"Wow! I really...REALLY feel like we ought to do something about that," Run says, watching Brook disappear through the door. "I mean, I know we're already pretty deep in it but..." No one makes a move to chase after their musician and eventually the red head sighs. "Aah, I hope this doesn't make things worse." Several long minutes pass in silence before the same doors that Brook has run through suddenly burst back open. "Aah, hell, I knew it! I knew that--"
"King Neptune!" exclaims the Minster of the Right. "There was a kidnapping! Somebody kidnapped the Princess!"
"And Pirates are falling like rain at the tower!" adds Brook. "They're your enemies! They're attacking!" The sound of running foot-steps echo through the hall behind Brook and the Minster, and numerous pirates begin to pour into the room through the open door. Each of them looks as if they've been put through the wringer...were they the 'projectile' that caused those explosions earlier?
"Open the gate...we have to open the gate," huffs a man at the head of the group. "If we want to survive we have to open the gate!" Brook backs away from them and tosses the Minster onto the ground beside Neptune and the others before reaching for the top of his cane. "Kill them...kill them...k...kill...k..." The man collapses face first onto the ground, foaming at the mouth. The others follow him one after another, all foaming at the mouth and each lying face first on the ground.
"Alright!" exclaims Run with a grin. "Now that that's taken care of--" Neptune suddenly falls on his side, slamming against the ground and surprising all of them. All heads turn to the man and then the red head. "No, no, no. I didn't do that! I only targeted them, I swear."
"Give me back Shirahoshi-jamon!" cries Neptune.
"Why do you think we'd want to kidnap the Mermaid Princess?" Usopp asks him.
"I know 'Straw Hat' Luffy did it-jamon! Shirahoshi!"
"I did see Luffy and the Shark coming out of the room for sure," agrees Brook. "But I didn't see the Mermaid Princess with him."
"She's not the type of girl who sneaks out-jamon!" Neptune wiggles in place and finally sits himself back up. "Shirahoshi is as big as me-jamon. Someone would definitely notice her if she were to leave the tower." Brook recoils and seems put off by the thought that the princess is as big as her father. "Oh, yeah-jamon! Maybe he hid Shirahoshi in Megalo's mouth and took her out that way!" The guards surrounding them begin laughing at the very thought of smuggling out the princess in the mouth of a shark. The laughter is suddenly broken, however, by the cry of one of the guards.
"Intruders!" screams the Fishman. "We have intruders!" All heads turn towards the main entrance of the room to see a group of Fishmen pirates walking in their direction.
"Damn you!" growls the Minster of the Right. "How did you lot get in here?!"
"I can't believe this!" laughs a four-legged Fishman. "I was ready for a fight right away but Neptune and his soldiers are all tied up already!"
"I didn't expect a present like this," adds a tattooed Fishman wielding a red trident. "What a surprise."
"That damned Vander Decken!" growls the Minster of the Left. "You've finally shown yourself! And you...Hody Jones from the Fishmen District! You were once a respected soldier in our army! Why are you doing this?"
"Is this some kind of trap? It's too good to be true."
"More and more visitors keep showing up," grumbles Zoro. "What a lively palace."
"You're their accomplices, aren't you?!" accuses the Minster of the Left. "You planned to let them in from the start!"
"We wouldn't be in this place if you hadn't let us in to begin with!" retorts Usopp. "They look pretty formidable! Who are those people?!"
"Vander Decken!" growls Neptune. "Since you're here there is no doubt! You're the one who did it! Give me back my daughter!"
"We're not even married, yet!" laughs Vander. "Isn't it too early to say that, father?"
"Don't call me father! Where did you take Shirahoshi?! You'd better pray that she's unharmed!"
"You're talking like she isn't here."
"Don't play dumb! Why else would Shirahoshi have disappeared from her room if not because of you?!" The man seems to genuinely panic for a moment before Hody calms him down by reminding him of the pirates he 'threw' at the palace. He finally comes to his senses, and then sprints away from them. "No! Vander Decken is going after Shirahoshi! I beg you-jamon! I'll give you anything you want! Please, let me go after Decken! You can take silver, gold, jewels or even my soldiers lives! He's going to catch Shirahoshi! My beloved daughter!"
"How pathetic, Neptune!" Hody taunts, stepping in their direction. "I never thought that the hateful Straw Hats would help us conquer the Ryugu Palace!"
"Jimbei told me there was something going on in the Fish Man District!" growls the minister of the right. "I can't believe that you, a former proud soldier of Neptune's army, are the ringleader of it all! Don't you feel any shame at all, Hody?!"
"Shame? I would if I'd felt any real pride in Neptune's army. The only reason I joined was to learn fighting skills in actual combat...that's all. I became stronger thanks to you all. You failed to notice what was actually taking place on the island. Since I was a child I've seen the oppression of Fish Men at the hands of Humans. I always admired Arlong's dream of beating the arrogance out of those same Humans! We're going to restore his dream! We're the New Fish Man Pirates! I've been training myself to become Arlong's right-hand man one day..." Hody casually strolls across the room to one of the walls. "...when he set out to conquer the world from the East Blue as he planned. But he was--"
"Afraid," Run finishes, interrupting Hody and immediately drawing his attention. "Arlong picked the East Blue because it's the weakest of the four seas, and therefore the least patrolled by the Navy." Run grins at Hody, even as he glares down at him. "Talk him up all you like but in the end..." Run's grin slowly fades into a glare, and several of the Fish Men take an involuntary step backwards before catching themselves. "...he was an up jumped piss ant who thought he'd seen the world just because he crawled on all fours away from the Grand Line. In the end...he got the beat down that was coming to him."
"I see we've had enough chit-chat, red hair." He glares at the red head while reaching out towards the wall, and shattering it with his grip on the stone. The whole palace shudders and shakes violently as water begins to rush into the hall. Hody raises a single arm, water dripping from his body as he grins madly at them. "Shark Arrows!" With a single swing of his arm he sends droplets of water sailing in their direction.
"They're turning into arrows!" warns Zoro, raising his sword and blocking the drops with the tsuka. Run easily dodges the drops of water, simply turning his shoulder or stepping to one side or the other to allow them to pass by. The bound soldiers aren't so fortunate, however, as they're quickly hit one after another by Hody's attacks.
"You bastard!" screams Neptune. "How dare you shoot my soldiers at random! Stop it at once, you fool!" The large merman surprises them all by suddenly doubling over, blocking the attacks from reaching his soldiers with his own body.
"What an idiot!" Hody says. "What kind of king becomes a shield for his own men?! You don't have what it takes to be king!" Zoro begins to advance in the Fishman's direction as he slings the water at them, and he only stops when the two of them are less than a couple of meters apart.
"Single Sword Style," begins Zoro, grasping the tsuka of his katana. "Bird Dance!" A single stroke sends a wave of energy racing in Hody's direction...however, rather than dodge he simply grasps one of his own men and promptly uses him as a shield against the attack.
"That bastard!" shouts Usopp. "He used one of his own men as a shield! He--"
"Untie the soldiers," Run says, interrupting him. "I'd say that we're past negotiating with the kingdom at this point. We made a promise to hand the hostages over to them unharmed, and we failed to keep it."
"Understood!" Brook, who has been riding on Usopp's shoulders in the rising water, nearly falls from him when their sniper turns.
"H-Hold on! Not so fast!" Brook tells him. "Waaah! It's-It's getting on my foot! Help me, Nami!" With no response forth-coming, Brook looks around the room. "Wait, where is Nami?"
"Don't let them do a damn thing!" shouts Hody. "Destroy all of Neptune's army and the Straw Hats!" Hody's men charge in their direction while Neptune's soldiers do the same.
"Aah, Zoro, I'm going after Hody," Run tells him, drawing his cutlass and watching the Fishman slowly sink under the waves.
"What? Why do you get to fight him?" Zoro questions him while cutting through Neptune's chains.
"Because I'm the...better swimmer? Besides, we're not gonna be able to make an escape with him hot on our heels. At least not until we're on dry land." The red head quickly dives under the surface, and swims down to Hody's level. The Fishman grins at the red head as he raises an arm again.
"You and that other lowly creature were the only one's who could see my attack," Hody says. "But let's see if you can track it under water! Shark Arrows!" With a wave of his arm he sends the more of his arrows in Run's direction, who raises his cutlass and deflects every one of them with ease. Confusion briefly flashes across Hody's face before he swings his arm again...and again and again. Each time the red head simply deflects or blocks the attack. "Is that all you can manage, human?! Just barely blocking?! What were you thinking challenging a Fishman in..." A grin spreads across the red head's face, who casually raises his free hand and motions Hody forward.
"You little...! You blocked a little water...don't get cocky!" Hody seems to vanish from view, covering the distance in the sea in the blink of an eye and immediately swings his trident at the red head, who also vanishes the next second. "What--" His world spins the next second, his vision flickering and darkening around the edges as he sails through the water and crashes down on the floor of the hall. Hody immediately picks himself up out of the crater, glaring up at the red head who casually floats in the same position...and once more motions him forward with his free hand. "Why don't you just...drop dead, you lowly creature!!!" Hody rockets in his direction, trident at the ready.
The blade of Run's cutlass turns an inky black, and energy crackles from it even under the waves of the sea as Hody closes in and he surges forward. Both men pass each other, and a cloud of blood immediately spread through the water as Hody's chest and trident are split. The Fishman slowly floats down to the floor of the hall, while Run immediately begins to swim for the surface. Good swimmer or not, he can't hold his breath forever.
"H-He cut the boss!" screams one of the Fishmen. "Damn it, catch that Human! Don't let him-- Why the hell is a Human so fast in the water?!" Run breaks the surface of the water, looking around quickly for any sign of the rest of the crew.
"Oi! Over here, Run!" Usopp shouts, drawing his attention quickly. The rest of the crew is holding tightly to Neptune, and Brook seems to be doing his best not to sink below the surface of the water while wearing a bubble over his head for air...not that he really needs it.
"This place is going to be filled with water!" Neptune tells him, as he swims in their direction. "You have to hang onto me! They defeated my army so easily...they have some kind of uncanny strength. I need to get my men out of him immediately. Here!" Neptune tosses a piece of Bubbly Coral to Zoro. "Use this to capture some air! Hang onto my body very tightly!" Run grasps tightly to Neptune's beard, and he dives under the surface of the sea quickly. It seems that Hody's men have gathered at the entrance of the palace, their bodies bulked up by...something. "Now, my soldiers! Here is your way out! Abandon the battle and flee this place!" Neptune turns, seemingly grasping the very water itself. "Merman Combat! Ultramarine!" Neptune thrusts his hands in the direction of the entrance, and immediately scatters all the Fishmen gathered with a powerful current of water. "All soldiers, go! Ride the current at any cost-jamon! Aah, I-I can't move!"
"Hey, old man! Don't pass out!"
"Oh, my back. I hate getting old! I can't move even a millimeter-jamon!"
"Are you kidding?! What should we do?!"
"Looks like this is the end-jamon."
"Whale~!" All heads immediately turn in the direction of the noise, as a massive whale rapidly swims in their direction. Neptune grasps the harness as it passes, and they're all rapidly pulled in the direction of the entrance. Saved by a whale...really, none of them ever thought that it was in the cards for them. It looks like they're going to be home free...at least until they come to a very sudden halt. They all look for whatever it causing their hang up, and quickly discover Hody holding tight to Neptune's tail...he's stopping the lot of them by himself!
"Don't turn back, just go-jamon! You have to keep going and bring back Fukaboshi and the others!"
"Boss, should we chase after them?" asks one of the Fishmen.
"No, just let them go," Hody tells him. "Soldiers who abandon their king don't amount to much. Now, tie the stupid king up!" A burst of bubbles escapes the red head, who quickly clamps a hand over his mouth. He can't hold his breath forever! He's gonna...gonna black out...
- - -
"Oi...Oi, wake up!" shouts a familiar voice. Run slowly opens his eyes, scanning his surroundings before finally landing on Zoro who sits across from him in a small cage, bound up tight in chains. "About friggin' time. What? You trying to get your beauty sleep, red?"
"Aah, I'm tryin' but yer complainin' ain't makin' it easy," Run tells him. "Why are we in a cage, and-- whoa! Why is the room filling with water?"
"You two need to do something!" Usopp tells them, looking between the two men.
"Then, untie us," Zoro tells him matter of factly.
"Alright, I will! I can feel it! My psychic power! Chains, come off! Chains, come off! Chains...aah, it's no use. I don't have any psychic powers."
"Hold on," Run says, shifting around inside the cramped cage to turn his back to Zoro. "They bound our arms but not our hands. Turn so I can get a hold of your chains, Zoro." The swordsman shifts in the cage as well, turning his back to the red head who shifts several times as well. "I think I've got it. Yeah--"
"Whoa! That's NOT the CHAIN!" Zoro screams over his shoulder.
"Dahahahaha~! Sorry, sorry! Aah, you, uh...you been squatting lately or...?"
"Just grab the chain, ya bastard! You--" A loud 'snap!' echos through the room, and the chains on Zoro's body immediately fall slack, as Usopp and Brook state wide-eyed at the two men. Run drops a piece of chain through the bottom of the cage where it sinks into the rising water with a satisfying 'splash'. "Hoh. Not bad, Run."
"Yohohohoho~! Good job, Run!" laughs Brook.
"I never doubted that monstrous strength of yours for a second!" Usopp adds, shifting around in the cage. "Can you get Brook and I free?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Run tells them. "First things first though, I've got a knife hidden in the pocket of my coat, Zoro. Get it out, and cut these bars, huh?" Zoro wastes no time in quickly patting down the red head, only to produce a very small knife from within a pocket while Run quickly breaks the chains holding Usopp and Brook. "Alright! Now, I--" There's a soft 'clink!' and the chains binding Run drop slack. "--a-alright, then! Good job, Zoro!" Run grasps Brook's boney arm tightly. "Make sure to hold on tight, Brook! Because, it looks like we've got a swim ahead of us...!"
- - -
"Aah, it's just one thing after another," complains Run, leaning against the railing of the Sunny. They'd managed to free themselves from Hody, and recover their missing swords before fighting their way out of Ryugu Palace but things just don't seem to go as easily as they used to. After making their escape they'd been picked up by the rest of the crew, who are heading as quickly as they can for Conchcorde Plaza. Shirahoshi, Neptune, Jimbei-- even Luffy and Nami had gone ahead of the rest of them in an attempt to stop the crazed Hody before he could carry out his plan to finish off the royalty and take control of Fishman Island.
"Things never seem to go easy anymore," Robin agrees. "Are you alright? We saw you in that cage."
"Dahahahaha~! Aah, I'll live. We've been in worse scrapes before."
"Everyone, hold on tight now!" Franky shouts suddenly from the helm. "Gaon Cannon! Fire!" A massive blast of energy fires from the Sunny, striking the far wall of the plaza and scatter rock and coral in all directions. "Now, is your chance! Go, whale!" The whale that has been accompanying their flight, goes sailing through the air rapidly. It swoops down through the air, disappearing from sight before reappearing quickly with the Princes and King Neptune all in tow. There's a lurch and everyone grabs tight to the railing of the Sunny as their ship crashes down to the ground and slowly slides to a stop. For any normal ship it might have meant the end of it's sailing days, but for a ship built by Franky...it wouldn't even scratch the paint.
"Whoa," breaths Chopper, staring over the railing of the Sunny and the people gathered before them. "Look at how many people are here!"
"Oh, boy," adds Usopp. "Those are all our enemies, right?"
"Must be around...seventy...maybe eighty-thousand," mutters Sanji. "No. Gotta be at least a hundred-thousand."
"Yohoho~!" laughs Brook. "My, this might be a little tough!"
"Huh," grunts Zoro. "You guys can go take a nap or something, if you want. I'll take care of things."
"Dahahahaha~! Don't get greedy now!" Run laughs. "Aah, now that I think about it, I'll take my knife back, too. Never know when I'll need it again." The swordsman tosses the small blade in his direction, and Run snatches it out of the air before tucking it back away in his coat. "Let's go! There's plenty to go around for everyone, boys!"
"I can't wait!" adds Franky. "Let's go wild, guys!" They all quickly leap the railing of the Sunny and calmly start walking towards Shirahoshi, Jinbi and Luffy. Voices begin to call from the once silent crowd, demanding answers for their actions. Everyone gathered wants to know if their Captain plans to destroy the Island, if he planned to assault the palace and if he was involved in the kidnapping of some mermaids. All in all, everyone wants to know if they're friend or foe.
"Friend or foe?" echos Luffy. "Won't all of you just have to decide that for yourselves?" Luffy turns to look at Jinbei. "Did I do a good enough job?"
"Things didn't go exactly according to plan," retorts Jinbe. "But it really couldn't be helped, considering the circumstances." The plan was a surprisingly simple one. One of the crew, Luffy as it turned out, would hide in Megalo's stomach in wait. While doing that, Jinbe and Megalo would go and get themselves caught by the New Fishman Pirates. While they were distracted by Jinbe another one of the crew would sneak in and steal the letter that Queen Otohime had acquired at the risk of her life from the Would Nobles. Jinbe would then call for help and Luffy would spring out to assist him. Once the people saw a Human and Fishman working together they should rally to their side.
"Aah, you know," begins Run. "Those guys don't seem too bothered by seeing their Captain catch a beat down. Should we be concerned about that?"
"It's certainly odd," agrees Robin.
"Here," says Nami, holding a letter out to Shirahoshi. "The letter from the World Nobles." Shirahoshi takes it quickly, holding the small paper carefully in her large hands.
"Thank you all so much," replies Shirahoshi. "This letter is the last hope for Fishman Island that my mother left behind."
"We should think about how to get Shirahoshi out of here," Luffy tells Jinbei. "It's not safe around here." Shirahoshi looks over at their Captain quickly. It seems she's surprised that he's decided to use her name now. "It's not like I know everything about what's going on but you're not as timid as I thought, after all."
"It's understandable why someone would hate those they believe wronged them," begins Robin. "That man...that's exactly what he's doing."
"A real coward could never have been so strong," adds Nami. "A coward could never have borne such hardship on her own for so long."
"I'm sorry," whispers Shirahoshi. "I caused you trouble by keeping it secret."
"That's fine," Jinbei assures her. "I like you just the way you are. There's no passing on hatred to the younger generation this way. That's what those brave hero's were trying to teach us. There is a small sprout that blossomed in your heart. If all the people on this island share it and think the same as you do one day there will be no more fighting and the conflict between Humans and Fishmen will be over. I don't think the years you suffered through were useless. You must have been trying so hard to protect that small blossom so hard day after day. But let us protect it for you now!" Shirahoshi breaks down into tears several seconds after Jinbei has finished his speech.
"She may not be a coward but she certainly is a cry-baby," sighs Luffy. A loud crash follows Luffy's words and from a cloud of dust and smoke, Hody Jones walks forward. A round of cheers erupt from the pirates gathered around as their Captain makes his appearance. He's changed significantly since they last set eyes on the man.
"Wow! You bulked up, Hody!" Run says.
"Vander Decken is absolutely useless!" growls Hory. "I needed him to get rid of Shirahoshi! She's the legendary Mermaid Princess with that troublesome power. Naturally, I needed her gone as soon as possible but...it seems like you people really tricked me, huh? I should have put it all together when Jinbei gave in with no resistance. Seems you're real good friends with these Humans, huh?! I despise people like you the most! Fisher Tiger who you grew up with in the Fishman District and Arlong who was like a brother to you, were both beaten or killed by Humans! But rather that seek revenge you chose to join hands with the Humans! You're as bad as Neptune! When I become King, I'll change everything! I'm going to attack this years World Summet! I'll kill the Human Kings from all over the world and our legend will begin! We'll enslave all the Humans in the world! No one will think of standing against Fishmen! Even the world of Pirates won't be safe! All Pirates will submit to us, the New Fishman Pirates! I'll be the one who becomes King of the Pirates, Straw Hat!"
"That...may be the craziest thing I've ever heard anyone say. I mean, I thought Arlong was nuts but you win. Hands down."
"What do you know, red hair?! You're just a band of eleven half-assed pirates! We have one-hundred thousand on our side! Kill them all, New Fishman Pirates!" Hearing his command, the Pirates surrounding them all roar loudly in response and begin charging forward towards them.
"Waaah! Here come's one-hundred thousand enemies!" screams Chopper. "How can we fight them?!"
"Before we even get to fight we may end up squashed," adds Robin, slowly crossing her arms.
"One-hundred thousand?!" cries Brook. "I'm so stunned my eyes may pop out! Oh, not that I have eyes! Yohohoho~!"
"Aah, relax, relax!" Run assures them. "I can take care of it." All heads immediately turn to Run who breaks out in a wide grin. "Just say the word, Luffy." Confusion briefly flickers across their faces as they watch his iris' briefly flicker a bright crimson. "I'll knock 'em out." Luffy crosses his arms, and turns his head up in thought for a moment before suddenly grinning as well.
"Nah!" chirps Luffy. "I'll take care of it this time, Run!"
"Dahahahaha~! Alright, I'll look forward to it!" Luffy strides forward past them, walking in the direction of the charging Fishmen. They close in on him, and Luffy clenches his fists tightly...and the Fishmen surrounding him immediately drop to the ground, weapons clattering at their sides as they foam at the mouth. Run whistles in appreciation, as he scans the fallen bodies. "Not bad! He's come a long way in two years!"
"Wh-What just happened?!" demands a voice. "He-He didn't even move and he knocked out so many of us?! That's...did he take out fifty thousand of us just like that?!"
"You! You're Hody, right?" Luffy questions. "I guess I really need to kick your ass, after all. You can call yourself King of whatever you want in any country...but there can be only ONE King of the Pirates, and it's absolutely gonna be ME!"
"Luffy...I wish you left more than just fifty-thousand for me," complains Zoro.
"Don't get so excited," retorts Sanji. "I'm going to take thirty-thousand of them, Moss Head."
"Rookie numbers, fellas, rookie numbers," Run tells them with a grin. "Let's say...first to forty? Dahahaha~! Losers buy the first two rounds!" Rather than wait for them, Luffy starts the fight off by leaping into the air and unleashing a Giant Pistol into the charging crowd much to their complete shock. "Alright, I guess we're going then!" The red head seems to disappear in a blur, reappearing among the Fishmen with a soft 'click!' echoing through the air. "Churning Tide." A soft 'whoosh!' follows as deep gashes crawl across the ground, passing the red head before exploding in a shower of dust and rock and scattering the Fishmen in all directions. "Whoa-ho! That's--" He briefly counts the falling Fishmen. "--well, let's call it one fifty."
"Die, red hair!" shouts a voice from his side. "Your bounty is mine!" He turns his head in that direction just as a pair of arms sprout from the man's shoulder, and grasp his head. "H-Huh?" There's a loud 'crack!' and the man drops to the ground in front of him, his head twisted around to face his back.
"Don't get distracted, Run," Robin calls from the distance.
"Dahahaha~! Looks like I owe you," Run shouts back, offering her a grin and a wink. "I'll make sure to pay my debt." Now among them, he draws his cutlass quickly and moves forward. Light dances off the edge of the weapon as he carves a path of destruction through the rampaging Pirates leaving long strings of motionless bodies in his wake. Most have been struck in non-vital areas but they won't be getting back up for quite a while regardless. The New Fishmen Pirates are using all kinds of tricks to try to beat them. From iron shields to Sea Urchin like spikes to Mermen over-inflating their bubble rings to go air-born, and even attempted attacks on Shirahoshi, none of it seems to be of any use.
Robin unveils one of her new techniques as well, creating a gigantic copy of her legs to smash several charging pirates. It isn't until the New Fishmen Pirates start targeting Shirahoshi in earnest that Franky finally makes an entrance into the fray. With a loud roar and squealing of rubber on stone, Franky smashes through several Fishmen on some kind of strange motorbike.
"Black Rhino...FR-U-4!" screams Franky, wheeling around to stop in front of Robin. Luffy and Brook are instantly enthralled with Franky's newest creation. "It's super cool, isn't it?!"
"Whoa! Hold on a second!" Run calls, catching a Fishman's blade with a Haki hardened hand. "Franky! Let me take her for a spin! I never get a chance to try out the cool toys!"
"Damn it!" screams a large Fishman. "I'll stop that thing if it's the last thing I do! Steel vs. Steel!" He rapidly whips around a flail, aiming at the nose of the motorbike. Of course, before he can swing the flail at Franky and his bike, he's struck from behind by yet another one of Franky's creations. It rolls on metal tracks, and seems to be a vehicle built around a large cannon. Chopper pops out of the top through a hatch which is emblazoned with their jolly-roger.
"Yeow~! New Number 5! Brachio-Tank 5 is here!" The tank rolls around the battle-field, firing off shot after shot at the pirates at Chopper's orders. Luffy seems to completely forget his purpose as he starts running along side it, ready to take it for a spin himself, it seems. Hody seems to have finally had enough of them, and growls loudly as he watches his men beaten, and listens to the calling of the civilians.
"Don't push your damn luck!" shouts Hody. "Get out here now, Kraken!" Everything comes to a stop as a large Kraken suddenly crawls to the edge of the large bowl they've been fighting in, it's massive tenticals spilling over the edge as it stares down at them. "There's only eleven of them! Just crush them all and we'll be done with it!"
"Wait a second!" Run shouts with a grin. "I know that Kraken! Luffy! Look, it's Surume!"
"Kill them already! I brought you all the way from the North Pole! You're my slave! You work for me!" Hody turns to face the Kraken slowly. "You can do it, can't you?" Without warning it leaps from the edge of the bowl down to the rock below. Run's eyes widen as it's massive shadow falls over him and he disappears just as it smashes down. He seems to reappear out of thin air next to Robin, pacing backwards with his cutlass resting on his shoulder.
"Whoa-ho! Easy, pal! You almost crushed me there!"
"I didn't expect to see him here," Robin mutters, staring at the Kraken.
"Dahahaha~! Yeah, aren't we lucky?" It raises several of it's massive tentacles. "Hey, whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
"Oi, Surume!" screams Luffy, waving his arms with a grin. "It's me!" The Kraken stares down at their Captain calmly. "Huh? What's wrong? Don't remember me? How could you forget? You became my pet for a while! I'm your friend, remember? C'mon! Let me ride on you again!" After several tense moments the Kraken slams it's tentacles down, seemingly on their Captain. The Fishmen all erupt in cheers, happy to see the Kraken take care of one of the Straw-Hat Crew. But their happiness is short lived as Luffy's laughter begins echoing across the whole area. "That tickles! S-Stop, Surume!" The Kraken is holding Luffy gently between two wiggling tentacles for a few seconds before depositing him gently on it's head.
It rampages around the area for a few moments before Luffy points it back to Shirahoshi's side and orders Surume to protect her. With the Kraken protecting Shirahoshi, they won't have to worry about anyone trying to get near her now. Now, they can focus on bringing down Hody, and the Fishmen in charge of this rabble. Run dashes off into the surrounding Fishmen, intending to make his way towards Hody and his commanders. Unfortunately, the Straw-Hat's aren't the only one's intending to make a move to end this. Despite Franky's new inventions offering them an edge, one of Hody's commanders manages to collapse the tank into a hastily dug ditch, and in the resulting confusion, Franky quickly follows with his motorbike.
While many of the New Fishman Pirates celebrate the bringing down of his new weapons, it's short lived as Franky quickly combines the two into a...well, a robot he takes over piloting. In doing so, however, he kicks out Chopper, Nami and Usopp from the tank and exposes them to the New Fishman Pirates. It proves to be a moot point, regardless, as he dispatches a large number of them with ease in his robot.
"Kraken!" calls Hody, staring at the massive beast. "Good job, considering it was you. He actually managed to gain their favor and capture Shirahoshi! Now, squeeze her to death!" The Kraken seems caught off guard by his command, turning it's attention down to Shirahoshi slowly. "Your brother at the North Pole, I know exactly where he is. We can just go there and kill him whenever we want. The two of you are mythical creatures...even dead you would fetch me quite a bit of money. Don't tell me that's what you want, Kraken!" The Kraken's tentacles slowly constrict around Shirahoshi, squeezing down hard enough to make even the large Mermaid Princess cry out in pain.
"Oi, Surume!" shouts Luffy, earning the Kraken's attention. "So you were doing everything he says in order to save your brothers life? Is it your older brother or younger? Tell ya what, let me try to save his life, too!" After several long moments the Kraken's tentacles go slack. Luffy calmly walks towards Hody now, intending to take the fight to him finally. Two of Hody's commanders quickly place themselves between the two of them, intending to stop Luffy from progressing. One of them heft's a large hammer, while the other wields six barbed spear-like weapons. They ready their weapons as he approaches, and as they begin to attack, they're both blind-sided by Zoro and Sanji. "Second Gear." With a swing of his arm, Luffy enters Second Gear and disappears only to reappear in front of Hody. He kicks the Fishman away like tossing aside a piece of trash. "I'm really feeling full of fight right now!"
The crowd surrounding them all cheer loudly, happy to see Luffy finally taking the fight to Hody and over-powering him with ease. But their cheering quickly dies down as a massive shadow falls over the whole area. The heads of the civilians all turn skyward to stare at a massive ship bearing down on the Island. The cries of the people gathered around attract the attention of everyone, even those fighting below.
"What in the hell?" exclaims Run, staring up at the massive ship. He quickly dodges an attack from an apparently oblivious Fishman and reappears back by the Sunny, beside Robin. "Oh-ho-ho! That's not good."
"I wonder if the sea will turn red if we all get smashed at once," muses Robin. The red head chuckles softly in response as he stares up at the massive ship. "Wait...what is...?" Screaming sounds in the ears of everyone present as something, or rather, SOMEONE falls from the ship. As it draws closer and closer, they finally recognize it as the Sea Bonze they've seen many times before. He strikes the ground head first right in front of the Kraken, raising a massive knot and stunning him for a moment before he finally seems to recover his senses and stand quickly.
"Captain Decken!" screams the Sea Bonze. "I slipped and fell! Captain, stop the ship! I don't want to die!"
"Decken? Is he the one piloting that ship?"
"Shirahoshi!" screams a now all too familiar and annoying voice. "Accept my love! Do you hear me, Shirahoshi?"
"Wait...don't tell me!" Jinbe shouts. "Did Decken throw the Noah like he did those letters and axes?!"
"Shirahoshi! I've been in love with you for ten years! I've loved you ever since you were a child! There is no one who could love you like I do in all the wide world! Why can't you just accept my love?! Things that I throw with my Mark-Mark Fruit won't stop until they strike their target or something else! This giant ship embodies my love for you! Accept it, and die along with all of Fishman Island!"
"Captain Decken!" cries the Sea Bonze. "What about me?!"
"Wadatsumi! It's too late! I can't save you now! I need you to become a sacrifice along with Shirahoshi and the rest of the Island!" The cries of the Fishmen surrounding them sound, lamenting their fate as the ship draws closer and the bubble surrounding the Island stretches tighter and tigher.
"O-Oi! Where did Shirahoshi go?!" exclaims Jinbe. Everyone looks around quickly, even the Kraken who now notices that Shirahoshi is gone. The massive beast quickly looks around with the rest of them, searching for Shirahoshi's whereabouts.
"I am over here!" calls Shirahoshi. All heads turn skyward once again finding Shirahoshi floating there with her arms spread wide. "I thought you wanted to just take my life!
"Why would she go up there?!" questions Nami.
"The ship is targeting her!" Jinbe retorts.
"If I am the only one who you want to kill," begins Shirahoshi. "Then, please do not harm the other people of the Ryugu Kingdom! Come and get me!" Shirahoshi begins rising rapidly, and true to Jinbe's words, the Noah begins to change it's course to go after her. Vander Decken breaks out into laughter as he watches Shirahoshi rise, and takes the opportunity to throw another weapon at her, grazing her arm. The citizen cry out for her to stop, to not risk her life on their behalf but it falls on deaf ears as she begins swimming away through the air, intending to lead the Noah away from the Island.
"Damn it!" complains Luffy, running after the ship. "I told her to stay close to me!" Sanji, seeing this, gives chase as well gliding through the air using a technique similar to CP9's. "Sanji! Stay here! I'll take care of it!"
"Luffy, what about the water?" retorts Sanji.
"Oi, Jinbe, do you think that ship is filled with water?"
"It's hard to say," Jinbe tells him. "I know that Decken is a Devil Fruit user so there has to be air for him, at least. Just take this with you!" Jinbe tosses him a piece of Bubbly Coral, and Luffy stretches his arms out and grasps onto one of Sanji's legs. "Watch out for Hody, Luffy! Fishmen are far stronger in water!"
"Let's go, Sanji!"
"Armee de L'Air Assault...Gum Shoot...!"