"Be careful!" Neptune exclaimed, his heart pounding in shock as he saw Hody's speed surge.
Renji didn't even glance at the charging Hody, he simply threw a casual punch.
Bang!
Visible, cloud-like ripples emanated from Renji's fist, followed by an extremely violent explosion. Even the powerful Fishmen, like Neptune, who were tied to pillars, felt a sharp pain in their eardrums, as if they would shatter from the sound.
Hody, who had maintained his savage expression until Renji's punch struck his chest, instantly had his eyes bulge out. His entire chest exploded, and the blood within couldn't even maintain its liquid form, being crushed into countless tiny blood beads by the force.
Boom!
The ground cracked. An unparalleled gale swept everything away.
Under the utterly shocked gazes of countless Fishmen, it instantly pierced through Hody's body, transforming into a blue-white torrent that plowed deep furrows in the ground and even blasted a large hole in the cliff walls surrounding Fish-Man Plaza.
Under this power, Hody, whose body had already reached its limit, could no longer withstand it. After his chest exploded, he was crushed into oblivion by the punch-force gale.
Countless Fishmen dropped their jaws at this sight.
The power of a single punch… could actually reach this level.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully defeating the New Fish-Man Pirates and tearing Hody Jones's mouth!]
[Reward: 20,000 Bounty points! Crooked Mouth Corrector (Lv. 1)!]
The reward was better than nothing.
Hody wasn't as resilient as Renji had imagined. In Gear Fourth, Luffy had taken the same punch, and was merely severely injured and on the verge of death, while Hody was instantly vaporized.
Renji curled his lip and looked at the falling Noah, finding a bit of interest.
[Ding! Detecting Host's current situation! You have a new selection!]
[Choice One: Facing Noah's Ark, which is about to destroy Fish-Man Island, save Fish-Man Island, sparing it from destruction!]
[Reward: Noah's Ark's Ship Spirit (Ghost-level)!]
[Choice Two: Seeing such a massive ark, you can't help but marvel at what a magnificent work it is. To avoid safety hazards caused by years of disrepair, test the skill of Noah's Ark's original builders by using a complete Hollow Technique: Purple to perform a quality inspection on Noah's Ark's structural integrity!]
[Reward: 50% discount to upgrade Hollow Technique: Purple to the next level.]
[Choice Three: Feeling bored, you decide to stand by and watch, using the destruction of Fish-Man Island and the tragic deaths of its inhabitants to awaken the Sea King, Poseidon, ahead of time!]
[Reward: The Sea King, Poseidon, unaware of the truth, has +100 favorability towards Host!]
Oh? This is interesting.
After punching Hody into oblivion, Renji casually waved his hand, and an invisible slash instantly cut the chains binding Neptune and the other Fishmen.
Clang!
Sharp metallic cutting sounds rang out.
Neptune and the others, who hadn't yet recovered from their shock, immediately fell to the ground. Unlike Shirahoshi, who had her massive heart to cushion her fall, they landed with grimaces of pain.
At this moment, a blue figure finally arrived. It was Jinbe, the Knight of the Sea.
"King Neptune! Princess Shirahoshi! It's great that you're alright… You are!"
Jinbe, whose joy was short-lived, noticed the familiar figure. It was this young man who, two years ago during the Marineford War, rose with unmatched sharpness, becoming the strongest Admiral of the new era.
"Admiral Seiryu! Why are you on Fish-Man Island? This is Big Mom's territory."
Jinbe looked as if he was facing a formidable enemy.
"Jinbe! It's this Admiral you speak of who saved us." Seeing the misunderstanding, Neptune quickly explained.
Realizing he had misunderstood Renji, Jinbe looked ashamed. He then bowed deeply to Renji.
"My apologies. I was rude. You saved King Neptune and the others, so my life is yours to take whenever you wish. But before that…"
Jinbe's eyes were firm as he continued, "I must first give my all to resolve this crisis that threatens to destroy Fish-Man Island."
Renji didn't turn around. His 360-degree, all-seeing Heavenly Six Eyes had already imprinted Jinbe's expression of valiant self-sacrifice into his mind.
Renji smiled slightly. "You? You have a way?"
Renji was curious. Jinbe hadn't caused any major incidents since two years ago and only had a bounty of over 400 million. Instead of killing him, he was more inclined to temporarily recruit this loyal and righteous fellow.
Saving Fish-Man Island, which he desperately protected, should make him usable.
In the future, regarding the control of Noah's Ark, Poseidon, and Sunlight Tree Eve, there could be an additional route.
Jinbe was unaware of Renji's thoughts. To him, Renji was a ruthless Admiral who detested pirates. Seeing that Renji hadn't shown any killing intent towards him, Jinbe breathed a sigh of relief but was at a loss for words.
Facing the impending fall of Noah's Ark, he had no solution. He could only hope that Neptune would quickly evacuate the residents of Fish-Man Island to escape.
Jinbe was about to speak when he met those deep, ocean-blue eyes.
"If I save Fish-Man Island, your life belongs to me."
As his words fell, hope dawned in Jinbe's wildly beating heart.
"Of course, if you can truly save Fish-Man Island, I, Jinbe, am willing to serve you as a loyal subordinate, going through fire and water without hesitation." Jinbe solemnly promised.
Renji's lips curved into a smile. "Deal."
Looking at Renji's smile, Jinbe felt a sense of unreality. This being, whom he once considered a disaster, was now stepping in to save his homeland.
But if he makes a move… perhaps there really is a chance.