strength, he could annihilate Fish-Man Island!

Such an existence was nearly monstrous!

Thinking this.

Shark Star couldn't help but worry about Jinbe's condition; he looked up.

At this moment, Jinbe still maintained his punching posture, yet his body remained frozen in place, as if paused.

"Jinbe... Mr.?!"

Pfft—!

Blood splattered.

A line of blood erupted from Jinbe's chest; his complexion turned pale in that instant, yet his body remained standing straight as he said:

"Thank you."

The voice hit the ground.

Jinbe lost consciousness and fell backward, blood flowing along his body to stain the ground red.

This battle had arrived abruptly, and its conclusion was equally abrupt.

The fierce slaughter between Warlords that everyone had expected never materialized; from start to finish, Jinbe threw half a punch, and Gao Wen drew one sword.

And the result now lay before everyone's eyes.

Zing—!

Guanshi Zhengzong returned to its sheath.

Gao Wen glanced at Shark Star and said:

"Given a fish-man's vitality, if treated in time, this fellow won't die."

Shark Star froze for a moment, then hurriedly ordered the ship's doctor in the ranks to act, lifting Jinbe onto a stretcher for emergency treatment of his wounds.

Having done all this.

Shark Star was just about to turn and thank Gao Wen when he saw that Gao Wen's figure had already vanished from before him.

At the same time.

Zoro, Cavendish, and others remaining on the ship gazed around with grim expressions.

Zing!

Three swords drew from their sheaths; Zoro's face twisted ferociously, an invisible killing intent faintly condensing behind him, like an Asura stepping out of hell:

"If anyone still wants to fight, we'll accompany you to the end!"

Sanji complained dissatisfiedly:

"That's my line!"

"You moss-head bastard!"

"Hah?!"

Zoro's eyebrow twitched:

"Curly-brow, want to cross swords?!"

Clang!

The Black Leg wreathed in flames collided with the famous blade, causing the Lion Heart Knight ship beneath their feet to sink slightly!

An invisible shockwave diffused, making everyone nearby feel a chill run down their spines.

Gao Wen's crew was formidable not just because of their captain and that monster who had just acted.

Every single crew member on this ship was a monstrous existence!

"Perhaps with just the power of those two, they could crush every pirate present!"

Shark Star swallowed hard, immediately ordering Neptune's Royal Guards to lower their weapons.

Seeing this, the pirates followed suit, putting away their weapons and the cannons on their ships one after another.

In an instant, the tense atmosphere of swords drawn and bows bent suddenly collapsed, and order was restored around them under the pacification of Shark Star and the others.

Immediately after, Shark Star led the Neptune Royal Guards back to the Long Gong to reinforce the captured Neptune.

Zoro put away his weapon with a slightly bored expression, then as if suddenly remembering something, he slapped himself:

"Zoro, oh Zoro, how could you be so depraved?!"

"Is it proper that you haven't cultivated for over ten hours?!"

"Then I punish you to swing your sword ten thousand times!"

Saying and doing.

Zoro quickly returned to the cabin, and when he emerged again, he was already carrying an exaggeratedly large barbell in his hand.

He grabbed the barbell and began swinging it; with every swing, he stirred up a gust of wild wind before him, rippling the seawater!

Sanji, Cavendish, and the others, unwilling to be outdone, immediately entered their own cultivation states.

Some, like Cavendish, wore weighted blocks of unimaginable mass.

Others, like Bepo and Chopper, found an abandoned ship right in the harbor and smashed fist after fist heavily against the outer hull of the pirate vessel...

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Deafening impacts echoed throughout the entire harbor.

Pirates who had no choice but to remain here, waiting to set sail, saw this scene and one after another shrank back into their cabins.

They feared that in the next instant, they would be targeted by Chopper and the others, becoming their training equipment—no, their cultivation consumables.

In a corner of the harbor.

A small pirate ship had its portholes open, from which several furtive heads popped out.

The captain at the front held up a telescope, watching Gao Wen's group in their frenzied state of cultivation, and couldn't help but swallow hard:

"Though it's not hard to understand that this is the reason for their immense strength, regardless of anything, isn't this level of cultivation too exaggerated?"

"Look at that person over there; the blood vessels on his body have burst! And that white bear—if I'm not mistaken, that fellow's hand bones are injured!"

"Damn it!"

"Why does this guy look like he's overdosed!?"

"Hiss—!"

The captain shivered, feeling increasingly that Gao Wen's group was not right.

Yet in his heart, an idea inevitably rose: what if he did the same...

Better not.

His life was more important.

Naturally, he was not the only one who noticed Gao Wen's group's absurd cultivation.

At this moment, the vast majority of pirates in the harbor had noticed this point; while shouting in their hearts that it was inconceivable, they also intensified their desire to leave quickly!

Who knew if staying here any longer would get them caught up in the aftermath of these perverts!

At the same time.

On the Lionheart Knight.

Morgan, draped in a black cloak and wearing a hood, slowly walked onto the deck, her gaze fixed tightly on the direction where Gao Wen had disappeared.

In her beautiful eyes, there was nothing but indescribable awe!

"Knight Gao Wen?!"

"Able to wield Conqueror's Haki—no, according to the outside world's terminology, it should be called Conqueror's Haki, right?!"

"But to oppose those immortal monsters, strength alone is not enough; only the undying can oppose the undying!"

"Even Arthur of the past was far inferior to this level of power; if this man could obtain the ability Arthur once possessed, perhaps..."

As she spoke.

A trace of hope inevitably ignited in Morgan's eyes, only to dissipate in the next instant:

"Forget it."

"How could things be that coincidental."

"Moreover, Britannias has ultimately become hell; he has shown me kindness, and I cannot drag him into this calamity again."

"That place is already a hell."

Morgan's eyes gradually dimmed.

At this moment, she also made her decision.

The moment this ship made landfall again would be the time she left Gao Wen's pirate crew.

"At least..."

"I cannot let more people die there."

At this moment.

Long Gong.

"Hody, you cannot continue down this wrong path!"

Covered in blood, with hands and feet bound by shackles, Hatchan still struggled to lift his head, looking at Hody as he bitterly advised:

"Such an extreme approach will only bring destruction upon the fish-men!"

He, Arlong, and Hody had all grown up together in Fish-Man District, so there was some degree of affection between them.

Moreover, seeing Hody now, how similar was he to Arlong back in Cocoyasi?

However.

Hatchan ultimately forgot that while Hody had inherited Arlong's will and even held an indescribable admiration for Arlong, he was no longer the youth who once yearned for the land world alongside him.

Hody glanced at Hatchan and said coldly:

"Shut his mouth."

Two fish-men immediately stepped forward, dragged Hatchan to the side, and stuffed cotton cloth into his mouth.

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

Hody picked at his ear with his finger, then turned his head to look at Bai Xing, who was imprisoned in a cage nearby, cowering timidly in a corner of the cage, and a ferocious smile curled at the corner of his mouth:

"Several years ago, when that Celestial Dragon caused trouble in the Long Gong Kingdom, countless super giant Sea Kings were attracted by some existence and gathered near Fish-Man Island."

"Although Neptune concealed the news and explained it to the outside world as a coincidence, it could not fool me."

"I secretly investigated for several years and finally confirmed that the one who summoned those Sea Kings back then was you, the mermaid capable of controlling Sea Kings!"

"You are the fish-men's ultimate weapon!"

"If I can control the Sea Kings of the entire ocean, let alone the World Government, even those high-and-mighty Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise will have to prostrate themselves at my feet!"

"Hahahahaha—!"

A ferocious laughter echoed through the royal palace.

The fish-men who had followed Hody here likewise wore expressions of excitement.

In this world, no race understands the sea better than the fish-men, and likewise, no race understands the might of the Sea Kings better than the fish-men!

Those monsters, thousands of meters in size, could swallow a giant ship whole with just the whirlpool created by a single turn of their bodies.

If they were to pour out in full force and launch an assault, wiping out an island or even a nation would be effortless!

And such a weapon now lay right before their eyes; how could they not be excited?

"So terrifying..."

Bai Xing curled her body up even tighter, almost completely hiding in the corner of the cage, yet still unable to bring herself even a shred of safety.

This was especially true when she noticed that within the cage beside her, Neptune and her two elder brothers were imprisoned, having long since lost consciousness.

"Save me..."

(End of Chapter)