Beneath Fish-Man Island, in the dilapidated streets nestled deep within the gloomy ocean floor, a massive number of ruthless and aggressive fish-men had gathered.
Several ancient, battered, and even broken sailing ships lay quietly near the Fish-Man District, encased in a coating of bubbles.
Emaciated and exhausted human pirates, bound by shackles, were crammed into the cabins.
"Before we knew it, we've captured so many humans over the years. Even though they're only good for low-level cannon fodder, their sheer numbers make up for it."
Two figures stood at the doorway, conversing as they looked at the submissive human slaves who cowered like ants.
Hody Jones kept a straight face, stating coldly, "Once we gather a force of one hundred thousand, we can attack Fish-Man Island and seize the regime."
"Bahohoho! That's wonderful, Hody. When the time comes, don't you dare forget your promise. Oh, my Princess Shirahoshi!"
Vander Decken IX curled his lips into a wretched smile. Just thinking about the mermaid princess's adorable appearance made his entire brain surge with uncontrollable excitement.
"I can't wait to marry my Shirahoshi. Please hurry up, Hody, bahohoho!"
"Speaking of which... I don't think I've sent my fiancée a love letter today. I'll just use that large halberd we just confiscated."
Chuckling lewdly, Vander Decken pulled a love letter from his coat and turned to shout at his subordinates,
"Hurry up and bring the weapon over! If you delay Shirahoshi from receiving her love letter, I'll chop all your heads off!"
"Yes, sir!"
The subordinates scrambled to fetch the weapon.
Off to the side, Hody stared coldly at the fantasizing Decken IX. He didn't interrupt, but internally, he was violently gagging.
'An impure mixed-blood fish-man who can't even breathe underwater... How dare a disgusting creature like him dream of laying a finger on the mermaid princess.'
'Once the plan is realized, he'll be the first one I kill!'
Hody thought to himself, a faint glint of murderous intent flashing deep in his eyes.
A moment later, two subordinates carried over a black halberd nearly three meters long. Decken IX accepted it with his left hand, a sleazy smile on his face.
Activating his ability, a strange energy began to take effect on the large halberd before Decken IX casually tossed it upward.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, the halberd shot straight toward Fish-Man Island!
"Bahohoho! Hurry and accept my love, dear Princess Shirahoshi!"
"Ahem, that's enough. You should head back for today,"
Hody interrupted, his tone indifferent. "It seems a lot of major events have happened on the surface recently. You should be careful."
"I know, I know. You're making a fuss over nothing, Hody. This is the bottom of the sea. No matter how strong humans are, there's no way they can beat you underwater, right?"
Decken IX said with a chuckle.
Hearing this, the corners of Hody's mouth curled up smugly as he sneered,
"Of course. As long as I have the [E·S], not even Jinbe can stop my power, let alone lowly creatures like humans...!"
Boom!!
Before he could finish speaking, the cabin wall suddenly exploded. Splintered wood flew everywhere as a black halberd shot inside and pierced the floor, its long shaft vibrating with a hum.
"What happened?!"
"Wait a minute! Isn't this what I just threw?!"
Seeing the halberd clearly, Hody and Decken IX's expressions changed, and they both snapped their heads to look outside!
At a glance, they saw Neptune wielding his trident, riding a whale shark as he swam toward them.
Besides him, there were two other figures up ahead.
Allen and Perona, their bodies enveloped in coating bubbles, were riding a swordfish and charging over at an even faster speed.
The moment he saw them, Hody furrowed his brows and glared furiously at Allen, shouting,
"What's going on?! Why is Neptune here, and who the hell are those two?!"
"Which bastard is throwing garbage into the sea? Don't you know it pollutes the ocean environment?"
Allen curled his lips into a fierce grin. Riding the swordfish up to the coated, broken ship, he leaped through the bubble coating and entered the cabin.
"Especially since Fish-Man Island is my territory now. You unruly little punks..."
Bang!
Allen's feet slammed heavily onto the floor. Staring ruthlessly at Hody and Decken IX, he sneered,
"It's time to pay your protection fees."
"A human? You bastard...!"
Hody revealed a vicious expression. Although he didn't know who Allen was, given the situation, he didn't need to overthink it.
"Fish-Man Karate: Water Shot!!"
An egg-sized drop of water flowed down the edge of his palm. With an explosive shout, Hody swung his arm and violently hurled the water drop!
To his shock, facing the water drop that packed the power of a cannonball, Allen simply raised his hand and crushed it on the spot!
Bang!!
"What?!"
Hody's eyes widened as he stared at Allen in disbelief. "Just who the hell are you?!"
"My name is Allen. The man who's going to kill you."
Allen's lips curled up. The moisture on his wet hand similarly condensed in his palm. Drawing back both arms, he swung his hands and hurled the water out!
"Water Shot!!"
Bang!! Bang!!
Two drops of water smashed into Hody and Decken IX's bodies like cannonballs, instantly blasting them away. They crashed through the wooden wall and slammed onto the deck over a dozen meters away!
"What happened, Hody?!"
"Boss!!"
"Are you okay, Captain Decken?!"
The massive commotion finally caught the attention of the fish-men outside. The moment they saw Hody and Decken, they cried out in shock and abruptly looked up.
Only then did the crowd of fish-men notice the intruding Allen.
"A human!!"
"Is this bastard the one who did this?!"
"Get him, brothers! Kill him!!"
In an instant, a large number of fish-men charged forward in a rage. Even the fish-men further away heard the noise and quickly converged on the area.
At the same time, the sudden turn of events caused the humans imprisoned in the cabin to grow restless. Seeing that Allen was also human, they began shouting and screaming for help.
Allen ignored them. Instead, he glanced at the black halberd stuck in the floor nearby, snatched it up, bent his knees, and violently lunged forward!
Facing the dozen or so fish-men charging right at him, Allen's eyes darkened. The muscles in his arms bulged as he gripped the halberd and unleashed a fierce horizontal sweep!
Boom!!
A powerful shockwave erupted, sending all the fish-men in front of him flying!
Hody had just stood up, glaring outward with furious eyes. In the next second, Allen was already in front of him, bringing the halberd crashing down from above!
Slash—Boom!!
The blade gleamed with a cold light, tearing through Hody's chest without any resistance before smashing into the ground, sending a massive spray of blood into the air.
Hody's face twisted in agony, his eyes bloodshot. He was sent flying backward once again, his back slamming heavily against the ship's railing.
Allen didn't press the attack. Instead, he turned to look at Decken IX, who was pushing himself off the floor, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he stood up on the deck.
"You damn bastard...!!"
Decken IX squeezed the words through his teeth. Staring at Allen with a vicious gaze, he growled furiously,
"To think you'd dare attack me... I'm going to skin you alive and pull out your tendons today! Then I'll chop off your limbs and feed them to the fishes!"
"Is that so? That sounds like a pretty good way to die. Now that you've chosen it, you can't back out."
Allen's eyes turned ferocious. He spun the halberd in his hand a few times before abruptly stopping and thrusting it violently at Decken's neck!
Slash—!
A streak of blood spurted out. Decken's eyes filled with shock as his head spun through the air a few times before landing on the ground, staring in confusion at his own headless body.
In the next instant, everything in his vision went completely black.
Having casually killed Decken IX, Allen turned his head back toward Hody's position. At some point, the fish-man's body had inexplicably swelled up significantly.
At the same time, all the officers of the New Fish-Man Pirates had gathered around.
"All of you, be careful! That guy is strong. Take the Energy Steroids immediately!"
Hody shouted loudly. He grabbed his shirt and ripped it off, revealing his robust, vein-bulging muscles.
He bent his knees into a half-crouch, just about to push off the ground and charge forward, when his pupils suddenly shrank in horror. He saw Allen gripping the halberd and hurling it with all his might!
Boom!!
The halberd was like a streak of black light, tearing through space and arriving in a flash. It pierced straight through Hody's abdomen, carrying him backward as he smashed through the railing, pierced the ship's bubble coating, and plunged directly into the sea!
...