Controlling Hody Jones

Vegapunk and Hancock transformed into a blurry shadow and walked silently through Fish-Man Island.

Everyone else has already been sent away by Vegapunk using Space-Time Ninjutsu. Only the two of them are still here using Kamui ninjutsu, watching the chaos on Fish-Man Island.

Hancock's face was flushed with anger. Listening to the group of Fish-Man around her shouting things like "Defeat humans!" and "Kill the culprits who destroyed Fish-Man Island!", this Pirate Empress wished she could just unleash a Shinra Tensei on Fish-Man Island, or simply turn all these Fish-Man into stone.

"Darling, didn't you want these Fish-Man to help you find Imu? Why don't you just help Neptune quell the rebellion? That way, you won't have to listen to these damn Fish-Man gossiping!"

Vegapunk smiled. He knew Hancock wasn't a kind person and had no intention of helping Neptune. What she really meant was the second half of her sentence.

However, he still explained it to Hancock very seriously:

"Although Neptune is the king of Fish-Man Island, he actually has no way to completely control the Fish-Man Race."

"Even if the vast majority of Fish-Man Race don't have any aversion to Neptune, they also hardly listen to this Great Knight of the Sea. Even if Neptune gives orders, these Fish-Man will probably just go through the motions, or they might not even go through the motions."

"And the main force for the exploration of the entire Fish-Man Island is actually these Fish-Man, especially those Fish-Man born on Fish-Man Island who are fierce and have no ties. Almost all the Fish-Man who are now wandering outside come from here."

"As for the merfolk, due to factors such as combat strength, personality, and the harsh external environment, these merfolk almost never leave Fish-Man Island."

"So if you want to gather information about the oceans outside, relying on Neptune alone is completely unreliable!"

Upon hearing this, Hancock tilted her head slightly, a hint of confusion appearing on her stunningly beautiful face:

"If we don't look for him... then who can we look for? There probably isn't anyone on Fish-Man Island who can make decisions, right?"

Those Fish-Man don't even listen to King Neptune, let alone the others! Perhaps Fish-Man like Jinbe are very prestigious in the entire Fish-Man District, but that doesn't mean that the Fish-Man will completely obey the orders of these Fish-Man leaders.

Minor matters are insignificant, but to send those Fish-Man to search the ocean from all corners of the world with just a word is almost impossible.

Vegapunk narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly:

"These Fish-Man are actually quite useful; I plan to subdue them myself!"

"After all, nine-tenths of our world is surrounded by seawater. Theoretically, Fish-Man have much more living space than we humans. If things develop normally, the Fish-Man might be the ones who truly rule the world!"

Of course, Vegapunk was just saying that. The ocean is vast, but it is also more dangerous, and there are not many places where Fish-Man can truly live.

Most importantly, neither Fish-Man nor mermaids are true marine creatures; they need sunlight to survive!

Fish-Man and mermaids are more like amphibians than marine creatures, able to survive in both seawater and land. However, if they only live in one environment, either ocean or land, they may be fine for a short time, but after a long period of time, they will often develop various health problems.

Just like a lack of trace elements in the human body, one may appear normal but is actually weak and prone to illness, and can easily die from minor ailments.

This is why Fish-Man and mermaids have always sought to live on land, and why, despite the vast ocean, large groups of Fish-Man have concentrated on Fish-Man Island.

Even Fish-Man and mermaids who leave Fish-Man Island will find a place closer to the land or an island to live in; it's impossible for them to never see the sun again.

Otherwise, as Vegapunk said, the ocean is so vast, why can't we survive anywhere? Why must we put up with the wrath of pirates and human traffickers on Fish-Man Island, and squeeze into such a terrible environment?

If Fish-Man and mermaids could live freely in the ocean, their numbers would increase by at least several hundred times! It's hard to say whether Fish-Man or humans would rule the world then.

Hearing Vegapunk's words, Hancock was slightly taken aback. Even though she had great confidence in Vegapunk, she couldn't understand where Vegapunk got the confidence to control all the Fish-Man.

Vegapunk didn't say much, but slowly looked at the Fish-Man all over the street, as if he were picking and choosing a fat fish at a vegetable market.

A moment later, he quickly spotted a white Shark Person. Even among all the Fish-Man, this guy stood out from the crowd and was in the position of the leader of the Fish-Man.

At this moment, the great Great White Shark Fish-Man was roaring and shouting, seemingly inciting the scumbags. Vegapunk, standing in the void, thought carefully but still couldn't remember the name of the great Great White Shark Fish-Man.

This is understandable. As a trash character who relies on drugs to show off, even though he had the advantage of the underwater world, he was still defeated by Luffy with one punch. He was not even a boss, but just an elite monster for practice.

Therefore, this Great White Shark Fish-Man didn't leave a very good impression throughout the entire comic, and Vegapunk couldn't even remember his name.

My only impression of him is that he fought incredibly hard – while others fought desperately, he took a ton of drugs until he was completely ruined.

"Since it's all about taking drugs anyway... instead of taking the Energy Steroids from Ryugu Castle, I might as well take the Monster Cells I created!"

After absorbing Orochi, Vegapunk also gained the ability to create Monster Cells. Through research, he further evolved them, not only making them more effective but also greatly enhancing his control over the individuals who consumed the Monster Cells.

Anyway, Vegapunk has an almost endless supply of so-called Monster Cells, and he can easily produce a huge number of them. Even if he gave one to each of these tens of thousands of Fish-Man, it probably wouldn't be a problem.

With these tens of thousands of Fish-Man the skeleton, he will naturally be able to control all the Fish-Man on Fish-Man Island.

"Fellow countrymen, that Neptune actually grovels before the humans who destroyed our Fish-Man Island! He is no longer fit to be our king!"

"With the secret treasure of the Ryugu Castle, this time, we will definitely overthrow Neptune's rule, drive out and counterattack humans, and establish a perfect Fish-Man kingdom!"

As he spoke, the Great White Shark Fish-Man raised the box in his hand, drawing the attention of all the Fish-Man, who stared at him with a hint of fanaticism.

Honestly, Vegapunk didn't understand why this Energy Steroids was called a treasure, and why Ryugu Castle guarded it so tightly, making these Fish-Man think they had obtained some incredible treasure.

It is estimated that the seniors in Ryugu Castle believed that this Energy Steroids was a last resort used when Ryugu Castle was under great threat and had no other choice, which is why it was hidden so deeply.

Who would have thought that some Fish-Man would be so reckless as to use this Energy Steroids for "conquering new territories" and "defeating humans"? How many lifespans would it take to fill that potion?

It can only be said that these Fish-Man below are either ignorant or incredibly stupid, but Vegapunk doesn't care. He simply reaches out and taps them lightly.

Inside the Tamatebako of Ryugu Castle, a tiny Space Gate immediately appeared, absorbing all the Energy Steroids. Then, it spat out a large pile of golden, cell-like objects covered in bumps and giving off a gelatinous feel.

Vegapunk, who was in the spatial gap, withdrew his hand and, just then noticing Hancock's puzzled look, smiled and explained:

"I switched the contents of the Tamatebako and replaced them with a new drug I developed Monster Cells. After taking it, it can greatly stimulate the human body's potential, but it may leave some side effects on personality. At the same time, it will also make the person instinctively respect and fear me, making it easy for me to control them."

"Anyway, no one has ever seen the true appearance of the treasure Tamatebako. Even if it were switched, it probably wouldn't arouse any suspicion. And once those Fish-Man have eaten the Monster Cells and benefited from them, the other Fish-Man would be even less likely to suspect anything!"

Hearing this, Hancock's eyes lit up slightly:

"Honey, have you developed some powerful new technology? Can I use these so-called 'Monster Cells'?"

Vegapunk paused for a moment, then quickly spoke:

"The aftereffects of these Monster Cells are still quite severe. They may alter a person's personality, making them more belligerent and irritable, and they will also be largely under my control..."

"Being controlled by my darling isn't so bad, but the change in my personality might not be a good thing..."

Seeing that Hancock was still deep in thought, Vegapunk quickly pointed out Hancock's biggest flaw:

"It will also change your appearance to some extent... usually making you a little uglier, or at best, just a little more imposing!"

"Never mind then... I'll wait until my dear has completely gotten rid of the aftereffects on her appearance and personality before trying this Monster Cells!"

Hancock's expression immediately changed. Hancock waved her hand and said that she could accept it if her personality became more irritable and intense, and Hancock didn't care if she became more submissive to Vegapunk.

But she absolutely did not want to be associated with the threat of becoming ugly.

Just as Hancock and Vegapunk were chatting, the Great White Shark Fish-Man outside opened the Tamatebako of Ryugu, revealing it filled with Monster Cells.

Although the Monster Cells look rather strange, it must be said that after being transformed into a golden, gelatinous color, they really do give people the feeling of some kind of magic potion.

The Great White Shark Fish-Man had never opened Tamatebako before, so he didn't suspect anything. He grabbed a Monster Cells and threw it into his mouth. The Monster Cells melted and flowed throughout his body, and he immediately felt a tearing pain all over his body.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!"

The Great White Shark Fish-Man's eyes widened, his muscles rapidly swelled, his eyes turned bloodshot, and his black curly hair instantly turned silver-white.

At the same time, the ferocious shark teeth in his mouth grew wildly and protruded out of his mouth, making him look even more terrifying.

His hands, which originally had webbed feet, grew sharp bone nails as he stretched, and sharp fins shot out from his arms. His whole body swelled up and grew to twice his height.

"It hurts so much, but it feels so good! Power, a tremendous power is surging up!"

"So powerful, incomparably powerful! I am now invincible!"

The Great White Shark Fish-Man shouted twice, and Vegapunk looked up at the sky, then curled his lip after finding that no shoes had fallen.

"This guy's brain doesn't seem to work very well... That's right, if it did, how could he have done such an idiotic thing in the original story? Rebelling and preparing to conquer the human world by taking drugs, what's the difference between that and mastering the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Art and preparing to dominate the martial arts world?"

They'd probably be old and dried-up as soon as they took their first step in conquering the world! Sadly, because of the protagonist, they didn't even manage to take that first step.

So rather than letting these guys turn into dried fish, it's better to just make them my tools.

As Vegapunk pondered this, he activated his abilities as Monsters. Having absorbed the essence of numerous Monsters and created his body using a modified Flesh Hive, Vegapunk's current altered body could be considered a true Monster King.

It can be said that Vegapunk himself has a natural leadership ability over all Monsters. Not to mention that those Monster Cells were personally created by Vegapunk using a small portion of his own body material. It is almost impossible for anyone who eats Monster Cells to escape Vegapunk's control.

The Great White Shark Fish-Man before him was naturally even less likely to escape. In just an instant, Vegapunk contacted the Great White Shark Fish-Man and began to browse through his memories.

"So his name is Hody Jones... that's definitely a very pirate-like name,"

"Huh!? This guy killed the Queen of the Ryugu Castle before? Was his aim to incite conflict between humans and Fish-Man?"

"Where does this guy get such confidence from...? In the current state of the Fish-Man Race, how can they possibly fight against humans?"

"If they weren't hiding underwater, any top-tier fighter of the Four Emperors Three Admirals could easily raze the entire Fish-Man Island to the ground!"

Shaking his head, Vegapunk could only say that ignorance is bliss. This Hody Jones was basically no different from those ordinary pirates who had just entered the New World; they all lacked the harsh lessons of reality.

Fortunately, Vegapunk is kind-hearted and spared Hody Jones the experience of being taught a lesson by reality, preparing to directly put him into the normal stage of recognizing reality and being an honest dog.

Hody Jones, who felt invincible, trembled slightly, his eyes looking somewhat confused before regaining their clarity.