Chapter 295: Testing The Waters
“So there’s nothing to talk about then?”
Alberich took his hand out of his suit pocket.
Although his posture was still very lazy, Jinbe could tell from some subtle movements that the other party was ready for battle.
If there was any anomaly on his side, the other party would surely launch a surprise attack with lightning speed.
Four years ago, Alberich’s strength was already able to faintly suppress Skipgate, who was an executive. Now, four years have passed, and he has grown more than just in military rank.
『 Two Vice Admirals… this is a bit tricky. 』
“I’ll say this one last time, Fish-Man. We don’t want to be enemies with you. Tell us what you know, and we’ll let you go.”
Mien was still making his final plea, seemingly genuinely not wanting to draw swords with the Fish-Man opposite him.
His experiences over the years had changed him greatly. Compared to his youthful arrogance and aggressiveness back then, he now appeared more mature, introverted, and… composed.
“I’m sorry, but I truly don’t know where the person you are looking for is now.”
“Soru!”
Whoosh—!
As soon as Jinbe finished speaking, Alberich suddenly disappeared from his spot. When he reappeared, he was only a stone’s throw away from Jinbe.
Bang!
Without hesitation, Alberich turned and delivered a whip kick. His right leg, clad in expensive suit pants, struck Jinbe fiercely – but Jinbe firmly blocked it with a standard Fish-Man Karate defensive stance.
The two made eye contact, and both saw a hint of surprise in each other’s eyes.
“Ho~ You’ve got some skills, Fish-Man.”
“Your fundamentals are quite solid~”
“It’s probably because I had a very responsible teacher.”
Jinbe replied with a smile.
“Oh? That’s truly enviable~”
Alberich continued to increase the force in his leg, but Jinbe’s arms and stance remained stable, showing no signs of losing balance.
The two were thus temporarily locked in a stalemate.
…
“Then how about this move?”
?!
After a moment of standoff, a strange power suddenly wrapped around Alberich’s calf. Then, with another surge of force from Alberich, Jinbe was directly kicked flying.
Wheee—
Sizzle sizzle~
The plump Whale Shark Fish-Man rolled nimbly in the air for half a circle and landed steadily on his feet. However, to dissipate the opponent’s force, two long scratches were left on the sand.
“Armament Haki…”
Jinbe re-adopted his Fish-Man Karate stance, his gaze serious.
“Oh? You actually know Haki? It seems you’re not some ‘local specialty’ from Fish-Man Island~”
Maintaining his kicking posture, Alberich raised an eyebrow, clearly guessing that Jinbe might not be a native of Fish-Man Island.
After all, although Fish-Man Island is technically within the New World, Haki is still a rather mysterious power here, and not many people know about it.
“This makes you even more suspicious~”
“I’ve already said, I–”
“Oh dear~ You’re an outsider Fish-Man, yet you recognize the target person…”
Alberich retracted his leg, not listening to Jinbe’s repeated explanation, and continued to speak in a lazy tone:
“I’m sorry, young Fish-Man, even if you truly don’t know where the target person is… as someone related, we can’t just let you leave~”
“After all, this matter involves those troublesome Celestial Dragons~”
“Alberich!”
Mien let out a light sigh, clearly reminding the other party not to say things they shouldn’t.
“Yes, yes, yes~”
“Got it~”
“Then, I won’t waste any more time and will take you down at maximum speed.”
“Be careful, young man~”
Whoosh—
Alberich once again used Soru to teleport himself in front of Jinbe, and then…
“Rankyaku: Kouka!”
Blinding silver light erupted from Alberich’s right leg, like a sharp blade emitting a cold gleam.
Compared to the ordinary Rankyaku, which sends out ranged slashes similar to sword energy through kicks, his ‘Kouka’ sacrifices attack range but greatly enhances the power of the ‘slash’.
Hum~
“Huh?”
The Rankyaku smoothly cut through Jinbe’s figure, along with the air he occupied, without the slightest obstruction… but Alberich’s expression changed, and he couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
“This is…”
“Afterimage!”
Mien, who was all too familiar with this scene, immediately chimed in, his voice also filled with shock, but for another reason—
『 It’s ‘Soru!’ 』
『 “This Fish-Man just used genuine ‘Soru’!” 』
There are many ways to teleport on the sea. Some use Devil Fruit Abilities, some rely on powerful physiques, and some use special techniques… but each has its signature move, and experienced individuals can easily distinguish the user’s style.
And what Jinbe had just used was undoubtedly the most authentic ‘Soru’ from the ‘Navy Six Styles’!
“It’s ‘Soru!’?!”
Having missed his attack, Alberich readjusted his stance, his expression becoming serious.
“Hey, Fish-Man. Where did you learn that technique?”
“……”
“You’re not going to speak? That’s fine. You won’t escape today anyway, and you’ll have a chance to talk when we get to Marineford.”
Whoosh!
“Rankyaku: Kourin!”
Hum~
Several ring-shaped cutting light blades were kicked out by Alberich’s raised leg, each attacking Jinbe in a different trajectory. Jinbe, however, counterattacked with a raise of his hand without any sign of panic.
“Fish-Man Karate: Gekisui!”
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Several water spheres condensed from his webbed palms. Jinbe then casually swung them, and the water spheres accurately hit the incoming light blades, shattering them.
“Your accuracy is quite excellent… but I won’t be foolish enough to wait for your counterattack~”
“Shigan: Kōzuru!”
Zzzzzzzzzzz~
Teleporting behind Jinbe, Alberich skillfully exploited the opening left by Jinbe’s ‘Gekisui’ and directly used ‘Shigan’ to stab at his back.
A cone-shaped flashing drill condensed on the fingertips of this Vice Admiral, who had mastered the ‘Rokushiki’. The sharp noise produced by its friction with the air was like thousands of fine needles scraping against metal, making one’s eardrums ache.
Sss—Splash~
“Huh?”
A strange sound, like melting ice and snow, replaced the expected ‘splish’ of flesh being pierced.
Similarly, the sensation from Alberich’s fingertip was not the smooth feeling of flesh being easily penetrated, but rather the difficulty and restraint of a high-speed drill being caught by something tough.
The ‘Shigan’, like a stinger at the end of a tail, was dispersed throughout Jinbe’s entire body by the energy wrapped around his pale blue robe when it touched his back, then vanished into nothingness.
At the same time, the robe’s silky, flowing fabric, following the slight residual rotational force, wrapped around Alberich’s fingers, leaving him in a dilemma.
“What kind of robe is this–”
“Don’t space out, Alberich!” “Fish-Man Karate: Same’ya Otoshi!”
While Alberich was still trying to pull his finger out, Jinbe delivered a spinning elbow strike directly to his face, smashing his entire face into a deformed dent.
“Gwah!”
The powerful impact sent Alberich, who was about the same height as Jinbe, flying back nearly ten meters. Crystal-clear red blood dripped from his nose along his backward trajectory.
Whoosh—
Splat~
Lying on the ground in a spread-eagle position, Alberich was somewhat dazed. That elbow from the opponent was truly powerful~
Feeling the sting in his nose, he reached up and wiped away the dripping blood before flipping to his feet with a carp flip.
*Cough! Cough!*
“You’ve got some skills, brat.”
“And where did you buy those clothes? How much were they?”
His injured nose made Alberich’s voice sound a bit strange. Of course, the questions he was asking now were even stranger…
“I’m sorry, this was a gift from an elder in my family, it is not for sale.”
Jinbe replied with a serious expression.
“Is that so~ What a shame~”
“I was thinking of wearing a dozen of them for self-defense.”
Sniff~ Sniff~
Alberich sniffed his nose, found that the nosebleed had stopped, and wiped his face with his hand before saying to Mien in the distance:
“How about you take over? I don’t think I can take down this kid by myself in a short time~”
