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"Impossible!"
"How could you become so strong!?"
After seeing Nami kill two of his subordinates with his own eyes, Arlong no longer dared to look down on her the way he used to.
But countless questions surged through his mind.
"Even the power of a Devil Fruit couldn't make Nami become this powerful in such a short time!"
Arlong, who had escaped from the New World, knew very well:
Although Devil Fruit abilities were incredibly diverse, their effectiveness was largely determined by the user's actual strength!
Just like Sugar of the Donquixote Family with her Hobby-Hobby Fruit.
If an ordinary person ate that fruit, they would never be able to utilize its powers to the extent that Sugar could.
On the other hand...
Even without the Hobby-Hobby Fruit's ability, Sugar would still likely have become one of the Donquixote Family officers, just not as invaluable as she was now.
If it were just a Devil Fruit, it would be impossible for Nami to become so powerful.
"So... is the weapon in her hand amplifying her fruit ability, or does all her power come from that weapon!?"
Arlong, confident in his experience, immediately focused on the staff in Nami's hand.
"That must be it! This damn woman has been using that staff to unleash attacks from the beginning!"
"It must be the staff that's the source of her power!!!"
A vicious gleam suddenly flashed in Arlong's eyes, as if he had discovered Nami's fatal weakness.
Facing Nami's shout, he immediately grinned, showing his sharp teeth, and let out a wild laugh.
"Nami, I've discovered your weakness!!!"
"Weakness!?"
Faced with Arlong's seemingly desperate roar, Nami merely raised the corner of her mouth in a cold smile.
"How ridiculous."
"You haven't even seen my full strength, yet you dare say such a thing!?"
"What's even more ridiculous is..."
Nami's hands suddenly clenched the Clima-tact tightly, and her eyes grew moist.
"Bell-mère, how could she die at the hands of trash like you!!!"
Precious childhood memories flooded Nami's heart.
Thunder suddenly flashed across the sky, and Nami quickly raised the weather staff in her hand, channeling even more lightning power.
But at that moment...
'There's an opening!!!'
Even though his combat abilities had deteriorated from years of complacency, Arlong still found a crucial opportunity in this life-or-death situation.
Taking advantage of the moment Nami raised her staff, his legs suddenly tensed and he pushed hard against the ground.
BOOM!!!
With Arlong's full strength, spider web-like cracks appeared on the broken masonry floor.
Arlong shot forward like an underwater torpedo, aiming for Nami's arm.
"Shark Teeth!!!"
Slash!
Blood suddenly spurted out!
Arlong bit into Nami's left arm with his razor-sharp teeth.
Due to his fishman type, his bite force was astonishing even among his kind! It was precisely this biting power that had helped him secure his position as a leader in the Sun Pirates.
"What!?"
The sudden pain made Nami cry out.
The next second, Arlong, who had been in a half-crouching position, suddenly stood upright. Taking advantage of his height of over two meters, he lifted Nami's slender body with his teeth and shook her violently!
CRASH!!!
The injured Nami was thrown to the ground, and the weather staff fell from her hand.
Seeing this, Arlong immediately pounced forward and kicked the staff far away.
He looked down at Nami on the ground triumphantly and sneered:
"Without that weapon, let's see how you can act so cocky now!?"
"Nami-san!"
On the Merry, when he saw Nami being attacked, Sanji immediately cried out in alarm, putting one foot on the ship's railing, preparing to jump over to rescue her.
His eyes blazed with fury, as if he could burn Arlong with his gaze alone.
But at that moment, Luffy reached out and grabbed his ankle, stopping him from jumping.
The same concern showed in Luffy's eyes, but he said: "Nami's battle isn't over yet, Sanji!"
"Luffy..."
Sanji clenched his fists angrily, gritted his teeth and trembled for several seconds, but finally relaxed his hands.
Though worried about Nami's situation, he knew to respect her choice to fight.
In fact, not just Sanji, but everyone in the Straw Hat crew looked tense at that moment.
After all, how could they be happy seeing their crewmate severely injured?
As for Red...
Although he also felt concerned for the injured Nami,
He had witnessed too many instances of Nami being attacked in the Pokémon world.
Electric shocks, burns, collisions, sneak attacks...
In her quest to become stronger quickly, Nami had constantly challenged powerful Pokémon one after another.
Though she eventually emerged victorious, she had suffered countless wounds along the way.
Thanks to the Pokémon Center, these injuries never left permanent marks on her body.
What's more, Red had a more precise way than anyone else to monitor Nami's current condition!
HP: 88/99
Arlong was indeed a pirate from the New World. He had managed to deplete a significant portion of Nami's health with just one attack.
While the HP data couldn't convey the actual situation beyond the fact that zero meant death,
It was enough to show that Arlong's attack had indeed caused considerable damage to Nami.
But...
'She could have easily used electricity to speed up and dodge, yet she chose to take the hit directly?'
'Is she trying to toy with Arlong before finishing him, or...'
Seeing Nami, who was clearly in better condition than she appeared, lying on the ground with a pained expression, Red frowned slightly.
Meanwhile, at Arlong Park.
Because of Sanji's shout, Arlong finally noticed the presence of the Going Merry.
He was stunned momentarily, then his mouth stretched into a wide grin:
"Interesting!"
"That approaching ship... you must have come from there..."
"There seem to be several humans aboard. Are these the helpers you found?"
As if amused by a private joke, Arlong laughed cruelly and taunted Nami who lay on the ground:
"Did you use your dirty tricks to lure them here too!?"
"Humans are so stupid!"
"Don't worry!"
"Before you die, I'll make sure they know the truth and understand how thoroughly you've deceived them!"
"Because I'm going to kill all these humans... one by one in front of you!!!"
"But first..."
Arlong turned his attention back to Nami at his feet, his eyes scanning her limbs.
"Let your screams comfort the spirits of my fallen comrades!!!"
"Feel the pain, Nami!!!"
Arlong suddenly raised his foot, then stomped down on Nami's arm with a ferocious expression.
BOOM!!!
A violent sound echoed through the air.
Sand and rocks flew as the ground cracked beneath the impact.
The sheer force demonstrated the terrifying power behind Arlong's stomp.
But the next second.
"Hmm!?"
Arlong stared at the slowly dissipating image under his foot, and panic spread across his face.
"Impossible! When did she—!?"
He screamed in confusion.
At that moment, a teasing feminine laugh came from behind him: "Hehehe..."
Arlong spun around, shocked to see Nami, who had somehow retrieved her weather staff, smiling at him with confidence.
"When did you start thinking I wasn't using Mirage Tempo?"
"Besides."
"Who told you... that without my weather staff, I can't be formidable?"
Nami suddenly tossed the weather staff toward Arlong.
Click!
There was a slight sound of a mechanism activating.
The staff spinning through the air suddenly split into three sections, connected by two long metal chains, and struck Arlong directly.
Immediately after, white mist sprayed from both ends of the weather staff, causing it to spin rapidly around Arlong.
In the blink of an eye, Arlong was bound by the metal chains.
"Damn it! What is this!?"
Arlong, unexpectedly restrained, couldn't help but panic.
He summoned all his strength to break free from the chains.
But Nami simply scoffed: "Don't waste your energy!"
"These chains are made of special metal from the Grand Line. Their strength is second only to Sea Prism Stone, and Usopp spent a fortune to acquire them!"
"Though I suspect that merchant was definitely exaggerating..."
"With your strength, it's impossible to break free!"
"Go to hell!!! Arlong!!!"
CRACKLE!!!
Brilliant lightning erupted around Nami once more.
"No, it's impossible!"
"You can't be this powerful!"
Arlong struggled in disbelief.
But Nami had had enough.
She extended her fingers in the shape of a gun, and smiled with satisfaction: "It's over."
"Thunderbolt!!!"
BOOM!!!
The terrifying power of lightning surged from Nami's body like a circling dragon, instantly engulfing Arlong.
The next second...
Arlong's agonized scream echoed throughout Arlong Park:
"AAAAARRRRGGHH!!!!!!"