As Luffy finished speaking, the entire arena fell into dead silence.
The Fish-Man under Hody's command stared at Luffy in horror, involuntarily swallowing hard. They stammered, "..."
"Boss Hody... was knocked down in one blow?"
"Who exactly is this man? Why is he so powerful? Is Boss Hody really the World's Strongest?"
"..."
One by one, dissenting voices arose, completely erasing the earlier admiration for Hody.
These Fish-Man had only recently joined the New Fish-Man Pirates, and their respect and admiration for Hody stemmed solely from his supposedly formidable strength.
But now they've discovered that's not the case; if he were truly the World's Strongest, how could he be defeated in a single blow?
In an instant, countless Fish-Man began to have second thoughts.
Finally, one of the Fish-Man said in an extremely terrified tone, "I'm not fighting anymore! How could we possibly handle that kind of monster? Let whoever wants to fight it do it!"
Having said that, the Fish-Man immediately turned around, wanting to leave this place of trouble.
However, as soon as he turned his head, he found a figure standing in front of him. When he looked up, his face immediately showed panic.
"J... Zeo, what do you want to do?"
Zeo didn't reply, but instead stared intently at the Fish-Man.
The next second, a chain struck his chest, the clear sound of bones cracking accompanied by a scream, sending chills down the Fish-Man who witnessed it.
Zeo gripped the chains in his hands, looking down at the Fish-Man lying on the ground, struggling and vomiting blood. His gaze was cold as he then swept it over the other Fish-Man present.
"Anyone who still harbors thoughts of desertion will suffer the same fate as you!"
"And... calm down. Don't say he's lost just because Boss Hody was knocked away. He was just caught off guard and launched a sneak attack. Otherwise, how could those lowly humans have possibly hurt him?"
Perhaps to echo what Zeo said, a series of coughs came from where Hody had been sent flying, and then Hody slowly stood up in the dust.
In an instant, all the Fish-Man became excited again.
" Zeo is right, Boss Hody can't be defeated. He was just ambushed. These lowly humans only know how to use despicable methods!"
" Hody! Hody!..."
The crowd began chanting Hody's name again.
However, Hody was clutching the spot where he had been hit, feeling as if his body was about to fall apart, with excruciating pain coursing through him.
Hody's eyes narrowed, revealing a fierce glint. He pulled a handful of dark red capsules from his pocket and swallowed them all without hesitation.
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
"..."
At that moment, Hody felt all external distractions disappear, leaving only the sound of his own heartbeat.
The next moment, his mind returned to reality, and a piercing pain spread throughout his body, causing him to involuntarily let out a low growl. His body immediately collapsed to his knees, convulsing uncontrollably.
Hearing Hody's low growl, the people who had been shouting just moments before fell silent again, but this time it was because they sensed a terrifying aura that made them stop.
They stared at Hody, who was kneeling and convulsing not far away, and he seemed like some kind of prehistoric beast, filling them with fear, and this aura was only growing stronger.
On the other side, Neptune also looked horrified when he saw what Hody was eating, exclaiming, "E. S. Energy Steroids!"
Upon hearing this, Jinbe and Fukaboshi, who knew the inside story, were also shocked. Jinbe said with a solemn expression, "How could Hody have such Energy Steroids?"
"Ten years ago, the Energy Steroids E. S., sealed in the Tamatebako, was stolen. I never imagined it was Hody who did it!" Neptune's eyes were grave.
"E. S. Energy Steroids? What's that?" Luffy asked curiously.
"It's a banned drug. Taking it will double the user's strength, but this strength comes at the cost of their life!"
"Ah!!"
As Neptune explained, Hody stopped convulsing, let out a roar, and then slowly stood up.
What came into view was a Hody was much larger than before, with red skin and white eyes, exuding a violent aura.
Hody slowly raised his hand and clenched it tightly. The surging power within him excited him, making him burst into laughter.
"Hahaha... This immense power is truly exhilarating!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hody swiftly swung his arm, and a large water droplet shot out, accompanied by Hody's calm voice.
" Water Shot!"
However, the water droplet did not attack Luffy and his Luffy; instead, it sped towards a distant mountain peak.
Water droplets hit the mountain peaks, creating a loud roar.
Before long, the water droplets pierced through the mountain peak and continued their momentum, shooting towards the peaks behind it.
A series of booming sounds came as the water droplets pounded down one mountain after another until dozens of small hills collapsed before the water droplets stopped.
This exaggerated scene left Hody's Fish-Man completely stunned, their faces filled with disbelief. After a long while, one of them finally spoke, trembling:
"How can a mere drop of water have such power?"
Upon hearing this, a Fish-Man who knew the inside story laughed and said, "Boss Hody's Water Shot aren't ordinary water droplets. The water droplets he strikes have a power far exceeding that of cannonballs!"
"This... this is the power of Boss Hody! This... this is the power of the Energy Steroids!"
" Energy Steroids? What's that?" the Fish-Man who had spoken first asked curiously, which confused the Fish-Man who had explained. He asked curiously:
"Are you new here?"
"Yeah! What's wrong?"
"No wonder! That explains why you don't know about the Energy Steroids!" The Fish-Man paused here, then said with a proud expression:
" This Energy Steroids drug is unique to our New Fish-Man Pirates. Taking it will double your energy, every night... cough cough!"
"You misspoke. It means it will double your strength, allowing you to easily defeat your enemies!"
"Really? There's such a good thing?"
"Of course, here, I have some in stock, I'll give you a few!"
"Okay, thank you, big brother..."
Seeing the horrified expressions on the faces of those below, Hody smiled with satisfaction.
This is his current power; a casual strike can cause such great destruction.
Thinking this, Hody turned his gaze to Luffy, wanting to see what their expressions were like.
Aren't you incredibly scared, terrified, and horrified by his immense power?
Yes, fear him! He is that powerful...
"Pfft!"