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Chapter's Events:
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"It's our fault… that the king got captured like that… Well, mainly Zoro's…"
When King Neptune appeared tied up in the background while Hody Jones was speaking, Nami admitted it was probably their fault.
"What have you people been playing at?!!" exclaimed Jimbei.
"B-But Boss Jimbei-san! It was the Neptune army soldiers who attacked Nami-chin and the others! It was all a big mistake…!!" Caimie confessed to what had happened.
{"It is time for us to say goodbye…"}
{"…to the old Ryuguu Kingdom."}
Immediately after that, Hody Jones declared his true intentions.
{"In three hours' time, at Gyoncord Plaza…"}
{"…I will strike the head from this worthless king's shoulders!!!"}
He also announced that he would execute the country's reigning king.
"!!!", leaving the people in shock
{"Here in the Ryuguu Palace… I have found something very interesting."}
{"This is the letter from the Tenryuubito… that Queen Otohime risked her life to obtain ten years ago!!"}
{"If I destroy it now, it will never be replaced. And here in this box behind me…"}
Hody Jones pointed behind his back at the many stacked boxes.
"I have the signatures of over half the population of this country…!!!"
"Jahahah… to think that so many would consent to the foolish notion of joining hands with the humans in harmony…"
"The people whose names are written in this box have made clear their opposition to my new kingdom. In other words, this is…"
"…a list of filthy traitors!!!" Hody Jones's wicked expression made those who had signed feel utterly terrified.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
The readers' eyes on Fishman Island widened in shock.
Who could have imagined such a day would come to the Ryugu Kingdom? A wicked man rises from the lowest place in the kingdom—the Fishman District—someone who had once been part of the kingdom's soldiers, and now wants to seize the throne by force. Not only that, he wants to execute the king by severing his head from his body.
A brief silence fell over the Art Store in Mermaid's Cove like a held breath underwater, and then—like a greedy inhale after near-asphyxiation—the readers erupted into a roaring uproar.
"Impossible! That bastard Hody Jones has crossed every line!"
"What a cunning shark… Does he want to turn Ryugu Kingdom into a kingdom of thugs and pirates?!"
"Hah!? You want to kick us out of our homes so those outlaws from the Fishman District can replace us!?"
"He seems very ambitious…"
"Do you have the right to brand half the kingdom's population as traitors!?"
The ordinary fishmen could no longer endure it. Who would want a vile wretch like Hody Jones to become their king?! If this really happened, their lives would turn into hell. What's the difference between him and the Tenryuubito then?!
Many cold looks fell upon the young Hody Jones, who was slowly edging away from Fisher Tiger's group; after all, he no longer felt comfortable even near Arlong, let alone Fisher Tiger.
"Tsk. Your counterpart is truly vile, Hody—what do you think?! He rebelled outright without any prelude…" Jimbei folded his arms, his gaze just as cold as he looked at Hody Jones.
"Th-That… Jimbei-san, it seems the pills my counterpart takes have really driven him insane…" Hody scratched his neck and found it sweaty, his back turning cold; when he looked to the side, he understood why it was drenched.
Just a single look from King Neptune—who was exceedingly strong at this stage—was enough to make him break into a sweat without realizing it.
…
For the first time since this arc began, Neptune locked his gaze on the young man who seemed to be the one responsible for the kingdom's future chaos.
(Hody Jones… How did such a heinous creature grow up in my kingdom?!)
(Did he not serve as a soldier in my army? Wasn't he the one who apprehended Queen Otohime's supposed killer? Did he not say Otohime was their beloved queen!? Then why did he allow his subordinates to use Otohime's picture as a doormat for a threatened people to trample?!)
These were King Neptune's thoughts as he stared coldly at Hody Jones, ignoring Fisher Tiger, Jimbei, and Arlong, who also felt his gaze.
"Do you wish to become king over my people?" Neptune stood and asked with a commanding aura. Although his size inside the Art Store was reduced by the store's feature, in Hody Jones's eyes, King Neptune seemed immeasurably massive at that moment.
"Th-That… No! Your Majesty, why would I want to become king? This kingdom already has you as king…" Hody answered, stammering.
"Do you consider me unfit to lead the kingdom?!" Neptune asked again, stopping his two ministers who wanted to intervene.
"N-No, Your Majesty, my counterpart's actions and ideas have nothing to do with me. I'm just a reader, the same as everyone else."
When Hody Jones felt things starting to get out of control, he decided to play the card: "That isn't me; I'm just a reader."
"I know that. But… your deep hatred for humans cannot be concealed. You're already walking in your counterpart's footsteps. Even if you're not as bad as he is, you're not far from it… Even without reading the subsequent chapters of this arc, I can easily deduce that the true killer of Otohime is your counterpart…"
King Neptune dropped a deafening bomb with those words. The truth behind the queen's death had not yet been revealed, and here was the king stating what he considered a settled fact—leaving listeners in shock.
"What!? Hody Jones is the queen's killer!?"
"But—wasn't that human pirate the assassin?!"
"H-eh!? Do you read at a snail's pace? I've already finished the volume; I can assure you the culprit is—"
"Stop! No more spoilers, you scum! If you've already finished reading the manga, why don't you leave!?"
A commotion spread again among the ordinary readers, which ceased with a single wave of the king's hand.
The store goddess Meriem watched this scene, and her heart pounded more than ever. She had never seen the king this serious before… ("But if Hody Jones is truly the queen's killer, that would be heartbreaking… Plot Twist…")
"Your Majesty, let us finish the volume first, then we'll decide what to do with Hody and Arlong as well… I can feel your current emotions, too. We cannot allow the seeds of evil to sprout—and if they have already sprouted…"
Tiger stared at Hody, Arlong, and the group gathered around them with emotionless eyes before he said,
"We will prune them in our own way."
"Brother Ti… Why are you looking at me while saying that!? What do I have to do with what Hody is doing in the manga…?" Arlong truly felt threatened by Tiger's gaze.
Before Tiger could speak, Jimbei said, "Arlong, you've been a bad example to those kids the whole time… Now it's time to stop this."
"And how was I a bad example!? That bastard Hody Jones is a true villain! I do not acknowledge those who harm members of their own race as part of the race, just nobodies without principles!" Arlong couldn't hold it in and finally let out what he had wanted to say all along.
From the moment he discovered that Hody Jones didn't really care about his own kind, but did whatever he pleased for personal gain, he stopped supporting him and began to feel nauseated every time he saw him. This applied even to Hody, who was right beside him.
Jimbei and Tiger smiled after hearing that, but Hody Jones scowled even more and began to increase his pace of leaving the place.
…
In Ohara, Otohime's heart ached as she saw what Hody Jones's subordinates had done.
"Those bastards…!!"
"Why are they doing this!?"
"Isn't she their late queen!?"
"Didn't she sacrifice her life for the sake of the entire race!?"
"Then why are they forcing innocent people to walk over her picture?"
Olivia, Sora, Gloriosa, and the others were seething with anger after witnessing this scene.
Even Rob, who had drawn this scene, was now looking at it with irritation—much more than when he drew it the first time.
"It's all right…" Otohime smiled as she spoke, leaving those who saw her astonished… She was the one concerned, so why was she smiling?
At that moment, even Rob smiled, because he heard what Otohime had said in the future using Observation Haki.
"I can feel their sorrow and resentment—that is enough for me… If stepping on my real body would save their lives from death, I'm willing to do it, let alone just an image of me…" Otohime said, and her joy was genuine; there wasn't a trace of resentment in her heart toward the scene.
This truly left those who heard her speechless.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 952: Joy Boy!
Chapter 953: Jimbei's Opposing Stance.
Chapter 954: The Real Challenge in the New World.
Chapter 955: Exposed for What He Truly Is.
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