Next Bonus, 100!!
The Hard-Shell Tower.
THWACK!
An axe embedded itself in the door.
"My dearest Shirahoshi! I'm here!" Vander Decken IX chortled.
He strode in with the swagger of a man who owned the world. He had taken advantage of the chaos outside to sneak into the palace and abduct Shirahoshi.
He was a Japanese wobbegong fish-man, and the user of the Paramecia-type Mark-Mark Fruit.
It allowed him to perfectly target anyone he had ever touched.
Once a target was marked, any object he threw would automatically track them to the ends of the earth, unless it was intercepted or blocked.
When Shirahoshi was six years old, her mother, Otohime, had been shot after saving a Celestial Dragon. In her distress, Shirahoshi's cries had summoned the Sea Kings.
Vander Decken had witnessed this. He had realized that she was the legendary Mermaid Princess, the one his ancestors had been searching for centuries, the one who could control the Sea Kings. He had also decided that when she grew up, she would be a stunning beauty.
To gain her power, and to claim her beauty for himself, he had become obsessed with the idea of marrying her.
He had touched her with his right hand when she was six years old, and to maintain his lock on her, he hadn't washed that hand since.
He was a pervert of the highest order.
He easily defeated the guards of the Hard-Shell Tower, opened the door, and, upon seeing Princess Shirahoshi, produced a bouquet of flowers and made a passionate declaration of his love.
Shirahoshi, flustered, wrung her hands. Though she was terrified, she summoned her courage. "You're... YOU'RE NOT MY TYPE."
Vander Decken was crushed.
"But that's alright," he said, undeterred. "Once we get to know each other, you'll see how gentle I am."
He threatened her. If she didn't come with him, he would kill her father and her brothers.
"Can you hear that?" he said, a wet, gurgling laugh escaping his lips. "My army has already stormed the palace..."
Shirahoshi was terrified. She burst into tears. "FATHER!"
"Hey! Don't cry!" Vander Decken said, a note of panic in his voice. He was afraid her cries would summon the super-large Sea Kings. "If you keep crying, I'll kill them!"
Shirahoshi could only choke back her sobs as Vander Decken forced her from the tower.
The moment they were outside, Vander Decken froze. A man and a woman—two humans—were standing there, both of them coated in a breathing resin.
Shirahoshi, startled, instinctively shrank back into the tower.
"Who are you?" Vander Decken demanded.
"Getting rejected and then threatening a little girl," Jin sneered. "You're pathetic."
Shirahoshi was a giant whiting mermaid. She was massive, the largest of all merfolk. She had long, flowing pink hair, a taiyaki-shaped hair clip, and seashell earrings. Her eyes were a bright, clear blue. She was beautiful, with a full bust and a long, pink-and-white fish tail.
And she's only twelve??
"Damn you! Get out of my way!" Vander Decken charged, reaching out to touch Jin.
Even though it wasn't his unwashed hand, the thought was still disgusting.
You're just going to try and grab me like that?
Jin dropped into a low stance, his right fist at his waist, his left hand raised in a martial arts posture.
"Ha!" Vander Decken laughed. "You're going to try and beat me with Fish-Man Karate? You're a human!"
Jin just looked at him. "Ten Thousand Tile True Fist!" he roared, and threw a punch.
In an instant, a devastating shockwave of pure force erupted from his fist.
Hm?
Vander Decken's keen intuition screamed at him.
It was the threat of death.
He saw the Grim Reaper, scythe in hand, coming for him.
He was still charging forward, his face a mask of terror and shock.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The transparent, water-like shockwave tore through his body, and through the Hard-Shell Tower behind him, and it didn't stop. It traveled for a thousand meters, blasting a hole through a coral reef and shattering it into a million pieces.
Jin had taken the opportunity to learn the core principles of Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu from Jinbe.
The art was most powerful when used by fish-men, who had a natural affinity for the water. But Jin, through practice and adaptation, had managed to incorporate it into his own style, giving him a degree of control over the water, especially when he was in it. It greatly reduced the water's resistance.
"Ah!" Shirahoshi covered her eyes, terrified by the brutal scene.
His chest blown open, his breathing resin failing, Vander Decken's eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed to the seafloor.
Jin reached out and grabbed him.
"Jinbe sent us," he said to Shirahoshi. "We're here to help the Ryugu Palace put down the rebellion. Come with us."
Shirahoshi peeked through her fingers. "Master Jinbe?" she whispered.
She could hear the distant sounds of battle. She nodded fearfully.
Jin took them to a dry area and opened his Munch-Munch space, sending Vander Decken's body back to the carrier. In the water, his Devil Fruit powers would have been suppressed.
Shirahoshi watched, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Jin used his Barrier-Barrier Fruit to create a square room, and had Robin stay with Shirahoshi to protect her.
He then went outside.
The battle was raging.
King Neptune and his two younger sons had been captured. Only the eldest, Fukaboshi, who had foreseen the danger, had managed to escape with Aladine and the others.
Just then, Hody began a broadcast to all of Fish-Man Island. He declared that he had taken the Ryugu Palace and was now the new king.
He ordered his men to force the citizens to stomp on a picture of Queen Otohime.
He announced a great purge.
Anyone who had signed Queen Otohime's petition to move to the surface would be exiled.
He would execute King Neptune and his two sons at Gyoncorde Plaza and had issued a warrant for Fukaboshi's arrest.
After the execution, they would ride the great ship, Noah, and launch a holy war against the humans on the surface.
The fish-men were stunned.
Stomping on Queen Otohime's picture and executing the king was one thing. The royalists and the queen's supporters would never accept it.
But exiling everyone who had signed the petition? That affected the vast majority of the population.
And a war with the humans?
It was insane.
They had just been venting their frustrations. They hadn't signed up for this.
The people who had been swept up in the heat of the moment began to cool down, to feel a sense of fear.
And to make matters worse, Hody's thugs were now rounding people up, and not just the ones who had signed the petition.
Anyone who had ever served a human pirate in a restaurant, anyone who had ever spoken to a human, was now being persecuted.
The people of Fish-Man Island finally realized that they had not welcomed a liberator, but a madman.
They thought back to the peaceful, stable lives they had led before, and they realized how precious it had all been.
The fickle tides of public opinion had turned once again.
Was it strange?
No.
You can believe in the power of the people, but you can't believe in their wisdom.
Jin knew the time was right.
He went to the Sea Forest and found the fleeing Prince Fukaboshi. He and Aladine were under attack. Hody's officers, powered by the Energy Steroids, were strong and ruthless. When their own men hesitated, unwilling to kill their own kind, they killed them as well.
Jin appeared, dealt with the pursuers, and rescued Fukaboshi and the others.
The moment he saw him, Fukaboshi fell to his knees. "King Jin! Please, save Fish-Man Island! I beg of you!"
"It is you who must save Fish-Man Island," Jin replied. "I can only help you deal with this crisis."
"What should I do?" Fukaboshi asked, his face grim but resolute.
"Go to the palace," Jin said. "Find your sister, Shirahoshi. Tell the people the truth about Queen Otohime's death. Call on them to abandon Hody and his message of violence and hatred, for the sake of peace. Announce that anyone who abandons him will be pardoned, and that you will solve the problems of the Fish-Man District."
Fukaboshi nodded grimly. "And then?"
"The rest," Jin said, "is up to me."
Shirahoshi knew the truth about her mother's death. With her brother's encouragement, she summoned her courage.
Aladine, Robin, and the others helped them retake the communication tower. Hody had already moved most of his forces to the execution plaza, so the defenses were light.
Shirahoshi broadcast her message to the entire island.
"What??"
"What is Princess Shirahoshi saying?"
"Hody Jones killed Queen Otohime? We've been deceived?"
An uproar swept through the island.
"The queen wasn't killed by a human! Hody framed them!"
"How is that possible? Wasn't Hody the one who revealed the 'truth'?"
Gyoncorde Plaza was in chaos. Even the rebel soldiers couldn't believe it.
"Hey! What's going on, Hody??"
"Refute her! The queen was killed by a human, right??" one of the fish-men shouted.
"Yeah! The humans are despicable! Tell us the truth!"
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