"Are you a Devil Fruit user?" Arlong asked, still standing in the same place. As much as he wanted to tear this miserable human apart now, he had learned in his life to never underestimate an enemy. And now that he saw the unusual scene in front of him, he was even more cautious.
"You could say that." Noah naturally knew that his powers would be confused with something like this one day. But thank God the world had such a ready story for him.
"You know you won't get out of here alive, right?" Arlong was sensing the seriousness in Noah's gaze, a seriousness he hasn't seen in a long time in these calm waters of the East Blue.
"Big words for someone who hasn't lifted a finger so far." Constantly looking into his eyes, Noah didn't care about any threat that Arlong could bring.
At this moment, it's not that he thought he was invincible and that Arlong was much weaker than him. On the contrary, he was sure that the slightest carelessness could cause Arlong to kill him, despite his efforts to become stronger. Just remembering that Arlong could cut a building in half was enough to know that his strength was much greater than it appeared.
Not to mention, One Piece was a world of superficial appearances, but deep powers. The way people present themselves may seem comical and hilarious, but most of the powers of the world could shake the planet's structures if they wanted to. Thanks to some kind of superior power, the world is strong enough for its inhabitants, unlike Earth that could be easily destroyed by White Beard if he put enough strenght in it.
But, despite all this knowledge that Noah has, something within him pushes him further and further in the direction of this madness of powers. At no time did he ever think about living a peaceful life in this world, as if it were part of him to be involved with chaos. Perhaps he already carried the Will of D. even before coming here, or any other such nonsense.
He only had one thing in mind: I will do what I want, and no one will be able to stop me. This determination seemed engraved in him, this selfishness that seemed almost right if placed in a good heart.
And precisely because of this, he felt no fear of Arlong, and not even what the results of the battle would be if he lost focus. He was here because he wanted to be.
And he wanted to kick Arlong's ass!
"Alright, human. Let's see what backs up your words." Annoyed by the indifference of this inferior species, Arlong suddenly disappeared from where he was.
BOOOM!
Appearing in front of Noah, Arlong punched him with all his might, only to punch the air and hit the ground. The rumble was accompanied by a series of cracks that remained in the place, completely destroying the ground. As if he were the wind, Noah had moved at high speed and dodged the punch, appearing a few meters away.
"Water Gun!"
Chew realized it was a good time to attack and shot a water bullet from his mouth while the human was off balance.
Having dodged Arlong's attack, Noah barely noticed the water bullet coming in his direction, but used his sword and cut the bullet in half before moving on to his main opponent.
"My turn." Noah said calmly when he appeared at Arlong's side, his fist already in his ribs.
BANG!
Being propelled by the immense force of the punch, Arlong flew towards the mansion, his body devastating everything in place and only stopping when it hit the wall, creating cracks in it as well. But with an unusual resistance to pain, he got up as if nothing had happened.
"Shahahaha, you really are something, you miserable human." Arlong commented, but soon his face changed to anger when he saw that Noah was not focused on him, "Chew!"
"Hundred-Shot Water Gun!"
In a desperate move, Chew ignored all the pain he was feeling and began to shoot water bullets repeatedly from his mouth.
Caught in the rain of water bullets, Noah started swinging his sword and dodging the bullets while making the wind carry the rest. Until he got close enough to attack. And with a spinning kick, his leg carried a violent force of wind.
When he was about to end the life of the fish-man in front of him, Arlong did exactly as he expected and threw a pillar in his direction to stop him. But that didn't stop him at all, just putting even more wind force into his kick.
BANG!
With the strenght he put in, the pillar was destroyed and scattered everywhere. And at the same time, Noah slightly moved his torso back when some shark teeth appeared from the dust.
"You're going to die here, human!" Arlong had two sets of dentures in his hands as he began to relentlessly attack Noah.
"I don't think so." Noah smiled as he unsheathed his sword again and decided to get a little more serious in the fight.
Dodging Arlong's attacks again, which were at the limit of his perception and dodge speed, Noah found an opening and created a wind spear, sending it straight to one of Arlong's eyes.
Caught off guard, the wind spear tore through his flesh and eye. And before the wind could destroy the rest of the head, he managed to dodge.
"AAAHHH! DIE!" Arlong felt the pain when one of his eyes was destroyed, but that did not stop his attack at all.
Sword against teeth, Noah and Arlong started to exchange attack against attack in an unstoppable way. Arlong didn't seem to know the word 'stamina', as his blows were faster and stronger every moment. But, crazier than him, Noah also didn't seem to know that.
The sword blows were becoming more and more dangerous, and his manipulation of the wind more skillful as he attacked. Only in a true battle would someone be able to exhibit a level of accelerated growth, and he was doing exactly that with his swordsmanship.
"Water Cannon!"
Chew somehow managed to ingest enough water somewhere, his belly swelling as he formed the large attack that could pose a potential danger to Noah.
"Attack!" Arlong also noticed this and intensified his attacks even more, completely preventing Noah from dodging or finding time to retaliate.
'How can they forget that I have wind powers every time?' Noah felt strange about this, but just ignored it with a smile.
And just as he was about to form another wind blade to stop the attack, gunshots sounded at the battle site.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
And soon after that, bloody holes appeared in Chew's belly, accompanied by the large volume of water that was there. And with just one last shocked breath, he fell to the ground, dead.
Seizing the opportunity that his opponent was shocked by Chew's sudden death, Noah manipulated the wind around at the same time he found an opening and kicked Arlong again. And with the improved power of the strike, Arlong went through the mansion's walls.
BOOM!
Now with free time, Noah looked towards the gate of Arlong Park. And with what he saw, he had a smile on his face.
"Noah!" Nojiko shouted at him while waving, and in her hands were two flintlock pistols that were still smoking from the shots. Nami was next to her, also smiling while holding her staff.
"Hello." Noah had a smile on his face as he looked at the two girls, as they really had the courage to come here.
"We are here to help you, so you can-" Nami waved her staff excitedly while talking, but soon her face filled with terror, "Watch out!"
Arlong appeared from nowhere, his eyes bloodshot and his pupils like those of a Sea King, indicating that he had entered Berserk Mode. In his hands was Kiribachi, which slashed towards Noah's body with a violent force.
SLASH!
At this moment, for the first time, Noah felt a real danger of death, and this caused a shiver to run up his spine, a smile forming on his face. Making layers of wind around his sword, he counterattacked with a blow of his own.
Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing!
With impact after impact of the two swords, Noah and Arlong began to engage in a fierce battle. The winds generated by the clash of the two swords were fierce enough that Nami and Nojiko at a distance had to retreat.
"Look!" Nami suddenly pointed to one of the fish-men on the ground, who was being blown towards them by the wind and also briefly woke up.
"What..." Pisaro had just woken up after feeling the worst pain of his life, when he saw a wooden staff hitting him right in the face.
Bang!
"I think it's better to stay on the ground!" Nami hit his head again just for safety, feeling some kind of pride in herself. For the first time, she managed to hit one of the people who made her suffer for years. Even if he was the weakest of them...
In the battlefield between Noah and Arlong, the latter was finally, after so many confrontations, showing the slightest sign of wear by swinging his sword a little weaker. His eyes also began to return to normal slowly, his berserk state taking a toll on him.
And despite also being quite tired, Noah did not show this, but rather increased the frequency of the attacks. His manipulation of the wind improved even more when he applied another layer of wind to the sword and attacked even more fiercely.
"AAAHH! YOU BASTARD!" Arlong roared in anger when he felt his forearm being cut, in a deep and bloody line. But he didn't have time to think because his arm was also cut off shortly after, "YOU ABHORRENT HUMAN!"
Still, he managed to grab a handful of water and throw it at Noah. The speed and strength he put behind this was enough to kill any normal human being!
"Shoryo no Mizu!"
But Noah was not normal. A blade of wind formed on his sword when it was sent flying towards Arlong's water bullet.
"Tobu Zangeki!"
And with little effort, the two strikes cancelled each other out and they returned to confront again!
"He really is..." Nami couldn't hold back her tears as she watched Noah battle against the monster who killed her mother. And realizing that he was winning, her emotions seemed to want to break free from her with each successful strike.
"Yes, he is winning." Nojiko also shed some tears, the smile on her face looking strange. Not for a second did she want to take her eyes off Noah, who was fighting at all times for their freedom.
With one injury after another appearing on his body, Arlong began to panic. Despite wanting to put more strength into his blows, his fatigue did not allow him to bring out more potential.
In a last attempt to strike him, Arlong swung Kiribachi with all his strength again. But it was a shame that it no longer represented the same threat.
Without bothering to dodge, Noah stood still as the blade came towards him. But as soon as it was about to hit him, he raised his hand and held the sword directly!
Puchi!
"I've always wanted to do this…" Noah felt a twinge of pain in his hand and saw the vibrant blood running down his arm. But contrary to pain, he was feeling a sense of accomplishment. Looking directly into the scared eyes of Arlong, he spoke with a smile, "I hope you can join Fish Tiger and his brothers."
And with this weakness open, Noah showed no mercy as he used all his remaining spiritual energy and formed a blade of wind that cut Arlong's legs from the knee down. And still holding Kiribachi, he smashed it and the tooth blade he was holding was completely broken.
BREAK!
"YOU MISERABLE HUMAN! I WILL END YOU-" Arlong began to yell, ignoring all the pain he was feeling at the moment. But before he could go any further, his throat was cut.
And without the slightest desire to see his enemy suffer anymore, Noah used the little strenght he had left and struck his sword into Arlong's heart, definitively killing him.
Thrust!
Watching Arlong slowly realize his state, Noah stared at his gaze until the last moment, when he felt there was no more shine in his eyes. And finally, removing his sword from his chest, he sheathed it back.
Thud!
"Do not worry, I will take good care of your sister."
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