"It's so dark!"
Yamato crouched at the bow of the ship, bored out of her mind as she gazed into the endless, empty ocean.
She let out a dispirited sigh.
She'd thought the deep sea would be fun… but aside from some fish and a few Sea Kings, there was really nothing interesting at all.
"This is around nine thousand meters below the surface. Of course it's dark."
Monet's eyes scanned the pitch-black surroundings.
Both hands gripped the spiked hammers strapped to her thighs, a nervous tension making her fingers tighten on the handles.
Only by holding them could she feel the slightest sense of safety.
"How much loooonger until we get there?!"
Yamato groaned, tugging at her messy hair. Her eyes slid toward Buffalo, who was curled up off to the side.
"Get a grip, Yamato. We're underwater. I'm a Devil Fruit user—if I go outside, I die. And even with your body's toughness, that doesn't mean you can survive in waters nine thousand meters deep."
Buffalo shuddered and cut her off before she could say anything else suicidal.
He cast a quick glance at Weevil, who was lying flat atop the cabin, and muttered inwardly,
"If something really goes wrong, that monster might be the only one who walks away unharmed."
"Fine!" Yamato sighed in disappointment. If Buffalo would die, then never mind.
"Ooh, it's lighting up!"
Weevil pointed downward at the glow rising from below, a bit of drool hanging from his mouth.
It reminded him of the bubblegum he'd eaten on Sabaody yesterday—all shiny and bright.
"We're here."
Senor Pink glanced at the pointer in his hand—it was aligned with the light's direction.
Half an hour later, as the ship followed the ocean currents, the glowing area came steadily closer.
The pitch-black sea began to lighten bit by bit, as if the ship were sailing beneath the sun.
This was the radiance of the Sunlight Tree Eve, casting its glow into the depths and illuminating the seafloor like daylight.
Sea beasts and schools of fish gathered here, nibbling at the sunlit, sweetened seaweed.
And there it was—Fishman Island.
Wrapped in a double-layered bubble, it shone like a pearl in the heart of the deep sea.
"So pretty!"
"Amazing!!"
"Beautiful!!!"
They all cried out in unison, beholding the fantastical underwater paradise for the first time.
...
But the next moment, a massive shadow swept overhead.
Strange and monstrous sea beasts were closing in from all directions.
With tiger faces, dog snouts, cat muzzles, and all manner of bizarre appearances, these were small Sea Kings that had freely grown in the deep sea.
Yamato, still blissfully unaware of the looming danger, stared at them wide-eyed and dazzled.
"They look so cool!!"
Buffalo and Monet exchanged a look—and both could see how ugly the other's expression had become.
Senor Pink's palms were starting to sweat as he clenched them tighter. His gaze flicked up to Weevil, who was still lazing atop the cabin.
"Weevil, get ready to fight."
Sea Kings might not be that threatening on the surface, but at ten thousand meters underwater, they were a whole different story.
"Okaaay."
Weevil got to his feet slowly. The tip of his long blade gradually extended out from the protective bubble.
"Pirates! Get out of here! Stay away from Fishman Island!"
A blue-skinned young shark Fishman in armor, with a saw-shaped nose and a furious face, suddenly popped up on the head of a tiger-faced sea beast.
His face twisted with visible hatred and disgust.
Arlong couldn't understand it—ever since the Great Pirate Era began, humans had come to Fishman Island to steal people countless times.
So why did Tiger and Jinbei still insist they couldn't hurt humans without reason?
Following the shark Fishman's appearance, other Fishmen of various shapes and kinds emerged as well—from an eight-armed octopus Fishman, to a cartilaginous Fishman, and more. All of them stood atop sea beasts, armed with weapons and glaring fiercely.
Even someone as dense as Yamato could tell things were about to explode.
"Tch, what a hassle."
Senor Pink pushed up his furrowed brows. The leading Fishman's hostile stance meant things were going in bad way fast.
He'd thought the hard part of this mission would be meeting the royal family of Fishman Island.
He hadn't expected that even getting ashore would be this difficult.
Was the situation on Fishman Island really this bad now?
Even the Ryugu Palace soldiers had such hostile attitudes toward humans?
What he didn't realize was—they'd just happened to bump into a fanatical racial supremacist.
"Weevil…"
"Arlong! This isn't a pirate crew—did you forget everything I taught you?!"
A loud voice suddenly cut through the tense atmosphere.
The group on the ship looked up.
A red snapper Fishman and a blue armored whale shark Fishman were riding atop a whale, heading their way.
Though their expressions seemed stern, their eyes weren't filled with hostility.
Senor Pink visibly relaxed. Maybe they wouldn't have to fight their way in after all.
Arlong stiffened, trying to justify himself.
"They're humans! And lately, more of our people have gone missing!"
"Shut up! What kind of trafficker lets a kid wander around freely on deck?!"
"And what kind of trafficker shows up with this few people?!"
"You're clearly unfit to continue patrol duty. I'll be requesting that King Neptune and Queen Otohime relieve you of your post."
Tiger pointed accusingly at Yamato and Monet on the ship, his voice thunderous.
Behind him, sweat had already begun to bead and run down his back, washing away into the sea.
As a well-traveled adventurer, he'd recognized the subtle grinning insignia on the ship.
Wasn't that the mark of the Yonko, Donquixote Doflamingo?
Even though Fishman Island currently enjoyed the protection of Whitebeard's flag, keeping many pirates at bay…
Provoking another Yonko like Doflamingo?
Tiger didn't believe Fishman Island would survive it.
This was the man who had straight-up killed Golden Lion Shiki and a Marine Admiral!
"Hahaha~ Of course we're not slavers—we're here to visit Fishman Island!"
Yamato laughed out loud at Tiger's words.
Doffy hadn't sent them to fight—he'd sent her to have fun!
Arlong immediately panicked when he heard he might be dismissed.
"Arlong! Calm down! If Tiger-san's doing this, I'm sure he has his reasons."
Jinbei, now a captain in the Ryugu Palace guard, placed a firm hand on Arlong's shoulder.
His immense strength as a whale shark Fishman forced Arlong to stand down.
Though, in truth, Jinbei harbored deep resentment toward humans himself.
"Welcome to Fishman Island. I'm Tiger, an adventurer and resident of the island. Please follow me. May I ask how I should address you?"
Ignoring the chaos behind him, Tiger offered a friendly smile and turned to lead the way toward the island's main gates.
He rode ahead on the whale, clearing a path.
Monet quickly clamped a hand over Yamato's mouth before she could blurt out her name.
Now was not the time for introductions.
"Senor Pink, Tiger-san. We'd appreciate it if you could arrange a meeting with King Neptune and Queen Otohime."
Senor Pink's glasses glinted as he gave his name.
Fisher Tiger—an accomplished adventurer and esteemed guest of the royal family.
"Senor Pink-san… may I ask, what exactly does Doflamingo-sama hope to obtain from Fishman Island?"
Tiger asked, testing the waters.
When someone like that so much as twitches, it could spell disaster for people like them.
"BOSS intends to grant the Fishmen and merfolk the life they've always dreamed of. The question is…"
Senor Pink paused slightly, eyes narrowing.
"Do you want it?"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg