"Jaguarzo (OC)."
Jaguarzo lifted his head, bleary-eyed with drink. Clearly, he hadn't been paying attention to Hody and Vander Decken's conversation.
"What is it, Captain Hody?"
"Jaguarzo, that traitor Hachi has returned."
"Ah…" Jaguarzo arched his brow, then tipped back his gourd for another swig. He let out a burp and chuckled,
"My old subordinate… He lost to me more times than I can count. The only reason I didn't kill him back then was out of respect for Arlong-sama and for the beri he brought in."
A mocking smile tugged at Hody's lips. "Then I'll leave the task of cutting down that Sun Pirates and Fishman Pirates traitor to you."
"No problem at all, hahahaha—hic!"
Hody turned his gaze to the rest of his crew.
"As far as I know, on Davy Jones' ship—other than the fishman traitors Davy Jones himself and Hachi—every single one of the others is human. Our fishman bodies are far stronger than humans to begin with. And now they've walked right into the deep sea. Don't tell me… that proud fishmen would lose to them."
"Captain, rest easy!" The moray eel fishman Hammond shot up to his feet, stretching his long neck and beating his chest with confidence. "Haven't we killed enough humans already? We all know what to do!"
The fishman pirates clamored in agreement, loudly boasting about how they'd choke the humans by the throat, drag them into the water, or let the sea beasts scare them into fleeing in terror.
Years of capturing human slaves had only reinforced what they believed: humans were all bark and no bite.
Hody laughed heartily, then looked toward Vander Decken.
"You see? Humans are nothing but fragile lives."
Except for the Whitebeard Pirates… Vander Decken muttered inwardly. But outwardly, he put on a cheerful face and agreed,
"Captain Hody, my good brother, you're absolutely right. So then—why don't we set out now and wipe the Davy Jones Pirates off the map?"
"No rush." Hody abruptly waved his hand.
"This… why not?"
"Vander Decken, do you know what the greatest difference is between you and me?"
Vander Decken frowned. The greatest difference?
Different types of fishman?
Strength and speed?
Their cruelty toward humans—so similar to the Celestial Dragons of the Red Line, using captured humans as slaves?
Those were all he could think of.
Hody answered for him: "Vision, Vander Decken. Vision. You've spent your life down here in the depths, your eyes fixed only on Princess Shirahoshi… but you don't see that the seas above are on the brink of a massive opportunity."
"A massive… opportunity?"
Hody tossed a newspaper to him.
Vander Decken caught it and awkwardly flipped through the pages with his left hand. The more he read, the more his heart pounded.
"In ten days, Portgas D. Ace—the son most favored by Whitebeard—will be executed at Marineford, the Navy Headquarters. All intelligence points to a coming clash between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy itself."
Vander Decken's left hand went slack. The paper slipped from his grasp and drifted to the floor.
Hody rose proudly from his seat, speaking with scorn:
"And what about our boss, Jinbe? What did he do? He didn't seize the chance to expand the Fishman Pirates. He didn't take Fishman Island back from the Whitebeard Pirates. He didn't even defend it against the human pirates and slave traders who are sure to flood in. Do you know what he did instead?"
"What?"
"In the past, sending Arlong-sama to the East Blue was foolish enough. But this time… he went to Marineford, imitating the 'Golden Lion.' The outcome is obvious. Jinbe isn't the Golden Lion. And Ace isn't the Pirate King. It was utter stupidity."
Hody's words dripped with contempt for Jinbe, once the proud second-in-command of the Sun Pirates.
To Hody, Jinbe was far too naïve—willing to work with duplicitous humans, to fight on their behalf, thinking such deeds could earn respect for Fishman Island.
Utterly ridiculous.
A chill stabbed through Vander Decken's chest.
Didn't this mean Fishman Island was defenseless?
If a single Emperor's fleet came—or even just a Warlord's fleet—the island would be bathed in blood.
And then… what of me and Princess Shirahoshi?
Should we flee together, to build a new kingdom elsewhere?
Hody stepped closer, looming over the seated Vander Decken. His eyes had narrowed into frenzied, vertical slits.
Vander Decken flinched under the sheer malice radiating from him.
"You're trembling, Vander Decken… Don't you understand? This is our chance. The rise of the New Fishman Pirates! Davy Jones' arrival only accelerates it."
"Right now, thanks to Madam Shyarly's prophecy, the entire island is gripped by fear of Davy Jones. With a little push—a few staged incidents—we can magnify that fear, transform it into hatred."
"And then, the New Fishman Pirates will rise. We'll take Jinbe's place, Whitebeard's place, even Neptune's place. We'll become the true rulers of Fishman Island!"
Vander Decken's eyes bulged wide.
Hody gripped his shoulders tightly.
"Joining the New Fishman Pirates isn't such a hard choice, is it? You've lost an arm. You're wanted by the Ryugu Kingdom. Only I will take you in. Think about it—your beloved Shirahoshi is trapped inside Hard-Shell Tower. And I can give her to you."
Vander Decken had still been in shock—but at the mention of "Princess Shirahoshi," his mind spun out of control.
He stared at his limp right arm, then at his left hand. Greedy desire quickly drowned out his hesitation.
"You mean it, my good brother? You'll give me Princess Shirahoshi?"
"But of course, my good brother. When have I ever lied to you? Once I hold the power of the Ryugu Kingdom, who Princess Shirahoshi marries will be entirely up to me."
"Good, good, good! Then I'll join—I'll join!"
A smile spread across Hody's face. He extended his hand.
"Vander Decken—welcome to the New Fishman Pirates."
"Good… uh, Captain Hody."
The words still felt strange on Vander Decken's tongue.
But Hody only smiled.
At that moment, the two scouts who had gone to gather intelligence returned.
They stumbled in, battered and covered in grime.
Hody frowned. "What happened to you two?"
"Captain Hody!" one cried, nearly in tears. "We found the Davy Jones Pirates—but they spotted us, too! The Kraken gave chase, and it slaughtered the sea beasts we were riding!"
The other added, "If not for other beasts shielding us, we'd never have made it back alive."
"Tch."
Hody's expression darkened as he glared at them.
Here he was, brimming with ambition—and they came back to douse him in cold water. How could he not be furious?
The scouts quickly realized their mistake. Under Hody's piercing gaze, they froze, pressed flat to the floor in fear.
"Speak," Hody growled. "What are they doing now?"
"Th-they…"
"Speak!"
"Yes! They're building a massive undersea fortress on an open plain. It's nearly the size of Fishman Island itself!"
"A fortress? Do you even hear yourselves? In such a short time, how could they possibly build a fortress?"
"It's true, Captain Hody—we saw it with our own eyes!"
Hody turned to Vander Decken, but he too could only shake his head in confusion.
After pondering for a while without finding an explanation, Hody could only conclude it must be another Devil Fruit power. He chose not to dwell on it further.
His arm flashed like lightning.
Crack.
Vander Decken, even at such close range, couldn't see the movement—only the heads of the two fishman scouts hitting the floor, blood spurting into the air.
"What—?!"
Vander Decken recoiled in horror.
But Hody calmly held out his hand, and at once, a subordinate brought him a towel. They wiped the blood from him as though this were routine.
For all his talk of inheriting Arlong's will, Hody was different from him in one regard: Arlong almost never killed fellow fishmen.
But Hody did.
To him, weaklings and traitors had no place among fishmen. Only by cutting them out could the race become strong.
He sank back into his seat, a cruel smile curling across his face.
"So, Davy Jones doesn't intend to leave. Heh… whoever he is, whatever fishman he may be, to meddle here in my domain…"
He glanced at his men.
"Prepare yourselves. First, we'll become the heroes of Fishman Island. Then—we'll become its rulers. And we'll start by cutting down that arrogant fraud, Davy Jones!"
"Yes, Captain!" the New Fishman Pirates roared in unison.
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