Death is Also Revenge

Inside the air bubble above Fishman Island, Luffy drives his swollen, hardened fist into Hody Jones. Hody's sharklike face twists under the impact, but Luffy does not stop with a single blow. With Shirahoshi watching from below, he hurls himself through the water and crashes forward again, the bubble surging around him as the fight continues against the falling Noah.

The Noah looms above the island with its hull cracked open, ropes and chains stretching through the water around it. Shirahoshi pulls ahead at full speed, crying, "Full speed ahead, Cry-Hoshi!!" Megalo answers, "Right!!" as they lead the ship and its danger away from the people below. Their movement keeps the giant vessel from simply dropping straight into Fishman Island, but the pressure of the chase is still enormous.

Hody forces himself through the air bubble with wet, violent bursts of sound: "Gushhh!!" and "Chomp." He bites into the bubble's edge and coughs, "*Cough*... Rrrlllgghhhh..." as his body shudders with "Brrrt" and "Brrrt!" Still panting, "*Pant* *Pant*...!!" he tears back toward the fight. Luffy, relieved to have space to breathe, says, "Whew!! Open air!!" while the water roars around them.

Luffy launches himself beside the bubble and calls, "Gear Third!!" His arm swells to enormous size as he prepares another blow. Below, the citizens look up at the impossible sight and shout, "Go for it, Luffy-san!!" The shadow of Noah and the air bubble hang over Fishman Island while every eye follows Luffy's inflated fist and Hody's battered body.

On the plaza, the fishmen who once believed Hody's broadcast now stare upward in confusion. Someone asks, "Whaddaya mean, you're not gonna run?! Are you crazy?!" Another answers, "How d'you think anything's gonna stop the Noah falling on us?!" and admits, "...!! I don't know, but...!!" An older fishman remembers the past: "I just keep thinking back to 20 years ago... when I was just a kid... remembering the one human the people of this island have always been truly grateful to...!!" He says, "Old Neptune was good to be way back when, you know... We shared a fair few drinks of friendship." Yet his fear once drove him to beg, "Save me, someone, anyone!! I swear I'll never kidnap another mermaid or fishman again!!" The contradiction cuts through the crowd as he cries, "You've gotta be kidding me!! Why the hell is he... ...siding with the fishmen?!!!"

A massive blow crashes through the plaza, scattering fishmen while a furious voice condemns them: "You've got some nerve, wreaking havoc in my old friend's kingdom!! You snot-nosed blighters!!!" The crowd screams, "Guaaaaaaaaaah hhhh!!" as bodies fly. The declaration lands like a claim of protection: "This island is my territory!!!" and the mark of Whitebeard appears in the memory of that promise. Even in the chaos, Fishman Island is not abandoned.

The citizens recall their disbelief at Whitebeard's protection. Someone had cried, "You mean Whitebeard?!" and another challenged, "You're gonna trust in these guys like you trust in the great pirate Whitebeard?!" The old fishman admits, "I mean, look... truth is, I can't stand humans..." yet continues, "And this is a fishman kingdom!! It's no place for them!! Yet despite all that, these guys... they call us 'friends'!! Even lay their lives on the line...!!" Robin silently watches the people process it. Above, Hody still fights, telling Luffy, "These fangs of mine ain't just for show... Straw Hat...!!!" Luffy, panting, answers only with resolve while someone says, "He's a crazy tough one, all right..."

Hody warns, "Fishman Jujutsu... Mizugokoro!!!" and shapes water around him while Shirahoshi cries, "Cry-Hoshi, get back!!!" Luffy says, "Right...!" but Hody releases the attack as "Murasame!!" with the note that the name means a brief shower of rain. Luffy snaps back, "Gomu Gomu no!!!" while the water splits into a "shark horde" of deadly droplets, flying like teeth through the air. The page moves from Hody's controlled technique to the incoming storm of water-sharks and Luffy's counterattack beginning.

Hody's hatred turns fully toward destruction. He shouts, "Fall upon them, Noah!! Wipe out the filth that have forgotten their fishman pride!!" as people below scream, "Haaaa ahhhhh hhh!!!" and realize, "He's not stopping...!!" Others panic that he is "going to destroy it!! The legendary ship!!" A report cuts through the confusion: "The Den-Den Mushi signal has cut out!!" and "What's going on over there!!" News spreads: "Breaking news!! Right now, Straw Hat Luffy, in the waters above the island..." The crowd sees the truth at once: "Can he really do that?!" and "I was sure he was just going to do something to Decken, or... I'm not letting this thing fall on the island!!" Shirahoshi worries, "Luffy-sama...!! Your wounds... they're opening up...!!!" while Luffy drives forward and names his blow: "Elephant Gun!!!"

Luffy pushes beyond a single strike. As someone below prays, "...and protect our beloved island from harm!!" he pants, "Gomu Gomu no... Shhhhhh," and unleashes "Elephant Gatling!!!" His giant fists hammer Noah's hull again and again, each impact splintering the ship as the citizens look up in shock. On the side, people ask, "Destroy the Noah?!" and "What is more, Hody Jones... captain of the New Fishman Pirates..." while another voice understands the impossible scene: Straw Hat is attempting to destroy Noah itself.

The crowd receives the report: Hody "...was just defeated at the hands of Luffy-san!!" Panic follows immediately, because victory over Hody has not saved the island. People shout, "Aaaaagh hhhh!! It's all over!! Captain Hody was defeated!!!" and "And there's no way Straw Hat can destroy the Noah!! We've gotta get outta here!!!" Zeo refuses to accept the ending, crying, "Zeo-san!!! There's no point!! This island is going to be..." before insisting, "Death is but another revenge!!!" Even beaten and chained in the chaos, he screams, "Nguaaaaaah hhh!!!" as his ideology keeps fighting after his body has failed.

Zeo turns death itself into a weapon. He declares, "In death, we will continue to curse the humans!! This tragedy will be made incarnate in our flesh and blood!!!" and promises, "Our malice will never die!! It will be passed on to the next generation... and we will surely be avenged!!!" Someone screams back, "...He's crazy!! You bigshots have all lost your minds!!!" Zeo answers that if they are crazy, "it's the humans that made us this way!!! We will not flee!!! We must direct our anger at the humans, Bogo oooon!!!" The crowd's certainty cracks. One person asks, "Are humans really... all that scary?" Another starts to say, "Don't ask such stupid questions!! I mean, all through history... the humans have always... caused our kind so much..." but is cut off by the realization itself: "Enough!!"

Robin brings the argument back to what everyone can see. She says, "You must judge with your own eyes!! Here in the plaza... and in the waters above...!! It is the humans who are fighting on our behalf!!" Brook stands among the enemy as someone asks, "Even him?" Robin continues, "Well, yes, some of them are a little unusual, but that is beside the point!! You must witness for yourselves, or you have no right to judge!!" Zeo, still screaming, insists, "No matter what you may witness in your lives to come...!! If you refuse to die in battle, I will take your lives myself - that your hatred of the humans may live on forever!!" Robin's answer is calm and final: "You must observe it with open minds and hearts!!"

Brook strikes Zeo down and rebukes him: "That's quite enough!! Have you no shame?!!" A fishman stammers, "Th-thanks...!! We owe you one, Skeleton Mask!!" while another says, "This guy knows what he's talking about. You are too kind!!" Brook rejects Zeo's creed completely: "What do you know of death!! Have you ever died?!! You think death will preserve your cause forever?!! Ridiculous!! Death leaves nothing behind!!! Once a person passes on, nothing remains but dead bones!!!" Zeo fires back that if Noah falls, humans will die first, but Brook answers, "If there is one thing I cannot stand, it is a person with no respect for life!! It makes my nose wrinkle in disgust!! Though I have no nose to wrinkle!!" He adds, "Though I'm not quite sure whether you are human..." and still holds the line against Zeo's nihilism.

Brook stands tall and gives the Straw Hats' answer to fear: "Our captain, Straw Hat Luffy... is the man who will one day become Pirate King!!! So long as we believe in this, what need is there to be afraid?! Now, it is time for me to fulfill my duty!! Yohohoho!" Nearby, another fight turns comic and practical. Sanji lies frustrated, crying, "Uwiipahhh!! Hang on a minute!! I ain't got no swords leeeeft!!" and wondering, "How'm I meant to fight like this...?" Jinbe tells him, "Oh, give it a rest, would you? Time to finish this with a special technique!!" Sanji asks, "Well, then shall we finish this...?" and Jinbe answers, "Yes, I think so." Facing the enormous Wadatsumi, Sanji says, "Yeah, I think that's enough. You are pretty amazing!!" as Wadatsumi boasts, "How d'you like this, huh?! Bet you're amazed now!" and laughs, "Unghahah ahahahah!"

The plaza erupts again when Chopper changes form. Usopp shouts, "Chopper!!" as enemies scream, "Aaaaaghhh!! What the heck is that monster?!" and "Kyarhhhhh!! Where did that thing come from?!" Chopper's huge monster body drops into the fight with "Rrraaa aaaghh hhhh!!!" while one shocked voice says, "Th... that little guy... he suddenly just...!!" Usopp, seeing the size of it, protests, "Chopper...!! Surely there was no need to go that far?!!" Chopper grins and answers, "Ehehe heh... Don't worry about me, Usopp!" while Usopp can only react, "Huh?!"

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