"Young Master, an unidentified ship is approaching from the left side of the sea."
In the Azure Tide Sea, aboard a pirate ship flying a grinning Jolly Roger, a scruffy man—covered in dripping liquid and with snot running down his nose—walked onto the deck to report to the young man lounging on a beach chair.
Golden short hair, sunglasses, a floral shirt, and knee-length shorts—this was the young man's appearance.
Hearing his subordinate's report, the young man let out an "Oh?", clearly surprised that someone dared to approach him.
On any other day, he might have been interested. But not today.
He had negotiations with the World Government about joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea!
With the bargaining chips he had, he was confident that the World Government would grant him a spot.
"Sink it."
"Understood."
The snot-nosed man showed no surprise at the order and turned away to carry it out.
Shortly after he left, the sound of cannon fire erupted from the pirate ship.
"Fufufufu..."
Listening to the cannon blasts, the young man let out a sinister laugh. He might not have been the strongest on this vast ocean, but he was no nameless nobody either.
For those who dared to provoke his authority, their fate was already sealed.
---
"Damn it... they just opened fire out of nowhere!"
Revy furiously pulled out the pistol strapped to her thigh, quickly aiming at the incoming cannonballs.
Logically speaking, shooting at cannonballs with a pistol was ridiculous.
However, this world didn't operate on logic.
In just one month, Revy had shown the most significant growth among the crew.
After thoroughly mastering two ninja basic scrolls, she had successfully trained her chakra.
Although her chakra reserves were pitifully low—barely enough to even perform a Substitution Jutsu—her talent had left Kisame utterly shocked.
Somehow, with that minuscule amount of chakra, she had developed an entirely new way of attacking.
Holding her twin pistols, she infused her chakra into the bullets as they fired.
The bullets, faintly glowing with orange-red rippling energy, struck the incoming cannonballs and instantly triggered violent explosions...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Every cannonball that could have hit them was intercepted.
Kisame stood at the side, eyes widened in astonishment.
"This little girl is a genius!
She actually found a way to use chakra like this?"
Though it wasn't as powerful as ninjutsu, it was a completely new approach. He made a mental note to test her chakra nature later.
---
"You guys stay here."
After the explosions subsided, Kisame realized he had to stop their opponents from firing again. He couldn't afford to let their only mode of transport get destroyed.
Leaving those words behind, he jumped off the ship.
"Hey, don't just—"
Seeing Kisame leap into the sea, Zeff was startled and rushed to stop him, but it was already too late.
However, when he reached the edge of the ship, his eyes went wide with disbelief.
"Impossible… He's standing on the ocean?!"
Revy once again witnessed an unbelievable sight, her beautiful eyes sparkling with excitement.
She had asked Kisame before how he could walk on water.
Kisame, without any reservations, had explained the fundamentals of chakra control to her.
However, understanding was one thing—actually doing it was a whole different story.
Her brain: "Got it, makes sense."
Her feet: "Nope, not happening."
It was a classic case of "sounds easy, but actually impossible to master."
As both Revy and Zeff stared in shock, Kisame—who had landed on the water—suddenly took off running.
A white streak formed behind him as he dashed across the surface, heading straight for the pirate ship that had been firing at them.
"(ω)!NANI?!!"
On the enemy pirate ship, jaws dropped and eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Did I just see that correctly?!"
"Th-That's a person?!"
"A human running on the ocean?!
Shock quickly turned into horror. Since the day they were born, they had never heard of a person running across the sea!
"Wait… Could he be like that Marine Vice Admiral Aokiji? Some kind of Devil Fruit user?"
"Idiot! A Devil Fruit user would sink in the ocean!"
"Shit! He's almost here—go warn the Young Master!"
The cannoneers finally snapped out of their stupor. One of them immediately bolted toward the cabin, screaming—
"B-Bad news! Young Master! There's a swordsman running on the water—"
"Fufufufu… He's already here."
Before the panicked underling could even finish his report, the young man lounging on the beach chair slowly stood up.
---
At nearly three meters tall, his sheer size blocked the light, casting an ominous shadow over the trembling cannoneer.
The oppressive aura alone made the subordinate break out in cold sweat.
"I-I'm sorry!"
Feeling the immense pressure, the man didn't even know what else to say. He simply bowed and apologized repeatedly.
"Fufufufu… No need. Just step aside."
The young man let out a sinister chuckle, shifting his gaze to the newcomer at the ship's railing.
The figure wasn't as tall as him, but he was far more muscular, carrying what looked like a bandage-wrapped giant slab of a sword on his shoulder.
Seeing the man's face clearly, the young pirate was momentarily taken aback, before breaking into another dark grin.
"Fufufufu… Jinbe's subordinate, huh?"
"Jinbe?"
Kisame, who had no idea who that was, blinked in confusion.
"I don't know any 'Jinbe.' I just heard you were strong."
A Fish-Man who didn't know Jinbe?
Yeah, right!
The young pirate's smile twisted even further, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Fufufufu… You ignorant fool. You dare challenge me even though you know who I am?"
"It doesn't matter if you're his subordinate or not…"
"You're not leaving here alive."
As he spoke, his right hand lifted slightly, with his index and middle fingers curling ever so slightly.
At the same time, his lips stretched into a merciless grin.
"Hmm?"
As the young man curled his fingers, Kisame suddenly felt a sense of danger.
Without thinking, he swung Samehada behind him, using its massive frame as a shield.
A split second later—SNAP!
Several nearly invisible threads appeared out of nowhere, tightening around Samehada with a harsh creaking sound.
"A puppeteer?"
The sight of those transparent threads reminded Kisame of the puppet masters from Sunagakure—especially Sasori.
Although these strings resembled chakra threads, they carried no trace of chakra whatsoever.
Yet, Kisame could sense how deadly they were.
They were nearly invisible to the naked eye, but their sheer strength and cutting power far exceeded any chakra threads he'd seen before.
"Is this… another Devil Fruit ability?"
Thanks to Zeff, Kisame had learned a lot about this world's power system over the past month.
He was no longer as clueless as when he first arrived.
Glancing at the transparent strings, he couldn't help but compare them to the first Devil Fruit user he'd encountered in this world.
Same concept—completely different execution.
"Fufufufu… That sword of yours is quite special."
The young man's eyes gleamed as he watched Kisame effortlessly block his attack.
Then, with a sly grin, he changed the subject—
"I could use a man like you. How about joining my family?"
Kisame snorted, revealing his shark-like teeth in a wide grin.
"Not interested."
Then, after a short pause—
"Though if you're willing to part with some supplies, I'd be more than grateful."
CRACK!
With a flex of his arm, Kisame ripped the strings apart using brute force alone.
The sheer toughness of the threads made it clear that they weren't normal—but it still wasn't enough to restrain him.
"Tch… These things are pretty sturdy, huh?"
"NANI?!"
Doflamingo's face immediately darkened.
He knew better than anyone just how strong his threads were.
Yet this fish-man had just torn through them with raw physical strength alone.
For the first time, Doflamingo's gaze sharpened—he could no longer afford to underestimate his opponent.
"Heh… You've caught my interest, fish-man."
His tone dropped, laced with cold amusement.
"But that's not a good thing for you."
Kisame's grin widened.
"Is that so?"
He cracked his neck and tightened his grip on Samehada.
"Personally, I think fighting you sounds like a great way to pass the time."
BOOM!
With a single step, Kisame shattered the wooden deck beneath him, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the planks.
Then, without hesitation, he swung Samehada down, aiming to crush Doflamingo in a single, overwhelming strike!
(End of Chapter)