Hody's Assassination Attempt

Fish-Man Island - Ryugu Palace.

The news of Queen Otohime's return to the kingdom spread throughout the entire capital in no time, and Neptune personally greeted her outside the palace.

"Otohime!"

"I'm back."

Otohime handed the sealed letter of recommendation to her husband.

Neptune unfolded the letter, and his finger paused involuntarily when he saw the signature at the end.

"Was this written by Saint Mjosgard?"

"He signed it himself."

Neptune read the letter again and couldn't help but laugh.

"Great! That's wonderful!"

"Now, finally more people can see our petition."

Although this letter of recommendation cannot yet represent the World Government's attitude, at least one Celestial Dragons is finally willing to stand up and speak for Fish-Man Island.

Saint Mjosgard also became the first Celestial Dragons to be willing to provide a letter of recommendation for the proposal to relocate to Fish-Man Island.

Otohime smiled faintly and said, "Now, it's time to let everyone on the island know this good news."

The Sun Pirates's Base.

Jinbe received the message from the Palace, the Den Den Mushi on the corner of the table started ringing with a "blur blur".

"Hello?"

It was Fisher Tiger's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Has Queen Otohime returned to the island yet?"

"Yes, Boss Fisher Tiger."

"I heard she brought back a letter of recommendation from the Celestial Dragons?"

"That's right."

Jinbe briefly recounted what had happened in the Holy Land.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"She actually managed to do it."

Fisher Tiger smiled.

"What we wanted to do back then, we never expected that the princess would take this step first."

Jinbe nodded.

"The princess has decided to restart the petition signing."

"Jinbe."

"Exist!"

"During this autograph session, we must ensure the Princess's safety."

Fisher Tiger's voice turned somber.

"Send all the personnel the Adventure Group can muster. Jinbe, you personally guard the Queen; Arlong and Hachi will handle the outer perimeter."

"Clear!"

The call ended.

Fisher Tiger is still a wanted criminal by the World Government and cannot return to Fish-Man Island openly.

But this time, he would not let Otohime's efforts be ruined by any accident.

Gyoncorde Plaza.

Otohime has restarted the petition signing campaign.

A number of residents had already gathered in the square, Otohime had her guards unfold the letter of recommendation.

When everyone saw the name at the end of the signature, the crowd that had been talking gradually quieted down.

"Saint Mjosgard?"

"Is this really a personal recommendation letter from Celestial Dragons?"

"Even the Celestial Dragons are willing to support us?"

Otohime stood in the center of the crowd, her voice gentle yet clear. "I know everyone still has concerns, and this path may not necessarily be viable."

"But at least we've taken the first step."

"I hope that future generations of children will no longer be kept away from land simply because they are Fish-Man."

"One day, I want them to walk proudly into the sunlight."

A young Fish-Man stepped forward first and solemnly wrote his name on the autograph scroll.

Soon, two or three more people followed.

Jinbe stood beside Otohime, his gaze constantly shifting through the crowd, paying particular attention to those who never approached the autograph table.

Arlong and Hachi Ba, along with the members of the Sun Pirates, scattered to guard various corners of the square.

"Hey, Arlong."

Hachi moved closer to him.

How many autographs do you think we can get today?

Who cares about that?

Arlong crossed his arms and glanced sideways at the crowd. "Just don't let any fools get close to the Princess."

Hachi was taken aback, then chuckled, "So you care about the Princess so much!"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Arlong's face darkened.

Deep within the crowd on the other side of the square.

Hody Jones stared intently at the letter of recommendation in Otohime's hand, his knuckles clenching so tightly they turned white.

"You bastard..."

The names of the Celestial Dragons have become the hope of the Fish-Man Island inhabitants?

Ridiculous!

Fish-Man Island has been oppressed by humans for so many years. What about those compatriots who died?

Now we have to rely on a piece of paper to gain those people's approval?

The more Hody thought about it, the more it stung his eyes.

In his view, Otohime was not saving Fish-Man Island at all.

She is trying to make all the Fish-Man forget the hatred of the past.

To destroy all of this, Hody had already bribed a group of human pirates to infiltrate Fish-Man Island disguised as merchants.

If Otohime is killed during the autograph session, all the Fish-Man will remember the cruelty of humans.

He himself hid at the very back of the crowd, waiting to reap the benefits and then find an opportunity to finish off the culprit.

He gave a wink to the gunman who was mixed in with the crowd.

Shoot.

He wanted to see how long these people's so-called peace could last.

As Otohime took the pen from a resident to sign her name, she suddenly stopped.

Their innate Observation Haki detected the anomaly first.

Among the crowd, several figures exuded an aura that was clearly off.

Some were nervous, some were afraid, and a few even displayed undisguised murderous intent.

"Jinbe..."

She had just spoken to warn them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots suddenly rang out.

Several bullets were fired from the crowd, heading straight for Otohime.

"Princess!"

Jinbe had been standing guard beside her all along. The moment he heard the gunshot, his shoulders slumped, and he stepped forward to shield her.

"Fish-Man Karate - Arabesque Brick Fist!"

The force of the punch swept out horizontally.

Several bullets were forcibly deflected, grazing Otohime's side before striking the stone pillars behind her.

"Protect the Princess!"

The Fish-Man residents in the square were thrown into chaos, but the Sun Pirates reacted extremely quickly.

"Court death!"

Arlong charged forward, wielding his serrated broadsword.

The gunman had just raised his gun when Arlong's broadsword was already slashing at him.

Bang!

The gun was forcefully cleaved away, but the blade's momentum didn't stop, slicing the man to the ground, shoulder and all.

The gunman didn't even have time to scream before he collapsed motionless in a pool of blood.

On the other side, Hachi drew his sword from all six arms simultaneously.

Six swords blocked the pirates' retreat from different directions.

Just as the opponents tried to scatter, their weapons were knocked away one after another.

"Hachi, to the left!"

"Knew!"

Hachi turned around, and the six swords clashed and closed together.

With a flash of light, the pirates fell to the ground one after another, quickly coming to a stop moving.

"Don't let a single one escape!"

Jinbe voice.

The Adventure Group members immediately dispersed, blocking all exits from the plaza.

In no time at all, the pirates who had infiltrated were all subdued.

Otohime stood behind Jinbe, looking at the fallen figure on the ground, her face slightly pale.

As the gunmen suffered defeat after defeat, Hody's expression grew increasingly grim.

He originally intended to use human pirates to eliminate Otohime, thus plunging the entire Fish-Man Island back into hatred towards humans.

But now, Jinbe and the Sun Pirates have taken control of the situation, Otohime is still standing there unharmed.

Hody could no longer contain his anger.

"Your Highness, are you alright?"

Jinbe turned around and whispered to confirm.

Otohime gently shook her head. "I'm fine."

But at that moment, she sensed another murderous intent.

That gaze came from the very back of the crowd, even more direct than that of the gunmen from before.

Otohime raised her head, her gaze passing over the crowd and landing on Hody at the very back.

"Hody..."

Hody Jones's expression changed drastically; he hadn't expected that Otohime could sense his killing intent.

Seeing that his plan to use someone else to do his dirty work had been exposed, he decided to stop hiding and pushed through the crowd to rush towards Otohime.

Stop with the hypocrisy!

He roared, "Fish-Man Island has no need for a queen like you!"

But as soon as he rushed out of the crowd, a burly figure blocked his way.

"Hody!"

Jinbe let out a deep shout.

"Fish-Man Karate - Five Thousand Brick Fist!"

A punch landed squarely on Hody's face.

Hody was sent flying backward, crashing into the stone slabs of the square, cracking the ground in several places.

He struggled to lift his head, blood already seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"You understand absolutely nothing! Humans will never consider Fish-Men as human beings!"

Jinbe looked down at him. "So you're going to kill the princess?"

She doesn't deserve it!

Hody pushed himself up from the ground and lifted his head.

"Fish-Man Island has been oppressed by humans for so many years, and she wants to lead everyone to the mainland to appease those guys?!"

"Jinbe, are you going to do something stupid like her too?!"

"It's none of your business to judge what Queen Otohime has done!"

Jinbe stepped forward, grabbed Hody's arm, and shoved him back to the ground.

Otohime walked up to him.

Seeing Hody still struggling, she didn't get angry, but just sighed softly.

"Hody."

She asked softly, "Why did you do that?"

Hody abruptly turned his face away and spat, "Don't give me that fake compassion!"

"You hate humanity, but I won't ask you to let go of it now."

Hody looked up and glared at her fiercely.

"But look at what you've done."

Otohime pointed to the children who were terrified by the gunshots and hid behind their parents.

"You had human pirates fire their guns, hoping to reignite hatred. But those bullets almost hit the residents here."

"You keep talking about Fish-Man Island, yet you don't even care about your own people on the island?"

Hody stiffened his neck and remained silent.

Jinbe didn't waste any more words with him. "Take him back to the Ryugu Palace and hand him over to His Majesty for disposal."

Several members of the Adventure Group immediately stepped forward, picked up Hody, and carried him outside.

After Jinbe confirmed that Hody had been taken away, Otohime looked back at the residents in the square.

Is everyone alright?

She glanced at the autographed papers scattered on the ground, then bent down and picked one up.

"The gunshot just now certainly frightened quite a few people."

"But I want to tell everyone that what happened today precisely shows that we still have a lot to do."

She put the paper back on the table.

"The one who fired the shot was a human pirate, and the one who tried to kill me was Fish-Man. Good and evil are never determined by race."

"I will not give up hope for peaceful coexistence between the two races because of the malice of a few people."

Otohime picked up the letter of recommendation.

This letter is just the beginning. We all need to work together from here on out.

The square fell silent for a moment.

An old Fish-Man with a cane walked up to the table.

He picked up a pen and slowly wrote his name.

"Your Highness, I believe you."

Otohime nodded to him.

Behind the old man, residents who had been hesitating began to emerge one after another.

A long queue quickly formed in front of the autograph table.

Looking at the scene before him, Jinbe finally managed a smile through his tense lips.

Arlong stood not far away with his arms crossed.

"Hmph, making such a fuss over something as simple as signing a name."

Hachi came over.

"But it's good that the Princess is alright, right?"

"You don't need to say it!"

Arlong glared at him.

"Go help! Stop talking nonsense!"

The sea Fish-Man Island.

Fisher Tiger stood at the bow of the ship, listening to Jinbe's report.

He was finally relieved to see that Otohime was unharmed.

"It's good that the Princess is alright."

"Fisher Tiger, Hody has been taken back to the Ryugu Palace, and the autograph session hasn't stopped."

"That's good."

Fisher Tiger looked in the direction of Fish-Man Island.

This time, Otohime was no longer standing alone in the center of the crowd.

Jinbe, Arlong, Hachi, and the entire Sun Pirates were all protecting that hope for her.

"Jinbe."

"Exist."

"Tell everyone that we must continue to protect the Princess."

"The path she wants to take shouldn't be one she walks alone."