Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

Before this, Nami continued her usual practice of stealing and drawing sea charts throughout the East Blue. This time, she happened to have stolen a pirate crew's treasure, which is why she returned to Arlong Park to report.

Unexpectedly, I saw Karina, whom I hadn't heard from since we parted ways.

Nami immediately tensed up.

This was one of the few people she could barely call friends while she was out there making her way in the world.

She didn't know why Karina had come here with that man and was causing trouble at Arlong Paradise, but she knew very well that Karina, like herself, had no ability to fight fishmen head-on.

Why come here?

Looking at Ah Long beside her, she bit her lip and clenched her fists.

She quickly regained her composure and returned to normal.

She stepped forward and looked at Li Mingyuan with a cold face, asking, "What are you doing here? How dare a mere human attack the Arlong Pirates? Don't you have a death wish?"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Li Mingyuan looked at Nami.

"So, who are you then?"

Li Mingyuan countered with a question.

"You can see that now, right? I'm a member of the Arlong Pirates."

Nami turned slightly to the side, showing off the symbol on her arm.

She pulled out several short sticks from behind her back, and after a few quick combinations, she put them together to form a long stick.

"Anyone who dares to defy the fishmen must not be allowed to do so."

Nami lowered her head slightly, gritting her teeth as she said, "Be prepared!"

Nami pointed the stick at Li Mingyuan.

Li Mingyuan has not yet responded to this.

But at that moment, Karina, who had been sitting still, suddenly stood up as if she had realized something and anxiously grabbed Li Mingyuan's right arm.

"Nami is not the enemy! Don't kill her!!"

Karina cried out in alarm.

Although Li Mingyuan had come for Nami from the very beginning, and even killing the fishmen was just a means to get close to her, Karina, who was unaware of this, couldn't help but tremble when she thought of the horrific state of the fishmen around her whose bodies were still warm.

Nami simply couldn't imagine what would happen if the same thing happened to her.

After his clothes were tugged, Li Mingyuan paused for a moment, turned his head to look at Karina beside him, and said in a tone as if he knew nothing, "Is she someone you know?"

"He's my friend!"

Karina replied without hesitation, her voice firm and resolute: "If you're going to kill Nami, then even if I die, you'll never get those 20 million Berries!"

"...So that's how it is, you're threatening me with your death."

Faced with this situation, Li Mingyuan's lips curved into a barely perceptible smile. He no longer needed to find a reason not to kill Nami.

However, his expression returned to normal in the next second.

"Normally I wouldn't fall for this, but you're lucky, Karina. I happen to be in a good mood today, so it doesn't matter if I let someone who's insignificant to me go."

Li Mingyuan sighed deeply.

Hearing this, Karina's eyes lit up. "Then...!?"

"But besides the 20 million Berries, you have to promise me one more thing afterwards."

Li Mingyuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Don't worry, it won't be anything embarrassing."

After saying that, Li Mingyuan didn't bother to see how Karina reacted, and turned to face the Arlong Pirates again, as well as Nami, who was standing not far away, glaring at him with a fierce expression.

So, what should we do next?

Li Mingyuan's mind raced.

To be honest, his inner self is far less composed than he appears on the outside.

Although Nami looked surprised when she saw Karina appear at Arlong Park, Li Mingyuan was actually more surprised to see Nami there at this time.

"Why did they have to come back at this time of year?"

Li Mingyuan had a headache.

Li Mingyuan understood Nami's situation and wasn't angry.

I just feel sad.

Even now, Nami, seeing the fishmen he had defeated, couldn't believe he could defeat Arlong. In the past, there had been those who wanted to challenge the fishmen on this island, but in the end, they all died. Even if someone could defeat an ordinary fishman, Arlong—a monster whose arm could lift an entire house and whose bite could take a cannonball—was a match for most of the East Blue's marines and bounty hunters.

Before Nami is certain that she can defeat Arlong, she will continue to lie low and resist outsiders as part of the Arlong Pirates. Ultimately, the island's inhabitants will bear the consequences of angering the Arlong Pirates, and she cannot risk helping someone whose background she doesn't know.

However, while Li Mingyuan understands Nami, the problem now is that he can fight alone to protect Karina, but Nami, although she may be his teammate in the future, is still his enemy now. In other words, in the upcoming battle, he must neither harm Nami nor be harmed by Nami, and he must also protect Karina.

Isn't this a case of being stubborn and ending up with two blocked ends?

Just as Li Mingyuan was unable to make up his mind, fortunately, the situation did not last long.

Because of the fishman Arlong, who thoughtfully solved this problem for him.

"Step back, Nami."

Ah Long, his face grim, said in an icy tone, "This is not a battle you, a mere human, can interfere in."

"How dare he harm my people... I will personally execute this bastard!"

Without even turning his head, Ah Long directly ordered Nami, who was standing not far behind him, to retreat.

Arlong the fishman stared intently at Li Mingyuan. Normally, he would be very interested in watching humans fight each other, or even watching Nami determined to fight against outsiders. These were all sources of his interest. But now, he was not in the mood for that.

Because Li Mingyuan is clearly different from the previous overconfident guys, he has already caused substantial casualties to the fishmen.

This kind of guy would feel extreme torment even if he survived for just one more second.

Upon hearing Arlong's words, Nami's clenched fist almost snapped the stick in two.

She decided to let go of the man in front of her, whose background she didn't know. If possible, she had wanted to use the opportunity of the battle to let Karina escape from Aaron's Paradise. But if Aaron wanted to take action himself, she would have no room for maneuver.

For a fleeting moment, Nami even had the thought of fighting Arlong to the death.

But the images of the villagers, her sister, and the treasure chest that was no longer so far from 100 million Berries kept flashing through her mind, which ultimately made her barely suppress the impulse in her heart.

"Okay, I understand."

Recalling the scene of Karina anxiously grabbing the mysterious man and begging him not to kill her, and the large number of fishmen lying nearby, Nami squeezed out a short sentence, "I'll stay here and watch until the result is in."

It was just a very ordinary, common compromise statement, but when Nami said it, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength, standing there swaying uncontrollably.

Taking a deep breath, Nami put down the stick in her hand and took a few steps back to the vicinity of the main building.

As Nami stepped back, Arlong spoke again.

"Human, since you admit that you did all of this, then the situation is simple."

"Although I don't know if you're a bounty hunter or just a passing Marine, I'll make you truly regret messing with Arlong Paradise."

"Hachi!!"

Suddenly, Ah Long raised his voice and shouted, "If you heard me, reply right now!"

"...Huh? What are you all doing gathered here?"

Not long after Ah Long's shouts reverberated.

Suddenly appearing in the room was a slightly puzzled, simple-minded voice: "Didn't you say you were going to have a banquet? The roast pig for Moo Moo isn't ready yet."

The sound originated from behind!

An unexpected sound came from the direction that made Karina tremble. She instinctively turned around and saw that right at the main entrance of the entrance to the sea in Alon Paradise, in the same spot where Li Mingyuan had dealt with the fishmen without any reaction, an octopus-shaped fishman was now slowly peeking out of the entrance with a puzzled look on his face.

Although Li Mingyuan dealt with the fishmen quickly and with virtually no extra sound, that's no excuse why the fishmen didn't notice the estuary!

Unlike Karina, whose face changed drastically, Li Mingyuan was also surprised to hear the voice behind him. However, unlike Karina, he did not appear particularly nervous.

Because the moment he heard that familiar voice, he recognized the other person's identity.

"Is it Hachi the Fishman?"

Li Mingyuan turned slightly to the side, glancing at the main gate of the estuary out of the corner of his eye.

Its mouth is like a trumpet, it has six arms, and it has many strands of silver-gray hair that look like a five-pointed starfish on its head. The sun symbol representing the "Sun Pirates" is located in the center of its forehead.

His simple and honest appearance was exactly the same as the cartoon character he remembered.

This fish-man is the only Arlong Pirates member in the entire One Piece series to be redeemed and forgiven by Nami in the future.

Hachi, a six-sword style swordsman from Fishman Street.

Li Mingyuan was also somewhat surprised by the location where the other party appeared. He had blocked the entrance to the sea to prevent the possibility of fishmen going into the sea, and cleared out the fishmen at a speed that the fishmen in the main building could hardly notice. Did Xiao Ba, who was in front of the main gate of the entrance to the Alon Paradise, not feel anything about what was happening behind him?

However, when Li Mingyuan realized that the other party was Hachi, it didn't seem surprising. After all, in the original work, Zoro also dealt with a bunch of fishmen from Arlong Paradise, and Hachi at the estuary was also completely unaware of it. In fact, Zoro treated the enemy like a guest with great hospitality in a casual remark.

"New, something feels off... Wait a minute, those people lying around nearby, aren't they my comrades?! What happened? They're covered in blood."

Xiao Ba walked back to A Long Paradise as if he were a nobody, but when he saw the situation in front of him, he was shocked and his eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

"Xiao Ba, yes, look at that human man not far from you. He's the one who did all this."

With a stern face, Ah Long said, "The other officers haven't returned yet, but even so, we can't let our compatriots continue to bleed meaninglessly. As the swordsman second only to the leader of Fishman Island, it's time for you to prove yourself."

"New! Leave it to me, Brother Long!"

Xiao Ba pulled out six knives from somewhere, gripping each one with one of his six arms, and glared angrily at Li Mingyuan: "How dare you treat my companions like this! I'm enraged! I'm going to kill you!!"

Seeing this, Li Mingyuan's eyes gradually became expressionless.

"You think you can kill me?"

He began to speak.

He initially thought he was just a simpleton, but he was successfully redeemed in the later parts of the original story, so he was considering whether to let him go.

But since he deliberately sought death, he couldn't be blamed for being killed.

"Because you are an old acquaintance of that person, it wouldn't have mattered if we let you off the hook."

"If you want to die, then come forward."

Li Mingyuan waved to Xiao Ba, "I'll be your opponent."

Seeing this, Xiao Ba tensed up and immediately charged straight at Li Mingyuan.

"Hey! Then let me show you how powerful Six-Sword Style Hachi is!!"

"Six-Sword Style: Sheathed Sword!"

Xiao Ba frantically brandished six knives and lunged at Li Mingyuan and Karina.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Li Mingyuan, Ah Long was watching Xiao Ba make his move.

Before anyone knew it, a puddle of water had silently appeared in his palm.

"Now!"

Ah Long suddenly sprang up and slapped the water in his hand at Li Mingyuan.

In an instant, the seemingly ordinary water droplets suddenly shot towards Li Mingyuan like bullets.

On the surface, he used Xiao Ba to attract attention, but in reality, he took advantage of the fish-man's innate advantage and used ordinary water as "shotgun"; he never intended to have a fair fight from the beginning.

"Die, humans!!"

Ah Long roared.

Amidst a hail of blades, water bullets rained down from behind.

Li Mingyuan calmly watched the scene before him. His eyes flickered slightly, and in the blink of an eye, a pair of scarlet eyes with three tomoe appeared in his eyes again.

Everything around him began to slow down, decelerate, and even appear to stand still in his eyes at that moment.

"Speaking of which, since I came into this world, I have been fighting with the insight of these eyes, but I have never made good use of their other function."

Li Mingyuan calmly stared at the blade that was only centimeters away from his face.

"The Sharingan's insight goes beyond just seeing through this point."

His gaze sharpened.

Li Mingyuan raised his hand, recalling the actions of another fishman cadre against him on the cargo ship not long ago.

His movements were fluid and graceful, and he struck a pose similar to that of a karate practitioner.

"Fishman Karate -"

Xiao Ba stared at the man's familiar movements, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Even the fishman A Long behind Li Mingyuan stared at Li Mingyuan in shock at this moment.

"A thousand-watt straight punch!!"

Li Mingyuan roared out.

One punch!

A straight punch passed right through the gap in the flurry of six sword strikes and landed squarely on the chest of the fishman, Hachi.