He shook his head gently. This is what they call reaping what you sow.
For years, this man had drained the moisture from countless enemies, turning them into dried husks.
Now, he had become exactly the same thing…
CLANG!
Even after sheathing his blade, Issho did not lower his guard.
He turned in the same instant, blocking a sharp slash with the hilt of his sword.
His attacker was Hyouzou, the drunken blue‑ringed octopus Fish‑Man.
Though he looked lazy, sloppy, and always half‑drunk, Hyouzou was actually one of the most formidable fighters Hody Jones had recruited.
He wielded a katana in each of his eight arms, and thanks to his species' natural traits, every blade was coated in deadly poison.
There were very few warriors on all of Fish‑Man Island who could stand against a multi‑armed swordsman of his skill.
Because he followed no laws and refused to submit to King Neptune's authority, Hyouzou had long wandered the fringes of society—until Hody Jones lured him into Fish‑Man District.
Though he remained an unofficial mercenary rather than a full member of the crew, his combat strength was undeniable.
It was even said that beneath Hody himself, Hyouzou might be the strongest fighter in the entire New Fish‑Man Pirates.
Yet now, he faced an opponent clearly far more powerful than himself.
Issho's mastery of the Gravity Fruit, combined with his peerless swordsmanship, gave him an overwhelming advantage in any battle.
A true swordsman's worth was never measured by how many blades he could wield at once.
Even with eight arms, Hyouzou could not gain the upper hand.
In fact, it was already proving impossible for this drunken swordsman to even get close enough to strike.
His slashes were dangerous, but if his poisoned blades could not draw blood, much of his threat vanished.
Drunk, high on battle fever, and further boosted by the forbidden drug, Hyouzou began swinging wildly in every direction.
Blades flashed in a chaotic blur—so much so that he could no longer tell friend from foe. Unable to hit his enemy, he started cutting down his own allies instead.
This was hardly surprising. Most of the ordinary soldiers in Fish‑Man District knew full well that once Hyouzou had too much to drink, his swordplay became completely reckless.
But even knowing this, they could not escape fast enough when he turned on them.
And so, before Issho had even made a real move, Hyouzou's own men began falling one after another, screaming in agony—not just from the cuts, but from the venom seeping into their wounds.
The toxin of a blue‑ringed octopus was no joke.
Issho shook his head again. He did not know whether to laugh or sigh at such an opponent.
Hyouzou had clearly lost all control; alcohol and drugs had stripped away his reason, leaving only a mindless, slashing force.
While this made him less of a threat to Issho, the sight of him butchering his own people still left a bitter taste in the swordsman's heart.
"Gravity Blade: Fierce Tiger!"
Issho wrapped his sword in the power of the Gravity Fruit and reinforced it with Armament Haki, then brought it down in a single, devastating strike.
The blow, infused with the full force of his Devil Fruit, cut through the air like a scythe.
Hyouzou did not even have time to raise his weapons before he was sent flying backward.
The weight behind this slash was beyond comprehension.
It did not stop at the octopus swordsman; it swept through every Fish‑Man soldier standing nearby, lifting them and the ground beneath their feet high into the air.
For a Gravity Fruit user, large‑scale battles were where the ability truly shone.
Issho's power seemed tailor‑made for fighting crowds—so much so that using it against only one enemy felt almost like a waste.
Hody Jones could scarcely believe his eyes.
He had thought that with tens of thousands of followers and his elite officers, even if he suffered some losses, he would never be completely defeated.
Yet reality was proving him wrong. How could these few human pirates be this strong?
All the power he had spent years gathering, all his plans to overthrow the royal family and build his own kingdom—everything was crumbling right before him.
Worse, his enemies were not just defeating his forces; they still had plenty of strength left to tear apart everything he had built.
Hody had started this fight, and now he had to face the consequences—though he realized far too late that he had kicked against a mountain.
El had already ordered his officers to give it their all, holding nothing back.
Fish‑Man District itself might survive, but the power Hody had built would never recover.
How could he accept watching years of preparation, all his schemes, and even the risks he had taken to smuggle in the forbidden drugs, come to nothing?
He grabbed every remaining vial of Energy Steroid EX he carried and swallowed them all at once, without a moment's hesitation.
He knew very well that the higher the dose, the more severe the damage to his body. But there was no other choice.
If he lost this battle, everything was over anyway. It was better to gamble his life and see just how much power the drug could give him.
Hahhh…
He breathed deeply, feeling a surge of energy rushing through his veins, making him feel invincible.
Between this massive overdose and the smaller doses he had taken in the past, his body was already undergoing changes that would likely never be reversed.
"Interesting…"
El, who had been watching calmly, finally spoke.
"I didn't expect there actually exists a drug that can amplify one's potential so drastically."
He had clearly noticed the sudden, terrifying shift in Hody Jones's aura.
Before swallowing those handfuls of pills, the great white shark Fish‑Man had felt no different from any other ordinary strong fighter—no more impressive than his own officers.
But as he devoured the forbidden drugs as if they were food, his power spiked upward at an alarming rate, impossible for El to ignore.
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