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Chapter 1328: The Appearance of the Summoned Beast, Umibōzu! (Two-in-One)
"Ah, I wonder when I'll be able to awaken Observation Haki."
As time passed little by little.
Qin Su, who hadn't encountered any attacks, began to let his thoughts wander.
Both Professor Xiu from the school and Teacher Isaac had said.
They, as alchemists, had a great advantage in awakening Observation Haki.
Because being able to learn alchemy itself meant having stronger mental talent than average people.
Coupled with the assistance of the Demon Slayer Breathing Style, it further reduced the difficulty of awakening Observation Haki.
Recently, his classmates, as their age and alchemy level gradually increased, were indeed awakening one after another.
But he was already nineteen years old and still hadn't successfully awakened.
This made Qin Su somewhat doubt if he lacked talent.
As for Armament Haki, he didn't even need to think about it.
It required too high a level of physical ability strength, and very few alchemists could reach it.
Moreover, it wasn't very useful for alchemists.
Compared to that.
The range increase of alchemy provided by Observation Haki was visible to the naked eye.
It also allowed alchemists in chaotic combat to no longer need to rely on their eyes to observe the environment and lock onto targets.
Many times, smoke or other factors obscuring vision in the court would bring great danger to alchemists.
Therefore, anyone aspiring to become a 'Combat Alchemist' needed Observation Haki.
This was also the reason for Qin Su's distress.
He had no interest in researching theoretical knowledge.
And as the future Imperial Emperor, he didn't need to be a researcher.
But he needed to possess powerful strength to protect his nation and people.
Just as Qin Su fell into contemplation, a black shadow appeared beneath the waves.
[Bang!]
Suddenly, two purple palms with fish webs between the fingers violently broke through the ice surface beneath the boy's feet.
"What?!"
Qin Su was greatly alarmed.
But his ankles were firmly grabbed, and he was quickly dragged into the cold water.
At this moment.
The surging seawater submerged his mouth and nose, and he could only instinctively struggle in panic.
Beneath Qin Su, Arlong wore a malicious grin, his eyes filled with smugness and cruelty, as he gently released Qin Su's feet.
The constraints of the competition system prevented him from holding on continuously, otherwise, it would be considered killing a contestant.
But he could let go before the opponent died, leaving the rest to the merciless great sea.
And there was a high probability they wouldn't die.
When the Reflection Shield took effect, the water around the contestant would be quickly separated, and the White Zetsu secretly following would be responsible for first aid.
If they still died from this, then they could only consider themselves unlucky.
The Top 100 Competition inherently carried a certain risk of death; since they chose to participate, they had to be prepared.
"Shahaha! Shahaha!"
"It seems humans from any world are lowly creatures."
"As expected, our Fish-Man Tribe should rule the humans of the multiverse!"
Arlong looked at the helpless Qin Su, who was trying to swim towards the sea surface, and laughed wildly.
Then he rushed over again, grabbed the latter's feet, and dragged him down.
"Why isn't that damn shield taking effect yet? This human kid is about to die, shahaha!"
Arlong's eyes revealed intense malice, and smug laughter continuously erupted from his mouth.
However, he didn't notice that Qin Su's gaze had regained calmness.
After all, he knew how to swim; he had just been startled.
Seeing Arlong coming to grab him again, Qin Su immediately felt rage, and his palms clapped together heavily in front of his chest.
[Zzzzzzzzz----]
Instantly, streaks of blue electro bloomed.
In the blink of an eye, the seawater within a meter around him froze into large areas of ice.
And the seawater within one meter turned into warm mist.
Then Qin Su controlled the ice beneath his feet to rise, quickly rushing out of the sea level and successfully escaping the danger.
After doing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Qin Su stood on top of the five-meter-high ice pillar, coldly scanning the ice surface below, where wisps of cold air drifted.
The area of the ice layer wasn't large, only about a hundred square meters, but it was enough for him to deal with the upcoming combat.
[Boom!]
As expected, Arlong, holding Peak Cutter, easily broke through the ice that had frozen him purely with brute strength, leaping from below onto the ice layer's surface and glaring angrily at Qin Su above.
"It's so cold, you damn human kid!"
Qin Su frowned and angrily said, "You were the one who attacked first! I was just defending myself! And why are you trying to harm me?"
"Shahaha!"
Arlong was amused by his question. "Why would I need a reason to harm someone? But this time there is a reason, kid, we are opponents!"
"This is a point match, you should just get points based on your ability/skill! You're actually harming other contestants, how despicable!"
Qin Su's upbringing meant that even when extremely angry, he could only curse to this extent.
But he had already decided in his heart to severely punish Arlong and make this villain completely lose his qualification to participate.
"Lowly human kid, despicable is a compliment to me!"
Arlong laughed wildly.
However, intense killing intent burst from his smiling eyes, and his massive body, over two meters six tall, suddenly erupted.
[Bang!]
Amidst the exploding ice cubes, his entire being turned into a blurry afterimage, charging directly at Qin Su on top of the ice peak.
[Zzzzzzzzz...]
Qin Su naturally wouldn't sit back and wait for death. He had already half-squatted down, pressing his palms against the ice surface to activate alchemy.
Suddenly, thick, long ice cones extended from various parts of the ice peak beneath him.
Arlong remained arrogant in the face of such an offensive.
He continuously swung the huge saw-blade in his hand, cutting down every incoming ice cone on the spot.
"Shahaha! Useless! Useless! All useless!"
Arlong approached Qin Su, revealing a cruel smile. "You really are weak, otherworld kid!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Peak Cutter in his hand broke through the air and struck out fiercely.
He wanted to force out Qin Su's Reflection Shield.
Eliminating other participants was also a method to get into the top 100!
[Boom——————]
A thick ice wall rose, blocking the attack of Peak Cutter at the cost of shattering into pieces.
Qin Su used this opportunity to immediately pull back, increasing the distance, while simultaneously pressing his palms to the ground again to activate alchemy.
The next moment, the ice layer beneath Arlong's feet suddenly turned into thick fog/mist.
This caused Arlong to instantly lose his balance and become submerged in the high temperature thick fog/mist.
"Ahhh, I'm burning to death!"
Qin Su heard Arlong's painful cry from within the steam.
But immediately, all the mist was torn apart by a strong wind, revealing a terrifying black shadow.
"What, Armament Haki Hardening?"
Qin Su was greatly alarmed.
He didn't understand how a civilian Fish-Man Tribe member could know this technique!
"Steam again, you otherworld human kid, you've completely enraged me..."
Arlong felt the burning pain in multiple parts of his body, his eyes turning red under the stimulation of rage and killing intent.
His strength had also improved significantly over the past four years.
This was mainly because he had seen too many experts in recent years.
Especially shortly after arriving in the East Blue, he provoked the Morgan Company by being too arrogant and was ultimately brutally beaten by Morgan William.
If he hadn't mentioned Tiger's name in time.
His Arlong Pirates would probably have been dried into fish jerky by Morgan William.
Tiger was now an admiral at Marine Headquarters, so Morgan William had to give him some face.
But Arlong and his crew were still driven out of the East Blue.
However, this also made Arlong fully realize how weak he was.
After returning to the Grand Line, he immediately contacted brother Tiger.
Arlong was, after all, a crewmate of the Former Sun Pirates and kept calling him big brother.
So when he asked Tiger to help him become strong.
Even though Tiger knew Arlong's racial discrimination thought was more extreme than his own, he still took the time to teach him Haki.
At the same time, Arlong also picked up Fish-Man Karate again, asking Kuroobi whenever he forgot something.
In other words, Arlong's current strength was greater than his sixteen years later in the original timeline.
At least if the newly debuted Luffy had encountered this Arlong, he would likely have been beaten to death.
Indeed.
The subsequent combat was completely one-sided, with Arlong charging forward without concerns.
And Qin Su could only use alchemy to control water flow, ice, and steam, trying every method to slow down Arlong's offensive.
At the same time, using the enhancement of Water Breathing on his physical ability, he desperately tried to increase the distance from Arlong.
He looked quite disheveled, but at least he managed to hold on.
Actually, Qin Su had another means.
That was to find a way to touch Arlong's body with his hand and then use alchemy to disintegrate his flesh and blood.
This was also the most terrifying ability of an alchemist.
However, Arlong had Armament Haki on his body, so his alchemy might not be effective.
Moreover, Qin Su always felt this means was too cruel.
So even if Arlong didn't have haki protection, he probably wouldn't actually use it.
In the school's education, the Fish-Man Tribe were also intelligent life, belonging to the minority of demi-humans.
Therefore, they couldn't be killed casually like sea monsters...
But what should he do now?
"Damn it, how can this cursed kid be so troublesome!"
Arlong, on his side, gradually lost patience with Qin Su's repeated desperate dodges.
The opponent's movements were ridiculously clumsy, yet the Peak Cutter in his hand just couldn't touch him.
Each time, he could only blast apart a piece of ice layer.
He looked imposing and caused a lot of commotion, but it had no practical effect.
Arlong was helpless and could only suppress his irritation, continuing to wildly swing his saw-blade with a belly full of rage, chasing Qin Su everywhere to slash at him.
These scenes made the audience from the Empire Arms World turn pale with fear.
Many believers of the Peace Religion clasped their hands tightly in front of their chests, praying for Qin Su to escape his plight soon.
Meanwhile, the emperor and the civil and military officials in the imperial palace were filled with angry expressions.
Some even cursed loudly, their eyes full of disgust and anger towards Arlong.
"Too much bullying!"
"This ugly fish-man is truly detestable, daring to humiliate our imperial prince like this!"
The emperor also couldn't hold back, slamming the dragon throne and letting out a roar of anger. "Investigate! Investigate the identity of this fish-man for me!"
He hadn't completely lost rationality; he wanted to first understand Arlong's background.
On the other side, on Noah's Ark.
Esdeath, in Im's arms, also frowned as she watched, a slight chill appearing in her clear blue eyes.
"What an arrogant fish-man, calling humans lowly one moment after another..."
She seemed to be muttering to herself, but she was actually speaking to Im.
After all, Im was also human.
Im naturally understood the deeper meaning of Esdeath's words.
He wasn't very surprised that Arlong had learned Armament Haki, as his talent was considered excellent among the Fish-Man Tribe.
As for his extreme thought.
Although Im knew about it, as long as he didn't hear it himself, he wouldn't specifically target him.
After all, this was truly just a small fry.
However, Arlong's words, full of contempt for humans, were now heard by him.
Although not face-to-face, hearing it through the screen still made Im somewhat displeased.
Because he considered himself human as well.
However, Im didn't want someone to secretly eliminate Arlong directly; that would be meaningless.
"Stussy, tell the people below that this Arlong is not allowed to obtain a Top 100 ranking, but he cannot be prohibited from participating in the competition."
As soon as Im said this, the women around him were stunned.
What did this mean?
"Yes, I obey your Imperial Will!"
Stussy was the first to react, a charming smile appearing on her face, thinking to herself, "Lord Imu is still so merciful."
In her opinion, such small fry who dared to show contempt for humans should be crushed casually.
Immediately, Stussy went to convey Im's order.
Esdeath's eyes lit up. "Are you going to make him a clown in the Top 100 Competition?"
"Yes, instead of killing him, it's better to add a laugh to the competition."
Im nodded. He suddenly regretted setting the Top 100 Competition to be held only once every four years.
But since things were already like this, he could only accept it.
"Look closely, this imperial prince is awakening Observation Haki during the combat, but he doesn't seem to have realized it yet."
Im reminded Esdeath.
Although Arlong's strength had increased significantly, it hadn't reached the point where Qin Su couldn't react.
So, as long as Qin Su's mental power and stamina weren't too depleted.
Arlong would find it difficult to touch Qin Su, who was single-mindedly focused on dodging and could use alchemy to create ice layers on the sea, expanding his range of activity.
This was the power of Observation Haki.
Indeed.
Just as Im said, Arlong and Qin Su on the scene were temporarily in a stalemate.
No matter how Arlong roared repeatedly, no matter how aggressively he pursued, he just couldn't touch Qin Su.
And Qin Su couldn't injure Arlong.
If the two continued like this, the final result would only be Qin Su collapsing first.
Although he had been injected with the Perfect Type-II Cell Strengthening Serum, his physique was comparable to that of a strong sea star person.
But compared to the Fish-Man Tribe of the Sea Star World, there was still a big gap.
Moreover, although he did daily physical ability training, the intensity wasn't very high.
After all, Qin Su's main focus was on learning alchemy and mental meditation.
But the current situation was that Qin Su wasn't in a hurry, while Arlong was gradually becoming impatient.
Because they both knew that Susanoo could return at any time!
Arlong wasn't exactly in fear.
He just felt that if Susanoo returned, things would definitely become more troublesome.
It was best to deal with this kid from the otherworld before the other party returned.
However, another ten minutes passed.
Apart from the ice layer on the sea surface getting larger, Arlong still couldn't catch Qin Su!
"Hoo—hoo—hoo————"
Qin Su felt incredibly fatigued at this moment, and his head was also becoming somewhat groggy.
Even though the surrounding temperature was very cold due to the influence of the ice layer.
He was still sweating profusely, and wisps of heat were even rising from his skin.
"Susanoo, why aren't you back yet? I can't hold on much longer..." Qin Su felt bitter in his heart.
Honestly, he was also very surprised that he could last until now.
Perhaps today was his lucky day.
"Damn it!"
"I'll remember you!"
Suddenly, Arlong stopped moving, glared fiercely at Qin Su, and then plunged into the water next to the ice layer.
He realized that the matter was impossible and didn't want to continue wasting time, so he gave up.
This made Qin Su pause, and then a smile appeared on his face.
But just as he breathed a sigh of relief, the seawater within a hundred meters suddenly became turbulent.
It was like a storm creating a huge tsunami.
However, Qin Su didn't feel any strong wind; the seawater seemed to be moving on its own?
"Qin Su, I'm back!"
Just as Qin Su scanned the surging seawater with surprise and uncertainty.
Susanoo's figure suddenly jumped onto the ice layer from the side.
"Susanoo!!!"
Qin Su turned his head to look, incredibly surprised.
Susanoo, however, knelt down and, with his swift and exquisite technique, quickly tidied Qin Su's hair and clothing again.
After doing this, he said in a deep voice, "Sorry, I'm late, and you've worked hard to hold on until now."
Qin Su shook his head. "It's okay, as long as you're back safely. But this seawater..."
But when he looked at the surrounding seawater again, he was astonished to find Arlong's figure appearing in a mass of water that had risen into the air.
He seemed to still be trying to cut the surrounding water with the saw-blade in his hand, or perhaps trying to rush out of the range of that mass of water.
"Yo, hello there, Imperial Prince from the Empire Arms World."
"My name is Tian Zhi, and I am a contestant from the Ninja World!"
At this moment, a strange but friendly-sounding voice suddenly came from behind Qin Su.
Qin Su subconsciously turned his head to look.
He saw a gray-haired man wearing a white coat, about 1.7 meters tall, standing with his hands in his pockets, looking at him with a smiling face.
"That seawater you see is my summoned beast, called Umibōzu. Let it take care of that fish-man."
(End of Chapter)
"Ah, I wonder when I'll be able to awaken Observation Haki."
As time passed little by little.
Qin Su, who hadn't encountered any attacks, began to let his thoughts wander.
Both Professor Xiu from the school and Teacher Isaac had said.
They, as alchemists, had a great advantage in awakening Observation Haki.
Because being able to learn alchemy itself meant having stronger mental talent than average people.
Coupled with the assistance of the Demon Slayer Breathing Style, it further reduced the difficulty of awakening Observation Haki.
Recently, his classmates, as their age and alchemy level gradually increased, were indeed awakening one after another.
But he was already nineteen years old and still hadn't successfully awakened.
This made Qin Su somewhat doubt if he lacked talent.
As for Armament Haki, he didn't even need to think about it.
It required too high a level of physical ability strength, and very few alchemists could reach it.
Moreover, it wasn't very useful for alchemists.
Compared to that.
The range increase of alchemy provided by Observation Haki was visible to the naked eye.
It also allowed alchemists in chaotic combat to no longer need to rely on their eyes to observe the environment and lock onto targets.
Many times, smoke or other factors obscuring vision in the court would bring great danger to alchemists.
Therefore, anyone aspiring to become a 'Combat Alchemist' needed Observation Haki.
This was also the reason for Qin Su's distress.
He had no interest in researching theoretical knowledge.
And as the future Imperial Emperor, he didn't need to be a researcher.
But he needed to possess powerful strength to protect his nation and people.
Just as Qin Su fell into contemplation, a black shadow appeared beneath the waves.
[Bang!]
Suddenly, two purple palms with fish webs between the fingers violently broke through the ice surface beneath the boy's feet.
"What?!"
Qin Su was greatly alarmed.
But his ankles were firmly grabbed, and he was quickly dragged into the cold water.
At this moment.
The surging seawater submerged his mouth and nose, and he could only instinctively struggle in panic.
Beneath Qin Su, Arlong wore a malicious grin, his eyes filled with smugness and cruelty, as he gently released Qin Su's feet.
The constraints of the competition system prevented him from holding on continuously, otherwise, it would be considered killing a contestant.
But he could let go before the opponent died, leaving the rest to the merciless great sea.
And there was a high probability they wouldn't die.
When the Reflection Shield took effect, the water around the contestant would be quickly separated, and the White Zetsu secretly following would be responsible for first aid.
If they still died from this, then they could only consider themselves unlucky.
The Top 100 Competition inherently carried a certain risk of death; since they chose to participate, they had to be prepared.
"Shahaha! Shahaha!"
"It seems humans from any world are lowly creatures."
"As expected, our Fish-Man Tribe should rule the humans of the multiverse!"
Arlong looked at the helpless Qin Su, who was trying to swim towards the sea surface, and laughed wildly.
Then he rushed over again, grabbed the latter's feet, and dragged him down.
"Why isn't that damn shield taking effect yet? This human kid is about to die, shahaha!"
Arlong's eyes revealed intense malice, and smug laughter continuously erupted from his mouth.
However, he didn't notice that Qin Su's gaze had regained calmness.
After all, he knew how to swim; he had just been startled.
Seeing Arlong coming to grab him again, Qin Su immediately felt rage, and his palms clapped together heavily in front of his chest.
[Zzzzzzzzz----]
Instantly, streaks of blue electro bloomed.
In the blink of an eye, the seawater within a meter around him froze into large areas of ice.
And the seawater within one meter turned into warm mist.
Then Qin Su controlled the ice beneath his feet to rise, quickly rushing out of the sea level and successfully escaping the danger.
After doing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Qin Su stood on top of the five-meter-high ice pillar, coldly scanning the ice surface below, where wisps of cold air drifted.
The area of the ice layer wasn't large, only about a hundred square meters, but it was enough for him to deal with the upcoming combat.
[Boom!]
As expected, Arlong, holding Peak Cutter, easily broke through the ice that had frozen him purely with brute strength, leaping from below onto the ice layer's surface and glaring angrily at Qin Su above.
"It's so cold, you damn human kid!"
Qin Su frowned and angrily said, "You were the one who attacked first! I was just defending myself! And why are you trying to harm me?"
"Shahaha!"
Arlong was amused by his question. "Why would I need a reason to harm someone? But this time there is a reason, kid, we are opponents!"
"This is a point match, you should just get points based on your ability/skill! You're actually harming other contestants, how despicable!"
Qin Su's upbringing meant that even when extremely angry, he could only curse to this extent.
But he had already decided in his heart to severely punish Arlong and make this villain completely lose his qualification to participate.
"Lowly human kid, despicable is a compliment to me!"
Arlong laughed wildly.
However, intense killing intent burst from his smiling eyes, and his massive body, over two meters six tall, suddenly erupted.
[Bang!]
Amidst the exploding ice cubes, his entire being turned into a blurry afterimage, charging directly at Qin Su on top of the ice peak.
[Zzzzzzzzz...]
Qin Su naturally wouldn't sit back and wait for death. He had already half-squatted down, pressing his palms against the ice surface to activate alchemy.
Suddenly, thick, long ice cones extended from various parts of the ice peak beneath him.
Arlong remained arrogant in the face of such an offensive.
He continuously swung the huge saw-blade in his hand, cutting down every incoming ice cone on the spot.
"Shahaha! Useless! Useless! All useless!"
Arlong approached Qin Su, revealing a cruel smile. "You really are weak, otherworld kid!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Peak Cutter in his hand broke through the air and struck out fiercely.
He wanted to force out Qin Su's Reflection Shield.
Eliminating other participants was also a method to get into the top 100!
[Boom——————]
A thick ice wall rose, blocking the attack of Peak Cutter at the cost of shattering into pieces.
Qin Su used this opportunity to immediately pull back, increasing the distance, while simultaneously pressing his palms to the ground again to activate alchemy.
The next moment, the ice layer beneath Arlong's feet suddenly turned into thick fog/mist.
This caused Arlong to instantly lose his balance and become submerged in the high temperature thick fog/mist.
"Ahhh, I'm burning to death!"
Qin Su heard Arlong's painful cry from within the steam.
But immediately, all the mist was torn apart by a strong wind, revealing a terrifying black shadow.
"What, Armament Haki Hardening?"
Qin Su was greatly alarmed.
He didn't understand how a civilian Fish-Man Tribe member could know this technique!
"Steam again, you otherworld human kid, you've completely enraged me..."
Arlong felt the burning pain in multiple parts of his body, his eyes turning red under the stimulation of rage and killing intent.
His strength had also improved significantly over the past four years.
This was mainly because he had seen too many experts in recent years.
Especially shortly after arriving in the East Blue, he provoked the Morgan Company by being too arrogant and was ultimately brutally beaten by Morgan William.
If he hadn't mentioned Tiger's name in time.
His Arlong Pirates would probably have been dried into fish jerky by Morgan William.
Tiger was now an admiral at Marine Headquarters, so Morgan William had to give him some face.
But Arlong and his crew were still driven out of the East Blue.
However, this also made Arlong fully realize how weak he was.
After returning to the Grand Line, he immediately contacted brother Tiger.
Arlong was, after all, a crewmate of the Former Sun Pirates and kept calling him big brother.
So when he asked Tiger to help him become strong.
Even though Tiger knew Arlong's racial discrimination thought was more extreme than his own, he still took the time to teach him Haki.
At the same time, Arlong also picked up Fish-Man Karate again, asking Kuroobi whenever he forgot something.
In other words, Arlong's current strength was greater than his sixteen years later in the original timeline.
At least if the newly debuted Luffy had encountered this Arlong, he would likely have been beaten to death.
Indeed.
The subsequent combat was completely one-sided, with Arlong charging forward without concerns.
And Qin Su could only use alchemy to control water flow, ice, and steam, trying every method to slow down Arlong's offensive.
At the same time, using the enhancement of Water Breathing on his physical ability, he desperately tried to increase the distance from Arlong.
He looked quite disheveled, but at least he managed to hold on.
Actually, Qin Su had another means.
That was to find a way to touch Arlong's body with his hand and then use alchemy to disintegrate his flesh and blood.
This was also the most terrifying ability of an alchemist.
However, Arlong had Armament Haki on his body, so his alchemy might not be effective.
Moreover, Qin Su always felt this means was too cruel.
So even if Arlong didn't have haki protection, he probably wouldn't actually use it.
In the school's education, the Fish-Man Tribe were also intelligent life, belonging to the minority of demi-humans.
Therefore, they couldn't be killed casually like sea monsters...
But what should he do now?
"Damn it, how can this cursed kid be so troublesome!"
Arlong, on his side, gradually lost patience with Qin Su's repeated desperate dodges.
The opponent's movements were ridiculously clumsy, yet the Peak Cutter in his hand just couldn't touch him.
Each time, he could only blast apart a piece of ice layer.
He looked imposing and caused a lot of commotion, but it had no practical effect.
Arlong was helpless and could only suppress his irritation, continuing to wildly swing his saw-blade with a belly full of rage, chasing Qin Su everywhere to slash at him.
These scenes made the audience from the Empire Arms World turn pale with fear.
Many believers of the Peace Religion clasped their hands tightly in front of their chests, praying for Qin Su to escape his plight soon.
Meanwhile, the emperor and the civil and military officials in the imperial palace were filled with angry expressions.
Some even cursed loudly, their eyes full of disgust and anger towards Arlong.
"Too much bullying!"
"This ugly fish-man is truly detestable, daring to humiliate our imperial prince like this!"
The emperor also couldn't hold back, slamming the dragon throne and letting out a roar of anger. "Investigate! Investigate the identity of this fish-man for me!"
He hadn't completely lost rationality; he wanted to first understand Arlong's background.
On the other side, on Noah's Ark.
Esdeath, in Im's arms, also frowned as she watched, a slight chill appearing in her clear blue eyes.
"What an arrogant fish-man, calling humans lowly one moment after another..."
She seemed to be muttering to herself, but she was actually speaking to Im.
After all, Im was also human.
Im naturally understood the deeper meaning of Esdeath's words.
He wasn't very surprised that Arlong had learned Armament Haki, as his talent was considered excellent among the Fish-Man Tribe.
As for his extreme thought.
Although Im knew about it, as long as he didn't hear it himself, he wouldn't specifically target him.
After all, this was truly just a small fry.
However, Arlong's words, full of contempt for humans, were now heard by him.
Although not face-to-face, hearing it through the screen still made Im somewhat displeased.
Because he considered himself human as well.
However, Im didn't want someone to secretly eliminate Arlong directly; that would be meaningless.
"Stussy, tell the people below that this Arlong is not allowed to obtain a Top 100 ranking, but he cannot be prohibited from participating in the competition."
As soon as Im said this, the women around him were stunned.
What did this mean?
"Yes, I obey your Imperial Will!"
Stussy was the first to react, a charming smile appearing on her face, thinking to herself, "Lord Imu is still so merciful."
In her opinion, such small fry who dared to show contempt for humans should be crushed casually.
Immediately, Stussy went to convey Im's order.
Esdeath's eyes lit up. "Are you going to make him a clown in the Top 100 Competition?"
"Yes, instead of killing him, it's better to add a laugh to the competition."
Im nodded. He suddenly regretted setting the Top 100 Competition to be held only once every four years.
But since things were already like this, he could only accept it.
"Look closely, this imperial prince is awakening Observation Haki during the combat, but he doesn't seem to have realized it yet."
Im reminded Esdeath.
Although Arlong's strength had increased significantly, it hadn't reached the point where Qin Su couldn't react.
So, as long as Qin Su's mental power and stamina weren't too depleted.
Arlong would find it difficult to touch Qin Su, who was single-mindedly focused on dodging and could use alchemy to create ice layers on the sea, expanding his range of activity.
This was the power of Observation Haki.
Indeed.
Just as Im said, Arlong and Qin Su on the scene were temporarily in a stalemate.
No matter how Arlong roared repeatedly, no matter how aggressively he pursued, he just couldn't touch Qin Su.
And Qin Su couldn't injure Arlong.
If the two continued like this, the final result would only be Qin Su collapsing first.
Although he had been injected with the Perfect Type-II Cell Strengthening Serum, his physique was comparable to that of a strong sea star person.
But compared to the Fish-Man Tribe of the Sea Star World, there was still a big gap.
Moreover, although he did daily physical ability training, the intensity wasn't very high.
After all, Qin Su's main focus was on learning alchemy and mental meditation.
But the current situation was that Qin Su wasn't in a hurry, while Arlong was gradually becoming impatient.
Because they both knew that Susanoo could return at any time!
Arlong wasn't exactly in fear.
He just felt that if Susanoo returned, things would definitely become more troublesome.
It was best to deal with this kid from the otherworld before the other party returned.
However, another ten minutes passed.
Apart from the ice layer on the sea surface getting larger, Arlong still couldn't catch Qin Su!
"Hoo—hoo—hoo————"
Qin Su felt incredibly fatigued at this moment, and his head was also becoming somewhat groggy.
Even though the surrounding temperature was very cold due to the influence of the ice layer.
He was still sweating profusely, and wisps of heat were even rising from his skin.
"Susanoo, why aren't you back yet? I can't hold on much longer..." Qin Su felt bitter in his heart.
Honestly, he was also very surprised that he could last until now.
Perhaps today was his lucky day.
"Damn it!"
"I'll remember you!"
Suddenly, Arlong stopped moving, glared fiercely at Qin Su, and then plunged into the water next to the ice layer.
He realized that the matter was impossible and didn't want to continue wasting time, so he gave up.
This made Qin Su pause, and then a smile appeared on his face.
But just as he breathed a sigh of relief, the seawater within a hundred meters suddenly became turbulent.
It was like a storm creating a huge tsunami.
However, Qin Su didn't feel any strong wind; the seawater seemed to be moving on its own?
"Qin Su, I'm back!"
Just as Qin Su scanned the surging seawater with surprise and uncertainty.
Susanoo's figure suddenly jumped onto the ice layer from the side.
"Susanoo!!!"
Qin Su turned his head to look, incredibly surprised.
Susanoo, however, knelt down and, with his swift and exquisite technique, quickly tidied Qin Su's hair and clothing again.
After doing this, he said in a deep voice, "Sorry, I'm late, and you've worked hard to hold on until now."
Qin Su shook his head. "It's okay, as long as you're back safely. But this seawater..."
But when he looked at the surrounding seawater again, he was astonished to find Arlong's figure appearing in a mass of water that had risen into the air.
He seemed to still be trying to cut the surrounding water with the saw-blade in his hand, or perhaps trying to rush out of the range of that mass of water.
"Yo, hello there, Imperial Prince from the Empire Arms World."
"My name is Tian Zhi, and I am a contestant from the Ninja World!"
At this moment, a strange but friendly-sounding voice suddenly came from behind Qin Su.
Qin Su subconsciously turned his head to look.
He saw a gray-haired man wearing a white coat, about 1.7 meters tall, standing with his hands in his pockets, looking at him with a smiling face.
"That seawater you see is my summoned beast, called Umibōzu. Let it take care of that fish-man."
(End of Chapter)
