"What happened? Did you take out everyone guarding outside?"
The fish-man covered in stripes, his whole body seeming to be wrapped in a sack, said in shock, "How did they not make a sound?"
His name was Jeo, a fish-man who had grown up alongside Hody since childhood.
Besides him, there were two other fish-men in the room: a big-mouthed fish-man and an octopus fish-man.
Bright could not be bothered to pay attention to these people. They were insignificant.
When he had approached Arlong's house, he had already dealt with the fish-man leading the way and the fish-men standing guard outside. It had taken nothing more than a few bolts of lightning.
Hody did not have many subordinates left now anyway.
"Hody, you were behind this, weren't you?" Bright looked at Hody. "The mermaid disappearances?"
"Jahahahaha!!"
Hody burst into laughter. "What are you talking about, Bright? That's what I should be asking you! You teamed up with humans to abduct and sell mermaids for profit!"
"Brother Arlong discovered your dirty business, and you brutally murdered him for it!!"
"The Brother Arlong I respected most actually died at your hands!!"
Hody's lips curled upward, revealing a mouthful of savage fangs. "Well, now I have no choice but to avenge him!!"
Although Arlong could not move, he had not lost consciousness.
Hearing Hody's words, he could not help cursing the madman in his heart. He had attacked his own people without the slightest hesitation!
Even Arlong himself had never been this insane!
"One last question, Hody."
Bright took a deep breath. Under these circumstances, it was difficult to force down his anger. "Where are the mermaids?"
"That's also what I should be asking you!!!"
Hody laughed loudly. "Jeo!!"
Jeo understood immediately and tossed the weapon in his hand to Hody.
It was a red trident.
Hody caught the weapon in one hand, while his other hand pulled something from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth. "But never mind. The mermaids are about to suffer misfortune! You can die in their place!!"
Bright's pupils constricted.
Was this guy planning to kill the mermaids and completely intensify the conflict?
The future Shyarly had seen probably no longer counted!
"Argh!!"
Hody roared.
The muscles all over his body swelled, his black hair turned snow-white, and his eyes became completely bloodshot.
"You'll be the test subject, bastard! This was power originally prepared for Jinbe!!"
Hody laughed wildly.
The other three fish-men also tacitly pulled out several pills and stuffed them into their mouths.
Their appearances began to change as well.
Their body colors shifted, and their builds expanded.
Rage Drug ES!
Had this guy stolen the drug ahead of time?
But it did not matter.
Bright took a deep breath.
He had to hurry. The mermaids were in danger.
Red scales grew over Bright's body, along with sharp horns, a thick dragon tail, and pointed claws.
"Hody, you deserve to die. You deserve to die."
"This form?"
Hody paused. "You're a Devil Fruit user?"
"Jahahahaha!! You finally got half of a noble fish-man bloodline, yet you ate a Devil Fruit and chose to throw it away?"
His expression instantly became ferocious. "Bright, you bas—"
Lightning flickered through the air, but one figure was faster than lightning itself.
Faint sparks of electricity burst from Bright's legs.
The current flowing through his body was transformed through a special technique into explosive power, which in turn propelled his body forward.
Everything around him slowed down. Only he continued forward at normal speed.
Taking one step forward felt as though he had risen above time itself.
Current Drive!
The Reaper Squid's reaction speed was fully displayed at this moment!
Even at extreme speed, Bright remained just as nimble.
He reached out and seized Hody by the throat.
Then—
Boom!!
Hody was grabbed by the throat and slammed into the ground with the back of his head.
The earth trembled furiously, and dust billowed up.
"Argh!!"
Hody's eyes instantly rolled back.
"Hody!!!"
The three fish-men had no idea what had happened!
They froze in place.
How could he be so fast?!
"I've wanted to kill you ever since I was little. Now I can finally get my wish."
Bright gripped Hody's throat and pinned him firmly inside the massive crater smashed into the ground. "Hody—"
"Bastard!!"
Behind him, Hody's three subordinates practically screamed as they lunged forward.
From childhood until now, Hody had always been their leader.
Bright did not even turn his head. The lightning spreading across his body simply transformed, after a single breath, into wildly dancing silver dragons!
Thick lightning shot into the sky, piercing straight through the entire house and forming a towering pillar in the heavens!
"Waaaah!!"
The three unlucky fools who had just rushed over were completely swallowed by the lightning, their figures utterly submerged in the blazing glow.
Arlong, lying on the ground nearby, stared wide-eyed, his pupils reflecting nothing but dazzling light.
Bright, you bastard!
Three shadows were flung away, smashing through the house walls at lightning speed.
They had taken far fewer pills than Hody.
"Bright!!"
As the lightning faded, Hody, who had also been blasted away by the current, was charred black all over. He struggled to sit up.
Even Hag, the Rear Admiral proficient in Haki, would be injured after taking Bright's electric attacks. Hody was no exception.
Yet his injuries were rapidly healing.
"Jahahahaha!!"
Hody flipped to his feet. "I'm invincible now!!"
Rage Drug ES truly was remarkable.
Taking one pill doubled one's strength. Another made it four times greater. Three made it eight times greater.
Of course, this enhancement was not limitless.
Otherwise, ten pills would provide more than a thousandfold increase, and twenty would provide a millionfold increase.
If Hody could just eat them by the handful, he would have become invincible long ago.
The drug increased power by burning lifespan and draining life itself.
The price of Hody's recovery was that his life was rapidly burning away.
"Die!! Bright!!"
Hody's muscles bulged all over. Merely stomping the ground shattered it, and the trident suddenly tore through the air, trailing a red afterimage behind it.
Even a steel plate would have been pierced through with a massive hole.
Bright merely shifted aside casually. As he effortlessly dodged Hody's strike, his lightning-wreathed left hand had already grasped the trident's shaft.
"Impossible!!"
Hody's arrogant expression changed drastically in an instant.
This power!
It was actually leaving him unable to move!
Arlong, lying on the ground, wore the same shocked expression.
It was exactly like when he had attacked Hody earlier.
He had not taken enough pills!
That had to be it!
How could this bastard be this strong?!
Hody reached toward his pocket.
"You think you're worthy of competing with me in strength?"
Bright yanked hard, forcibly dragging Hody's body toward him.
Strands of lightning coiled around his right hand, which had long been poised to strike.
"Current Drive—Great Shark Heaven-Devouring Fist!"
The scorching lightning filled the air with a burnt smell, and the lightning-wreathed fist shot forward like a meteor streaking across the sky!
The punch struck Hody squarely in the chest, Bright's fist even sinking deep into his chest.
"Waaah!!"
Hody's pupils nearly shattered. The clothes on his back exploded apart, his body bent like a shrimp, and blood sprayed from his mouth.
The immense force was about to send Hody flying.
But the clouds released from Bright's body moved even faster, wrapping around Hody.
Lightning burst from Bright's arms.
"This is the end of your foolish life, Hody!"
His fists fell like a storm, like lightning, like a meteor shower!
Fast beyond measure, powerful beyond measure!
Hody's body trembled nonstop, dents appearing across him one after another, while the crackling sounds of breaking bones rang out continuously.
Bright stopped punching only after the lightning around both arms completely exploded.
Current Drive was still not perfected. It was fine for short periods, but prolonged use could easily go out of control if his concentration slipped even slightly.
But that did not matter. Bright was already tough enough to withstand electricity.
Hody's body had become completely twisted, almost turning into a pile of mush. He collapsed softly onto the ground as though he had no bones left.
His breathing was gradually weakening.
Bright slowly exhaled. It had taken about two minutes.
His assessment was that Hody was inferior to Hag.
But now was not the time to relax.
He turned and walked toward the door. Those idiots were not dead yet, so he would see whether he could interrogate the mermaids' location out of them.
At the same time, he took out the Den Den Mushi Aladdin had given him earlier and made a call.
"Brother Aladdin, Hody was the mastermind behind the kidnappings. I've dealt with him, but I still don't know where the mermaids are being held. Have Brother Jinbe tell Neptune immediately and launch a full search. That bastard Hody wants to kill the mermaids and completely intensify the conflict between humans and Fish-Man Island!"
Bright spoke as rapidly as a machine gun while walking out of Arlong's house and kicking Jeo, who was lying on the ground.
"I'll see if I can interrogate Hody's subordinates and find out where the mermaids are."
"Cough, cough. Give it up, Bright."
Jeo, awakened by the kick, sounded very weak, yet his attitude remained defiant. "I absolutely won't—"
"We've already found the mermaids."
That voice came through from the other end of the call.
"Huh?"
Bright froze.
Jeo froze as well.
What was going on?
Before you continue