The live footage broadcasted by the Visual Den Den Mushi from Gyoncorde Plaza was not limited to Ryugu Palace.
In the southeast of Fish-Man Island, the bustling port town of Coral Hill—renowned as the most prosperous district—was also displaying the broadcast.
The same was true for Mermaid Cove, where the illusion of blue skies and white clouds could be seen even in the deep sea.
The large coral apartments constructed along the reefs beneath Mermaid Cove, the Marine Shopping Center to the southwest, Waterwheel Town even farther west, and Fish-Man Disctrict—infamous for being a hub of illicit activity—were all tuned into the real-time transmission.
Wherever a mobile Visual Den Den Mushi was present, the events unfolding in Gyoncorde Plaza were being projected without exception.
Through these broadcasts, countless merfolk and fish-men bore witness to the thousands of pirates who had gathered, shouting their intent to storm Ryugu Palace. More importantly, they saw how Maude wiped them out within mere seconds.
From the moment the broadcast began to the instant Maude cleansed the plaza, the entire event took no more than seven or eight seconds.
It was so swift and abrupt that the residents of Fish-Man Island watching the broadcast were left utterly stunned.
Many of them hadn't even realized that Ryugu Palace had just narrowly escaped catastrophe.
By the time they processed what had happened, their minds were left with only a single lingering image—Maude, radiating an aura of sheer menace.
"What just happened?"
Even then, most of the Fish-Man Island residents remained bewildered.
...
Coral Hill.
Once the most thriving port town of Fish-Man Island, Coral Hill boasted ample docking space, making it a natural gathering place for numerous visiting pirates.
Most of the pirates who had been staying there had responded to Libis's call and made their way to Gyoncorde Plaza.
A handful, however, chose to stay behind, adopting a wait-and-see approach as they indulged in food and drink.
Then—
They saw the live footage.
Even through the screen, the sight of that nightmarish figure sent a chill down their spines, triggering an overwhelming sense of crisis.
In an instant, drinks slipped from hands, knives and forks clattered onto tables.
Maude's sheer presence alone was enough to instill dread.
And that was precisely why the Maude Pirates had arranged for the Visual Den Den Mushi in advance.
With just a single move, Maude had managed to create an overwhelming impact within ten seconds, spreading his influence across all of Fish-Man Island.
...
Gyoncorde Plaza.
Maude stood calmly, watching as hundreds of pirates fled in terror.
As expected, those who had been frightened out of their wits would waste no time in setting sail and leaving Fish-Man Island.
And through their panicked accounts, news of Maude's actions on the island would spread far and wide.
This was a show of dominance—just the first step.
"Next…"
Maude cast a glance at the pirates who had collapsed on the ground, unconscious from the sheer force of his Conqueror's Haki.
That earlier release of Conqueror's Haki had been a test—a matter of survival.
Those who withstood it would live. Those who didn't… would die.
Raising his right hand, Maude gathered shadows in his palm like rippling water, swiftly condensing them into a shadow sphere.
"Shadow Flow—Daylight Fireworks."
With a flick of his wrist, Maude launched the shadow sphere skyward. As it ascended, it spun rapidly before erupting, unleashing a torrent of black spikes that rained down like a storm.
The endless barrage of shadowy spikes pierced through the vital points of the fallen pirates, reaping their lives as effortlessly as a scythe through wheat.
Witnessing Maude's merciless slaughter, Shirahoshi was left in shock.
Having spent most of her life confined within the Hard-Shell Tower, she had never seen the true extent of the pirates' brutality on Fish-Man Island. As a result—
When she saw Maude nonchalantly taking lives, she instinctively wanted to cry out and stop him.
Yet—
An indescribable fear gripped her throat, rendering her unable to utter a single word. She could do nothing but watch as the massacre unfolded before her eyes.
"This… this will only breed more hatred!"
Recalling her mother's ideals and wishes, Shirahoshi bit her lip, her eyes welling with tears.
Unable to bear witnessing any more bloodshed, the sheltered young princess turned away.
But inside Ryugu Palace, Neptune and his three sons, along with the scattered residents of Fish-Man Island watching from various locations, felt nothing but satisfaction at the sight of Maude slaughtering the pirates who had brought so much ruin to their home.
Their resentment and hostility toward humans—
Had been reignited during the recent turmoil, and now burned hotter than ever.
And Maude's actions were a cathartic release for their pent-up anger and hatred.
Even Neptune and his sons, who had inherited Queen Otohime's dream, found themselves unable to suppress the relief and satisfaction Maude's actions had brought them.
At that moment, they finally began to believe in Maude's words.
...
Fish-Man District.
Fish-men of all shapes and sizes watched the broadcast in stunned silence.
Over ten thousand human pirates… were being slaughtered.
Even those who harbored the deepest hatred for human pirates had never witnessed such a staggering sight.
"This human…"
They stared at the figure on the screen.
A sight they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
Inside a Building in Fish-Man District.
Members of the New Fish-Man Pirates sat or stood, their eyes fixed on the broadcast projected onto the wall.
At the very front, an old, worn-out couch was placed directly before the screen.
Sitting on it was a great white shark fish-man with curly hair, idly toying with a handful of pills in his webbed palm. His eyes were cold as he watched Maude's relentless slaughter.
This was the captain of the New Fish-Man Pirates—Hody Jones.
"All that carefully nurtured 'hatred'… just had its floodgate forcibly opened."
His bloodshot eyes gleamed with fury, his razor-sharp teeth bared in a grimace.
Beside him, the New Fish-Man Pirates' officer, the giant squid fish-man Ikaros Much, frowned.
"We let these human pirates run wild on the island precisely to rekindle our brethren's hatred toward humans."
"Our plan was to let them storm Ryugu Palace, then swoop in as 'saviors' and wipe them out, securing the people's support… And now, out of nowhere, this guy shows up and ruins everything!"
Another officer, the hammerhead shark fish-man Dosun, asked in a low voice, "Do we proceed as planned?"
"Of course."
Jones clenched the pills in his palm, his voice icy. "But first, we need to figure out exactly what this man wants."
He had the means to gain overwhelming power, even if it came at the cost of his life. Anyone who stood in his way—he would tear apart.
...
At the outskirts of Fish-Man District.
"Oh, my dearest Princess Shirahoshi… wait for me! I'm coming for you!"
A wide-striped tiger shark fish-man was sprinting toward Gyoncorde Plaza.
This was the Mato Mato no Mi (Mark-Mark Fruit) user—Vander Decken IX.
...
Gyoncorde Plaza.
As the last pirate drew his final breath, Maude retracted his shadows.
A single large-scale technique—Daylight Fireworks—had culled ten thousand pirates in under ten seconds.
Simple. Efficient.
Maude nodded in satisfaction.
As for cleaning up the corpses? That wasn't his problem.
...
On the Coral Reefs.
Arthur stared blankly at Maude's back.
A man who could, with a mere gesture, slaughter ten thousand pirates without breaking a sweat…
That's right.
Maude, the man who had wiped out an entire island of pirates years ago, once feared as a ruthless butcher.
With all his later exploits overshadowing that past, many had forgotten his bloody history.
For someone who had already massacred an entire island's worth of pirates, what was ten thousand more?
And yet, Arthur couldn't shake the chill in his heart.
Because when Maude killed those pirates…
It was as casual as drinking a cup of water.
This pure display of treating life as mere numbers left Arthur unsettled for a long time.
After clearing the pirates in the plaza, Maude, as if he had thought of something, turned to look at Arthur.
Faced with Maude's gaze, Arthur instinctively took two steps back, cold sweat dripping down his pale face.
It seemed that the fear of Maude had already been etched into Arthur's bones.
Seeing Arthur's reaction, Maude wasn't particularly concerned. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly sensed a powerful presence approaching from behind.
"Oh?"
Maude, slightly surprised, swallowed the words he was about to speak and turned to face the source of the presence.
The first thing that entered his sight was a white-haired woman, standing over four meters tall.
In her hand, she held a man cloaked in black—none other than Libis, who had fled the plaza not long ago.
Behind her, a large group of people, numbering around a hundred, followed closely.
Every one of them radiated strong, powerful auras, clearly not weak.
"Is that Smoothie, one of Big Mom's commanders... What an unfortunate encounter."
Maude immediately recognized the white-haired woman striding towards him.
Smoothie, one of the highest-ranking officers under the Yonko Big Mom, had a bounty of 900 million.
Thus, anyone who operated in the New World knew of Smoothie's reputation.
"Bacardi Maude."
Smoothie, holding the helpless Libis, stopped and coldly observed Maude, who was surrounded by the bodies of fallen pirates.
The two stared at each other.
The crew of the Big Mom Pirates behind Smoothie, along with Arthur behind Maude, weren't enjoying this exchange. All of them wore grim expressions.
Especially the Big Mom Pirates, who had originally thought their trip to Fish-Man Island would be a simple task.
But they never expected to encounter Bacardi Maude, the man who had recently killed a Celestial Dragon and once again shocked the world.
To face a powerhouse of this level—one careless move could be fatal.
Arthur, looking at Libis in Smoothie's grip, felt his heart race so fast it felt as though it might burst from his chest.
In the New World, a bounty of 300 million is considered a turning point.
Any pirate with a bounty over 300 million has the potential to be well-known and is someone the Four Emperors would consider recruiting.
Libis was such a pirate.
Arthur had witnessed firsthand Libis easily defeating Fukaboshi, the Crown Prince of Ryugu Kingdom. He knew that in front of Libis, he would likely not even last ten moves.
But, even with Libis' bounty and strength, in front of powerhouses like Maude and Smoothie, he seemed weak and helpless, easily crushed.
"This gap… is truly despairing."
Unknowingly, Arthur's feet had already been dampened by the sweat from his body.
To avoid ending up like Libis or the countless corpses littering the plaza, he had to grow stronger—strong enough to resist.
And eating a Devil Fruit was the quickest way to get stronger…
At this moment, Arthur's desire for a Devil Fruit had reached an unprecedented height.
The precondition was that he had to survive this storm first.
On the plaza, both sides stood facing each other.
But the atmosphere had quietly shifted.
While Smoothie was watching Maude, she suddenly activated her ability and drained all the "juices" from Libis' body.
In just a second or two.
Libis was reduced to a dry, withered corpse.
Having absorbed all the fluids from Libis, Smoothie casually tossed his lifeless body aside.
Honestly, Smoothie was quite curious about Maude's intentions for coming to Fish-Man Island.
After all,
According to the intelligence she had gathered, Maude had entered the New World not long ago and killed several Celestial Dragons, causing a worldwide stir.
Countless people were curious about Maude's next move.
But after killing the Celestial Dragons, Maude seemed to vanish into thin air, remaining silent for nearly a month.
While everyone was wondering where Maude had gone, who could have imagined that after a month of silence, Maude would return to Fish-Man Island?
Though curious, Smoothie could sense the chilling aura emanating from Maude, almost as if it were telling her—don't waste time asking questions.
"Unanswered questions are meaningless. And since I've encountered the Maude that Mama wanted to deal with..."
A murderous intent filled Smoothie's eyes, and she drew her sword.
"Dehydration Blade!"
Without another word, she swung her sword, releasing a massive pink sword beam in a straight line towards Maude.
Maude was quite surprised by this swift and decisive attack.
In his memory, he didn't think he had wronged Big Mom…
Surprised, Maude's body was surrounded by swirling dark waves of shadow as he quickly countered, slashing with his Hakoku.
The comet-like white shockwave and the massive pink sword beam collided in mid-air, tearing through the corpses on the ground.
The energy that was released formed arcs of electricity, radiating in all directions, causing cracks to appear on the plaza's surface.
"Just like Mama's Ikoku, but the power of this… Hmm?"
Smoothie's expression grew serious. Suddenly, she sensed something and quickly retreated.
From the corner of her eye, a sharp black shadow flashed where she had just been standing.
"Still trying to set up an ambush…"
Smoothie furrowed her brows.
At that moment, the two opposing energies in the air began to resolve their differences.
Maude's Hakoku shockwave obliterated Smoothie's gigantic sword beam. The remaining shockwave directly slammed into Smoothie and her crew.
Smoothie, who was at the forefront, held her sword in front of her to block the shockwave.
Though she managed to defend herself, the force of the blow still sent her sliding back a few steps.
Meanwhile, the other strong soldiers under her command were all sent flying by the shockwave.
"Waah, this… Is this Ikoku?"
"Mom's ultimate move!"
The crew of the Big Mom Pirates, who had been knocked around, looked at each other in shock.
For a brief moment, those who had only endured the remnants of the Hakoku felt as though they were facing Big Mom herself.
"Enough chatter!"
Smoothie steadied herself, ignoring the fact that her Dehydration Blade had just been shattered by Maude's Hakoku. She coldly said, "Mama's Ikoku is nothing this weak!"
"Heh."
In response to Smoothie's "assessment," Maude smirked, not particularly bothered.
The shadow waves swirling around him settled into a solid, black armor around his body.
"Shadow Flow, Twin Fish Circulation!"
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