Chapter 18: Freedom
The man closed his wound and looked at Zack.
"Do you really think you can take me down? I have learned both Soru and Tekkai."
Zack laughed and said "Do you really think I am an idiot? Even Smoker who came from Marine Headquarters can't perform Soru and Tekkai that easily. Only those who truly focused on it can show such strength."
"I have never heard of any marines that came from Headquarter except for Smoker. And, with your strength, you wouldn't be working under that trash. Let me guess your identity."
"You aren't a pirate who colludes with the marines. While you protect him, he will protect your information. You are using the weakest sea to be safe. Since you aren't a pirate, then I guess you are someone who defected the marines and they find out about you."
"That's why you can perform Soru and Tekkai and also the reason why that trash would collude with you without any hesitation. Did I guess that incorrectly?"
Hearing his words, that man narrowed his eyes. His heart was in turmoil because Zack didn't guess incorrectly. Although Zack didn't tell him the entire background, he did point out major things.
He was the Marine Captain from Headquarters. During his time in Grandline, he encountered a pirate ship. Although he managed to destroy them, he let the pirate captain escape for some treasures and also because he didn't want to be severely injured.
One of the subordinates reported it to HQ and after that, he was hunted on the Grandline. So, he basically chose the weakest sea and came here. He stayed under Nezumi since he couldn't simply replace Nezumi.
And, if Nezumi dies here and got replaced, he might not be able to stay here for long especially if the next captain is someone from HQ or someone with a hard head, it would be troublesome for him.
That's why he tried to save Nezumi despite knowing just how trashy that guy is.
He clenched his fists tightly and stared at Zack. Since Zack could tell his backstory, it wouldn't be hard for Zack to understand his weakness. Although he can perform Tekkai and Soru, he can't perform them continuously.
In fact, he can't do it more than five times a day without resting. He has already used Soru once and Tekkai twice. Now, he can only perform those two times.
He carefully watched Zack's movement waiting for a chance to inflict a deadly blow. Unfortunately, Zack didn't move either. He was also studying the man.
Both of them moved their foot to the side and suddenly, both of them dashed toward each other. Zack struck first with his right arm. He simply jabbed to see his reaction and the man dodged it without a problem.
But the second later, Zack swing his fist toward the direction he dodged and punched his cheeks.
The man couldn't comprehend what just happened.
"Huuuuu!" Zack basically stood there staring at him without giving him any vibes for the next move. But, suddenly, his right leg kicked from the side and smashed his ribs.
Of course, the man didn't go down that easily. He had trained Tekkai after all. He swung his right arm and landed a chop on Zack's neck. The strike paralyzed Zack for a split second but as soon as he came out of it, his left fist struck forward.
The man with the goatee retreated as the fist passed by a few centimeters in front of him. That man instantly raised his hand and caught Zack's fist, striking Zack in his ribs.
Although he didn't expect Zack to punch with his right fist. At this moment, both landed their fists on each other's ribs.
"Gah!"
Both of them coughed out the blood at the same time. They locked as both of them didn't know how to make the next strike.
Bang!
But suddenly, a sound of a pistol rang which distracted both of them. The bullet moved toward Zack but Zack's body moved toward the side and the bullet struck the man on his chest.
"Tch!" Zack snorted and freed his grip. Although it was shameful that his opponent got injured by someone else, he didn't stick to guilt for long. He simply freed his arm and took a step forward.
He clenched his fist and poured a lot of strength into his arm, pushing himself toward him and using the momentum to land a punch on that man's chest.
Bang!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The man crashed onto the ground with the bullet on his shoulder and the broken bone on his chest. Of course, Zack didn't stop there. He turned around to the man that just shot.
During this battle, his senses were terrifyingly sharpened. It was unknown why that happened but it gave him the edge to strike without giving his opponent a chance to read his movement.
Otherwise, with his strength, it would take a miracle to defeat Marine Captain from HQ. And, it was also thanks to Nezumi's idiot who shot a bullet. Originally, he tried to shoot Zack but Zack managed to dodge it while that man couldn't.
When Nezumi saw Zack walking toward him, he tried shooting more but before he could shoot twice, Zack was already in front of him. He thrust his punch filled with a bit of anger into his guts.
"Gah!"
Nezumi coughed out blood and fell to his knees. Zack held his head and asked, "Where is all the money you took?"
"I found it, Zack." Nami shouted.
"Oh! Let's end this." Zack slammed Nezumi's head on the ground and walked toward the man with a goatee. He was very much injured but not dead. He looked at Nami and asked, "Can you wait for a moment?"
"Why?" Nami asked with confusion.
Zack cracked his knuckles and said, "I need to get something settled with this man."
After that, for the first time in his life, Zack tortured someone.
...
In Arlong Park,
"Boy, die!" Arlong opened his mouth and moved forward to bite Luffy. At this moment, Luffy's one leg was stuck on the ground making it harder for him to move.
"One Sword Style"
Splash!
Suddenly, a sword slashed Arlong's chest and pushed him back.
"Leopard Strike!"
Zoro stood in front of Luffy with a single sword in his hand.
"You? What happened to Hachi?" Arlong furiously shouted.
"Oh! That stupid octopus. I broke all of his swords." Zoro replied while holding a sword in his hand. The next moment, he moved forward. Arlong dodged to the side and smashed his hand inside the wall.
He took out his own sword, Kiribachi. With this sword in his hand, he felt much more secure fighting against Zoro.
Both of them battled with their swords but slowly, Zoro started getting pushed back. Arlong managed to use this opportunity and slash Zoro with his sharp spiky blade.
Splash!
The recently healed wound was once again opened up. Zoro's situation became worse and on other hand, Sanji and Usopp were still fighting against the remaining fishmen.
"Zoro!"
Luffy shouted and anger flashed in his eyes. He raised his left leg and started contracting. Since only his right leg was stuck, he could still free himself without others' help.
"Rubber Stamp!"
His left leg stopped contracting and smashed the ground with immense force. It broke the ground beneath him and pushed him toward the sky.
"Arlong!"
Luffy roared from the sky which gave Arlong a heads up. He immediately jumped into the water.
'That stupid brat. Hehe! You gave me your position and you are in the air. Nothing could be better than this.'
Arlong thought as he dived deeper into his pool. His body started spinning and with the power of fishman genes, he managed to propel himself toward the sky from the pool.
"Shark Tooth Drill!"
His mouth was wide open, showing his strong teeth. He heads straight toward Luffy who suddenly smirks.
"Gotcha!"
Luffy had contracted his right fist to the size of a baby's arm. When he came close, Arlong bit his chest with his tooth drill. The blood came out but taking this chance, Luffy managed to put his fist next to Arlong's head.
"Fist of Rubber!"
Bang!
Arlong's teeth came out at once and his body went straight down toward his building. It crashed into Nami's room, then break into another room, until his body crashed to the ground and the entire building fell into rubble.
"Great Mutton!"
On the side, Sanji gave a powerful kick to his enemy in his guts, and send him colliding toward the wall. At the same time, Usopp arrived alone bragging about defeating his enemy.
Luffy fell to the top of the rubble and looked toward the sea.
"Zack and Nami still haven't arrived yet!"
"So, what do we do Luffy? Go and look for them!" Zoro asked.
"Zack is with her. Let's wait!" Luffy shook his head.
On other hand, the villagers were stunned.
"T-t-they defeated Arlong."
"Does this mean?"
"WE ARE FREE."
The entire village cheered.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone