Even with Jinbe's arrival bolstering their spirits, the Fish-Man army could not withstand the endless tide of monsters.
Soon, they were once again overwhelmed. One after another, Fish-Men were slaughtered by the creatures, and the stench of fear spread through the ranks once more.
Roar—Roar!
Just as despair and terror consumed them, a thunderous bellow rumbled through the deep, reverberating like a soundwave across the ocean floor.
From the pitch-black trench, colossal figures surged forth—towering beasts and abyssal monsters tearing their way up from the depths.
"Th-the Sea Kings!!"
"The Sea Kings are here—save us!"
"So… this is war…"
The morale of the Fish-Man soldiers, already brittle, collapsed entirely at the sight of those massive, ferocious Sea Kings and other deep-sea beasts.
Any last thought of resistance drained away.
They could only stare, eyes wide, as the monsters drew closer and closer.
But then, at the very instant when the Sea Kings seemed about to crash into their ranks, an unbelievable sight unfolded before them.
The mountain-sized Sea Kings swerved past the Fish-Man army—hurling themselves instead at the algae-covered mechanical beasts.
In the blink of an eye, the hundred-meter-tall metal monsters, once insurmountable foes, were ripped apart like toys before the even greater might of the Sea Kings.
"This…?"
"They're helping us? The Sea Kings are helping us?!"
The warriors of the Fish-Man Kingdom stood frozen, utterly dumbstruck.
Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined such a thing. Though they all lived within the same seas, the Fish-Men and Sea Kings had never shared any bond—at least none recorded in their history.
It was simply beyond belief.
"Everyone… leave this to them! We must move forward at once!"
Amid their shock, a soft, delicate voice reached their ears.
They turned—and there, riding a great shark, appeared a breathtakingly beautiful mermaid maiden. Behind her followed even more Sea Kings.
"P-Princess Shirahoshi?!"
At the sight of their princess, radiant as a star against the darkness of the sea, the Fish-Men felt their very blood ignite with a mysterious power.
"It's Princess Shirahoshi! She's brought the Sea Kings to our aid!!"
The cry rang out like a trumpet call. In an instant, the suffocating despair was blown away, replaced by an overwhelming surge of joy and resolve.
The Fish-Man army, their spirits reignited, roared like men possessed, surging back into the fray with wild, unshakable fury.
With the Sea Kings fighting at their side, the monstrous machines were utterly outmatched, their pressure upon the Fish-Men all but erased.
The ocean boiled with the clash of titans.
"Shirahoshi…"
Watching his daughter approach, Neptune's eyes welled with tears.
When he had led the Fish-Man army to war, he had prepared for the worst. For that reason, he had refused to let Shirahoshi come.
And yet, the girl had come anyway—arriving at the most critical moment to save countless of their warriors.
"Father, I am a daughter of Fish-Man Island. More than that, I am the princess of our kingdom.
"I cannot stand by and watch you all die. Even if I am afraid… I will still fight in this war. I must contribute to Fish-Man Island!"
At her father's side, Shirahoshi's delicate face was set with uncharacteristic resolve.
Though fear still glimmered in her eyes, there was not the slightest trace of retreat.
"You…"
Neptune and Megalo both faltered, words dying in their throats.
If it were possible, they would never have wanted this kindhearted girl drawn into such bloodshed. But the choice had already been made. There was no turning back.
And so, they could only accept it.
"You must protect yourself, no matter what."
Neptune's voice trembled as tears glistened in his eyes. In that moment, he was no longer the benevolent king of Fish-Man Island, but simply a father fearing for his child.
Shirahoshi nodded firmly.
With the Sea Kings she commanded joining the fray, the pressure on the Fish-Man troops vanished. Before such titanic allies, the mechanical beasts were laughably fragile.
As the battlefield was cleared, the army pressed forward, drawing ever closer to the seas of Wano.
But then—like a current swelling from the abyss—an endless horde of mechanical monsters rose up to block their path, surging toward the surface in wave after wave.
Among them, a single colossal pillar, tangled with seaweed, shifted slowly into view.
"T-that's…"
Neptune's eyes widened in shock.
The sight called to mind a long-forgotten book kept deep within Ryugu Palace—a chronicle of Fish-Man Island's history.
It spoke of four titanic pillars buried in the undersea world of the New World.
Those "pillars," the book claimed, were none other than the legs of a creature called Zunesha.
Its size was immeasurable—its feet planted on the seabed, its head rising into the clouds.
The text had said only this: that in an age a thousand years past, this being had once been an ally to Fish-Man Island.
Nothing more.
Never had Neptune thought he would live to see the creature with his own eyes.
"All of you—stay clear of that pillar! Do not attack it!"
If even one of his soldiers provoked the beast, Neptune feared that not only the army, but all of Fish-Man Island would be doomed.
The Fish-Men obeyed at once, awestruck by the sight of the gargantuan limb.
But as they pressed on, the number of mechanical beasts only grew. From the depths they rose in endless waves, shattering warships and dragging them down into the abyss.
The wreckage of broken vessels drifted like corpses to the sea floor. Survivors—if they were fortunate—were dragged up by Fish-Man soldiers and carried back to the surface.
"Shirahoshi! Have your friends assist us here!"
Amid the raging currents, Neptune turned urgently to his daughter.
At her father's call, Shirahoshi summoned her power without hesitation, directing the Sea Kings to tear into the enemy swarm.
Far away, Princess Vivi of the Arabasta Kingdom.
When her father marched to war, she had secretly stowed away on one of the ships. It was only when the Arabasta fleet entered the New World that she was discovered by King Cobra himself.
Confronted with his daughter's defiance, Cobra could only sigh in resignation.
Fortunately, their vessel was no ordinary warship—it was a component of Pluton, the ancient weapon entrusted to their royal line.
With that safeguard, Cobra judged that Vivi's safety would not be at great risk, and so he allowed her to remain.
But as they neared the waters of Wano, the sea suddenly erupted in violence.
From the abyss, hideous monsters burst forth, lashing out at the surrounding fleet.
The Arabasta Kingdom, once a member of the World Government's allied nations—though a desert kingdom, its military strength ranked among the greatest of them all.
Thousands of their warships opened fire in an instant, cannon muzzles spitting flame and fury. The bombardment inflicted little damage on the leviathans, but sheer volume took its toll.
One after another, the beasts were blasted apart and sank back into the depths.
Yet victory came at a steep price. Nearly a hundred of their own warships were shattered or crippled in the first wave alone.
And as the smoke cleared, countless more monsters surged up from below.
Seeing this, Cobra had no choice but to order the activation of the Pluton component's defenses.
Its power unleashed, the weapon struck back—but against such a vast tide of creatures, even that ancient machine's strength was meager.
As despair pressed down upon the fleet, the sea itself split apart with a thunderous roar—
And from the waves, titanic Sea Kings rose into the sky.
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