Jinbe and the Ryugu Palace guards' speedboats, led by Hody Jones, sliced through the still-churning water like a flock of sharp arrows, rapidly closing in on the source of the immense shockwave. The transparent coating around the boats slightly warped at such high speed, reflecting the dark, eerie scenery of the deep sea.
Inside the lead boat, the atmosphere was heavy with dread and anticipation. Hody Jones's eyes, full of malice, constantly darted over the terrifying residual energy and the faint, lingering smell of blood in the surrounding water. Instead of fear, a twisted excitement played across his features. He licked his sharp teeth and was the first to break the silence: "Boss Jinbe, you've got experience. Can you guess which idiot caused such a huge mess?" There was a subtle, fanatic zeal in his voice.
Jinbe stood firm at the bow, his thick arms crossed, his brow deeply furrowed. He could feel the brutal, utterly destructive energy still saturating the water. He slowly shook his head and replied in a low, grave voice: "I can't guess. This power… it's entirely unfamiliar, and it feels extremely overwhelming. To cause such widespread damage, even shaking Fish-Man Island itself, its strength is probably far beyond anything you or I can imagine."
"Hmph!" Hody Jones spat a sound of utter contempt, gripping the trident in his hand. "Who cares what it is! Anyone who dares to run wild near Fish-Man Island and disrupt our home needs to pay the price! We Fishmen are naturally strong, the greatest race in the world! There's nothing to be scared of!"
Jinbe cast a quick glance at Hody, sighing internally. He knew his compatriot's radical nature, and this kind of blind, racial arrogance was particularly dangerous in their current situation. He spoke with a stern voice: "Hody, don't be reckless. Power takes many forms, and underestimating an enemy is a warrior's greatest failure." Yet, he also knew any further warning would be pointless; Hody wouldn't listen to him at all.
The Aftermath of the Hunt
Meanwhile, aboard the ship, the Conqueror, Takuro was scratching his head, staring unhappily at the distant, half-submerged remains of an ancient Sea King that floated like a small, meaty mountain.
"Hey, so what do you all think? How are we going to haul this thing up? This deep-sea fish has got to be delicious!" He pointed toward the massive corpse, his eyes gleaming with a hopeful craving for a "big meal."
Robin pressed a hand to her forehead in a familiar gesture of helplessness, gently reminding him: "Master, begging your pardon, but a Sea King of this size—even just this remnant—is vastly larger than our ship. We simply don't have the proper salvage tools or storage capacity."
Tiger also looked troubled by the thought: "Mr. Takuro, Miss Robin is correct. Furthermore, dealing with a massive corpse like this in the deep sea could easily draw a lot more unnecessary trouble."
Even Gion, standing beside them, couldn't help but chime in with a complaint: "Do you seriously want to try dragging half a mountain all the way to Fish-Man Island?"
Being rebuffed by all three in a row, Takuro clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed: "Tsk, that's so much work! I finally managed to bag a huge catch…"
Just then, he suddenly stopped speaking, tilting his head slightly as if listening to something only he could hear. His superhuman perception had easily detected a group of life forms rapidly closing in from the direction of Fish-Man Island.
His face instantly lit up, and he broke into a brilliant grin, patting Tiger's shoulder next to him: "Hey! Tiger! Your people are here! Looks like the commotion we made just now attracted their attention."
At the news, Tiger's expression instantly tensed, showing a flicker of anticipation to see his kin, but mostly concern about the conflict that was about to unfold. Gion immediately composed herself, instantly reverting to her authoritative Vice Admiral demeanor, her gaze fixed with sharp vigilance on the blurry outlines of several coated speedboats appearing in the distance.
Confrontation at Sea
Jinbe and his squad finally arrived at the core of the incident area. The sight that greeted them completely stunned every Fishman, even the normally composed Jinbe.
The seawater here was faintly stained crimson, and the strong scent of blood was detectable even through the boats' coating. But the most shocking sight was the ancient, colossal Sea King—a creature they normally avoided at any cost. Now, only a small, severely damaged section of its body remained, floating mournfully in the water. It was a silent testament to the terrifying force it had encountered. The edges of the massive wound didn't look like they were sliced by a blade or a normal attack; instead, it was as if the creature had been forcefully… shattered by some immense, irresistible power!
"This… how can this be possible…" one of the Ryugu Palace guards whispered, his voice trembling.
Jinbe's heart sank completely. What unimaginable level of power would it take to utterly destroy such a deep-sea overlord? He couldn't even begin to fathom it. His eyes then locked onto the strange, technologically advanced ship nearby, which was also encased in a coating bubble. Was that the source of this destruction?
Just as he watched, a figure lightly jumped from that ship, enveloped in a small bubble membrane, "swimming" through the deep-sea water as freely as if he were walking on land.
It was a black-haired young man, a seemingly harmless smile spread across his face.
"Yo!" Takuro hovered right in front of Jinbe's speedboat, waving cheerfully. "You guys are the Fishmen from Fish-Man Island, right? You got here pretty fast."
"A human?" Jinbe's brows slammed together, and a powerful alarm bell went off in his mind. The being responsible for this terrifying scene was actually a human youth?
The moment Takuro's greeting ended, the situation changed abruptly!
"Despicable human! Die!"
Hody Jones, his eyes blazing with pure murderous intent, couldn't hold back his rage any longer. He launched himself out of the speedboat like a cannonball, ignoring Jinbe's command. His razor-sharp trident carried all his deep-seated hatred for humans and the brutal ferocity stirred up by the terrifying power they had witnessed, thrusting straight toward Takuro's face! This strike was lightning-fast and absolutely vicious, clearly intended as a fatal blow!
"Hody! Stop!" Jinbe cried out in alarm, trying to intervene, but it was already too late! Hody's speed was already top-tier among Fishmen, and now, fueled by his overwhelming hatred, he was even faster than a bolt of lightning! The trident's tip reached Takuro's eyes in an instant!
Facing this sudden, lethal attack, the cheerful smile on Takuro's face didn't even waver. He simply raised his right hand, seemingly casually and lightly, like he was shooing away a bothersome fly, striking first despite moving later, with perfect precision—
"Slap!"
A loud, sharp slap echoed through the water.
Time seemed to freeze. Hody Jones's powerful forward momentum instantly stopped dead. The ferocious expression on his face was immediately contorted by the immense force of the impact, and his entire body, as if struck head-on by a high-speed Sea Train, flew backward faster than he had shot forward. With a concussive "boom," he smashed heavily into a large coral reef behind them. Rocks shattered and scattered; Hody was embedded in the reef, knocked completely unconscious. The trident slipped from his hand and slowly began its descent toward the seabed.
Takuro pulled his hand back, shaking it slightly with a hint of distaste, as if he had just touched something unclean. He frowned, looking at Jinbe and the other Fishman guards, who were frozen in a state of shock and extreme wariness.
"Hey," Takuro said, a mix of confusion and displeasure in his voice, "is that how you Fish-Man Island people offer a 'warm and friendly' welcome to guests from far away?"
"Where did this lunatic come from?"
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