Arlong and Hody Jones were among the evilest fish-men of the One Piece universe. Both characters had their own arcs to explore their depravity and inflict grave harm upon the Straw Hat pirates, as well as those foolish enough to align with them.
However, there is debate about which of them is more depraved, especially given how closely related they are to one another. In fact, Arlong and Hody have interacted directly in the series before. Through identifying their worst actions, we can properly determine the threat they posed and the malice in their hearts.
10 Arlong Psychologically Tormented Nami & Ruined Her Childhood
After learning about her navigational prowess, Arlong was intrigued by Nami and saw her usefulness to him. He took her back to his park and ordered her to chart the seas on his behalf. Should she refuse, he would slaughter everyone in her village.
The Fish-Man pretended that there was a possible alternative; if she collected a hundred million berries for him, he'd leave her people alone and emancipate her from their "contract." However, this proved to be a lie, as he contacted the marines to confiscate her wealth the second she came close to meeting the ransom.
9 Hody Jones Gathered An Army Of 100,000 Fish-Men To Fight The Straw Hats
Although it's debatable whether or not Arlong was more charismatic than Hody, the latter was objectively more capable of gathering a greater following. By rallying the ruffians of the Fish-Man district, he was able to assemble a massive army of 100,000 soldiers by which to destroy the Straw Hats.
Among them was Vander Decken, whose partnership proved invaluable to his machinations later on. Manipulating him by using his infatuation with Shirahoshi, he was almost able to purpose the Noah in destroying the entire island.
8 Arlong Murdered Bell-Mere In Front Of Her Adoptive Children
Perhaps the greatest factor to Nami's trauma was the fact that Arlong murdered Bell-mere in front of the entire village. This atrocity was easily his most memorable and lasting, having psychological ramifications on the navigator for years to come.
Simultaneously, it was a useful crime in order to corral the other villagers back into line and even cowed the gallant Genzo for a time (along with the brutal injuries that would be inflicted against him).
7 Hody Was Just As Determined To Enact His Goals As Luffy Was
Since Hody understood that he was at a disadvantage against Luffy, he took dozens of energy steroids to even the odds. This was in spite of the fact that they significantly shortened his lifespan - a stipulation his underlings would frequently remind him of.
Given that Luffy was equally determined to save Ace (proven through Ivankov's hormone injections in Impel Down and Marineford), Jones' willingness to sacrifice anything for his goal is a dark reflection of the Straw Hat captain's own.
6 Arlong Set The Example For Hody To Follow
During Hody's youth in the Fish-Man district, he uncovered a group of humans terrorizing the populace. Just when it seemed as if no one could stand against them, Arlong destroyed the incursion with ease and crushed the bubble they used to breathe.
Additionally, his actions under Fisher Tiger served as an inspiration to Hody Jones and everything he set out to do. Were it not for the seeds of discord that Arlong had sown, his prodigy wouldn't have been half as menacing when it was finally time for the revolution to occur.
5 Hody Successfully Overthrew Neptune's Palace
Neptune was the king of Fish-Man island and its alleged protector. With an entire army at his disposal and his sons to enforce his will, he protected the land with strength and dignity.
However, a misunderstanding with the Straw Hats left him bound in chains. Jones seized the opportunity, using human captives to lower the gate and begin a brutal incursion that would nearly change the future of Fish-Man island forever. Were it not for the intervention of Luffy's crew, Neptune and his sons would have been publicly executed.
4 Arlong Would Have Murdered An Innocent Child If Not For Fisher Tiger
Koala was an escaped prisoner of the World Nobles who Fisher Tiger intended to return to her home village. Despite the respect he had for his captain, Arlong was an ardent opponent of this plan and even went as far as to threaten the child to her face.
This bred animosity among the crew, allowing Arlong's ideology to proliferate since it remained (relatively) unchallenged. His point was made for him when humans attacked Fisher Tiger after Koala had finally returned home.
3 Hody Jones Successfully Kidnapped Zoro, Usopp, & Brook
After the invasion of the palace, three Straw Hats were left behind - Usopp, Zoro, and Brook. Although Zoro fared well against Hody and was even able to defeat him, he suffered from a disadvantage in terrain and was dragged beneath the depths by his minions.
Jones would later broadcast that he intended to execute both Neptune and Luffy's friends simultaneously, hoping to force Luffy to choose between them and thereby proving the selfishness of humans. Fortunately, Monkey reasoned that his comrades could save themselves and went after the captured royals.
2 Arlong Nearly Drowned Luffy
Arlong was nearly able to drown Luffy by uprooting the gravel around his legs and throwing him to the bottom of the sea. This was handily the closest that the Straw Hat captain came to death at the time, and any of his allies' efforts to save him would be met with punitive action by Kuroobi.
Propitiously, Genzo had the foresight to stretch Luffy's neck so that he could breathe even when submerged underwater. This bought him ample time until he could be properly rescued and bring the fight back to Arlong, collapsing his entire park over his head.
1 Hody Nearly Destroyed All Of Fish-Man Island
When the Noah hovered precariously over Fish-Man island as it pursued Shirahoshi on Vander Decken's command, the princess fled that battlefield so that her comrades would be spared. Realizing his opportunity, Hody attacked Decken, hoping to kill him and release the ship onto the horrified islanders.
Doing so may have wiped out the Straw Hats, but it would have also effectively been committing genocide against his own people. Regardless, it was a price Jones would pay gleefully if it meant furthering his dreams of racial supremacy and harming humans no matter the cost.