Chapter 382: Chapter 382 Shirahoshi’s Cry, the Soaring Wood Dragon!

Hody, who had been ecstatic just moments before, gradually darkened his expression. He then frowned and looked at Shirahoshi, saying, "What do you mean you already knew?"

"What does that mean?"

"Shirahoshi!"

He had executed his plan so perfectly—how could Shirahoshi possibly know?

Was this woman lying to him?

Thinking this, Hody demanded, "Answer me, Shirahoshi!"

"Are you lying to me?!"

Biting her lip, Shirahoshi fell silent for a moment before replying, "I’m not lying to you..."

"A few years after that incident, Megalo told me about it."

"Megalo?"

Hody showed a look of surprise—it was that shark who spilled the secret?

Then, as if understanding something, Hody’s expression shifted to one of sudden realization.

If he remembered correctly, Megalo was originally a pet of the Neptune Army, Hody thought to himself.

Did it discover something back then?

At this thought, Hody frowned.

"That’s right, Megalo..."

Shirahoshi, her eyes brimming with tears, said, "Back then, Megalo was a pet of the Neptune Army, so when that incident happened, it was also present."

"It witnessed everything you did with its own eyes."

Hearing Shirahoshi’s words, Megalo, who had been relatively calm until now, began to twist its body, its expression turning somewhat ferocious.

"Shark!"

"Shark! Shark! Shark!!!"

"So that’s how it was..." Jimbei was stunned for a moment before speaking with agitation, "In that case, why didn’t you tell us about this earlier?!"

If they had known from the start that Hody was the true culprit, they would have taken action to eliminate this scoundrel.

That way... none of what happened today would have occurred!

"I couldn’t say it!"

"I couldn’t say it..."

"Why not?"

Jimbei looked at Shirahoshi in confusion, completely unable to understand her reasoning.

Why couldn’t she speak about something so important?

"I made a promise to Mother before she passed away..." Shirahoshi, her face covered in tears, said, "No matter who the culprit was, I must not hold hatred for them."

"If I spoke up, people would resent Hody, and then... my departed Mother would be saddened..."

By the end, Shirahoshi’s tears began to flow uncontrollably, and she appeared on the verge of breaking down.

Prince Fukaboshi seemed to realize something, his eyes widening in shock.

"Shirahoshi, you...

For ten years, you’ve been bearing this truth alone in the Hard Shell Tower, all to uphold Mother’s teachings from a decade ago?"

How agonizing that must have been!

Watching his weeping sister, Prince Fukaboshi felt as though his heart were shattering.

"Princess Shirahoshi..." Jimbei stared at Shirahoshi in astonishment, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Even if it was her mother’s dying wish, no one in reality could possibly go to such lengths, yet Princess Shirahoshi...

What a kind and pure-hearted girl she is!

At this moment, Jimbei was filled with awe.

But before he could say anything, he heard Hody’s mocking laughter from nearby, which immediately enraged him.

"Bastard, stop laughing!"

"How could I not laugh?" Hody, knowing his thoughts were correct, laughed heartily. "After all, there exists such a foolish person in this world!"

"Sha ha ha ha!"

"Dammit..."

Veins bulged on Jimbei’s furious face. If it weren’t for the plan he wanted to carry out, he would have gotten up right then and twisted that bastard’s head off!

Ignoring Jimbei’s reaction, Hody turned his gaze to Megalo and said, "How utterly foolish, Megalo!"

"If you had caused a commotion back then, my identity as an assassin might have been exposed."

"But unfortunately, not only did you not do that, you later chose to tell this truth to such a foolish girl—"

"Sha ha ha ha, I really must thank you properly~"

"If it were anyone else, my plan might have been completely exposed!"

"Shark!"

Looking at Hody’s smug face, Megalo angrily twisted its body, wishing it could take a bite out of him right then.

"Stay still!" a nearby Fish-man kicked it.

"It’s fine, let it struggle." Hody waved his hand dismissively. "With its strength, it can’t possibly break free from such thick chains anyway."

He knew exactly how powerful this shark was, so he didn’t care.

Then, Hody looked at Shirahoshi and mocked, "Listen well, Shirahoshi!"

"In this world, behavior like yours is called foolishness!"

"Because of you, your father, your brothers, you, and your people are all going to die!" Hody glared. "Not only that, this country will be destroyed because of you~"

"Sha ha ha ha ha!"

Hearing Hody’s words, tears streamed uncontrollably from Shirahoshi’s eyes, and she nearly bit through her lip.

Seeing this, Jimbei anxiously said, "No, Princess Shirahoshi, don’t listen to his nonsense!"

"What you did was not wrong at all!"

At least in his view, Princess Shirahoshi’s kindness was not wrong.

The one at fault was Hody!

"If it’s not wrong, then what is it?" Hody laughed maniacally. "Take a good look at what has happened because of you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hody turned and launched an attack on Neptune and the three princes.

"Arrow-Shaped Shark!"

"Whoosh"

"Whoosh"

"Whoosh"

The next moment, countless droplets transformed into needle-like projectiles and struck the four royals, causing blood to splatter everywhere!

"Ah!!!"

Neptune and the three princes screamed in agony, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

"Dammit, stop it, Hody!"

"Your Majesty!"

The surrounding Fish-men watched Hody’s wanton actions, their eyes red with fury, but they could do nothing, forced to witness it all helplessly.

"Sha ha ha ha ha!"

"Watch closely, all of you! See how your royals are dealt with by me!" Hody laughed maniacally.

While speaking, he did not stop attacking the four.

In the end... he blasted the Execution Platform to pieces, causing the four to fall from the air and land right in front of Hody.

"Boom!!"

"Father!"

"Brother!"

Seeing her four family members beaten so brutally, Shirahoshi cried out, "Please stop!"

They hadn’t done anything wrong—why were they being treated like this?

"Hmph, still saying such things even now," Hody spat. "How boring."

He had thought this would make Shirahoshi angrily curse him, but... she was only begging for mercy?

It seemed his choice was right—the Neptune family truly was hopelessly weak.

"Utterly useless, Neptune," Daruma sneered, looking down at the fallen Neptune. "And you call yourself a great knight?"

Can’t even take one move from Captain Hody... what kind of great knight is that?

Might as well call him the soft knight!

"It seems these guys won’t last until the execution," Ikaros said.

Taking Captain Hody’s attack head-on... even if they aren’t killed instantly, they won’t live long!

"That’s a bit troublesome," Hody sneered upon hearing this. "After all... an execution isn’t complete until the heads are chopped off."

After saying this, Hody glanced at the four who were nearly unconscious, then turned to his subordinates. "Hey, bring me a sword."

"Since the ones I was concerned about—Jimbei and Shirahoshi—have already been captured, there’s no need to stick to the original execution time."

"Ooh!!!"

The Fish-men below roared upon hearing this, and soon one of them brought a weapon to Hody, handing him the sword cleanly.

"This weapon looks good," Hody nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Neptune. "Perfect for executing these foolish royals!"

"Neptune, your time is up!"

"Kill them!"

"Execute these traitorous royals!"

"Ooh!!!"

The Fish-men below roared wildly, each eagerly awaiting Neptune’s death.

After all... for them, the birth of a new king was in their favor!

"See, Neptune?" Hody laughed loudly. "Everyone is looking forward to your death~"

"Sha ha ha ha!"

All that’s left is to chop off this guy’s head, and I’ll become the new king."

Thinking this, Hody’s eyes began to gleam.

"Dammit, what should we do?" the Fish-men at the high ground said in panic. "The great knight, King Neptune, is really going to be killed!"

"Should we go down and save him?"

"But there are a hundred thousand enemies—we’re no match for them..."

"What should we do?"

"What should we do!"

Listening to the cries around her, Madam Shyarly, who had just climbed to the high ground, slowly closed her eyes.

It seemed... the tide had turned.

With no options left, Madam Shyarly chose to accept her fate.

At that moment, several children ran up to Madam Shyarly, their faces filled with agitation as they said, "Madam Shyarly, you said the Straw Hat Crew’s pirates would come to destroy this island... When will they arrive?"

"That’s right, Madam Shyarly, can you tell us the exact time?"

Looking at the children gazing at her with hopeful eyes, Madam Shyarly fell silent for a moment before sighing and saying:

"Sorry, children..."

"My divination can only see the future, but it cannot reveal the specific time."

"It could be tomorrow, or it could be a year from now..."

She too wished to know when the Straw Hat Pirates would come, but the problem was... divination couldn’t show time!

So she had no way of knowing when the Straw Hat Pirates would arrive.

"But I’m praying for now," a Fish-man boy cried. "If they came and caused a big commotion right now... that guy would surely have a huge headache!"

"Right, I also wish they could appear here right now," another Merfolk girl said. "I don’t want His Majesty the King to be killed!"

The King is so kind... Why does he have to go through something like this?

"Me too!"

"Me too..."

Watching these weeping children, Madam Shyarly closed her eyes in pain. Wasn’t this what she hoped for as well?

But the actions of the Straw Hat Pirates weren’t under her control, so there was nothing she could do to change things.

"Actually, we think this would be better too," the parents of these children walked over, tears in their eyes. "If the Straw Hat Crew could appear now, perhaps things would be different..."

At least... King Neptune wouldn’t be killed!

Thinking this, the eyes of these parents gradually grew resolute.

After exchanging glances, they walked to the edge of the cliff.

"Hey!"

"Straw Hat Luffy!"

"If you plan to destroy this island someday... then please do it now!"

"Come and cause a big commotion here right now!"

"That’s right, can you hear us, Straw Hat Crew!" The other Fish-men understood what they intended to do and immediately joined in shouting.

"If you’re somewhere on this island, please come quickly!"

"Straw Hat Boy!!!"

"How noisy."

Turning to glance at the shouting Fish-Man race, Hody said, "To actually choose to seek help from humans..."

"Is this what they call clutching at straws when desperate?"

"Although Shyarly’s divinations have been very accurate so far, unfortunately... this time it’s wrong!!"

No matter how much they call for that pirate, it’s useless. After all... human pirates wouldn’t fight for the Fish-Man race. And... even if they came, what could they do?

Could a mere Straw Hat Crew defeat his army of one hundred thousand?

Thinking this, Hody’s eyes filled with mockery.

"Such futile shouting," New Fish-Man Pirates officer Zeo said calmly. "How could the Straw Hat Pirates possibly appear here at a time like this?"

They have one hundred thousand men!

"Let them call out all they want." Hody approached Neptune and said, "Once Neptune is dead, these fools will have to face reality."

With that, Hody grabbed Neptune by the head and raised his razor-sharp longsword.

Seeing this, the Fish-men who had been shouting immediately fell silent as if choked, their words stuck in their throats.

Hody was pleased with their reaction and sneered, "Finally accepting reality, are you..."

Then, he turned to the Fish-men above and declared, "Watch closely, all of you!"

"Now, I shall carry out the execution of the former king, Neptune!"

"Watch carefully as this man’s head rolls!"

"From this day forward, this king who lacked racial dignity will vanish, and a new Fish-Man king who can rule over humans will be born!"

"Sha ha ha ha!"

Is this the end...

Glancing at Hody raising his weapon, Neptune slowly closed his eyes.

At this moment, he deeply hated his own weakness. If only he had been stronger, perhaps...

"Die, Neptune!" Hody shouted.

As his voice fell, he swung his weapon down, intending to sever Neptune’s head with a single strike.

Seeing this, Shirahoshi’s mind went blank.

Father... Father!!!

"Please protect my father!" Shirahoshi cried out desperately. "Big Brother! Luffy-sama!"

Boom... Rumble!

The moment Shirahoshi cried out, the ground began to tremble, as if something terrifying was moving beneath it.

This sudden change made Hody pause his action.

"Huh?"

"What’s going on?" the Hody Pirates looked around, asking, "Where is this shaking coming from?"

Why is the ground shaking?

The next moment...

Crack!

Thud!

"Wha...?!"

Seeing his longsword suddenly shatter, Hody’s pupils contracted to pinpoints.

Someone had shattered his sword without him seeing it?

Though unsure how it happened, Hody released his grip and quickly distanced himself from Neptune.

At that very moment, an enormous Wood Dragon burst from the ground, lifting Neptune and the other three into the air and rapidly ascending.

BOOM!!!

Damn it, what the hell is this?!

Staring at the emerging Wood Dragon, Hody was utterly stunned.

Before he could react, he saw someone walk out of Megalo’s mouth.

Seeing this, Hody’s pupils shrank as he muttered, "Straw Hat Boy..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Luffy, who had instantly appeared before him, punched him in the stomach.

THUD!!!

Whoosh

BOOM!!!

Like a cannonball, Hody flew toward the cliff behind him, smashing it to pieces!

All of this happened in an extremely short span of time.

By the time the Fish-men regained their senses, Hody was already sent flying!

Looking at Luffy standing on the ground, the Fish-men exclaimed in shock, "He really appeared!"

"Hey, did you see that? Straw Hat Boy saved the king!"

"Not only that, look at the top of that Wood Dragon!" a Fish-man pointed at Meiser, who had suddenly appeared atop the Wood Dragon, and said, "He’s the one who crushed the longsword in Hody’s hand!"

Watching Meiser casually toss the shattered sword fragments onto the ground, the Fish-men’s eyes immediately filled with shock.

Crushing a longsword barehanded?

Is this really something a human can do?!

"Was Her Highness the Princess calling for their help just now?"

"Although I don’t know what’s going on, it’s great that the Straw Hat Crew has appeared!"

"Woo-hoo!!"

At this moment, the Fish-men’s faces lit up with excitement—this meant they were saved!

"The Straw Hat Pirates have really appeared here..." Madam Shyarly said in astonishment as she watched the scene below. "Could it be that the day of that divination is today?"

Thinking carefully, that Sunglasses Man had appeared in the divination vision back then.

At this thought, Shyarly’s expression grew somewhat excited.

If that’s the case... then Hody and his crew will be defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates!

"Big Brother, Luffy-sama!"

Looking at Shirahoshi, who was crying and calling their names, Meiser smiled and said, "Don’t worry, we’re here now."

In fact, when Hody was about to swing his sword at Uncle Neptune’s head, he had already arrived here.

So... there was no way Hody’s sword would ever land!

"Wait, where did these guys come from?" Daruma exclaimed in shock. "From the shark’s mouth??"

"That Straw Hat Boy did come out of Megalo’s mouth just now," Jao said with a furrowed brow.

It seemed these two members of the Straw Hat Crew had been hiding inside Megalo’s mouth all along. Captain Hody’s sword must have been crushed by that Sunglasses Man.

But... how did this Sunglasses Man appear on the execution platform?

Why didn’t any of them see his shadow?

Could it be... this person also has the ability to turn invisible?

At this thought, Jao narrowed his eyes.

"Although I don’t know what’s going on, since they’ve already appeared, let’s prepare for battle," said Dos, an officer of the New Fish-Man Pirates.

With that, he raised the heavy hammer in his hand, and his gaze gradually sharpened.

Once their Captain Hody returns... it will be the end for these guys!

"Phew..."

Jimbei, lying on the ground, let out a long sigh of relief and said, "Although it didn’t go according to the original plan, there really was no other choice just now."

After saying this, Jimbei looked up in Luffy’s direction and shouted, "You guys, hurry up!"

"What’s going on? Who is he talking to?" Ikaros wondered.

Could it be that, aside from these two men, other members of the Straw Hat Pirates have also come?

Jao, as if realizing something, immediately changed his expression.

But before he could finish speaking, Nami appeared on the Wood Dragon.

"So there’s still another person..."

How careless of them!

"Don’t worry, Jimbei," Nami, standing beside Meiser, said with a smile. "We’ve already started taking action."

After saying this, Nami showed Jimbei the letter she had just stolen and said, "This should do it, right, Jimbei?"

"This is that Celestial Dragon’s letter, you know."

"No problem, well done!" Jimbei grinned. "As expected of the Cat Burglar!"

This person was truly a reliable partner!

Meanwhile, the Fish-man responsible for safeguarding the letter showed a look of shock at that moment. He checked his pocket and said, "Damn it, when did you steal the letter?!"

Why hadn’t he noticed anything at all?

"Idiot, how did you take care of the letter?" the Fish-man responsible for keeping the key said angrily.

If Hody found out about this... this foolish brother would be done for.

"I didn’t mean to, but..."

Before he could finish speaking, he noticed the chains on the royal family had come loose.

"Huh?!"

"How did the chains..."

"It’s broken, and the key is gone too!" The Fish-man in charge of the key was dumbfounded.

"You fool, how did you take care of the key?"

"Damn it, you didn’t keep the letter safe either, you..."

Ignoring the two arguing Fish-men, Nico Robin, who had approached Shirahoshi, smiled and said, "Quickly take your family and leave, Shirahoshi."

"Lady Robin!"

Looking at the woman who had freed her from the chains with a smile, Shirahoshi was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes.

"Though I don’t know what’s going on, thank you," Prince Fukaboshi said.

After speaking, he anxiously rushed to Neptune’s side to check on him.

"Don’t worry, Uncle Neptune is not in immediate danger," Meiser said.

He had just examined him, so he could confirm his condition.

"That’s a relief..."

Prince Fukaboshi first sighed in relief, then lowered his head and said, "Sorry, earlier we..."

"Save the apologies for after the battle," Meiser said, looking up at the sky. "First, take Uncle Neptune and leave."

"Leave..."

Following Meiser’s gaze, Prince Fukaboshi’s eyes widened in shock.

That whale... it’s Father’s mount, Hoe!

"Hey, look up there, something’s in the sky!" a member of the New Fish-Man Pirates exclaimed, staring at the sky in astonishment. "What is it this time?!"

"A whale and a lion?"

"No... wait, that’s a Pirate Ship!"

"Try this one, pirates!"

Standing in the weapon control room, Franky decisively launched an attack on the Fish-men below.

"Lion’s Roar Cannon!"

"Whoosh"

"Boom!!"

The terrifyingly powerful cannon struck the rear of the plaza, shattering the mountainside!

The resulting blast of wind pressure sent the Fish-men flying!

At that moment, the Thousand Sunny was gently lowered to the ground by Merry.

"Now’s the time," Usopp shouted. "Go, whale!"

"Hoe!"

Hearing Usopp’s voice, Hoe immediately charged toward Meiser, reaching above the Wood Dragon in just a few seconds.

Then, with tears in its eyes, it looked at Neptune, filled with sorrow.

The once mighty knight... had finally grown old.

"Hoe..."

"Now is not the time for sadness," Meiser said, picking up Neptune and placing him on Hoe’s back. "You four go first. Leave this place to us."

The four injured ones would only be a burden if they stayed, so it was better for them to leave first—this had been agreed upon earlier with Jimbei.

"How did you end up here?" Neptune asked, turning his eyes toward Meiser. "We were just..."

"We’ll talk about that later," Meiser interrupted Neptune. "Fukaboshi, take your father and brothers and leave."

Even if Uncle Neptune wants to apologize, it should wait until after their battle is over.

As if understanding something, Prince Fukaboshi nodded to Meiser, then turned and led his father and brothers away from the area, flying into the air with Hoe.

"Why are they helping us?" Neptune murmured.

Even though they had done such terrible things before...

"It must have been arranged with Jimbei," Prince Fukaboshi said. "As for apologizing... as this sunglasses-wearing young man said, we can talk about it later."

"Father, the priority now is to get you treated."

With that, Prince Fukaboshi didn’t wait for agreement and ordered Hoe to leave immediately.

He could ignore his own injuries, but his father needed urgent treatment!

"Dammit, the royal family was taken from us..."

Dos said with a grim expression.

The three royals they had worked so hard to capture were actually taken away by the Straw Hat Pirates... What kind of situation was this?

"That doesn’t matter anymore," Gecko frowned as he looked at the Thousand Sunny appearing in the square. "Right now, we need to deal with the Straw Hat Pirates."

The Neptune royal family could be recaptured sooner or later, so there was no rush to chase them.

The urgent priority was to eliminate these human pirates!

"You’re right."

The other officers nodded in agreement, then turned their attention to the Thousand Sunny.

"Wow, so many people!"

Chopper, who had come to the ship’s side, exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the crowd in the square. "Are these all our opponents this time?"

"All of them are enemies?" Usopp also said in shock. "That’s just too exaggerated."

The sheer number of people... wasn’t it tens of thousands?

"Probably so," Sanji, with a cigarette in his mouth, chuckled. "At least seventy or eighty thousand... no, maybe even a hundred thousand."

But Sanji didn’t pay it much mind—after all, no matter how many weaklings there were, it wouldn’t matter to them!

"Yohohohoho... This might be a bit tricky."

Although Brook said this, his expression showed no sign of fear.

"Just ’a bit tricky’?" Pappag exclaimed in surprise.

Just how much stronger had the Straw Hat crew become over these two years?

"Perverted cook, if you’re scared, just go sleep in your room," Zoro said with a smirk. "I’ll take care of all the enemies myself."

"You’ve got some nerve saying that, you bastard."

Seeing the two about to start bickering again, Merry sighed helplessly. "How can you still find time to argue at a moment like this?"

"Well, that’s just how they are."

Usopp also felt a bit exasperated, but he was used to it by now.

"Don’t worry, I won’t fight this Moss Head right now," Sanji said as he lit a cigarette.

In response, Zoro just snorted and didn’t say anything more.

Of course, it definitely wasn’t because of the sudden appearance of the Negative Ghost that they were acting like this.

At least, that’s what the two of them believed.

Seeing both of them settle down, Pehina let out a light hum, then flew to the ship’s side, her eyes gradually growing excited.

"So many enemies... I can have my fill of fighting now!"

"You’re making my hands itch too," Franky grinned. "Let’s go all out together!"

"Alright!!"

Then, everyone jumped off the Thousand Sunny and stood together with Meiser and the other two.

"Hey, look, the Straw Hat Pirates are all gathered!"

"Not only are they all gathered, but there are two more people than on the Wanted Posters..."

"Hey, Straw Hat kid Luffy!"

Watching Luffy gradually walk toward his crewmates, a Fish-man shouted excitedly, "Do you really want to destroy Fish-Man Island? Why did you occupy Ryugu Palace?" Another Fish-man also yelled, "Are you targeting the royal family’s lives too?"

"Was it you who kidnapped the Merfolk?"

"Give us an answer! To us on Fish-Man Island, are you friends or enemies?"

"Answer us, Straw Hat kid!"

"Friends or enemies?"

Returning to his crewmates, Luffy calmly adjusted his hat, then turned to look at them and said, "That’s for you to decide!!"

"For us... to decide?"

Looking at those dozen or so figures, the Fish-men were completely stunned.