Vander Decken IX slapped his thigh with a dramatic flourish, as if he had just won a grand prize.
His sharp, sarcastic voice was incredibly unpleasant.
"Hody Jones, I never expected someone like you to seek an alliance with me. Hahahaha!"
Faced with the provocation, Hody merely snorted, his eyes burning with undisguised contempt.
"Know your place, Vander Decken," Hody finally said, his tone as cold as the deep sea.
"If it weren't for those damned outsiders, do you really think I would need to team up with trash like you?"
Though he despised the man, the arrival of two of the Yonko's had forced his hand.
"A rat from the gutter will always be a rat," Hody sneered.
The words struck like a blade.
The smug grin on Vander Decken's face vanished, replaced by a flash of pure fury.
His expression darkened, but surprisingly, the anger dissipated as quickly as it came, melting back into his usual sly, lecherous demeanor.
For him, pride was meaningless; all that mattered was obtaining Shirahoshi.
He sneered, his eyes gleaming with a manic light.
"Just wait. Tomorrow, I'll give everyone a little surprise." His gaze grew more fanatical as he became lost in his own grand vision.
"Tomorrow, the entire world will know the name Vander Decken IX!" he declared, his voice rising with an uncontrollable frenzy.
"What Yonko's? What Devil Fruit users? Before me, they will all turn to dust!"
Hody watched Vander Decken's descent into madness with a piercing glare, his own expression a thunderous scowl.
If not for the interference of the Whitebeard Pirates and the sudden arrival of that madwoman Big Mom, his plan to incite a revolution would have already succeeded.
But now, the outsiders had disrupted everything.
Worse, the island's inhabitants were starting to feel gratitude towards them, a trend he could not tolerate.
To turn the tide, he had no choice but to work with this unpredictable fool.
"Listen," Hody's voice was a low threat. "I don't care what you do, but you better make damn sure you destroy Fish-Man Island's protective bubble."
The air crackled with tension.
If Vander Decken refused, Hody would snap his neck without a second thought.
Vander Decken, however, just smiled.
"Relax," he replied in a slimy tone. "You've seen the Ark 'Noah,' haven't you? Do you really think a legendary vessel like that will fail to smash through this flimsy little bubble?"
Hearing this, Hody relaxed slightly.
He had seen the ark. It was a true behemoth, a fortress on the sea.
If he could have piloted it himself, he would have never needed this partnership.
With the Noah, destroying the island's protective barrier should be a simple matter.
Still, he remained vigilant.
With a treacherous man like Vander Decken, one could never be too careful.
"Good," Hody said with a cold smirk. "Once the bubble is gone, all those pirates—even the so-called Emperors—will be stranded 10,000 meters underwater. There's no escape. In the ocean, they are nothing. This is the domain of us Fish-Men!"
He turned to his subordinates and began barking orders.
"You will sneak into the gas storage at the main entrance and destroy all the equipment!"
"Yes, boss!" several Fish-Men responded, their eyes burning with zeal.
"And you lot—keep an eye on that old fool Neptune. Don't let him get away!"
"Understood!" another group replied.
"And finally…" Hody paused, a smug grin spreading across his face.
"We'll strike tomorrow when those outsiders are making their deal. I hear there will be a lot of power changing hands. The kind of power we might need."
Vander Decken's lip twitched uneasily.
"Hody, are you really planning to use those… things? Their power is undeniable, but the side effects are nothing to scoff at."
"Hmph!" Hody snorted, his gaze sharp. "Mind your own business."
Vander Decken fell silent.
Just as he was about to retort, another untimely round of applause echoed from the shadows behind him.
The abrupt sound sent a chill down his spine.
He saw Hody's face instantly turn deathly pale, his eyes wide with a terror Vander Decken had never seen before.
He turned around.
His own pupils constricted violently, and the color drained from his face.
His body began to tremble as an indescribable dread washed over him.
Then, a familiar yet bone-chilling voice rang out.
"Clap, clap, clap! Well now, what a perfect plan you two have cooked up."
"Ron, I didn't mess up this time, right? It's definitely this guy!" Enel pointed an accusing finger at Vander Decken IX.
The newcomer was, of course, Ron.
Enel trailed behind him, nodding obsequiously and gesturing emphatically at their target, looking smugly satisfied with himself.
Ron was quite pleased with Enel's performance and gave a slight nod of approval.
The Mind Net ability was proving to be incredibly useful.
It could instantly span the entirety of Fish-Man Island, and while there were countless Fish-Men, having a specific target and a rough description had drastically narrowed the search.
On top of that, these conspirators never imagined their treasonous words could be overheard, so they spoke freely, making them laughably easy to find.
Ron took a slow step forward.
Each footfall seemed to land directly on Hody Jones's heart, filling him with an unprecedented sense of dread.
The air grew thick, as if time itself had slowed to a crawl.
"Hody Jones, is it?" Ron's voice was low, carrying the chilling finality of a judge's sentence.
His gaze was sharp, locking onto his target and seeming to pierce right through him.
Hearing his name, Hody's face twisted in horror.
Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and his hands clenched into fists, but he lacked the courage to even speak.
He knew exactly who stood before him: Ron, the vice-captain of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Ron then shifted his gaze to Vander Decken IX, and his expression grew even colder.
The look he gave him was filled with a fierce, personal hostility.
"Vander Decken IX?" Ron spoke again, his voice now laced with undisguised contempt.
"AHHHH!" Vander Decken shrieked, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He recognized Ron from the welcoming ceremony that morning—the terrifying second-in-command of an Emperor's crew.
Being a pirate captain himself, he understood what that meant.
This man possessed strength beyond his comprehension and could kill him as easily as crushing an insect.
A paralyzing chill shot up his spine.
As he debated whether to kneel and beg for his life, more figures emerged from the shadows behind Ron.
The last shred of hope in Vander Decken's heart shattered.
Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, Manboshi, and Princess Shirahoshi had arrived, followed by a contingent of soldiers from the Ryugu Palace.
"Shi... Shirahoshi?!" Vander Decken stammered, his eyes wide with shock.
He never imagined seeing her here, surrounded by her family and their guards.
The moment the three princes laid eyes on him, their own gazes ignited with fury.
They finally had the scum who had tormented their sister for years cornered.
"Ron, that's him! That's the bastard!"
"I'll kill him with my own hands!" Ryuboshi ground his teeth, his fists clenched.
Fukaboshi's voice was a low growl of pure rage. "This piece of trash made our sister live in fear for a decade. He deserves the cruelest punishment imaginable!"
He gripped his trident so tightly his knuckles turned white.
If Ron hadn't been there, he would have already charged.
Shirahoshi's gaze fell upon Vander Decken, and a flicker of her old panic returned.
She instinctively shrank back, her sweet eyes wide with fear.
"Don't be afraid, Shirahoshi," Ron said with a gentle smile, his voice like a calming spring breeze that instantly soothed her nerves.
In that brief moment of distraction, Vander Decken turned and fled.
He knew begging for mercy was useless.
His only chance was to run.
He mustered every ounce of strength he had, but his legs trembled so badly that each step was an agonizing struggle.
"Pathetic," Enel sneered, his voice dripping with the disdain of a god looking upon an insect.
"An ant unaware of its own insignificance."
As he spoke, he raised a hand, and a bolt of lightning as thick as a man's arm erupted from his fingertips, its radiance like divine retribution from the heavens.
"Divine Punishment."
The terrifying blast struck Vander Decken instantly.
A violent current surged through his body with a deafening crackle, and the stench of burning flesh filled the air.
A final, agonizing scream tore from his throat as the raw power of the lightning illuminated his very skeleton, a horrifying sight that sent a chill down everyone's spine.
The crackling light dissipated, leaving a stunned silence in its wake.
Vander Decken, charred black and smoking, collapsed to his knees, his body convulsing weakly.
He was utterly broken, robbed of even the slightest ability to move.
The display of absolute power left everyone speechless, awed by the might of the former 'God'.
Hody Jones witnessed it all, his pupils contracting to pinpricks, his heart flooded with disbelief.
He never imagined his meticulous plan could be discovered and dismantled so easily.
It was an unacceptable, infuriating failure.
"Damn it!" Hody roared, his eyes wild with rage and paranoia.
"How did you find us?! Did one of you betray me?!"
----------------------------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator