"It's not fire and..."
Taro was stunned, half a sentence slipping out before he realized his slip of the tongue. He immediately cut off the rest, his expression shifting erratically.
Holy crap, the prophecy changed!
What the hell?
Is it because I dealt with Vander Decken ahead of time and was planning to deal with Hody Jones?
This is bad. The more I change this world, the more my advantage as a 'prophet' disappears!
Madam Shirley looked at Taro's rapidly changing expression and, combined with his half-spoken sentence, was also filled with shock.
After a long while, she tightened her grip on her pipe and nodded toward Neptune and Jinbe.
"Looking at it this way, it truly is him!"
Neptune was overjoyed. Shirley's prophecy originally featured two people, but now it had turned into a total mist.
The only thing that could cause such a change was the 'covenant' that just occurred, which made him one hundred percent certain of Taro's identity as the 'New Generation Joy Boy.'
Although Jinbe had guessed it was Taro before, having the answer confirmed still shook his soul to the core.
When Hody heard Shirley's earlier phrase 'devoid of life,' his eyes flickered, and he roared loudly,
"Did you all hear that? 'Devoid of life' means Fish-Man Island will be destroyed at the hands of this human! We're all going to die!"
Taro felt a massive headache coming on. Madam Shirley, aren't you just screwing me over?
Mist or no mist, how should I know what that means!
Hearing Hody's words, the Fishmen began to hesitate, even looking at Taro with faces full of fear.
Taro first glared at Madam Shirley, then looked at Hody and said hatefully,
"Hody Jones, in my hometown, your kind of behavior is called being a 'Clout-chasing dog.' Do you know that?"
Everyone looked confused, not understanding what kind of breed a 'Clout-chasing dog' was.
Then they heard Taro continue,
"Good and evil have never had anything to do with race. Certain humans have done very cruel things to Fisher Tiger and many Fish-Man Race members who were reduced to slavery!"
"I don't deny that!"
"But Hody, you know very well that no human has ever done anything to you, nor has anyone harmed you, yet you want to kill all humans!"
Hody's face instantly turned ashen. "You... how do you know these things?"
Taro looked at him with disdain and gave a mocking laugh. "Tch, I also know that eight years ago..."
"Lord Taro!"
Just then, Princess Shirahoshi rushed out from the Covenant Hall, interrupting Taro's words.
"Lord Taro, please don't speak of that matter!"
Taro looked back to see Shirahoshi with tears streaming down her face, her lips bitten tight, her expression filled with sadness and pleading.
"Shirahoshi, Hody Jones is nothing more than a monster born of anger and resentment! If we don't stop him, I'm afraid in the future..."
If Hody hadn't jumped out today, Taro hadn't planned on bothering with him.
But now... he couldn't let it go!
"Sigh!"
Seeing Shirahoshi still shaking her head and pleading with him, Taro finally let out a sigh.
"Handle it yourselves then. I'm tired!"
After saying that, he slowly sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Shirahoshi?" Neptune looked at Shirahoshi with a frown.
The Three Princes also quickly swam to Shirahoshi's side. Shark Star said urgently,
"Sister, what are you talking about? What happened eight years ago..."
As he spoke, he seemed to think of something, and his eyes widened,
"Is it... is it...?"
The sadness in Shirahoshi's heart could no longer be suppressed, and she broke into loud wails.
Taro's Internal Energy extended backward. Sensing that Shirahoshi's painful emotions contained only sadness and longing without any anger, his heart felt slightly more at ease.
At this point, how could everyone not understand that the matter Taro was about to mention was related to the assassination of Queen Otohime eight years ago?
"Taro, what exactly happened eight years ago?"
Neptune moved in front of Taro, leaning his body down as much as possible, asking with an agitated heart.
Taro shook his head and directly flopped backward, lying on the ground. "I'm tired, I don't want to talk!"
Seeing Shirahoshi wailing and remembering their mother's final request, The Three Princes forcibly suppressed their thoughts and gathered around Shirahoshi to comfort her.
"It's okay, let her cry!"
Taro sensed their movements and said with his eyes closed,
"Don't worry, it won't attract those things!"
Let her cry. Everyone should have the right to cry; it's also the best way to vent pressure.
Shirahoshi had been bearing it alone for too long since years ago. Let her have a good cry!
Jinbe thought for a moment, his bloodshot eyes suddenly glaring at Hody,
"Hody, that matter... was it you?"
Hody looked at Taro in shock, but soon his expression turned manic again,
"I didn't expect you to know even this!"
He clenched his fists, like a suicide bomber, and roared,
"That's right! Eight years ago, the one who killed Queen Otohime wasn't a human, it was me! Humans indeed never harmed me, but humans deserve to die!"
"The one who deserves to die is you!"
Neptune's face twisted in rage. With a roar, he grabbed his trident and lunged at Hody.
"I actually knew all along!"
Shirahoshi's wailing subsided, replaced by low sobbing.
"Shirahoshi..."
Neptune stopped his movement and turned back to look at Shirahoshi.
"Four years ago, Mekaro told me..."
Shirahoshi recounted what her pet shark had seen at the time. Although her face was still full of sadness, there wasn't a hint of resentment in her tone.
"Princess Shirahoshi..." Tears welled up in Blue Fatty's eyes.
The Fishmen were also stunned by this truth. Hody was actually the murderer of Queen Otohime, and the young Princess Shirahoshi had actually kept this secret all this time.
"Mother's last words were for us 'not to hate the killer,' so I never thought of telling the truth," Shirahoshi said, looking at Hody. "Please don't continue this anymore, okay?"
Hody Jones was unmoved by Shirahoshi's words. He laughed out loud,
"Jahahaha! Just as naive and stupid as your mother. Pinning your hopes on others, how ridiculous!"
Taro's brow furrowed, and he suddenly stood up from the ground. Before anyone could react, his figure abruptly vanished.
In the next second, he appeared in front of Hody, grabbing him by the throat. With a sudden burst of strength, he yanked Hody downward.
Hody's knees buckled instantly as he knelt on the ground. Just as he was about to struggle, Taro released his neck and slammed a hand onto the back of his head.
BOOM!
Hody was slammed heavily against the ground, forced into a resounding kowtow. The ground instantly cracked, sending debris flying.
Only then did the officers of the New Fish-Man Pirates react, rushing toward Taro to attack.
Taro grabbed Hody's head with his right hand, lifted it, and slammed it down heavily again.
BOOM!
He forced Hody to kowtow a second time.
At the same time, he raised his left arm.
WUMM!
Blue-white Internal Energy surged out, condensing into a near-solid ball of energy on his fist. He threw a punch.
CRACK!
A crisp sound rang out as the Void Realm shattered. A powerful vibrating force erupted, instantly blasting away the officers surrounding Taro.
Taro lifted Hody's head once more and slammed it down heavily for the third time.
BOOM!
Hody performed his third kowtow!
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