"Captain, the whole building just stood up on its own!" Casa ran up in a hurry to report, completely unaware that Rin had restored the entire structure using a Restoration Charm.
"I did it. There's nothing more to handle here—go back to your posts." Rin saw that the crisis was averted and no longer needed backup.
"Understood." With Rin's command, the trio returned to their original positions to resume their duties.
After sending them off, Rin made his way to the next building to check on Hody Jones. When he arrived, he found Hody barely conscious still alive but gasping, fumbling for something in his pocket.
"Your vitality's pretty ridiculous," Rin mocked. Even with his Fish-Man physiology and the effects of the Energy Steroids, Hody's resilience was surprising but Rin was confident the man wouldn't escape death for long.
"You think I'd be caught totally unprepared? Cough…" Hody rasped. His voice was weak, but his eyes held defiance as if he still had a card to play.
"Hmph. Still clinging to life? Let's strike a deal. Tell me who hired you, and I'll let you live. Sound fair?" Rin wanted to extract the identity of the mastermind behind Hody's mission he suspected Shen Feifei was pulling the strings but wanted confirmation.
"I won't talk not even in death. You'll get nothing from me," Hody growled through bloodied teeth, fiercely guarding the secret of his employer.
"Then I'll make your end painful." Rin's expression hardened. The aura around him turned murderous. He knew that even if he killed Hody, the real danger those behind him would persist. He had to eliminate the threat to Princess Otohime completely.
"You cough take another step, and I'll blow us all sky-high!" Hody suddenly raised a trembling hand holding a remote detonator. His eyes glared with deadly intent.
"A bomb? You think that'll stop me?" Rin narrowed his gaze but didn't move recklessly.
"It's not you I'm targeting. What if I told you… the bomb is planted under Princess Otohime's stage?" Hody let out a low, sinister laugh, triumphant despite his injuries.
"What? You rigged the stage?!" Rin's heart dropped. So this was Hody's real plan. The explosive wasn't meant to be used immediately just as a failsafe. Even if weak, the detonation could kill or maim many of the Fish-Men and mermaids nearby.
"You forced my hand. This wasn't the plan, but I'll do it." Hody coughed violently, blood spraying from his mouth.chunks of organ matter visible. The toll from the Energy Steroids and Rin's devastating attacks was clear. But in his eyes burned determination madness, even.
"I'll ask one last time. Give me the name of the one behind this, and I'll spare you." Rin's tone turned colder. As a Warlord of the Sea (Shichibukai), he knew he had to resolve this now or live with the consequences.
"As a mercenary, cough, protecting an employer's identity is the most basic code of honor." Hody's voice was raspy, but his resolve remained unbroken. He was loyal even unto death.
"Then drop the detonator or face the consequences." Rin's eyes sharpened, his Haki-infused presence almost suffocating. This was the fiercest he had looked since becoming a Warlord.
"Cough… cough… cough!" Suddenly, Hody began to hack up blood violently. Rin saw his chance and lunged forward to snatch the device from Hody's grip.
But despite missing a hand and a leg, Hody retained his clarity. At the precise moment Rin moved, he clenched the detonator tightly, his thumb pressing down on the activation button holding it there.
"You…!" Rin stopped mid-motion. If Hody's thumb came off, the device might activate. Everyone near Otohime especially her could die.
"Hmph… even now… cough, you underestimate me. You think I'd let you win so easily?" Hody's hand trembled, struggling to keep pressure on the trigger. His body was failing, but his will refused to surrender.
"Congratulations. You've pissed me off." Rin's fists tightened. He could end Hody in an instant but not without triggering that device. It was a stalemate, one Rin couldn't afford.
"You already lost from the moment I appeared behind you, Princess Otohime's fate was sealed. Now… I just get to kill a few more along the way." Hody had planned this from the moment he was blasted away. While Rin was occupied preventing the building collapse, Hody had recovered the remote, turning the tables.
"I never expected you the man who swore to destroy humans and avenge Fish-Men to turn your back on your own kind," Rin said suddenly. A spark of strategy lit his eyes he was ready to use Hody's twisted ideology against him.
"You… How do you know that?" Hody's voice cracked. He was shocked. No one here should've known his history.
"Surprised I know your past? If I didn't have ways of finding such things out, how could I possibly be named among the Seven Warlords?" Rin smirked inwardly of course, the truth was he knew it all from One Piece. But Hody didn't need to know that.
"Hmph! Then you must believe that those Fish-Men supporting Otohime's dream are traitors scum, every last one of them!" Hody barked, furious. His grip on the detonator weakened for just a second as emotion overtook him.
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