L.O.J.S.H 230

I knew it was a bad idea; I knew nothing good would come of it. But I didn't care. 

I've had enough of being hunted, enough of the world government bullshit, and so I will do something about it. Would my actions solve the problem? Would they get the world government off my back? Doubtful. 

Again, I didn't care, or so I mused as I swam my way down towards Fish-man island, fully intent on doing something I knew to be incredibly dumb and basing my entire plan on an expectation rather than a certainty to boot. 

Maybe I should have tried to cool my head before making the decision, for I knew myself well enough to realize I would not stop once I started something. But I couldn't bring myself to wait any longer. 

I actively pushed myself to the point of no return, increasing my speed instead even as sea beasts emerged from the dark depth as if trying to delay me, to make me reconsider. 

The first of such sea-beasts was a grotesque mixture between a centipede and a snake, a colossal one, not that its size did it any good.

I, at least, had the decency to pity the creature as I swam through the bloody mess I turned into in my rush. I usually didn't bother killing sea-kings and other deep-sea monsters as they acted merely on instinct, but I didn't have the leisure to hold back against this one, nor the dozen that followed. 

I needed a power boast for what's to come to and one particular upgrade for my dumb plan to work, two things that I could get by reaching Fish-man Island. Probably. 

Soon enough, I was floating in the water, staring at a colossal bubble encasing the beautiful scenery of Fish-man Island. But I was in no mood to indulge in sightseeing for once. 

"You there... human..." 

Came a rough voice in a disgusted tone.

I sighed as I heard the voice behind, turning to the speaker. I had already sensed his - and his friends' presence, but I had genuinely hoped they would ignore my presence despite knowing better.

"Hody Jones. You'll fuck off right this instance if you know what's good for you and yours," I flatly remarked, not feeling like mincing words with a neo-nazi fish. 

I could hear the Fish-men words underwater with enhanced hearing, but I had no idea if they could understand me, considering my words came out like gibberish. 

"Hoh? So you know about us? That's unexpected..." Hody said, tone laden with amusement. 

'So they can hear and understand me? I wonder how that works...'

"However, it doesn't change the fact you've slaughtered our beasts, nor your trespass," Hody added, crossing two arms in front of his chest, to which I sighed in annoyance. 

I didn't want to kill Hody Jones, and it wasn't out of some misguided sense of sympathy or a desire to see good that doesn't exist in that hate-filled heart of his.

Ironically enough, Hody's hate-fueled crusade against humans served as an example to the residents of Fish-man island as they saw the monster he became. And the monsters they too will become if they followed in his footsteps and allowed hate to cloud their hearts.

Hody was a necessary evil. Only because someone would stop him in the future, make an example out of him. 

But that won't stop me from spilling his blood here and now. 

"Kill the human!" Hody exclaimed, gesturing towards me, and his Fish-men companions obliged with glee, brandishing their weapons and charging towards me without a second thought. 

I firmed my resolve and released my conquerors haki at full strength as the small fries were the first to reach me. And they started dropping like flies, falling to the bottom of the sea. 

Hody and the few Fish-men who resisted my haki froze for a second, but any hope they would take the hint and leave was dashed as Hody was the first to recover. 

"He's only one human! He's no match for fish-men in the water! Kill him!" Hody barked, snapping the remaining Fish-men pirates out of their daze as he led the charge towards me, brandishing a golden trident. 

I stood my ground, letting the fish-men surround me, and the first to charge was a blue hammerhead fish-man wielding a colossal hammer, prompting the others to follow his lead. 

The hammerhead fish-man reached me first and immediately swung his hammer down, wasting no time. He was quick in the water, but not enough. Not by a large margin, especially with my observation haki. 

I pushed myself back with a flick of my hand, avoiding the hammer. I swung my sword on top of it to disrupt the hammerhead's balance and drew it back as I moved forward, thrusting into the fish-man's chest.

"Dosun!" exclaimed a red fish-man who was the smallest of the punch as he opened his maw full of sharp teeth and charged at me like a torpedo, trying to bite my head off.

I took my sword out of the hammerhead, Dosun's chest, and kicked his now-dead body towards the newcomer. The red fish-man hesitated for a short second before swimming around Dosun's body, only to find a haki-covered fist heading straight to his face. 

I frowned at the sound of shattering teeth and the slimy sensation over my hand, but I quickly got over it as the last fish-man, an octopus, welding more swords than I cared to count, and Hody himself charged at me with hateful expressions. 

Clearly having learned from the mistakes of their now-dead companions, Hody and the octopus arrived at the same time, the latter swinging a hurricane as he came near me. 

It took me a second to process the pattern of his swings and find an opening, thanks to my observation and trajectory analysis cyberware, and I only needed to trust my sword to end his life. 

But a sudden weight clinging to my sword hand prevented me, and I turned to see a thin, tall fish-man with wavy indigo and light blue all over his body, holding my arm in place. 

Emboldened by their companion's actions, Hody and the octopus swung their respective weapons at me while he held in my place. 

I raised and opened my palm towards the duo and activated my Impact Force, releasing a concentrated shockwave that pushed them away before they could make sense of the situation. 

I gripped the striped fish-man's head with my free hand, trying to pry him off me, but he stubbornly clung to my arm in a futile effort to keep me in place. 

I tightened my grip on his head, and began releasing concentrated Impact shock waves directly into his brain until his grip over my arm loosened, and his body went limp. 

I turned to the octopus, who still hadn't gathered his bearings, and moved towards him. 

The eight limed fish-man's eyes widened as I appeared before him and tried to say something, but I didn't care to listen as I swung my sword and turned Hody, leaving the octopus's body to sink into the seafloor.

"Human..." Hody muttered as he watched his eight-limbed comrade's headless body descend into the abyss. His tone was utterly disgusted, and his expression scrunched as he spoke, as the word itself was dirty. 

There was anger and hate in his eyes as he looked at me. But Hody didn't hate me because I killed his companions. He didn't hate for what I did. No. His reasons were much simpler than that. 

He hated me simply because I was human. Nothing I did or would do could make him hate me more. I doubt anyone could hate another as much as Hody hates humans. 

I figured as much from staring into his empty eyes. 

"Might as well put you out of everyone's misery and your own..." I remarked, sighing as I swam towards Hody as he too brandished his trident and met me halfway. 

Hody's trident and my sword briefly met as we both swung, but Triton quickly cut through the fish-man's weapons without delay and cleanly cut his artery. 

He said nothing and only glared at me with his hollow, hate-filled eyes while clutching his neck, red blood leaking from the gaps between his fingers, staining the water with a faint crimson color.

I watched the life slip out of his body, along with the blood, as he slowly lost strength and slowly fell towards a dark sea bottom that seemed more than eager to devour him, and bury his hate forever in its embrace. 

I said nothing; I thought nothing and felt nothing watching this scene, merely turning away and swimming towards Fish-man Island, and as I reached my destination, the world froze. 

I smiled as a familiar darkness took over me.