28. Conomi Island

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- [Where are we heading, captain?] - the Oracle asked as Bobby and I boarded the Quinjet.

- To the same place as before. To the Cocoyasi Village. - I said as I sat down in my seat.

- [Accepted.] - said the Oracle, and the quinjet picked up speed and headed north towards Conomi Island, where we'll arrive in the morning.

- So we're still going hunting for that fish-man and his crew? - Bobby asked as she sat down next to me.

- Well, yes, he is the nearest pirate to us, the exact location of which I know, besides, he has the biggest reward in this sea. - I calmly said, taking out my smartphone again.

- Only 20 million. Isn't that too little for you now? How much did you earn from selling those jewelry you made last time? - Bobby asked looking at me.

- I don't know yet, I only sent the Shadowkhan yesterday. But this time, I used everything I got from Eldoraggo's vault and what was left over from last time, so it should be at least 70 million. Maybe more, given the new designs I copied from the internet. Although, now I'm out of silver in the fabricator. - I said, checking the latest news from my former world.

- Well then, why are we going after Arlong's head? We could use that time to get to the Grand Line. Or maybe we could stay longer in Baratie. - complained Bobby, who obviously didn't want to leave Zeff's restaurant.

- We spent the whole day there. I'm tired of eating. Everything was very tasty, but my stomach can't take it anymore. And you got what you wanted, so stop complaining. - I said, throwing a displeased glance at the girl.

I've had to listen to complaints like this every minute since we said goodbye to Zeff and left Baratie, and to be honest, I'm starting to get sick of it.

- Okey. - Bobby said displeasedly, turning away resentfully.

- We'll visit Baraty sometime. Before we leave the East Blue. - I promised with a sigh.

- Truth? - Looking at me, the girl asked.

- Yes. In any case, with the Quinjet, this is not such a problem. - I said, with a little regret that I still succumbed to manipulation.

- Thanks. I hope next time the Chief will teach me something again. - Bobbie said enthusiastically, getting ready to start cooking again, but first she asked,: So why did you choose Arlong? I'm really curious, but you haven't explained it before.

- Yes, it is, in principle, so clear. First, due to the fact that he and his entire team are fish-men, which means that they are really strong and will make good punching dummies. At the same time, I will check out the lightsaber style created with the support of Koushirou. Secondly, he has been in the same place for more than five years and must have accumulated a good fortune, which I do not mind requisitioning. Thirdly, this is an opportunity to get one more spy in the Marine, but, as it turned out, one Nelson is not enough. And fourthly, we will be able to help people who live under the yoke of this fish. - I explained in detail.

- Mm, do you want to play hero again? - Bobby asked with a provocative smirk, calling for one Shadowkhan to help her cook again.

- Not. It's just that Arlong is a good target and I've already told you why. - I lied not too convincingly, moreover, unsuccessfully.

- Yeah, that's what I believed. - Bobby said, with an even wider smirk, but then she added: - Well, okay, I wouldn't mind helping those people myself. After all, they really did not deserve such a fate.

- Yes, that's putting it mildly. - I said, knowing this very well, because I just got to this arc in the manga and now I know all the details.

- Okay, I'll cook, and you mind your own business and don't distract me. - Bobby waved her hand at me.

- Actually, I'm the captain here. - I said indignantly, but I obeyed anyway and went to the fabricator to try to create headphones from the blueprints that I could dig up on the Internet.

***

*The next day*

At one time, I never managed to create headphones, but I still made a little progress in this matter. When it got really late, Bobby sent me to bed again, after handing me a steamed bun, which she had prepared.

It certainly couldn't be compared to cooking Sanji or even less so Zeff, but it was pretty decent and the best thing Bobby has done since she made me scrambled eggs when we were still in Syrup Village.

In fact, eggs are the only thing Bobby has more or less been able to do so far, and these are the only ones I have been eating lately, if there was no catering nearby. These buns bring at least some variety, but considering that I ate them for breakfast, my heart feels that they will be with me for a long time.

After breakfast I went back to work and Bobby went back to her experiments. Everything was quiet and measured, the flight continued until Bobby caught my attention.

- There seems to be something going on. - Bobby said, pointing to two puffs of smoke that could be seen on the horizon just as we were approaching Conomi Island.

- I don't think there is anything good there. - I said seriously, already beginning to guess what exactly was going on there.

- Are we splitting up again? - Bobby asked, already predicting my train of thought.

- Yes, you go to the far place of the fire, and I to the near one. Oracle… - I said quickly, turning to the onboard computer.

- [Understood.] - the Oracle said instantly, and the Quinjet flew towards the mainland even faster.

- When you're done with your unit, we'll meet at Cocoyashi Village. Let's not delay, and today we will deal with Arlong. - I said, approaching the jet ladder.

- Okey, good luck. - Bobby said with a smile, not even becoming indignant that she was alone with the Oracle again.

When we reached the island, the Oracle slowed down a little and opened the ramp, I jumped down, and they continued to fly on. Knowing full well that massive puffs of smoke don't just appear, I decided to hurry up and so, assuming a diamond form, I ran at top speed to the right place, sometimes using Nuki Ashi to close the distance.

After quickly covering fifty kilometers, I arrived at a small valley in which there was a small village that was on fire. That's where the smoke came from. Knowing full well who might be to blame for the fact that most of the houses are now on fire, I began to use telepathy to find them, and at the same time the villagers who could be hurt.

Having no problem finding a crowd of people somewhere in the center of the village, I quickly headed there, simultaneously summoning forty Ninja Khans.

- Help the residents, and I'll deal with pests. - with a cold voice, I said, taking out my pistols.

Nodding at my words, the Shadowkhans spread out and went in search of people they would have to take to safety. But I finally got to, as I understand it, the central square, where the instigators of all this and most of the population were, who watched with horror the destruction of their house.

As it is not difficult to guess, the fishmen were to blame for everything. More precisely, two fishmen, and to be more precise, the fishman karate master Kuroobi and the chef Shioyaki, whose name I only knew because I had read about him on the Internet before I arrived here.

Most likely, these two destroyed the village, due to the fact that the locals refused to pay the tribute that Arlong imposed when he captured this island. They are clearly not the first to do something like this and, judging by their thoughts, they like to watch the suffering of these people. And with all this, they still call themselves the highest race...

Since someone who can only bully the weak does not deserve even the slightest leniency, I immediately shot both fishmen with concentrated bullets of fire, which, logically, will cause the most harm to these pests.

At the moment, the stingray fishman and salmon fishman were busy making speeches about the superiority of their race, feeding their small egos with the horror of ordinary civilians, so that they did not notice my attack.

The first bullet from the fire hit Shiyaoki directly in the head, and that was enough to incapacitate him, leaving him pleased with a large and obviously painful burn. This fishman was clearly not a strong fighting unit of the team, and apart from the physical superiority bestowed by his race, there was nothing special about him.

I expected a little more from him, given that he was a member of the Sun Pirates in the past, but I think he is an ordinary extras, which are full in such teams. Well, the fact that we are now on land did not help him.

But, all this cannot be said about his partner, who, although he received a direct blow to the back, managed to survive and did not even move, ignoring the severe pain from the fire. But, as I expected, it drew his attention to me, and he was distracted from the villagers, who had already been evacuated by my Shadowkhans. Now that the interfering elements have been removed, you can relax a little and play.

— Mmm, grilled stingray. You smell delicious. - I said provocatively, defiantly sniffing the air. I love to annoy people, what can I do.

Although, Kuroobi's reaction surprised me a bit. I expected that we would start the usual for this world conversation before the battle, where arrogant threats would rain down on me, in this case mixed with racism, and I would respond with witticisms that would piss off my opponent even more, and it would all end that he will rush at me in a rage, and I will beat this fish-man, showing my superiority and skill.

But not this time, as my actions were enough to piss off Kuroobi, and now his eyes burned with a frantic desire to kill me, which he tried to do by using his Fish-Man Karate, in which he reached 40th dan. Reacting in time, I dodged to the side and dodged a blow, which, if I'm not mistaken, is called "Thousand Tile True Punch".

'I really pissed him off if he didn't even say the name of his technique out loud…' - I involuntarily thought as I shot the fish-man with another bullet of fire, to which he didn't even react and attacked me again.

Dodging the fin strike, I fired at the stingray fishman again, knowing full well it wouldn't hurt him much, but that wasn't my original intention. I wanted Kuroobi to show more of his martial arts as I was very interested in it. Of course, I will get all his knowledge later, but first I wanted to see the famous Fish-Man Karate in practice.

Due to my painful and unpleasant shots, Kuroobi became even more angry and attacked me even more violently, showing all his skills and techniques, most of which I saw in the anime, in the battle with Sanji. Of course, Kuroobi couldn't use much of his arsenal due to the fact that we are now on land, but this did not stop the fish-man from showing skill for which he can be praised, but it did not help him much, since I dodged every time.

Unfortunately, this did not last long, and in less than two minutes, Kuroobi completely absorbed his rage, and he began to attack me like a crazy beast, completely forgetting about his fighting art. It looks like the vaunted instincts of the fishmen have played a trick on him.

It was a little sad, but it wasn't worth expecting more from someone of his stature. He showed himself so well and even managed to entertain me a little. Deciding to end it, I activated my diamond form and took Kuroobi's final blow, after which I knocked him out with a fireball right in the face.

When the fishman's fried body fell limp to the ground, I called my guns back and used telepathy to get all of his knowledge, which was not only about Fishman Karate, but also about the Grand Line, Fishman Island, and navigation, in which Fishmen are naturally very good, especially associated with ocean currents.

In general, I absorbed any information that might ever be useful to me, but it is clear that Karate was the one that interested me the most. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the 40th dan is not a particularly impressive result, since at this level, all the most interesting things have not yet been studied. Can say that this is only the end of the first stage of training.

First of all, I was interested in this martial art, because of the ability to control the surrounding water in order to use it in battle as a weapon. I was especially attracted to the ability to control the water inside the opponents, or rather their blood, as Jinbe did, which can greatly improve my fighting skills.

Since Koala was able to learn Fish-Man Karate as a human, I was sure that I could do it, but I guess I'll have to wait until I meet a fish-man with a higher dan, which opens up these incredibly promising opportunities.

At the moment, what Kuroobi possesses can only be considered an unusual fighting style, I would even say taijutsu, which allows you to use the advantage of fishmen to the fullest, but no more. Since I don't have gills to breathe underwater and use the full potential of these techniques, I can only use a few of them, but it's not a bad catch considering that only this stingray of all the Arlong Pirates has mastered these techniques.

'Now, you can go after Arlong's head. I wonder if I will be able to meet with us? Well considering she's currently trying to earn 100,000,000 belly, I guess it's all down to luck….'