Deep underwater, it was quite dark and various organisms lurked in the cold water hiding away from the light.
'Someone is calling!'
'I can hear her, she needs help!'
'So long! I can finally feel the presence of the holder!'
The voices, of different wavelengths, spread throughout the whole sea.
In the darkness, numerous pairs of light glowed with the longing of years and years of expectations.
The sea water rippled violently, huge waves formed and slammed on the lands.
The weather seemed to turn rainy and stormy, soon the flashes of lightning and the roars of thunder reverberated.
On the deck of the main warship, Akainu stood with a grim expression. He became vigilant, his eyes shifted from one angle to another in the water.
Suddenly, the warships of the Marine Fleet seemed to be pushed back with some force as they weren't able to advance further.
"What's going on?"
Akainu asked the soldier who was supposed to be in charge of the steer. But unfortunately, the soldier didn't know anything similar to him.
On another warship, belonging to one of the Marine Admirals, Blaze took in a deep breath and calmed himself.
He gazed in the water, and his observation haki which was many times more powerful than other Admirals, locked on a strange creature.
It looked like a crayfish, with red lines in its blue skin but at a gigantic size. Almost ten times bigger than the warship itself.
"Sea King!"
Blaze might not have identified what kind it was, but he knew that this creature was definitely a sea king.
"Everyone! We are getting targeted by a sea king!"
Blaze's loud shout, made all the soldiers on the warship alarmed. When the information went to other warships, it was total chaos.
Normally, the soldiers wouldn't care about a sea king if they were on the surface with four Marine Admirals on their side.
But here, deep underwater, the case was very different. Even the Admirals will be vulnerable.
"My devil fruit power is useless here. I can only rely on the other Admirals."
Blaze shook his head in disappointment. He knew from the start that once they entered the sea, he would be useless until they reached the surface.
He admitted himself, on land he might give even the Devil a strong face off but underwater, he is just a wet cat, or a wet monkey.
A figure inside a huge airtight bubble jumped from one of the warships and headed towards the sea king.
Aokiji clenched his fists and glared at the sea king, he then opened his palms and pierced the bubble, which didn't burst unlike what was expected.
As his hands touched the cold water, bright blue light shined and the temperature dropped further.
Ice spread in the water and froze everything in the path including the huge sea king.
The iceberg formed, entrapping the sea king, it floated upwards towards the surface.
Aokiji sighed in relief after seeing that he was successful in getting rid of a disaster.
"Hopefully it's the only one…"
Aokiji was about to return back to his warship when he suddenly sensed multiple eyes on him from the dark water.
A cold shiver ran down his spine. Aokiji turned his head with great struggle and gazed at the eyes which glowed in deep red.
'Shit!'
Aokiji couldn't retreat as a mouth bigger than the sea king from before opened up and gulped him in.
"Aokiji!"
Blaze watched with wide eyes as tens of sea kings appeared right after Aokiji had dealt with one.
But this time, the size of these sea kings couldn't be compared. They were just too big for Blaze to see the limit of their bodies.
* * *
On the edge of the Fish-Man island, Joker bitterly smiled at Shirahoshi who was on her side lying weakly.
Lots of blood was coughed by her in the process of calling the sea kings for help.
"You will be fine, I will take you to a doctor."
Joker stroked on her cheek and said with care. For the first time in his life, he saw someone who could be considered a sister to him.
No doubt that Shirahoshi was kind of stupid and dump, but her heart was crystal clear.
She had no ill intention, all she wanted was for her and her family to be happy.
'She is almost like me, when I was still a kid and enjoying the warmth of my family.'
Joker lowered his head and remembered all the memories of his past that didn't have deaths and bloods.
"I, can I call you big brother for once?"
With little hesitation, Shirahoshi asked. Joker felt that his heart would bleed more if this continued.
But he, he really wanted it…
"Of course, you can call me big brother."
Joker smiled at her, his lips trembled slightly and blood flowed out of the stitches.
"Big brother. Brother…"
Her eyes closed slowly, her lips were curved in a smile showing that she was deeply satisfied and happy.
"Hey, why did you go silent?"
Joker shook his head and touched her cheek. He called again but Shirahoshi didn't reply.
"Shirahoshi, Shirahoshi! Hey wake up! Shirahoshi!"
Joker shook her head but Shirahoshi showed no movement to him. Her breathing had stopped and he felt her body turning colder.
"N-No! Please, please don't! I, I already lost everything! Just this once, please let me have a family! Please, Shirahoshi. Listen to me. Listen to your big brother."
Joker fell to his knees, his shoulders lowered in powerlessness. Tears rolled down his eyes, he was crying after a long time.
Boom!
The bright lights exploded in the water not far from the Fish-Man island. It belonged to Kizaru who was getting circled by three sea kings.
It was already a huge feat to have lasted this long against multiple sea kings underwater.
No matter what, even Akuma would have to retreat if he was weak when exposed to the sea water. But he was not, that made it possible for Akuma to deal with the sea kings.
Whereas these Admirals, they were weak when they got in the sea water.
So their defeat against the sea kings underwater was a possibility already deduced.
"Ahhhhh! If so! I will destroy the Fish-Man island with me!"
Akainu's roar created waves in the water as his body changed into that of magma.
He blasted off from the warship and launched at the Fish-Man island ahead. A Devil fruit user is only weak when in sea water so Akainu didn't immediately lose his powers.
The sea water and the magma reacted together as black matter formed on Akainu's body. But Akainu didn't care and reached the Fish-Man island.
His body crashed on the land and a deep crater was visible with a dust cloud over it.
The huge Marine Fleet was already destroyed, only Kizaru and Akainu were still alive. Kizaru tried to hold his breath and head to the surface but the sea kings hindered him.
His end was also not far. In the crater, Akainu punched his magma fist in the ground and red magma entered through the cracks.
Akainu was so angry and committed that he believed he wouldn't survive but would definitely destroy the island.
Consider him as a maniac but Akainu couldn't be stopped now. Even Akuma wouldn't fight against Akainu in his current state.
The magma spread throughout the entire Fish-Man island slowly, the cracks deepened and went further to almost shatter the whole island.
"Ha ha ha… hehehe!"
At the edge of the island, Joker's laughter echoed. It was much creepier than his normal.
The last time was when he got his corner of the lips cut by his father. Then it was when he killed his own sister.
Red blood dripped down his red eyes as Joker widened his eyes and opened his mouth until his stitches stretched to the limits.
His entire face was covered in red blood from his eyes and lips, but Joker showed no pain and just laughed.
"Akuma! Akuma! Akuma!"
"Ha ha hahahha! Hahhah!"
Joker's body shook in an unimaginable excitement. His body seemed to twist and turn in weirdly.
"Ahhhh! Die!"
On the other side, Akainu shouted as his body burst out into fragments of magma and rained down on the Fish-Man island.
The cracks on the land finally reached the point where the island shook and started breaking.
"Devil, here I come!"
The surrounding was like a dark abyss and Joker as the monster. His eyes glowed in the darkness and his grin extended almost to his ears.