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With Aokiji's riddle finally solved, everyone's spirits lifted as they began gathering all available information on the Sea King, determined to uncover the truth.
The Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) turned a blind eye to this, after all, the times had changed. With the Sea King now revealed to the world, if the Marines could find a targeted countermeasure, that would be good news for them as well.
But the calm didn't last long. One day, Rowen received a completely unexpected call.
"Jinbe? What made you think of calling me?" Rowen frowned in confusion as he held up the Den Den Mushi.
Ever since Aokiji was critically injured, Jinbe had been convinced that Shirahoshi must have her own reasons. Against all objections, he set out to find her.
Considering his Fish-Man heritage, his status as the "Hero of the Sea", and his immense strength and reputation, Akainu hadn't objected too strongly. He merely warned Jinbe not to act rashly, and let him go.
Now, Jinbe was calling him. The more Rowen thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
If anything, he should have called Akainu.
On the other end, Jinbe's voice was rushed: "Apologies for the interruption, but I think only Admiral Soryu (Azure Dragon) has the speed to get here quickly."
Jinbe cautiously peeked out, glancing at the group of people on the beach wearing diving gear and working busily.
"I found a Poneglyph on the seafloor. Unfortunately, another group has also set their sights on it. Their weapons are dangerous, and they've even taken civilians hostage to force them to help. I don't dare make a move recklessly."
"Poneglyph?!!"
Rowen's eyes widened in shock, and then he suddenly remembered: something like this happened in the original story, too.
In the Totto Land arc, Jinbe had attempted to leave the Big Mom Pirates and offered a Poneglyph he discovered as tribute. Naturally, Big Mom didn't accept this so easily. She forced him into her infamous Wheel of Misfortune, and Jinbe, sensing the trap, withdrew.
He later helped the Straw Hats escape during the chaos at the wedding by piloting the Thousand Sunny.
That Poneglyph had been discovered by Jinbe during his travels.
Poneglyphs concern the Void Century, a forbidden era of history. The World Government guarded them ferociously and forbade any attempts to study or decode them.
Now someone was attempting to salvage one, and even enslaving civilians to do it? From both a legal and moral standpoint, the Marines couldn't ignore this.
"I understand. I'll inform the Fleet Admiral right away. Keep an eye on them, and if necessary, act on your own judgment."
The title 'Sea Hero' carried weight across the seas. Even after he was stripped of his Shichibukai status for intervening in the Paramount War, Jinbe's character hadn't changed. Even if he wasn't acting in the name of the Marines, he would never stand by and watch innocent civilians be exploited.
"Understood. Please hurry--"
Before Jinbe could finish his sentence, a thunderous explosion interrupted him, one that shook the heavens and the earth. Even through the Den Den Mushi, Rowen could hear the tremors. That terrifying bombardment was far beyond anything conventional.
"What happened?!"
"Cough cough... I don't know…" Covered in dust, Jinbe staggered to his feet, only to stare in disbelief.
"Is that… a bullet?!"
In front of him lay what appeared to be a bullet, but it was as large as an elephant. The iron slug had slammed into the beach with immense force. Not only did it terrify the pirates nearby, but even a pirate ship anchored out at sea had been torn apart by the same monstrous shot.
The ocean bore a deep, raw scar stretching into the distance, all the way to a floating island-like vessel far offshore.
The shot had come from there.
But… what kind of weapon could fire a bullet this massive? It was more destructive than cannonfire, and not even in the same league! At that moment, aboard the island-sized vessel, Byrnndi World slowly lowered his smoking firearm, exhaling with disdain.
"Bunch of nobodies... thought they could block my way?!"
Just moments earlier, he had mistaken the lightly guarded ship ahead for easy prey. Planning to both loot it and stop them from interfering in the Poneglyph operation, a group of pirates had foolishly stood in his way.
So he blasted through them without a second thought.
Someone as hot-tempered as World could never tolerate being provoked. He immediately activated the powers of the Momo Momo no Mi (Inflation-Inflation Fruit), enlarging both the size and speed of the bullet a hundredfold in flight, obliterating the pirate ship along with it into pieces.
Hearing the commotion, Redfield calmly walked to the bow of the ship and said flatly:
"You're making too much noise, World... This place is very close to Marine G-11 Branch. Be careful not to draw their attention."
"Hmph. What, are you scared, Red the Aloof?" World turned around without even looking at him, preparing to return to his room and rest.
Redfield responded in his usual calm tone: "Don't ask such foolish questions. I just don't want to waste energy dealing with pursuit forces from a branch base... I'm sure you feel the same way, don't you?"
Unlike Redfield, who had regained his youth after discovering the Vampire Fruit in Sleepy Hollow Town and feeding on human blood, Byrnndi World had aged naturally. His body was no longer what it was at its peak.
Wasting too much strength would greatly affect his plans for revenge.
Hearing this, World paused his steps and said coldly:
"Then you'd better pray they don't act recklessly. Otherwise… anyone who dares block my path, I'll kill them all!"
On the small island, Jinbe wiped the sweat from his forehead while peering through a telescope.
"Damn... Those two are just as dangerous as I feared!"
As someone who had spent time in Impel Down Level 6, Jinbe understood very well that even among the inmates there, a hierarchy existed.
At the very top stood Redfield, a monster who, all by himself, had once rivaled both Whitebeard and Gol D. Roger, held back only by his lack of companions.
Second to him was none other than Byrnndi World.
The World Destroyer.
One was the embodiment of supreme combat strength. The other, a harbinger of destruction and war. Remembering how both had been captured only through exceptional means, Jinbe swallowed hard.
"Admiral Soryu (Azure Dragon), this is bad… really, really bad!"
These two were without question the most feared escaped prisoners from Impel Down, if not for the fact their existence had been erased from public records for decades, the world would already be in a panic.
"Hmm? Looks like... someone's still alive?"
Suddenly, Redfield turned his head back toward the small island.
"Looks like you've really gotten old, World."
With that, he raised a single hand and flung aside his blood-red cloak. Gripping his umbrella like a cane, he thrust it forward, firing a terrifying air cannonball.
BOOM!!
A surge of compressed air tore across the sea like a tangible blade, blasting through the waves. In an instant, it reached the island several kilometers away.
Jinbe's face changed dramatically. Without wasting another second, he dove into the sea.
BOOM... BOOM, RUMBLE!!
The air cannonball struck the island as if dozens of tons of TNT had detonated at once. The resulting shockwave slammed into everything around it like a physical force.
Even though he had already dived tens of meters beneath the water, Jinbe was still blasted hard enough to cough blood, his back burning with pain.
"He was locked up in Impel Down for decades... How can he still have this kind of power?!"
Reeling from disbelief, Jinbe decisively swam deeper to evade detection.
"Was that... a Fish-Man?"
Back on the giant ship, Redfield furrowed his brows slightly. In that brief glimpse, he had noticed Fish-Man features on Jinbe's face.
Thinking for a moment, he set down his umbrella and resumed his calm demeanor.
"Since you're a Fish-Man, I'll let you live... After all, I owe my escape to that giant red snapper Fish-Man. Fish-Man Island is gone now… and I'm not one to slaughter unnecessarily."
Redfield cast a silent glance across the sea. If the water were parted, one could clearly see Jinbe hundreds of meters below the surface.
Clearly, Jinbe's plan hadn't worked; the natural barrier of the sea, which normally protected Fish-Men, meant nothing to a monster like Redfield.
(End of Chapter)