It's unclear if Van der Decken's plea for help worked, but a giant whale descended from above.
"Stop it, Shirahoshi! Eight sections is too cruel!" Otohime poked her head out from behind Neptune.
"Exactly! Exactly! That's going too far!" Behind Otohime, the straw hat comedic trio, led by Luffy, also poked their heads out.
"We support Lady Otohime!" Nami, who had received a generous deposit, forced the remaining few to raise their hands and cheer for Otohime.
Only Neptune, after letting out a burp, turned around in confusion... Where was his brother Kuzan?
Artoria, on another high platform, looked at the fully assembled Straw Hat Pirates with shock. Was this bullying within a team?
Everyone was here except her; she was the only one excluded? Artoria fell into self-doubt.
Meanwhile, Shirahoshi's face completely darkened. She hadn't even come to trouble them, and they were already making a move?
Did they really think Shirahoshi couldn't lift a sword?
"Trash, how dare you disrupt an execution! Do you know the consequences of this act?"
Fukaboshi pulled out a cleaver from behind him. Ever since Fish-Man Island became the Merfolk Special Zone, he'd found this thing much more useful.
"And Father, Mother, you shouldn't be messing around with those pirates. Come down from there quickly!"
"I won't! Unless you promise Van der Decken a quick death." Otohime turned her head away and pouted.
"Exactly! Exactly! We're not coming down!" Neptune, who hadn't quite grasped the situation, also shouted, waving his trident.
Luffy and the others likewise agreed; a death sentence was enough, why torture him?
"Hoe, come down!" Shirahoshi calmly said to the whale, and an invisible wave spread out.
"Eh? Wait... wait! Hold on a minute!"
The whale named Hoe ignored Neptune's call and flew straight towards Shirahoshi.
It wasn't until he was face to face with his daughter, whose face was dark, that Neptune sobered up a bit: "Shi-Shirahoshi... yo!"
"'Yo' what? Your drinking money for this month—no, next month—is all canceled!"
"No! My kawaii daughter, I was also because..."
"Because of the justice in our hearts, we will not yield!!!" Otohime shouted from behind Neptune.
Shirahoshi's status as the Sea Emperor had awakened; when she was serious, all creatures in the sea would feel an innate sense of worship towards her.
...Shirahoshi was speechless. Did they really think she was the villain?
"Even if you don't yield, it's useless. Proceed with the execution!"
"Yes!"
The executioner Fishman didn't hesitate. His hand raised the knife, brought it down, then froze.
He was instructed by Lord Fukaboshi to cut from the ankles, but looking at Van der Decken's four detached feet, shouldn't this count as five sections? How was he supposed to cut eight sections?
"Stop!" Luffy and the others rushed to the execution platform, attempting to rescue Van der Decken.
"What do you take life for?" Luffy glared at Fukaboshi, who stood in his way.
"This is the Merfolk Special Zone's own business; it's not for an outsider to comment on!" Fukaboshi rested the large cleaver on his shoulder, covered in Armament Haki.
Just as the executioner Fishman calculated to make another cut at the waist, chest, and neck, he was stopped by Sanji, who arrived just in time.
The knife had only cut halfway, stuck in Van der Decken's waist.
"Ah! Aaaah! It hurts like hell!!!" The gag that prevented Van der Decken from speaking fell out of his mouth, and he thrashed on the ground, wailing desperately.
"Ah, sorry, I'll help you pull it out." Sanji looked a bit embarrassed and reached out to move the large knife.
The executioner Fishman, seeing this, grunted and stepped forward, slamming his fist on the back of the knife; the blade, which had just been lifted an inch, dropped back down.
"Bastard!" Sanji glared at him and lifted the knife up again.
Bang!
The executioner Fishman didn't give an inch, slamming his fist down again.
The two exchanged glances, their eyes sharpening.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
"Hoooh ooooh ooooh!"
The knife was rapidly lifted and dropped by the two, transforming from a normal large knife into a supersonic vibrating blade.
Van der Decken below felt utterly miserable, not even daring to hope for a quick death, only wishing to be quickly divided into eight sections.
Chopper, Nami, Usopp, and the others, led by Robin, consciously stood behind Artoria.
Only Zoro watched Shirahoshi, covered in cold sweat. This level of power was abnormal, stronger than an Admiral.
Nami's Observation Haki also sensed Shirahoshi's immense power, so she obediently followed behind Robin. They had shouted slogans and collected the deposit; this job was done.
"Stop it, Shirahoshi!" Otohime spread her arms, blocking Zoro's path.
"Stop what? Mother, this is no longer the Fish-Man Island of old!" Shirahoshi picked up the huge, ornate trident behind her.
"If you remain stubborn, I'll tell Nero!" Otohime showed no sign of backing down.
"Ha, do you think Lord Nero would care about the life of a Fishman?" Shirahoshi scoffed, intending to push Otohime aside.
"No, I'm going to tell Nero that you bullied me!" Otohime declared fiercely, "Don't forget, I'm Nero's good friend!"
Shirahoshi couldn't hold back: "Mother! Don't be so childish!"
"Even so, I must stop you!"
The mother and daughter stared at each other for a long time, and finally, Shirahoshi compromised: "Despicable... I-I promise you."
"red bean paste?" Otohime's eyes welled up with tears as she stared at Shirahoshi.
"red bean paste!" Shirahoshi sat back indifferently: "It doesn't make a difference anyway."
"Nani?"
Otohime and the others looked towards the execution platform, only to realize that Van der Decken, who had been chopped into mincemeat in the middle, looked a hundred times more miserable than if he had been divided into eight sections.
Sanji awkwardly smoked, replacing Luffy, who was fighting Fukaboshi.
Even Fukaboshi and Luffy stopped fighting. Everyone present found the situation quite difficult to describe.
"..."
"..."
The entire place fell silent... This was a reverse rescue, wasn't it? Van der Decken, in the afterlife, probably hated the rescuing Straw Hat even more than his executioners.
"Well, the appetizer is over. Now for the main course!"
With a snap of Shirahoshi's fingers, most of the audience below tore open their outer garments, revealing military uniforms underneath.
While surrounding the Straw Hat Pirates, they also orderly and disciplinedly dispersed the real audience.
Even Artoria and the others around Shirahoshi were no exception; they were surrounded by a circle of strong-looking Fishman masters.
"Robin, I don't know how you managed to trick Lord Nero into letting Lia and you scoundrels go out to sea together."
Shirahoshi struck her trident against the ground, and the earth seemed to tremble.
"But your conspiracy ends here. I will sweep all of you trash into the garbage can!"
A surging Haoshoku bloomed. Before Robin could reply, she and Luffy and the others felt the same suffocation.
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