Boom... Boom... Boom...
Explosions erupted one after another against the outermost bubble surrounding Fish-Man Island, sending ripples across its surface.
For now, the barrier showed no sign of breaking. But if the bombardment continued like this, the situation could soon become dangerous.
Outside the island's immigration gate stood a towering semicircular wall.
Rows of buildings lined the top of the wall.
This was the headquarters of Fish-Man Island's Immigration Security Office.
Lines of soldiers from the Neptune Kingdom army stood along the wall, gripping silver tridents. Their expressions were tense as they stared toward the outer sea surrounding the island.
As far as the eye could see, beyond the immigration gate of Fish-Man Island, massive pitch-black warships appeared.
Each one was as large as a small mountain, and their presence pressed down on the island like dark storm clouds hanging over a city.
There were thirty ships in total.
And in terms of sheer size, the fish-men of Fish-Man Island had never seen vessels this enormous before.
"Why would humans suddenly attack Fish-Man Island?!"
"Should we retaliate?"
"No! We must wait for King Neptune's orders. We cannot attack humans on our own..."
"But they are already firing on Fish-Man Island..."
At that moment, aboard the leading ship of the thirty-vessel fleet, the Den Den Mushi mounted on the mast, shaped like a trumpet, suddenly came to life. A deep voice rang out from it.
"Damn it! Those mere fish-men actually dared to refuse the arrival of the great Pirate Admiral Barobar to their country!"
"Give the order. Destroy all of Fish-Man Island!"
"Fire! Fire!"
In an instant, what had previously been just one warship bombarding the island became thirty.
All thirty massive ships raised their dark cannons and aimed them directly at Fish-Man Island.
Just then, an angry shout echoed across the sky.
"Wait!"
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
King Neptune came rushing through the water, riding atop a whale and holding his trident. Behind him followed countless soldiers from Fish-Man Island.
"That's great! King Neptune has arrived!"
"Now we can fight back!"
But the Neptune who descended from above did not do what the soldiers hoped.
He raised his head and stared at the dark fleet before him, his brows tightly furrowed as he shouted.
"Who exactly are you? Why are you attacking Fish-Man Island? If this is because of entry procedures, then I can apologize!"
All the fish-men froze in shock.
They could not understand why the king of their nation would say something so humiliating.
"Oh? You are asking who I am?"
"In that case, boys, let's tell these fish-men who their boss really is."
As the words fell, dense footsteps echoed across the enormous deck.
Countless human pirates appeared, their faces fierce as they carried all kinds of weapons.
A heavy rumbling followed, a vibration so powerful that even in the deep sea it could still be clearly felt.
Under everyone's frightened gaze, a man stepped forward.
He was enormous, almost like a giant, standing seven or eight meters tall. He wore a large cloak with orange and yellow stripes. His body was incredibly fat, and every step made the flesh on his body wobble.
A cigar hung from his mouth.
A huge lion head was tattooed across his stomach.
On each of his bare arms was the tattoo of a ship's helm.
The moment King Neptune saw the man's appearance, his pupils suddenly shrank.
Although the details looked different, the figure instantly reminded him of a terrifying man.
As if confirming Neptune's thoughts, the pirates began shouting excitedly.
"Fish-men, despair!"
"The great Pirate Admiral, Barobar-sama, has arrived at your Fish-Man Island!"
"Open the gates! Present your treasures and kneel to welcome him!"
"Barobar-sama is the successor of the great Golden Lion! If you dare resist, you will be destroyed!"
"..."
Hearing the cheers of his subordinates, the man named Barobar suddenly clutched his head and burst into loud sobs, tears and mucus streaming down his face.
"Golden Lion boss... just wait! I will wipe out the Marines and avenge you! Your will, I will inherit it!"
"Garp! Sengoku! I will definitely kill you both!"
"Waaaaahhhhh…"
Seeing this scene, every pirate present was so moved that they also burst into tears.
"We believe in you, Barobar-sama!"
"Destroy the Marines! Destroy the Marines!"
But at that moment, Barobar's expression suddenly changed, turning extremely gloomy.
Staring at Fish-Man Island in the distance, he grabbed two pirates beside him, his fists clenching tightly.
The two human pirates seemed to sense what was coming. Their faces instantly turned pale as they shouted in panic.
"Wait, Barobar-sama, don't! We're not cannonballs!"
Barobar ignored them completely. He only glared at Fish-Man Island ahead and roared angrily.
"You fish-men! How dare you block my way to the Grand Line to avenge Golden Lion-sama! Go die!"
In the next instant, Barobar swung his massive arms and hurled the two pirates like shot puts.
The two pirates shot forward like cannonballs, passing straight through the bubble and flying toward the immigration gate of Fish-Man Island.
Inside the island, the Neptune Kingdom soldiers were all stunned. Before they could even react, something horrifying happened.
The two flying pirates slammed into the entrance of Fish-Man Island like torpedoes.
"Boom!"
The sound was even more terrifying than a cannon explosion.
King Neptune and the nearby royal soldiers felt the ground beneath their feet shake violently, like an undersea volcano erupting.
A thick cloud of blood mist and shredded flesh burst into the air.
In an instant, all the soldiers of the Neptune Kingdom were frozen in shock, their bodies trembling. Even King Neptune's face turned deathly pale.
"M... monster..."
"That kind of arm strength... is he even human?"
"He's even more terrifying than us fish-men..."
"That human must be a Sea King!"
Barobar, standing on the massive warship, only narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw this.
"Oh? It didn't break? Pretty tough."
"In that case..."
The pirates around Barobar suddenly felt a bone-deep chill. They instinctively backed away, their eyes filled with fear.
"Useless trash! How are you supposed to avenge Boss Shiki like this?! Waaah!"
After shouting through tears, Barobar glared furiously at Fish-Man Island. His voice tore through the sea and echoed across the entire island.
"You filthy fish-men! Open the gate right now! Or do you want me to really get angry?!"
At that moment, everyone on Fish-Man Island could feel the terrifying pressure radiating from this monster of a man.
The Neptune Kingdom soldiers nearby swallowed nervously, though they had no saliva to swallow. Their eyes were dull with fear as they looked toward the equally shaken King Neptune.
"K... King Neptune... what do we do..."
"He's terrifying... a monster like that..."
"We can't stop him at all..."
"Wait! The Sky Pirate Crew! And Tiger-san is on the island!"
"No... they left Fish-Man Island today..."
"What... we... we're doomed..."
By now, Barobar's face was filled with impatience. He gritted his teeth and roared darkly.
"Damn it! How dare they make the great Pirate Admiral Barobar wait this long!"
"Bring me the cannonballs! I'm going to use that bastard Garp's trick and destroy Fish-Man Island!"
"Oh!!!"
The pirates finally relaxed a little.
Crate after crate of cannonballs was carried onto the deck.
Barobar grabbed one cannonball in each hand and hurled them like bowling balls straight toward the immigration gate.
In an instant...
"This is bad... this is bad... the entrance is cracking... seawater is about to rush in..."