Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

Hearing the surrounding chatter, Jinbe's face grew serious—just as the fish-men had said. Sett's speed was fast, but he was still human. Jinbe had personally experienced Arlong's Iron Teeth technique. Even someone as robust as Jinbe would feel intense pain if struck by Arlong's Iron Teeth, his skin would tear open, and blood would flow freely.

And now, it's just a human being...

Just as Jinbe was thinking of waiting for the critical moment to personally intervene and stop the fight, Arlong had already pounced on him first.

With a powerful push off the ground, he shot forward like a bullet. He held a pair of incredibly sharp teeth in each hand. His head was forward, his spear-like nose pointing at Sett as if to pin him to the deck.

Then, in the next moment, people saw Sergei raise his arm high. The next moment, it crashed down. In a blur, the dragon's head exploded like a watermelon. Bones flew everywhere, and shattered brain tissue clung to the bone fragments, covering the entire deck.

He spat dismissively, but Sett's face showed no unease about breaking the agreement. In fact, his defiance and displeasure were almost palpable—he had said before that neither reason nor rules would be followed unless Sett wanted to.

"Trash."

As he said this, Sett was actually quite emotional—it's not easy to encounter a villain, and yet he died so easily because of his own carelessness. Sett wasn't heartbroken over the dragon's death, but he was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't gain more enemies through the dragon.

But there's nothing we can do. This guy called Evil Dragon is unlike me; he doesn't think before he speaks.

Looking at the dragon's shattered skull and corpse before him, Tiger opened his mouth, but ultimately sighed helplessly. When he heard the dragon utter, "I'm going to kill you!", Tiger was already pretty sure the final outcome would be cruel!

Especially the line about turning Sett's entire family into his slaves... Even with some understanding of the dragon's nature, Tiger still felt an unprecedented level of dissatisfaction upon hearing that.

Sett said he would spare your life before he even attacked. Yet you don't even understand the most basic principle of not harming family members, and you actually said it out loud.

Not only was Sett unhappy, but even Tiger, the leader of the Fishman Pirates, felt a little embarrassed... He had come here to thank Sett, but what did he get in return? His own brother said this.

When he said those words, Tiger already knew that today's matter could not be resolved with just a friendly exchange—especially since Tiger knew very well that beneath Sett's seemingly generous or arrogant demeanor, he was not the kind of person who was willing to magnanimously forgive others as people imagined.

Sett simply doesn't let his true nature get in the way. Like right now, if someone provokes Sett's anger, he won't hold back.

And if we're really going to count, Sett isn't the only one who dislikes dragons. Don't forget, beneath the sun mark on Tiger's chest is the mark of a slave...

"You bastard! You actually killed Ah Long!!!"

After a brief silence, the fish-men erupted in a frenzy of anger.

Although the dragon's way of thinking is extremely extreme, this does not prevent it from being extremely popular on Fishman Island.

In reality, due to the corrupt history of Fishman Island over the past century and the series of upheavals caused by the Great Pirate Era, both the Fishman and Merfolk races have suffered ruthless destruction and abuse at the hands of humans. This has led some Fishmen to believe that they are a superior race, while humans are worthless. Among them, Arlong stands out as a particularly egregious example.

In the time leading up to his departure, the dragon frequently spoke to the children of Fishman Town about the ugliness and incompetence of humanity. He also told them that he would personally launch a "holy war" to destroy humanity and allow the fishmen to truly rule the world.

Now that the dragon is dead, the fish-men don't care that the dragon violated Sett's taboo. For a time, they roamed the high seas without encountering any truly powerful opponents. In their arrogant eyes, it didn't matter if the dragon killed Sett, after all, the dragon was their brother. As for Sett… only Tiger knew him.

More importantly, even within the Fishman Pirates, there are quite a few Fishmen who agree with Arlong's ideas.

Sett's face was filled with helplessness—only helplessness, not a trace of apology.

"What are we going to do?!" Sett said helplessly, "Treading over an ant without hurting it... that's really difficult, okay?"

"You bastard!!!"

Upon hearing Sett's words, the already resentful fishmen showed signs of their anger being ignited. Seeing this, Sett was somewhat pleasantly surprised.

Unfortunately, Tiger really didn't want to continue like this. He took a deep breath and then shouted:

"Enough!!!"

After everyone turned to look at Tiger, he continued, "Let's leave it at that. The dragon was in the wrong first... Let's leave here. We can discuss any issues back home!"

Hearing Tiger's words, the fish-men, though restrained by Tiger's long-standing authority, refrained from saying anything further. However, it was foreseeable that after this incident, the Fish-Man Pirates would soon be split up.

Turning to Sett, Tiger's face showed a hint of apology: "I'm sorry, Sett... Arlong's personality..."

"It doesn't matter," Sett said casually. "Death absolves all debts, so don't worry. But I still have to tell you, if you don't keep them in check, I'll discipline them in my own way when I run into them."

His calm words carried an undeniable air of composure. Gazing at Sett before him, Tiger remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.

He knew that there was an irreconcilable conflict between fish-men and humans. But he never imagined that this intense conflict would one day affect those around him…

“This time it’s my fault. I already knew that Ah Long was prejudiced against humans before I came here, but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sett said. “Just say what else you need to say, or the fishmen on your ship will have already split up before you even get back.”

He nodded in understanding—even if Sett didn't say anything, Tiger knew very well that attitudes towards humans had always been a source of conflict within Fish-Man Island. Take Arlong, for example. When Queen Otohime first requested all the residents of Fish-Man Island to sign a petition to land on land, it was Arlong who stole and destroyed the already signed document.

Those who support Queen Otohime believe that the dragon has destroyed all of Queen Otohime's efforts over the past decade. However, to the fish-man supremacists who share the same view as the dragon, this is undoubtedly a heroic act.

Tiger set sail as a pirate, and many villains from Fishman Island followed him. Friction was already constant along the way, and Tiger had been trying to find ways to resolve and avoid it. Besides seeking out Sett to express his gratitude, Tiger also hoped that Sett's generosity would make some fishmen realize that there are good and bad among humans… And now, Sett has essentially unleashed all the pent-up resentment he'd accumulated over this period in the form of conflict.

It's a bad thing, but it could also be a good thing. At least, it's far better for it to erupt now than for it to erupt in the future and cause a larger conflict...

Tiger nodded and turned to leave. But before leaving, he seemed to remember something: "Speaking of which... Sett, what do you think of the Celestial Dragons?"

"A bunch of trash." Sett didn't hide his thoughts—even when Zeff was in front of him, Sett said the same thing: "If we get the chance, we'll have to find a way to beat them up."

Hearing Sett's words, Tiger knew better than anyone that Sett was never one to lie. He nodded thoughtfully, "Next year, I plan to go to Sabaody Archipelago..."

"doing what?"

“I don’t know.” Tiger replied to Sett’s question, “But I know I have to go…”

"Sounds good!"

Considering Tiger's question just now, it's not hard to guess that Tiger's ultimate goal is related to the Celestial Dragons.

Sett had initially found the battle somewhat dull, but after hearing this news, he suddenly realized that he hadn't come away empty-handed.

"I will go then."

"Ok!"

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There's another 4K version tonight. From now on, I'll upload it as soon as the word count reaches 4K, to save readers from getting impatient.

142. Head-on collision

The less-than-pleasant reunion ended just like that.

Watching Tiger leave, although today's battle was quite boring, it did provide some relief from Sett's boredom—East Blue is really boring; apart from that sparring session with Ivankov, there isn't a single decent opponent.

It's not just humans, but the ocean too. At least the West Blue has some large sea monsters trafficked from the Grand Line by gangs. But in the East Blue, it's ridiculously peaceful. The largest one Sett encountered was only about twenty meters long… not even big enough for Sett to fight with one hand.

However, it wasn't entirely fruitless. At least, judging from Tiger's words, he seemed quite interested in the Celestial Dragons.

Sett hadn't forgotten that one of his hidden quests involved the Celestial Dragons. Although he didn't know the specifics, the Celestial Dragons were so disgusting that beating them up, even without any reward, would be incredibly satisfying.

Either way, I'm not at a disadvantage; either way, I'll get beaten up.

Having confirmed this, and filled with anticipation for the future, Sett turned around, only to find Hawkeye standing there staring at him blankly.

"……what?"

"..." Hawkeye didn't speak in response to Sett's question, but just looked at Sett, then glanced at the bloodstains on the deck—those damned murlocs had taken the dragon's corpse with them when they left. The scattered bone fragments and pieces of flesh were left on the deck without being cleaned up at all.

"..."

Just as Sett was speechless, Hawkeye silently poured out the mop and bucket of water behind him.

"You made this mess, so clean it up yourself."

"I do not."

Sett clenched his fists stubbornly and said, "I'm covered in blood, I need to take a shower."

"You can clean first and then take a shower; there's no conflict."

Hawkeye wouldn't budge an inch—this mess on the deck was all Sett's doing. He wasn't going to clean up Sett's mess.

A heated discussion ensued. Although Sett was in the wrong, he was simply too unreasonable. Furthermore, the assault boat was a shared asset used for their joint voyages. If Sett refused to clean it, Hawkeye would be the only one who suffered. Reluctantly, through mutual compromise, they decided to each clean half. The stubborn stains, such as bone fragments embedded in the hull, were left entirely to Sett's cleaning.

Sett was used to being lazy and didn't want to move, so he dawdled while cleaning. Hawkeye didn't urge him either, and simply went back to his room to sleep after finishing his part of the cleaning—the assault boat was currently sailing downstream on the ocean current and wasn't burning coal.

Although burning coal would be faster, unforeseen circumstances can occur, and even in the East China Sea, Eagle Eye doesn't intend to let its guard down. Like now, under the influence of ocean currents, the speed of the assault boat can only be maintained at around thirteen knots. Turning on the steam engine would only increase it to sixteen knots at most, which wouldn't be much more efficient and would waste coal, so it's best to use it sparingly.

Upon waking, Sett continued cleaning early the next morning. Stepping out of the deck, he saw three ships sailing in a V-shape on the distant sea.

Facing the sun directly, Sett squinted to barely make out what was happening.

"Navy? Routine patrols?"

Relying on some knowledge he had learned from Zephyr, Sett could tell that the warships were all of naval standard—the blue and white color scheme was a choice few other powers on the high seas would choose. Of course, the seagull emblem was also a key distinguishing feature, and details such as the figureheads on the warships further suggested…

"Vice Admiral? No... not Vice Admiral."

Having some knowledge of the vehicles used by vice admirals, Sett knew very well that the warship was definitely not a vice admiral's vessel—or rather, not just a vice admiral's vessel. Because on top of it were some special insignia that only admirals possessed.

Recalling some information that Dragon had mentioned before, Sett quickly realized who the leader of the naval fleet was after a moment's thought.

"Naval hero, Garp!!!"

His eyes flashed brightly. Sett had heard of the title "Naval Hero" for a long time—a rare pure physical powerhouse in the Navy, and unlike Zephyr's indecisiveness, the legendary Garp was a fierce admiral who captured the Pirate King alive, arrested Shiki, and intimidated countless villains!

It can be said that, in terms of both fighting style and training path, Garp is one of Sett's most anticipated opponents.

Just as Sett was preparing to turn his ship towards the naval warship, the warship seemed to have spotted him as well. Suddenly, all three large ships turned simultaneously, and as they drew near, a figure wearing a dog-headed hat appeared to be leaping through the air, racing towards Sett's small boat.

Although the person was wearing a full-coverage hat, the hair peeking out from around the edges clearly indicated that they were no longer a young person.

As they ran, the old scoundrel in the hat shouted, "Is that Sett! I've heard you mentioned before by that pedantic Zephyr! The shockboat belongs to little Tina, right?"

"It's me!!" Upon hearing the question, Sett raised his hand and waved, then said excitedly, "Are you Garp? The one known as the Marine Hero! I heard from Dragon that you're in the East Blue!"

"Hahaha, it's me!!"

Having received Garp's approval, Sett's eyes revealed a hint of joy, followed by a flash of cold light, and a surge of battle intent erupted from Sett's body.

"It's so early in the morning... Has the old man eaten yet? If not, how about taking a punch from me?!"

"Hahaha! Let's give it a try!!!"

Upon hearing that Garp had agreed immediately, Sett, who had been feeling a bit annoyed about cleaning, suddenly broke into a wide smile.

Immediately afterward, in Garp's sight, Sett's arm was instantly covered in black. The speed was so fast that even Garp couldn't help but be secretly shocked—putting aside everything else, at least the level of Armament Haki was at least that of a Marine Vice Admiral... no, even higher!

While thinking about it, Garp, who was originally just playing around, also felt a little itchy to fight back—Dragon was slipping away too fast, and before he could even land a few punches on Dragon's face, Dragon was already dead.

I was feeling really annoyed, planning to catch up with him and give him a few more punches before heading back to my hometown to see my grandson... but now it seems like there's a way to vent!

With a loud bang, Garp's body, which had been running, instantly turned into a black afterimage.

"So fast!"

Even with Sett's terrifying eyesight, he couldn't catch a glimpse of Garp in that instant—Sett had no intention of underestimating the naval hero. At his peak in both physical and mental condition, Sett immediately activated his long-dormant Observation Haki when facing this naval hero.

Even so, all Sett could perceive was a series of blurry afterimages!