Inside the anglerfish's body—
White Ghost dropped down and immediately cursed.
"Damn it—this thing is huge."
There was some light inside, but not much. A dim, sickly glow illuminated wet walls and an endless, cavernous space.
He clicked his tongue.
"Whatever."
He raised his greatsword horizontally.
"Gale—Sky Splitter!"
SHHHK—
A slicing wind blade tore through the darkness.
Outside, everyone aboard the ship watched in stunned silence as the island-sized anglerfish was cleaved open from the side—cleanly, perfectly—as if carved by a god's knife.
The two halves slid apart.
Seawater rushed in.
Blood spread.
The stench hit like a hammer.
Inside the opened body, White Ghost smirked.
"Much better."
He unfolded his wings and took off, Observation Haki expanding outward like an invisible net.
He wasn't searching for treasure.
He was searching for two presences.
A Corner of the "Belly Sea"
In a darker cavity, a small girl stirred awake.
Miskina Olga.
She blinked hard, confused.
"…What happened?"
The Lantern Lord—that giant fish—had been shaking violently.
"Did it swallow another island…?"
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. Nearby, her mount lay sprawled unconscious.
A strange creature.
A four-legged reptile—almost like a tiny dragon-lizard.
Olga walked over and slapped its head.
"Hey. Hey! Wake up!"
Smack. Smack. Smack.
The lizard twitched, then shook its head and staggered upright.
Olga climbed onto its back in one smooth motion.
"Move."
It responded instantly, sprinting forward—its feet skimming across shallow water as if running on solid ground.
Olga scanned the surroundings.
No land.
No exit.
Only endless wet flesh and water.
Then—
She saw the sky.
The "ceiling" above had split wide open.
A massive cut ran across the body, exposing the world outside.
Olga froze.
"…What is that?"
The Lantern Lord…
Had been sliced open?
Her instincts screamed danger.
"Enemy!"
She yanked the reins, spinning sharply, searching for somewhere to hide—
And at that exact moment, a voice drifted down from above.
"Found you."
High in the air, White Ghost smiled.
His Observation Haki tracked the two small, fast-moving presences effortlessly.
He accelerated.
Chase Across the Sea
White Ghost soon spotted them clearly.
A blonde little girl riding a four-legged lizard, sprinting across the sea's surface like a miracle.
His eyes narrowed with interest.
"That thing would make a great emergency rescue mount…"
He shook his head and sped up.
He couldn't waste time.
He'd punched the creature on the sea floor, cut it open, and created enough bloodshed to attract every Sea King in the Calm Belt.
If he delayed—
The ship outside would be dragged into an endless slaughter.
White Ghost flew directly overhead.
"Miskina Olga."
Olga's heart stopped.
She looked up and saw a tall human with golden wings descending.
A predator.
A monster.
"Bad! BAD!"
She grabbed the lizard's neck.
"Dragon—run! If we get caught, we'll get roasted and eaten!"
The lizard jolted violently and surged forward, its speed nearly doubling.
White Ghost laughed.
"Definitely useful."
He surged again.
A Name That Stops Her Cold
White Ghost's voice dropped, calm and sharp.
"Olga. I'll take you to your father."
Her head snapped around.
"…What did you say?"
White Ghost hovered directly above her.
"You heard me."
Her eyes widened.
"My father…? He's alive?"
White Ghost frowned, offended.
"If you can live for two hundred years, why can't he?"
The lizard slammed into a sudden stop, nearly throwing Olga.
"HEY! What are you doing?!"
Then she noticed—
The lizard was trembling.
Not from her.
From him.
White Ghost landed beside her lightly.
"Well?"
Olga stared at him.
She didn't ask who he was.
She asked the only question that mattered.
"What do you want?"
White Ghost smiled.
"Heh. Not bad."
"Two hundred years old and still sharp."
He gestured casually.
"I take you to your father. Then you both come onto my ship."
Olga's expression hardened.
She hid her ring instinctively.
"…You're after the pure gold."
White Ghost nodded.
"Yeah."
Then he said it plainly.
"But I'm not a pirate. Not a Marine. Not the World Government."
His gaze was steady.
"I can cure your illness."
Olga clenched her jaw.
"And you want my father to work for you."
Her voice turned cold.
"Let him die. Don't talk about him."
White Ghost didn't argue.
"Then ask him yourself."
His Observation Haki flared again.
He'd already found the second presence.
He scooped Olga up effortlessly.
"HEY—!"
He grabbed the frozen lizard too and shot skyward.
"If you keep struggling," he said coldly, "I'll kill you and take the gold."
Olga froze.
"…Tch."
White Ghost smiled.
"Good."
Outside: Blood in the Calm Belt
Blood spread across the sea.
Sea Kings gathered.
One after another.
Kuro's eyes sharpened.
"Give the captain time."
Zan Gao cracked his knuckles.
"He'd better hurry."
The battle escalated.
Ain carved through monsters.
Pedro transformed.
Franky fired relentlessly.
The Calm Belt became a slaughterhouse.
Then—
A golden dragon descended.
Conqueror's Haki exploded outward.
Sea Kings collapsed en masse.
Silence returned.
White Ghost landed.
Two figures hung from his claw.
A man.
A girl.
And a lizard.
He returned to human form calmly.
"I picked up two new passengers."
Olga stared at the carnage.
"…What kind of ship did I just get dragged onto?"
White Ghost smiled.
"The kind that doesn't sink."
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