"It really has been a long time."
Ten thousand meters beneath the sea,
Fish-Man Island.
Within the royal palace, a figure arrived here one step ahead of everyone else,
And standing before him was an incomparably enormous, pink-haired, beautiful mermaid.
"Orin-sama, you took such good care of me when I was little~"
Shirahoshi smiled shyly as she spoke, lifting Orin up with both hands. Because of his height, Orin sitting on her palm was still a bit of a squeeze.
Looking at the two expanses of dazzling whiteness before him, waves enough to drown him outright, Orin patted them soothingly, as if to comfort her.
"Don't worry about it. A well-behaved child is liked wherever they go."
Thanks to Orin having strangled Vander Decken in the cradle back when he was young, Shirahoshi's childhood had not been as oppressive as it originally would have been.
Though her personality was still gentle and timid, it was far better than before.
"Orin-sama, you're far too kind~"
Not far to the side, Neptune, the king of the Ryugu Kingdom, held a trident in his hand, his face full of smiles.
"No matter what, you are Fish-Man Island's benefactor, a hero who once sheltered our people."
"Hero?"
This was the first time Orin had ever heard someone describe him with that word.
What he did was never driven by any heroic mindset—he simply did what he felt like doing.
Neptune knew this as well, yet he was still willing to address him that way.
And considering how fond Orin was of Shirahoshi, if her Poseidon identity were ever exposed one day, they might well have to ask him for help.
Moreover, Whitebeard was already dead,
And the protection of the other half of Fish-Man Island…
If possible, Neptune naturally hoped that Orin could smoothly take over and bring all of Fish-Man Island under his protection.
That way, Fish-Man Island could become, like Duramos, a true pure land upon this sea.
Thinking of this, Neptune's expression grew somewhat grim.
Ever since the Summit War ended two years ago, when Yonko Whitebeard was ended by Orin and died in Marineford,
The remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates retreated to the New World, utterly incapable of holding onto the foundation Whitebeard had built. Under the onslaught of the Blackbeard Pirates, more than half of the remnants were killed.
With Marco at the head, the captains couldn't even hold onto their New World territories, let alone spare the effort to look after Fish-Man Island.
After losing Whitebeard, the half of Fish-Man Island that once flew the Whitebeard Pirates' flag quickly welcomed frenzied invasions by slave-catching crews and pirate groups.
Large numbers of merfolk and fish-men fled in haste to the other half of the land, while the fish-men's armies suffered repeated defeats before powerful human fighters.
As of now, the only ones still living on that half of the territory were some small-time hooligans from Fish-Man Street.
"Orin-sama, I…"
Neptune wanted to speak and make a request, but before Orin's advance spoiler, there was no need to hear the rest.
"The other half of Fish-Man Island, I won't concern myself with it. Someone else will come naturally."
"This…"
Cold sweat appeared on Neptune's face. He hadn't expected Orin to refuse so cleanly.
Then what should they do next?
Someone else?
Not long ago, Yonko Charlotte Linlin had indeed sent someone to pass on a message, saying that as long as they offered tribute in the form of food, she was willing to provide her flag's protection for the other half of Fish-Man Island.
But that was an unfamiliar pirate, and what she demanded was far too much.
Orin, however, couldn't be bothered with any of that. He simply enjoyed the softness of Shirahoshi's trampoline for a moment, then said to Neptune,
"I came this time just to watch a good show. The commotion probably won't be small…
Seeing as Fish-Man Island has been so well-behaved these past years, I'll give you a reminder to reduce casualties a bit."
"Nani?!!!"
Hearing this, Neptune was instantly dumbfounded and hurriedly wanted to ask more.
But Orin's figure, at some unknown moment,
Had already vanished from where he stood.
...
On the other side,
The Straw Hat Pirates also, through a chain of coincidences, successfully arrived at the outskirts of Fish-Man Island under the Kraken's protection.
"What's going on…"
"Why did such a massive current suddenly erupt???"
At that moment, a strangely shaped fish-man led a group of sea beasts and arrived before them.
"You're the ones known in the rumors as the Straw Hat crew, right?"
"Who are you?"
"I've long heard of your great names. Among the despicable humans, pirates with bounties over a hundred million—[the Straw Hat crew]. If that were all, killing you off would be simple enough,
But I also heard that two years ago, for the sake of merfolk and fish-men, you beat the living daylights out of the World Noble Celestial Dragons, just like our beloved, deceased hero of Fish-Man Island, Fisher Tiger!!!"
"It really makes one hesitate—how exactly should we deal with you?"
At this point, Robin felt a bit puzzled, because that name seemed familiar somehow.
"Deceased hero… Fisher Tiger?"
"That's right."
Hammond, a thug of the New Fish-Man Pirates, flashed a complicated look in his eyes.
"He was the hero our fish-men admired most, once leading the Sun Pirates as they roamed the seas. Even Jinbe, who later became a [Shichibukai], was nothing more than his subordinate back then.
He was a man who, after offending Fish-Man Island's protector—the man known as [Black Gun]—was still able to retreat unscathed.
It's just a pity that in the end, he died at the hands of despicable humans like you."
"So then… make your choice. Will you submit to our New Fish-Man—"
He was about to continue, when suddenly a vast shadow enveloped the surroundings.
After freezing for a moment, he turned his head to look behind him, only to see an incomparably enormous ship ramming straight toward them.
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"Awesome!!!"
"Let's charge straight into Fish-Man Island in one go!!!"
A gigantic young man shouted happily, while around him were unknown pirates whose faces were so pale they looked half-dead.
"We're going to crash!!!"
"Bang—!!!!"
The ship plowed straight through the members of the New Fish-Man Pirates, sending them flying. Sadgeo laughed loudly as he charged toward Fish-Man Island,
Leaving the Straw Hat crew completely dumbfounded.
Luffy, on the other hand, was full of anger.
"What the heck!!!"
"That guy's going to get there first—hurry up and move, Franky!!!"
Both sides rushed toward Fish-Man Island neck and neck, with super-giant Sea Kings in hot pursuit behind them.
"Is that the strange giant you were talking about?"
"Yeah, Luffy really hates him."
"Why?"
"No idea~"
Very soon, both groups entered Fish-Man Island, while the super-giant Sea Kings surrounded the island's outer perimeter.
"What should we do? Break in?"
"No, our king is still inside."
"Then what about Joy Boy?"
"He can't stay in there forever. We'll wait here."
"Joy Boy, we need your explanation."
And on the other side, Sadgeo,
After entering Fish-Man Island, landed in a different place from the Straw Hat crew. He touched down near the royal palace.
Fish-men and merfolk alike looked at this strange giant youth with faces full of terror.
He slowly took off his straw hat.
"Hahahaha… Fish-Man Island, huh~"
"I'll take it as the first stop in my conquest of the world."