Hearing the voice coming from behind her, Ain deliberately did not react.
Only when Daruma closed in did she tilt her head slightly, dodging the attack. At the same time, eerie flames surfaced in her palm as she slapped them straight onto Daruma's body.
Boom—
Daruma was smashed into the ground. Already short to begin with, his pitiful stature became even more tragic—if Chopper were here, he'd still have to look down at him.
Ain pressed her advantage, stepping forward and delivering two loud, merciless slaps.
The kind with abilities attached.
As a result, Daruma turned into a half-transparent J-shaped nugget, frozen in place.
Zeo, who was still invisible nearby, stared at Ain in shock.
What did this woman just do?
A couple of slaps and Daruma was basically deleted?!
But there was no time to dwell on it.
What he needed to do now was simple—
One decisive strike. Kill this human woman brutally!
"Divine Concealment Chain · Sixty-Six Links!"
Behind Ain, chains rattled loudly as a long metal chain shot straight toward her neck.
Caught off guard, Ain failed to evade in time and was instantly bound.
A figure with black-and-white striped markings gradually appeared—Zeo, his expression cold and indifferent.
"Wail," he said flatly.
"Die in pain."
Ain's face flushed red as she hurriedly activated her ability, slapping her palm against the chain.
In an instant, the chain rapidly shrank, compressing again and again, until it finally turned into a solid iron ingot—lying quietly in Zeo's hand.
"…Eh?!"
Ain spun around, staring at the utterly stunned Zeo.
"Twin Blades—Sliding Slash!"
This was a sword technique combined with Soru-style movement.
Ain reversed her grip on both swords. Her figure vanished from where she stood, only to reappear behind Zeo in the blink of an eye.
After casually twirling her blades in a clean arc, she sheathed them and silently walked back to Karl's side.
Her task was complete.
On the other side of the battlefield, the thick formation of white smoke slowly dissipated.
A green twin-crested shark fish-man, a red giant squid fish-man, and a yellow blue-ringed octopus fish-man lay scattered on the ground—
All suffocated to death.
Smoker exhaled a ring of smoke and shook his head.
"Tch. I really thought fish-men didn't need to breathe."
"Water Shot!"
Hody Jones—who had yet to make a move—suddenly attacked.
Several massive water spheres blasted out from his hands, flying straight toward Smoker.
Smoker was just about to use Soru to dodge—
When seawater splashed squarely across his face.
And just like that, Smoker went limp.
There was no helping it.
Seawater was simply too strong a counter against Devil Fruit users.
Hody Jones looked disdainfully at his fallen subordinates, his voice utterly emotionless.
"Tsk. A bunch of useless trash."
"Captain Smoker!"
Karl scratched his head helplessly.
Honestly, it wasn't really Hody's fault for pulling a sneak attack. Smoker hadn't mastered Observation Haki, so his awareness was indeed lacking. His guard against ambushes was weak.
After all, he was a Logia user. Most sneak attacks simply didn't work on him.
But fish-men?
They were absolute masters of water.
Even Karl had to admit defeat on that front.
Seeing Smoker in danger, Ain turned to Karl.
"I'll go save Smoker!"
"No need," Karl said calmly.
"I'll handle it."
Hody Jones slowly walked up to Smoker, looking down at him from above.
"Lowly human. Prepare to die."
"Ocean Drum!"
"Not allowed."
Hody froze and turned his head in shock.
The fist in his vision grew larger and larger.
BOOM—
The towering Hody Jones was smashed away like a kite with its string cut, crashing hard into a distant wall.
"Nelson! Get Smoker out of here!"
"Don't—just help me up! I can still fight! That bastard only won by sneaking me!"
Smoker looked extremely unwilling, determined to regain a bit of dignity before being carried away.
Karl rejected him mercilessly.
"Forget it. Just look at how drained you are."
Smoker's face turned red.
"Who are you calling drained?! Say that again while looking at my muscles!"
Karl couldn't be bothered to argue. He directly ordered Nelson to put Smoker on a stretcher and carry him away.
"Damn human! Don't look down on me!!!"
"Arrow-Tooth Shark!"
From afar, Hody Jones leapt high into the air and violently swung his arm, unleashing a barrage of arrow-like water droplets.
Whoosh!
Karl vanished from his spot in an instant.
Hody frantically searched around, unable to find him.
"Hey. Where are you looking?"
"What?!"
Hody looked up just in time to see a pair of red sclera, white-pupiled eyes flash with surprise—
Then his body was slammed brutally into the ground, forming a massive crater.
"How is this possible?! How can a human's strength be this terrifying?!"
His worldview shattered, Hody hurriedly pulled out another handful of Energy Steroids and swallowed them.
Gulp.
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
A roar shook the heavens.
Even from far away, it sounded like the bellow of a prehistoric beast.
Fish-Man Island's residents all felt a chill crawl up their spines.
"T–That's terrifying!"
"What did Hody Jones even do?!"
"A monster! He's a monster!!!"
Hody burst out of the crater, completely irrational now.
But at the same time, his body had grown even larger and more muscular, radiating savage, violent power.
"…You're really chugging drugs like that?"
Even Karl was stunned.
Was that really necessary?
"Human! I'll kill you! HRAAAH!!!"
Hody charged at Karl like a hunting beast, baring his fangs and claws, his movements wild and reckless.
Karl calmly lifted Raven with his left hand and rested it on his right shoulder.
With his right hand, he reached for Shusui at his waist—
Clang.
"Two-Sword Style · Heaven and Earth Reversal!"
Both blades struck at the same time.
Raven slashed downward at an angle.
Shusui was drawn in a diagonal upward cut—
Shusui pointing to the heavens, Raven pointing to the earth.
Slash… BOOM—
Two thick arms fell to the ground.
Deep, crossing gashes tore open Hody Jones's chest as he dropped to his knees.
Karl tossed Raven aside and sheathed Shusui.
Raven transformed back into a bird and landed on his shoulder, speaking softly:
"Futile struggle."
As the words faded, Hody Jones collapsed onto the ground, barely breathing.
Worried he might actually die, Karl even healed him a bit—making sure he didn't bleed out.
After all, he was still waiting for this guy to incriminate himself.
Karl then ordered his men to bind Hody Jones and search their hideout.
"Sir! Other than some Beli and weapons… this is the strangest thing we found."
Looking at the huge sack filled with Energy Steroids, Karl nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. This is our loot. Preserve it properly."
"Yes, sir!"
"Look! It's the Sea King Army!"
"Ah! That's—That's King Neptune! He actually came himself!"
"N-No, there's more—Jinbe! Boss Jinbe is here!"
Jinbe stared at the bodies of his fallen compatriots scattered across the ground.
His fists clenched tightly.
In a single leap, he landed in front of Karl.
"What did you do?!"
Ding—
[Detected hostility from Jinbe toward the host.
Series Quest: "We Don't Fight Our Own" has been triggered.]
Quest Requirement:
Avoid engaging in combat with one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Knight of the Sea · Jinbe.
Quest Reward:
Fish-Man Arm Strength
Armament Haki: Internal Destruction Skill Card
[Fish-Man Arm Strength]: Wrist strength increased tenfold.
The rewards were tempting—
But Karl didn't even bother looking.
Stop trying to KTV me, System.
Karl's expression remained calm as he raised his head to meet Jinbe's gaze.
Raven tilted its head as well, its blood-red eyes locking onto Jinbe.
The ground beneath their feet was soaked in the blood of fish-man thugs. Corpses lay everywhere.
Karl and Jinbe stood locked in confrontation.
Watching this scene, King Neptune felt a powerful sense of déjà vu.
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