Just as Rorschach was escorting the Alabasta group through the Sabaody Archipelago, heading toward the Red Line that had appeared in the distance…
Ten thousand meters below the ocean surface.
A luxurious ship, adorned with a mermaid figurehead, slowly ascended through the only gap beneath the Red Line, moving upward toward the sea above.
Inside the bubble-wrapped vessel, shimmering with a glassy aura, stood King Neptune of the Ryugu Kingdom—on his way to attend the World Summit—along with several of his children and a few guards.
A tall, long-eared, squinting colonel sat cross-legged on the bow deck, eyes closed, seemingly meditating, under the curious gazes of many fishmen.
Silver arcs of electricity periodically sparked along his military uniform, crackling sharply into the ears of those nearby.
Nearby, a few tense Navy soldiers remained on full alert, wary of the dangers that could emerge at any moment from the deep ocean.
Traveling at such extreme depths with a coated ship was perilous, especially when encountering Sea Kings that might see the ship as prey.
If the bubble coating were damaged by an attack, everyone aboard would be doomed.
Oxygen deprivation and the crushing water pressure made humans extremely fragile.
But the inhabitants of this ship were not human.
The merfolk and fishmen, living tens of thousands of meters beneath the sea, were born with bodies naturally adapted to high pressure.
To them, the deep sea was as comfortable as air is to humans.
"Father, Father, do you think it's daytime or nighttime above the surface? Will we be able to see the sun and moon?"
On the spacious deck, in front of the towering King Neptune, stood Shirahoshi—a pink-haired mermaid princess with a pink-scaled tail. Her large aqua eyes sparkled with excitement as she softly asked.
Neptune gazed at his beloved daughter with a warm, affectionate smile. "It should be daytime. It won't take long to reach the surface from here, so the sun probably hasn't set yet."
"Will we see the sun? The one that shines warmly and energetically, like a blazing coral tree?" Shirahoshi's chubby little face glowed with anticipation.
After receiving his tenth confirmation, she excitedly swam across the deck.
Sometimes she pressed her face against the bubble membrane at the bow, eyes wide, marveling at the deep-sea world outside.
Sometimes she ran to the stern, craning her neck to glimpse the surface world above.
A bubble ring around her waist helped her float easily, making her massive body manageable.
Shirahoshi was thrilled—this was her first journey to the world above the sea.
For a mermaid who had lived all her life on Fish-Man Island, this adventure was nothing short of extraordinary.
From birth to age six, her world had been Fish-Man Island.
Afterward, due to harassment by Vander Decken IX, she had been confined to the Hard Shell Tower for years.
Those experiences had only reinforced her shy and timid personality.
Now, given the chance to see the surface world that her late mother, Queen Otohime, often described, how could Shirahoshi not be excited?
Even her older brothers on deck, affected by her joy, relaxed and smiled despite their usual restraint.
"Look, big brother! Father! It's Lord Lantern!"
Shirahoshi pressed against the ship's railing, her sparkling eyes fixated on the ocean.
Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the surrounding darkness of the deep sea.
A lantern fish, hundreds of meters long and as massive as a small mountain, floated slowly through the depths, its glowing bulb illuminating the waters.
Massive Sea Kings, their enormous forms revealed by the light, sent shivers down the spines of the Navy soldiers aboard.
Fortunately, the merfolk, familiar with the habits of these creatures, knew how to avoid being targeted.
They dimmed most of the ship's lights, leaving only a small glow to guide their ascent and avoid attracting the attention of deep-sea rulers.
Outside, the massive lantern fish opened its mouth to swallow a smaller Sea King drawn by its light, only to be intercepted by a colossal sea serpent hundreds of meters long, which dragged it into the endless darkness.
"Lord Lantern!" Shirahoshi's eyes filled with tears, and she began to sob. "Lord Lantern was eaten by the sea serpent… so pitiful!"
"Don't be sad, Shirahoshi."
Neptune hurried to comfort her, though he felt a headache coming on.
His daughter was far too emotional, crying at the slightest thing.
Timid and delicate by nature, he had originally not intended to bring Shirahoshi to the World Summit.
But he could not leave her alone on Fish-Man Island.
Although the island was now safer without Vander Decken IX or Hody Jones…
…Jinbe had gone to the New World.
Without Jinbe's protection, Neptune could not bear to leave his daughter there.
With the lantern fish gone, darkness enveloped the ship again.
Only the colonel on deck emitted faint, dragon-like sparks of electricity.
Drawn to the light, Shirahoshi approached, eyes wide with curiosity, looking at Enel, who remained meditating and training his body with electricity.
"Lord Enel~," she called softly.
Enel seemed not to hear her, lost in his training.
Since returning from the G1 Naval Battle, he had inexplicably been promoted from a low-ranking soldier to a headquarters colonel. But instead of feeling happy, he felt stifled.
Once a god ruling Sky Island, once wielding the disastrous Goro Goro no Mi, he had been reduced to charging people and gaining merit to climb ranks? Ridiculous.
Enel vowed silently: he would master Haki, then show Rorschach—who truly was the master of lightning, who was the world's greatest wielder of electric power.
He, Enel, was the true God of Lightning.
Not that shameless, thick-skinned Rorschach.
While training with determination, Enel suddenly felt a poke.
Then came a faint cry and soft sobs.
Opening his eyes, he saw the tall, curvaceous mermaid princess clutching her right hand, tears streaming down her face.
"I-I'm sorry, Lord Enel! Please don't be angry! Shirahoshi was wrong… I won't do it again…" she cried.
"Don't flatter yourself. Who's angry? My body is electricity— don't blame me for your foolish touching," Enel said indifferently.
"I-I'm sorry… uuuh… my finger… it hurts so much… huff, huff," Shirahoshi wailed, blowing on her tingling finger.
Enel, irritated by the noise, could not focus on his training. He stood up, stepping away from the constantly sobbing mermaid.
"So noisy. And you're so big, acting like a child," he muttered.
"I knew you'd be angry, Lord Enel… uuuh…" Shirahoshi cried louder.
Neptune awkwardly addressed Enel: "Colonel Enel, please don't mind. Shirahoshi's just like this. She may be big, but she's only fourteen this year…"
"Fourteen? So what? Fourteen doesn't make you a child? Some brat killed tens of thousands of pirates at fourteen. Neptune, don't make excuses—you didn't raise your daughter properly. Alabasta's princess is fourteen and already assists the kingdom." Enel said bluntly.
"Shirahoshi can't compare to Vice Admiral Rorschach—someone like him, a prodigy who appears once in centuries. But you're right, I didn't raise my daughter well. Cobra's daughter could already speak cleverly at ten during the last World Summit," Neptune admitted with a bitter smile, saying nothing further.
Though Neptune had only met Enel for less than a day, he already understood his personality: cold, proud, somewhat unapproachable, but not impossible to communicate with.
Neptune treated Enel with great respect—not because he was just a colonel, but because Enel was a top-tier Natural Disaster-class Devil Fruit user, likely to ascend to the Navy's pinnacle, and a subordinate of the world-shining Blue Dragon Vice Admiral.
As Neptune pondered how to build a relationship with this future Navy powerhouse, the ship suddenly shuddered violently, as if struck by a deep-sea current.
"What's happening? Sharkie!" Neptune called to his eldest, Sharkie.
Sharkie's eyes widened, trident in hand, staring into the dark depths. "Light up all the ship's lamps! Everyone, watch out! We're being targeted! It's… the Kraken!"
Everyone froze in terror.
Enel looked puzzled. "The Kraken?"
"The Northern Sea Giant! An octopus as massive as a large Sea King!" Neptune explained, lighting the ship's lamps to illuminate outside.
A colossal octopus floated before them, brownish-yellow, with dozens of mountain-sized tentacles, its dead fish eyes fixed on them through the bubble membrane.
"So… huge! How is this even possible?"
The Navy soldiers gawked in disbelief, panic rising in their hearts.
"Stop dawdling! Do something! Release the flotation logs to speed up the ascent!"
"No! We're still too far from the surface! Releasing them now will imbalance the bubble and cause it to rupture!"
Chaos erupted on deck—soldiers shouted, Shirahoshi cried in fear, and Sharkie and the others called for action.
The Kraken examined the ship curiously, then extended a tentacle hundreds of meters long, coiling toward the vessel.
Even before it touched the ship, the churning water rocked the deck violently, almost capsizing it.
Crew members struggled to stand, shouting as they were thrown against the bubble membrane.
Enel's head throbbed amid the chaos.
"Too noisy! Shut up!" he roared, his voice like thunder, vibrating eardrums across the deck.
Everyone immediately fell silent, their gazes fixed on him.
Grasping his golden staff, Enel strode to the bow, eyes glaring at the coiling tentacle outside the bubble.
"Just an octopus. Let me fry it into takoyaki."
"Two hundred million volts! God's Judgment!"
End of Chapter)
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