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In the sky above, a bird-like creature cloaked in blue-green flames was soaring incredibly toward Fish-Man Island.
Riding on its back were three figures: Marco, Jinbe, and Ace.
Noticing Jinbe's tense expression, Ace reassured him, saying, "We left for Fish-Man Island as soon as you got the call.
With Marco's speed, we've already reduced travel time as much as possible. Worrying won't change anything now."
"Besides," Ace continued, "you said it yourself—it was just a prediction, a vision. We don't know when or even if it will happen."
Jinbei sighed in response, gently touching the Den Den Mushi (transponder snail) in his pocket without saying a word.
He had wanted to contact King Neptune to ask about the situation on Fish-Man Island, but in their rush, he hadn't packed enough food for the Den Den Mushi, and it was too weak to make calls in its hungry state.
To make matters worse, their high-speed flight made it impossible for the weak snail to function properly in the fast-moving air currents.
With no way to get updates from the island, Jinbe could only pray they would arrive in time to prevent a tragedy.
Marco said, "If that Marine Vice Admiral is Byakuya, be careful when we fight him."
Ace, curious, asked, "Marco, is this Vice Admiral Byakuya really that strong? You seem unusually concerned."
"Defeating Jack alone proves his strength," Marco replied gravely. "And I suspect that wasn't even his full power, or Jack wouldn't have said what he did."
Despite Marco's warning, Ace wasn't overly concerned.
After intense training with Whitebeard, Ace had full confidence in his abilities.
With both Jinbe and Marco by his side, he believed they could even take on an Admiral, let alone a Vice Admiral.
Surely, Byakuya couldn't be stronger than an Admiral, Ace thought.
He was determined to make Byakuya pay and intended to make him feel the scorching burn of his flames.
After all, Byakuya's actions had cut their banquet short, leaving Ace only half-full. He was still hungry!
Meanwhile, deep within the Forest of the Sea, Byakuya discovered a Poneglyph containing an apology from Joy Boy.
[Item discovered: Poneglyph (Historical Text). Reclaim value: 3,000 World Source Points]. Excellent, another 3,000 points.
This trip hadn't been for nothing. Byakuya stored the Poneglyph in his system space and planned to have Robin record it before reclaiming it.
When Byakuya returned to find Shirahoshi and the others, they had already finished their tribute to Queen Otohime.
The three stood waiting for him at the Forest of the Sea entrance.
Shirahoshi's mood was notably downcast, her eyes red from crying.
It was Shirahoshi's first visit to her mother's grave since Queen Otohime's death.
She had bottled up many things in her heart, waiting to tell her late mother.
Seeing her sadness, Byakuya said nothing and silently led the group back toward the Ryugu Palace.
Byakuya didn't know much about Queen Otohime, only bits and pieces from the anime.
In reality, Otohime's dream had been noble—she wanted the Fish-Men and Merfolk to live peacefully with humans.
She led efforts to encourage the residents of Fish-Man Island to migrate to the surface and planned to present these ideas at the World Conference.
Otohime even served as a role model for coexistence, rescuing people from shipwrecks and teaching the children of Fish-Man Island about the world above.
She was willing to act on her ideals, even at the cost of her life.
Unfortunately, the world of pirates is one where strength speaks louder than ideals.
If Fish-Man Island could produce even one or two individuals capable of matching a Marine Admiral, the World Government wouldn't purposely make life difficult for the Fish-Men trying to live in peace with humans.
Or if Queen Otohime had possessed enough power to dominate the entire Fish-Man Island, she wouldn't have died at the hands of a lowlife like Hody Jones.
Even though the situation on Fish-Man Island has improved compared to the past, this peace was achieved at a great cost.
Jinbe had to prove his strength to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the Ryugu Kingdom had to hang the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates to ensure their safety.
Such is the harsh reality of a world where the weak prey on the strong.
Of course, if Princess Shirahoshi could fully master her innate ability to control Sea Kings, it might drastically change the fate of Fish-Man Island.
As the group continued walking, a sudden scream of panic came from the distance. A figure quickly flew toward Shirahoshi.
She had never seen anything like this before—Vander Decken IX had always thrown weapons, but now he was throwing people.
Before Shirahoshi could panic further, Ain and Tashigi stepped before her, easily catching the flying person.
The man barely had time to feel relieved before noticing the Marine uniforms on Ain and Tashigi.
He almost fainted in fear, realizing he had just escaped the jaws of a wolf only to fall into the claws of a tiger.
Under Ain and Tashigi's interrogation, the man spilt everything he knew, like beans falling out of a bamboo tube.
He had come to Fish-Man Island to try his luck, hoping to capture a female mermaid to sell on the surface at an auction.
If he could catch one, he figured he'd live a life of luxury. But instead of capturing a mermaid, he was captured by a fisherman.
He said a sleazy-looking Fish-Man had thrown him from a great distance.
Hearing this, a name popped into the minds of Byakuya and the others: Vander Decken IX, the target fruit user.
This time, instead of throwing weapons, he was throwing live people. Something unusual was happening.
Byakuya began to recall the anime storyline. Could the New Fish-Man Pirates have already launched their attack on Ryugu Palace?
But that didn't make sense—according to the anime's timeline, it was supposed to happen over two years from now.
This left Byakuya feeling unsure. After all, he hadn't done anything to change the course of the story yet.
While Byakuya was deep in thought, more screams of agony echoed from a distance, one after another, as if forming a continuous line in the air.
Just how many human pirates had Vander Decken IX captured and thrown?
Ain and Tashigi sensed something was amiss and looked toward Byakuya for guidance.
"It seems something's wrong at Ryugu Palace. We need to head back quickly," Byakuya said.
Tashigi asked, "What should we do about these guys?" Seven trembling pirates had been tossed in front of them in just a short time.
Byakuya glanced at the seven pirates, shaking in fear, and calmly said, "They're all pirates—kill them."
Upon hearing Byakuya's command, Tashigi unsheathed her sword. With a flash of her blade, a red line appeared across the necks of all seven pirates.
Fresh air rushed into their windpipes, turning their faces a dark purple before they lost their lives.
Tashigi had shown mercy, mindful of Shirahoshi's presence. Otherwise, her sword strike would have left seven severed heads rolling on the ground.
Shirahoshi, surprised, stared at Tashigi. She hadn't expected that the mild-mannered woman with glasses, who usually seemed so gentle, could be so decisive when executing pirates.
Shirahoshi wished she could be as strong as Tashigi rather than always crying whenever something went wrong.
Meanwhile, at the Plaza near Ryugu Palace, a massive crowd of Fish-Men had gathered.
The entire square was packed, and Hody Jones stood triumphantly at the highest point, looking down at the tens of thousands of Fish-Men below him.
Through his scheming, the Fish-Men from the Fish-Man District had come to harbour intense hostility toward Neptune.
Now that he had stepped out of the shadows and raised his fist in defiance, the Fish-Men, swayed by his words, were willing to follow his command.
From then on, these Fish-Men were his army, ready to help him conquer the world.
With such a vast force at his disposal, Hody Jones' ambition swelled even more. Standing on the platform, he declared loudly,
"Neptune has colluded with the Marines, seeking to wipe out the Fish-Men of Fish-Man Island in exchange for peace between the Merfolk and humans."
"His actions are nothing but a betrayal of our Fish-Men race. Neptune is no longer fit to be our king."
"I, Hody Jones, realized Neptune's treachery years ago, but back then, I was too weak to expose him and had to flee to survive."
"But now, Neptune no longer hides his true intentions."
"Not only does he refuse to hand over the Marines who killed Fish-Men, but he has also sent the Ryugu soldiers to capture Fish-Men in the Fish-Man District. Can we, the Fish-Men, tolerate this?"
The nearly sixty thousand Fish-Men roared in unison, "No, we cannot!"
Their collective voices echoed throughout Fish-Man Island, causing waves to crash violently outside the island, scaring away countless sea creatures.
Satisfied with their reaction, Hody Jones continued, "Today, I, Hody Jones, along with my New Fish-Man Pirates, will lead the Fish-Men race to fulfil the will of Fisher Tiger and Arlong!"
"We will tear Neptune to pieces, slaughter all the Marines inside Ryugu Palace, and then march to the surface to make humans our slaves, ready to be slaughtered at our command!"
Unlike Arlong, Hody Jones had a strategic mind. He knew when to hide and when to emerge to rally support.
His speech alone was something Arlong could never have managed in his lifetime.
For the Fish-Men, Fisher Tiger was an undeniable hero of their race, and hearing that Hody Jones intended to carry on Tiger's legacy stirred their blood.
Under Hody Jones' leadership, nearly sixty thousand Fish-Men, full of fervour, began to march aggressively toward Ryugu Palace.
With such a massive event unfolding in the plaza, there was no way Neptune could remain unaware. But knowing didn't change much.
With only five thousand soldiers from the Ryugu Kingdom at his disposal, dealing with the sixty thousand Fish-Men gathered was impossible.
The only slightly comforting thought for Neptune was that Shirahoshi wasn't inside the palace.
With Byakuya protecting her, Shirahoshi might be spared from the chaos of this Fish-Man rebellion.
As Neptune pondered the situation, it gave him a headache.
Everything he had done, everything his people had done, was meant to protect Fish-Man Island, to protect everyone, including the Fish-Men from the Fish-Man District.
The plan was to release the captured Fish-Men after Byakuya left and offer them compensation.
However, due to Hody Jones' malicious propaganda, things devolved into this mess. Truly, one wrong move had caused them to lose everything.
This also revealed that most of the Fish-Men didn't trust Neptune. Their deep-seated hatred for humans made them easy targets for Hody Jones' manipulation, leading them to take these drastic actions.
When Neptune first heard about the rebellion, he considered asking Byakuya, with his overwhelming strength, to step in and put down the uprising.
But if they did that, wouldn't it result in Byakuya destroying Fishman Island? It would only confirm Madam Shyarly's ominous prophecy.
Then what was the point of all their efforts over the past few days? Just to realize that they had been the fools all along?
As Neptune wrestled with indecision, Hody Jones' voice bellowed from the palace gates.
"Neptune, you traitor to the Fish-Men! Come out here right now!"
Hearing someone insult his father, Fukaboshi gripped his golden trident tightly, stood up, and shouted, "Father, things have gone too far."
"We can't hesitate any longer. I'll take three thousand of the Royal Guard and stop Hody Jones."
"You, Father, take the remaining two thousand guards and my brothers to find Shirahoshi. The further you get from Fish-Man Island, the better."
It was clear that Fukaboshi intended to use his life to buy time for his family's escape.
As for why he didn't send all five thousand Royal Guards to face Hody Jones while fleeing with his family, the answer was simple.
If the entire royal family fled, why should the soldiers bother risking their lives? Who wouldn't want to survive?
Without morale, those five thousand guards probably wouldn't last ten minutes.
Neptune and the others wouldn't have gotten far before the Fish-Men caught up and killed them.
But if Fukaboshi, the eldest prince, personally led the charge, those three thousand soldiers would fight with the resolve of those ready to die.
That would give Neptune and the others enough time to escape.
Someone from the royal family had to stay behind, and with Neptune's age and responsibility as the eldest brother, Fukaboshi was the best candidate.
Tears welled up in Neptune's eyes as he looked at Fukaboshi. He picked up his long-unused giant trident and smiled.
"Let your brothers protect Shirahoshi. Today, you and I will fight together as father and son!"
"Yes!" Fukaboshi didn't object. Armed with their tridents, the two rallied three thousand soldiers and swam toward the palace gates.
Following closely behind them was Captain Ferguson, who had remained inside the palace until now.
Neptune was taken aback and urged him, "Captain Ferguson, this is a matter internal to Fish-Man Island. It has nothing to do with the Marines."
"You don't need to get involved."
Ferguson shook his head. "I heard everything. I'm the one who killed those Fish-Men at the gates of Fish-Man Island."
"If anyone wants revenge, it should be on me. I'm already surprised you didn't hand me over. So I must join you in this fight."
Fukaboshi tried to reason with him, "Captain Ferguson, Hody Jones has been scheming against us for a long time."
"Whether we hand you over or not, today's events would've happened anyway."
"You were just caught in the middle. So, you should retreat with my brothers and the Marines."
Ferguson replied calmly, "It doesn't matter. We're all facing the same crisis now. You're my allies."
"For Marines, there's no such thing as abandoning comrades and running away."
"If I were to run, Vice Admiral Byakuya would personally cast me out."
As he spoke, Marine soldiers brought forward the Eternal Day battleship, anchored deep inside the palace.
Fergus's reinforcements had arrived. "This time, the Marines will stand and fight alongside the Fish-Men!"
Over two hundred elite Marine soldiers aboard the Eternal Day shouted in unison, "Fight!"
Neptune hadn't felt this level of blood-pumping excitement since becoming king.
Now, surrounded by Fukaboshi and the three thousand Royal Guards, whose morale was soaring, along with the two hundred elite Marine soldiers standing ready for battle, Neptune also felt his spirits rising.
Raising his enormous trident, he shouted, "Everyone, follow me! Fight!"
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