Chapter Seven: Young Man, You Cannot Go Over There!

The Arlong Pirates ruled over more than twenty villages on the island.

Every month, the villagers had to pay the Arlong Pirates the full per-capita fee. Those who could not afford it had only one possible fate: death. And if anyone dared to resist, their village would be destroyed.

They had endured such a life of misery for six long years.

Today happened to be the monthly collection day.

A large group of fish-men marched into the village street. At the head were two officers of the Arlong Pirates. One was Kuroobi, dressed in a blue karate uniform, his hair tied into two little pigtails. The other was Chew, with short light-brown hair and lips as thick as sausages.

Cocoyasi Village was the one closest to Arlong Park. It was therefore the final stop for collecting the per-capita fees.

Led by the two officers, the fish-men arrived at the guard booth in the middle of the street.

They did not need to urge anyone on. One by one, the villagers emerged from their homes in terror, each carrying the berries they had prepared to hand over.

Kuroobi waited expressionlessly for the villagers to bring him the money of their own accord.

Chew kept both hands in his trouser pockets, chin tilted slightly upward as he looked around with bored indifference.

Behind them stood more than twenty ferocious-looking fish-men.

“Move faster,” one of them growled.

The silent villagers handed over their money one after another. When one villager moved a little too slowly, the fish-man collecting the money shoved him aside roughly.

The villager fell heavily to the ground, yet did not dare complain.

The villagers waiting nearby remained as silent as the dead.

In the face of the powerful fish-men, they had no ability to resist. All they could do was endure their oppression in silence.

After a while, the money bag swelled with stack after stack of berries.

The fish-man responsible for counting nodded to Kuroobi, indicating that all the per-capita fees had been collected.

Only one payment remained—the fee from the woman in the orange grove.

“Let’s go.”

Kuroobi headed toward the orange grove, and the fish-men followed close behind.

Once they collected the final payment, they could finish work and return home.

In front of the houses lining both sides of the village street, the villagers kept their heads lowered, not daring to look at the fish-men for long.

The entire collection proceeded amid an atmosphere of fearful silence.

After walking some distance, the fish-men suddenly saw a young human approaching from ahead.

That human was Morde, who had just left the orange grove and was preparing to head directly to Arlong Park.

The intelligence had already been copied into the Hunter’s Notes. Naturally, his next step was to harvest the experience as soon as possible.

When they saw Morde approaching, the fish-men gradually came to a halt.

Kuroobi looked at the fish-man in charge of counting.

“Are we short one?” he asked.

“No. Aside from the one human woman in the orange grove, every payment is here.”

The fish-man lifted the large cloth bag in his hand.

Kuroobi looked back at Morde and said coldly, “He’s not from the island. Kill him.”

By then, Morde had also noticed Kuroobi and the other fish-men standing in the middle of the street.

“A little appetizer has come along,” Morde said with a light chuckle, his gaze sweeping over Kuroobi and Chew.

Their distinctive appearances and clothing allowed him to identify them at once.

Morde did not stop as he approached the fish-men. Instead, he quickened his pace.

On both sides of the street, the villagers of Cocoyasi watched him walk straight toward the fish-men. Their expressions tightened, and they could not help worrying for the unfamiliar young man.

At that moment, a middle-aged man in uniform hurried into the street and blocked Morde’s path.

He was the village constable, Genzo.

Genzo immediately saw that Morde was a newcomer, an outsider who had just arrived.

He had stepped forward to stop Morde in order to prevent the fish-men from harming him.

I have to drive this boy out of the village before the fish-men reach him, Genzo thought.

He looked at Morde and said harshly, “Boy, Cocoyasi Village does not welcome outsiders. Leave at once.”

“Thanks, old man.”

Morde raised a hand and patted Genzo on the shoulder. Then, light as the wind, he slipped past him and continued straight toward the fish-men.

Genzo froze. He had never expected such a response.

I’m driving you away, not welcoming you!

“Wait!”

Coming to his senses, Genzo spun around and instinctively reached for Morde’s clothes.

Yet after that brief moment of hesitation and the turn of his body, Morde was already more than a dozen meters away.

That fast...

Damn it.

Morde was less than ten meters from the fish-men now, and Genzo’s heart jolted.

“Boy, you can’t go over there!”

“You’re so noisy.”

It was Chew who spoke.

He was not stupid. How could he fail to see what Genzo was trying to do?

At once, he puffed out his trumpet-like sausage lips and fired a water bullet at Genzo’s legs, its power no weaker than that of a real bullet.

A human represented a source of steady income. Chew would never kill Genzo over something so trivial, so he aimed the water bullet at his legs instead.

Clang!

Morde drew Chidori in a flash and cut the water bullet cleanly in two.

The water projectile that should have passed by Morde’s side split apart, striking the ground on either side of Genzo.

Only then did Genzo react. He stared in astonishment.

“That boy...”

The fish-men’s side.

When Kuroobi saw Morde sever the water bullet with a single slash, his expression changed.

That one move was enough for him to realize that Morde was no ordinary person.

A veteran of countless battles, Kuroobi charged toward Morde without a second thought.

He intended to land a fatal blow while Morde had yet to sheathe his sword.

It was not a matter of underhandedness. It was simply the judgment of instinct.

“Fish-Man Karate: Wrist Blade Slash!”

With a single motion, Kuroobi drove the hard, scimitar-like fin along his elbow toward Morde’s neck.

The fin tore through the air.

Morde did not lower his sword. Instead, he raised his free hand and caught the fin striking toward his throat.

“My Wrist Blade Slash...”

His killing move had been blocked so effortlessly that Kuroobi’s pupils contracted, shock spreading across his face.

“By a mere human!”

Veins bulged across Kuroobi’s face and arms.

In an instant, he exerted every ounce of strength he possessed.

Yet no matter how desperately he struggled, the fin held in Morde’s grip did not move even a fraction.

“How is this possible?!”

Kuroobi could hardly believe his eyes.

He was a fish-man!

Morde gave him no time to think. With the hand gripping the fin, he suddenly swung downward, drawing a graceful arc.

Crack!

The fin Kuroobi prided himself on being as hard as iron snapped abruptly.

At the same time, the tremendous force pitched Kuroobi’s body forward and lifted it into the air. He began spinning rapidly close to the ground like a yo-yo.

Morde seemed unwilling to waste any more time.

As he passed Kuroobi, he thrust his sword once into the spinning body and withdrew it, then continued toward the remaining fish-men.

After taking two or three steps, he heard the dull thud of a body hitting the ground behind him.

Morde did not look back. The entire sequence had been swift and utterly decisive.

Behind him, Kuroobi lay on his back, all signs of life gone, a fatal wound piercing through his forehead.

“Kuroobi!”

Chew’s expression changed. He was an officer of equal standing.

On both sides of the street, the villagers stared wide-eyed, as if they had witnessed something impossible.

“He killed an officer of the Arlong Pirates... with one slash...”

Genzo looked dumbfounded at Morde’s back.

At that moment, Nami and Nojiko entered the street of Cocoyasi Village.

They immediately saw Kuroobi lying on the ground—and Morde, sword in hand, walking toward the remaining fish-men.

“Arlong...”

“What just happened?”

Nami and Nojiko stared in shock.