"Still refusing to admit it?"
Karl's voice was calm, yet carried an unmistakable pressure.
"Were you acting under Hody Jones's orders—deliberately trying to stir up racial hatred between humans and fish-men?"
Kashakoba lowered his eyes and glanced at the pitch-black blade resting against his neck. Then he looked around at the Fish-Man Island residents gathered nearby. Seeing how many eyes were on them, his courage swelled at once.
He didn't believe this human would actually dare to kill him.
So he straightened his neck and replied defiantly:
"Humans are evil to begin with. Do we even need to frame you?"
Karl smiled faintly, his tone still unhurried.
"I don't care whether it's a frame-up or not. But your actions are clearly provoking the Marines. Do you know what happens to those who provoke the Marines?"
"So what?" Kashakoba sneered. "It was just a joke. We're not pirates, after all!"
"Tsk tsk tsk~ Wrong. Completely wrong."
Karl shook his head lightly.
"Fish-Man Island is a World Government–affiliated nation. You hooligans may not be pirates, but you are still terrorists who threaten public order on Fish-Man Island."
"As a Marine, I have both the responsibility and the obligation to bring you criminals—who commit every kind of evil—to justice!"
With that, Karl turned his head toward Smoker and Ain.
"Gather the men. We're going to Fish-Man Street to pay Hody Jones a visit."
"Yes!"
The two of them quickly assembled a force of around forty Marines, escorting Kashakoba along with them toward Fish-Man Street. Naturally, quite a few spectators who loved watching drama also followed behind.
Ryugu Palace
"King Neptune, this is bad—something terrible has happened!"
Neptune jolted awake from his sleep and scrambled to his feet.
"What happened?!"
Moments later, King Neptune learned the full sequence of events.
"What?! The little thugs from Fish-Man Street actually tried to frame the Marines? Aren't they just asking for trouble?!"
At that moment, Neptune suddenly remembered Madame Shyarly's prophecy. Cold sweat instantly poured down his back.
"Quick—quickly notify Jinbe!"
Fish-Man Street
The lawless zone of Fish-Man Island.
Originally, this place had been a massive facility meant to shelter orphans. But due to the incompetence of those in charge, Fish-Man Street gradually became a gathering ground for criminal organizations.
Racial hatred, crime, and chaos all took root here.
"Boss, this is bad! The Marines are here!"
Hody Jones, who had been lounging in his seat, shot to his feet.
"What? They should be busy with—wait… did something go wrong with the plan?"
"Y-Yes! That Marine Rear Admiral saw through everything. He realized we were pulling the strings behind the scenes, and now he's leading a large Marine force straight into Fish-Man Street to come after us!"
"Hmph!"
Hody Jones grabbed the blood-red trident resting beside his seat, his expression arrogant and contemptuous.
"The Marines? What is there to be afraid of?"
"We are the supreme fish-man race. The Marines are nothing but humans—a lower species."
"A mere group of Marines. We fish-men can wipe them out with ease!"
"This is perfect. Let those ignorant fools see it clearly—fish-men are the strongest race in this world!"
After speaking, Hody Jones opened a large sack beside him.
Inside were densely packed pills—black and red capsules.
After Queen Otohime's death, he had stolen these from Ryugu Palace. They were the ferocious drug E.S., sealed within the Tamatebako.
Consuming it drastically increased the user's strength
—one pill doubled it, two pills quadrupled it, and so on.
This was the foundation of his confidence in defeating the Marines.
Soon, Hody distributed the drugs to his subordinate leaders. Each of them held several capsules in their hands.
"Attention, fish-men inside!"
A loud voice echoed through the area.
"I am Marine Rear Admiral Karl. You are surrounded. Immediately lay down your weapons and surrender. Come out now, or bear the consequences!"
Hody Jones curled his lips into a mocking grin.
"Heh. They came fast."
Crunch.
Ten capsules were casually tossed into his gaping mouth.
In the next instant, veins bulged across his body. His muscles writhed violently as his frame grew even more massive and imposing. His eyes turned bloodshot.
The other sub-leaders followed suit, swallowing the drugs one after another as their strength skyrocketed instantly.
"Now," Hody snarled,
"let those despicable humans taste true suffering!"
Dosun, Zeo, Daruma, and the other leaders immediately began issuing orders.
"Brothers—charge! Kill all the Marines!!!"
"AAAAHHH!!!"
Karl had just lowered the loudspeaker after finishing the standard warning when he looked at the dark, cavernous building ahead of him. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"All units—on guard!!!"
In the very next second, a swarm of roaring fish-men burst out from the building, wielding all kinds of weapons. There was not the slightest intention of surrendering.
"Open fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A volley of gunfire rang out, instantly dropping several weaker fish-man thugs. But far more of them kept charging forward without falling.
"May the Holy Light grant you strength and courage—
Holy Light Blessing!"
Karl raised his right hand and condensed an enormous sphere of golden Holy Light. The radiant energy quickly spread, enveloping every Marine soldier on the battlefield.
Nelson rolled his neck and couldn't help exclaiming,
"Ah! This power!!!"
"For justice!!!"
"OOOOHHH!!!"
"Justice will prevail!!!"
Seeing that there was no time for another round of gunfire, Nelson decisively abandoned his rifle and led the soldiers into close-quarters combat.
The Marines remembered Karl's teachings well—never fight alone. At the very least, fight back-to-back. Their survival rate soared immediately.
"Die, human!"
Clang!
A Marine soldier blocked a harpoon, then spat a mouthful of phlegm straight into the fish-man's face. While the enemy gagged in disgust, the soldier drew his pistol, aimed at the fish-man's lower body—
Bang!
A shrill scream rang out as the fish-man collapsed to the ground, rolling in agony. A nearby Marine immediately stepped in and finished him off with a blade straight through the heart.
Scenes like this unfolded all across the battlefield.
Watching from the sidelines, many male fish-men inexplicably felt a sharp pain in a certain sensitive area.
These Marines… were ruthless.
Smoker felt his hands itching to join in, but Karl stopped him.
"Trust them."
Smoker froze for a moment, then nodded.
Indeed—given his status, dealing with these fish-men personally would feel a bit excessive. It was better to use this chance to temper the soldiers.
BANG—
A massive door suddenly came flying straight toward Karl.
Karl didn't panic in the slightest. Ain, standing beside him, drew her twin swords and unleashed a crossing slash, chopping the door into pieces that scattered across the ground.
"The real deal is here," Karl said calmly.
"Your turn. Other than the one who looks like the biggest boss, all other fish-men are cleared for lethal force."
Smoker and Ain nodded and charged toward the several fish-men who clearly looked like heavy hitters.
As for Karl?
He didn't move an inch.
Why would he?
If Smoker and Ain were here, wasn't it precisely so they could handle things like this for him?
Did he really need to step in just to deal with Hody Jones?
Before long, the fodder was completely cleaned up. Most were killed on the spot, while a small number were captured alive.
Nelson led the soldiers back to Karl's side, leaving the battlefield to Smoker and Ain.
At the moment, Ain was fighting two sub-leaders—one who could burrow underground, and another who could turn invisible—leaving her extremely irritated.
As for Smoker, no one could see what was happening at all. His fights always took place inside thick smoke. Aside from Smoker himself, no one could tell what was going on in there.
"I'll bite your head to pieces—kakaka!"
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