"Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!"
"Welcome, Admiral Silver Serpent, to Fish‑Man Island! Merfolk and humans forever one family~"
Fish‑Man Island was alive with cheers of greeting. A scarlet carpet stretched across the landing point, yet something felt off. The Marine warship hovered above, refusing to descend.
"Strange, why hasn't he come down yet?"
King Neptune, flanked by palace guards and ministers, squinted upward at the ship that stayed aloft. Confusion rippled through the assembled ministers.
Before long, a Merman guard sent to greet the Marine warship hurried back, breathless with urgent news.
"King, the Marines up there reported that Admiral Silver Serpent is missing! They say he must have entered the interior of Fish‑Man Island. A Vice Admiral claimed if we want to meet Admiral Silver Serpent in the palace, we must come find him inside the island."
"Admiral Silver Serpent missing? And he expects us to find him ourselves?"
King Neptune of the Ryugu Kingdom looked at the guard, disbelief etched into his weathered features.
"How could someone as powerful as an Admiral, a pillar of the Marines, just disappear without reason?"
A nearby Catfish Fish‑Man, Left Minister of the Ryugu Kingdom, leaned in and spoke quietly.
"King, perhaps Admiral Silver Serpent encountered an attack from the New Fish‑Man Pirates and wants us to pay for it. That might explain why he's making this difficult for us."
Neptune paused, considering the possibility.
"No. An Admiral would not be so petty. If he were angered by an unauthorized attack by those Fish‑Men of Fish‑Man Street, he would have appeared before me to express his displeasure. He would not disappear in such a meaningless way."
"For sure," the Right Minister, a Seahorse Fish‑Man carrying a long spear, interjected. "Did the Marines say anything else? Did they ask for offerings to Admiral Silver Serpent?"
The guard shook his head.
"No… but that Vice Admiral said Admiral Silver Serpent seems very interested in Fish‑Man Island and may be wandering about somewhere."
"It seems Admiral Silver Serpent truly did enter Fish‑Man Island," Neptune murmured as tension tightened his expression.
"Quickly, send teams to search every part of Fish‑Man Island where Admiral Silver Serpent might be! We must under no circumstances offend this honored guest! It is said Admiral Silver Serpent alone can destroy an entire large pirate fleet with dozens of ships!"
The soldiers splashed away swiftly.
"This matter is even worse than we anticipated!" King Neptune's voice trembled as he recalled intelligence reports and Jinbe's cautious attitude regarding Admiral Silver Serpent.
"If a citizen inside Fish‑Man Island angers a Marine Admiral of such strength, and he unleashes his fury upon the entire island…"
The ministers exchanged grim glances.
"At that time, all of Fish‑Man Island could lie in ruins!"
"If that Admiral wanders into Fish‑Man Street, it would be a huge commotion! Humans are absolutely unwelcome and despised there!"
The filthy alleys of Fish‑Man Street were infamous — full of impoverished, resentful Fish‑Men who loathed humans. Just imagining that unruly crowd encountering a powerful Marine Admiral made the leaders sweat with anxiety.
The countdown to catastrophe had begun.
King Neptune's voice resonated with fierce determination.
"Issue orders! Every soldier in Ryugu Castle is to search for Admiral Silver Serpent! We must find him before he witnesses the true ugliness of Fish‑Man Island!"
"Yes, King!"
The three Merman Princes — Prince Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, and Manbosh responded in unison, mounting their aquatic steeds and leading squads into the depths.
"We cannot sit idle either!"
Neptune inhaled deeply, his expression solemn and resolute.
"If Fish‑Man Island falls during my reign, I will not rest even in death! Fish‑Man Island still has its important mission! We must not be destroyed here!"
Fish‑Man Street — Dark Alley
"Filthy human! Get out of our street! Get out of this country!"
A group of small Fish‑Man children — no older than five or six, dressed in ragged cloth barely covering them — glared fiercely at a lone human youth who strolled casually through their alley. He moved beneath a glowing bubble that protected him from water pressure, an air of calm about him.
"Get lost! Or we'll call the New Fish‑Man Pirates to teach you a lesson!"
They scooped up bits of broken coral, stone fragments, and shell shards, hurling them forcefully.
Sizzle!
The objects passed through the youth's form without slowing him. His body, transformed into living lightning, was untouched by their weak attacks.
The children recoiled at the sight.
"Damn it! What kind of strange power is this?"
They stared in disbelief at the human whose form crackled with bright energy — a sight they had never seen. They had seen humans before, but none with powers that defied logic, especially in seawater.
"Little ones, quite lively!"
The human, Admiral Silver Serpent, smiled indulgently as he observed the ragged children. He bent to their level and waved with a gentle air.
"Come here, let me see you."
The children tightened their grips on wooden sticks and rusty knives, trembling but defiant.
"Hmph! Damned human! We are the strongest Fish‑Men in the world! We're not afraid of you!"
"Watch me defeat you! I'll avenge our kin who were harmed by humans!"
The leader, a chubby‑headed little Fish‑Man with a dirty face, charged forward with a wooden stick raised high.
Crack!
His stick shattered on Silver Serpent's palm, splintering across the tide.
"Ouch!" he yelped, teetering forward.
"Be careful!"
Silver Serpent reached out with a calm smile, grasped the boy's collar, and hoisted him gently toward his face.
"What, great Fish‑Man warrior? Can't even stand steady?" he teased.
However, as Silver Serpent leaned closer, something caught his eye.
"Oh? It's a little girl?"
He realized the so‑called "leader" was actually a girl. Though tiny and dirty, her delicate eyebrows and slight chest shape revealed her true identity.
"Let go of me! Let go! You won't take me away like you took my sister!"
The little girl's sharp serrated teeth gleamed as she flailed her tiny fists, swinging blindly in panic at Silver Serpent's smiling face.