"Sniper!"
"Protect the Queen!"
"Search the area for suspicious people!"
This time, no matter what, the soldiers refused to let Queen Otohime act on her own again.
"Your Majesty, please don't be reckless! If it weren't for Lady Artoria just now, we could never forgive ourselves!"
"But those signatures are important…"
"Signatures can always be recollected. Right now, capturing the assassin is what matters. Please retreat to safety, Your Majesty!" The soldiers stood firm, intent on escorting her back to Ryugu Palace.
Zhang Da Ye added his voice. "Calm down. Your life is far more valuable than a few boxes of signatures. The princes and princesses are all worried about you."
"Mother!" At that moment, Shirahoshi, who had been playing in the sky with Tom, floated down. One threw herself into the queen's arms, while the other perched on Zhang Da Ye's shoulder.
Holding her daughter snapped Otohime back to her senses. She realized that even if she herself died trying to save the signatures, it was nothing compared to what might happen if Shirahoshi witnessed her being shot.
If Shirahoshi lost control and summoned hordes of giant Sea Kings, Fishman Island would truly be doomed.
So, reluctantly, Queen Otohime allowed herself to be surrounded by guards and escorted back toward the palace ship with Shirahoshi in her arms.
When the signature boxes first caught fire, Jinbe had already ordered the three princes back into the ship's cabin, and was now charging toward the direction of Hody Jones.
In the original timeline, the burning signatures left Jinbe shaken, and the queen's shooting drove him into guilt and rage.
Observation Haki required calm and focus to use, but a string of chaotic events had made that impossible, so he hadn't been able to pinpoint the sniper.
But now, things were different. The queen was unharmed, and Artoria's defensive stance had pointed him toward the general direction. If he still couldn't find the shooter, then he wasn't worthy of the title Warlord of the Sea.
Meanwhile, Hody Jones stared in shock at the silver-armored, blue-skirted swordswoman who had cut his bullet in half. Something was wrong.
His plan had been flawless—hire a human to burn the signature boxes and create chaos, then use the distraction to shoot the queen. Afterward, kill the arsonist and plant the gun on him, publicly framing humans for the crime.
No one else knew of this plan. There was no possibility of a leak. So why had it failed?
He had pulled the trigger only an instant before, yet that swordswoman had already been there blocking the shot.
"Could she… see the future? Impossible!"
Someone would soon come searching for the assassin, but it didn't matter. The plan wasn't completely ruined yet. If he killed the human first and made everyone believe it was a human attack, the effect would be the same.
Showing his face briefly before his men and assigning them search directions, Hody rushed to the arranged meeting point—payment hadn't been settled yet.
He had to admit, the human he hired was skilled. To ignite three boxes at that distance almost simultaneously showed remarkable aim.
But in close combat, the man was useless. Hody floored him in one strike, and a second move would have killed him.
"Now I just have to bring him back." Hody slung the unlucky human over his shoulder, ready to leave—only to find himself face-to-face with a large, blue-skinned figure.
"Well, if it isn't Big Brother Jinbe," Hody said smoothly. "I've already caught the assassin who tried to kill the queen. He resisted with a gun, so I executed him on the spot."
Hody was also from Fishman District, so calling Jinbe "big brother" cost him nothing.
"Is that really the truth?" Jinbe wasn't buying it. He had clearly heard the human asking about his payment earlier. "Why did you do it, Hody?"
Thinking Jinbe meant the human, Hody put on a righteous face. "That's the reality, Jinbe. Humans don't want peace with us. That's why they tried to assassinate our queen!"
"I see… so, like Arlong, you also hate humans?" Jinbe instantly grasped his true motive. "For your hatred, you would even hire pirates to murder our queen?"
Even Arlong, for all his cruelty, would never harm his own people. Jinbe hadn't expected Hody to be this ruthless.
"Ha." Hody tossed aside the limp human. "So you've heard after all, Jinbe. Well, there might be a small misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?"
"Yes. It doesn't matter. That woman may have survived, but if someone with your prestige were killed by a human sneak attack, the effect would be the same."
"You mean to fight me?" Jinbe was incredulous. Did this junior truly not understand the gap between them?
Did Hody think Jinbe's status as Fishman District's big brother came from connections or money? It was earned with fists, one punch at a time.
"Of course, I can't match 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbe as I am now. But…" Hody pulled out a handful of red-and-black capsules and swallowed one.
"Drugs?" Jinbe frowned. He'd never seen anything like them. What kind of medicine could make Hody so confident?
The moment he swallowed it, Hody's body began to change. His limbs grew thicker, muscles bulged, and veins swelled across his skin.
"A stimulant?" Jinbe muttered. "Relying on such things, how could you possibly defeat me?" He raised one hand in a karate stance, fist drawn back at his waist, ready to teach the boy a lesson.
"Hahaha! This power is intoxicating!" The drug seemed to affect Hody's mind as well, making him manic. "Die, Jinbe, you lapdog of the World Government!"
Hody charged, throwing a massive punch.
Jinbe's voice rang out calm and steady.
"Fishman Karate… Five-Thousand Tile True Punch!"
Boom! His fist, the size of a sandbag, smashed square into Hody's face, warping his features.
Hody flew backward faster than he had charged forward, crashing into a coral hill a hundred meters away, buried in dust and rubble.
"No! Impossible! My strength should have multiplied tenfold!" Hody's durability seemed boosted as well, sparing him from instant defeat, but his voice trembled with disbelief.
"Power gained from drugs is false strength," Jinbe declared sternly. "It can never compare to the true skill forged through endless training in Fishman Karate!"
Only Jinbe could say such words. If it had been one of Arlong's crew standing here instead, they'd already be dead.
"This can't be! Aaah!" Desperate, Hody swallowed an entire handful of pills. His body convulsed in agony.
Moments later, the coral hill exploded apart as he staggered out of the rubble, trembling but transformed even further.
"The real battle starts now!"
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