Walking down the streets of Area 13, Kisame was getting looked at from all over. Even though this place was close to Fish-Man Island and was filled with slaves of all kinds, Kisame was a rare exception among them.
Few fish-men looked as human as Kisame did. Most took on appearances closer to animals and less like humans, unlike Kisame who looked like a human with shark features. The fact that Kisame was around 3 meters tall and carrying a sword just as tall as himself on his back had nothing to do with the looks he was getting.
A few minutes later, Kisame arrived at Ruth's. This was a diner that Kisame would usually visit to get his meals.
As he walked in, a middle-aged woman smiled brightly and walked straight up to him. This was Ruth, the owner of Ruth's, named after her mother Ruthy.
"If it isn't one of my favorite customers! You want the same as usual today?"
Kisame nodded and walked over to an empty table. Already used to his attitude, Ruth walked away to give his order to the kitchen before going back to interact with her other customers.
Even though the place was full, Ruth would keep 3 tables empty for her favorite customers. Currently, only one of those tables was occupied so Kisame was able to get his table with no issues on the second floor.
As he waited for his breakfast to be served, Kisame decided to look out the window and watch the people move to and fro. They all had destinations and plans for the day.
'And it can all end so easily. They are so weak that any group of marines can come and lock them up whenever they please or the World Nobles could enslave them off the street. And it seems like these people have just... settled.'
Kisame was feeling frustrated. Ever since he had been on the Archipelago, he had felt stuck. The island had left its mark on him and he loved what it did to him.
The feeling of being at the bottom but surviving. Seeing himself slowly getting stronger while battling the strongest person he had ever met to be able to hunt the creatures that bullied him like he was a small child when he first arrived.
Even though he was humiliated and beaten down, that was fine for Kisame. The boy was arrogant when he was so weak. He had been praised by the fish-men and his parents for his talent but when he actually needed to put it to use, he was put in his place.
Rayleigh had given Kisame a second life and probably even saved his life as well. If Kisame left the Fish-Man Island the way he was without Rayleigh, he would have surely died or been enslaved.
'Ugh! That old bastard helped save my life. I owe him a couple of favors for that but I need to leave soon. I can't stay here for much longer or else Fish-Man Island will happen all over again.'
Ruth brought over Kisame's breakfast as he was deep in thought: 10 pounds of pork bacon, 10 pounds of turkey bacon, 10 pounds of sausage, and 30 pancakes. With his large size and constant activity, Kisame needed to eat lots of food to make sure he did not get tired out.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
'Whatever. Let's just ignore it for now. If he ever asks for something, I will just repay it then.'
With his food arriving, Kisame decided not to think anymore about what he owed Rayleigh. Kisame dug into his food, picking up a handful of turkey bacon in his right hand and pork bacon in his left.
The newer customers or those that weren't regulars looked at Kisame in shock. Many had never seen a Fish-Man eat, or at least not eat so much. The regulars were all used to this sight though.
Most even thought along the lines of, 'Ha! This is nothing. If you saw him eating lunch or dinner. He truly eats like a man of twice his stature.'
Kisame made swift work of his food and was done not even 10 minutes later. One of Ruth's waitresses brought over a gallon of water for Kisame which he finished in no time.
Kisame was about to leave his payment for the meal on the table when something caught his ears.
"Did you hear about the competition in the 11th District?" A man said
"Huh? What is it?" responded a woman
"I did. That girl is too powerful!" Before the first man could answer, a second joined in.
"Hey! What the hell are you two talking about?" Feeling frustrated about not getting an answer, the woman looked like she was ready to hit someone.
The first man saw that he was in danger so he hurried to speak before the woman got violent. After he saw what the girl did in Area 11, he would never look down on women again.
"A Celestial Dragon has made a bet with anyone who dares to challenge. If they beat his slave, they will get 500 million Belly as well as keep the slave girl if they can beat her without killing her," the man paused when he saw that many people were now paying attention. After basking in the attention and pulling everyone to the edges of their seats, he continued, "But if the person loses, they will be the Celestial Dragon's slave or be sent to Impel Down."
A man thought that this was the funniest thing he had heard, "He is using a slave girl? So that Dragon is just giving away money then!"
Others agreed with this statement and started laughing. The man who was telling the story of the bet spoke over them and immediately caused them to shiver in fear.
"That is no ordinary slave girl. She has beaten 57 people in a row, each with only a single blow. One of them was even Washington of the Patriot Pirates."
Washington was pretty famous as a pirate. He had once sailed under one of the legendary Whitebeard's commanders before peacefully parting and making a name for himself. In 10 years, the man had racked up a bounty that was over 250,000,000.
A bounty like this represented that he was a veteran that had survived various dangerous encounters and had eluded the Marines' capture all this time. To be beaten by a young girl showed that this was definitely a trap made by that Celestial Dragon to get slaves while amusing himself.
Kisame listened to the entire conversation before something flashed within his eyes. Leaving the money on the ship, Kisame walked down from the second floor and out into the streets. As for his destination? He was obviously heading towards the 11th Area the challenge the girl.
---
By the time Kisame arrived on the scene, there were only the sounds of a man grunting and panting loudly. The crowd around the circle where the fight was did not even breathe too loudly.
Kisame looked over most of the crowd and saw that a tall and burly man was swinging his blade, trying to hit a young woman in her teens but was unable to land a single blow. Not to mention landing a blow, the man could not cut a single strand of the girl's blue hair.
On the other side of the makeshift arena, no civilians could be seen. There were 3 groups of people that stood somewhat apart.
In the first, there was a man wearing something similar to a spacesuit with two children in similar clothing on each side of him. Besides each of the children were 2 bodyguards on each side. This was the Celestial Dragon, his family, and their bodyguards.
The next group was the Marines. There were not only several captains and lieutenants but there was even a commodore present. Each had either a gun or sword in hand as they looked on at the situation. With such a large crowd, they needed to be there to ensure safety and fairness.
Lastly was a group of men and women that each looked exhausted and in pain. Many of them were kneeling with barely able to stand. A few of them had smoke or steam coming from their backs. This was due to the branding that they were each given to symbolize their status as slaves. This group had over 80 members.
Kisame looked at each of them for a moment before returning to look at the battle in front of him.
'He's done for,' Kisame thought after a glance.
And just like he thought, when the man went in for a heavy chop, the girl made her move. When the blade came crashing down, instead of backing away to dodge, the young woman moved forward and tilted her body to the side.
As the sword passed her by, she grabbed him by the arm and used his own momentum to toss the man over her shoulder. Instead of landing on the ground, he was sent flying and crashed into a building over 20 meters outside of the arena.
One of the captains for the Marines stepped forward and announced the results, "Winner is the slave of Lord Celestial Dragon. James Morgan will not be given the option to be a slave of the Celestial Dragon or be imprisoned in Impel Down for 5 years."
Kisame did not care about what happened to the man. Instead, he pushed through the crowd and stood within the circle.