Hody Jones, Drunk on Success
Gyoncorde Plaza is a place that carries the memories and sorrows of the Fish-Man Race. It is where Otohime, beloved by all Fish-Man, often gave speeches and was assassinated.
At this very moment, another scene of suffering is about to unfold.
Hody Jones sat imposingly in the square, with 70,000 Fish-Man pirates and 30,000 captured human pirates behind him. King Neptune of Ryugu Castle was bound by huge chains, clearly now a prisoner of Hody Jones.
Confronting them are the Sea King Army led by the Neptune Brothers and the Fish-Man Pirates led by Knight of the Sea Jinbe.
Above the city wall in the square were the people of Fish-Man Island who had rushed over upon hearing the news, watching this tense scene with great concern.
Although everyone knows that Jinbe and the Neptune Brothers are powerful, and that their Fish-Man Pirates and Sea King Army are the elite forces on Fish-Man Island, the disparity in troop strength between the two sides is simply too great. Jinbe's side only has a little over a thousand soldiers, making the ratio of people nearly 100 to 1. This is a gap that can cause despair, not to mention that the Sea Beast under Hody Jones' command are also a force that cannot be ignored.
"Damn it, Hody, what the hell are you trying to do? Release His King Neptune right now!" Jinbe was filled with guilt. They had been on guard against Hody's actions and had even issued a blockade order in advance, but they had still underestimated Hody's madness and power, which led to Hody 'Neptune capture and left him in a dilemma, unable to act decisively.
In a sense, calling the upper echelons of the Ryugu Kingdom incompetent would be an understatement. To allow Hody Jones to amass such a massive armed force right under their noses is utterly foolish and incompetent.
"Jinbe, as the spiritual leader of Fish-Man Island, you possess immense power, yet you willingly degenerate into a lackey of humans. You are a disgrace to our supreme Fish-Man race!" Hody Jones grew increasingly angry as he spoke, as if he was furious at Jinbe's lack of self-respect. He then pointed at Neptune behind him.
"Look at this piece of trash. As the king of Fish-Man Island, he only has such insignificant power. What makes him think he can protect Fish-Man Island? What makes him think he can lead us to challenge the evil humans?"
"Under such incompetent leadership, it's no wonder that Fish-Man Island's development has declined year by year. Not to mention, he's single-mindedly trying to curry favor with and lick the boots of humans, ignoring the cries and despair of his compatriots enslaved by humans. The behavior of the Ryugu Kingdom is simply disgusting."
"We Fish-Man possess ten times the strength of humans, and are born to be the kings of the sea. This beautiful world should be ruled by us. Jinbe, abandon your unrealistic and childish ideas and become my right arm."
Before Jinbe speak, Shark Fukaboshi, the eldest of the Neptune Brothers, roared angrily, "Foolish Hody Jones, you are the most pathetic person on this island! All the people on the island have suffered the pain of that humiliating history. They endured hardship and humiliation to change this tragic fate. Father even endured Mother's suffering, following her last wish not to resent any humans, and worked hard to change the situation on Fish-Man Island, so that one day we could go out to sea and enjoy the warm sunshine. A cowardly and selfish fellow like you will never understand that those who can endure suffering and silently dedicate themselves are the bravest people!"
It must be said that Fukaboshi did inherit a bit of the power of Otohime's speeches, causing many people who had been swayed by Hody Jones's words to lower their heads in shame.
"Hody, don't go further down this wrong path. Your actions will not lead Fish-Man Island to rise; they will only bring despair and destruction!" Jinbe said in a deep voice, hoping to do his best to end the war.
"Say what you will, but in the end, this country... belongs to the victors!" Hody Jones said coldly.
Seeing that Hody Jones was determined to continue the rebellion, Jinbe was also greatly troubled.
As a member of the Shichibukai, Jinbe naturally possesses catastrophic power and immense fighting strength comparable to that of a nation. Even if Hody Jones displays power that doesn't belong to him, Jinbe is still confident that he can easily defeat this arrogant bastard.
However, the common weakness of Body Technique masters is the lack of wide-range attacks, while the opponent has a terrifying force of 100,000 men. Breaking through the enemy's encirclement in a short period of time is almost an impossible task.
Moreover, Neptune is still in the enemy's hands. If the battle turns against them, given Hody Jones's vile nature, he would definitely not hesitate to use Neptune as a threat.
Just as Jinbe was racking his brains for a solution, Hody Jones said again, "Of course, in order to completely extinguish your unrealistic fantasies, besides executing that piece of trash Neptune, I have also prepared a feast for you!"
Jinbe paused, not understanding Hody's meaning, while the Neptune Brothers seemed to realize something and exclaimed, "You're not allowed to touch my sister, Hody! She's not a warrior, what threat could she pose to you?"
"Shirahoshi is innocent. Don't drag her into this mess!"
Hody paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha, although she's not the main course today, I still have to thank you for reminding me, otherwise I would have forgotten that besides taking down that piece of trash Neptune, that [Legendary Mermaid] is also the monster I most want to get rid of!"
"You..." The Neptune Brothers glared angrily, wishing they could drink Hody Jones's Blood Sucker and marrow.
"That's right, that's it. Open your stupid eyes wide and see what I'm doing. Today, I'm going to fulfill the dream passed down through generations of Fish-Man, to pay tribute to the restless spirits of our Fish-Man ancestors, to publicly execute the Celestial Dragons, the Celestial Dragons of the Celestial Dragons, and to use the blood and hearts of those scum to exact revenge on this ugly world!" Hody Jones spread his arms wide, as if embracing the whole world.
The bustling square suddenly fell into a deathly silence, and after a moment, it erupted in endless gasps of surprise.
This explosive news temporarily suppressed the news of Neptune's impending execution.
You have to understand that the Celestial Dragons have ruled the world for 800 years. They are practically gods, or rather... demons, who are above everyone. Even on Fish-Man Island, 10,000 meters below the sea, there are still countless Fish-Man who wish they could eat their flesh and drink their blood.
However, even though a Celestial Dragons had fallen into trouble on Fish-Man Island five years ago, no one dared to do anything crazy to him, allowing him to run rampant on Fish-Man Island. The Celestial Dragons' power was simply too deep-rooted. Someone like Hody Jones, who dared to shout the slogan of publicly executing Celestial Dragons, was practically unique.
This news was so shocking that even Jinbe couldn't suppress his excitement. As a member of the Shichibukai, he knew how terrifying the power of the World Government. If the Celestial Dragons on Fish-Man Island, even though Fish-Man Island was ten thousand meters below the surface, it would still be doomed to destruction.
Just as Jinbe was about to stop Hody's crazy actions, he fell into an indescribable silence as he looked at the so-called "Celestial Dragons" being brought before Hody.