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With those words, Byakuya shifted his attention back to the battlefield, not paying further attention to the contemplative Shirahoshi.
Tashigi was battling Hody Jones alone, while Ain was holding off the six high-ranking officers.
Both were engaged in intense fights, but Byakuya didn't intervene. He wasn't going to play the role of a babysitter forever.
They would eventually face danger and need to grow from these experiences.
Of course, if they were in life-threatening danger, Byakuya would step in. But for now, his focus was on the tens of thousands of Fish-Men below.
Why? Because Ferguson's cannon had just earned him nearly ten thousand points of World Source Energy.
When Byakuya first learned the rules for gathering World-Source Energy, he noticed something critical: the kills made by his subordinates also contributed to his World-Source Energy.
This realization was why Byakuya had decided to become a Marine, to command a large force and gather more of this energy.
Although Byakuya was bloodthirsty, he had his principles. Those he had killed up until now were on a path to their demise.
Otherwise, with his strength, he could have easily become a killing machine, wiping out island after island to quickly amass a huge amount of World Source Energy and increase his power rapidly.
But he chose not to. However, with tens of thousands of Fish-Men revolting before him, Byakuya now had a legitimate reason to act, allowing him to slaughter them and gain energy.
Byakuya could also use the method he employed in Alabasta, using the "Emperor Engine" to subdue all the Fish-Men without hurting anyone.
That would resolve the rebellion without any bloodshed.
But Byakuya didn't want to. Since arriving at Fish-Man Island, he hadn't developed any goodwill toward the Fish-Men, who harboured hatred for humans.
Furthermore, Byakuya had decided he would no longer use the "Emperor Engine" as a Marine.
From now on, the "King Engine" would be a skill exclusive to "Night," the leader of the "Night" organization.
This distinction would help Byakuya separate his identities and dispel any suspicions others might have about him.
Before acting, Byakuya approached Neptune.
He unleashed several invisible slashes of energy with a casual wave, instantly killing a dozen Fish-Men who had charged at them.
Neptune and the others watched as the once-ferocious Fish-Men were rendered powerless in front of Byakuya, like ants with no ability to resist.
A sense of bitterness welled up in their hearts. Was this the strength of someone capable of destroying Fishman Island?
In his hands, slaughtering these tens of thousands of Fish-Men might only take a little effort.
It wasn't like their own struggles, where they were covered in wounds and faced the danger of death.
Byakuya asked symbolically, "King Neptune, I'm quite satisfied with the hospitality you've shown us during our stay."
"So, I'm willing to help you through this crisis. What do you think?"
Although Byakuya could forcefully step in and kill the Fish-Men, if he did, it wouldn't reflect well on his reputation if word got out.
After all, his current status was that of a Marine Vice Admiral.
From Byakuya's perspective, given Neptune's current situation, there was no way he could refuse Byakuya's offer to help.
Unless, of course, Neptune was willing to let the entire Ryugu Kingdom be destroyed.
Once Neptune gave his consent, Byakuya could act without any hesitation.
After all, Neptune was the king of a member nation of the World Government, and as a Marine, Byakuya couldn't simply stand by and do nothing.
Just as Byakuya was waiting for Neptune to nod in agreement and go through the motions, he saw Neptune hesitate, showing a conflicted expression.
After a moment, Neptune said, "Thank you for your kindness, Vice Admiral Byakuya, but for now, I can still manage the situation on my own."
So, please refrain from intervening—I have my way of resolving this."
Hearing Neptune's words, Byakuya's hand, gripping his sword, stopped mid-motion.
"What? You're about to be beaten to death, and you're telling me not to act?"
Byakuya looked at Neptune's body, which was covered in wounds. His armour was stained crimson from blood.
Suspiciously, Byakuya wondered if the old man had a masochistic tendency.
The thought sent a chill through him, and he silently distanced himself from Neptune.
Frowning, Byakuya asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to help?" Neptune gave a bitter smile and nodded.
Since Neptune was firm in his decision, Byakuya didn't insist and returned to the Daylight ship.
"Everyone chooses their path," he thought. "If you don't want my help, I won't force it."
In any case, Neptune and his people's downfall seemed inevitable. Acting later wouldn't make much difference.
As Byakuya walked away, Neptune sighed deeply, unsure whether his choice was right or wrong.
But he truly didn't want the millennia-old Fish-Man Island, home to both Fish-Men and Mermaids, to be destroyed by Byakuya—at least not during his lifetime.
Of course, Neptune wasn't foolishly waiting for death. He had calculated that Jinbe should return soon, and once he did, the rebellion among the Fish-Men could be quelled.
Meanwhile, the battle continued. Shirahoshi, fully focused, was lost in her memories of communicating with the Sea Kings, unaware that Byakuya had returned.
Tashigi and Hody Jones were in a fierce battle, with neither side gaining a clear advantage.
Hody, who had once served in the royal Ryugu Kingdom Guard, was highly skilled with his trident and had considerable combat experience, making him no less formidable than Tashigi.
Furthermore, as a Fish-Man, Hody possessed strength over ten times that of a normal human male, a power Tashigi, even as a skilled swordswoman, couldn't match.
Tashigi's small frame allowed her to dodge Hody's attacks easily, and thanks to Byakuya's recent guidance in swordsmanship, her skills had improved dramatically.
Hody's trident would likely have defeated her long ago without that training.
For now, the fight was evenly matched. However, Byakuya knew that Hody still had a stash of energy-boosting drugs he hadn't used yet.
If he took those during the fight, his power would increase several times, and Tashigi could easily be killed if she were caught off guard.
But this was also a chance to train Tashigi's adaptability in battle. With Byakuya present, there was no way he would let anything happen to her.
Ain, meanwhile, was gradually gaining the upper hand in her fight against the six high-ranking officers of the New Fish-Man Pirates.
Although Ain's swordsmanship wasn't as strong as Tashigi's, her Devil Fruit powers gave her a significant advantage against the Fish-Men, who could not use Haki.
Ain's hands rapidly struck one of the Fish-Men, and in an instant, the Fish-Man aged backward 24 years, his body shrinking into that of a chubby, 7- or 8-year-old child.
His once-booming voice turned into an indistinct babble filled with childlike innocence.
It was oddly cute, with a touch of humour. But such a sudden change in the middle of battle was fatal.
Before the Fish-Man could react, Ain mercilessly beheaded him.
The bizarre nature of Ain's powers struck fear into the remaining Fish-Men, but they were helpless against her.
Without Armament Haki, they had no way of defending against her strange abilities.
With a deadly combination of swordsmanship and Devil Fruit powers, Ain quickly dispatched the remaining officers.
She glanced triumphantly at Byakuya and then moved to assist Tashigi in her battle.
Facing Ain and Tashigi, two skilled swordswomen, Hody Jones began to lose his composure.
On top of that, he had witnessed how Ain's strange powers had killed his subordinates, making him even more cautious in battle, constantly trying to avoid Ain's touch.
In such a constrained fight, it didn't take more than three minutes for Hody to suffer several deep, bone-exposing sword wounds.
If this kept up, he would be slowly hacked to death.
Realizing the dire situation, Hody, ever decisive, pulled several dark blue pills from his pocket and swallowed them.
These were not the same pills his subordinates had taken—those were the first-generation energy drugs, while Hody had the more powerful, second-generation pills.
These enhanced his strength even further and consumed less of his life force, allowing him to take multiple pills at once.
Since the supply of these pills was limited, Hody had kept them all for himself rather than sharing them with his crew.
As he swallowed the pills, Hody's hair began to turn grey, and his skin sagged slightly, but his muscles swelled, ripping his clothes apart.
His body instantly doubled in size. The drug's potent effects coursed through his veins, and his eyes turned blood-red as he let out a crazed roar,
"You Marines have meddled for the last time! I'll kill every single one of you, chop you into pieces, and devour you!"
Each of his attacks now carried a vicious wind, with power five times greater than before. His speed also increased significantly.
He sent Ain flying several meters back with one punch, struggling to catch her breath.
After taking a punch, Tashigi's face turned bright red, her slender arm and sword trembling uncontrollably.
It was clear that neither she nor Ain had the strength to face Hody Jones, who had taken the Energy Steroids.
Laughing wildly, Hody said, "Hahaha, with your Marine strength, there's no way you can stop me."
"A man as strong as I am is destined to become the king of the Fish-Man race! I'll kill you Marines to avenge Arlong!"
"You can go to hell along with that fool Neptune!"
As he spoke, Hody Jones appeared in front of the two female Marines, his muscles tense, and threw both fists forward with the force of a tiger, breaking through the air with a piercing roar.
"Boom! Boom!" The loud sound echoed as Hody felt the impact of his fists.
However, instead of the sensation of smashing through someone, it felt unnaturally hard, causing his fists to ache.
Looking closely, he saw Byakuya, the Marine Vice-Admiral they had heard about, standing before the two women, blocking his attack.
What stopped Hody's fists wasn't anything else— the sheath of Byakuya's sword, Wind Chirp, strapped to his waist.
Hody's expression changed, and he poured all his strength into his fists, trying to break through, but the sword sheath didn't budge an inch.
Calmly, Byakuya said, "So you're just a drugged-up loser? Stop acting tough! If you're as strong as you say, try beating me."
Byakuya then applied more force with his right hand, which held the sword's sheath.
The sheer power of it shattered Hody's knuckles and sent him flying dozens of meters, leaving deep marks on the ground from where his feet dragged.
The difference in strength between the two was obvious. However, Byakuya didn't take advantage of it.
Instead, he curiously asked, "I heard you mention Arlong just now. Are you talking about Arlong from the East Blue?"
Hody felt a sharp pain in his hands as his body's natural resilience and the steroids slowly began to heal his broken fingers.
Hearing Byakuya's question, he stopped for a time, trying to allow his wounds to heal.
"Yes, Arlong ruled an island in the East Blue, turning all humans into slaves for Fish-Men. That's what Fish-Men are supposed to do!"
Byakuya smirked. "And yet, with all that power, he still died at the hands of the Marines, didn't he?"
Hody scoffed, "That was only because Arlong wasn't strong enough. I am not like him."
"Oh? So you're saying you're stronger than Arlong?" Byakuya asked, amused.
Hody pulled out a blue bottle filled with Energy Steroids from his pocket, crushing it in his mouth, swallowing the pills along with the glass.
Enduring the immense pain brought on by the drug, he growled, "I admit, you're strong. But right now, I'm no weaker than you!"
"Ahhh!" Hody roared like a beast, his muscles swelling grotesquely, blood seeping through his skin and evaporating from his overheated body, shrouding him in a blood-red mist.
It was like he had become a demon, crawling out of hell. Byakuya watched with interest.
Hody looked impressive, but his price for this power was far too high.
Suddenly, Hody kicked off the ground with tremendous force, leaving craters where his feet had been.
His afterimage lingered as he appeared right before Byakuya, raising his fist as large as a human head and slamming it down toward Byakuya's face.
But to Hody's disbelief, Byakuya effortlessly stopped the punch with just one finger.
"This... this is impossible," Hody muttered in shock.
Byakuya shook his head and smiled, "There's nothing impossible about it. Your vision is too narrow.
You don't understand what real strength is.
After seeing what true power was like, Arlong could only cower in the East Blue, bullying weak, ordinary people. You still have much to learn."
Hody's eyes flickered with confusion as he heard Byakuya's words.
Could the legendary Arlong, who had done as he pleased on land, be so weak?
"But... how do you know all of this so well?" Hody asked, his voice trembling.
"Because we were destined to meet," Byakuya said casually.
"The Arlong you've been talking about died at my hands. And now, you're going to die at my hands, too. It's quite the coincidence, don't you think?"
Hody's pupils shrank, terror flashing in his eyes. Arlong had died at the hands of this Marine?
Before Hody could process it, a flash of sword light appeared before him. In the next instant, he felt his vision rising higher and higher.
His body below looked oddly familiar—it was his own, but it was missing a head.
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