With the innate talent, potential, and physical strength of his Naruto counterpart layered directly onto his own, Chu Yang's learning speed far exceeded that of any ordinary human.
In just four short days, Chu Yang's proficiency in Fish-Man Karate ascended to an entirely new level.
Seeing this, Jinbe decided it was time to officially test the results of Chu Yang's training.
The two agreed to hold a completely unprecedented Fish-Man Karate spar right on the deck of the ship. The rules were simple: aside from Fish-Man Karate, neither side was allowed to use any other abilities.
At first, the Fish-Men on board thought Jinbe was just joking around. How could a human who had only been on the ship for a single week possibly learn Fish-Man Karate? It would be impossible even if he started learning in the womb!
Holding onto their skepticism, the entire crew of the Sun Pirates gathered on the deck to witness the match between Chu Yang and Jinbe.
Even Arlong didn't miss it. With his upper body tightly wrapped in thick medical bandages, he stood on the sidelines, his eyes never leaving Chu Yang for a single second.
"You attack first!" Jinbe stood casually in front of Chu Yang, not even bothering to adopt a defensive stance.
"Alright." Never one to waste time with false modesty, Chu Yang didn't decline. He pulled his fist back to his waist and slightly contracted his body, coiling his muscles like a tightly wound spring.
Gathering his full strength into his fist, Chu Yang threw a powerful punch into the empty space before him. The sheer force of the strike compressed the air, forming a violent shockwave.
[Fish-Man Karate: Vacuum Tile True Punch]
This was a customized technique Chu Yang had modified after observing Jinbe's "Arabesque Tile True Punch." It had a much longer range, and the concussive force was far more concentrated.
Thanks to the passive benefits of his Wood Release, Chu Yang's cellular vitality was increasing by the day. The sheer destructive power of this punch was no less than Jinbe's original technique—in fact, it might have been even stronger.
Jinbe hadn't realized the true lethality of the strike until the cannonball-like shockwave was right in his face. It was only then that he finally felt the terrifying, oppressive force bearing down on him.
"Shark Tile True Punch!"
The horrifying muscles on Jinbe's thick, powerful blue arm instantly bulged as he slammed his own fist brutally into the approaching shockwave.
BOOM!
The air itself seemed to tear apart under the sheer brute force of the collision. The resulting blast generated a chaotic gale that ripped outward in all directions, instantly knocking several of the spectating Fish-Men off their feet.
Arlong stared in absolute, paralyzing horror at the two fighters. They had only exchanged a single blow, yet the sheer scale of the clash was completely beyond his imagination.
"He actually learned Fish-Man Karate?!"
"And he's going blow-for-blow with Boss Jinbe!"
"Does this kid actually have Fish-Man blood in him?!"
The crew erupted into a frenzy of shocked whispers, staring at Chu Yang with eyes full of utter disbelief. Standing nearby, Tiger's mouth hung wide open; he honestly didn't know how to process what he was seeing.
"Not bad, kid!" For the first time, Jinbe flashed Chu Yang a genuine, battle-hungry smile, completely dropping his previous attitude of holding back. "Since that's how it is, I guess I'm going to have to take this seriously!"
Chu Yang smiled back, a dangerous, excited glint blooming in his eyes, faintly echoing the bloodthirsty fanaticism he had shown in the dungeon.
Seeing that familiar look, Arlong violently shivered, a deep chill piercing straight through to his bones.
The fight resumed. Abandoning all pointless probing attacks, the two immediately engaged in the most simple, brutal, and primitive form of close-quarters combat.
Fist to flesh!
However, the physical disparity between the human boy and the massive Fish-Man was so staggering that it was hard to believe Chu Yang could remain standing under Jinbe's fierce assault.
With his teenage body, Chu Yang only came up to just past Jinbe's waist, and his entire thigh wasn't even as thick as Jinbe's arm. When their fists clashed, it visually looked like two matchsticks being slammed against a massive, centuries-old tree trunk.
This extreme visual contrast made the brutal sparring match look incredibly terrifying to the onlookers. Tiger genuinely feared that Chu Yang's fragile little frame would be snapped in half at any given moment.
And in truth, it was close.
Every single time their fists met, Chu Yang felt like his skeleton was about to shatter. The sheer kinetic force transmitted from Jinbe's knuckles traveled through his arms like invisible shockwaves, violently impacting every single muscle and bone in his body.
A normal person would have collapsed long ago. But Chu Yang's regenerative abilities were unimaginably powerful, providing him with the insane stamina needed to stay on his feet. Coupled with the fact that Jinbe was strictly adhering to the rules and not using Haki, the damage was entirely within Chu Yang's tolerable limits.
The brutal brawl between Chu Yang and Jinbe raged from high noon all the way until dusk!
And it didn't stop until the stars finally lit up the night sky!
Jinbe was completely out of gas...
He simply collapsed backward onto the wooden deck, gasping heavily for air. His entire body was covered in awful purple and blue bruises; it was a miserable sight.
On the other side, Chu Yang looked just as battered, his face bruised and swollen to a comical degree.
However, Chu Yang had one distinct advantage over Jinbe in the end... he was still standing.
Under the watchful, disbelieving eyes of the entire crew, Chu Yang—who had only been learning Fish-Man Karate for a single week—had genuinely fought Jinbe to a dead-even draw without using his Wood Release once.
The result left everyone absolutely paralyzed with shock!
Only one week!
Chu Yang had truly gone from a total novice who knew absolutely nothing about martial arts to an elite master of Fish-Man Karate.
Tiger stared blankly at Chu Yang as if he were looking at some unidentified, mythological monster. Having personally witnessed Chu Yang's abilities in Mary Geoise, Tiger never thought the boy was ordinary, but this level of innate talent was still deeply shocking.
Jinbe spat out a breathless laugh. "Kid, you sure know how to take a beating!"
Chu Yang grinned through his swollen lips. "And you can't take a beating as well as I thought you could!"
"Hahaha!" Jinbe roared with laughter. "I'll admit defeat this time. But next time we fight, I'm not holding back!"
Chu Yang rolled his eyes. "If you use Haki, I won't be able to beat you. Let's just forget it."
Jinbe shot back, "You're allowed to use your Devil Fruit ability."
Chu Yang still shook his head. "Still can't beat you. Can't do it..."
Jinbe rubbed his temples in exasperation before suddenly coming up with a compromise. "How about this: I'll teach you Haki. Once you learn it, we'll have another match using everything we've got."
Chu Yang smiled in total satisfaction. Having finally secured what he truly wanted, he slowly slumped to the floor. Holding out this long really had pushed his body to its absolute limit.
From that day forward, no one on the Sun Pirates' ship ever dared to gossip about Chu Yang again. Nor did anyone dare look at him with eyes full of discrimination or hatred.
No matter where Chu Yang walked on the ship, the only looks he received were filled with deep reverence.
It was the universal respect given to the strong.
Only Arlong still harbored quiet fury, but he didn't dare utter a single word. Even when passing Chu Yang in the halls, he would lower his head and scurry past as quickly as possible.
Two days after the spar, a highly energized Chu Yang tracked down Jinbe to eagerly begin his Haki training.
He absolutely loved this feeling of being able to learn anything twice as fast as a normal genius. Every single second of the day, his strength was visibly, tangibly growing. It was incredibly addicting.
"You really are a monster," Jinbe sighed in exasperation. The Fish-Man was still covered in fading bruises, yet he was staring at a Chu Yang who had already completely healed and returned to normal. "Be honest with me... are you actually human?"
"Are you stupid?!" Chu Yang rolled his eyes. "What part of me doesn't look human?"
Jinbe clicked his tongue in wonder, shaking his head. "None of you looks human..."
"Stop trying to insult me in a roundabout way!" Chu Yang laughed in mock anger. "Hurry up and teach me Haki!"
Left with no other choice, Jinbe obediently sat down and began to formally explain the power of Haki to the boy.
Meanwhile, sitting alone inside the Captain's cabin, Tiger's face was incredibly grim.
In his hands, he held the morning newspaper and the latest bounty posters just dropped off by a News Coo.
The poster right on top featured his own face. The bounty amount was a staggering 500,000,000 Berries!