Chapter 8: 8. The Legendary Battle of Arlong Park pt.2
Kuroobi threw strike after strike using his fishman karate.
I parried with my fish hook and swung at him with it occasionally.
While fighting Kuroobi, I also had to dodge water bullets shot by Chew.
The bullets only stung like normal bullets but I sometimes was getting caught off guard because of them, allowing Kuroobi to press his momentary advantage.
I wasnt going at it at full strength, instead I treated the two as training partners.
My observation haki training had been going no where and this was the perfect opportunity to use one of Gol D Roger's training tips.
While learning observation haki, it's important to feel the "rhythm" of your surroundings.
You can't even begin to sense oncoming attacks until you get into a trancelike state and learn to feel this rhythm.
With every punch or kick from Kuroobi and every bullet shot by Chew, I felt myself finding the rhythm of the battle.
Slowly, I was deflecting and dodging more attacks.
A bullet dodged here, a fist dodged there.
I found my "zone" and then felt I had made a significant improvement.
My reactions became fast and I started throwing in more counters.
Kuroobi's fist and my hook collided and a small shockwave appeared between us.
I won the exchange and Kuroobi was pushed back with shock on his face.
His momentary surprise cost him and my hook skillfully maneuvered around his next punch.
The hook dug into the joint at his shoulder and with a tug and a kick to his midsection, his entire arm was ripped off.
"Kuroobi!" Arlong and Chew both yelled worried about thier comrade.
I didn't stop there and dashed past the kneeling Kuroobi who was nursing his injured stump and appeared in front of Chew, leaving him no time to react.
I slammed the blunt side of my hook into his chest and sent him flying toward Arlong.
He was knocked out of the fight cleanly with that attack.
Arlong caught him and set him down on the ground, anger apparent on his face.
"You've gone too far, human." He raised his saw blade and glared at me with hate in his eyes.
I just swung my hook in circles and taunted him. "You mad? Maybe you'll do better than them..."
While taunting him I pulled what was left of Kuroobi's arm off my hook, then threw it away like trash.
Arlong lunged at me and swung his sword.
My hook blocked the blow but the force knocked me back.
Arlong's strength is real and is not much inferior to my own.
I landed on my feet and launched back at him.
For a moment our weapons crossed back and forth, but Arlong had other methods.
During our exchanges he picked up a palm full of water and flicked water bullets at me.
Me and my hook maneuvered in a primitive dance and the bullets were deflected.
He then shifted to trying to spear me with his nose while exchanging blows with our weapons.
I nearly got my eye poked and had to flip back to evade.
He used that moment to kick me which sent me flying back.
I crashed through the wall of Arlong Park and for a moment sat in the rubble.
As I picked myself up, I was outside the park and I came face to face with a tan skinned beauty.
A girl with blue hair and tattoos.
It was Nami's sister Nojiko. But she wasnt alone. Genzo and the other villagers were next to her all holding farm equipment as weapons. But were shaking nervously.
I dusted myself off and puffed out my chest like a peacock and leaned on my hook. "Hey beautiful. I'm Maui. Demi god of the wind and waves and hero of men... and women. Perhaps you've heard of me?"
Before she could respond to my cringe inducing pick up line/introduction, Arlong decided to butt in.
"You humans! You brought this bug here? When I'm done with him, I'll kill all of you vermin!"
The villagers including Nojiko and Genzo backed away in fear due to the menacing aura coming from Arlong.
But luckily for them I was here to put Arlong down for good.
"How you gonna do anything from the underworld?" I said as I swung my hook at him.
He blocked but got pushed back. I chased after him and he retaliated with an overhead strike.
My hook met his saw blade creating a shockwave and for a split second the two weapons were locked. But cracks formed on one of them and the weapon broke.
Arlong's eyes widened in surprised as my fish hook which looked to be made out of bone shattered his blade.
Of course my hook would break his sword, it was made by the gods and a mortal weapon couldn't damage it.
I followed with a side kick at Arlongs midsection and sent him flying back.
I walked toward him slowly, giving him enough time to stand.
He glared daggers at me and I returned the look.
"Take this, human!" He made the first move and dashed at me with his fist raised, but he did something else I didn't expect.
When I swung my hook at him, he purposefully took the blow, but quickly bit down on my shoulder.
"Ah, that's stings!" I quickly punched him away and his teeth were left lodged in my shoulder.
I pulled them off painfully, and a small amount of blood trickled down.
His bite was powerful enough to break my tough skin, but the blood was already coagulating and the wound was healing.
An hour and it would be completely healed with no trace.
But that taught me, he was not powerless against me.
His teeth grew back instantly and he seemed to look down on me.
'I think it's time to end this...'
"I'm gonna kill you human. No matter what, then I'm gonna torture and kill the other humans on this island too." He snarled as he prepared another attack.
I didn't respond. I was preparing to dismantle him.
We both moved. This was possibly the last move.
His punch was fast and carried all his strength.
My hook was faster.
I swung in an uppercut while sidestepping his punch.
My hook made contact with his chin, causing his teeth to crack from the force that just hit his jaw.
He would have been lucky if I ended it there.
I stabbed my hook into the back of his thigh as he was suspended in the air.
He gave a momentary scream of pain but I was already using my momentum to slam his body into the ground.
I swung again to the other side and then again.
By the third time I slammed him into the ground, his leg tore off, leaving shattered bone and fish meat on the edge of my hook.
I will admit that Maui's style with the fish hook must have been very brutal.
When fighting, the thought of ripping limbs off with the hook is instinctual. The style of the hook revolves around bashing with the blunt end and disabling the opponent by ripping joints apart.
A very brutal style indeed.
The battered Arlong was unable to move. I practically treated him like Hulk did Loki.
He wasn't even conscious anymore.
Kuroobi was still alive but he had nearly bleed out.
I did rip off his arm right at the shoulder. I gave him 'mercy', as well as Chew who's chest was caved in.
A few of the fishmen escaped but I'm not keen on chasing after them.
I walked over to a crater where the unconscious Hatchan lay.
"This is the only chance I'll give you..." I said before kicking Hatchan out of the crater and into the sea.
I'm sure he will recover and then flee back to the fishmen island.
I just hope he tries to redeem himself again.
Gyarados slithers out of the water now that the battle was over and stands beside me.
I pick up a sword that's laying on the ground and then approach Arlong.
With a quick swipe, I detach his head from his shoulders.
I grab his hair and lifted his severed head and then stuffed it into my satchel.
I could buy all the necessities I'd need on my travels after turning in his bounty.
I decided to leave the heads of Kuroobi and Chew for the villagers to turn in.
Their bounty wasn't big but it was a few million more than what they have now right?
Speaking of villagers...
A crowd of people didn't dare take a step onto the ground of Arlong Park. They were clearly in a celebratory mood but the sight of Gyarados deterred them.
'How am I gonna handle this?'
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