Translator: PapaSmurf0700
Vander Decken IX's rage was as illogical as it was immense. In response to his furious demands, Princess Shirahoshi could only whisper cautiously, "You... you are not my type."
Standing nearby, Jinbe sighed, a look of exasperation on his face. "With all due respect, Princess, I do not believe that is the central issue here."
"In that case..." Vander Decken IX hissed, his voice dripping with venom. The four-legged fish-man scuttled over to a nearby boulder, one roughly the size of Shirahoshi herself, and slapped his webbed hand against it. The power of his Mark-Mark Fruit activated instantly.
The massive rock tore through the water, hurtling toward the princess with devastating kinetic energy. "Then you can go to hell, Shirahoshi!"
Just then, Luffy finished his warm-up.
As the boulder closed in, he casually flicked his right hand. His body steamed as he kicked into Gear Second.
BOOM!
In the next instant, Luffy vanished. The giant rock exploded into a cloud of rubble. From within the dust, Luffy's figure emerged. He looked at Vander Decken IX in the distance, his voice low and cold.
"All I have to do is get rid of you," he said. "Then the crybaby won't have to be afraid anymore."
Swish!
Luffy disappeared again, reappearing directly in front of the stunned fish-man. A single, ordinary punch, thrown without ceremony or even Haki, slammed into Vander Decken's face. It was enough. The disgusting creature flew backward, carving a long trench in the ground before falling silent.
"Crybaby!" Luffy called out, turning to Shirahoshi, who was now waving happily. "You don't have to worry anymore. From now on, you just focus on your dream!"
"Mister Luffy..." Shirahoshi's eyes welled with tears, her hand flying to her mouth as she fought to hold them back.
Jinbe watched, a deep, relieved smile spreading across his features. He was more certain than ever. The legends were true, and the one destined to lead the Mermaid Princess was standing right before him.
"Gyahahahaha!"
Suddenly, a massive Visual Den Den Mushi screen flickered to life behind them, broadcasting an image from Gyoncorde Plaza. A great white shark fish-man with stark white hair filled the screen. It was Hody Jones.
"I have an announcement for all citizens of Fishman Island," Hody's voice boomed, calm and steady. But what he said next sent a tremor of shock through all who heard it. "This kingdom will be destroyed. And from its ashes, it will be reborn. I will be its new king."
"A new order will be established. No humans will be welcome here. And any fish-man who wishes to befriend them will also be purged from this land. The residents of the Fish-Man District, comrades who hate humans as much as I do, will soon move into this new kingdom."
Hody spread his arms wide, his voice rising to a fanatical roar. "A new era for Fish-Men is at hand!"
Across the island, citizens who had been spared the fighting thus far felt a new wave of panic.
"Those lawless thugs... they're going to live among us?"
"That can't happen! The Neptune Army and the Spark Alliance will protect us!"
But at that moment, the broadcast image shifted. Two figures appeared next to Hody, and the citizens' hope turned to despair. One of the figures was their own king, Neptune.
"How embarrassing," Neptune grumbled, blood matting his hair. "I ate too much at those banquets and was defeated so easily." He turned his head to the man beside him. "Mister Abraham, I am so sorry. I have become a burden to you."
The man was Lieutenant General Abraham of the Spark Alliance, and he, too, had been captured. On his own, Abraham was a formidable fighter. But he had been ambushed while trying to rescue the captured king. Trapped in the flooded Ryugu Palace, his bubble coating was destroyed. He had not been defeated in combat; he had been captured only after fighting in the open sea until he was exhausted from lack of air.
"There is no point in saying such things now," Abraham replied, his voice raspy from nearly drowning. Even with grievous wounds piercing his limbs, he maintained the unyielding posture of a soldier. He paid Neptune's apology no mind. "Even if I am captured, the Spark Alliance will complete its mission and protect the people of Fishman Island."
He shot a disdainful glance at Hody Jones. "As for that one... you will pay a steep price for your arrogance."
"Does the Spark Alliance have some secret weapon they have yet to deploy?" Neptune asked, a flicker of hope in his eyes.
"The Alliance has already committed all of its forces," Abraham stated slowly. "The secret weapon I speak of... belongs to another. The man who is changing the world."
By now, Hody's speech was nearing its end. He had been waiting for this exact moment.
"Boss Hody! It's time!" a voice crackled from a Den Den Mushi.
Hody made his final, terrible announcement. "The moment of destruction and rebirth is NOW!"
CRACK!
As the words left his lips, the colossal bubble surrounding Fishman Island shattered completely. An endless ocean, a force of unimaginable power, surged inward, sweeping across the island kingdom.
"How is this possible?!" Prince Fukaboshi roared, his face a mask of fury. His Neptune Army had fought desperately, and while the drugged sea beasts were ferocious, not a single one had broken through their lines to reach the bubble. How could it have broken?
"Unless..." Fukaboshi's expression changed to one of horror as he looked toward the island's main gate. Another possibility struck him. "Unless they never intended to use the sea beasts to break the bubble from the outside."
"The sea beasts, the pirates... they were all a diversion to occupy our forces!" Fukaboshi's face was etched with regret. "That monster, Hody... was he targeting the Air Tank from the very beginning?"
The island's bubble was sustained by a massive air storage facility. Without external damage, the only way for it to fail so catastrophically was for that facility to be destroyed. Fukaboshi had guessed the truth, but it was far too late. The sea crashed over Fishman Island in an instant, its destructive power leveling buildings and bursting smaller bubbles, leaving ruins in its wake.
Just as Hody had planned, the entire island was now a battlefield.
In the Sea Forest, Luffy stood amidst the rising water, his body flickering with a faint blue light. He stared toward the chaos, his voice raw with anger.
"That guy... I'm going to send him flying!"