"Crack!"
Under Neptune's horrified gaze, the golden trident, pushed to its limits, finally snapped in half.
The Beast Arlong grinned with a terrifying curve, swallowing the broken shaft he had just bitten through.
His claws loosened from the shattered trident.
And reached straight for Neptune.
Faced with the rapidly approaching claws...
A flash of determination surged in Neptune's eyes. He gripped the broken ends of his trident and stabbed toward Arlong's neck.
"Splurt!" *2
Neptune grimaced in pain—those massive claws had already pierced into both his shoulders and were digging in deeper.
Yet, despite the agony, Neptune's face relaxed slightly.
Because his broken weapon had also pierced through Arlong's scales and stabbed into his neck.
Blood spurted out violently, and Arlong's movements began to slow.
Exhausted, Neptune squinted his eyes.
But when he opened them again, they went wide in disbelief.
The muscles in Arlong's neck... were writhing like they had minds of their own.
From the wound, granulated flesh rapidly began sealing the gash shut.
"ROAR!!!"
With a furious howl bursting from his chest, the Beast Arlong surged with life once more.
His claws twisted beneath Neptune's skin, locking around his collarbones.
Then—his massive head suddenly lunged downward.
"Splurt!"
His jagged snout—over a meter long—stabbed straight through Neptune's open mouth and burst out the back of his head.
The light vanished from Neptune's bright blue eyes. His hands slipped weakly from the broken trident.
Arlong hoisted Neptune up like a trophy.
Roaring triumphantly, he displayed his unbeatable strength to everyone around him.
The sight brought a momentary halt to both sides of the battle.
Hody Jones and his crew wore crazed expressions, trembling with excitement.
"Arlong-aniki! He's killed that worthless Neptune!!"
"Arlong-aniki will be the new supreme king of Fish-Man Island!"
"He'll lead our people to trample over the humans once and for all!!!"
Meanwhile, the Ryugu Palace guards—and the ordinary citizens of Fish-Man Island—were frozen in shock and horror.
"King Neptune… he's… he's dead!!!"
"What do we do?!"
...
But Arlong wasn't done yet.
He ripped the two spears lodged in his neck free.
And slashed them down at Neptune's lower body.
"Splurt!"
The thick, fleshy tail of the coelacanth king was severed with a spray of hot blood and intestines, splashing across the battlefield.
The grotesque scene only intensified the sadistic pleasure on Hody Jones and his men's faces.
"Yes! Arlong-aniki, that's it—desecrate Neptune's corpse!"
"Grind him into minced meat!"
"Feed him to the sharks!!"
As if he'd heard their cheers, Arlong dropped the upper half of Neptune's body and stomped down on it.
With the other hand, he grabbed the severed fish tail and shoved it into his mouth.
"URGH!!" *N
Both enemies and allies across the battlefield recoiled with revulsion.
Even Arlong's own underlings were trembling—hands cold and faces pale—as they watched in horror.
Using one of their own kind as food… had Arlong-aniki gone completely insane?!
However...
Arlong's madness was just beginning.
"So hungry…!!!"
The Beast Arlong's massive voice echoed across the battlefield.
Everyone who heard it felt their scalp tingle and their hearts freeze in terror.
The first to catch Arlong's eye—was Neptune's mount, recently knocked unconscious by Arlong's earlier rampage.
A whale.
...
Heavenly Island.
Third Ring Zone – Counseling Room.
A line of humans stretched endlessly outside the entrance.
Inside, well-trained fish-men sat with dazed and emotionally overwhelmed humans, patiently talking with them.
"Thank you so much, beautiful mermaid lady!"
"You're welcome! Come back if anything's bothering you, okay?"
For those weighed down by fear and exhaustion, beauty was the best comfort.
And if that beauty came from a mermaid, the effect was magnified.
If a beautiful mermaid was also willing to listen to your pain... then that feeling only deepened.
...
Top Floor Office.
Queen Otohime gently pushed a stroller carrying little Manboshi as she watched her people working hard below.
A calm smile bloomed on her face, her heart filled with warmth and happiness.
With help from His Majesty Doflamingo...
And through her own tireless efforts alongside her people, merfolk and fish-men were finally living side-by-side with humans!
She didn't know when Neptune, Fukaboshi, and Ryuboshi would arrive to join them.
But hopefully soon, their family would be reunited here.
"Waaah! Waaah!!"
Suddenly, the peacefully sleeping Manboshi let out a shrill, heart-wrenching cry.
Before Otohime could pick him up, a wave of searing pain spread through her entire body—nearly making her faint.
She bit her lip, trembling and pale, as she cradled the baby and softly began to hum a lullaby of Fish-Man Island.
"What… what's going on?"
"Neptune… Fukaboshi… Ryuboshi… are they in trouble?!"
...
The one responsible for it all...
Was sailing high above the Calm Belt, carrying the spoils of his latest journey.
To avoid complications and unnecessary attention, Doflamingo had chosen a direct return route through the windless zone.
On the deck of the Numancia Flamingo.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Two figures, both bound in seastone restraints, clashed repeatedly.
One was smaller and clearly struggling to keep up, his defense sloppy under the relentless barrage.
It was Doflamingo, currently educating Enel with fists and kicks—engraving combat principles into his body.
When Enel leapt up with a flashy kick—
Doflamingo easily caught it and yanked him into a painful split, then drove a foot into his chest.
"Enel, stop using such exaggerated movements!"
"Lightning speed might cover your weaknesses, but to any true powerhouse, your flaws are glaringly obvious."
Enel flipped back, rubbing his bruised chest, and charged in again.
"I got it!"
...
"Doffy, I think we're close to that coordinate you gave me last time."
At the bow of the ship, Smoothie had her eyes on the sea chart.
She glanced at the table covered in log poses and location markers, then softly addressed Doflamingo.
"Oh?"
Catching Enel's punch, Doflamingo slammed him away with a front kick and turned his head.
"Whose name is carved below it?"
"Kuro."
"Kuro, huh? Enel, that's enough for today."
Doflamingo removed the seastone chains from his body and walked toward the bow.
Kuro's coordinates—those pointed to one of CP9's training grounds for talent development.
Since he'd already stolen Egghead from the World Government, he didn't mind raiding their recruitment sources too.
"I'm going to take a look. Smoothie, bring Egghead back first."
That juicy prize needed to be delivered to their headquarters safely.
"Understood, Doffy."
Smoothie took off, flying toward the floating Egghead facility above.
"Ah! Doffy, may I leave too?!"
Nearby, Morgans finally spoke up, having pretended to be dead for days.
He had a strong feeling that if he stuck around too long, Doflamingo would eventually kill him to tie up loose ends.
In the corner, Umit and Giberson exchanged glances—both gloating inwardly.
They'd been beaten already. Now it was the bird's turn.
"Oh?"
Doflamingo's lips curled into a playful grin as he looked down at the trembling journalist.
He stared at Morgans until a trace of panic appeared on his feathered face, then chuckled lightly.
"Fufufufufufu~ My dear friend... what do you think?"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg