Chapter 6: Hard to Distinguish Truth from Falsehood

“That is...”
“Navy Six Style... Razor?”
It escaped.
Chu Yi’s Dividing Sea Sword Technique still failed to catch that furtive figure.
But just before that shadow dissolved suddenly into darkness, breaking apart and vanishing, Chu Yi clearly saw the tips of its feet tapping rapidly on the ground, instinctively trying to evade his sword intent by moving at high speed.
And that move... wasn’t it exactly the “Razor” from the Navy Six Style?
Thus, silently analyzing the reason behind the enemy’s appearance, Chu Yi had two bold guesses.
First, the Navy had already set ambushes around the New World, preparing to attack him again.
After all, Zephyr knew about Whitebeard rescuing Chu Yi. Given that, Zephyr’s awareness of Chu Yi’s survival meant it was very possible they had stationed heavy troops around the Red Soil Continent and the New World. Plus, that furtive figure’s ability to use Navy Six Style added weight to Chu Yi’s audacious speculation—it was at least sixty percent likely.
Second...
It had to do with Lucci’s disappearance!
Why was it Lucci who went missing, and not Smoker?
Chu Yi reasoned that Lucci must have been more useful than Smoker in some respects.
Though Lucci and Smoker were twin rising stars among the Navy rookies, Smoker had already surpassed Lucci in certain areas.
Whether in rank or reputation, Smoker undoubtedly held a higher position.
Moreover, Smoker possessed a Logia-type Devil Fruit—the Smoke Fruit—making it difficult for Lucci to defeat him unless he mastered Haki.
Following this line of thought, the only aspect where Lucci was stronger than Smoker was probably...
the Navy Six Style!
“The enemy hiding on the Dark Island who captured Lucci very likely needed a killing hand-to-hand technique. Navy Six Style may not be the best hand-to-hand combat style in the four seas, but it’s the most comprehensive and fundamental. Besides, Navy Six Style can extend into countless possibilities. In the original story, Lucci had already begun modifying Navy Six Style, and my own Gale Step is derived from Navy Six Style’s Razor. If the enemy’s first target to capture was Lucci, then it’s very possible...”
“...they specifically coveted the unique traits of Navy Six Style!”
“So if my previous guess is true, Lucci...”
“Has been held captive so long, yet he can still cause me trouble!”
Thinking this silently, Chu Yi was about to step forward to see what had dropped from that furtive figure.
Unexpectedly, Mihawk was faster, flashing forward to pick up a silver-white gleaming object from the ground. He glanced expressionlessly at Jinbei, then said calmly, “It’s a tooth.”
“A shark’s tooth!”
“What?”
As Mihawk spoke, Jinbei’s expression changed sharply; he hurried forward and his face turned deathly pale.
“That’s right... it’s a shark’s tooth!”
After saying this, veins bulged on Jinbei’s forehead as he crushed the silver gleaming tooth into fragments with great force.
Chu Yi, however, fell into deep thought at Jinbei’s reaction.
A shark’s tooth?
Sharks aren’t amphibious; how could one have sneaked onto Dark Island to attack Chu Yi and the others?
Besides, the figure that had appeared was clearly humanoid—both Mihawk and Jinbei had seen it when Chu Yi raised his sword.
So...
The attackers must be fish-men!
That explained why Jinbei’s face had turned so grim.
It was widely known that Chu Yi’s relationship with the fish-men crew was complicated. Though his strength had won over some fish-men, dissent still simmered on the ship. Among them, Tiger and Jinbei’s old acquaintance, the “Evil Dragon,” was a notorious troublemaker—someone Chu Yi had encountered several times.
During their long journey, Evil Dragon had caused trouble more than once.
Thankfully, Tiger and Jinbei had mediated, preventing Chu Yi from giving Evil Dragon a real beating.
After all, a warrior capable of causing incidents like the “Sabaody Archipelago Incident” and the “Holy Land Mary Geoise Incident” was far beyond the reach of a mere sawtooth shark underling from Fish-Man Island.
Being a fish-man himself, Jinbei understood his people’s traits well.
The tooth Mihawk identified as a shark’s tooth was immediately recognized by Jinbei as a sawtooth shark’s tooth.
The evidence was clear...
No matter how much Jinbei wanted to defend Evil Dragon, it seemed... there was no way out.
After all, the only sawtooth shark among Chu Yi’s crew was Evil Dragon.
Yet, as Jinbei’s fury boiled and he wished to tear Evil Dragon apart, Chu Yi calmly approached his side, a faint smile playing on his lips as he said, “Jinbei, you think Evil Dragon did this, right?”
“If not him, then who else?”
Taking a deep breath and trying to remain calm, Jinbei suppressed his anger, his voice hoarse as he said, “I’ve told Captain Tiger before—Evil Dragon is trouble. I didn’t expect him to go this far. How dare he attempt to assassinate his own captain!”
“Chu Yi, when you see Evil Dragon, do me a favor!”
“Even if Evil Dragon dies, it will be by my hand!”
“Oh? Have you decided to kill Evil Dragon?” Chu Yi asked with a smile.
“Of course!”
Jinbei nodded firmly, his tone righteous. “Chu Yi, no matter what, you’re our captain. Even if Evil Dragon doesn’t respect you, he must not break the ship’s rules. He has to be punished!”
“But... what if Evil Dragon isn’t the attacker?”
“Huh?”
Chu Yi’s sudden words stunned Jinbei into silence.
Damn it...
Seems like the one Evil Dragon dislikes most is you, Chu Yi.
And now you’re defending him?
Jinbei was utterly baffled, standing dumbfounded for a long moment before Mihawk slowly said, “Fortunately, not all fish-men are like you. Otherwise, there would be many troubles on Fish-Man Island.”
“Fatty, can’t you use your brain? Do you really think that long-nosed guy could dodge a sword strike from Chu Yi?”
“So...”
“Your long-nosed brother isn’t the attacker, or maybe... he’s being controlled!”
“Baka...”
“Hmm? That actually makes some sense.”
Jinbei silently nodded, repeating Mihawk’s words in his mind and letting out a quiet sigh of relief.
But it wasn’t long before Jinbei was furious again.
“Bastard, who are you calling fatty? And what the hell is this ‘long nose’? Are you looking down on us fish-men?”
“Hmm... Chu Yi’s sword just now was interesting! No, I should say his sword intent was interesting!”
“Hey! I’m talking to you! Are you listening?”
“The breakfast bread was a bit hard. Chu Yi, don’t you think we should get a cook?”
“Hey hey! Are you even listening to me?”
“If I had swung the sword just now... no doubt! I would have aimed in that direction!”
In just a few exchanges...
Jinbei was utterly defeated!
The most frustrating thing about Mihawk was that he never argued directly; instead, he babbled incoherently right before your eyes, making you feel as if you were on completely different wavelengths.
That was the very pain Chu Yi had endured!
So, after failing to argue with Mihawk, Jinbei earned a new nickname...
“Fatty Fish-Man!”
Poor Evil Dragon was also tagged as “Long-Nose Fish-Man.”
Truth be told, Mihawk was excellent at giving nicknames!
During Jinbei and Mihawk’s earlier quarrel, Chu Yi felt pity for Jinbei while secretly admiring Mihawk’s talent for nicknames, which somewhat eased his previously tense mood.
Alas!
Just as his mood relaxed, trouble arrived.
Right when Jinbei was utterly defeated in his argument with Mihawk...
Chu Yi’s Observation Haki suddenly sensed Evil Dragon charging wildly forward, using his sawtooth-like nose to ram directly into Mihawk’s vital spot in the chest!
“Hm?”
“Is this the real Evil Dragon... or a fake?”