Staring into Chu Yang's bloodshot eyes, Arlong desperately wanted to beg for mercy, but the suffocating fear of death gripped his throat, rendering him completely speechless.
His mouth hung open, his massive body trembling uncontrollably.
Watching the blood continuously seep from Arlong's body, Chu Yang suddenly recalled the excruciating agony of the Celestial Dragon's branding iron searing into his chest.
The utter rage of being butchered and trampled simply for being weak ignited a blazing, murderous intent deep within his heart.
I will never let anyone trample on me again!
"What... what do you think you're doing?!"
Pushed to the absolute brink of passing out, the bone-chilling killing intent radiating from Chu Yang violently jolted Arlong's consciousness awake.
"If you kill me, you won't be able to stay on this ship! Boss Tiger will never allow someone who murders a crewmate to stick around!"
Arlong screamed hysterically, desperately trying to appeal to whatever rationality the human boy had left.
"Just a moment ago..." Chu Yang replied coldly, his voice devoid of emotion, "If I hadn't fought back, would you have let me go? Would you have spared a normal human boy?"
Arlong was instantly struck dumb. Just as Chu Yang suspected, the Fish-Man had never planned on letting him walk away. Even if he didn't snap his neck outright, he was going to toss him into the freezing ocean and leave him to drown.
Afterward, Arlong just had to lie and say the human kid ran off on his own. Even if Tiger didn't fully believe it, there was nothing the captain could do. Arlong had bet everything on the fact that Tiger wouldn't turn against his own brethren over a single human life.
"You are fundamentally no different from the vile humans you claim to hate..." Chu Yang sneered.
Deciding against dealing the killing blow, he slowly released the wooden vines binding his target.
It wasn't that Chu Yang had suddenly gone soft. If he killed Arlong right here, he really wouldn't be able to stay on the Sun Pirates' ship. But more importantly...
Someone else was here.
Standing silently right behind Chu Yang was the heavily built, blue-skinned Fish-Man. Jinbe's hands, coated pitch-black in Armament Haki, were resting firmly just inches from Chu Yang's shoulders, ready to intervene and save Arlong's life at a moment's notice.
Chu Yang completely dismissed his Wood Release. He turned around to face Jinbe, asking calmly, "When did you get here?"
Jinbe cast a sidelong glance at the blood-soaked, gasping Arlong, a flash of profound shock hidden deep in his eyes.
He deliberately lowered his voice, trying to maintain his composed demeanor. "When Arlong volunteered to show you to your room, I felt something was off. That isn't his style. Just in case, I followed you two down here."
Jinbe let out a bitter laugh. "I was afraid he would do something stupid. Turns out, I was right to be worried. I just never expected..."
Chu Yang exhaled a long breath, as if trying to expel all the pent-up frustration and dark energy from his lungs. "You didn't expect that I'd be the one who almost killed him?"
Jinbe nodded, speaking with a tone of sudden realization. "No wonder Boss Tiger said you saved him. You're an Ability User."
Frequently using Wood Release had completely bottomed out Chu Yang's chakra reserves. He was incredibly exhausted. Eyelids drooping heavily, he muttered weakly, "If you aren't planning on throwing me off the ship, then take me to my room. All I want right now is to lie down and get some sleep."
Before leaving the bottom-deck storage room, Jinbe cast one last helpless look at Arlong, who had slumped against the wall and passed out from his severe injuries. He sighed, his expression incredibly complex.
Arlong's hatred for humans was far more extreme than most of the crew. If he didn't correct his mindset soon, he was going to suffer an even more devastating loss at Chu Yang's hands in the future.
Out of a sense of obligation, Jinbe personally escorted Chu Yang to a private, single cabin before quietly slipping away.
After ensuring the boy was settled, Jinbe hurriedly called for the ship's doctor to treat Arlong. Consequently, the news that Arlong had been beaten into a bloody coma by the human teenager spread like wildfire.
Initially, Jinbe had considered covering up the incident to save Arlong's pride, but he ultimately scrapped the idea.
There were quite a few Fish-Men on board who shared Arlong's radical views. To prevent those fools from doing something equally suicidal, a strong deterrent was absolutely necessary. Letting the news leak was the best way to keep the crew in check.
Snoring soundly in his bed, Chu Yang had no idea that because of tonight's events, Arlong had officially become the laughingstock of the entire ship.
The next day, Chu Yang slept straight through until noon. When he finally emerged onto the sunbaked deck, he immediately noticed a drastic shift in the way the Fish-Men looked at him.
The blatant disgust and hatred had significantly diminished, entirely replaced by a mix of apprehension, shock, and underlying fear.
There was a very clear, deliberate physical distance kept between him and the rest of the crew.
Looks like they found out, Chu Yang thought, glancing around. The corners of his mouth tilted up slightly. From now on, I won't have to listen to so much annoying barking.
Chu Yang had absolutely no desire to become best friends with this crew anyway. The Sun Pirates were nothing more than a temporary stepping stone.
"What happened yesterday was my responsibility."
Tiger walked over from the bow of the ship, looking visibly exhausted as he formally apologized to Chu Yang.
"I'm not the one who got injured; there's no need to apologize," Chu Yang replied casually. "Though I doubt that guy named Arlong will be able to get out of bed for at least a week or two."
"It's better this way. It'll keep him from causing unnecessary trouble." Tiger rubbed his temples, looking like a man nursing a severe headache. Although he was a Fish-Man, he deeply disliked Arlong's violently radical and impulsive methods.
"If you need anything, just let me know." Even though the Sun Pirates had officially been established, Tiger clearly didn't treat Chu Yang as a subordinate or a pirate crewmate. He treated him as an esteemed guest.
They were simply fellow travelers sharing a segment of the same road. They couldn't walk hand-in-hand to the very end, and both of them possessed the unspoken understanding to accept that fact.
Chu Yang pondered for a moment before speaking up. "I want to learn some combat techniques from Jinbe. Can you ask him to teach me?"
"Jinbe?" Tiger was taken aback for a second, then smiled warmly. "Of course. You've got an excellent eye. That kid's strength and potential are no joke. Give him a few more years, and he'll likely stand at the absolute pinnacle of our race."
Chu Yang smiled.
No shit! That was the "Mere Yonko" Jinbe! He didn't earn the title of Warlord of the Sea for nothing!
But Chu Yang didn't just want to learn Fish-Man Karate from Jinbe; he was after something far more important: Haki. He had clearly seen the Fish-Man use Armament Haki the night before.
It didn't take long for Tiger to track down Jinbe and explain Chu Yang's request for combat tutelage.
At this point in time, Jinbe still harbored deep wariness toward humans. The only reason he was willing to treat Chu Yang differently was because the boy had saved Tiger's life.
Reluctantly, out of respect for his captain, Jinbe agreed to the request.
That very same day, Jinbe initiated a hellish, torturous training regimen for Chu Yang.
Whether Jinbe was harboring a bit of lingering vindictiveness for what happened to Arlong, or if he just wanted to finish this annoying assignment as quickly as possible, his teaching methods were incredibly savage and unrefined.
Almost every single time a training session ended, Chu Yang had to be physically carried back to his room.
Yet, despite the brutal misery, it only took Chu Yang exactly three days to master the absolute basics of Fish-Man Karate. Furthermore, his proficiency was skyrocketing like a rocket.
The sheer speed of his progress left Jinbe feeling like his worldview was crumbling. In Jinbe's eyes, Chu Yang's learning speed for Fish-Man Karate eclipsed that of 99% of actual Fish-Men.
But Chu Yang was a 100% ordinary human... If he didn't know Tiger would strictly forbid it, Jinbe genuinely wanted to slice Chu Yang open just to see if the kid secretly had Fish-Man organs hiding inside him.
"This is completely absurd!"
Refusing to believe it, Jinbe continued to ramp up the intensity, mercilessly increasing the "torture."
But it was utterly useless. Chu Yang was currently acting like a limitless sponge, frantically and perfectly absorbing every single drop of knowledge that was beneficial to him.