The sun was high and bright the next morning.
Tesoro rushed into Takuro's office, a clear look of worry etched onto his face. "Boss," he asked, his voice tight, "Are you genuinely heading to Fish-Man Island?"
"Mm," Takuro replied, not looking up as he studied a simple nautical chart. He quickly realized the chart was useless to him; he was no professional navigator and couldn't make sense of the markings.
"But I've heard that place is incredibly dangerous," Tesoro insisted, trying to advise him. "To reach Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters beneath the deep sea, you have to pass through an extremely perilous ocean current. On top of that, it's the territory of the Fish-Man Race and the merfolk. They... well, they aren't exactly known for being friendly toward humans."
"...What are you even talking about?"
Takuro finally looked up, staring at his employee with a baffled expression, as if thinking, 'Has this guy lost his mind?'
"Dangerous?" he challenged. "Do you honestly believe, given my power, that anything on this vast ocean could be called 'dangerous' to me?"
"Uh…" Tesoro was instantly silenced by the rhetorical question. He opened his mouth, then closed it, finally just scratching his short green hair sheepishly.
He had to admit that his worries had sounded utterly pointless. He truly couldn't conceive of anything in this world that could put his god-like boss in any kind of "danger."
"Alright, that's enough," Takuro said, clearly too bored to continue the discussion. He simply waved a dismissive hand and issued an order. "Hurry up and prepare the best ship for me, and call Robin as well. I'm going to handle some serious business this time. If all goes quickly, I'll be back soon."
"Yes, Boss!" Tesoro immediately spun around to make the arrangements.
Takuro watched his hurried retreat, but said nothing more. His decision to personally travel to Fish-Man Island was indeed for "serious business," not a sudden whim, but a calculated choice.
There were three main reasons for the trip.
First, just as he had hinted to Tiger, he intended to fully conquer and integrate all of Fish-Man Island, making it a powerful "deep-sea unit" beneath his Golden Empire. From the information Robin had gathered over the years, the ocean's expanse in this world was immense. Crustal shifts had mercilessly submerged many ancient civilizations and mysterious islands beneath the waves. If he truly wanted to find every last Poneglyph and uncover the ultimate truth of the world, then an underwater force capable of moving freely in the deep ocean was absolutely essential. The Fishmen, with their natural strength and aquatic talents, were clearly the most suitable people in the world for this task.
The second reason was tied to fragmented records collected by his intelligence department from an ancient Grand Line document: it suggested that a Poneglyph tablet also existed on Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters below the surface. He needed to confirm this vital point in person.
As for the final, and simplest, reason... it was the legendary Ryugu Castle, ten thousand meters beneath the sea! For any man who still possessed a trace of a "boy's heart," such a mysterious and fantastical place was filled with an utterly irresistible desire for exploration!
In summary, Takuro decided he had to go personally to satisfy all his curiosities at once!
'What kind of interesting things could be hidden ten thousand meters beneath the sea?' Takuro wondered with a thrill of excitement.
Meanwhile, across the sea from Ambri Island, on a desolate ore island, life was much different. This place was a mine owned by the Golden Empire, and it served as the grim, final destination for captured "enemies" who refused to pledge their allegiance.
"Get a move on, all of you! Stop dawdling!" The rough, impatient shouts of the supervisor echoed across the mine's entrance.
After the routine morning roll call, a group of ragged, numb-faced "miners," driven forward by the overseer, shuffled slowly into the seemingly bottomless, pitch-black mine shaft.
Rob Lucci was a part of this miserable procession.
He moved with the weary crowd, weighed down by cold, heavy Sea Stone shackles. Among the group of tall, hardened adults, his still somewhat slender teenage figure was noticeable, but Rob Lucci paid it no mind. As he walked, his eyes, as calm and emotionless as an ancient well, subtly and meticulously took in everything around him: the mine's internal structure, the shift rotations, the placement and armament of the patrol personnel, and every potential blind spot for the surveillance Den Den Mushi.
After enduring this period of his "new" life in this hellish mine, Rob Lucci had reached a complete and cold realization—he, and his imprisoned CP9 comrades, had been utterly abandoned by the World Government. They were nothing more than discarded pawns. No one was coming to rescue them.
Since his childhood, he had dedicated himself to the World Government, carrying out the dirtiest, darkest missions in the name of 'Absolute Justice.' And now, a single mission failure had led him to this fate? This devastating betrayal could not help but ignite a cold, burning resentment for the first time in Rob Lucci's heart, a place that had previously been filled only with absolute loyalty.
But now was not the time for such thoughts; he first needed a way to free himself and escape this cursed place.
Rob Lucci continued his silent observation of his surroundings.
He thought angrily to himself: 'Just you wait… World Government... When I finally get out of here… I will definitely make all of you pay for this!'
This was the purest, most venomous cry for revenge from a betrayed teenage boy.
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