Hody Jones naturally understood Hera's look. In his exasperation, he also saw Perona's soul drifting toward Ryugu. Knowing he didn't have much time left, he made a decision.
"You forced me, brat. Let me show you the power of a Fishman." With that, Hody Jones took out two Energy Steroid E.S. pills and swallowed them.
As soon as the Energy Steroids entered his stomach, power surged from Hody Jones's body. His aura increased wildly, exploding as his eyes turned blood-red, staring at Hera with a ferocious gaze.
He struck the seawater with one hand, releasing a massive shockwave toward Hera: "'Umidaiko'! Where will you hide now? Drown in the sea!"
Seeing this, Hera covered her arms in Armament Haki and blocked the strike, kindly reminding him: "Don't waste your energy. My spirit dress itself can block seawater, not to mention I'm not afraid of the sea at all."
Upon hearing this, Hody Jones, whose rationality was already thin after taking the Energy Steroids, was further consumed by fury. He howled as he lunged forward, intending to crush Hera.
Hera's Observation Haki sensed the arrival of a large number of soldiers, and she didn't feel like playing with him anymore. After these few exchanges, Hera discovered he didn't have Armament Haki, and now he had even lost his sanity. To Zafkiel, he was just a moving target.
Hera pondered whether to pause him with the 'Seventh Bullet' or slow him down with the 'Second Bullet'. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly had a new idea and injected energy into Zafkiel's minute hand.
With a gunshot, the 'Third Bullet' hit Hody Jones. Time began to flow rapidly for him, accelerating the effects of the Energy Steroids. In the next second, he turned into an old man.
Hody Jones felt his body weaken. No longer robust, he had directly become an old man. His originally fierce pounce became limp and weak, making him look like an old man trying to stage a fake accident.
Hody Jones asked angrily, "What did you do to me? Why did I become an old man?" But his aged voice made even his anger sound feeble.
Hera laughed at the sight: "You're an old man now and still have such a temper. Don't you know the side effects of the Energy Steroids? I just sped up the process." She knocked him unconscious with a single blow from saikū.
Nami had already electrocuted the other members of the New Fishman Pirate Crew. Hera also checked the swimming coating on Nami's body. Seeing it was fine, she felt relieved but still injected some spiritual power to reinforce the coating.
A group of Fishmen had also fallen around Kuina and Ain. Soon, Perona's spirit body guided the Ryugu Palace guards to the scene.
King Neptune arrived with the guards and quickly took control of the situation. Seeing Neptune's arrival, the protected Queen Otohime hurriedly threw herself into his arms and recounted the incident.
King Neptune felt a wave of lingering fear upon hearing that Hody Jones actually wanted to kill his Queen and frame Hera and the others. Having a good relationship with Garp, he had naturally heard Garp mention his granddaughter.
If anything had happened to Hera and the others here, he wouldn't know how to face his old friend. His anger toward Hody Jones grew even stronger.
However, when he looked at the aged Hody Jones, he still felt a pang of pity. He hadn't expected the conflict to be so deep that Hody would go as far as killing the Queen. Yet, his duty as King told him he must punish him severely to give Hera an explanation.
Neptune signaled to his eldest son, Fukaboshi, who was beside him, to take the rebellious Fishmen away.
Just as Hera and the others thought the matter was over, a giant trident came flying toward them. A cold light flashed in Hera's eyes: "This is never-ending, isn't it?" She sent out a slash, shattering the trident.
It turned out that before Hody Jones took action, to be safe, he had called upon his accomplice, Vander Decken IX of the Flying Pirate Crew. He was shouting outside Fish-Man Island: "King, haven't you married your daughter Shirahoshi to me yet?"
Having long lost her patience, Hera used her Observation Haki to locate the source of the voice and found Vander Decken IX throwing weapons there. With spatial power wrapping around saikū and the Taurus Sword swinging out, Hera's small hand, coated in Armament Haki, reached out toward him.
While Vander Decken IX was still wondering what the rift in front of him was, an irresistible force pulled him into the crack. In the next second, he appeared in front of Hera.
Hera looked at the startled Vander Decken IX, her smile carrying a dangerous aura: "So you're the one who's been harassing Princess Shirahoshi every day?"
Feeling the power gripping him, Vander Decken IX knew he had hit a brick wall this time. He squeezed out a smile that looked worse than crying: "If I said this was a gift for Princess Shirahoshi, could you forgive me?"
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!