Chapter 29: The Great Shipwreck—Noah Descends
Hody ran.
He scrambled on all fours through the chaos of his own army, dodging and weaving like a hunted animal. Above him, a dozen fireballs rained down—Phoenix Flower Jutsu tracking him with terrifying precision.
Fire again!
The very sight of flames now triggered primal terror. He vaulted over an exploding fireball, twisting in midair—
The murlocs beneath him weren't so lucky. The barrage detonated among them, screams swallowed by flames.
Hody landed, gasping—and froze.
Itachi stood before him.
"HOW?!"
He thrust his blade at Hody's chest.
Hody's survival instincts took over. He contorted, avoiding the strike—
The Itachi before him dissolved into crows.
AN ILLUSION!
Behind him, the real Itachi descended on his fire crow, blade already extended.
Hody spun desperately in midair. At the last possible moment, his hand shot up—
SHINK.
The blade pierced through his palm and into his side.
Had he not blocked with his hand, had he not twisted his body, that strike would have found his heart.
Pain ignited Hody's fury. He lashed out with Fish-Man Karate—a water shockwave aimed directly at Itachi.
Itachi leaned back at an impossible angle, one hand still gripping his fire crow. His leg snapped up in the same motion, catching Hody under the chin.
CRACK.
Hody rocketed upward as Itachi withdrew his blade. The withdrawal—the blade dragging through his palm—sent fresh agony through Hody's system.
He curled, kicked off the fire crow beneath Itachi's feet, and launched himself toward the ground. The blade whistled past his scalp, missing by millimeters.
He hit the ground running, diving back into the mass of fighting murlocs.
Jinbe watched the entire exchange with growing horror.
Hody wasn't fighting. He was FLEEING. Completely, utterly routed.
This was Hody Jones—the man who despised humans above all others. The man pumped full of Energy Steroids that should have left him mindlessly aggressive. And he was RUNNING.
Jinbe's gaze fixed on Itachi, hovering above on his fire crow. Cold sweat traced down his spine.
This man's fighting style...
It was nothing like Luffy's. Nothing like any pirate Jinbe had ever seen.
Every move was a killing move. Every failed strike set up the next. Itachi fought like a predator—efficient, lethal, and utterly without hesitation. The way he'd carved through murloc ranks earlier wasn't suppression. It wasn't intimidation.
It was extermination.
Who IS this man?
He prayed silently—prayed that whoever Itachi was, he remained an ally.
Above, Itachi hovered on his fire crow, Autumn Water in hand, watching Hody's frantic escape with ice-calm eyes.
Hody had no will to fight him. None whatsoever.
Below, Hody finally broke. He couldn't run anymore. He couldn't hide. He spun, pointing at Itachi, screaming:
"WHO ARE YOU?! WHY DO YOU KEEP COMING AFTER ME?!"
Itachi paused. Then—a cold smile.
"Ridiculous."
The word struck Hody like a physical blow.
"You claim to be the new king of Fishman Island. The leader of these murlocs. And yet—" Itachi's gesture took in the burning plaza, the dying soldiers, the chaos. "You use your own companions as shields. You run while they die."
"As a leader... you are utterly ridiculous."
The murlocs around Hody fell silent.
It was true. From the first moment of this battle, Hody had used them—as human walls, as diversions, as sacrifices. When the great fire fell, he'd grabbed the nearest soldier to shield himself. He didn't care who lived or died, as long as HE survived.
"Boss Hody..." A murloc nearby spoke hesitantly. "What that man said... maybe he's right. Maybe you—"
HODY'S CLAW TOOK HIS HEAD OFF.
"HOW DARE YOU QUESTION YOUR KING?!"
Blood sprayed across the survivors.
"Anyone else?! ANYONE ELSE WITH DOUBTS?!"
The murlocs trembled but said nothing.
Itachi shook his head. "Pathetic."
He dove.
"FLYING TROOPS! TO ME!" Hody's scream was desperate.
The airborne mermaids—originally meant to assassinate Shirahoshi—rose to meet Itachi. Hody didn't care about Shirahoshi anymore. He just wanted THIS MONSTER dead.
Itachi carved through them like wheat.
GOMU GOMU NO JET STAMP!
Luffy's kick caught Hody mid-command, sending him flying toward the cliffs.
"Man, you can really run." Luffy retracted his leg.
Itachi landed nearby, dismissing his fire crow. "Luffy. He's yours."
He glanced at the fleeing Hody. "He has no will to face me. I won't waste more time."
Luffy's grin split his face. "Leave him to me!"
He cracked his knuckles. "I said I'd send him flying!"
Above the plaza, the tide had turned.
The residents of Fishman Island watched in amazement.
"THE STRAW HATS ARE ACTUALLY WINNING!"
"That man in black—did you SEE?! He chased Hody like a RAT!"
"THERE'S HOPE!"
"STRAW HATS! FIGHT!"
The cheers built—
And then the sky went dark.
Residents looked up. Their cheers died in their throats.
A SHIP filled the sky. A ship so massive it rivaled Fishman Island itself. Ancient. Rotting. And falling directly toward them.
"NOAH!"
The legendary ark of the Fish-Man Island myth—descending like judgment.
(End of Chapter)
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