One Piece: Starting with Creating the Strongest Character Design

Jinbe abruptly turned to look at Kitahara Tsune, his emerald green eyes instantly filled with disbelief and surprise, his brows furrowing tightly.

He had roamed the seas for decades and seen countless Devil Fruit users, but he had never seen such an ability before, which made him feel inexplicably wary.

A moment of silence hung in the air on the sea before Jinbe suppressed his surprise and said in a deep voice:

"What exactly do you want?"

His voice carried the deep, resonant quality characteristic of fishmen, yet concealed a subtle hint of wariness; the surrounding seawater seemed to ripple slightly in response to his tone.

Kitahara Tsune gently shook his head, his tone completely calm and devoid of any emotion:

"You'd better leave quickly, don't waste your time here."

He paused, looked up at the distant horizon, his gaze deep, and added:

"If nothing unexpected happens, the naval reinforcements that are coming will be Admiral candidate 'Kizaru' Borsalino."

The moment the word "Kizaru" was uttered, Jinbe's pupils contracted sharply, his muscles tensed instantly, and surprise completely replaced his previous wariness.

That Kizaru, who's known as a Marine monster and possesses the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit?

Once he sets his sights on someone, not only will he himself be doomed, but even his associates will likely find it impossible to escape.

Kitahara Tsune seemed to have anticipated his reaction, nodding slightly, his tone remaining calm:

"Yes, I'm afraid if he comes, you will all be arrested, without exception."

Jinbe stared intently at Kitahara Tsune. He couldn't understand why someone in a naval uniform would suddenly intervene to warn him, or even indirectly spare his life.

So he asked in a deep voice, "Why did you save me? We don't seem to have any connection whatsoever."

"I just can't stand the Celestial Dragons, that's all."

Kitahara Tsune spoke calmly, his tone undisguised, carrying a subtle hint of sarcasm.

"Furthermore, in my opinion, you haven't committed any evil deeds yet, so there's no need for you to be treated like fish on a chopping board by the Celestial Dragons' selfish desires and the Navy's orders."

The doubt in Jinbe's eyes did not lessen; instead, it deepened with confusion. He leaned forward slightly and pressed for an answer:

"Since you know the Celestial Dragons' ugliness and see through the World Government's hypocrisy, why do you still join the Navy? Instead of going along with their corrupt ways, why not join the Revolutionary Army and overthrow this decadent order together?"

To Jinbe's surprise, Kitahara Tsuneo did not hesitate at all and slowly said:

"I don't think the revolutionary army is wrong. Their ideals may be right, but I just want to ensure the current peaceful life of civilians. The revolutionary army's resistance will eventually lead to greater war, and it will be the unarmed ordinary people who suffer."

He paused, his tone becoming more impatient, and waved his hand:

"I'll let you off this time because of your captain. I hope I don't run into you again next time. Then I won't show any mercy."

Jinbe's eyes darted around as he weighed the pros and cons repeatedly in his mind.

He knew Kitahara Tsune wasn't lying, and he was well aware of Kizaru's strength; staying any longer would only be walking into a trap.

After a moment, he finally nodded slowly, giving Kitahara Tsune a deep look. His gaze was complex, containing gratitude, doubt, and a hint of inexplicable admiration.

Without further hesitation, he plunged into the water, transforming into a deep blue blur as he swam rapidly toward the shore.

Kitahara Tsune lay submerged in the water for a moment, making sure Jinbe was far enough away, before slowly surfacing, wiping the seawater from his face, and shouting loudly to the naval soldiers on the shore:

"Watch out, that merman is coming! Get ready!"

Before the naval soldiers on the shore could react, or even raise their weapons, Jinbe had already rushed to the vicinity of the shore.

He quickly formed hand seals, skillfully employing the Fishman's Gentle Technique. A powerful force gathered in his palms, which he slammed into the sea, instantly creating a large, churning pool that swept towards the shore.

Immediately afterwards, the fish-men from all around the shore rushed into those pools of water without hesitation. Using the force of the current, they swam swiftly into the deep sea like arrows released from a bow, leaving only a few blurry figures in the blink of an eye.

Upon seeing this, Kitahara Tsune immediately swam rapidly in the seawater, his body moving like an arrow, trying to hinder Jinbe's actions and prevent them from escaping smoothly.

He was incredibly fast, getting closer and closer to Jinbe. But just as his fingertips were about to touch the hem of Jinbe's clothes, the flowing pool of water suddenly vanished. All the fish-men had successfully dived into the sea and disappeared without a trace.

In this vast ocean, once the fish-men dive into the sea, they are almost impossible to catch. Even if Kizaru came, he might not be able to catch them in the sea.

Kitahara Tsune looked helpless, sighed softly, and slowly lifted his body off the water. He used the Moon Walk technique from the Six Styles of the Navy to walk on the air and return to the shore step by step.

He turned around, spread his hands at the bewildered naval soldiers around him, and said with a hint of regret:

"Everyone, go back and rest. It's a pity we were so close; they still managed to get away."

He turned to leave when he caught a glimpse of a blinding yellow flash in the corner of his eye. The light was fleeting, but it carried a chilling sense of oppression.

It's Kizaru!

He still made it.

Kitahara Tsune felt a chill run down his spine. He was about to speak and report everything that had just happened to Kizaru.

The yellow flash had already swept past him in an instant, speeding off in the direction where Jin Ping and the others had gone.

"The Eight-Foot Jade Curved Jewel".

Kizaru's voice, tinged with a lazy laugh, came from the yellow flash.

As soon as he finished speaking, countless slender yet extremely destructive yellow lasers shot out from the flash like a torrential rain, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, towards the fishmen who had not yet completely gone away.

Upon hearing the sound, Jinbe's expression changed drastically, and he immediately roared at his companions behind him:

"Dive underwater immediately! Don't surface!"

The fish-men, already terrified by the blinding laser, immediately obeyed Jinbe's call, plunging into the deep sea and diving as far as possible to the ocean floor.

Lasers struck the sea surface in dense array. Where they hit, the seawater instantly vaporized at high temperatures, rising into a thick white mist that enveloped the sea, obscuring the view beneath the mist and making it impossible to determine whether the fish-men had been hit.

Kizaru hovered in mid-air, looking at the misty expanse, a lazy helplessness on his face, and gently shook his head.

With a flash, he returned to Kitahara Tsune's side, his tone slightly teasing:

"Oh dear, what a pity, they still managed to escape. It seems this mission is going to fail again."

Kitahara Tsune glanced at Kizaru, then turned to look at the sea shrouded in mist.

Do you really want to catch them? This is actually just covering their escape, isn't it...?

Apart from Akainu, who's a stubborn fool, the people in the World Government and the Navy are a bunch of natural-born rebels.

Each of them appears to be loyal to the World Government, but secretly harbors their own agendas.

He suppressed his thoughts, chuckled twice to ease the awkward atmosphere, and began to speak:

"It's alright, at least we've confirmed that the Sun Pirates are active in this area."

"And he may very well be hiding on Fishman Island."

Although Fishman Island is nominally a member state of the World Government, it is located in the deep sea, in a dangerous environment.

World governments have virtually no right or ability to interfere with it and can only let it develop on its own.

Moreover, Fisher Tiger's actions of rescuing slaves and attacking the Celestial Dragons' holy land have thoroughly enraged the World Government. His actions are enough to cause the World Government and Fish-Man Island to completely break off relations.

That is why so many naval soldiers are densely packed around the Sabaody Archipelago.