"Hey, Jinbe!"
Luffy had just raised his hand to wave when Sanji immediately grabbed his captain's arm. "You idiot, look closer!"
Sanji tilted his head toward the hem of Jinbe's clothing. "Look at that mark. That's the emblem of the Immortal Pirates."
Luffy froze, his eyes landing on the insignia positioned just above Jinbe's waistband. Memories of that man flashed through his mind. "That guy..."
"Ace-san's little brother..."
Jinbe let out a heavy sigh before turning to the seahorse fish-man on guard. "Let them in. I will cover the fee myself."
"Boss Jinbe?"
"Captain?"
The surrounding fish-men of the Sun Pirates were stunned.
The seahorse fish-man blinked, recovered from his shock, and nodded. "If you don't mind paying, then it's no problem for us."
As he spoke, the main gate to the entrance groaned open. Jinbe waved to the crew on the Thousand Sunny. "Alright, come on in."
"Fantastic! That's eighty million Berries saved!" Nami cheered, her mind, as always, fixed on the finances.
…
Following Jinbe and his men to the Coral Harbor, the Straw Hat crew couldn't stop crying out in wonder at the sight of Fish-Man Island, which looked like a fairyland under the sea.
After the Thousand Sunny was docked, Jinbe pointed toward the opposite direction. "Over there, if you follow the current upward from that point, you can rise all the way to the surface of the New World. It's still risky, but it's currently the safest route."
"Thanks, Jinbe!"
Luffy chirped his thanks, then immediately turned and sprinted toward the bustling Fish-Man District, shouting, "Alright! Time for an adventure!"
"Wait, Luffy-kun! My point was for you all to leave immediately!"
Jinbe's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he yelled, but Luffy had already vanished into the Fish-Man District with incredible speed.
"Huh? We can't visit Fish-Man Island?" Nami asked curiously.
Jinbe sighed and turned to his second-in-command, Aladdin, the Vice-Captain of the Sun Pirates. "I need to keep an eye on the other pirates who just entered. Aladdin, you take care of young Luffy and the others and see them off."
With that, Jinbe hurried away. Aladdin, who didn't share the same history or warmth with Luffy as Jinbe did, maintained a strictly business-like expression. "My priority is to catch up with your captain."
Leaving the directionally challenged Zoro to guard the ship, the Straw Hats followed Aladdin into the Fish-Man District, drawing many stares from the locals. Aladdin was, after all, a famous figure in these parts.
"Umm... is there a problem with us being here? I've seen several other humans around," Usopp couldn't help but ask.
He had spotted multiple humans along the way, proving that visitors were allowed. So why was Jinbe so insistent on them leaving quickly?
Aladdin stopped in his tracks and pointed to the upper right.
Nami and the others followed his finger, and their pupils instantly contracted. It wasn't a skull, but a star-shaped emblem, the same one on Jinbe's kimono. The mark of the Immortal Pirates!
"Fish-Man Island is currently territory under the Immortal Pirates. We and Boss Jinbe are their subordinates. To you, that should make us enemies, right?"
Aladdin continued leading them forward, his voice low. "We can turn a blind eye, but there are other members of the Immortal Pirates on this island right now. If Straw Hat Luffy runs into them, there will be trouble."
"Then we have to find Luffy fast! If we're targeted by a Yonko, we're dead meat!" Usopp cried, nearly jumping out of his skin.
"Yeah, yeah! Let's find Luffy quick!" Chopper added, thoroughly spooked.
Nami remained more rational, asking, "But... didn't the leader of the Immortal Pirates 'die' in a battle a year ago?"
She hesitated at the end; it felt awkward to use the word "die" when talking to the man's subordinates.
"We haven't seen a body, so who knows? But the cadres led by the Empress, the Golden Hair, and the Wolf are certain that Alucard is alive. When our Sun Pirates joined them, one of the crucial conditions for protecting this island was that we use our entire race's power to search the seabed for Alucard."
Aladdin brought them to the heart of the district. "This is the center of the Fish-Man District; it connects to every area. Find your captain quickly and head for the New World. Given the history, Straw Hat Luffy and the Immortal Pirates have a serious grudge."
With that, Aladdin turned and left.
"Talk about cold," Usopp grumbled.
"Given our situation, their attitude is normal," Nami commanded. "Franky and Usopp, go buy sailing supplies. Everyone else, find Luffy. We meet back at the Sunny!"
…
Fish-Man Island – Open-Air Café.
Two groups of people stood on opposite sides of the cafe. One group looked like street thugs, while the other wore identical white cotton uniforms. Two men sat at a table in the center.
On the left, a man with green hair styled in a mohawk took a rough gulp of coffee and immediately spat it all out. "Dammit! This stuff is so bitter! Can't you put more sugar in it!?"
The man opposite him sat with his legs crossed on the table, eyes half-lidded and lazy. "Have you considered my proposal, Barto-kun? An alliance to take down the Donquixote family."
The two men were Bartolomeo, Captain of the Barto Club under the Immortal Pirates' banner, and Trafalgar Law, Captain of the Heart Pirates, also known as the Surgeon of Death.
Bartolomeo showed zero interest in Law's proposal. "My only goal is to find Alucard-sama as quickly as possible. I'm not interested in anything else."
"But without a specific location, we're just searching aimlessly while wasting time," Law said, crossing his hands and cracking his knuckles. "Why not do something productive in the meantime?"
Bartolomeo paused; Law's words weren't entirely without merit.
As they discussed, a startled cry came from nearby. "Huh? Where did everybody go? Honestly, those guys get lost way too easily!"