"Just ten vice admiral-level battleships should suffice as a warning," Daniel thought after planting time bombs on ten naval ships stationed at Marineford. Though he could have destroyed all the ships docked there, he saw little point in doing so.
Boom, boom, boom.
The successive explosions immediately alerted the temporary headquarters of the Marines. Sengoku, Garp, and Aokiji, among others, quickly rushed to the harbor. Seeing the ten burning ships sinking, Aokiji acted swiftly, freezing the surrounding sea to prevent further sinking.
Sengoku, with a grim expression, surveyed the scene and issued an order, "Rescue the personnel." Following his command, the gathered vice admirals, rear admirals, and other officers quickly boarded the damaged ships to begin rescue operations.
Thanks to Aokiji's intervention, the rescue proceeded rapidly. Even the wrecked ships were promptly removed by the giant vice admirals working in pairs.
Within thirty minutes, the harbor was back to normal, at least on the surface. However, internally, the Marine headquarters was now under lockdown, organizing personnel to inspect the remaining ships and key areas of the island.
"The speed of their response..." Daniel, observing through a telescope from a distance, felt a pang of frustration. Although he hadn't intended to cause significant trouble for the Marines, he was irked that his actions had been resolved so swiftly.
"Forget these minor disruptions for now," he decided after a moment's thought, realizing that these actions would only serve to annoy Sengoku and other high-ranking Marines without causing significant damage.
"I need to focus on gaining more strength," he reminded himself. With enough power, he could confront Garp and Sengoku directly, eliminating the need for such small-scale provocations.
These minor disruptions were merely a way for Daniel to vent his frustration against the Marine leadership. Although Sengoku, Garp, and the three Admirals were generally considered good people, they still served the Celestial Dragons, making it impossible to maintain a purely righteous image.
The Buster Call incident on Ohara, ordered by Sengoku, had ultimately left the blame on Akainu and Spandine, with Sengoku seemingly untouched. In terms of political maneuvering, Sengoku indeed lived up to his reputation as a "Strategist."
Within the Marines, the most respected figure was actually former Admiral Zephyr, known as "Z." He had trained many of the current high-ranking Marines, including the three Admirals, as well as numerous vice admirals and commodores, including Smoker.
Despite his reputation, Zephyr eventually met a tragic end and was even disgraced. Daniel had many thoughts about Zephyr, recognizing him as a former admiral who, despite his current lack of official power, still commanded the support of numerous followers and possessed powerful weapons like the Pacifistas.
If given the opportunity for revenge, Daniel believed he might recruit Zephyr. Zephyr's missing arm and old age were issues Daniel felt confident he could address.
Along with Fujitora and Green Bull, Daniel could potentially have three Admiral-level fighters. However, this was just an idea for now, as Zephyr, despite being marginalized by the World Government, had remained loyal to the Marines until the Shichibukai Edward Weevil's actions led to his disillusionment.
Lost in thought, Daniel returned to the Sabaody Archipelago and, by chance, encountered a pirate crew preparing to sail to Fishman Island. Their ship had been coated by none other than Rayleigh.
In the Sabaody Archipelago, one must not offend the coating artisans, as the journey to Fishman Island, 10,000 meters under the sea, tested the skill of these craftsmen. A failure in coating could mean death for everyone on board.
Many pirate crews met their end this way, whether due to poor coating or sea monster attacks. Thus, pirates rarely skimped on coating expenses.
"If these bubbles were used for underwater tourism in the Marvel world, they would be incredibly popular," Daniel mused, standing invisibly on the deck of the coated ship, marveling at the underwater scenery.
The underwater view through these coatings was far superior to any experience provided by traditional diving equipment.
"I should get a few submarines," Daniel thought as the ship continued its descent. In the pirate world, ships were the main mode of transport, except for the Marines, who also used submarines. Trafalgar Law owned a small submarine that played a crucial role in rescuing Luffy during the Summit War.
Boom.
As the ship neared Fishman Island, a massive humanoid sea creature appeared, grabbing the vessel and tossing it away.
"It seems to be the same sea monster that Luffy encountered on his way to Fishman Island," Daniel thought, recognizing the creature.
This giant sea monster, associated with the New Fishman Pirates, initially opposed Luffy but eventually became his ally after a fight. It even helped Luffy and his crew escape from Totto Land later on.
The sea monster hurled the ship into the bubble surrounding Fishman Island, causing it to crash onto the ground.
Fishman Island was essentially a giant bubble sustained by the roots of the Sunlight Tree Eve. Unless the tree was destroyed, the bubble was nearly indestructible.
Thanks to the Sunlight Tree Eve, Fishman Island, despite being 10,000 meters underwater, received sunlight, albeit less intense than on the surface, allowing for a semblance of day and night.
"Get down here, you filthy humans!" Outside, angry shouts could be heard as the ship's bubble was pierced, and a group of armed fishmen surrounded the pirates.
"These unlucky pirates..." Daniel thought, seeing the pirates engage the fishmen. He decided to slip away quietly. The pirates weren't good people; he had overheard their boasting about their looting and killing during the voyage.
Had this incident not occurred, Daniel had planned to sabotage their coating upon reaching Fishman Island, condemning them to the depths.
"The turtle shell shields are strong," Daniel observed, surprised as a pirate's sword broke against a fishman's turtle shell shield.
"You damn fishmen, move aside!" The pirate captain, seeing his crew faltering, emerged in a rage, cutting down several fishmen with his sword. Reaching Sabaody and Fishman Island was no small feat; only capable crews survived the journey.
The captain fought fiercely, even the turtle shields couldn't withstand his attacks. However, just as he seemed invincible, several water bullets pierced his body.
"Fishman Karate," Daniel noted as the fishman leader, Hody Jones, appeared. Jones, who had once assembled a 100,000-strong army to challenge Luffy, was quickly defeated by Luffy's Conqueror's Haki.
"Conqueror's Haki... I probably don't have it," Daniel mused, feeling a bit down. While he wasn't overly attached to the idea of having Conqueror's Haki, it was a useful ability, especially for intimidating foes. The ability to incapacitate enemies with a glare was impressive, even capable of intimidating a Navy captain.
Moreover, Conqueror's Haki symbolized a kingly quality. Discovering he lacked this ability left Daniel feeling a bit disappointed.
"Damn filthy slaves," Hody Jones snarled, glaring around after defeating the pirates. His gaze made both humans and fishmen recoil.
"This guy is worse than Arlong," Daniel thought as he headed toward the Fishman Pirates' base.
He had no immediate plans regarding Hody Jones, but seeing him reminded Daniel of the Energy Steroids, a drug that greatly enhanced physical abilities at the cost of life force. This drug was Jones' trump card against invaders and pirates.
The Energy Steroids could dramatically increase a person's strength, but at the cost of life force, effective mainly for fishmen. For ordinary humans, even a single dose could be fatal.
Hody Jones consumed these pills in large quantities, which eventually turned him into a frail old man.
"A more potent version of the blue pill," Daniel thought as he found the Energy Steroids in the base. Hody Jones hadn't hidden them well; they were standard issue for the New Fishman Pirates, with most officers carrying a supply.
"Planning a rebellion against humans, huh? Jones is really ambitious."
As Daniel grabbed a handful of the Energy Steroids and prepared to leave, Hody Jones and his officers returned, discussing plans to create a human slave army to invade the surface world. Daniel couldn't help but chuckle.
Hody Jones was overconfident. His 100,000-strong army couldn't even handle Luffy's crew, let alone invade the surface world. They would need a Yonko-level fighter from the fishmen for that.
The fishmen did have strong warriors, but most weren't affiliated with Fishman Island. The most prominent fishman currently was Jack, the Drought.
Quietly leaving the New Fishman Pirates' base, Daniel headed to Fishman Island.
"So many mermaids... Sanji would die of happiness if he saw this," Daniel thought, seeing the numerous mermaids around. His thoughts briefly turned to a less pleasant memory of an old mermaid, reminding him that not all mermaids were beautiful.
Sanji almost had his dreams shattered by an encounter with that mermaid.
"Fortune-telling... I wonder if she can foresee that I killed Arlong. But then again, her being Arlong's sister, as well as the sister of Shirahoshi, shows just how unique the fishmen are."
Genetic mutations were perfectly exemplified in the fishman race. Despite the petite size of Queen Otohime, her children, especially Shirahoshi, were massive—a clear case of genetic variation.
In humans, such differences might lead to suspicions of infidelity, but among fishmen, it was normal for two herbivorous fishmen to give birth to a shark-type offspring.
Fishmen and merfolk, despite living together
on Fishman Island, were vastly different. The disparity was evident in their market values, with mermaids fetching high prices and fishmen often being shunned.
Fishmen were generally seen as fierce and unapproachable, often rumored to carry diseases. Mermaids, however, were considered beautiful and desirable, with legends painting them in a favorable light.
This difference in appearance led to a split on Fishman Island, with the ruling Ryugu Kingdom traditionally led by fishmen, which partly fueled Hody Jones' rebellion.
However, there were exceptions; some fishmen, like Queen Otohime, were considered beautiful, often outshining mermaids.
"Poseidon..." Glancing towards Ryugu Palace, Daniel turned towards the Sea Forest, his main objective on Fishman Island: obtaining the Poneglyph there.
As for Poseidon, he had no immediate plans to get involved.
"It's time to move on to the next step." Standing before the Poneglyph, Daniel opened a mystic door and returned to his secret base, ready to explore the New World.
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