Chapter 278: Arrogant Bargaining Chips! The Speechless Crew and the God Who Parted the Sea
The main plaza of Ryugu Palace.
Following the earth-shattering explosion from just a moment ago.
The outer passage of Ryugu Palace, which had been perfectly protected within a deep-sea bubble, was completely destroyed.
Massive amounts of ice-cold seawater, now devoid of any obstruction, poured in like a violent waterfall, stirring up surging waves across the wide plaza.
Amidst this chaotic torrent of water.
Hody Jones, riding a massive, hideous sea beast and leading a large group of heavily armed New Fish-Man Pirates with murder in their eyes, formally stormed into the main plaza of Ryugu Palace.
In Hody's thick, powerful hand, he held a human who had passed out, dangling like a helpless chick.
Hody drove his sea beast to the center of the plaza and held the unconscious Luffy high, as if displaying a rare trophy.
He pointed his sharp trident directly at Luffy's unresponsive head and, facing King Neptune and the Straw Hat crew opposite him, let out an arrogant, overbearing laugh:
"Hahaha! Open your eyes and see clearly, everyone!"
"This is the so-called 'Worst Generation' that you humans brag about as if they were divine!"
"In the face of this absolute deep-sea power, this great pirate with a bounty of one billion isn't even fit to carry my shoes!"
Hody took a deep breath and loudly announced his long-planned, grand scheme to everyone in the plaza.
Not only did he intend to completely overthrow the weak and incompetent rule of Ryugu Palace here and wipe out the Neptune family.
But he also planned to publicly execute this Straw Hat Luffy in his hand before the entire world.
He would use this head, which would shock the world, as the beginning of the Fishman race's formal rule over humans and their launch of a full-scale, bloody revenge against them.
Hody felt inwardly smug.
He had expected his thunderous actions and bloody declaration to plunge the Straw Hat crew opposite him into deep despair.
He even thought some might be unable to bear the blow and burst into tears, or kneel in the water and beg for mercy.
However, when he stopped his speech and looked closely ahead, he realized the vibe on the other side was completely wrong.
Zoro, soaking in waist-deep seawater, covered his face with one hand, his face full of black lines, and let out a long, helpless sigh:
"That hopeless idiot..."
"He must have eaten too much and, with a muddled brain, accidentally fell into the water."
Nami, standing to the side, was so angry that smoke was coming out of her ears, and she stomped her feet, disregarding her image.
She pointed at the unconscious Luffy in Hody's hand and roared:
"We were outside, fully prepared to face the enemy, and you actually delivered yourself to their doorstep!"
The entire Straw Hat crew completely disregarded Hody, who was holding a hostage and exuding murderous intent.
They were all busy complaining about their Captain's single-celled, off-the-wall behavior.
This attitude of being completely ignored made Hody, whose self-esteem had just inflated to its peak, feel immense humiliation once again.
This feeling of humiliation was even more painful for him than Luffy's light punch from earlier.
Hody, consumed by shame and anger, gritted his teeth, his eyes nearly spitting fire.
He swore that he would make this bunch of ignorant humans, who were clowning around even when death was imminent, pay the most painful price.
Just as he was about to order an attack, his crimson gaze crossed over the Straw Hat crew and suddenly locked onto the massive pink figure hiding behind Tatsuya.
Hody recognized who it was at a glance.
Princess Shirahoshi, who hadn't stepped a single step out of Hard-Shell Tower for ten whole years!
He was stunned at first, then burst into laughter even more crazy and unscrupulous than before:
"Hahaha! Today is truly a lucky day for my New Fish-Man Pirates!"
"Even that cowardly princess, who hid in Hard-Shell Tower, has run out on her own!"
"That waste Vander Decken, who only knows how to throw things, couldn't do it for ten whole years, but today I will complete it for him!"
"Wipe out the entire royal family!"
Hearing Hody's malicious laughter and undisguised murderous intent, Shirahoshi trembled all over in fear.
Her massive body shrank back further behind Tatsuya's "petite" figure, her two huge fingers tightly clutching the hem of Tatsuya's black coat.
Tears of fear began to well up in her eyes again, and she murmured with a trembling voice:
"Lord Tatsuya... he is so scary..."
Hody looked at the human in black standing in front of Shirahoshi and sneered mockingly:
"What, you reckless human, are you still trying to protect the princess?"
"It is absolutely ridiculous!"
At this moment, more seawater surged in from outside the destroyed passage, like a bursting river.
The water level in the plaza had risen above everyone's chests in a short time and was still rising as the seawater poured in.
Hody knew well the fatal weakness of Devil Fruit users, and he also knew that ordinary humans could not fight at all in the water.
Here, this plaza submerged by seawater, was their absolute home turf as Fishmen!
To ensure nothing went wrong, Hody grabbed a handful of red "ES drug" and roughly shoved them all into his mouth, chewing and swallowing them.
As the life-draining effects of the drug took hold rapidly.
Hody's muscles instantly bulged exaggeratedly as if inflated, and veins writhed like little snakes under his skin,
His eyes turned completely blood-red, exuding a beast-like, violent aura.
Hody waved his large hand, and hundreds of Fishman warriors who had also taken the drug, along with massive deep-sea beasts, surrounded the Straw Hat crew and the royal army from all sides.
With the advantage of the seawater, they held the absolute upper hand in terms of terrain.
"Humans!"
"In the water, you can't even unleash half of your usual strength!"
"Take them all down and tear them to pieces!"
Facing this desperate situation of being besieged on all sides, Zoro snorted coldly and slowly drew the famous sword from his waist.
Nami also gripped the thundercloud "Futo" at her waist tightly, and the Straw Hat Pirates' eyes sharpened as they stood ready for battle.
Tatsuya, watching Hody rushing arrogantly towards him and the seawater surging in like a tsunami, remained as calm and composed as ever.
He did not draw any weapon but simply raised his hands slowly, gently clasping them together in front of his chest, just as Robin did when using her abilities.
In his right eye, those concentric light purple ripples began to rotate faster, emitting a pressure that made one's soul tremble.
The next second, a terrifying repulsive force that made the entire Ryugu Palace tremble violently erupted from him as the center!
"Shinra Tensei!"
The low shout echoed across the plaza.
In the eyes of Hody Jones and all the Fishmen, who were filled with horror and desperation.
The surging, millions-of-tons-heavy seawater seemed to encounter an insurmountable wall of god in an instant.
This terrifying repulsive force, which defied the laws of nature, forcibly split the massive body of water in two!
The water flow was violently pushed aside, emitting a deafening roar.
The vast plaza, originally submerged by seawater, was instantly cleared by this invisible force, forming a huge, circular, water-free zone.
The surrounding seawater rose like a wall of water, as if blocked by transparent glass, while the ground in the center remained completely dry.
Tatsuya stood quietly on the dry ground, like a god who had parted the sea.
He looked at Hody opposite him, who had been pushed back by the repulsive force and was now stunned, and smilingly spat out a sentence:
"Your home turf that you were so proud of is gone."
The rising tone carried a coldness devoid of any warmth:
"Now,"
"Have you decided how you want to die?"
"Small fry?"
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