"Lord Jack! Ahead is Fish-Man Island. It's currently Whitebeard's territory. Shouldn't we notify the Ryugu Kingdom before entering?"
On the deck of the coated Mammoth, the attractive and voluptuous Gifted, the artificial Devil Fruit user Springbok Kin'emon, cradled a half-person-sized barrel of alcohol in her arms as she looked up at Jack, who—even while seated—towered over four meters tall.
At this moment, the Calamity Jack, his wavy golden hair loose and the iron muzzle removed from his mouth, was devouring large chunks of meat with voracious appetite.
Hearing his beautiful subordinate's words, he remained expressionless, continuing to tear into the meat in his hands. With his other massive, muscular hand, he grabbed the barrel Kin'emon was holding and poured the contents into his mouth in a torrent.
"Gulp, gulp."
Jack's throat bobbed as he drank.
In just five or six seconds, the half-person-sized barrel was completely drained.
After finishing the alcohol and meat, Jack stood up and looked down at the approaching Fish-Man Island, his lips curling back to reveal rows of jagged, fang-like teeth.
"Whitebeard's territory?"
Crunch.
The empty barrel shattered in his grip, crushed into splinters of wood fiber before being hurled like a cannonball through the coating, vanishing into the depths of the sea.
"So what?"
"Who the hell do you think I am?"
"Bring the ship closer!"
The Gifted crew members exchanged uneasy glances, but none dared defy Jack's orders.
"Don't worry, everyone. We're just stopping by Fish-Man Island to replenish our freshwater supplies. There won't be any conflict," Kin'emon whispered reassuringly to her companions before rushing to the top of the cabin to adjust their descent using the buoyant wood.
Soon, the massive Mammoth breached the bubble membrane surrounding Fish-Man Island, officially entering its territory and plummeting straight toward the port below.
The port was built around a vast azure lake—filled with seawater to cushion the impact of incoming ships.
The Mammoth made no attempt to conceal its arrival, descending openly and brazenly.
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, the ship slammed into the lake's surface, sending towering waves splashing over the seahorse guards stationed at the port, drenching them from head to toe.
The seahorse guards scowled in anger, ready to shout reprimands—until they heard the sound of rapid footsteps behind them.
Turning around, their expressions instantly paled.
"Why are all the thugs from Fish-Man Street here?!"
"Shh… keep your voice down. They're all under Hody Jones now—part of the New Fish-Man Pirates."
Behind them, hundreds of fish-men of all kinds swarmed forward in a disorderly mass, their faces twisted with undisguised malice.
"Mwehehe! Guards of Ryugu Palace, if you don't wanna die, step aside and stop getting in our way!"
Standing beside Hody Jones, Ikaros Much—a giant squid fish-man wielding eight spears—glared at the trembling seahorse guards with eyes full of malice.
One of the guards swallowed hard and muttered, "Hody Jones… don't do anything reckless. King Neptune has ordered that no fish-man in the Ryugu Kingdom may attack pirates without cause. This is to avoid provoking any notorious—"
"Shut up! If you won't leave, then stay here forever. Nobody will even notice a few dead guards."
Hody Jones grinned, his smile dripping with cruelty.
"Just like that stupid woman who died all those years ago. Hehehe."
His right hand opened, the webbing between his fingers secreting a mucus-like fluid that coalesced into a sphere of water.
With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it at the seahorse guards.
"Water Shot!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The water sphere split midair, transforming into needle-like droplets that struck the guards before they could even scream.
Thud thud thud thud!
Armor shattered. Bones cracked.
All four seahorse guards, clad in heavy plating, were sent flying backward, their bodies bent unnaturally before crashing into the lake with a series of splashes.
"Huh? What's going on? Are those fish-men fighting among themselves?"
At the bow of the Mammoth, the Gifted crew watched the bloody scene unfold in confusion.
Hody Jones' faintly reddened eyes reflected the massive ship in the lake, a greedy smirk spreading across his face.
"What a huge pirate ship. This should net us plenty of loot."
His grin widened as he gestured to Ikaros beside him.
Understanding immediately, Ikaros stepped forward, gripping his eight spears as he bellowed at the Gifted crew on deck:
"Hey! Pirates! Listen up! Everyone on board—get down here now! Don't even think about resisting. If even one person fights back, we'll slaughter the entire crew! Nobody on Fish-Man Island disobeys the New Fish-Man Pirates' rules!"
"…What?"
Kin'emon and the other Gifted crew members exchanged bewildered glances.
"Are we… being robbed?"
Thud.
Thud.
The deck trembled under heavy footsteps.
Then, a mountainous figure loomed into view, casting a shadow over the thousand-strong fish-men below.
Jack stared down at them—at Hody Jones, at the New Fish-Man Pirates' officers—and tilted his head slightly.
"What was that? I didn't hear you."
"Hmph! Another overconfident giant, huh?"
Ikaros, the giant squid fish-man, wasn't the least bit intimidated by Jack's eight-meter-tall frame.
In the depths of Fish-Man Island, what was eight meters?
Vander Decken IX's subordinate, the giant kraken, was eighty meters tall!
And even it knew to bow its head in their presence.
Not to mention, the New Fish-Man Pirates themselves kept several tamed Sea Kings, which they regularly used to crush disobedient human pirates.
With that in mind, Ikaros raised his head and shouted again:
"Are you deaf? How could you not—"
CRUNCH.
His voice cut off abruptly.
A massive hand slammed down onto his face.
Crack!
Bones shattered.
The New Fish-Man Pirates' elite officer, the giant squid fish-man Ikaros, was bent backward like a broken twig, his spine snapping as an immovable force drove his face into the ground.
BOOM!
The earth cratered, fissures spiderwebbing outward in all directions.
Jack straightened up, shaking off the pulpy remains clinging to his palm, and coldly surveyed the thousand fish-men before him.
"I didn't catch that. What was it you wanted to do again?"
No way… Is Chopper's name really derived from Jonathan Barnet?
(End of Chapter)
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