Guina was unfazed by the tremendous roar behind her.
She stepped forward, passing beneath Arlong's arm, her sword drawing upward and slashing toward Arlong's wide-open chest.
When this strike missed, Arlong knew he was in trouble.
But he had, after all, navigated the Grand Line before and possessed extensive combat experience. He knew he couldn't dodge Guina's attack, so he chose not to.
His eyes glinting with ferocity, he lowered his head and charged fiercely toward Guina, intending to pierce her with his saw-toothed snout.
"Die!"
If he could land a hit, what did it matter if he took a blade in return?
Unfortunately for him, Guina wouldn't give him that chance.
Guina's eyes flashed red as she abruptly halted her forward momentum, turned to the right, and stepped back a pace, positioning herself to Arlong's left.
Her sword, in its arc, circled and was sheathed.
Arlong hadn't anticipated that Guina could stop her charge so effectively and evade his snout as if she had foreseen it.
With no time to think, his momentum carrying him forward, his head plunged towards the ground.
At that moment, Guina raised her right foot. As Arlong's head dipped, she delivered a powerful upward kick to his chin.
*Boom—!*
A blast of wind pressure violently radiated outwards from Arlong's chin.
This kick made the whites of his bloodshot eyes roll back, and his entire body lifted off the ground.
As Arlong's body flew upwards, Guina rapidly retracted her right foot, steadied herself, then twisted her waist, bringing her left foot around for a devastating kick to Arlong's abdomen.
*Boom—!*
Another, even louder thud echoed, accompanied by a greater wave of force rushing outwards.
"Pfft—!"
This kick forced Arlong to spit out a mouthful of blood.
The trajectory of his ascending, massive form was instantly altered by the force of this blow, sending him hurtling towards the tower-like structure behind him.
With a "crash," he smashed through the building and slammed into the wall behind it.
"Pfft—!"
The impact against the wall sent another spurt of blood from Arlong's mouth.
He doubled over, leaning against the wall, shaking his head, his left hand clutching his side as he coughed.
"Cough, cough, cough—!!"
This kick had not only injured him internally but also made him recall the ability that allowed his opponent to consistently evade his attacks.
He looked up, the blood-red hue in his eyes instantly receding, replaced by shock.
Through the gaping hole in the building, he glared at Guina outside and loudly asked.
"It's Observation Haki, isn't it!"
Guina looked at Arlong with a puzzled expression. Had this guy been stunned senseless? His voice was so quiet.
"What did you say?"
Arlong's body was slowly recovering. He straightened up, reaching into his mouth to pull out his own teeth.
With each regrowth, his teeth became sharper than the last.
Eventually, only a formidable set of steel-like teeth remained in his mouth.
He stared at Guina and roared, "Don't think you have me completely defenseless just because you have Observation Haki! If I bite you with these teeth, I'll shred you instantly."
Then, he crouched down and sprang off the ground with force, launching himself forward.
His head led the charge, like a torpedo hurtling toward Guina.
Guina watched Arlong approach, a flicker of disdain in her usually cold eyes.
To outsiders, Arlong's speed was impressive, but to Guina, it was still too slow.
She shifted slightly, easily evading the charge.
What Guina didn't realize was that Arlong wasn't intending to fight her to the death.
The moment he realized Guina could use Haki, he knew he couldn't win, even if he risked his life.
After all, he had spent so much time in the Grand Line; how could he not know of Haki's existence?
It offered an absolute counter to those who couldn't use it.
You couldn't hit the opponent, but the opponent could hit you.
Under such circumstances, no matter how great your strength, it wouldn't change the outcome of the battle.
And on top of that, his opponent was a swordswoman, one with the strongest offensive power.
Seeing the waterway drawing near, Arlong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Once he reached the sea, he wouldn't have to fear this woman anymore.
After all, the sea was the Fish-Men's home turf.
In the water, their strength would double, and their speed would increase.
Then, he would just dive into the deep sea, and once these two terrifying individuals left, he would still be the Arlong who ruled the entire island.
"Huh—!"
At that moment, he wore a confused expression. Why was the waterway, which should have been within reach, still so far away?
It was as if he were suspended in mid-air.
Yet, he could feel that he was still flying.
Just then, he noticed that the silver-haired human on the wall was now beside him.
"Well, you almost got away. How scary!"
Kouta feigned surprise as he looked at Arlong, who was still flying within his spatial domain.
"What kind of ability is this?"
Arlong finally realized the problem. He was indeed flying, but it felt like he was stuck in place.
This wasn't stopping him, but rather stretching the space.
He halted his movement, standing at the edge of the pond. One step forward was the sea he longed for, but for him now, that single step was an uncrossable distance.
He looked at Kouta, his face contorted with terror, the arrogance of his former self completely gone.
Just then, a massive sea king with a bull's body and a fish's tail emerged from the distant sea.
It let out a roar and charged rapidly towards Arlong Park.
Clearly, its target was Kouta, standing by the pond.
Upon seeing the sea king, Arlong's eyes lit up with a sliver of hope, but what happened next plunged him into complete despair.
Kouta didn't even glance at the sea king. He simply drew his sword, swung it, and sheathed it.
A streak of silver-gray energy easily sliced the sea king into two halves.
Arlong's pupils contracted to their extreme. He stammered, clearly understanding what kind of swordsman could unleash such a devastating slash.
"G-G-G..."
"Great Swordsman."
Kouta stared at Arlong and said with a flippant tone, "Guess what ability I used to trap you. There's a prize for the right answer!"
"Space, space... Devil Fruit."
Arlong trembled and stammered his reply.
"Hmm...!"
He lowered his chin, contemplating, then looked up at Arlong with a smile and said.
"Unfortunately, you guessed wrong. You'll be punished."
"Hmm! What should I punish you with?"
"How about I punish you by making you die? How does that sound?"
Kouta looked at Arlong and mockingly uttered the most brutal words.
Seeing Arlong remain silent, he nodded and continued, "You're not answering, so I'll take that as your agreement."
"I don't agree to anything, you fool!"
Arlong glared at Kouta, his eyes filled with terror and rage. The pressure around him prevented him from even opening his mouth.
He struggled frantically, like a drowning person, but to no avail.
"Guina, do it!"
Kouta turned to Guina with a smile.
Guina pursed her lips and looked at Arlong with a cold expression.
"That damn guy, I almost let him embarrass me in front of Kouta. If Arlong had escaped, I would have been laughed at for a long time."
She walked up to Arlong, drew her sword, and slanted the blade towards his neck, preparing for a decapitation.
Arlong felt the rapidly approaching blade and struggled even more violently. His once fierce gaze was now filled with helplessness and humiliation.
He would have preferred to fight Guina to the death than die such a stifling death.
The blade instantly sliced across Arlong's neck. His struggling body immediately stilled. His eyes held a lingering desire for life, but it was useless.
Kouta looked at the lifeless Arlong and released his spatial domain.
Arlong's massive body then toppled into the pond.
*Splash—!*
A not-so-large splash rose, indicating that Arlong would have scored well if he had been judged on his diving.
Then, his head separated from his body.
He would never have imagined that in the East Blue, he would be beheaded by a human, much like a true fish laid out on a cutting board.
One could only say, perhaps this was his fate as a fish.