Chapter Nineteen: Battle with the Evil Dragon Pirates, The Might of Shu Mingyuan [Second Update]

“Zoro, when did you start doing so poorly?” Shu Mingyuan teased, watching the man who could barely stand.

Hearing that familiar voice, Zoro’s body trembled. He slowly replied, “You finally made it, huh? I’ll leave the rest to you. I need a nap. Luffy’s still in the water—don’t forget to pull him up.”

“Yeah, go get some rest. These fishman scum disgust me too.” Shu Mingyuan shrugged indifferently, not sparing a single glance for the octopus, Hachi, before him.

“Hey, moss-head, who’s this guy? Can he handle it?” Sanji, driving Kuroobi back with a swift kick, asked with a cigarette between his lips.

“Him? Heh, he’s even more reliable than Luffy.” Zoro replied weakly before collapsing to the ground, snoring the next moment.

“Oi, oi, this isn’t the place for a nap, you know,” Sanji groaned helplessly. Yet, even with his brief acquaintance with Zoro, he knew the swordsman was always on high alert in dangerous situations. If Zoro could sleep now, there was only one explanation—he had absolute trust in this unfamiliar man.

“You brats, how dare you act like Hachi’s invisible! Unforgivable! Brat, go to hell!” Octopus Hachi swung all six arms at once, slashing six swords toward Shu Mingyuan.

“Lightning Style—Chidori Stream!”

With a low cry, Shu Mingyuan’s body erupted in a thousand streaks of lightning, enveloping him in an impenetrable shield of electricity. Within a meter radius, nothing could reach him without first passing through that wall of lightning.

Hachi’s six swords stabbed in, but the instant they touched, a powerful current surged along their length and blasted through Hachi’s entire body. As a fishman, his body contained far more water than any human’s—so the paralyzing effect was multiplied many times over.

The six swords clattered uselessly to the ground. All of Hachi’s tentacles curled up from the shock, and he toppled over, rigid, foaming at the mouth, his body shuddering uncontrollably.

“Bastard! What did you do to Hachi!” The commotion had already drawn the attention of Kuroobi, skilled in Fishman Karate. But all he saw was a flash of lightning from the stranger’s body—and Hachi collapsed for no apparent reason.

As a fellow officer of the pirate crew, he knew Hachi’s strength inside and out. Wielding six swords, Hachi was more than just talk—his true power was formidable. Yet against this man, he’d fallen so easily! Instinct screamed danger—this man was terrifying!

“Tile Punch!” Kuroobi hurled a powerful punch, sending out a shockwave that forced Sanji to retreat. Then, eyes blazing, he turned to glare at Shu Mingyuan.

“Tch. Seeking revenge?” Shu Mingyuan shot him a look of utter disdain, beckoning him with a finger.

With a roar, Kuroobi charged, palm ready to strike, only to feel a rolling thunder rush at him.

“Ninja Art—Lightning Style: Ground Walk!” Shu Mingyuan’s hands shifted through signs, then slapped the ground. Gathering all his electrical energy, he sent it racing forward along the earth. The lightning snaked out like electric serpents, and in a flash, it reached Kuroobi’s feet and wrapped around him. A violent surge of electricity burst forth, felling Kuroobi just as Hachi had been struck down.

Shu Mingyuan had appeared and, in a flash of thunder and lightning, defeated two of Arlong’s top officers—something both Sanji and Zoro had failed to do in such a short time.

Just who was this mysterious man, whose strength was so terrifying that he treated all these fishmen as nothing? His calm, relaxed manner left no doubt—he didn’t see any of them as a threat.

“Mingyuan…” Nami watched the figure who seemed to tower above all others, and in her heart, the image of the one who could rescue her from her living nightmare overlapped perfectly with him. Her gaze, suddenly, was filled with awe and longing.

“Sanji, you go get Luffy. Leave the suicidal fishman to me. Don’t worry—while I’m here, no one will lay a finger on you.” Shu Mingyuan’s attention shifted to the last remaining fishman: a saw-toothed shark with a long, spear-like nose, a ferocious face, and webbed hands—who else but Arlong?

Sanji, though shocked by the stranger’s power, knew now was not the time for questions. Luffy had already sunk to the bottom of the sea for several minutes, and as a Devil Fruit user, he was at real risk of drowning if not rescued soon. The stranger’s identity could wait until after the battle.

Resolute, Sanji nodded to Shu Mingyuan, then dove into the water, swimming down toward the submerged Luffy.

Arlong sat atop a massive boulder. The swift defeat of Hachi and Kuroobi filled him with a sense of impending doom. Looking at the stranger, he sensed a dangerous aura radiating from him.

But who was he? Arlong hailed from the Grand Line, was the undisputed ruler of the East Blue for over seven years. How could he be afraid of anyone?

“Brat, who are you? Another pirate with this crew? How dare you injure my beloved fishman brethren—I’ll have your head!” Arlong growled.

“Pirate?” Shu Mingyuan laughed coldly, his face twisted in contempt. “I’m a pirate hunter. One day, my name will thunder across these boundless seas. Soon, you’ll be nothing but a crossed-out name on my bounty list. Weaklings have no right to know my name.”

Though Shu Mingyuan’s voice was soft, it sent shockwaves through everyone present. Who in the East Blue dared call Arlong a weakling? For the better part of a decade, Arlong had been the sea’s uncontested overlord.

Was this boy insane, provoking Arlong like that?

“Weakling? Hahaha! In the East Blue, I am the only one who calls others weak! You filthy human—how could you ever compare to the great fishmen? We’re born ten times stronger than any human—Heaven’s gift! Humans are fit only to be our slaves. You think beating Hachi and Kuroobi means you can look down on us? Brat, I’ll show you what real hell looks like. My power is nothing like theirs!”

“You’re nothing but a pack of mongrels—neither human nor fish. As for you, I could wipe you out with a flick of my wrist. What you should never have done, what you can never be forgiven for, was tormenting and exploiting a little girl for all these years.”

“Arlong! Even if Fisher Tiger himself were alive, I wouldn’t let you go today! You’ll pay for everything you’ve done to that girl—every crime, every innocent life you’ve taken. Not even death by a thousand cuts can atone for your sins!”