HST: Chapter 139/140

Chapter 139: Don't Act

"Hody Jones is attacking?"

Neptune suddenly stood up, his expression turning extremely grim.

He had long known that those guys weren't good news and would cause trouble sooner or later.

But back then, for the sake of Jinbe's reputation and the legacy of the former Sun Pirates, he tolerated them again and again.

As a result, they only grew more arrogant, and their power grew stronger and stronger. Now, they had become a force he could no longer handle.

What he didn't expect was for them to be so bold and to act at such a critical time.

Caelan had just arrived, and something like this happened.

He had wanted Caelan to witness the progress Fish-Man Island had made over the years.

Instead, this disgraceful situation had unfolded.

"Please remain seated for a moment. I will deal with them."

Neptune bowed in apology and spoke with murderous intent.

He had finally waited for Caelan's arrival. He couldn't afford to lose face now.

"I'd better go with you."

Caelan looked at Neptune's large frame and shook his head.

Even though Neptune appeared strong and bore the title "Knight of the Sea," his strength was far too weak.

In the original timeline, he even threw his back out in a fight. Completely useless.

And now, going up against Hody Jones would be just as useless.

"Then I'll trouble you."

Neptune didn't take Caelan's offer lightly.

He wasn't some ignorant fool like Hody Jones.

As someone who had known Whitebeard, he understood the terror of a Sea Emperor—the power to rule the seas.

If Caelan took action, Hody Jones would be crushed in the blink of an eye.

Led by Prince Fukaboshi, Caelan and Neptune headed toward the scene.

…

Outside Ryugu Palace

Hody Jones had led the entire New Fish-Man Pirates to surround the gates of Ryugu Palace.

When there are ten thousand, the crowd seems endless.

With one hundred thousand, the ground touches the sky.

The New Fish-Man Pirates had 80,000 members. With their domesticated sea beasts, their force exceeded 100,000.

At this moment, they were gathered in front of Ryugu Palace. It was a sea of bodies, with murderous intent filling the air.

"With this many men, I am invincible!"

Hody Jones looked at his subordinates with immense pride and satisfaction.

With a hundred thousand at his back, wouldn't killing Caelan be easy?

Once he killed Caelan, his name would spread across the world, and the New Fish-Man Pirates would become renowned.

He would then take over Fish-Man Island, avenge himself against the vile humans, and reshape the world into one ruled by fish-men.

His great ambition could finally be realized today.

Humans had wronged him in the past, and he would exact severe revenge.

What? Humans hadn't actually done anything to him?

Doesn't matter. He just wanted revenge!

"Hahahaha!"

Thinking of his grand plans, Hody Jones laughed maniacally.

"Young warriors! Kill the enemy of the fish-men, Caelan! Rule Fish-Man Island and make fish-men great again!"

Hody Jones raised both arms high and shouted through a loudspeaker for all to hear.

"Make fish-men great again!"
"Make fish-men great again!"
"Let the fish-men be great again!"

The many grotesque and strangely shaped fish-men roared with excitement.

Among them were more than 20,000 human pirates. They had been defeated by Hody Jones on their way into the New World and had since submitted to him.

Inside the palace, Prince Ryuboshi and Prince Manboshi stood with the royal guards, nervously watching the crowd outside.

"Brother, there are so many of them. We can't stop them!"

Manboshi swallowed nervously, clearly frightened.

"Don't panic. Our elder brother has already informed Father. There will be a way."

Ryuboshi tried to remain calm, but he too was visibly unsettled.

Compared to the opposing 100,000 troops, they had only a few thousand guards.

The difference in numbers was overwhelming.

Even in individual strength, they were outmatched.

If not for the honor of the royal family, he would have already considered surrendering.

"Second Brother, do you think Caelan-sama can defeat them?"

Manboshi asked cautiously.

He had heard Caelan was one of the top powerhouses at sea. He must be strong.

"I'm not so sure. Even if he's strong, that many people would be too much."

Ryuboshi shook his head.

"Yeah, that's 100,000 people."

Manboshi nodded, agreeing with his brother's logic.

They hadn't seen the broader world. They couldn't imagine how anyone could defeat 100,000 men.

"They're here."

Manboshi turned around, surprised.

Fukaboshi had arrived with Neptune and Caelan.

Also arriving were the girls who had been sightseeing.

"So many people?"

Neptune drew in a sharp breath, his scalp tingling.

His earlier grand statements were shattered by the reality before him.

This densely packed army was larger than the entire Fish-Man Island military.

Worse, his troops were out on patrol. Only a few thousand soldiers remained in Ryugu City.

If it were up to him alone, he could do nothing.

Looking at the so-called 100,000-man army, Caelan scoffed.

In the face of true powerhouses in this world, sheer numbers meant nothing.

Whitebeard could reduce them to dust with one use of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

Caelan himself could cause massive casualties with a single use of his Noble Phantasm.

Hody Jones' dream of ruling the world with fish-men was as laughable as his so-called revenge against humans.

"Caelan, leave these people to us."

Nami and the others beside him were eager to act.

Among them were Gion, a candidate for admiral, and Hancock, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The rest were also no pushovers.

Taking down the mob below was more than within their abilities.

"That's fine. Good chance to get some practice in…"

Before Caelan could finish his sentence, Hody Jones shouted from below.

"God Slayer Caelan! You killed my big brother Arlong and so many other fish-men, and now you can't even come out and fight?"

"Cowardly and despicable inferior human! I, Hody Jones, look down on you!"

As Hody shouted, the 100,000-strong mob of the New Fish-Man Pirates erupted in laughter.

Look down on me?

"You don't have to act. I'll handle this myself."

Stopping the women who were eager to fight, Caelan spoke calmly.

"Then I'll trouble you, Caelan-sama."

Neptune said gratefully.

With Caelan taking action, the outcome was certain.

He looked at Hody Jones with pity. That fool had no idea how terrifying Caelan truly was.

The only concern now was that the death toll might be too high.

After all, these were fish-men as well, his own people.

He could only hope that Caelan would show restraint and not involve too many innocents.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 140: Glance

In front of the New Fish-Man Pirates' 100,000-man formation, Hody Jones stepped forward and shouted arrogantly, "Come at me! Let me tear you apart!"

Caelan remained silent, simply staring at him coldly.

"Gugugugu!"

Hody Jones took out three E.S. pills and swallowed them.

E.S., a deadly stimulant, burned one's life force in exchange for a massive boost in strength.

In the past, just one pill was enough to grant him a significant increase in power.

Now, he had taken three.

Though he appeared fierce, when faced with Caelan, he was still cautious enough to take extra pills and show the so-called God Slayer some respect.

The drug took effect immediately. His long, black curly hair turned snow-white in an instant.

As his life force burned away, overwhelming power surged through his body. His muscles swelled dramatically, and a brutal, terrifying aura radiated from him.

"Boss is really going all out!"

"Isn't this a bit much? He took three E.S. pills... He's never done that before!"

Ikaros and Dosun took a sharp breath, realizing the situation was serious.

Their boss was the strongest among the Fish-Man Pirates, capable of defeating thousands.

Now, after taking three of the deadly pills, his strength had become unfathomable.

Tens of thousands of fish-men shouted fanatically in support of Hody Jones.

Such a fierce boss had to be invincible!

"Draw your weapon and fight me!"

Hody pointed at Caelan, his confidence swelling to its peak.

After taking three pills, he believed he was taking Caelan seriously enough.

If he lost, he could just take two more.

"Why would I need a weapon to deal with you? A true hero kills with his eyes."

Caelan shook his head, voice full of disdain.

In the next moment, a dazzling golden laser shot out from his eyes.

This was the power of the Noble Phantasm [Brahmastra Kundala]. Although not in its fully liberated form, it was more than enough to deal with someone like Hody Jones.

In the Holy Grail War, Karna once used a similar eye-laser to destroy an aircraft.

"Wait…!"

Hody's scalp went numb as he looked at the incoming laser in horror. His body and soul screamed danger, telling him to run.

But the moment he realized what was happening, it was already too late.

The power granted to him by the deadly drugs was too unstable. He couldn't block the attack, much less withstand it.

It was at this moment he truly understood just how insignificant he was before Caelan.

Sizzle—!

The laser struck Hody Jones.

In a flash, his entire body was reduced to ashes.

He didn't even have time to react and was still shouting at Caelan when it happened.

The entire battlefield fell into stunned silence, everyone staring blankly at the pile of ash.

That massive fish-man had turned to dust in an instant?!

"T-The boss is dead…"

Ikaros and Dosun murmured as if in a dream.

Their boss, alive and ferocious just moments ago, had completely vanished.

They could still see Hody's face and hear his voice in their minds, but now he was gone.

"Boss! He's dead!!!"

After a moment, the New Fish-Man Pirates erupted in a terrified and panicked scream.

The cries spread like a tidal wave.

The entire crew was engulfed in fear.

Caelan had simply glanced at Hody, and the strongest among them had turned to ashes.

"Revenge for the boss! Kill Caelan!"

Ikaros and Dosun's eyes were bloodshot, howling with rage.

Hody Jones had been their leader, their hope of rising up and taking revenge on the world.

Now that he was dead, they couldn't let it go!

"..."

Most of the younger Fish-Man Pirates hesitated.

Faced with someone who could kill Hody Jones with a glance, they had no courage to act.

"Boss was killed by a human! He's the enemy of the fish-men! He'll exterminate us all!"

"Destroy him! Kill this human!"

Ikaros and Dosun screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Destroy that human! Avenge the boss!"

The surrounding fish-men echoed in response.

They were the most fanatical followers of Hody Jones, filled with hatred toward humans.

"Charge!"

Led by Ikaros, the enraged fish-men charged toward Caelan.

Caelan's expression remained cold and unreadable.

He hadn't stopped them from getting emotional because he intended to eliminate the ringleaders and strike fear into the rest.

In the next moment, golden light erupted from his eyes again.

His target: the ones causing the most chaos.

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted.

An immense burst of light and heat followed.

It was like a miniature sun rising from the bottom of the sea, only to vanish in the blink of an eye.

The brilliance was so intense that no one could look directly at it. Their eyes instinctively shut against the stinging light.

Like the sun, it illuminated all things—dust included.

As the light faded, all the fish-men surrounding Ikaros and Dosun who had attacked Caelan were gone.

Over 10,000 fish-men had been erased from existence.

Silence.

Dead silence.

An overwhelming atmosphere of fear swept through the remaining fish-men.

Thoughts of revenge, thoughts of killing Caelan—gone.

All of it vanished.

The remaining 90,000 members of the New Fish-Man Pirates looked at Caelan in utter terror.

But none of them dared meet his gaze.

They were terrified that if they did, Caelan would unleash another blast of divine light and reduce them to ashes.

Thud.

A fish-man dropped to his knees.

Then, like a wave, all 90,000—fish-men, humans, and sea beasts alike—fell to their knees.

As if seeking forgiveness, they knelt as if in prayer to a god, begging not to be punished.

This was the day when divine power ruled like a prison.

Inside Ryugu Palace

"T-This… this…"

Ryuboshi and Manboshi clung tightly to each other, trembling like frightened rabbits.

Seeing Caelan unleash his might and effortlessly crush the New Fish-Man Pirates left them horrified.

With only two glances, he had annihilated over 10,000 of their main force.

The rest didn't even try to escape.

They could only kneel and await judgment.

What Caelan displayed completely shattered their understanding of what it meant to be strong.

Only now did they truly understand how fitting the title "God Slayer" was.

Only now did they realize what kind of being an Emperor really was.

Neptune sighed while looking at Caelan who was standing motionless, he had wiped out the New Fish-Man Pirates with just two glances. It was beyond belief.

And the light he had emitted resembled the very sun. That was not just a power—it was divinity itself.

Seeing it with his own eyes, Neptune was now even more convinced.

If this man wasn't the Sun God, then no one was.

(To be continued.)