Jinbe vs Koala
I'm back at last after a hiatus. Life has been hectic as of late so it has made it harder for me to continue my work. But the next chapter is out and I hope you enjoy.
The truth about the tragedy of Fisher Tiger was met with many mixed reactions from the citizens of Ryuuga Kingdom. Some with sadness over the suffering Tiger went through, some with confusion over why the truth was kept from them and many other reactions. However those that were experiencing the most emotions were the former members of the Sun Pirates. As the former nakama of Tiger, they were the ones most affected by his death. And Koala's coming to Fishman Island only reminded them of what they lost on that day. Since Tiger was killed while bringing Koala back to her home, her presence was a painful reminder of their ex-captain's tragic life. They didn't blame Koala for his death in any way, especially now that they all understood her pain, guilt and suffering over her role in Tiger's death, but it didn't change the fact that it brought back all those painful memories. Also many of them were angry at Koala's revealing to everyone what happened to their ex captain.
"You shouldn't have done that Koala," said Jinbe.
"Why not, that cover story about Tiger-san's death did more harm than good. The citizens of Fishman Island didn't want to become friends with humans because they thought that humans chose not to help Tiger-san," replied Koala.
"You're right Koala but still. One of Tiger-san's last wishes was that we not tell anyone about what happened because it would just continue the cycle of hate between both races. Or are you telling me that despite how much you admire Tiger-san that you would ignore his dying request," said Jinbe.
"What Tiger-san truly wanted was humans and fishmen to get along. His last request was meant to help make that happen. However that last request of his just did the opposite and made things worse for both races. If he had known that this would have happened, then he would have never asked that of the others. So we don't have to keep it," said Koala.
"What you should have done was help his greatest desire come true. And that was to help the two races to get along. And to do that, the island had to know the truth about what really happened to their hero so that they would understand that humans didn't exactly kill him the way they initially thought and that Tiger-san himself wanted humans and fishmen to get along," continued Koala.
"That's why I told everyone what happened. So that now they would be more accepting of humans and that Tiger-san's deepest wish would finally come true. And fishmen wouldn't have to worry about human persecution anymore. The revolutionary army would make sure of that," stated Koala firmly.
"Do you really think what the revolutionary army is doing is actually going to help foster better relations between humans and fishmen?" asked Jinbe the rhetorical question to Koala.
"Maybe not but at least the suffering that humans put fishmen through would stop. And what happened to Tiger-san would never happen to anyone again," replied Koala.
"Then you really are lost Koala," replied Jinbe back.
"Enough, it's time to finish this and bring the mermaid princess with us," stated Koala.
"Over my dead body," stated Jinbe back.
Koala sprung towards Jinbe and attempted a running straight punch. Jinbe blocked it with a cross block but a large shockwave was formed between the two fighters. Eventually Jinbe was able to overpower Koala and push her back making her feet skid on the ground. Jinbe then began running towards Koala.
"I wouldn't let you take princess Shirahoshi away Koala," said Jinbe running towards Koala.
Jinbe jumped into the air and attempted to punch Koala. Koala however successfully evaded the punch though Jinbe's hand was buried within the ground due to the amount of force behind his punch. Koala was then in the air and brought down her leg hard on Jinbe with a powerful axe kick which Jinbe blocked successfully though it severely damaged the ground which was already damaged from Jinbe's previous punch. Seeing that Jinbe blocked her attack she instead kicked him in the chin making him take a few steps back while Koala herself did a series of back flips creating distance between the two.
This however was not a good move for Koala. Jinbe went into a fishman karate stance ready to use one of his stronger attacks. Koala seeing the stance instantly was on guard knowing that stance full well from her training under Sanbi.
"Gyojin Karate," started Jinbe.
Jinbe then suddenly closed the distance between himself and Koala.
"Samegawara Seiken," said Jinbe who sent a powerful straight punch at Koala.
Koala tried to counter Jinbe's powerful punch with a punch of her own. However she was overpowered by Jinbe and sent flying back a far distance bouncing on the ground a few times though landing on her feet. However she was panting and was down on one knee.
"Your punch wasn't as strong as mine so you were defeated in that brief skirmish. However your punch was strong enough to nullify a lot of the power of my Samegawara Seiken," said Jinbe looking at Koala.
"But that isn't the reason for my attack inflicting damage on you Koala," said Jinbe.
"You're attack also manipulated the water vapor in the air to hurt me. So even if the power of you're attack didn't do much, the water vapor did," replied Koala.
"Correct, that fishman Sanbi certainly taught you well that you were able to get all that in just one attack," commented Jinbe.
"Don't think that because you got one attack in that you won. This battle is far from over Jinbe-san," said Koala who despite Jinbe's attack was far from defeated.
"I wouldn't have expected anything else from you," replied Jinbe going back into a fishman karate stance.
Koala disappeared and began running towards Jinbe at high speed disappearing as she moved left and right closer and closer to him. Eventually she disappeared and punched Jinbe hard in the stomach sending him crashing into a building. Jinbe broke out of the rubble that piled up on him though and you could see some bruises and scratches on him.
"Gyojin Karate: Karakusagawara Seiken," said Jinbe who punched the air but caused all the rubble surrounding him to go straight towards Koala.
Koala countered by punching the air herself turning all the rubble into dust. Koala then began running towards Jinbe and then utilizing her speed and momentum sent a powerful flying kick at Jinbe. The kick was enhanced powerfully by armament haki and was so powerful that it sent him into a nearby building destroying it and then causing it to collapse onto Jinbe.
"Jinbe-san!" shouted on Hachi.
"Jinbe!" shouted out Alladin joining in.
Eventually some movement was heard beneath the rubble and they saw Jinbe emerge from the collapsed building. He looked a little worse for wear but otherwise he was fine. If there was one thing Jinbe had, it was a lot of endurance so despite Koala's kick being powerful, it wasn't powerful enough to defeat him. Nonetheless it still inflicted some damage on him.
Koala jumped into the air to do another flying kick but this time it was blocked by Jinbe. Koala tried to kick Jinbe with her other leg but this was blocked again. This time however Jinbe grabbed her leg and slammed her down hard onto the ground with a judo like throw. Then he flung Koala up into the air.
"Gyojin Karate: Gosenmaigawara Seiken," said Jinbe who attempted a massive uppercut at Koala.
Koala only just barely was able to bring her hands together to block Jinbe's uppercut. Despite it being blocked, she was sent flying high into the air from the attack. Jinbei then looked at her neutrally before saying.
"Forgive me Koala, Tiger-san," said Jinbe softly asking for forgiveness from both Koala and Tiger for what he was about to do.
Jinbei held out his hand which had a drop of water on it. He then flung the water droplet at the still airborne Koala at high speed.
"Uchimizu," said Jinbei as he hurled the water droplet at Koala.
Koala however even though she was still recovering from Jinbei's attack despite blocking it was still able to recover quickly enough to counterattack. She responded by throwing a water droplet of her own nullifying Jinbei's Uchimizu.
While Jinbe and Koala engaged in battle, Sanbi couldn't help but admire his apprentice.
"She truly is a rare find," said Sanbi.
The Straw Hats turned to Sanbi when he spoke.
"Koala, that is, she truly is master of Fishman Karate and Mermen Kombat. At her age, she actually has more skill at those two fighting styles than most veteran fishman karate practitioners," commented Sanbi.
"She had to work very hard to obtain that level of mastery of both styles. Neither were meant for humans yet it did not deter her from training constantly and improving herself to become a powerful master of fishman karate," said Sanbi reminiscing on the time spent training Koala.
Flashback
"Excuse me?" said Sanbi.
"I want you to teach me Fishman Karate," said Koala.
"You do realize what you're asking me to do right," said Sanbi.
"I know what I'm asking of you. I'm asking you to train me in Fishman Karate," said Koala.
"I'm sorry Koala, but I'm not taking any students," was Sanbi's reply.
"Please Sanbi-san, I begging you, train me at Fishman Karate so that I could be strong and help make this world a safer place for fishmen," said Koala.
"I'm sorry Koala but I cannot. Right now I am one of the Knights of D, the strongest subordinates in the entire revolutionary army. My time is solely devoted to carrying out Lord Dragon's orders and helping the revolutionary army make things right in this world," replied Sanbi.
"I want to do that too" said Koala passionately.
Sanbi was suddenly stopped by Koala's outburst.
"Tiger-san died because he wanted to do the right thing. He was labeled a criminal for freeing all the slaves. Everyone looked down on him just because he was a fishman. And – and – and he died because he wanted to bring me back home," said Koala with her voice breaking.
Sanbi silently continued to listen to Koala's rant.
"What kind of world are we living in where you're made a criminal for giving people their freedom and killed from bringing someone back home to their parents," continued Koala.
Koala then paused for a few seconds before continuing.
"What kind of world is this where you are treated like scum simply because you aren't human," said Koala this time in a much lower voice.
"I just can't accept any of this, I just can't. Tiger-san shouldn't have died that day and no one should look down on anyone simply because they're a fishman or not human. I want to stop all that. I want to live in a world where there is no slavery or persecution and one where fishman and humans can coexist peacefully," said Koala.
"Isn't that your dream Sanbi-san, a world where humans and fishman can live together in harmony. Well that is my dream too. And I want to fight to achieve it. And to do that I need to be strong. So please, I'm begging you, please train me," said Koala.
Sanbi was silent for a few moments for answering.
"Alright, I will train you," said Sanbi relenting.
Koala smiled back in gratitude.
"However," said Sanbi suddenly.
"It wouldn't be in Fishman Karate," said Sanbi.
A frown suddenly formed on Koala's face.
"But why not?" asked Koala.
"I admire you're resolve Koala, I really do. But you cannot learn Fishman Karate. Fishman Karate is a style specifically meant for Fishman. It makes use of a fishman's physical and biological traits such as their natural strength, their ability to breath underwater and their natural affinity to water, none of which humans have. And without these traits it is impossible to learn this style. Only fishmen have these traits which is why this style can only be used by fishmen," explained Sanbi.
"I don't care about any of that. I still want to learn Fishman Karate," said Koala in a reaffirming voice.
"Tiger-san and all the other Sun Pirates were fishman and they were all really strong. I want to be strong like them so I want to learn Fishman Karate," replied Koala.
Sanbi had a sympathetic look on his face before replying.
"You have a strong heart and great willpower both of which will take you very far and will make you very strong. But I'm afraid that you cannot learn this fighting style Koala," said Sanbi.
Koala became very depressed at hearing this.
"I guess you're right. I'm not a fishman so I guess I really can't use it," said Koala depressed.
"Sorry for taking up you're time Sanbi-san," said Koala turning around and started walking away.
"Oh and one more thing Sanbi-san," said Koala.
"What is it?" said Sanbi.
"You don't have to train me then. I'll become strong some other way," finished Koala before walking away.
Sanbi looked at the direction that Koala walked off sadly.
"Was that really necessary Sanbi?" came a voice from behind him.
"It was necessary my lord," replied Sanbi to the figure without turning around to face him.
The figure then stepped out from the shadows revealing himself to be none other than Monkey D Dragon himself.
"She's truly determined to become stronger and help us with our cause," said Dragon.
"She is Lord Dragon but I'm afraid that she cannot learn Fishman Karate since she isn't a fishman," was Sanbi's reply.
"That may be the case but that doesn't prevent her from becoming strong or from you training her. Physical abilities is only a small aspect what makes someone strong. It is not the only one. One's will, determination and resolve is what truly makes them strong. And she has it in spades," said Dragon.
"I am fully aware of that Dragon-sama and believe me I do wish to train, but it just simply wouldn't be enough for her. Without being a fishman she simply cannot do it," said Sanbi.
"She can Sanbi. I can tell a lot about people and I fully believe that she would surprise you. You are to train her, that's an order," commanded Dragon.
Sanbi finally relented since now Dragon gave him an order. Furthermore Dragon has an uncanny ability of seeing things which others cannot see and being correct even when by all accounts, he should be wrong. So perhaps this is one of those times.
"It shall be done my lord," replied Sanbi.
A little later, Sanbi called Koala.
"S – S – Seriously," stuttered Koala not quite believing what she just heard.
"Yes, I will train you not only in fishman karate but also in mermen combat," said Sanbi.
Koala shouted out enthusiastically and thanked Sanbi for choosing to train her in fishman karate and merman combat.
"Thank you Sanbi-san, thank you," thanked Koala.
"Do not thank me yet Koala," said Sanbi as Koala payed attention to him.
"I am going to train you in both styles but it wouldn't be easy. You are neither fishman nor merman so you are going to have an extremely difficult time mastering these two fighting styles. Also my standards for you are very high and my training will be brutal. Furthermore do not expect me to go easy on you or show you any sympathy because you are not a fishman and hence will have great difficulty learning the fighting styles. I will not excuse you being weak on the basis of simply not being a fishman," lectured Sanbi to her.
Koala continued to stare at Sanbi seriously.
"You are the one who came to me asking for training in a style not meant for a human. So if you fail to live up to your words then you are not worthy of being my apprentice, understood," said Sanbi.
"Yes," replied Koala with an affirmative.
"Good, then we begin tomorrow. So for now get some rest, you will definitely need it," said Sanbi.
A few years later.
Sanbi was looking as an exhausted Koala was down on the floor having collapsed from exhaustion.
"That is enough Koala, we are done for the day," said Sanbi.
"No we're not, let's continue," Koala struggled to say in between pants.
"We are done Koala. We have been training and for the entire day. We should stop now," countered Sanbi.
"No Sanbi-san, I'm fine, I can continue," retorted Koala.
"Look at you Koala, you're about to pass out from exhaustion. We have done more than enough for the day," replied Sanbi.
"No we haven't. I'm still not strong enough yet. I have to continue training so that I can become strong like you and Tiger-san and the others and so that I can finally help protect the fishmen and punish those who oppress them. I can't do that if I just stop so please Sanbi-san, lets continue training," Koala struggled to say.
Sanbi was silent as he took Koala words in. Koala was one of the most determined individuals he ever knew. Her determination and drive was far greater than many others he knew. It pushed her far beyond her limits. And he knew why, the memories of when she found out about Tiger's death due to being betrayed by her townspeople and her hearing the truth about Tiger from Dragon pushed her to train to the brink of exhaustion to become strong to ensure that Tiger's horrible tragedy never befalls another soul. He was proud to have such an apprentice who has not only incredible talent, but incredible resolve and drive to change the world.
However Sanbi knew that she was not a machine, not even a fishman, but a human and a child to boot so he had to stop her when the time came.
"No Koala we are done for the day," said Sanbi.
"But …" Koala tried to argue only to be cut off by Sanbi.
"No we are done, as your master I can choose to stop our training. This training session is over," said Sanbi with authority.
"We aren't done S – S – Sa – Sanbi – s – s – san," stuttered Koala whose body finally gave way out of exhaustion.
"That is why we are done. No matter how much your resolve is, there is still only so much that you can do as a child," said Sanbi turning around to face the now passed out girl.
Sanbi then walked over to her to pick her up as he reflected on the past few years he trained her for. For the past few years Koala excelled at a phenomenal rate. Despite not being a fishman or mermen, she quickly mastered fishman karate and mermen combat and absorbed everything Sanbi taught her like a sponge absorbing water. She was mastering both fighting styles at a far greater rate than most of the top fishman karate practitioners. It was not really due to natural talent but from raw determination and resolve to change herself and become stronger. This made her train harder and longer. She was essentially a gifted prodigy at both fighting styles, no in fact she was beyond prodigy. Her growth rate was phonemal and it was guaranteed that she would be one of the greatest practitioners of fishman karate and merman combat in history seconding only to himself.
End Flashback.
As Sanbi finished telling the Straw Hats about Koala's past in wanting to train in fishman karate, her need to become strong for Fisher Tiger's people and her struggles in mastering those two fighting styles, the Straw Hats looked on worriedly at Jinbe who was struggling against Koala's relentless assault. They knew that having such determination would make Koala a very dangerous opponent and coupled with being trained by one of the Knights of D, Koala was undoubtedly a very powerful combatant certainly strong enough to be a revolutionary commander. Also due to her past with Jinbe, they were sure that Jinbe would not be able to bring himself to go all out against her. But they hoped he would, because they were already struggling against Sanbi as it was, if Koala was to join him, then they would certainly be done for.
"Don't you dare loose Jinbe even if its against a lady," thought Sanji.
"Jinbe-chan," thought Nami.
"Good luck Jinbe," thought Franky.
"Do it Jinbe," thought Robin.
"Beat her Jinbe," said Chopper.
"Go Jinbe," said Ussop.
"Beat her Jinbe-san," said Brook.
"Win this Jinbe," said Zoro.
The battle between Jinbe and Koala was still ongoing. Jinbe possessed more raw power than Koala as well as greater mastery over fishman karate than Koala but his age and huge size meant that he wasn't as fast compared to Koala. Koala on the other hand was young and fast though despite her prodigal abilities in Fishman Karate was much less experienced that he was. Nonetheless the two were evenly matched and the battle continued to increase in intensity.
Koala jumped into the air and attempted a high axe kick but Jinbe blocked it though several huge cracks were created on the ground.
"Gyojin Karate: Gosenmaigawara Seiken," said Jinbe who uppercutted Koala sending her flying high into the air.
Koala however landed on her feet and sprung towards Jinbe at high speed. Stunned that Koala wasn't hurt by his attack, Jinbe didn't have time to block Koala's flying kick which hit him dead center in his stomach sending him flying straight through a building. Seeing that her attack worked, Koala finally went to her knees clutching herself from the damage inflicted by Jinbe's Gosenmaigawara Seiken. The heat of battle allowed her to ignore the pain, but now that Jinbe was temporarily pushed back, the pain and damage finally kicked in. However Koala was a revolutionary commander who was put through grueling training from Sanbi so she could take it.
Koala then heard wooden sandals coming from the direction she sent Jinbe flying from and as she thought, Jinbe walked towards her calmly. His body had bruises and scratches but his face was as firm and focused as usual. Deciding not to give Jinbe time to attack Koala threw several water droplets towards Jinbe at high speed.
"Uchimizu," said Jinbe who fired his own water shots at Koala's cancelling out hers.
Koala responded by throwing even more water droplets at Jinbe who responded by doing the same. Eventually the two got into a water bullet match throwing water bullets at each other rapidly.
The onlookers were all watching the water shot match with awe having never seen such a thing.
"Incredible, I've never seen such a contest of water throwing," commented a civilian.
"That woman is just as good as Jinbe-oyabin is," said another civilian.
"No wait, hold on, I think Jinbe-oyabin is actually winning," said a more perceptive civilian.
With that said, all the civilians noted that indeed it may have appeared that the two were even, however more careful observation revealed that all the water bullets sent by Koala were all cancelled out by Jinbe. Soon after Jinbe sent some water bullets at such high velocity that they completely overpowered Koala's and hit Koala directly.
"Uchimizu," said Jinbe who hurled several water droplets at Koala hitting her several times.
Koala in turn stopped her assault as she was now cut in several places from Jinbe's water bullets.
"It's over Koala, give up, you can't beat me," said Jinbe offering Koala the chance to surrender.
"No way would I surrender," replied Koala defiantly.
Koala then rushed towards Jinbe and punched him hard in the check causing him to fly back a great distance though he landed on his feet though clutching his face. Unfortunately Koala took the opportunity to jump in the air and deliver a hard kick which was blocked however Koala kicked Jinbe's head with her other leg causing him to let go. She then uppercutted him and delivered a series of quick punches to his mid section before delivering a spinning kick to his chin knocking him back several feet. Then she quickly stooped down and swept her legs knocking Jinbe off his feet.
Jinbe however grapped Koala's legs and flung her away. Koala was flung a large distance and was about to hit a wall, however she turned around and hit the wall with her feet and springboarded off it. With the additional velocity she attempted a powerful punch to Jinbe. Jinbe responded by going into a fishman karate fighting stance.
"Gyojin Karate: Samegawara Seiken," said Jinbe punched just as Koala was about to hit
The two fists collided which resulted in a massive shockwave that blew both of them back. Both of them skidded backwards a fair distance from each other from the shockwave that formed due to their collision and water manipulation around them. Right now both were sweating and panting hard.
"Koala stop this, it doesn't have to be this way," pleaded Jinbe again.
"I'm sorry but it has to be Jinbe-san, in order for fishmen to finally be able to live freely, we have to punish those who would threaten them," said Koala.
"Do you truly believe that would work? That by attacking those who persecute fishman that you would make them accept us. You're just going to drive them away even more. They aren't going to want to hold hands with us because they would believe that we really instead wish to harm them," retorted Jinbe.
"That's just you're opinion Jinbe-san but myself, Sanbi-san and Dragon-sama think differently. And believe me when I tell you that Lord Dragon is never wrong," said Koala with utmost certainty.
"Is that it Koala, just because Dragon said so you believe that it's true?" asked Jinbe.
"Like I said, Lord Dragon is never wrong, besides you have to admit that even if it wouldn't make humans accept fishmen, they definitely would never want to harm them or enslave them," argued Koala.
Jinbe didn't reply to that. As much as he hated to admit it, Dragon's strategy of using fear and intimidation would end human's cruelty towards fishman. However it would come at too high a price. If they embrace his ways, there would never be peace between either races, simply one would fear the other. It is not what many people want and it is certainly not what him, Otohime or Tiger would want. If only he could just somehow get Koala to see this.
"In order for that to happen we would need the mermaid princess's power. And we would have it," said Koala determined to defeat Jinbe so that they could take Shirahoshi.
Jinbe was silent before replying.
"You know Koala I truly didn't want it to come to this but now I guess there is no other alternative. You are too warped by the revolutionary army to see the truth that this isn't what Tiger-san would have wanted. Reasoning with you is no longer going to work. I wouldn't let you take Shirahoshi-hime away and the only way to stop you is to defeat you," said Jinbe now resolute that this was the only way.
"Now come Koala," said Jinbe now in a fishman karate stance.
"I would Jinbe-san," replied Koala.
Koala then adopted a fishman karate stance herself and charged towards Jinbe at full speed. As for Jinbe, he was holding a small packet of water in his hand.
"Gyojin Karate," said Jinbe who held out the packet of water as if he was about to throw it at her.
Koala then went for a powerful punch to Jinbe.
"Ogi," continued Jinbe.
Unfortunately just as Jinbe was about to finish Koala struck Jinbe directly in his midsection. The attack was so strong that it caused a shockwave to form behind Jinbe causing the ground behind him to break apart and rocks and rubble to fly away. The attack was enhanced by fishman karate which essentially meant that the water in the atmosphere also severely damaged Jinbe. The attack was so powerful that it caused Jinbe's eyes to go white and begin coughing up blood.
"Jinbe," cried out Nami, Ussop and Chopper.
"Jinbe-san," cried out Hachi.
"Jinbe-sama" cried out Shirahoshi.
The rest of the Straw Hats and the spectators also had very concerned looks on their faces. Koala's attack hit straight on and Jinbe looked out cold while coughing up blood all over Koala. But then Jinbe surprised Koala by using his large arms grabbed Koala's arms. Looking at her and while still coughing up blood, he unleashed his attack.
"Buraikan," finished Jinbe.
Jinbe then hurled the pack of water straight at Koala who couldn't dodge because she was being held by Jinbe. The water shockwave pierced right through Koala and sent her reeling back. Jinbe let Koala hit him because he knew that due to Koala's speed, he wouldn't have been able to hit her. But by letting her hit him, he was able to catch her and prevent her from evading thus allowing him to use his strongest attack on Koala point blank without her being able to do anything about it.
The entire battlefield was silent as everyone just processed what they saw. Jinbe just defeated Koala. They knew that Jinbe was strong but still it was unbelievable that he still won. However among those surprised, no one was more surprised that Sanbi, the one who trained her.
"Impossible, Koala actually lost," said Sanbi who still found it unbelievable.
The spectators all looked sadly as they saw Jinbe walk away. Even though he won, they all knew that it was a hollow victory. They all knew that Koala was his friend as well as Tiger's and someone a human who actually wanted humans and fishmen to get along. So for them to see such a person get beaten was a very hard thing for all of them, especially the former members of the Sun Pirates.
Suddenly Jinbe heard a gasp from the crowd and soon several more followed. Everyone member of the crowd now had even more shocked looks on their faces.
"N – n – no way," stuttered Zoro who could not believe what he was seeing.
"I – I – It can't be," stuttered Franky equally shocked.
Jinbe turned around to see what was making everyone so shocked and he himself was shocked at what he was witnessing. Koala was standing up, bleed profusely, her eyes blank, it actually looked like she was a zombie.
"W – W – We're n – n – not done y – yet, I c – c – could still fight," said Koala going back into a fishman karate stance though struggling a lot.
Her eyes were still white and she was still bleeding, it was like even though she herself was unconscious, her body was moving all on its own. She wanted to win this battle so much, that despite being unconscious, her body was still willing to fight. With the amount of damage she took, she could possibly die, but her body didn't seem to care. All it cared about was defeating Jinbe. It cared so much that it acted all on its own, without Koala telling it to.
"That woman still wants to fight," said Brook in shock as well.
Jinbe however was most shocked at this. He knew that Koala wanted to win badly but he couldn't believe that even after having lost conscious and her body beaten to the point that it couldn't move, it was still moving. It was like Koala was now moving only through pure will power.
"Koala, please stop this, you're in no condition to fight anymore," pleaded Koala.
"Must win," Koala said in a zombie like tone.
"Stop it Koala," pleaded Jinbe again.
"For Tiger-san," continued Koala.
"Please stop Koala," pleaded Jinbe again.
"For all the fishman, I must con …" continued Koala before a familiar voice interrupted.
"Stop it now," said the voice.
Koala stopped in her tracks, in fact all action stopped. The voice caught the attention of everyone present, the Straw Hats, the audience, the former Sun Pirates, everyone heard the voice and stopped whatever they were doing when they heard it.
"I think I'm going crazy but I think I just heard a voice," said a civilian.
"I heard it too," said another civilian.
"But who could it be?" asked another civilian.
Most of the people present wondered why they were all hearing a strange voice along with who the voice belonged too. But there were a few people who knew the voice. They were King Neptune, Jinbe, the Sun Pirates and former members and Koala.
"That voice, it can't be," said Jinbe who recognized the voice.
A large figure then materialized between Koala and Jinbe.
"That's …" said Sanbi who couldn't finish the sentence due to the shock.
"T – T – Tiger-san," stuttered Koala.
Dun-Dun-Dun, Cliffhanger, the ghost of Fisher Tiger himself has appeared before Koala and Fishman Island. Next chapter, we'll hear about what he feels about all this.
Well first I would like to apologize to all my readers for the hiatus but life has been getting in the way. I'll try to update more often but still no guarantees.
Firstly someone mentioned that they thought Tiger refused blood not because it was human blood, but because it was the blood of humans that hated fishmen. Well that reason is up in the air. I think everyone has different interpretations of that scene. I just used mine to help drive the fic forward. Just like how everyone has their own thoughts about Kuma's past, I used my interpretation of what I thought Kuma's past could be to drive the plot forward. So you are not wrong, hell maybe I'm wrong but there is still logic behind my theories and it all works well with this fic.
Well the Jinbe and Koala fight is over for now, but the Straw Hats vs Sanbi fight is still continuing. I just took a break from that one to focus on Jinbe and Koala due to the intense emotions Koala had.
Again we see in more detail Koala's struggle to become a powerful master at the use of fishman karate. I explained in the previous chapter how much she struggled to become a powerful practitioner of Fishman Karate and Merman Combat. How both styles are meant for fishmen and/or merman and she was neither. However a flashback would better show just how much she suffered, scraped and crawled to become as strong as she was. Sanbi's flashback helped illustrate the raw emotions that Koala had and her intense desire to not only become strong, but to stop human's persecution of fishman and to prevent what happened to Tiger from ever happening again. The flashback also helped illustrate Sanbi's feelings towards Koala. He saw just how heavily she was affected by Fisher Tiger's death and how much she wanted to learn fishman karate, to become like her idol Fisher Tiger as well as prevent any further tragedies from ever happening to fishmen. He saw her determination, how much she trained to the point of exhaustion and beyond in order to reach that point. The flashback in my opinon better showed this than any of my previous descriptions.
Dragon helped convince Sanbi to train Koala. Dragon is capable of seeing things that others cannot and making people believe things which are impossible. The biggest show of this was when he helped convince Luffy to give up on becoming pirate king to instead become a Knight of D. Luffy has a similar ability to make people believe and do the impossible, for example before the Arlong Park arc, Nami said that she would never become a pirate yet Luffy convinced her otherwise. In fact Luffy inherited this ability from Dragon. Dragon was able to convince Sanbi of the impossible, that Koala despite not being a fishman could become a powerful user of fishman karate, something which was proven true later on.
Again I want to mention that fishman karate is meant for fishmen, not humans. Yet her mastery of it is on par with Jinbe, whom we already know is a master. You can imagine the hellish training that Koala went through to become so skilled at that style that she could go toe to toe with the likes of Jinbe. She was not even a fishman, yet her skills surpass most masters of Fishman Karate. That should say a lot again considering that she is not even a fishman. However her skills are lower than Sanbi's who is the greatest user of fishman karate and merman combat in history and also the strongest fishman in history.
Koala's reason for wanting to learn Fishman Karate was not to punish humans or help the army but to become like Tiger himself. Koala could have become an immensely powerful fighter without knowing fishman karate. She could have become a swordsman or a rokushiki user or something else. Remember Aaron D Monroe is the strongest rokushiki fighter in history and Melkon D Kanka was trained by Mihawk himself (see chapter 37 Profile of Revolutionary Army) so Koala could have become a powerful fighter in some other fighting form. But she specifically chose Fishman Karate and Merman combat as a tribute to Tiger and the Sun Pirates. Since Tiger was a fishman, she wanted to learn his fighting style to become just like him. Also there was the fact that Sanbi was the first revolutionary that she ever met so she had a bond with him.
Koala's power paralleling that of a Shichbukai. I did mention several times that every revolutionary commander is as strong as a Shichbukai and Koala is no exception. Jinbe himself was an ex Shichbukai so Koala being able to match Jinbe in combat indicates that she herself has Shichbukai level strength.
The scene after Jinbe hit Koala with his strongest move further showcased just how much Koala wanted to change the world. Even after taking Jinbe's strongest attack point blank, on the verge of passing out, her body continued to move. It was like she was so focused on her dreams to make the world a better place for fishmen, that even while not conscious her body continued to move. Her body was willing to fight for fishmen even when she herself couldn't due to being unconscious. She basically wouldn't fall until hers, Dragon's and Sanbi's dreams come true, she would continue to fight even if it meant death. That scene was symbolic and helped to truly show her commitment to fishmen.
Fisher Tiger's ghost appearing. Remember that even though the citizens of Fishman Island now know the truth about Tiger, they only know it from an outside source like Koala. Despite knowing how close to Tiger Koala was, Koala is not Tiger himself. It would be hard for them to accept the truth from someone other than Fisher Tiger himself. And in Oda's manga, because he was dead, the truth would never come out. However here, not only did Koala actually reveal his past and the truth, now Fisher Tiger himself is here.
Reasons for having Tiger's ghost appear. Most if not all of Koala's actions were motivated by Tiger's death. The main reason she walked down the path of darkness is because of his death and tragic life. Nothing could have changed her mind, nothing except for Tiger himself. Only if Tiger himself said so, could Koala let go of her past, to see that Tiger's death was not her fault, to see that Dragon's way of doing things was wrong and would not solve the problems between humans and fishmen. Only if Tiger speaks would Koala truly listen and see the error of her ways.
Tiger's appearance ending the cycle of hatred. Remember one of the main reasons that fishmen do not want to get along with humans was because they thought humans betrayed him. Even though Koala revealed the truth, only if Tiger himself tells the citizens to get along with humans will they truly listen. Tiger's death was one of the main reasons for so much hatred between humans and fishmen, so if Tiger himself was to appear before anyone and tell them not to hate humans, to actually join hands with them, then they'll listen. In a way, Tiger's ghost appearing on Fishman Island closes the final chapter of hatred and prejudice between humans and fishmen. Tiger helped really kick the cycle off by attacking Mariejois and freeing the slaves and his death only furthered the cycle of hatred. And now his return will help usher in a new era of peace and love between humans and fishmen. They'll know that the hero of Fishman Island himself wanted humans and fishmen to get along and they'll know it from Tiger himself.
This arc was meant to help close of Oda's Fishman Island's arc. Oda introduced Tiger and the problems between humans and fishman. And in this fic, the truth about Tiger is revealed and Tiger himself has appeared before everyone. This arc really and truly ties into Oda's Fishman Island arc.
Well that is the end of the notes. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out but I'll try to update as soon as I can.