Early morning, an unexpected rain fell.
A cold mist spread over the Sun Pirates' ship, making even the Fish-men, whose skin was adapted to the deep sea's chill, sneeze uncontrollably.
Jinbei rubbed his head as he got up from the deck. Last night, he had been drinking with his crewmates during the party.
But the last memory lingering in his mind was a pink-haired figure joining them, after which all sensation disappeared until now.
'What a monster. Is that thing even human?'
Jinbei inwardly cursed, his head throbbing painfully from the hangover.
Then he noticed something was wrong on the deck. The awakened Fish-men were all gathered by the bulwark, staring intently at the sea.
Taking a step forward, Jinbei approached the ship's side and, with his towering height, saw the situation below clearly.
The originally turbulent sea was now frozen by an unimaginable force. Towering waves were frozen solid, all phenomena strangled by the piercing cold.
The blue was gone, leaving only an endless expanse of pure white.
"What's going on?!"
Jinbei saw Sakura and Fisher Tiger standing opposite each other in the snow-covered landscape.
A rare look of shock appeared on his fierce face, his eyes bloodshot and bulging.
Kuina turned her head and put a finger to her lips at Jinbei: "Shh, Sakura-nee and Boss Fisher are about to duel!"
"Huh?"
On the ice, Sakura rotated her neck, stretching her ligaments.
"Uncle Tiger, are you sure about fighting here? This terrain is disadvantageous for you, right?"
"Hahaha, it's just land, no need to worry about it!"
Fisher Tiger laughed heartily, not minding at all. "It's just a spar anyway."
"Go Big Boss! You can do it!"
Arlong, his whole body leaning over the bulwark, cheered for Tiger, excitement gleaming in his eyes, wishing he could take his place.
The Fish-men following behind him shared Arlong's expression, all eager and ready for action.
Fisher Tiger waved at them and turned his head towards Sakura.
"Well then, let's begin!"
Koala, acting as the temporary referee, raised a flintlock and fired into the air.
Bang!
Taking the gunshot as the signal, Fisher Tiger lunged at Sakura, throwing a punch straight at her.
"Fish-Man Karate: Shark Tile Straight Punch!"
Leveraging his massive frame, weight, and the fish-man race's strength, ten times that of a human's, Tiger's use of Fish-Man Karate stirred all the surrounding ice crystals.
His scorching Haki melted them into water, finally creating ripples resembling waves in the air.
"Hahaha, you're still pretty capable, Uncle Tiger!"
Sakura didn't dodge, because this was a duel where a man was staking his honor, aiming to curb the growing arrogance in the Fish-men's hearts.
Naturally... she couldn't betray Tiger's resolve!
She returned a punch.
Boom!
Their fists collided. The ice surface instantly cracked, and the churning wild wind made the pirate flags on both ships nearby flutter wildly.
Many weaker Fish-men couldn't even withstand the aftermath of the clash and had to shield themselves with their arms as they retreated backward.
"Humans, truly a fearsome race!"
After the fist clash, Fisher Tiger was pushed back by an irresistible force, sliding backward and leaving two trails on the icy ground.
"However, I'm not so old that I can't fight anymore!"
His fighting spirit reignited, Fisher Tiger tore the coat from his upper body, spread his arms wide, and they were stained black with Armament Haki.
And so, amidst the roar of shattering ice, a red meteor madly charged forth.
Sakura, taking a step that created a mist, spread her Observation Haki. Every inch of the surroundings entered her perception.
Tiger, using the ice mist to launch a surprise attack, saw the girl turn, her rainbow-glinting gaze already locking onto his form.
Immediately, the fist she raised also surged with Haki, smashing toward him.
Having experienced her power in the previous exchange, Fisher Tiger didn't dare to meet it head-on this time.
He spun in mid-air, channeling the accumulated kinetic energy through his technique and hurling it out.
"Fish-Man Karate: 7,000 Tile Spinning Kick!"
Skillfully flowing his Haki from his arms to his legs, the spinning fish-man unleashed a whip kick, crashing down toward Sakura.
Crossing her arms, Sakura wrapped them in Armament Haki and blocked Fisher Tiger's strike.
Instantly, spiderweb-like cracks spread from the ice beneath her feet, the fissures so deep they reached the seawater under the ice.
"Whoa, are you trying to send me to the bottom of the sea?"
Sakura pulled back her arm and threw a punch at Tiger in front of her.
Tiger, also using his arms to block, was shaken back by this punch and slammed into the sea surface he himself had broken through.
The ice-made ring completely disintegrated. Sakura used Geppo to fly into the sky.
The spreading aftermath formed a huge wave, crashing toward the pirate ship in the distance.
"Not good, the aftermath is coming! Jinbei!"
The merman Aladdin was straightforward. Seeing he couldn't handle this situation, he quickly woke up Jinbei, who was immersed in watching the two fight.
"Ah! Right..."
Jinbei, as if waking from a dream, also seized the moment the ice below shattered to jump into the sea.
With all his might, he launched a [Brick Fist] from underwater, tearing through the wave and preventing the pirate ship from capsizing in the large wave.
Seeing the scene in the distance, Sakura, hovering in mid-air, shouted down to Fisher Tiger below: "We've caused a bit too much of a ruckus! Let's decide this with the next blow, Uncle Tiger!"
"Good, I was thinking the same!"
Surfacing from the sea, Fisher Tiger wore a bold smile on his face.
He dove down, plunging into the seawater.
He placed his right fist in front of his abdomen, covering it with his left hand.
The surrounding currents, drawn by his technique, began to form a vortex centered on his fist, constantly gathering and compressing.
Sakura, walking the firmament above, also raised a seemingly plain fist. Steam erupted from her body, Chakra boiled, and dark thunder crackled!
"Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique: Vile Strike!"
The vortex compressed like a spring, then launched Fisher Tiger's entire body forward.
The swirling vortex in his palm was entwined with a large amount of Armament Haki, as he fiercely unleashed this fusion secret technique, a scorching strike.
"Boil Release: Unrivalled Strength!"
The muscles in Sakura's arm swelled. The savage power of the Giant Royalty roared. Her fist, now completely stained black by Haki, met the secret technique Tiger had unleashed with a defiant counter.
----!
In the collision of Haki against Haki, the air distorted in that instant. All roaring and churning of the tides were swallowed.
All sound was lost!
In the violent struggle, Fisher Tiger's Haki was worn away by Sakura's endless, tremendous strength.
Finally, the girl's fist struck his face. A terrifying force erupted, tearing through the air and embedding itself into the sea.
"Tiger-san!!!"
Seeing Tiger's defeat, many Fish-men excitedly jumped into the water, rushing to rescue Tiger as he sank deeper into the ocean.
Amidst the crowd, one figure moved against the flow, quickly approaching Sakura, who stood upon the water's surface.
"Damn human, what underhanded trick did you use to make Big Boss lose to you?!"
The shark fish-man Arlong, his eyes crimson, surfaced, looking ready to attack Sakura.
"Arlong, stop!" Jinbei caught up, grabbing Arlong's shoulder from behind. "Tiger-san lost fair and square in the duel!"
"Shut up! We Fish-men are a superior race far surpassing humans! He cannot lose to a human, he should not lose to a human!!!"
As his words fell, Arlong felt a bone-chilling cold.
From the wildly raging dark lightning, the pink-haired girl cast an indifferent glance.
The Conqueror's spirit brutally tore open the sea's surface. A nearly tangible impact, carrying dark lightning, smashed Arlong down into the seabed.
Sakura exhaled a puff of white mist, her voice low: "So... unpleasant!"