The depths of the ocean were a graveyard of ships, but one vessel moved with purpose through the darkness. The Thousand Sunny, towed by the massive Kraken named Surume, cut through the water like a bullet. Inside the ship's coating, the air was tense.
Luffy sat on the figurehead, his eyes fixed on the black void ahead. His Observation Haki pulsed outward, scanning miles of ocean in every direction.
"We are approaching the gravitational anomaly of the Red Line," Robin stated, looking up from a chart. "The currents are becoming erratic."
"Surume is doing a good job," Chopper said, pressing his nose against the bubble. "He is so fast!"
Suddenly, a mournful song echoed through the water. It was low, dissonant, and seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"Yohoho," Brook shivered. "That is the song of the dead. But I am already dead, so it is quite catchy."
"It's a ghost ship!" Usopp screamed, pointing a trembling finger into the gloom.
From the shadows, a tattered, rotting galleon emerged. It was enormous, its sails hanging like shrouds. The legendary Flying Dutchman. Beside it stood a humanoid giant so large he dwarfed even the Kraken.
Wadatsumi, the Great Monk.
On the deck of the ghost ship, a four-legged man with a distinctively creepy demeanor stepped forward. Vander Decken IX.
"Bahahaha!" Decken's laugh bubbled through the water. "What do we have here? A tiny ship pulled by my pet Kraken? No, wait. Surume? What are you doing serving humans?"
Surume whimpered, slowing down. He looked from Decken to Luffy, torn between old fear and new terror.
"Ignore him," Luffy said. His voice was calm, but it carried a sharp edge that cut through Surume's panic. "Keep swimming."
"You ignore me?" Decken snarled. "I am Vander Decken IX! The man cursed by the sea! Surume! Crush that ship! Or I will tell the Great Monk to peel your tentacles off!"
Wadatsumi roared, raising a fist the size of a small island. "Crush! Crush!"
The giant monk swung his fist toward the Sunny. The water pressure from the movement alone threatened to collapse their bubble.
"Luffy!" Nami yelled.
Luffy didn't look at Wadatsumi. He looked at Surume.
"Surume," Luffy said. "Bite him."
It was a simple order. But laced with the undertone of Conqueror's Haki, it wasn't a request. It was an absolute mandate. Surume's fear of Decken vanished, replaced by the instinct to obey the Alpha predator on the figurehead.
Surume roared. He released the Sunny for a split second, launching himself at Wadatsumi. His tentacles wrapped around the giant monk's face, squeezing tight.
"Gah! Let go! Stupid squid!" Wadatsumi flailed, punching the water, but Surume was faster, dragging the giant deeper into the abyss.
Decken's jaw dropped. "You turned my pet against me? Who are you?"
Luffy stood up. He looked directly at Decken across the expanse of dark water.
"I am Luffy," he said. "The man who is going to break your curse."
Decken blinked. "Break my curse? You mean you know how to—"
"No," Luffy interrupted. "I mean I am going to break your face if you throw one more thing at the Mermaid Princess."
Decken froze. The color drained from his face. "How... how do you know about that? That is my secret! My love!"
"It's not love," Luffy said, his voice dropping to a growl. "It's harassment. And she is under my protection now."
Decken's shock turned to rage. He reached into his coat, pulling out a massive axe. "Protection? She is mine! I marked her! I will kill you right here!"
He prepared to throw the axe.
Luffy raised his fist. He didn't need Gear Second. He didn't need to stretch. He just needed to send a message. He pulled his arm back, his muscles coiling.
"Get lost."
Boom.
Before either of them could strike, the ocean floor erupted.
A plume of magma exploded from the trench below, turning the freezing water into boiling steam instantly. The underwater volcano had chosen this exact moment to wake up. The shockwave slammed into both ships.
"The volcano!" Nami screamed. "The seabed is collapsing! We have to go!"
"Surume!" Luffy shouted.
The Kraken abandoned his fight with Wadatsumi immediately. He snatched the Thousand Sunny and swam desperately away from the eruption. The Flying Dutchman was tossed aside like a toy in a bathtub, Decken's curses lost in the roar of the explosion.
"Faster, Surume!" Luffy commanded. "Jump into the trench!"
The Kraken obeyed. He dove into the pitch-black trench, outrunning the cloud of ash and boiling rock. They plummeted for what felt like hours, the light fading until absolute darkness swallowed them.
Then, a light appeared.
It started as a speck, then grew into a blinding radiance. A massive bubble, wrapping around an island floating in a void of light.
Fishman Island.
"It's beautiful," Robin whispered.
"It's bright!" Chopper cheered, shielding his eyes.
"We made it!" Usopp cried, hugging the mast. "We didn't die!"
But their path was blocked. A group of large sea beasts, ridden by Fishmen with tattoos of the New Fishman Pirates, formed a wall in front of the entrance.
A fishman with a long neck and a cigar, Hammond, stepped forward on his mount.
"Stop right there!" Hammond shouted. "I am Hammond of the New Fishman Pirates! If you want to pass, you must abandon your captain and join us! Refuse, and we will pop your bubble and feed you to the sea kings!"
The crew looked at Luffy.
Luffy looked at the entrance. He looked at Hammond.
"Franky," Luffy said.
"Way ahead of you, Captain!" Franky grinned, his hands already on the controls.
"Do we refuse?" Hammond sneered. "Straw Hat Luffy, look at your situation. You are underwater. You are weak. Yield!"
Luffy tilted his hat. "I don't listen to fish bait."
"Coup de Burst!" Franky slammed the button.
BANG!
The air cannon at the back of the Sunny fired. The ship didn't just move; it teleported. It blasted past Hammond, the shockwave spinning the sea beasts out of control. The Sunny pierced the outer bubble of Fishman Island like a needle through skin.
"We are inside!" Nami shouted.
"Not yet!" Sanji yelled. "We are in the inter-layer! The currents are too strong!"
They were caught in the violent washing machine of currents between the outer and inner bubbles. The ship spun wildly.
"The coating is peeling off!" Franky warned. "Everyone, grab something!"
"Luffy!" Zoro shouted. "Don't fall out!"
Luffy was laughing. "This is fun!"
Then, the ship hit a massive whirlpool. The centrifugal force was too much.
"We're going to crash!" Usopp screamed.
The ship was thrown out of the current and into the sky of the inner bubble. The coating shattered. The crew was flung in different directions, scattered across the island by the force of the entry.
Luffy flew through the air, flailing his arms.
"Sanji! Food! Zoro! Sword! Nami! Money!"
He crashed into a soft, sandy cove.
Silence.
Luffy sat up, spitting out sand. He rubbed his head. His hat was still firmly on his head.
"Ouch," he muttered. "That was a rough landing."
He looked around. He was in a beautiful cove with coral reefs and clear blue water. And sitting on the rocks, staring at him with wide eyes, were four mermaids.
"A human?" one mermaid whispered.
"He fell from the sky!" another giggled.
Luffy stood up, brushing the sand off his shorts. His stomach growled loud enough to echo in the cove.
"Hey," Luffy grinned. "Do you guys have any meat?"
The mermaids squealed and dove into the water, giggling.
Luffy looked around. He felt the auras of his crew scattered across the island. They were alive. They were safe.
He grinned.
Fishman Island. I'm finally here.
He walked toward the water's edge, dipping his hand in.
Wait for me, Shirahoshi. I'm coming to get you.