"KUROOBI!"
His eyes were bloodshot—if not for his size, he would've looked just like an enraged Sea King.
But then, to everyone's shock, Arlong made a move that left the entire battlefield dumbfounded.
Splash...
Splash. Splash. Splash. Splash...
Five splashes echoed in rapid succession.
The first was Arlong himself. The other four came from the remaining officers—Hatchan and Chew among them.
"Colonel, I think... they ran?" Ian pointed toward the pool in Arlong Park that connected directly to the open sea, his heart filled with frustration.
He had been so ready. With only three Fishmen left, he was determined to take one down himself.
After all, he'd eaten a Devil Fruit days ago and had even developed a few flashy moves. He needed to show off a little...
But now that they'd escaped into the sea—what was he supposed to do?
Fight underwater?
He was a landlubber, for crying out loud!!
Besides, even if he could dive, underwater battles were a nightmare.
Humans slowed down in water, their movements bogged down by pressure—it was nearly impossible to exert full force.
Fishmen, on the other hand...
Were even faster in water than they were on land!
Worse still, once a Fishman decided to flee underwater, there was no real way to stop them.
This was becoming a real headache.
"Don't worry. If I'm right," Luo Lan said, "they've gone to get help."
"Help?"
"Yeah, they've got a Sea King from the Grand Line with them—brought it all the way to the East Blue."
"W-what?! A Sea King?!"
Ian's eyes widened.
He was no stranger to Sea Kings.
After all, the 157th Branch was stationed right next to the Calm Belt, and he'd often seen Sea Kings breaking the surface.
But unlike the first half of the Grand Line, Sea Kings in the Calm Belt were huge, easily several hundred or even a thousand meters long. Rumor even had it that in the deepest parts of the Calm Belt, there were Sea King royalty as long as ten thousand meters.
That was the Sea King standard he was used to.
"Relax," Luo Lan reassured him. "It's from the Grand Line, not the Calm Belt. Probably only about a hundred meters long."
"What?! Only a hundred meters?! That small?!"
Ian's eyes widened even more.
Compared to the monsters of the Calm Belt, a Sea King that size was like a child.
All the earlier tension disappeared in an instant.
Just then, something massive shot out from the pool.
"Is that... a cow?" Ace blurted out.
"Yeah, that's a cow," Ian answered with a dead-serious face.
"Taste good?"
"Probably decent roasted whole."
"Wanna try it?"
"Sure, I'll roast it myself later."
Hearing the two of them talk so seriously—
The once-ferocious creature suddenly looked like it was on the verge of tears.
As the two slowly approached it with wicked grins...
"Terrifying! I wanna go back to the Grand Line! I wanna go home to Mama!"
The enormous beast began slowly sinking back into the water, leaving only its head above the surface. It looked like it'd be completely underwater in moments.
Ace and Ian both panicked.
"Oh no! It's trying to escape!"
"Don't worry, I got this—wait, no! I'm a landlubber! You do it!"
"Fine, I'll go!"
For the sake of a roasted whole-cow feast, Ace dove into the pool with a loud splash.
He charged straight at Moomoo, confident he could end the creature with a single punch.
Assuming he could punch properly underwater, that is...
But due to limited visibility, Ace didn't see the three other pairs of glowing red eyes lurking nearby.
The next second, Arlong launched from the side like a torpedo, his speed astonishing.
The attack was too close to dodge, and the underwater environment left no room for maneuvering.
Ace had no choice but to cross his arms and brace for impact.
He was sent flying, slammed straight into a rock at the bottom of the pool.
Arlong turned and glared at Moomoo.
The terrified creature froze mid-escape, then suddenly turned aggressive and charged at the still-reeling Ace.
"Colonel! I think Ace is in trouble!" Ian shouted from the edge of the pool.
"So go help him!"
"I would... but I can't swim..."
Ian gave a conflicted expression.
Luo Lan shot him a glare full of exasperation.
What were you two even doing just now?! Joking about roasting Sea Kings like it was a picnic?! Meanwhile, the enemy's still loose!
With a heavy sigh, Luo Lan took off his justice cloak and handed it to Ian.
Then, with a loud splash, he jumped into the water.
Soon, he spotted Moomoo at the bottom—and the glaring Arlong nearby.
Hatchan and Chew were nowhere to be seen, likely hidden by the murky water's limited visibility.
But that wasn't the worst part...
The guns Seras had custom-made for him? They were waterproof, sure.
But completely useless here.
Don't let those movies fool you—where the hero dives into a river and the villains open fire into the water, thinking bullets will magically work.
Reality is—
Bullets lose almost all their power in water after less than a meter.
In fact, if you're shooting into the water from the surface, the bullet might not even go half a meter before stopping dead.
Those cinematic scenes with bullets zipping around underwater?
Complete nonsense.
So now what?
Seeing Arlong prepare to launch his Shark oN Darts move again, Luo Lan frowned.
Fighting hand-to-hand wasn't feasible—no proper footing.
Speed was out too.
His guns had half a meter of effective range at best...
Wait.
Half a meter...
Maybe there was a way.
The next instant, Arlong once again launched himself like a torpedo, headed straight for Luo Lan at terrifying speed...