The Great Voyage: The Props Master on the Straw Hat Ship

But sweat did gradually appear on his forehead.

"Is he really... human?!"

Just as this idea was beginning to take root in Ah Long's mind...

"Eight years ago, in the Golome Islands, I was nearly killed when Kizaru, who was then a vice admiral, pierced through the chest and was subsequently arrested..."

Under Aaron's shocked gaze, Link slowly said:

"If Jinbe hadn't become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, you bunch of scum wouldn't have been released by the World Government as a gesture of goodwill towards the Sun Pirates."

"In terms of character, morality, and strength, you and Jinbe are worlds apart."

"No wonder he is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a powerful figure on the Grand Line, while someone like you can only sadly end up in the weakest East Blue, taking pleasure in bullying humans weaker than you."

"You really are... utterly unworthy of the slightest honor. You've completely disgraced the merfolk!"

Ah Long's heart, which had cooled somewhat, surged with renewed passion after hearing Link's words.

However, it's useless. If you could win by getting angry, then the term 'impotent rage' wouldn't exist.

"boom!!"

Link raised his foot and struck Ah Long's ugly, ferocious face squarely.

And he used a bit of force to kick it away.

Thump...bang...crash!

The immense force sent Arlong's merman body tumbling across the ground.

After smashing over several rocks, it finally managed to break through a wall.

Link simply shook his hand, as if he had just grasped something dirty.

"It seems that the boost to my body from the [Super Deluxe Power Candy] is much stronger than I imagined."

Link had seen all of Ah Long's moves and easily caught him and subdued him.

Whether it's dynamic vision, strength, speed, or timing, everything is handled perfectly.

Even his physical abilities are exceptionally strong; at least when he grabbed Ah Long's jagged nose, he couldn't even scratch his skin.

This led Link to make a certain judgment; roughly speaking, he was at least somewhat stronger than an ordinary naval officer.

As for how it compares to those elite-level naval vice admirals... we'll only know after we fight them.

"Come out, I know you're not dead."

Having gained a clearer understanding of his own strength, Link couldn't help but look at the ruins that Arlong had created.

"You merfolk are truly remarkable in terms of your physical endurance."

boom! !

Hearing Link's subtle mockery, Aaron suddenly emerged from the ruins.

However, looking at his body covered in dust, his nearly broken jagged nose, the few remaining teeth in his mouth, and his swollen eye that prevented him from opening, and his face covered in blood, he looked utterly miserable.

That tells you that he is in a very bad state right now.

"Huff huff?"

Ah Long staggered to his feet, breathing heavily like a blower, his chest heaving violently.

With just one kick, Ah Long suffered a severe injury he hadn't experienced in a long time.

I felt a twisting sensation in my neck, and my upper body and skull were almost entirely fractured.

When was the last time I was injured this badly?

It was exactly eight years ago, the time this man mentioned when he was pierced through the chest by Kizaru.

But even that time was far less serious than the injuries I suffered this time.

"This is simply not a power that the East China Sea could possibly possess..."

Arlong spat out another mouthful of blood, "This is a level of strength sufficient to sail on the Grand Line."

What the hell is 069?! [Thanks to "This Life Forges a Sword for Demons" and "4399 Demon Emperor" for the monthly tickets!]

Why did he choose to come to the East China Sea in the first place?

Isn't it because the East China Sea is the weakest sea area in the world?

His choice proved to be correct, not only because of the unrestrained enjoyment he had experienced over the past eight years, but also because he had been offered a bounty of 20 million Berries eight years ago.

Even with inflation, no one in the entire East China Sea has surpassed his bounty from eight years ago.

There are no strong men in the East China Sea; this has always been A-Long's belief.

But today, his understanding was completely shattered by Link's kick.

puff! !

He vomited another mouthful of blood, his body slightly unsteady, and he knelt on one knee, supporting himself with one hand on the ground.

Just as he was catching his breath, a dark figure blocked his way.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Ah Long struggled to lift his head, looking down at the figure looking down at him. His throat bobbed, and he spoke with difficulty.

"I'm just an ordinary prop maker."

Link smiled calmly.

"By the way, you've always said that merfolk are the most superior race in the world, right?"

Link looked down at him.

"That's right!!"

Even now, Ah Long will never change his mind.

"You humans are the lowest and most despicable race!"

"We mermaids are naturally stronger than humans!!"

"Humans rebelling against mermaids is tantamount to defying the laws of nature!!"

He was there, shouting his narrow-minded views at the top of his lungs, like a barking wild dog.

"There's no hope for him."

Link shook his head, not surprised by Aron's performance.

"You say fishmen are the most superior race in the world? I don't agree."

A playful smile suddenly appeared in Link's eyes. He opened his palm and pulled out a gadget.

"It's undeniable that fishmen are very powerful, but what about mermaids?"

"This means that if the most superior race in the world is on Fishman Island, then fishmen only make up half of it, and the other half of the advantages are found in mermaids."

"Is it possible for a creature to possess both the characteristics of a fish-man and the features of a mermaid?!"

Link looked at him with a half-smile, "I think it's very valuable for research."

"How about we use you as a test subject?!"

"It has characteristics of both fish-people and mermaids?!"

After hearing Link's words, Ah Long felt that he was talking nonsense.

How could such a creature exist in this world? Even on their Fishman Island, they are either fishmen or mermaids.

There will be no third biological phenomenon. Even if humans or other races interbreed with mermaids or fish-men, the children born will still be bound to these two groups.

As Ah Long was thinking this, he saw Link walking towards him with that little gadget in his hand.

"Is it still possible for you to achieve this?"

Link, having read Aaron's mind, pinched Aaron's mouth shut.

Before he could resist, and in a state where he had no time or ability to resist, the little thing was put directly into his mouth.

"Cough cough cough, what did you give me... cough cough, what did you eat?!"

Ah Long coughed, his face looking unusually pale.

"nothing."

Link smiled. "You'll find out soon enough."

"I……"

Just as Ah Long was about to say something, he suddenly felt a surge of heat coming from the lower half of his fish body.

"this is?!"

He looked down, and then his pupils suddenly contracted.

"Seriously, what's with this eight-sword style? Just because you have a few arms doesn't mean you can use multiple swords. Do you think you're some green-haired swordsman?!" Sanji finished off Hachi and straightened his slightly disheveled clothes.

"The purpose of your eight arms is to provide me with enough ingredients to make takoyaki!!"

He wanted to light a cigarette to celebrate his victory.

"I wonder how Link and the others are doing."

Sanji, who had just put a cigarette in his mouth and was about to light it, subconsciously looked for his other companions.

He soon saw Link standing condescendingly in front of Aaron.

"It seems the problem has indeed been solved..."

A smile involuntarily crept onto Sanji's lips. As expected, there was nothing Link couldn't handle, no enemy or situation.

He's so reliable.

With that in mind, Sanji decided to see Arlong's miserable state.

but--

His smile froze the moment his gaze shifted downwards.

Instead, there were increasingly bulging eyes, a mouth that kept widening so much that cigarettes fell to the ground, and snot flowing from the nostrils.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

The loud roar startled Usopp, who had just returned after also dealing with the chirping.

"What?! What happened, Sanji?!"

Usopp, unaware of what was going on, thought Sanji had encountered an accident and hurriedly went over to check on him.

Sanji's mouth was wide open, no less than that of the giant bat, and his face looked as if he had eaten shit, been fucked by a dog, or suffered a major blow, as if his worldview had collapsed.

"What's wrong, Sanji?!"

Usopp swallowed hard and cautiously approached, but dared not get too close.

Because the dark gray low pressure surrounding Sanji was almost solidified, even he dared not get close.

"What exactly happened?"

Seeing that Sanji was ignoring his question and continuing to stare intently in a certain direction, Usopp instinctively followed his gaze and saw… “What the hell is that?!?”

Author's note upon release!

It's coming soon! After such a long wait, tonight at midnight, that moment will finally arrive!!

Secondly, I would like to thank many friends for their support, flowers, favorites, reviews, monthly tickets, and tips!

Many friends gave me a lot of feedback in the book review section, which taught me a lot.

Of course, many people also left comments giving me advice on writing a book, and even said that I was not qualified to write a book...

I was also tempted to reply, but when I clicked on it, it showed that the post had already been deleted by the website.

I felt so much better right away!

Since I started writing this book, it has only been deleted once; the rest were basically swallowed by the system.

You can see the deleted items on your phone, but not on the website.

Well, what can I say about those comments...? The title of my book is quite clear: it's all about following the trend of ships, so why are they still criticizing me for that...?