The Oro Jackson sliced through the dark waters of the deep sea, the glow of the sun trees bleeding through the water like veins of gold. Yet beneath that beauty, there was silence—an unnatural, heavy stillness that made the crew uneasy.
No music, no laughter. Only the steady hum of the currents and the sound of fists clenching in fury.
Perona clung to the railing, her ghost companions hovering protectively around her. "It's too quiet," she muttered, her small voice echoing.
Even Enel, usually arrogant and loud, was silent. His drums crackled faintly with static, as if mirroring the tension.
Fisher Tiger stood near the bow, fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles bled. The moment they'd received Neptune's distress signal, his rage had been palpable. "If they've hurt them…" he muttered under his breath, voice trembling with fury.
Okiku and Hiyori were silent, their faces pale. Even Perona, normally chatty, hovered behind her ghost familiars with wide, frightened eyes.
Lilith was pacing the deck, muttering calculations about currents and bubble pressure, trying to distract herself—but even her voice was tense.
And Ada… stood at the edge of the ship, the sea glimmering below her heels. Her expression was unreadable. But her silence was louder than a scream.
"Captain…" Enel said at last, lightning sparking faintly across his shoulders. "If this is true—if they really touched your territory…"
Ada's golden eyes didn't waver. "Then we remind them why it's mine."
The crew fell quiet.
Even Mihawk, arms folded, watched her with an expression almost wary. He could sense it—the shift in the air.
Ada wasn't angry. She was beyond anger.
The ship plunged deeper into the depths, toward the great bubble of Fishman Island.
The ship entered the protective bubble of Fishman Island, and gasps rippled through the deck.
What they saw was not the kingdom they once protected.
The city was unrecognizable.
Flames still burned through the coral markets. Statues of heroes had been toppled and shattered. Chains drifted in the current like dead eels.
Coral towers burned with unnatural fire; smoke stained the ocean-blue canopy. Crushed shells and torn scales littered the seabed streets.
Merfolk sobbed in corners, clinging to the bodies of loved ones. The once vibrant market was silent, only the echo of broken chains clinking through the water.
The flag of the First Emperor—Ada's black sigil, the crescent over a sea—hung torn from the palace gate.
Enel's eyes widened. "Someone actually… defied her?"
Mihawk said nothing. His gaze sharpened, measuring the scene with quiet dread. "They've done more than defy," he murmured. "They've desecrated."
Perona floated closer, clutching her parasol. "Even the kids…" she whispered, trembling as she saw a group of fish-children huddled beside a collapsed home.
Okiku and Hiyori ran ahead with the healers, their cries breaking through the silence.
When Ada finally stepped off the ship, every sound seemed to stop.
Her heels hit the shattered coral ground with quiet, deliberate steps. Her crew followed at a distance, watching her move like a ghost through the ruin of her own territory.
Everywhere she looked, there was pain.
Fisher Tiger dropped to his knees, clutching the ground so hard it cracked. "They… they dared…"
Okiku covered her mouth, tears forming. "All those people… so many families…"
Citizens—injured, terrified—recognized her instantly.
"Lady Ada!" a merman cried, rushing forward before collapsing in a bow. "They came from the surface! They said the Celestial Dragons sent them!"
A group of mermaids surrounded her, sobbing. "They took our sisters! Our daughters! We tried to stop them, but—"
"Please!" another pleaded. "You're our protector! Save them!"
Ada stood still. Her dress hung heavy with water, the light of the coral trees flickering across her face.
Finally, she spoke. Her voice was low, almost tender. "I see…"
Then she walked forward, the crowd parting before her as she made her way to the palace.
Inside, King Neptune rose from beside a bloodied cot. His trident was broken. His crown had fallen to the floor.
"Ada…!" Neptune's voice cracked as he rose to meet her. "You came…"
Ada didn't answer at first. She walked slowly, her eyes falling to Otohime's still form. The Queen's eyes fluttered open—weak, but aware.
"…Ada…" Otohime whispered faintly, smiling despite her pain. "I told them… coexistence… peace…"
Ada approached, kneeling beside her. "You tried to reason with them, didn't you?"
Otohime's voice trembled. "If we respond with hate, then the cycle never ends…"
Ada's eyes softened for a heartbeat. Then her tone hardened again. "And yet they shot you."
Otohime's hand twitched, reaching for hers. "I still… believe in a better world…"
Ada rose, her cloak falling around her like shadow. "Then let me show them the price of destroying it."
Otohime's smile didn't fade. "Not everyone… can understand the future we dream of…"
Ada's hand trembled slightly, then stilled. "Dreams mean nothing when the world is built on chains."
Neptune swallowed, his voice breaking. "Ada… our people—our children—have been taken. We found the government's mark on the ships. I've already sent messages to every ally—"
Ada turned sharply. "And what will they do? Write letters? Hold speeches? The Celestial Dragons don't listen to words. They understand only blood."
At those words, the air in the room seemed to vanish.
Fisher Tiger's eyes went red with rage. Enel's lightning began crackling uncontrollably. Even Mihawk's calm composure darkened.
Ada stood. Her cloak rippled.
Her veins bulged faintly beneath her skin. For the first time in years, her composure broke.
"…The Celestial Dragons…" she said softly, her tone so calm it was terrifying. "They invaded my territory."
Her aura flared, thick and oppressive, pressing down on everyone in the room. The floor cracked beneath her feet.
The crew outside felt it too—an ocean of fury.
Bullet gritted his teeth, smirking despite the pressure. "Heh… she's finally serious."
Enel looked uneasy. "That's not just anger," he muttered. "That's death."
Her tone dropped—soft, calm, and utterly deadly. "Where did they take them?"
Neptune hesitated, but he couldn't lie to her. "…To Mary Geoise."
Ada's eyes lifted slowly. For a moment, no one dared breathe.
"Mary Geoise…" she repeated, voice low as thunder before a storm.
Her fingers flexed at her side.
Ada's silence stretched—long, suffocating. Then she exhaled slowly, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade through steel.
"Then Mary Geoise will burn."
The entire palace froze.
Neptune's eyes widened. "You— you mean to invade the Holy Land?!"
Ada turned her gaze to him, and the look in her eyes silenced him instantly.
Ada's lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile. "The World Government took something from me. From this sea. Now I'll take everything from them."
Hiyori gasped. "Captain…"
Fisher Tiger stepped forward, his voice breaking. "Let me come. I'll fight beside you this time. For every fishman who's ever been chained."
Ada turned slightly toward him. For a moment, her expression softened. "You'll have that chance."
Then she faced her crew, her voice ringing through the grand hall.
"Everyone—prepare for war."
Her crew fell silent.
Perona floated closer, her small voice trembling. "B-but… the Celestial Dragons live in the sky. You can't just—"
Ada turned her head slightly, her eyes narrowing. "Then we'll climb higher."
She began walking toward the exit, each step echoing through the marble halls. Fisher Tiger and Bullet followed wordlessly.
Behind her, Neptune called out, "Ada—what you're planning… the world won't forgive you."
She stopped. The silence that followed was absolute.
Then she turned her head slightly, one crimson eye glinting beneath her hood.
"Neptune," she said softly. "I don't need the world's forgiveness."
Her voice hardened. "I just need their fear."
The air seemed to hum around her. Even the ocean felt heavier, denser.
Bullet stepped forward, his grin sharp. "Finally. Been a while since I've seen you this serious, Captain."
Mihawk's hand rested lightly on his sword hilt. "The Holy Land is guarded by the Marines, the Admirals, the Cipher Pols, and the world's strongest army. You're declaring war on the world itself."
Ada's head turned slightly, her crimson eyes gleaming. "No, Mihawk. The world declared war on me."
———————-
Outside the palace, word spread like fire.
"She's here!"
"Lady Ada came to Fishman Island!"
"She saw what they did—she's going to destroy them!"
The citizens gathered in the flooded square, thousands of fishfolk and mermaids, their faces streaked with tears and anger.
As she walked out of the palace, the citizens of Fishman Island were gathering—injured, bleeding, crying. When they saw her, they fell to their knees, calling her name.
Ada stepped out before them, the coral light glowing behind her like a halo of fire. Her crew stood at her back—Mihawk, Bullet, Fisher Tiger, Enel, Okiku, Hiyori, Lilith, and Perona—all watching in tense silence.
"Lady Ada! They took our families!"
"Please—save them!"
"Kill those monsters!"
The murmurs of the crowd swelled until it was a roar of grief and fury.
"Make them pay!"
"Burn the surface!"
"Free our families!"
Ada raised one hand. The entire plaza fell silent.
Her eyes swept across the faces of the broken and the brave—the wounded, the mothers clutching children, the fishmen who still bore scars from slavery.
The ocean around them seemed to tremble.
"The world above thinks they can touch what's mine," she said, her voice carrying through the entire plaza, echoing through coral and stone. "They think they can enslave, torture, and burn—and I will stay silent."
Ada took a slow breath. "For years, I've let the world have its peace. I've let the Celestial Dragons hide behind their walls of gold. But today…"
Her cloak rippled as she stepped forward, eyes blazing gold.
"Today, I remind them who rules the sea."
Her eyes burned crimson beneath the deep sea glow.
"From this day forth," Ada declared, her voice like thunder underwater, "the age of the gods is over. The Celestial Dragons will drown in their own sins."
The pressure that followed was beyond comprehension. The coral cracked beneath her feet. The sea shimmered violently as Haoshoku Haki exploded outward, shaking the entire island.
Mermaids clutched their hearts, gasping as the sheer force washed over them—but none of them bowed. They stood taller.
The people gasped, not in fear—but awe.
The fishmen then erupted into cheers, tears streaming down their faces.
"Long live Lady Ada!"
"Burn them all!"
"Justice for Fishman Island!"
Neptune himself stepped onto the balcony beside her, his head bowed—not in submission, but in respect.
Ada looked over her people, her eyes softening for a fleeting moment.
Then she turned to her crew.
"Prepare yourselves," Ada said at last, lowering her hand. "We set sail for the Holy Land."
Mihawk, Bullet, Enel, Fisher Tiger, Okiku, Hiyori, Lilith, and even Perona—all stood behind her, silent, united.
Perona floated nervously beside Lilith. "She's really gonna do it…"
Lilith muttered, adjusting her glasses. "Heh. You can't stop her now. Might as well take notes on what happens when an Emperor gets angry."
Bullet cracked his knuckles. "Can't wait."
Mihawk gave a faint smile. "The world's about to learn the meaning of fear."
Ada turned, her dress catching the glow of the coral sun, her voice dropping to a cold whisper that carried through the water like a promise.
"Mary Geoise will burn."
And with that, the sea roared as if it answered her.