"We've finally left Fish-Man Island, haven't we?" Brook said, looking back at the island with a lingering sense of attachment. "I'm so loath to leave this place."
"Me too."
Sanji shared the same expression of reluctance. He was also incredibly loath to leave those beautiful young ladies of Fish-Man Island!
Damn it, his paradise! His dream!
"Then you should have just stayed behind, you nosebleed idiot," Zoro said flatly.
"What did you say, Moss Head?!"
"Bastard, who are you calling Moss Head?!"
Thud!
Clang, crash, bang...
"Ah... here they go again..."
Looking at the two of them fighting once more, the others shook their heads helplessly. They then turned to look at Fish-Man Island as it grew further away, their expressions becoming somewhat melancholic.
"I wonder when we'll come back next time," Merry said, resting her chin on her hand.
"Yeah..."
Usopp nodded as well. He wondered when they would visit such a dreamlike place again.
"Alright everyone, time for a change of mood," Nami said, clapping her hands. "After leaving Fish-Man Island, we have to cross through the Dark Sea again. There won't be any safe places for us to hide then."
"So... everyone, pull yourselves together!"
"Oh!"
Understanding Nami's meaning, everyone nodded and began working to adjust their state of mind.
As Nami said, the upcoming journey wouldn't be safe, so they needed to stay sharp.
"Alright, now it's my turn to take the stage," Franky said, holding several large pieces of Buoyant Wood.
With that, he raised his hand and tossed the Buoyant Wood out.
"What's that stuff you're throwing out?" Usopp asked curiously.
"This is Buoyant Wood with incredible buoyancy," Franky said with a smile. "With these, our pirate ship can gradually float upwards."
"Is that necessary?" Merry asked, puzzled. "Wouldn't it be better to just have Meiser use his Water Release Technique to take us up?"
Wouldn't that be faster? And they wouldn't have to worry about certain special things existing in the ocean.
"You've got to try different things once in a while," Franky laughed. "Besides... if we use the Water Release Technique, we'd miss out on a lot of the fun."
Using the Water Release Technique was indeed very fast, but it would also rob them of the chance to sightsee in the deep sea. So, it was better to use this.
Merry thought about it for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's true."
They might as well take it slow; they could treat it as a unique adventure.
"By the way, Meiser."
Nico Robin seemed to remember something and looked at Meiser curiously. "What did King Neptune say to you just now?"
"It wasn't much," Meiser said. "Just that there were bombs inside the treasure we sent to BIG MOM. It's not a big deal."
As soon as those words were spoken, the air instantly went silent.
Usopp: ?
Usopp: !
"Bo... bo... bombs?!"
Looking at the calm Meiser, Usopp said in disbelief, "Hey, hey, hey, Meiser, are you serious?"
Chopper, on the other hand, was practically frantic. "You're not joking, are you?!"
Why were there bombs in the treasure sent to BIG MOM?
Wasn't that a direct provocation to a member of the Four Emperors?
Did they want to die?!
"Of course I'm not joking," Meiser said. "Uncle Neptune really did tell me exactly that."
"No, why would that uncle put bombs in the treasure?" Usopp said, losing his mind.
This was just too ridiculous!
Hearing Usopp's words, Meiser rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, then said, "Maybe it's because the Energy Steroids were stolen before, so he put some bombs in there to ward off thieves."
"Using bombs to ward off thieves?"
Franky wore a complicated expression, clearly not expecting the King to do such a thing.
That was pretty ruthless.
"It's over... we're completely finished..."
Chopper and Usopp collapsed side-by-side on the floor, crying, "Provoking a Four Emperors Crew like this... we're definitely going to be hunted down."
Just thinking about such a terrifying prospect made their tears flow uncontrollably.
Nami, however, huffed and said, "Hmph, that's what she gets for stealing my treasure!"
Usopp: ?
Usopp looked at Nami with a face full of question marks. Was she seriously still worried about the treasure at a time like this?
No, Nami, just how much do you love money?
Chopper, meanwhile, looked up and asked, "Um... Meiser, if the Four Emperors gets blown up and killed, will we have to face the terrifying pursuit of the Four Emperors Crew?"
"If that happened, being hunted down is a certainty, but..." Meiser rubbed his chin and said, "I don't think bombs can kill one of the Four Emperors."
Hearing this, Chopper was stunned.
Then, he asked in confusion, "Why do you say that?"
Bombs are terrifying things; how could a close-range explosion not kill someone?
It's a bomb!
"You guys haven't seen the Four Emperors with your own eyes, so you don't understand what kind of monsters those beings are," Meiser said. "Cannons... firearms... bombs... none of those things have much of an effect on the Four Emperors."
After speaking, Meiser paused before continuing, "Besides... I don't think the bombs Uncle Neptune set would be that powerful anyway. Don't forget, they were in his Treasure Vault!"
If the explosion was too big, it would blow up the Ryugu Palace Treasure Vault... or even Ryugu Palace itself!
So, Meiser didn't believe King Neptune would put extremely powerful bombs in there.
"That's true," Brook nodded and said. "After all, that is King Neptune's own territory."
If the bombs' power were truly massive, they might blow up their own people as well. Thus, Meiser's speculation was highly likely.
"So they won't be blown to death. That's good," Chopper said with a sigh of relief.
As long as BIG MOM wasn't killed, there was still room to maneuver.
"Even if it doesn't kill her, it's still a provocation!" Usopp yelled frantically. "We're still going to be hunted down!"
Being hunted by one of the Four Emperors... just the thought made him shudder!
"Are you forgetting that Luffy has already provoked BIG MOM?"
Usopp: "..."
Looking at Nico Robin, who said this with a perfectly calm face, Usopp's mind went numb.
Right, they had already provoked BIG MOM, so one more time didn't really make a difference.
"What are we going to do..."
"It's over, we're going to be killed by a Four Emperors!"
"Luffy..."
"Even if she doesn't come looking for me, I'll go looking for her," Luffy said, adjusting his hat. "I'll send her flying, and then I'll make Fish-Man Island my own territory!"
Leaving Fish-Man Island to such a temperamental person was far too dangerous, so it was better to leave it to him!
Seeing that Luffy was like this too, Chopper and Usopp lay on the floor as if they had accepted their fate, not moving an inch.
"You two, pull yourselves together," Merry said.
"Eh?!"
Seeing that Merry no longer looked afraid, Usopp and Chopper were both stunned.
"Merry, aren't you scared?"
"I was scared at first, but then I thought about how we're not weak either, and I stopped being afraid," Merry said. "Besides... being afraid is useless."
Upon hearing this, Usopp and Chopper were silenced.
Even Merry was like this...
"That's true... then we're not afraid either!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
"Awooo!"
Inspired, Usopp and Chopper stood up and began howling at the sky.
Seeing this, Meiser shook his head. It wasn't that they weren't afraid anymore; they had just truly run out of options.
"I can leave things here to you guys for a bit, right?" Nami said. "I'm going to take a bath first."
"No problem."
Franky gave a thumbs-up and said, "We don't need the Log Pose right now anyway, so it doesn't matter if you're here or not."
Perona asked curiously, "Don't we need to ride the sea currents?"
When they came to Fish-Man Island, they used the Descending Ocean Current. Don't they need one to go up?
"Of course we do," Nami nodded and said. "But we've only just left Fish-Man Island, so we won't run into an Ascending Ocean Current so quickly."
After saying that, Nami paused and added, "Don't worry, I'll be out before we hit an Ascending Ocean Current."
With that, Nami headed toward the cabin without looking back.
Seeing this, Brook and Sanji exchanged a glance and let out an eerie "Heh heh" laugh.
Nami, as if sensing something, calmly glanced back at the two of them and then released a small dark cloud over the cabin entrance.
A moment later—
Boom!!
"Gyah!!"
Looking at the two charred figures smoking at the cabin door, Chopper was so startled his fur stood on end.
What happened now?
Why were they suddenly struck by lightning?
"Don't worry about them," Perona said with a look of disgust.
Obviously, Perona understood exactly why Nami had done that.
"Hey, everyone, let's catch some Deep Sea Fish to eat!" Luffy laughed, baring his teeth. "Then we can have Sanji make us some Deep Sea Cuisine!"
"Deep Sea Cuisine, huh?"
"Yes!"
Luffy nodded and said, "We were in a hurry when we came down, so we didn't have time to catch a Deep Sea Fish to taste. We can't miss out this time!"
"Deep Sea Fish..."
Staring out at the pitch-black sea, Merry said, "I don't see any Deep Sea Fish."
"Maybe it's because we're still close to Fish-Man Island," Usopp said. "We should be able to find some once we're further away."
They had only just left Fish-Man Island, so it was normal not to see any Deep Sea Fish yet.
Then, Usopp said, "I can take this time to make a super-sized Fish Hook!"
"Is it for catching Deep Sea Fish?!" Luffy asked excitedly.
"Of course!"
Usopp gave a thumbs-up and said, "The Fish Hook I make will definitely be able to catch a Deep Sea Fish!"
With that, Usopp turned and walked into the cabin, bringing out some tools.
He then began tinkering on the deck.
A short while later—
"Ta-da!"
Holding up the giant Fish Hook, Usopp grinned and said, "The Usopp Brand Super Deep Sea Fishing Hook is ready for service!"
"Ohh!!"
Seeing the two little ones gasping in awe, Usopp's smile grew even wider.
Then, he took the Fish Hook and walked over to Luffy, saying, "It's ready, Luffy."
"It just so happens we've left the influence of Fish-Man Island now," Meiser said, looking up at a massive Deep Sea Fish swimming above. "There are plenty of large sea fish here."
"Where, where?"
Luffy leaned in next to Meiser, squinting his eyes and trying to look into the sea ahead, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see the Deep Sea Fish Meiser mentioned.
"It's too dark; it's normal that you can't see it," Meiser said. "But it's swimming toward us."
As he spoke, Meiser walked over to Zoro's side and looked up at the sea. "There, that's the one."
As soon as he finished speaking, a giant Deep Sea Fish appeared above the Thousand Sunny, its body over a hundred meters long.
"This guy looks like it tastes good," Zoro said, looking up. "Deep-fry it in flour and sprinkle some salt on it; it should go great with booze."
Gulp...
"Deep-fry it and sprinkle with salt..." Luffy drooled and said, "That must taste amazing."
"I think that one looks good too."
Usopp pointed at another giant eel and said, "Making that into grilled eel would be delicious!"
"Grilled eel... gulp."
Merry subconsciously swallowed her saliva and said, "That sounds so yummy."
"Right? Hahaha!"
Having received Merry's validation, Usopp laughed happily.
"I think that one is pretty good too," Luffy said. "That one would be great with some mayonnaise!"
"Which one are you talking about?"
"That one!" Luffy pointed to a strange sea fish with an old man's face.
Usopp: "..."
Zoro: "..."
Merry: "..."
Looking at this bizarre sea fish, the three of them shook their heads simultaneously. "Let's forget about that one..."
"No matter how you look at it, that one doesn't look tasty," Usopp complained. "It looks just like an old man..."
He wasn't even sure if that thing even counted as a fish.
"Is that so?"
Luffy scratched his head and said, "Well, any one will do. Sanji can make anything taste delicious anyway."
With that, Luffy launched an attack without hesitation.
"Second Gear!"
"Gomu-Gomu Jet Pistol!"
Thud!
"Eh?!"
Seeing the old-man fish knocked out by Luffy's punch, Usopp was stunned.
"You really did want to eat that one!" Usopp roared with a Shark Mouth.
"Quick, Usopp, use the Fish Hook to catch it!" Luffy said. "Otherwise, it'll drift away."
"I know, I know, don't rush me."
Although he had a headache from this, since Luffy had already taken it down, he could only bring it back.
With that thought, Usopp picked up the Fish Hook and fired it with his Slingshot.
"Special Attack: Fishing Star!"
Whoosh—
Clack!
"Hmph hmph..." Seeing the Deep Sea Fish perfectly caught by the Fish Hook, the corners of Usopp's mouth curled up. "I really am that amazing."
With his powerful sniping skills, catching a Deep Sea Fish was child's play.
"Quick, pull it back," Luffy said. "I'm hungry."
"Pull it back..." Usopp's mouth twitched. "This thing is as big as our pirate ship. How are we supposed to pull it?"
"Then I'll do it!"
Luffy snatched the rope from Usopp's hand, planning to pull the giant Deep Sea Fish back himself.
But before he could use any strength, he saw an even larger Deep Sea Fish appear behind it.
Crunch!
With one bite, it swallowed the old-man fish whole!
"Eh?!"
Luffy was dumbfounded by the sight.
"It was used as bait."
"Oh no, there's an even bigger one behind it!" Merry said, pointing at the massive Deep Sea Fish that had appeared.
Chomp!
"Isn't this fish a bit too big?!"
Looking at the ultra-large Deep Sea Fish that had swallowed the previous fish, Usopp's eyes widened. "Those eyes are almost as big as our pirate ship!"
"So what?" Luffy grabbed the rope and said, pulling with all his might, "It's all food anyway!"
"Gomu Gomu no Tug of War!"
"Hey, stop it!"
Noticing the pirate ship starting to rock, Usopp frantically grabbed Luffy's hand and said, "Doing this will damage the pirate ship!"
"Then what do you suggest? I want to eat it!"
"Just cut it down," Zoro said flatly.
With that, Zoro quickly rushed to the edge of the pirate ship and launched an attack on the massive Deep Sea Fish without hesitation.
"One Sword Style: Three Hundred Sixty Pound Phoenix!"
Clang!
Thud!
With one strike, he knocked the colossal Deep Sea Fish unconscious!
"Ohh!"
"Nice work, Zoro!"
Hearing Luffy's praise, the corners of Zoro's mouth turned up slightly. "Now, pull it up."
A Deep Sea Fish this huge... the taste must be quite extraordinary!
It would be perfect for drinking!
"Ohh!"
"Pull it up..."
Usopp's mouth twitched. "How do we pull this? Just the two eyes together are bigger than our pirate ship. How are we supposed to pull it?"
"It's not like we have to pull the whole thing up," Sanji said, walking over while smoking. He calmly lit a cigarette and added, "We can just go out and cut off a portion of the meat."
Since the creature was so massive, there was no need to take the whole thing to the surface.
"Then let's go out and cut it up," Luffy grinned.
He then turned to Meiser and continued, "Meiser, use that technique. We're going out to cut some meat."
"No problem."
Meiser nodded, then took out the special resin and cast Dancing Fish on several of them.
After completing this, Meiser said, "Let's go. Let's cut off plenty of meat."
"The extra can be stored in the Sealing Scroll for later."
You didn't see Deep Sea Fish like this every day, so there was no harm in stocking up.
"Ohh!"
Hearing Meiser's words, several of them nodded and then jumped out of the pirate ship with a smile, rushing toward the Deep Sea Fish behind them at extreme speed.
"Speaking of which..." Zoro, holding his weapons, rubbed his chin and said, "I feel like our pirate ship is sinking."
Is it an illusion?
"It's definitely sinking," Meiser said helplessly. "How can it not sink when it's dragging such a massive fish?"
This fish was more than ten times the size of their pirate ship. How could they not be dragged down?
"Then we'd better finish processing this guy quickly," Zoro said.
They didn't want to actually be dragged back to Fish-Man Island by this giant fish.
"Okay."
Meiser nodded, then asked, "Sanji, which parts are the best to eat?"
Sanji, who was observing the sea fish, pointed to several parts of the Deep Sea Fish, signaling that they could just cut there.
Meiser and the others nodded and then swam toward the target areas without hesitation.
Soon, with everyone's effort, they successfully obtained several massive chunks of Deep Sea Fish meat.
After using bubbles to put all these things into the Sealing Scroll, Meiser said, "This should be enough to eat, right?"
"Let's get a bit more to drag back to the ship," Sanji said. "The stuff in the Scroll can be eaten after we get back to the surface."
Meiser thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Fine."
With that, Meiser and Zoro swam toward the belly of the Deep Sea Fish together.
Luffy, meanwhile, looked up with shining eyes and said, "Hey, Sanji, that's a Deep Sea Serpent, right!"
"I want to eat that too!"
"Deep Sea Serpent?"
Hearing Luffy's words, Sanji was stunned and instinctively looked up.
"A white Deep Sea Serpent?"
There were actually such creatures at the bottom of the sea?
"Can you cook it?"
"Of course," Sanji nodded. "There's no ingredient in this world I can't cook!"
"Then when Meiser and Zoro get back, let's go catch that sea serpent!"
"Ohh!"
"I didn't expect such a terrifying giant Deep Sea Serpent to appear here." Back on the pirate ship, Usopp swallowed hard. "Is it going to attack us?"
If that sea serpent attacked them... it could destroy the pirate ship in an instant!
"It shouldn't," Merry said. "After all, we haven't provoked it."
"Wait!"
Nico Robin's eyes widened at Merry's words. "That's not a sea serpent!"
"Then what is it?"
"That's the legendary White Dragon!" Nico Robin said with a grim expression. "It's said to be a giant white whirlpool that looks like a dragon, appearing suddenly from the seafloor!"
"It's said that ships caught in such a sea current are found later in extremely distant seas."
"As for the people on board... none survive!!"
Upon hearing this, Usopp's face instantly turned pale.
"It's such a dangerous sea current?!" Usopp said in terror. "Is it really okay to be here?"
We're going to get sucked in, you bastards!
At that moment, Nami ran out of the cabin and shouted, "Everyone, we need to get away from that whirlpool as fast as possible, or we'll be sucked in!"
Once caught in such a terrifying sea current... the pirate ship would be destroyed!
Thinking of this, Nami's eyes filled with dread.
"Quick, the navigator has spoken! Turn the ship around!" Usopp shouted.
"But Luffy and the others are still outside!"
"Wait, those idiots are still outside!" Usopp finally snapped to his senses. He rushed to the side of the ship with a frantic expression and shouted, "Hey, you idiots, get back here right now!"
"Huh?"
Luffy, who was busy discussing how to eat a sea snake with Sanji, froze for a moment. He looked up in confusion and shouted back, "What's wrong?"
Why were they suddenly being told to come back?
They hadn't even finished dealing with this deep sea fish yet.
"Something feels off," Sanji said, frowning.
"What's off?"
"I don't think that thing is a sea snake," Sanji said, staring at the object high above. "It looks more like..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt an incredibly terrifying pulling force. His body was then pulled uncontrollably toward a white whirlpool in the distance.
Luffy suffered the same fate.
Sanji: !
Luffy: !
"Hey, what the hell is this?!" the two of them roared.
Where did this massive suction come from, dammit!
Meiser, who had also sensed that something was wrong, grabbed Zoro and emerged from the belly of the deep sea fish, immediately feeling the pulling force.
"Such strong suction..." Zoro frowned. "Where is it coming from?"
"It should be because of that white deep-sea whirlpool." Meiser looked to the side, his brow furrowed. "Are we really this unlucky?"
"How do you know it's a deep-sea whirlpool?"
"It has no life force. If it's not a deep-sea whirlpool, what else could it be?" Meiser said irritably.
As he spoke, Meiser sliced through the rope connecting them to the deep sea fish. He then pulled Zoro along as they dashed out, intending to return to the pirate ship as quickly as possible.
But after rushing a short distance, he spotted the figures of those two idiots, Sanji and Luffy, in the distance.
"No way, why are they so close to the whirlpool?"
Looking at the two idiots struggling desperately, Meiser felt completely numb.
Don't they know to run when they see danger?
Those two fools!
"Are you talking about Luffy?"
"Yeah, those two idiots are about to enter... alright, they've already been sucked into the whirlpool," Meiser said with a headache.
"Then go save them, quickly!" Zoro said anxiously.
Even though everyone had the Ninjutsu Meiser had given them, that sort of thing wasn't necessarily effective against the raw power of nature.
"I know."
Meiser created a Shadow Clone and said, "I'll go get them back."
With that, Meiser's main body vanished instantly.
Meanwhile, Meiser's clone, looking utterly exasperated, grabbed Zoro and returned to the pirate ship.
"How come only the two of you are back?" Franky asked, dumbfounded. "Where are Luffy and Sanji?"
Why didn't he see those two idiots?
"They were swept away," Meiser said.
"Huh?!"
Hearing Meiser's words, everyone else was stunned.
"What do you mean they were swept away?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Meiser said. "But don't worry, my main body has already gone after them."
Upon hearing this, the others immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
If Meiser's main body had gone to chase them, then there shouldn't be a problem.
Then, Perona asked, "So what do we do now?"
"Wait for them here?"
"Of course not." Meiser shook his head and said, "Waiting in place makes it too easy to get separated, so we're following them!"
Nami thought quickly for a moment after hearing this, then nodded. "Meiser, your Water Release Technique can pull us out of this sea current, right?"
"Of course!"
"Then let's go!" Nami shouted. "We're entering the sea current too!"
"Right!"
Meiser nodded, then quickly moved to the bow of the ship and activated his Ninjutsu.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Vwoom—
In the next instant, a massive Water Dragon appeared beside the pirate ship and swallowed the Thousand Sunny in one gulp.
Then, it charged resolutely into that gargantuan deep-sea current.
"Everyone, hold on tight!"
"AAAAHHHHH!!"