"Captain Vander Decken!" came Shirahoshi's tender cry from within her bubble, "I'll save you!"
Vander Decken had already realized that the white-haired Hody was now far more ferocious and violent than before, but the simple-minded Shirahoshi had yet to notice.
Seeing Vander Decken's head gripped tightly in Hody's hand, she released her hold on the bubble and raised her massive arms, clapping them together toward Hody.
She wanted to kill Hody and rescue Vander Decken.
A dull boom echoed through the seawater as Shirahoshi's huge palms closed together.
She caught Hody between them—she only needed to squeeze, to press down with all her might… yet, contrary to her expectations, Hody simply spread his arms and forced her hands apart. His strength was overwhelming.
The crimson trident in his grip had already pierced into her flesh.
Shirahoshi winced in pain, tears welling in her eyes.
Within the shadows of her palms, Hody's blood-red eyes gleamed, his mouth twisting into a fearsome grin.
"Didn't I already tell you all once?" he sneered. "I warned you—if you don't behave, I'll crush your skulls. Shirahoshi, which part of that sentence didn't you understand? Which word confused you?"
Shirahoshi's gaze turned to one of primal terror—the kind a plump fish might show when cornered by a ravenous shark.
Before she could react, Hody shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, ramming straight into her forehead.
With a sickening crack, a bloody hole burst open in Shirahoshi's brow.
She blinked once, but the light in her eyes quickly dimmed. Her towering, mountain-sized body toppled backward, stirring up dust and debris, and the Fishman Island residents nearby shrieked in horror.
Through the haze of blood, Hody emerged once more, turning back toward Vander Decken.
He bared his sharp fangs in a grin. "If words aren't enough to make my meaning clear, then actions should be more than sufficient, don't you think?"
Cowering inside the bubble, Vander Decken cast a fearful glance at Shirahoshi's lifeless form. He bobbed his head frantically, stammering: "I understand! I understand perfectly…"
Hody swam closer, trident in one hand, the other reaching into the bubble. Vander Decken recoiled in fright, but he was still seized.
"This is what you owe me." Hody yanked him forward until their foreheads pressed together.
Vander Decken was forced to meet the bloodthirsty gleam in Hody's eyes, the stench of blood heavy on his breath.
"If not for your faulty intelligence, my New Fishman Pirates would never have suffered such a disastrous defeat."
His grip tightened, digging painfully into Vander Decken's shoulder. "Now hurry. Send me to Devey Jones."
"Y-yes…" Vander Decken hid his resentment beneath a mask of fear.
He placed his left hand upon Hody's arm. He didn't need to physically hurl him—so long as he made the motion and held the intent, Hody would be launched like a thrown dart, the Devil Fruit's power handling the rest.
And so, Vander Decken cast Hody into the sky.
The seal of the pact burned.
Yet instead of pain, Porche felt her body more finely attuned than ever—her reflexes, her coordination, every nerve working in perfect concert.
If before she was like a timid hand clinking out dull notes on a triangle, now she was a frenzied drumbeat, reverberating with force, urging her forward into battle.
"Yoo-hoo!" she cried out with delight, swinging her staff to knock a fishman rider from his sea beast.
When he struggled to rise, she thrust the staff into his eye socket, bursting the orb like a fragile egg yolk.
Another down!
Back in her old crew, Porche had mostly been a decorative figure, rarely seeing such exhilaration. But now, cleaving through enemies with unstoppable momentum, she found herself reveling in the thrill.
Perhaps cheering from the sidelines could never compare to the ecstasy of fighting on the frontlines—so long as she had comrades she could rely on to keep her from danger.
She hooked another fishman's legs with her staff, sending him sprawling, then flicked a hidden shuriken into his gills.
Casually glancing upward, she froze, eyes widening in shock. "Everyone! Look to the sky!"
The nearby crew of the Davy Jones Pirates heard her call. After dispatching the last of their foes, they too raised their heads.
There, soaring through the air, was a silver-haired fishman wielding a crimson trident—flying straight toward the main spire of the Fang Tower fortress!
"Since when could fishmen fly?" Buggy craned his neck so high his hat nearly toppled off, only for his detached hands to catch it just in time. "This is a first for me."
"I'll stop him!" Doll-faced Mikita opened her umbrella, floating upward.
But Alvida seized her ankle with ease, tugging her back down. She smirked. "No need for you to interfere."
"But he's heading right toward the captain!" Mikita protested.
They weren't truly afraid that Hody could threaten their captain—judging from the fishmen they'd already defeated, Hody's strength couldn't be that exceptional.
Before Alvida could explain further, the answer revealed itself.
Crocodile's legs had already dissolved into sand, lifting him aloft. He hung suspended in the air, directly in Hody's path, ready to intercept.
"See?" Alvida winked playfully at Mikita, who blushed in spite of herself. "Our opponent isn't even worthy of troubling the captain. We've still got a Warlord of the Sea, after all."
Mikita nodded at last, reassured.
Meanwhile, Kuro's sharp gaze had drifted elsewhere.
Scanning the battlefield, he soon spotted Vander Decken in his bubble, unmistakable with his four legs. He remembered what Hatchan had told them about Vander Decken's Devil Fruit.
"Vander Decken," Kuro muttered, flicking the blood from his claws as he strode forward. "He holds the captain's memories. He cannot be allowed to live. More importantly, he broke his oath to the captain."
This time, Hatchan held his tongue, offering no objection.
The tens of thousands of fishmen and sea beasts had already been slain, subdued, or scattered. The faster ones had fled beyond the Dry Zone, and none dared look back.
On the contrary, when they caught sight of Kuro, they thought he was pursuing them, and bolted even faster, wishing they had more legs to carry them.
Kuro now acted with complete loyalty to his captain, every decision made from that vantage.
Buggy squinted after him, his crafty eyes narrowing, as images of Captain Roger and Ace surfaced unbidden in his mind. His unease grew.
Above, the "moon" shifted once more, bleeding from scarlet into a ghastly green.
Hody, launched like a projectile, shot toward the spire of the Fang Tower. Already, he could faintly hear the haunting strains of an organ carried on the wind.
But before he could strike, a figure appeared in his path.
A human…
Hody could neither stop nor change course—the laws of Vander Decken's power bound him so. Yet he felt no fear at colliding with a mere human. On the contrary, he thrilled with excitement, like a shark scenting blood.
The crimson trident in his grip and the webbing between his fingers churned with jets of water.
He thrust, sending a storm of water-bullets hissing through the air toward Crocodile.
Water—especially seawater—was indeed Crocodile's bane. But this was not such a simple case.
For in this moment, Crocodile was far more agile than Hody.
With swift movements, he dodged every water-bullet. With just one sharp glance, he had already grasped the truth of Hody's situation.
He cannot turn. He cannot stop. He's nothing but a flying target.
Crocodile had no intention of clashing head-on. He ascended, moving above, landing on Hody's back.
Startled, Hody's eyes went wide—he instantly realized Crocodile's intent.
Desperately, he fired more water-bullets from his palms, trying to use the recoil to turn midair. But it was too late.
Boom—!
Crocodile's fist slammed into his abdomen.
The sand was neutralized by the seawater clinging to Hody's skin, but Crocodile's Armament Haki tore straight through, piercing his lungs and heart.
Hody spewed blood. Vander Decken's ability shattered under the blow, and Hody plummeted.
Crocodile gave chase.
Unable to fly, Hody thrashed desperately. He raised his crimson trident in defense.
But Crocodile was far too swift. He abandoned his Devil Fruit powers entirely, instead hooking the trident aside with his golden claw. Then, with a Haki-infused kick, he struck the very same spot in Hody's chest again!
Crack!
Two crushing blows to his torso—no one could survive.
Hody felt his ribs splinter, agony stealing all control of his limbs. His trident slipped from his grasp.
Crash!
He hit the courtyard with bone-shattering force, gouging a crater into the grey sand.
"I… lost… to a human…" Hody slurred, vision blurring, as a shadow descended over him.
Crocodile picked up the fallen trident, twirling it in his hand before driving it down without hesitation.
With a wet shhk, the blades sheared through Hody's throat, severing his head.
Crocodile raised the grisly trophy aloft, mounted on the trident's tip.
He studied it with satisfaction and smiled coldly. "This should be enough to make Fishman Island reconsider its path."
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