"Come and fight! The winner will take everything!!!"
Hody Jones' bloodshot eyes blazed with madness.
The moment his roar echoed—
Whoosh!
His figure vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared before King Neptune, claws slashing straight for the monarch's heart.
"Hody!!!"
Facing the murderer of his wife, King Neptune's eyes turned crimson with rage.
He swung his golden trident with both hands, meeting the attack head-on.
Boom!!!
The dull, thunderous impact echoed through the deep sea, like drums of war beneath the waves.
Shockwaves rippled outward in every direction, visible even through the water.
Hody didn't budge an inch.
Neptune, however, staggered backward, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
A heartbeat later, Neptune roared and thrust his trident once more.
"Hahahahaha! This is the power of the so-called 'Great Knight of the Sea'? Pathetic! Too weak!"
Hody Jones' laughter rang out with wild arrogance.
Once, Neptune had been the pride of the Fish-Men Island — a master of their arts.
But before the drug-empowered Hody, his strength was far from enough.
Even his golden trident was sent flying as Hody's onslaught continued relentlessly.
"Murloc Jiu-Jitsu — Super Current!!!"
Neptune gathered water between his hands and hurled it forward in a mighty surge.
"Murloc Jiu-Jitsu — Water Shark Volley!!!"
Hody's hands flicked outward.
Countless sharks made of water erupted toward Neptune, tearing through the current and lunging with jaws wide open.
"Father!!!"
The three princes — Shark Star, Ryugu Star, and Rollin Star — shouted in panic, but they couldn't intervene.
They were barely holding their own against Hody's poison-boosted subordinates.
"Water Shot!!!"
At that crucial moment, a calm but powerful voice cut through the chaos.
A barrage of high-pressure water bullets pierced the sea like gunfire, obliterating the summoned sharks.
"Jinbei!!!"
"Good job, Jinbei!"
The left and right ministers cheered as they pulled Neptune to safety.
"Lord Neptune," Jinbei said solemnly, "I understand your anger and your wish to avenge Princess Otohime yourself. But Hody has lost his sanity. Please, leave the rest to me."
"Hahahahaha! So, next up is the great Jinbei himself?" Hody sneered. "Everyone calls you the strongest of Fish-Men Island — but that's because they've never witnessed the power of the E.S. drug! Now I am the real number one—"
"Murloc Karate — Five Thousand-Brick Fist!!!"
Before Hody could finish boasting, Jinbei struck.
The spiraling force of his punch ripped through the sea and slammed into Hody's chest.
The laughter stopped.
Hody's eyes bulged as he spat a mouthful of blood, crimson clouds blooming in the water.
"The power you gained from poison and shortcuts is hollow!" Jinbei roared. "Have you forgotten everything about true Murloc Karate, Hody?!"
"Cough… cough…"
Hody wheezed, clutching his chest. "Save your speeches! Power is power — it doesn't matter where it comes from! I wasn't strong enough before… but I can be stronger! More E.S. pills!"
Before anyone could react, he swallowed another handful of red capsules.
Boom!!!
His heartbeat pounded like explosions.
His black hair turned silver-gray, lengthening down to his waist.
Muscles bulged grotesquely, doubling his size.
"Since Boss Hody's going all out," a cadre growled, "we won't fall behind either!"
The rest of the New Fish-Man Pirates grinned viciously, swallowing their own red capsules.
In an instant, their strength multiplied.
The deep sea trembled from the surge of power.
Under the drug's amplification, even Jinbei found himself clashing evenly with Hody, their blows shaking the ocean.
The elite Poseidon Army struggled desperately, forced into retreat as the blood-red water churned around them.
"Woo… woo…"
On the Fairy Tail's deck, Princess Shirahoshi clutched the railing, tears streaming down her face as she watched her wounded father and brothers.
"Erza, shouldn't we step in?" Nami asked anxiously.
"This is their nation's internal affair," Erza replied coolly. "It's outside our commission."
Before Nami could answer, a dark shadow emerged from below.
"Humans… don't think you can stay out of this! You'll die too!"
It was the Cigar Sharkman, Daruma, leaping from the depths toward the Fairy Tail.
Erza's eyes narrowed. "Of course, if they attack us first… that's a different matter."
In the next instant—
Daruma's laughter cut off abruptly.
A swirling torrent sliced through the sea, and Juvia appeared, her body glowing faintly in the water.
"Water Flow Saw!!!"
The spiraling water current shredded through Daruma and the murlocs beside him in an instant.
"Master Daruma!"
"You damn humans!"
"Unforgivable!!!"
Fueled by madness and drugs, the remaining murlocs charged at the Fairy Tail with blind fury.
"Requip — Armor of Poseidon!!!"
Erza's armor shifted in a flash of light, her blade glinting.
"Perfect timing!"
Nami activated her Taurus Star Spirit Mode, plunging into the sea with her coating shield.
She remembered her days in Cocoyasi Village — powerless against Arlong's gang.
But now, she was a Fairy Tail wizard.
There was no room left for fear.
"It's okay, Princess Shirahoshi," Vivi said firmly, readying her weapon. "We won't let anything happen."
Beside her, Robin's wooden tendrils burst forth, while Sagittarius Mode enhanced her aim.
Together, the Fairy Tail girls unleashed their full power beneath the waves.
Even the drug-fueled New Fish-Man Pirates couldn't withstand their magic — their ranks collapsed in moments.
Only Hody Jones and a few senior cadres still stood.
"Damn it! Damn you all!!!"
From a corner of the battlefield, Vander Decken IX cursed bitterly.
He had hoped to sneak aboard the Fairy Tail and capture Shirahoshi amid the chaos, but now, after witnessing their overwhelming might, he didn't even dare to try.
"Hmph. I'll retreat for now… Shirahoshi, my love for you will never die…" he muttered, trying to slip away unnoticed.
But before he could escape—
A massive shadow fell over him.
A colossal hand reached down from the heavens of Fish-Man Island and crushed him like an insect.
Vander Decken IX vanished in an instant, his body reduced to a burst of crimson mist.
With Sugisawa Yuuto on guard, no enemy could flee.
That single gesture — the divine hand descending from the island above — shattered the last resistance of the New Fish-Man Pirates.
Even under the influence of the E.S. drugs, they trembled in fear and despair.
Within minutes, they were completely defeated, captured by Jinbei and the Poseidon Army.
The two cancers that had plagued Fish-Man Island were finally eradicated — two years earlier than fate had intended.
But the peace didn't last long.
"Boss Jinbei, what's wrong?" the ministers asked, seeing Jinbei's grave expression.
"Something's coming…" he said quietly.
On the Fairy Tail, Bonney and Perona looked around in confusion.
"Erza?"
"Mira? Urrutia?"
"What's going on?"
Shirahoshi trembled slightly, pointing toward the pitch-black depths of the ocean.
"S-sisters… something's coming from over there…"
Her words had barely left her lips when the entire sea began to quake.
The deep ocean roared. Waves rolled and spiraled upward, sending shock currents throughout the seafloor.
Even the mighty Jinbei and Neptune staggered backward under the pressure.
"Everyone, on guard!!!" Neptune bellowed.
But it was useless.
No amount of preparation could help against what emerged next.
From the abyss rose thousands of colossal shapes — massive, ancient beings with glowing eyes and scales like mountains.
"Ah—ahhhh!!!"
"Se… Sea Kings!!!"
"This number… this can't be real!!!"
"Those are giant-class Sea Kings! So many of them—why?!"
The people of Fish-Man Island screamed as the enormous creatures surrounded them from all sides, sealing off the light.
It was an even more terrifying sight than Noah's fall.
Even Sugisawa Yuuto's titanic form looked small before them.
"Th-this… this can't be happening…"
Even the fearless Fairy Tail girls stammered, overwhelmed by the sight.
Even Erza and Mirajane — women with power equal to admirals — felt their hearts tremble.
Then, from the depths, a flash of light burst forth.
In that instant, the titanic Yuuto vanished from the sky — reappearing aboard the Fairy Tail in human form.
Seeing him return, the girls finally breathed again.
As long as Sugisawa Yuuto was there, everything would be all right.
That was the unshakable belief of everyone in Fairy Tail.
But Yuuto only smiled faintly and said—
"Shirahoshi, these guys came for you. Go on, say hello."