Five minutes earlier, back at Gyoncorde Plaza.

The crowd watched as Aeridar departed, and then Jinbe and the Straw Hat Pirates shifted their focus back to Hody Jones.

"Jahahaha! How pathetic!" Hody Jones sneered at Jinbe, his voice dripping with mockery. "To think a Fish-Man would bow his head to a mere human and even hand over his own kind for human judgment. You’re a disgrace, Jinbe!"

Jinbe met Hody’s gaze calmly. "Whether human or Fish-Man, strength is ultimate. To provoke the powerful without the strength to back it up only invites disaster upon Fish-Man Island."

"Jinbe, it’s because of Fish-Men like you that our kind has fallen into decline!" Hody roared.

"Hody, it is precisely because of Fish-Men like you that Fish-Man Island is in danger!" Jinbe countered coldly.

"Enough talk! I am the future King of Fish-Man Island!" Hody’s eyes turned a blood-red. He lunged forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet.

"Soshark!"

Hody barked the command, his hand clawing toward Jinbe. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"I will stop you, no matter what!" Jinbe’s expression remained stoic. Instead of meeting the blow head-on, he sidestepped with fluid grace.

BOOM!

Hody’s hand slammed into the spot where Jinbe had just stood. His raw grip strength crushed the stone, leaving a palm-sized crater in the ground.

"5,000 Brick Fist!"

Having repositioned to Hody’s flank, Jinbe unleashed a devastating punch.

"Not good!"

Hody spun around, crossing his arms over his chest to brace for the impact.

THUD!

The dull sound of the impact sent a tremor through the air. A shockwave kicked up clouds of dust. Hody’s feet dug into the earth, plowing two furrows over ten meters long as he was forced back.

"What incredible power!" Hody’s face darkened, his forearms trembling from the vibration.

Seeing the sudden exchange, Luffy spoke up with a frown. "Jinbe, we had a deal! This guy is mine to take down!"

"My apologies, but he must be neutralized quickly!" Jinbe replied without looking back.

"Then I’m stepping in! Gear 2!"

Luffy didn’t hesitate. He squatted, using his legs as pumps to accelerate his blood flow. His skin took on a pinkish hue as white steam began to drift from his body.

WHOOSH—

Luffy vanished instantly.

"I can’t see him! That move again..." Hody panicked, looking around frantically.

BANG!

A steaming Luffy appeared before Hody like a ghost. His fist, blackened by Armament Haki, slammed into Hody’s head.

Hody didn’t even have time to react. It felt as if he’d been struck by a giant sledgehammer. His head rang, and his entire body was sent flying like a black blur, crashing into the ground a thousand meters away.

CRASH—

The impact shook the earth, creating a crater four meters wide. Debris and dust billowed into the sky.

"Captain Hody!"

"Damn it! Brothers of the New Fish-Man Pirates, kill them all!"

Seeing Hody being pummeled by Jinbe and Straw Hat Luffy, the crew members ignored the threat of the Noah and swarmed in as reinforcements.

"Hidden Flail 66 Head Lock!"

Zeo, utilizing his invisibility, moved toward Jinbe, swinging a chain toward his neck.

"Invisibility... useless against me!" Jinbe sensed the approach and settled into a martial stance.

"Arabesque Brick Fist!"

With a low shout, Jinbe thrust a punch forward.

VROOOM—

The air rippled, creating a 360-degree shockwave that expanded instantly.

SMACK!

Zeo, caught within the range of the shockwave, was sent flying while coughing up blood, his invisibility flickering out.

"Straw Hat boy, I’ll crush you! Dosun!" The long-haired hammerhead Fish-Man, Dosun, swung a massive war hammer at Luffy, the weight of the blow creating a howling wind.

"Get out of the way, you damn Fish-Man!"

Sanji flickered in front of Luffy, delivering a flying kick that met the hammer head-on.

CLANG—

A visible ring of force exploded at the point of contact. Dosun’s hammer recoiled as if it had hit a spring, and his massive frame was forced back several steps by Sanji’s sheer power.

Step, step, step...

Before Sanji touched the ground, he began running through the air via Sky Walk. He puffed on his cigarette, his eyes filled with dark memories. "I remember these past two years..."

Suddenly, Sanji burst into flames. "Why did I have to go through that... I’ll burn all those memories away!"

"Diable Jambe: Hell Memories!!!"

BOOM!

In an instant, Sanji appeared behind Dosun. Towering flames engulfed the Fish-Man, searing his body.

"AAAAGH! IT BURNS!" Dosun collapsed, rolling on the ground in a desperate attempt to extinguish the fire, his screams echoing through the plaza.

"Die by my blade! Venom Sword!"

At that moment, a drunken Hyouzou rushed toward Luffy. He held a katana in each of his eight octopus tentacles, the blades dripping with a lethal green toxin.

"Wait, is that poison?" Luffy recalled his past encounters with toxins and dodged the flurry of strikes with wary agility.

CLANK—

Zoro appeared, his three blades locking Hyouzou’s eight swords in place.

"If you’re drunk, go sleep it off, you frog-bastard!" Zoro grinned, unimpressed by the swordsman.

"I’m not a frog! I am the greatest swordsman on Fish-Man Island, Hyouzou of the Eight-Sword Style! Remember that!" Hyouzou’s eyes turned crimson as he slashed down again with his poisoned blades.

"Three-Sword Style: Purgatory Oni Giri!" Zoro’s face went cold. He lunged forward, his three blades cutting through the air with violent speed.

SHING—

The figures crossed paths in a flash of cold steel.

"AAAH!" Hyouzou screamed as all eight of his katanas were snapped. He was sent tumbling through the air.

"Sorry. I thought you were just a big fish in a small pond," Zoro said without looking back, slowly sheathing his swords.

As the Straw Hats engaged the officers of the New Fish-Man Pirates, the Neptune Brothers joined the fray.

CRASH—

"Kyakya! I’ll bite your head off!"

The ground in front of Luffy erupted as a dark shadow lunged out, teeth bared for his throat. Luffy instinctively kicked off the ground, disappearing from the spot.

"He’s gone!" Daruma snapped his jaws on empty air and landed, looking around in frustration.

"That was close! He can burrow?" Luffy reappeared a short distance away, patting his chest in surprise.

Hody Jones surveyed the chaotic battlefield, a cruel grin spreading across his face. He looked up and saw that the Noah was moving away from the island, entering the sea.

"Jahahaha! What a joke, Vander Decken. But this gives me an idea!" Hody laughed, looking down at the crowd.

He turned toward a high platform, retrieved a crimson trident, and began climbing a massive chain connected to the Noah.

"Look! The Noah is moving!"

A Fish-Man noticed the shadow above receding. The massive ship was slowly being pulled back into the deep sea.

"Wait, look at that!"

"Is that... Hody Jones?!"

"What is Captain Hody doing under the ship?"

The combatants stopped in surprise as they watched the instigator of the rebellion climb toward the underbelly of the Noah.