"What a beautiful combo!" Zhang Da Ye praised Jinbe with a thumbs up.
If he weren't chewing food at that very moment, Jinbe would've felt a lot happier about it. "Next, we'll take him back to see His Majesty the King."
Artoria noticed Hody Jones struggling to stuff another handful of pills into his mouth and warned, "He hasn't given up yet."
Sure enough, Hody Jones staggered to his feet. The effects of the Evil Drugs dulled his pain, making his bloodied face look even more ferocious. He no longer cared about the side effects, no longer cared about plans. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to kill the people before him.
"What?" Jinbe turned, sensing that this guy really could take a beating.
Hody suddenly vanished from his spot, reappearing with a fist aimed at Jinbe's head. Jinbe raised his arm just in time, blocking the vicious strike.
The immense force left two deep grooves beneath Jinbe's feet. "His strength increased again… does this drug have no limit?"
His speed was fast, but not enough to overwhelm Jinbe. At most, it rivaled Luffy's Second Gear.
After a few quick exchanges, Jinbe smashed another punch into Hody's chest, sending him crashing to the ground.
Jinbe stepped forward, pinning Hody's hand as he tried to grab more pills. "If you keep swallowing those, you'll die without me lifting a finger."
"Even if I die… it doesn't matter!" Hody used his other hand to grab Jinbe's ankle, trying to shove him away.
"Hopeless." Jinbe released his foot and instead caught Hody's wrist, swinging him hard and slamming him against the ground on the other side.
Hody coughed up blood. Pills scattered everywhere from his pouch. He tried to move, but his body had reached its limit. He could no longer fight.
…
Dragon Palace.
Hody Jones knelt on the ground, hands bound behind his back, feet tied as well.
The remaining Evil Drugs lay piled on a tray in front of King Neptune. Jinbe stood guard nearby, in case of any sudden moves.
Queen Otohime, the ministers, Zhang Da Ye, and the others watched as Neptune began his interrogation.
"So it was you who tried to assassinate the Queen and rob the treasure vault, Hody?!" Neptune's tone was furious.
"Yes, it was me. But it's a pity…" A pity that the bullet had been stopped by a damned human. A pity he was caught in the end. Hody's words carried no remorse—only bitter resentment.
"Why? Why go this far?!" Neptune's fury shook the hall. His trident slammed into the floor, carving out a crater.
The theft he might've tolerated. But to harm Otohime… that was unforgivable. If he didn't need answers, he would have killed Hody already.
Hody glared at Otohime with venom. "She's in the way. She dares to stop our vengeance against humans. She dares to spread her dream of coexistence with humans—and she almost succeeded!
That woman was an obstacle. For me, Queen Otohime deserved to die. No—just killing her wasn't enough. I planned to use her death to ignite hatred toward humans across Fishman Island.
That ridiculous dream of hers would be crushed in an instant. All I needed to do was blame her death on humans!"
"Shut your mouth! How dare you speak to the Queen that way!" shouted the ministers.
"Hody!" Neptune's long-contained anger exploded. He thrust his trident forward, aiming directly for Hody's skull.
"Don't!" Queen Otohime tried to stop him—but there was no need.
The trident halted on its own, its tip mere centimeters from Hody's face. Everyone stared in shock.
Hody laughed wildly. "Killing me won't change anything. I'm not the only one in Fishman District who hates humans! Go ahead, strike me down, great knight…"
But his words faltered midway. His body suddenly felt unbearably heavy, his voice weak.
The ropes around his hands and feet loosened—not because anyone untied them, but because his body was shrinking.
The drugs' side effects had finally taken hold. Before everyone's eyes, the three-meter-tall warrior deflated into a frail, skeletal old man.
Tufts of his white hair fell out in clumps, the rest turning gray and lifeless. His voice weakened, his body hunched, his muscles wasted away until the ropes slipped off.
No one rushed to retie him. Looking at his withered body, it was doubtful he could even stand.
"So this is the side effect of those drugs?" Neptune lowered his trident. In this condition, Hody wouldn't last long. Letting him live might even serve as a warning to others.
Jinbe folded his arms. "Relying on a drug that burns away your life for temporary strength was never a proper path."
Neptune nodded. "Destroy the rest of these Evil Drugs."
"I think it's better to keep them," Zhang Da Ye said. "Training is training, but having a trump card for when things turn desperate isn't bad."
"Keeping them will only create dependency. It will rob warriors of their resolve to fight to the death, and without that resolve, they can never bring out their true power," Jinbe countered.
Jinbe spoke like a warrior—believing that when facing impossible odds, fighting with everything might awaken hidden potential. Drugs would only weaken that spirit.
Zhang Da Ye shrugged. "Then just set a rule. Don't use them unless it's truly the last resort. That way, if we face an enemy we can't overcome, at least there's still a sliver of hope. Better than nothing."
He remembered Alabasta had something similar—Hero Water or something like that. Drink it, gain power at the cost of death. Those guys who drank it still got crushed by Crocodile, but that was because Logia powers were just too absurd. Against anyone else, they might've at least lasted longer.
"Very well. I will keep these drugs under my personal guard. And this matter will remain secret. Unless Fishman Island itself faces destruction, I will never bring them out."
Neptune's decision was final. As a king, unlike a pure warrior, he had to think of survival—not for himself, but for his people.
The Left Minister spoke up. "Your Majesty, what shall be done with Hody Jones? And as he said, even if he dies, there are still many in Fishman District who despise humans. For the Queen's safety, perhaps the signature campaign should be suspended?"
"No." Queen Otohime refused instantly. "That would be running away. We have worked too hard to get this far. We cannot stop now."
"Then Hody Jones will be sentenced to life imprisonment, and his crimes will be made known across the island. As for Fishman District…" Neptune sighed. It wasn't simple. Tens of thousands lived there—criminals, yes, but also innocent children.
Some of those children might one day grow up to be like Madam Shyarly, leaving Fishman District to live normal lives. But most would follow criminals' footsteps, becoming the next generation of lawbreakers.
Already, many ordinary citizens feared and despised Fishman District. The people living there, in turn, grew increasingly resentful—not just of humans, but of outsiders in general.
The longer it dragged on, the worse it would become. Even without Hody, sooner or later, something else would erupt.
To Zhang Da Ye, the whole situation reminded him of the slums in movies from his world. The root cause? Productivity versus production relations? Damn, he really wasn't good at political science.
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