Chapter 114: The Despicable Humans
"Hahaha! Shichibukai Rodney, we're here to kill you for Arlong's boss and avenge him!" Hody Jones' laughter was quite unique, but Rodney couldn't help but smell a hint of spicy tofu. He suddenly asked, "Do you eat Mapo Tofu?"
"What?" Hody Jones was puzzled, not understanding what this human was talking about.
"Do you know the Super Bajiquan?"
Hody Jones: ??
"Have you gone insane, human? It must be, right? Seeing Hody boss so strong has driven you mad, hasn't it? Hamon hamon, a human like you must be using despicable methods to kill boss Arlong, right? Despicable human!" Hammond, the Daggertooth pike conger Fish-Man, laughed arrogantly.
His laughter also provoked mockery from the other Fish-Men still standing there, their eyes filled with contempt as they looked at Rodney and his companions.
Rodney rubbed his ear and said, "Wow, you sure talk a lot. Is this the antagonist?"
He casually threw a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it at Hammond's feet. Not knowing the power of this thing, Hammond continued to mock Rodney, saying, "Hamon hamon, even throwing something requires a trap. Humans are just humans, and they have no advantages in this regard!"
"Oh? Mr. Rodney has excellent aim, why did it land at his feet?" Brook asked curiously.
But Leicester, standing next to him, looked at Hammond with a deathly gaze and said softly, "Mr. Brook, watch carefully. This is the captain's move. Ready, set, go!"
As he counted down, the explosive tag ignited.
With a loud explosion, Hammond was blown backward, with large areas of his body covered in burns, and he collapsed, unconscious, on the ground.
"So, you talk too much. I hate people like you the most," Rodney said, his hands on the hilt of his Hana Kuronushi sword. He spoke softly, "You guys, trying to attack me in the name of Arlong, are you ready to be killed by me?"
As he spoke, crimson pupils appeared in his eyes, and his raging chakra blew like a fierce wind, causing Hody Jones to involuntarily step back. He could only say, "I will use this sword to cut you all down!"
For the first time, he felt that a human's smile was so terrifying. Although he couldn't sense any killing intent, it felt like he was in the presence of a demon.
As Hody Jones locked eyes with him, he fell into his genjutsu. In it, he saw himself lying in a pool of blood.
Suddenly coming to his senses, he saw his opponent still standing there, not moving. In an instant, he was drenched in cold sweat.
"Scared?"
Rodney had a mocking smile on his face.
"Hody Jones, you talk big about avenging Arlong, but when you see your enemy right in front of you, you can't even draw your sword, can you? Tsk tsk, or is it that you have no real loyalty to Arlong and are just using his name to gain power?"
Hody Jones, furious, retorted, "What do you know? I'm here to fulfill Arlong's boss's wish! Because you, this human, shattered his dream! I will kill you and make the Fish-Men the most powerful race!"
"Oh," Rodney's voice drew out, and then he said, "Is that so? Why does it sound a bit fake to me? That guy Arlong did die by my hands, but do you have the ability to avenge him? With your shrimp soldiers and crab generals?" He swept his gaze over the Fish-Men around Hody Jones, sneering. When it came to showing off, he never missed an opportunity.
"So, prepare to die here"
He swung his sword, launching a soaring slash directly. Then, in a blink, he moved past Hody Jones, and with another swing of his longsword, he killed a Fish-Man.
"Die!"
Hody Jones swung his massive arm with immense force, an attack that could easily shatter rocks. He thought it would be easy to defeat his opponent, but to his surprise, this human with relatively slender arms easily blocked it, displaying strength no less than his own.
How could this be? Fish-Men were supposed to have ten times the physical strength of humans. How could this puny human match their strength?
Hody Jones, who had always believed in "Fish-Men are the strongest," was perplexed. And he had come prepared for this fight.
"Hey, Fish-Man, don't underestimate humans!"
Rodney turned around, looking up at Hody Jones with a smile and baring his white teeth. "Humans may be weak, but we have brains!"
As he spoke, he kicked Hody Jones in his round belly like a drumhead, sending him crashing into a pile of corals. With a mocking grin, Rodney said, "Among humans, there are many weaklings. Unlike Fish-Men, we don't all possess great physical strength. But why are humans spread across the world? Why do we possess power that makes the world tremble?"
"Besides a few strong humans, it's also because of our clever brains. Oh, by the way, you should know that I'm one of the Shichibukai, right? Among the Shichibukai, some are strong, some are weak, but at least I'm one of them, just like Jinbei. You came without thinking, ready to hand over your head to me. It's my first time meeting someone like you. So, do you have no brain?"
"Well, you don't seem very smart!"
Hody Jones crawled out of the coral heap, furious.
"Just a mere human! Even if it were that guy Jinbei, I'd still have a chance to fight him! Are you looking for death, human?" He took out a blue and orange capsule from his pocket and swallowed it.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
After these pills entered his stomach, they instantly caused a change. Hody Jones' body rapidly grew, gaining more than a meter in height, and became exceptionally muscular, his eyes emitting a bloodthirsty red glow. He now appeared vastly stronger than the burly guy from earlier.
"Damn, resorting to drugs when you can't win?" Brook remarked.
"Please protect Leicester, Mr. Brook. Leave the rest to me!"
"You guys, attack!" Hody Jones commanded.
"For boss Arlong!"
Following his orders, Hammond and the others also took out similar drugs and consumed them, though not as much as Hody Jones did. After consuming the drugs, their bodies underwent some changes, becoming more powerful.
The Energy Steroid, a banned substance from the Ryugu Kingdom, enhanced the user's strength but also came at the cost of their lifespan. It was a drug that exchanged lifespan for power.
Hody Jones and his group had come prepared with the Energy Steroid, believing that consuming large doses of it would give them the strength needed to defeat Rodney. They planned to use their enhanced power to kill Rodney and then rally the confused Fish-Men, who were still torn between ideologies, to strengthen their faction and expand their influence.
With Rodney incapacitated, Hody Jones could lead his followers into the Ryugu Castle, capture King Neptune, and seize control of Fish-Man Island. This would show those lowly humans the might of the Fish-Men.
"An ignorant frog in a well, unaware of the vastness of the sky," Rodney said as he squatted down slightly, inserting his Hana Kuronushi into the ground. He clapped his hands and said, "Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
The normally hard coral beneath their feet suddenly turned exceptionally soft and sticky. Without realizing it, the Fish-Men's legs sank into it, and then a torrent of mud and rocks surged towards them.
Living underwater, these Fish-Men had never encountered such a disaster. Despite their confusion, they didn't retreat but instead felt a scorching heat approaching!
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Like a dragon, the flames engulfed the Fish-Men, causing them to scream and fill the air with the scent of burning flesh.
"Fire, despicable humans!"
"Alright, if you don't like electricity, Water Release: Water Vortex!" A rush of water drenched all the Fish-Men.
Fish-Men: ??
This guy must have gone insane. He's using water against us. It seems that human intelligence isn't very high. Hody Jones, seeing this, directly taunted, "Humans are just humans. Have you forgotten what our race is? Are you trying to use water against us? Are you kidding?"
"That's right! Your Fish-Men brains, or should I say knowledge, are the key. Don't you know that water conducts electricity? Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!"
A surge of electricity ran through the water under their feet.