Chapter 15: Hody's Scheme—The Assault on Ryugu Palace
Itachi and Robin sat in companionable silence at the bus stop, waiting for a vehicle that might never come—until the clatter of armored footsteps shattered the peace.
A squadron of fish-man soldiers surrounded them, their leader thrusting a wanted poster toward Robin.
"Criminals! You Straw Hats are accused of TWO major crimes!"
He puffed out his chest, clearly relishing the announcement. "FIRST: suspicion of mermaid trafficking! Multiple mermaids have been abducted, and evidence points to your crew!"
"SECOND: according to the prophecy of Fishman Island's seer, Madam Shyarly—the man in the straw hat will destroy this island! You are all complicit in this impending destruction!"
He leveled his trident at Robin. "Nico Robin of the Straw Hats—you're under arrest!"
The soldiers raised their weapons in unison.
Itachi's eyebrow twitched slightly. Mermaid trafficking? Destruction prophecies?
Robin rose gracefully, unruffled. "I've heard nothing of such accusations. And you actually believe in something as unscientific as prophecy?"
She tilted her head. "Your intelligence is rather... questionable."
Captain Murloc's face purpled. "What do YOU know?! Madam Shyarly's prophecies have NEVER been wrong!"
He thrust his trident forward. "Surrender quietly!"
"And why would I do that?" Robin asked mildly. "I'd rather not miss the bus."
She raised her hands, ready to summon her powers—but Itachi stepped in front of her.
"Allow me."
His wrist flicked, and when his hand stilled, his eyes had changed—crimson patterns spinning slowly.
Sharingan.
Robin's smile widened knowingly. She lowered her hands and returned to her seat, watching with open curiosity.
The fish-man captain blinked at this unknown human. "Who the hell are you?! Get out of the way!"
He jabbed his trident threateningly. "Interfere and you'll be arrested too!"
Itachi regarded him with the patience of a cat watching a particularly foolish mouse.
"You talk too much."
Move.
The captain didn't even see him approach. One moment Itachi was meters away—the next, his fist connected with the fish-man's helmet. The metal crumpled. The face beneath dented. The captain crumpled.
"CAPTAIN!"
The soldiers charged as one.
Itachi flowed into their midst like water through stones.
The Sharingan transformed their attacks into slow-motion choreography. Spears passed through empty space where he'd been a heartbeat before. Fists swung at afterimages. Itachi moved among them—not with Luffy's explosive speed, nor Zoro's overwhelming power, but with something else entirely.
Grace.
Robin watched, entranced. Itachi fought like a dancer—each movement flowing into the next, attacks and dodges intertwined so seamlessly they became the same motion. A pivot here disarmed one soldier; a twist there sent another crashing into his comrade. Every action served multiple purposes. Nothing was wasted.
His speed was extraordinary—she'd glimpsed that much. But combined with this fluid precision? This was the combat style of someone who had spent a lifetime perfecting the art of ending fights efficiently.
Within sixty seconds, soldiers littered the ground.
Only one remained—clutched in Itachi's grip, lifted by the throat, legs kicking uselessly.
The fish-man trembled uncontrollably. He'd watched his comrades fall in seconds, felled by precise strikes that left them alive but utterly incapacitated. This human was terrifying.
"Please... please... let me go!" he gasped.
Itachi didn't acknowledge the plea. He turned his head slightly toward Robin.
"Does our ship actually traffic mermaids?"
Robin had already resumed her seat beneath the bus stop sign. She shook her head, still smiling.
"Absolutely not."
"Understood."
Itachi's attention returned to the soldier. "Where are the others?"
The soldier's eyes went wide with confusion and fear. "Wh-what?"
"The soldiers sent to capture the rest of my... the rest of the Straw Hats."
"I... I don't know!"
"Then you die."
"WAIT! WAIT!" The soldier's words tumbled out in a panic. "One team went to the coffee shop on the island! Another returned to Ryugu Palace—there are Straw Hats there now!"
His face was turning purple from lack of air. "Please... I'm just following orders... PLEASE!"
Itachi watched him struggle for a moment longer, then released his grip. The soldier collapsed, gasping, and quickly joined his comrades in unconsciousness.
Itachi turned to Robin. "Ryugu Palace. That must be where Luffy and the others went."
Robin nodded, rising. "The royal palace. It seems they've already caused quite the commotion."
She glanced at the unconscious soldiers. "We should hurry. If the entire island's military is after us..."
They left the bus stop behind and moved swiftly toward the gleaming towers visible in the distance—the spires of Ryugu Palace, where chaos was about to meet its match.
Deep beneath Fishman Island—The New Fish-Man Pirates' Hideout
In the squalor of Fishman District, the New Fish-Man Pirates were busy expanding a massive bubble around their stronghold using Bubble Coral. Within this growing dome, hundreds of captured pirates huddled in terror, their heads bowed in submission.
Two fish-men working on the bubble grumbled to each other.
"Such a hassle. Building this just for a bunch of lowly humans who can't even breathe underwater."
"Pathetic creatures. They should be grateful we're keeping them alive."
On a throne of debris in the stronghold's center, Hody Jones surveyed his collection of human prisoners with undisguised contempt. His eyes gleamed with fanatical purpose.
A strange laugh echoed from the entrance.
"BWAHAHAHA! BWAHAHAHA!"
A striped tiger shark-man swaggered in, wearing a yellow coat and sporting a ridiculous thin mustache. His face radiated smugness.
"Listen well, all you pirates under Hody Jones! You're LUCKY to be part of such an important historical moment!"
Whispers rippled through the prisoners.
"That's... Vander Decken!"
"The captain of the cursed ghost ship—the Flying Dutchman!"
Vander Decken spread his arms magnanimously. "Relax—I'm just his grandson! Not a ghost!"
His grin turned sly. "But I AM cursed. Cursed to be a fish-man who can't swim!"
He laughed at his own misfortune. "That's the effect of the 'Mark-Mark Fruit' curse on me!"
He raised his hands triumphantly. "Witness my power!"
Before his display could continue, a voice cut through the noise.
"HODY!"
Arlong's former officer—Hatchan—hobbled into the stronghold, octopus limbs gripping a cane.
"Are you REALLY going through with this?!"
His voice trembled with urgency. "Don't be insane! Energy Steroids are LETHAL poison! And you're a FISH-MAN—why would you destroy Fishman Island?!"
The mention of Hatchan's name stirred murmurs among the older fish-men present.
Hody's expression flickered with something—recognition? nostalgia?—before hardening.
"Uncle Hatchan. You're old now. Leave these matters to the younger generation."
He toyed with a box filled with glowing pills—Energy Steroids. "You're not the pirate cadre I once admired anymore. You've grown... timid."
He rose, box in hand. "I'm going to make humans taste REAL fear. But first—I need control of Fishman Island."
"STOP THIS MADNESS!"
Hatchan's roar was desperate. "Look at Hyouzou and Hammond! I just heard—the Straw Hats defeated them! They're STILL unconscious!"
He pointed accusingly. "The Straw Hats are—"
Hody cut him off with a smile. "Hammond? Oh, he's HERE."
He gestured behind him. Hatchan's eyes found Hammond's prone form, still trapped in the nightmare Itachi had woven—alive, breathing, but locked in some unimaginable terror.
"I'll wake him up NOW."
Hody's smile widened as he forced a handful of Energy Steroids into Hammond's mouth.
"HODY! How can you treat your OWN CREWMATE like that?!"
Hatchan lunged forward—but Vander Decken blocked his path.
"Hatchan. Long time no see."
"Vander Decken?!" Hatchan's shock was palpable. "Captain Arlong never even let you on his ship! What are YOU doing here?!"
Vander Decken sniffed disdainfully. "I'm not the type to serve under anyone. Hody understands that. That's why we're PARTNERS."
He raised his hand. "Also—you're surrounded."
Throwing knives materialized in his grip and flew toward Hatchan. The octopus fish-man fled, but the knives curved in mid-air, tracking him relentlessly—the power of the Mark-Mark Fruit ensuring they'd never miss their target.
Soon, Hatchan lay pinned to the ground, knives embedded in his limbs.
At the same moment, Hammond's eyes snapped open. The Energy Steroids had forced him awake—though the terror in his gaze suggested he'd rather be dreaming.
Hody's laugh echoed through the stronghold as he announced his plan to the human prisoners:
"Vander Decken will use his Mark-Mark Fruit to throw you ALL into Ryugu Palace!"
Gasps of horror.
"Once inside, you'll open the gates from within—and my New Fish-Man Pirates will invade!"
"But... but we'll CRASH!" a prisoner wailed.
Hody's smile was triumphant. "EXACTLY! I'm using your worthless lives to achieve my goal! Any objections?"
Dead silence.
"And anyone who refuses..." He let the threat hang.
Vander Decken grabbed the first prisoner and hurled him toward the distant spires of Ryugu Palace.
Hody watched, eyes blazing with fanatical light.
"From this moment forward—the NEW HISTORY of fish-men begins!"
(End of Chapter)
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