The Thousand Sunny drifted silently through the pitch-black abyss, illuminated only by the ship's powerful exterior floodlights and the distant, mesmerizing glow of Fish-Man Island. At ten thousand meters below sea level, the crushing pressure of the ocean was held at bay entirely by the shimmering Yar Yarman resin coating.
Just a few hundred yards ahead of the ship, lying limp against a jagged trench wall, was Surume. The colossal Kraken had been knocked completely unconscious by a falling stray boulder during the underwater avalanche.
"There he is!" Luffy pointed from the bow, his face pressed against the resin bubble. "Surume! Wake up, buddy! We made it to the bottom!"
The Kraken didn't stir. His massive tentacles drifted lazily in the freezing current.
Ben stepped up to the railing, adjusting his glasses. "He took a heavy hit to the head. A normal sea creature would have died from that impact. Let me wake him."
Ben simply raised his right hand, his eyes glowing with the golden light of the Medea template, weaving a restorative spell that bypassed the water entirely.
"Golden Fleece: Rennervate."
A pulse of warm, revitalizing golden magic shot through the water, striking the Kraken squarely between the eyes. Surume gasped—sending a massive burst of bubbles toward the surface—and his giant yellow eyes snapped open. He thrashed his tentacles for a moment, disoriented, before spotting the Thousand Sunny hovering nearby.
"Surume!" Luffy grinned broadly. "You're okay! Hey, can you help us find the entrance to Fish-Man Island? We don't know which way the gate is!"
Surume let out a low, rumbling underwater groan, nodding his massive head. He reached out a tentacle, gesturing toward the glowing bubble in the distance.
But before the Kraken could lead the way, the water around them suddenly grew darker.
A series of massive, imposing shadows fell over Surume and the Thousand Sunny, entirely eclipsing the ambient light of the undersea kingdom.
"What is that?" Zoro grunted, his hand resting on his swords as he stared into the murky water above. "More sea kings?"
"They are moving in formation," Robin noted calmly, crossing her arms. "A coordinated ambush."
Surrounding them were five colossal Sea Beasts—creatures that resembled lions, rhinos, and bears, but with scales, fins, and gills. They were easily twice the size of the Thousand Sunny. Riding atop these massive beasts were dozens of heavily armed fish-men, glaring down at the pirate ship.
One of the Sea Beasts, a gigantic sea-lion, swam to the forefront. Standing on its head was a tall, fierce-looking Daggertooth Pike Conger fish-man. He wore a dark leather jacket, a menacing sneer, and bore the tattoo of a crossed-out Sun Pirates symbol on his chest.
"Well, well, well," the fish-man's voice echoed clearly through the water, amplified by a specialized shell-device. "What do we have here? I thought I smelled human trash floating down the plume."
The fish-man turned his sneer toward the trembling Kraken. "Surume, huh. You pathetic, spineless squid. Letting weak, fragile humans order you around? You are a disgrace to the creatures of the deep. Slink away before I have you butchered for calamari."
Surume didn't hesitate. The Kraken, genuinely terrified by the overwhelming numbers and the fierce aura of the fish-men, let out a high-pitched squeal. He rapidly expelled a massive cloud of black ink and bolted into the darkness, completely abandoning the Straw Hats.
"He ran away!" Chopper shrieked, clutching his head. "We're surrounded!"
"Hey!" Luffy yelled, glaring up at the fish-man. "Why did you scare my pet?!"
"Your pet?" The fish-man laughed cruelly. "Humans do not own the sea. I am Hammond, a combatant of the New Fish-Man Pirates. And I know exactly who you are, Straw Hat Luffy."
Hammond pointed a webbed finger at the ship. "Your crew has quite the reputation down here. You are the humans who crushed Arlong's ambition in the East Blue. But... you also saved Hatchan at the Sabaody Archipelago from pirates. Because of that, our Captain has decided to grant you a rare opportunity."
Hammond crossed his arms, looking down at them with absolute supremacy.
"The New Fish-Man Pirates are taking control of this era. I am giving you two choices, humans," Hammond declared. "Swear your loyalty and join our crew as our subordinates right now... or be crushed by the pressure of the deep sea and sink to the bottom!"
The tension on the deck was palpable. A fleet of sea monsters surrounded them, ready to pop their delicate air bubble and instantly kill all the Devil Fruit users on board.
Luffy stuck his pinky finger deep into his nose, and picked it lazily.
"No," Luffy said simply.
Hammond froze. His sneer faltered. "Did you not hear me, human?! I asked if you will join us! I hold your very lives in my hands!"
Luffy wiped his finger on his pants, not a single care in the world on his face. "I heard you. I said no. I'm gonna be the Pirate King, not your underling. You guys look stupid anyway."
The collective jaws of the New Fish-Man Pirates dropped.
"He rejected us!" a fish-man lackey gasped. "And insulted us!"
"You arrogant surface-dwelling scum!" Hammond roared, his face twisting with absolute fury. "You reject our mercy?! Then die here in the cold dark! SEA BEASTS! SMASH THEIR SHIP! POP THE BUBBLE!"
The five colossal Sea Beasts roared, churning the water as they lunged toward the Thousand Sunny from all directions, their massive jaws open to crush the ship.
"They're attacking!" Usopp wailed, grabbing his head. "Ben! Do something!"
Ben didn't even draw his wand. He simply tapped the console near the helm.
"Sunny," Ben said calmly. "Deploy the shield."
"Aye aye, Papa!" Sunny's robotic voice chimed. "Engaging hexagonal defense matrix!"
HUMMMMMM.
A network of glowing, blue hexagonal energy panels erupted around the outer perimeter of the Thousand Sunny, forming a translucent, perfectly spherical dome that sat just outside the resin coating.
The colossal Sea Beasts slammed their heads, claws, and jaws into the barrier.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The impact was deafening. But the blue shield didn't just hold; it actively absorbed and rebounded the force. The Sea Beasts roared in pain as the force of their own attacks was violently reflected back into their skulls. They staggered backward, dizzy and disoriented, clutching their bruised heads.
"What the?!" Hammond gasped, nearly falling off his sea-lion. "A shield?! What kind of ship is this?!"
"A very expensive one," Ben smirked. He tapped his earpiece. "Merry. It's time to bring out the big guns. Deploy Mecha Merry and the Zords."
"Yes, Papa!" Mini Merry's voice crackled excitedly over the comms. "Initiating Aquatic Arsenal protocol! Opening sub-marine hatches now!"
The ocean beneath the Thousand Sunny began to boil with released air pressure. The heavy Adam Wood panels on the lower hull slid open, revealing the massive, high-tech hangar bays Ben had built inside his spatial dimension.
Five massive, sleek, metallic shapes launched out of the hangars and into the open water and slowly their sizes began to increase.
They were gigantic, robotic war machines, each one the same size as the towering Sea Beasts. They gleamed in the underwater floodlights, their hulls constructed from an indestructible, seamless alloy of Vibranium and Adamantium.
First was a sleek, silver Swordfish Zord, its long, razor-sharp rostrum pulsing with sonic energy.
Second was a massive, heavily armored blue Megalodon Shark Zord, its jaws lined with mechanical, spinning buzz-saw teeth.
Third was a long, sinuous yellow Electric Eel Zord, electrical arcs visibly crackling along its metallic spine.
Fourth was a wide, stealthy black Manta Ray Zord, equipped with heavy artillery cannons under its wings.
And rising in the center was the bipedal, towering figure of Mecha Merry, the thirty-foot-tall metal titan courtesy of Grey template, its eyes glowing fiercely.
"ZORDS!" Luffy screamed, his eyes literally popping out of his skull in sheer, unadulterated fanboy ecstasy. He ran to the railing, drooling. "ROBOT SEA MONSTERS! I WANNA DRIVE ONE! BEN! LET ME DRIVE THE SHARK!"
"No," Ben said flatly.
Luffy froze. "Eh? Why not?!"
"Because you don't even know how to steer a rowboat, let alone operate a highly complex, neural-linked, multi-billion-berry war machine," Ben explained patiently. "If I put you in the pilot seat, you'll accidentally hit the self-destruct button trying to find the cup holder. You are better off using the nano-suit."
Luffy's jaw dropped. The rejection hit him harder than Akainu's magma.
He turned around, walked to the far corner of the grassy deck, squatted down facing the wall, and began to sullenly draw circles on the floorboard with his finger. A dark, depressing raincloud literally materialized over his head.
"He wouldn't let me drive the robot..." Luffy muttered miserably. "I'm the captain... I want to press the glowing buttons..."
Ben sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Fine. You can ride in one. But someone else is going to control it. Who actually knows how to read a dashboard?"
Instantly, four hands shot into the air.
"I'm the navigator! I'll take the Eel!" Nami volunteered, her eyes sparkling at the high-tech machinery.
"SUUUUPER! I claim the Shark!" Franky roared, flexing his arms. "I'll show them the true power of aquatic engineering!"
"I have experience riding fast mounts!" Vivi smiled confidently. "I'll pilot the Swordfish!"
"God Usopp will handle the artillery!" Usopp declared, pushing his goggles up. "The Manta Ray is mine!"
"Alright," Ben nodded. He reached into his spatial pouch and pulled out four metallic capsules, tossing them to the volunteers. "Suit up."
The four pirates tapped the capsules. Sleek, pressurized nanotech armor crawled over their bodies, sealing them in watertight, high-mobility suits.
"Can I come too?!" Chopper bounced up and down, looking at Franky with pleading eyes. "I want to ride the Shark!"
"Ofcourse, bro!" Franky laughed. "We'll pilot it together!"
Hearing that Ben gave Chopper also a suit.
Luffy who was already in the nano suitinstantly abandoned his depressive corner and sprinted over to Usopp. "I'm going with you! We're gonna shoot so many lasers!"
"Just don't touch the steering yoke, Luffy!" Usopp warned as his suit finished assembling.
Ben tapped his own chest, his custom black-and-gold armor sealing around him. He turned to the remaining crew on the deck.
"Sunny," Ben ordered. "Keep the shields up at maximum capacity. Sit tight, everyone else. It's going to get a little noisy out there."
"You got it, Papa!" Sunny saluted from the helm.
"Don't scratch the paint, you idiots!" Sanji yelled, lighting a cigarette as he watched them.
"Showoffs," Zoro grunted, crossing his arms and sitting back down against the mast.
With a synchronized leap, Ben, Nami, Franky, Vivi, Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper jumped through the resin bubble. Their suits propelled them seamlessly through the crushing water and directly into the glowing, open cockpit hatches of their respective Zords.
The hatches sealed shut. The eyes of the five massive machines flared to life.
Inside the sleek, holographic cockpit of Mecha Merry, Ben gripped the control yokes. "Comms check. Vanguard Squadron, report."
"Shark Zord online and feeling SUPER!" Franky's voice echoed.
"Eel Zord ready. Energy levels peaking," Nami reported.
"Swordfish Zord locked on target," Vivi stated.
"Manta Ray artillery is loaded! Let's blast 'em!" Usopp yelled.
"Attack!" Hammond screamed from outside, pointing his trident at the mechanical beasts. "Tear those hunks of junk apart!"
Dozens of fish-men dove from the backs of their Sea Beasts, swimming at blinding speeds toward the Zords. They thrust their tridents, swords, and spears directly into the metallic hulls.
CLANG! CLINK! SNAP!
The fish-men gasped as their weapons literally shattered against the hulls. The Vibranium-Adamantium alloy didn't even register a scratch.
"Our weapons! They broke!" a fish-man panicked, holding a splintered hilt.
"They're too hard! Sea Beasts, crush them!" Hammond ordered.
The giant Sea Lion lunged forward, opening its massive jaws to bite down on the Manta Ray Zord.
"Not today, ugly!" Usopp shouted from the cockpit. "Luffy, hit the red button!"
"RED BUTTON!" Luffy cheered.
The Manta Ray spun gracefully in the water, its massive wings tilting upward. Two heavy plasma cannons emerged from its back and fired a concentrated, concussive sonic blast directly into the Sea Lion's face. The beast roared in pain, tumbling backward in the water.
"My turn!" Franky yelled.
The Megalodon Shark Zord shot forward with incredible speed. It didn't bite; it raised its massive, mechanical pectoral fin, curled it into a fist, and delivered a devastating, Pacific Rim-style uppercut directly to the jaw of a giant Sea Bear.
KRA-KOOM!
The underwater shockwave pushed the surrounding fish-men away as the Sea Bear was knocked completely unconscious, floating upside down.
"Chopper, deploy the buzz-saws!" Franky commanded.
"Deploying!" Chopper pushed a lever. The Shark Zord's teeth spun like chainsaws, grinding against the armor of a charging Sea Rhino and forcing it to retreat in terror.
"Let's add a little shock to the system," Nami smirked.
The Electric Eel Zord slithered through the dark water. It wrapped its long, metallic body around two attacking Sea Beasts.
"Discharging 100 Million Volts!" Nami pressed the trigger.
The Eel Zord lit up the trench like a miniature sun. A massive electrical current surged through the water, localized by the Zord's targeting system so it only hit the enemies. The Sea Beasts convulsed, their eyes rolling back into their heads as they were instantly paralyzed by the voltage.
Vivi, piloting the Swordfish Zord, dashed through the battlefield like a fencer. She executed tight, high-speed barrel rolls, using her sonic-rostrum to parry Hammond's desperate trident strikes, sending the fish-man commander spinning helplessly in the currents.
"This is impossible!" Hammond shrieked, watching his fleet get dismantled by giant toys. "They aren't even using Haki! What is this technology?!"
Inside Mecha Merry, Ben monitored the tactical display. The Sea Beasts were battered, but their raw, biological durability was allowing them to slowly recover and group together for a final, desperate charge.
"They're grouping up," Ben announced over the comms. "Let's wrap this up before we cause a cave-in. Vanguard Squadron, initiate Combination Sequence Alpha."
"YES!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper screamed so loudly their microphones peaked. "WE GET TO COMBINE?!"
"Execute sequence," Ben smiled, pressing the flashing gold button on his console.
"Megazord Formation, engaged!" Merry's voice boomed from the external speakers.
The five Zords ceased their attacks. They surged upward, gathering in the center of the battlefield.
VROOOOM! CLANK! SHING!
To the absolute horror of the New Fish-Man Pirates, and the sheer, tear-inducing joy of the fanboys inside, the machines began to shift and merge.
Mecha Merry locked her legs into place, forming the core torso and head.
The Megalodon Shark Zord split down the middle, folding over Merry's right shoulder to become a massive, heavily armored right arm, the shark head forming the fist.
The Electric Eel Zord snapped onto the left shoulder, becoming a long, crackling, whip-like left arm.
The Swordfish Zord split perfectly in half, locking onto Merry's legs to form sleek, spiked greaves and powerful thruster boots.
Finally, the Manta Ray Zord locked onto the back, its wide wings extending outward to provide immense stabilization and heavy back-mounted artillery.
The eyes of the newly formed Megazord flashed a brilliant, blinding gold.
Inside the head of the Megazord, the individual cockpits had seamlessly merged into one massive, shared digital command center. Ben sat in the central command chair, while Nami, Franky, Vivi, Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper stood at the surrounding holographic terminals.
"WE'RE IN THE SAME ROOM!" Luffy grabbed his head, jumping up and down, literally weeping tears of pure joy. "IT'S A MEGAMECHA! THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"
"IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!" Usopp and Chopper hugged each other, sobbing uncontrollably at the sheer majesty of the giant robot.
"Focus, you idiots," Nami sighed, though she couldn't hide her own impressed smile. "We still have a fight to finish."
Outside, Hammond stared up at the towering, fifty-foot-tall mechanical god that was now aiming its glowing weapons at his remaining forces.
"Attack it!" Hammond yelled in pure desperation. "It's a big target! Tear it down!"
The remaining Sea Beasts, driven by fear, charged the Megazord simultaneously.
Ben calmly gripped the master yokes. "Let's end this. Franky, prime the right arm. Nami, charge the left. Usopp, target lock."
"SUPER primed!"
"Voltage at maximum!"
"Target acquired!"
Ben stepped forward in the cockpit. The Megazord mirrored his movement perfectly.
The Megazord lashed out with its left arm. The Electric Eel whip cracked through the water, wrapping around the legs of three charging Sea Beasts and delivering a paralyzing jolt that stopped them dead in their tracks.
"Vibranium Impact!" Ben shouted.
The Megazord drew back its right arm—the Shark fist—and drove it forward with the combined thruster power of the entire machine. The punch didn't just hit the remaining Sea Lion; the kinetic force exploded outward in a cone of raw energy.
KRA-KOOOOOOOOM!
The underwater shockwave was so massive it completely leveled the seafloor. The Sea Beasts were thrown backward, crashing into the trench walls. They didn't get back up. They were all completely, unequivocally knocked unconscious.
The fish-men who hadn't been caught in the blast stared at the fallen monsters, dropping their weapons.
Hammond, floating alone in the water, looked up at the towering Megazord. His hubris was entirely gone, replaced by bone-chilling fear.
The Megazord stood victorious, striking a dramatic, heroic pose in the underwater floodlights, its Manta Ray wings spread wide.
"Shishishi! We won!" Luffy cheered inside the cockpit. "That was so easy!"
"Unbelievable," Robin commented from the deck of the Sunny, sipping her coffee. "Our arsenal is truly limitless."
"That robot is man's true romance," Sanji admitted, exhaling a puff of smoke. Zoro simply grunted in quiet agreement.
Hammond gritted his sharp teeth. "You... you monsters... Captain Hody will hear about this!"
With a swift flick of his tail, Hammond turned and swam furiously toward the glowing bubble of Fish-Man Island, fleeing the battlefield as fast as he could.
"Should we shoot him?" Usopp asked, resting his hand on the artillery trigger.
"Let him go," Ben said, disengaging the weapons systems. "He'll deliver the message that we've arrived. The element of surprise is overrated anyway."
Ben turned the Megazord toward the massive, glowing double-bubble of Fish-Man Island.
"Alright, Vanguard," Ben announced. "Let's grab the Sunny and head inside. We have an underwater paradise to explore."