Chapter 113: The New Fish-Man Pirates
"Ah, Arlong would probably be thrilled to know you're seeking revenge for him, wouldn't he? Haha! But I remember I tossed his head in Loguetown. His body might have become fertilizer by now! Oh dear, playing dead wouldn't be much fun."
Facing this group of arrogant fellows, Rodney burst into hearty laughter. His smile suddenly turned somewhat sinister.
"You guys are truly clueless, pretending to be Arlong on Fish-Man Island? I knew the directions were off, but I didn't say anything, and look, an ambush! Haha! I truly am a genius!"
Arlong's theories of Fish-Man supremacy had gained quite a following on Fish-Man Street. These twisted beliefs elevated Fish-Men to the top of various races worldwide, and thanks to the intentional spread of these ideas by Hody Jones and his group, many Fish-Men had taken them to heart. After Arlong's death, Hody Jones carried on his "legacy" by establishing the New Fish-Man Pirates.
Under the praise of this group, Arlong had gained quite a reputation. In the eyes of many Fish-Men, he was a hero on par with the Fish-Man explorer Fisher Tiger.
This was something Arlong could never have imagined. When he left Fish-Man Island, he didn't take many people with him, and they were a bunch of weaklings. But after he left, his powerful admirers emerged one after another.
This was also considered his spiritual legacy...
"Weren't you the one who never paid attention to the road?" Brook sarcastically intervened, undermining Rodney's bravado, and Rodney's laughter abruptly ceased.
Leicester tugged on Brook's sleeve and whispered, "Mr. Brook, please don't undermine Captain when he's trying to impress the enemy. It's not good for his image."
"Oh? My apologies, I forgot! Mr. Rodney, please forgive me."
"No problem," Rodney shook his head and fixed his gaze on the Blue Ring Octopus.
The upper half of the Blue Ring Octopus was humanoid, holding a knife in one hand and a gourd in the other, occasionally taking a swig of alcohol. The lower half consisted of the tentacles characteristic of a blue-ring octopus, with blue circular spots occasionally emitting a faint glow.
Blue Ring Octopus Hyouzou, the swordsman Arlong intended to take with him. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, he ended up taking the less skilled Hatchan instead.
If Hyouzou had accompanied Arlong, Rodney would have faced a much tougher battle. He might have chosen not to confront him head-on, instead opting for assassination to eliminate Arlong's group one by one.
But now, he just needed to watch out for the poison and not worry too much about anything else.
Laughing drunkenly, Rodney remarked, "Arlong? I don't care about him. He couldn't afford to hire me and ended up getting himself killed! That idiot, if he'd been willing to pay, he might have saved his pathetic life. What a fool! *Burp*!"
"Haha, really reckless!"
"Brothers! Kill him! Avenge our Arlong!"
"Charge!"
The Fish-Men charged recklessly, and Rodney didn't even look at them as he threw a handful of shurikens. Then he executed his Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
Suddenly, countless black shurikens filled the air, whizzing towards the approaching Fish-Men.
"Ahhhh!"
With no time to dodge, many Fish-Men were pierced by shurikens. However, these injuries weren't life-threatening for their tough fishy bodies; at most, they caused some pain.
They clenched their teeth, enduring the pain, and continued charging. Some were lucky enough to avoid the shurikens altogether.
They howled, enduring the pain, and kept charging. Rodney yawned and muttered, "Silent Killing Technique!"
His figure flickered as he passed through the Fish-Men one by one. They froze as if time had stopped, while Rodney's kunai fell upon them. Time resumed its flow.
Boom, boom, boom!
One by one, the Fish-Men fell. Bright red blood oozed from their wounds. This group that had rushed forward was all defeated. While some were lucky enough to survive, the injuries made it impossible for them to stand.
Hyouzou paused drinking, then took a few sips and slowly drew his sword. "Venomous Sword!"
Injecting his own toxins into the blade, he unleashed rapid sword strikes, delivering both damage and his deadly poison to his opponents' wounds.
This was similar to what happened to Luffy after Magellan attacked him. Without the antibodies, it would be hard to endure.
However, Rodney had to be cautious because he had no antidotes to these toxins. His healing wouldn't help here; it was for healing injuries, not curing poisons.
He wished Reiju was with them; she could've simply punched him, and he would have been thrilled to see her. She had a penchant for poisons and occasionally bought some to ingest. Rodney and Leicester once caught fish with toxins in their bodies, which Reiju swiftly absorbed, and then Rodney and Leicester had a delicious meal. They never let good poisons go to waste.
Rodney blocked the venomous strike with Shusui drawn from his waist. He could take this guy; there was no need for his ultimate move.
"Blocked it? But can you handle my next move? Venomous Sword: Swarm of Bees!"
Hyouzou's hand danced in the air, creating an illusion of countless swords attacking from all directions.
Rodney smirked, he could trace only a single path. One strike was all he needed.
Clang!
He sidestepped Leo Zang's attacks, then swung Hana-zawa downward, breaking the octopus Fish-Man's sword.
"Die, human!" Suddenly, a water shot came flying, accurately hitting Rodney's back. With a loud "bang," Rodney turned into coral, and the coral was shattered.
Rodney reappeared beside Brook.
"Hehehe, mere humans, daring to kill our great Arlong, you'll pay for it! For our hero, Arlong, we shall have our revenge!"
Several Fish-Men emerged from the sea, led by a Great White Shark Fish-Man with pale skin, blood-red eyes, sharp teeth, and various tattoos.
Besides the insignia of the New Fish-Man Pirates, they also had tattoos representing Arlong's Sun Pirates. His voice... somewhat resembled a certain priest who loved Mapo Tofu, but there was no way he'd suddenly use Rokushiki.
(TL/N: Both Hody Jones and Kirei Kotomine are voiced by Jōji Nakata)
Of course, it couldn't be that.
The newcomer was Hody Jones, the leader of the New Fish-Man Pirates, dubbed "a man grown from the hatred and anger of the Fish-Man race." He inherited Arlong's "Fish-Man Supremacy" ideology.
Just like Arlong, he was an extremist, a racist who despised humans. However, he was even worse than Arlong. While Arlong cared for his own kind, Hody Jones was more inclined to use his fellow Fish-Men as tools, unhesitatingly sacrificing them to achieve his goals. To him, everyone was just a pawn!
Fish-Men were merely slightly higher-tier pawns in his eyes.