So this was the limit of Hody Jones's strength. Was this the absolute peak that the drug could grant?
No wonder it was classified as forbidden—it barely delivered any meaningful boost, yet clearly carried devastating side‑effects.
Little did El know that Energy Steroid EX was already the most powerful version of the drug available to Hody.
"How dare you humiliate me like this!" Hody roared, his eyes blazing red with fury.
But for all his rage, he was still completely helpless against his opponent.
The gap in power was absolute and could not be overcome by will alone.
ROAR!
Overcome by anger and the drug's influence, Hody seemed to lose all sense of reason.
He abandoned all thought, relying only on his primal instincts—claws, teeth, and brute force his only remaining weapons.
To El, this made the fight even more tedious.
THUD!
His figure vanished from right in front of Hody and reappeared instantly behind the great white shark Fish‑Man.
A fist reinforced with Armament Haki crashed hard into Hody's lower back.
Even with the massive dose of forbidden drugs in his system, Hody could not withstand the blow.
"ARGH!"
A scream of agony tore from his throat as he was sent flying backward.
Regardless of how much his strength had been amplified, the loss of rational thought alone made him little more than a wild beast—easily exploited and defeated.
Groan… ugh…
Hody collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain, his cries gradually fading away.
El had already decided to end this pointless battle.
In his current state, Hody was barely worthy of being called an opponent.
But since he had personally taken charge of this fight, El would see it through to the end himself, even if his interest had long since vanished.
Sigh…
El glanced at the fallen Hody, then at the scattered, exhausted soldiers who could no longer fight.
Meanwhile, all of Hody's top officers—the hard core of his forces—had already been completely taken down by El's own crew.
With Hody defeated, there remained no one left in Fish‑Man District who dared to stand against the El Pirates.
"Is that all there is to it?" El murmured, looking down at the pitiful figure before him.
Already, the side‑effects of the forbidden drug were beginning to manifest.
The officers who had consumed it—including Hody himself—started to shrink and wither.
Their bodies, once strong and imposing, were rapidly wasting away, as if all their vitality and energy were being drained from within.
The cause was obvious: the very drug they had swallowed.
Only those who had taken it were suffering this terrible fate.
The most severe case was none other than Hody Jones himself—the leader of the district and the mastermind behind the rebellion.
He had used the drug without restraint, swallowing an entire handful just moments before.
But now, the forbidden substance no longer gave them confidence or strength.
Even with doubled power, they had still been unable to resist the officers of the El Pirates.
For all its fearsome reputation, the drug's actual effects were short‑lived and came at a terrible price.
It had already sapped decades of life from those who took it.
Who would ever want such a thing after seeing its consequences?
Even El could only shake his head. "To make something this destructive—no wonder it was banned."
"Captain, what shall we do with these men?" Doflamingo stepped forward to ask.
With their leader and commanders defeated, the ordinary soldiers dared not think of resisting.
Besides Fish‑Men, there were also many human pirates among the New Fish‑Man Pirates—though in a crew dominated by Fish‑Men, their treatment was nothing short of cruel.
Most of the time, they were treated as little more than slaves or disposable cannon fodder, sent to face the enemy first to absorb the brunt of the attack.
This was all due to Hody's deep‑rooted hatred for humans.
Now that El and his crew had dismantled the New Fish‑Man Pirates, these human captives were finally freed.
"As for them…" El paused to consider.
"Leave them to the people of Fish‑Man Island to handle. King Neptune should have received word of what happened here by now."
His guess was correct. News of the battle and its outcome had already reached the royal palace.
Since the matter was settled, King Neptune was more than willing to take charge of the aftermath.
In truth, El's intervention had been a great favor to the kingdom.
Fish‑Man Island at that moment was in a vulnerable position—King Neptune was aging, and his sons had not yet reached their full strength.
If Hody had acted on his plans, the island would have faced a serious upheaval.
By crushing the rebellion, El had effectively saved the kingdom from chaos.
It was only right that the royal family should handle the final arrangements.
And just as El finished speaking, movement could be heard from the direction of the palace.
King Neptune and his royal guard had indeed arrived to "clean up the mess."
It was normally a great discourtesy to ask the king himself to tend to such matters—but since he came of his own free will, there was no issue.
After all, it was El and his crew who had defeated Hody Jones and his New Fish‑Man Pirates…
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