The members of the New Fish-Man Pirates gathered at the entrance of Ryugu Palace's passageway.
Each one of them was stained with fresh, crimson blood.
Neptune and his three princes looked on in shock and disbelief.
"The blood on me?"
Hody Jones raised his webbed hand, wiping away the blood on his face, and coldly repeated Neptune's words.
At that moment, a high-ranking officer of the New Fish-Man Pirates dragged the unconscious Minister of the Right—still clad in armor—over to Hody's side.
Without warning, Hody swung his clawed hand and thrust it straight into the minister's chest.
Splurt!
A fountain of blood erupted from the Minister of the Right's chest, splattering all over Hody.
Even Neptune and his sons were sprayed with droplets of blood.
Their pupils contracted sharply as they stared in shock at Hody's brutal execution of the minister, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
Hody slowly withdrew his arm, pulling out more blood with it.
"Do you understand now? This is where all this blood came from."
"Hody Jones! How dare you do this?!"
Neptune and his sons glared at Hody with fury, struggling violently in their restraints, desperate to break free from the shadow ropes that bound them—to rip apart the monsters who had slaughtered their kin.
But no matter how they struggled, the shadow ropes, stronger than steel, held firm.
"Hahaha! How pathetic."
Hody sneered at Neptune's futile struggle, watching him as if he were a clown, and let out a loud, mocking laugh.
Veins bulged on Neptune's forehead, and the sheer rage in his eyes seemed as if it could burn Hody to ashes in an instant.
"You're old, Neptune…"
Hody stepped closer to the three princes, turning his head slightly to look at Neptune's enraged face before continuing with a smirk, "Under your rule, the 'Ryugu Kingdom' has been nothing but a lapdog, begging for stability from those inferior races who can't even breathe underwater!"
"Such weak and cowardly behavior is a disgrace to our noble bloodline."
Spreading his bloodstained arms wide, Hody's eyes gleamed with malice.
"We are the true rulers of the deep! It is our right to trample those inferior races beneath our feet!"
"From this day forward, the long-standing mistakes of history will be corrected by us. And you, Neptune, should just accept your fate and die."
"Hahahaha!"
Hody laughed maniacally.
Neptune and his sons seethed with rage, but there was nothing they could do.
Hody gradually ceased his laughter, his sharp gaze locking onto Neptune before he suddenly spoke, "Since you're about to die, I might as well tell you the truth—your beloved Queen Otohime… was actually assassinated by me."
"What?!"
Neptune's eyes widened to their limits.
The three princes reacted the same way, horror and disbelief gripping them.
"Hahahaha! Surprised?"
Hody let out another bout of laughter, relishing their shock.
"That woman's 'ideals' were idiotic. Eliminating her was the most natural thing to do."
"Hody Jones! You bastard! I'll kill you!!!"
Neptune struggled with all his might, this time with an even greater frenzy.
"If you think you can, then go ahead and try!"
Hody moved swiftly, thrusting his hand into Prince Fukaboshi's chest.
Splurt!
Blood splattered in all directions!
Fukaboshi's body convulsed, his eyes trembling as he stared at the gaping wound in his chest.
"Fukaboshi!!!"
"Big Brother!!!"
Neptune and the other two princes roared in anguish, their eyes bloodshot.
"Don't worry, your turn is coming soon."
Hody pulled his arm out, and Fukaboshi collapsed onto the ground, blood pooling around him.
"Once I finish with you, I'll go kill Shirahoshi right away… After all, she's a threat that cannot be ignored."
"!!!"
...
At Gyoncorde Plaza.
Hawkins swung his straw-woven blade, cutting down the last of the small fry pirates.
Urouge, arriving just a second too late, threw a punch at empty air, failing to claim the final kill.
"Tch."
Looking at the fallen enemy, he seemed somewhat disappointed.
"The small fry are dealt with. Now, only a 'general' remains."
Urouge turned his gaze toward Smoothie, who was still battling Brook.
From the way she swayed, it looked like she could fall at any moment—if Brook struck once more, she'd likely be finished.
Hawkins dismissed his straw blade and remarked indifferently, "A 'commander' about to be devoured…"
Urouge glanced at him.
"Whitebeard, the Celestial Dragons, and now the Big Mom Pirates… Who knows what's coming next?"
"Are you afraid?" Hawkins asked coolly.
"Heh."
Urouge shot back, "And you're not?"
Hawkins remained silent.
...
On the battlefield.
Smoothie panted heavily, barely able to stand.
First, she had been severely wounded by Maude. Then, she had to endure relentless battles against Lafitte and Jim in a war of attrition…
The only thing keeping her going was sheer, unyielding fury.
"Damn it!"
She gritted her teeth.
Brook lifted his chillingly sharp cane-sword.
After dozens of exchanges, he had learned much from the incredible swordsmanship, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki displayed by this formidable woman.
She was truly strong.
In a fair duel, she would probably defeat him in under ten moves.
Which meant… the captain who had taken her down in just a few strikes was even stronger.
"Yohohoho…"
Brook sighed with admiration, his sword tracing a frosty arc through the air before his gaze landed on Smoothie's revealing battle attire.
"Pardon me for asking, but… are those this year's most fashionable undergarments?"
"?!"
"Dehydration Blade!"
Furious, Smoothie attacked at once.
"Yohohoho!"
Brook's signature laugh echoed across Gyoncorde Plaza.
The onlookers watching the battle collectively facepalmed.
...
On the Shadow Throne.
Maude chuckled.
Suddenly, he sensed disturbances coming from the shadow ropes restraining Neptune and the princes.
"Struggling, are they?"
Just as he considered investigating, an unexpected change occurred.
A house came flying toward them from a distance.
Standing atop the house was a tall, lanky Fish-Man—none other than Vander Decken, the user of the Mark-Mark Fruit.
Apparently, finding it too slow to run, Vander Decken had torn down a house mid-route and used his ability to turn it into a homing projectile aimed at Shirahoshi.
He himself had leapt onto the house, using it as a vehicle to reach the plaza.
"Oh, my beautiful Princess Shirahoshi, marry me!!!"
His eyes burned with obsessive excitement.
Hearing his voice, Shirahoshi panicked.
Maude looked up at the incoming house, then reached out and grabbed Bailey, who was still in a fistfight with Perona.
"Transform—Gun."
With a single command.
Bailey reflexively transformed into a flintlock.
Maude raised his gun, aimed at the house in midair, and quickly pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang!
The lead bullets, imbued with Armament Haki, spun at high speed as they shot out of the barrel, piercing through the billowing smoke and heading straight for the house.
"Huh?"
Vander Decken's heart skipped a beat.
By the time he managed to react, the Armament Haki-infused bullets had already struck the house.
The immense impact force of the Haki instantly shattered the structure into pieces.
"What the hell?! Such destructive power—from a gunshot?!"
Watching the house beneath him crumble in an instant, Vander Decken's face filled with disbelief.
Losing his foothold, he plummeted from the sky.
Bang! Bang!
Maude fired two more shots.
Mid-fall, Vander Decken suddenly felt a strong sense of impending doom. His instincts kicked in, and he twisted his body in an attempt to evade the incoming bullets.
However, under the lock of Maude's Observation Haki, such evasive maneuvers were futile.
The two powerful lead bullets shattered Vander Decken's arms into nothing but blood and gore.
"Aaaahhh!"
Still airborne, Vander Decken let out a scream of agony.
Maude remained expressionless. After a moment's thought, he fired two more shots before Vander Decken hit the ground, reducing his legs to the same bloody remnants.
With all four limbs destroyed, Vander Decken crashed heavily onto the plaza floor, on the verge of unconsciousness.
Maude casually released Bailey and, with a few quick steps, appeared beside Vander Decken.
Vander Decken struggled to lift his eyelids and gazed up at Maude standing before him.
His pain-twisted face slowly gave way to sheer terror—gone was the excitement and thrill he had displayed when he first laid eyes on Princess Shirahoshi.
Looking down at the pitiful Vander Decken, Maude spoke in a cold, indifferent tone: "Delivering yourself to my doorstep… you've really worked hard."
"!!!"
Vander Decken flinched, just as he was about to speak.
But Maude had no interest in hearing the last words of a man about to die. He stomped down on Vander Decken's face.
Thud!
A dull impact rang out.
Vander Decken lost consciousness on the spot.
Maude withdrew his foot.
He had no intention of killing Vander Decken just yet—not when he had his sights set on acquiring the Mark-Mark Fruit.
"Law, don't let him die."
With a casual kick, Maude sent Vander Decken toward Law.
Law gave a slight nod, extending his Room space to teleport the unconscious Vander Decken beside him.
From the sight of the flying house earlier, it was evident that this crippled Fish-Man was a Devil Fruit user.
The reason Maude spared his life was self-explanatory.
Understanding this, Law performed a simple blood-staunching procedure on Vander Decken.
Meanwhile, Maude turned his gaze toward Ryugu Palace, his brows twitching slightly as he sensed a disturbance through his shadow tendrils.
...
Ryugu Palace.
Hody Jones, his body drenched in blood and his face twisted in a savage grin, casually shook his arm, flinging excess blood from his hand.
Before him lay the fallen third prince, Manboshi.
Beside Manboshi, the eldest prince, Fukaboshi, and the second prince, Ryuboshi, lay unmoving—whether they were alive or dead was uncertain.
"Aaaah! Hody Jones! I'll kill you!!! I'll kill you!!!"
Watching helplessly as Jones slaughtered his three sons one after another, Neptune was driven into a mad frenzy, blood seeping from his eyes.
Jones smirked coldly.
Behind him, the members of the New Fish-Man Pirates exchanged uneasy glances.
Even those who shared Jones's ideals had never imagined that the one responsible for assassinating Queen Otohime was not the detestable humans but their very own leader.
And now, seeing Jones mercilessly execute Neptune's sons, a deep internal conflict arose within them, even to the point of doubt.
But at this stage…
There was no turning back.
The only path forward was to follow Jones and march unwaveringly toward their so-called revolution.
"I've had enough of humanity's disgusting faces!"
"If this is the price we must pay for 'reform'…"
Some Fish-Men silently convinced themselves.
Jones, oblivious to the thoughts of his subordinates, wouldn't have cared even if he knew.
His confidence came from the irreconcilable hatred between Fish-Men and humans.
Stepping over pools of blood, Jones approached the maddened Neptune, a cold grin on his lips.
"That human may have disrupted my plans, but thanks to him, I've taken Ryugu Palace with ease. And soon, I'll redirect all this 'hatred' onto him… In that sense, I should be thanking him."
As he spoke, Jones glanced at the water traces lingering on the floor and the coral decorations, his expression brimming with disdain.
"That human may be strong, but so what? In the end, he's still nothing more than a lowly creature that cannot survive underwater. Why else would he have drained the water from the passageway? Such a laughable move."
"Down here in the depths of the ocean, we are the true rulers!"
Jones raised his bloodstained webbed hand, preparing to end Neptune once and for all.
"Fool."
A sudden voice echoed through the hall.
"Huh?!"
"When did he—?!"
Startled by Maude's voice, Jones and the Fish-Men spun around, their eyes darting toward the palace entrance.
Clad in black, Maude had somehow appeared silently behind them.
A chilling sensation crawled down their spines.
Maude swept his gaze across the aftermath of the carnage, his eyes narrowing slightly before unleashing an aura so overwhelming, it was as though he had walked through mountains of corpses and rivers of blood—a Conqueror's Haki suffused with a tangible scent of death.
The sheer force of his Conqueror's Haki flooded the hall.
Before they could react, the weaker members of the New Fish-Man Pirates collapsed, knocked unconscious by the sheer will of the Haki.
A mere second later.
Only Jones and a handful of elite Fish-Men remained standing, though barely.
But that overwhelming, bloodthirsty aura instilled an instinctual fear in them.
Thud, thud—
Unable to suppress his terror, Jones staggered backward.
His officers fared no better, each retreating several steps under Maude's crushing presence.
"Are you seriously retreating?"
Watching them back away, Maude sneered. "Pathetic."
"Damn you, human!!!"
Jones snapped out of his daze, his eyes bloodshot with fury and humiliation.
"I'll crush every bone in your body!"
Without hesitation, he pulled out a handful of Energy Steroids.
Normally, he would take only one pill.
But in the face of Maude's overwhelming strength, he realized he couldn't afford to hold back.
Just as he raised his hand to swallow them—
A flash of steel.
In an instant, Maude appeared behind Jones.
As the gleam of his blade faded, Jones's head flew into the air.
"Huh?!"
As his vision spun, Jones saw his headless body reach for his severed neck, still clutching the handful of pills—only to miss entirely.
The pills scattered into the air.
"Am I… dying?"
Watching his own headless corpse perform such an absurd act, Jones felt as though he were in a dream.
But no one paid him any mind anymore.
Neptune stared blankly at Maude, who now stood before him, casually sheathing his black blade, Shusui.
Maude reached out, catching the falling Energy Steroids.
"Small fry will always be small fry. Not worth a second strike."
His words rang like thunder in the ears of Jones's remaining officers.
Trash…
They stood frozen in shock, unable to comprehend how their captain had just… died.
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