192: Chapter 192 The Collapse of Hody"Don't underestimate me!You wretched humans!Once I've ingested more of these deadly drugs, I'll make you pay!" Hody roared angrily.
Zoro, however, looked at him calmly, as if he didn't take him seriously at all.
Seeing this, Hody was even more furious.Just then, his men rushed in with a plate of deadly poison.Luffy didn't stop them; instead, he was quite interested in seeing how Hody's strength would change after taking the poison.
"Crunch, crunch." Hody shoved handfuls of the drug into his mouth without hesitation.As the drug took effect, his body began to swell, instantly increasing in size several times over.His eyes turned bloodshot due to the drug's effects, revealing an aura of madness.
Feeling the surging power within him, Hody couldn't help but laugh triumphantly: "Hahaha, hey, you human with the knife, you'll regret not stopping me!" However, before he could finish speaking, he was punched by Luffy and sent flying backward.
"Pfft." Hody slammed heavily against the wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Luffy turned to Zoro and said with a smile, "Zoro, why don't you hurry up and finish off this trash?This kind of guy isn't worthy of being a whetstone for your strength."
"Tch, I was just trying to finish this quickly, but Luffy, you had to interfere!" Zoro retorted dismissively, while Luffy laughed it off, seemingly unconcerned.However, they failed to notice Hody's increasingly grim expression.
"Hey, don't ignore me!You over there, you bastard in the straw hat, is that the one who killed two of my officers?" Hody angrily questioned Luffy, but Luffy turned his head away indifferently and replied calmly, "So what if it was me?What can someone like you say?" Luffy's words were full of contempt and disdain, making Hody feel humiliated like never before.
As an arrogant and self-important individual, Hody couldn't tolerate such contempt and insult.He decided to stop hesitating and teach this ignorant fool a lesson.So, ignoring his subordinates' advice, he swallowed all the remaining poison in one gulp, preparing for a final battle with Luffy.
"Since that's the case, then don't blame me for being impolite!" Hody said through gritted teeth, then unleashed his full power, employing his most proficient Mermaid Karate.
"Water Slam!" He released a powerful water ball from his hand and hurled it fiercely towards Luffy.Under the influence of the drug, this water ball contained immense power, even possessing the force of a cannonball.
"So, how did this guy manage to defeat the four of you?" Luffy asked, turning to the badly injured Neptune family after casually scattering the water sphere.Neptune opened his mouth, but he couldn't very well say that he had tried to escape the Ryugu Palace but failed.
Just then, Hody realized Luffy's attention wasn't on the wall, so he seized the opportunity to release more water balloons from his hands, attacking Luffy.At the same time, he also unleashed his "Rough Shark" technique on the wall.Although he anticipated this move might be ineffective against Luffy, he still hoped to use the powerful grip of a fish-man to crush the walls of Ryugu Castle, allowing seawater to rush in and flood Luffy and his crew.
With a deafening crash, Hody crushed the wall, sending a torrent of seawater surging in.Hody looked at Luffy triumphantly and laughed loudly, "Hahaha, humans, now you'll truly understand the difference between you and fish-men!"
The immense water pressure instantly breached the walls, and more seawater surged in, quickly filling the entire Dragon King's Palace.Hody looked at Luffy and his crew with smug satisfaction, eager to see these lowly humans suffocating and struggling in the seawater.However, to his disappointment, Luffy and his crew seemed completely unaffected; a faint layer of black mist surrounded them.
"If you think this trick will work on us, you're in for a disappointment," Luffy said, looking at the bewildered Hody with a half-smile.Immediately after landing on Fishman Island, Luffy cast the Dark Mist spell on each of his crewmates.This skill didn't have any special function; it simply allowed them to withstand water pressure and suffocation no matter how deep they were underwater.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!How could you lowly humans breathe underwater like us noble mermaids!" Hody shook his head frantically, trying to deny everything he was seeing.
"Oh, Captain, it's only been a few hours and you've already run into such a minor problem." Aokiji, who had been missing for a long time, suddenly appeared before them.Luffy rolled his eyes at him and asked, "By the way, where did you go after arriving at Fishman Island?Why are you only showing up now?"
"I went to see an old friend.So, Captain, do you need me to take care of this guy?" Aokiji said with a smile to Hody, but that smile sent a chill down Hody's spine, making him feel as if he could be instantly killed by such an opponent.
Luffy shook his head: "Forget it, you finished the fight instantly.Didn't you see I was just toying with this guy?" As he spoke, Luffy pointed at Hody, who was trying to escape.
Aokiji shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Fine, since you put it that way, then it's yours." With that, he stepped aside.
At this moment, Hody, who had originally intended to escape, was provoked by Luffy and attacked him wildly: "Water Heart - Shark Swarm!" This time, Hody used Fishman Jujutsu, and countless sharks formed from water to tear at Luffy.
Luffy's gaze remained unchanged, a slight smirk playing on his lips.He swung his arms rapidly, firing his Gum-Gum Machine Gun, unleashing a barrage of punches that rained down on the sharks.
Originally ferociousThe water shark was instantly shattered, turning into a puddle of water on the ground.Hody's eyes widened, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Unwilling to accept defeat, he continued his frenzied attacks, but Luffy easily deflected them all.Luffy's strength far exceeded his expectations; his attacks posed no threat to Luffy whatsoever.
As time passed, Hody's strength gradually waned, while Luffy remained energetic.Due to the overdose of the potent drug, the side effects kicked in, and Hody quickly felt his power dissipating.He anxiously tried to get his subordinates to provide him with more, but upon turning around, he found that his men had already been dealt with by Luffy's crew."Hody, Hody, you claim to be of the noblest race, yet you rely on external power.But what isn't yours isn't yours.I'm curious how you come to think you're superior to us humans," Luffy said calmly, his eight-part aura coalescing before him, having no longer wanted to play games.