Even though it was in its own territory, deep beneath the sea, the Kraken could do absolutely nothing against this true intruder.
ROAR!
The beast let out a pained, furious cry—still too low for human ears to hear.
But its rage was not because it kept missing its target; it was because it had become tightly bound and tangled in its own countless tentacles.
From the start, El had been shifting left and right not just to dodge, but to guide the monster into wrapping itself up.
Clearly, when it came to intelligence, humans still stood at the top of the scale.
The mighty Kraken, ruler of the deep, had foolishly ensnared itself and was now slowly sinking down into the darker waters below.
A mere beast was never a match for El.
He barely even considered the fight a serious matter; it was as effortless as a casual stroll after a meal, resolved with nothing more than a few simple movements.
The colossal monster sank into the depths—perhaps this was where it truly belonged all along.
"Speaking of which… why was that Kraken appearing so close to Fish-Man Island?" El wondered aloud as he returned to his own ship.
"Are the people of the Fish-Man Kingdom completely blind and deaf?"
He could not shake off the thought. Even sea creatures were not entirely safe in the water.
Under extreme conditions, even fish could "drown"—or rather, suffer fatal damage from their environment.
Marine life, especially deep-sea species, lived within strict three-dimensional zones.
Unlike land creatures, which claimed territory on flat ground, sea life had specific ranges of depth and pressure they could survive in.
Rising too high or diving too deep was equally dangerous. The pressure they could withstand was determined by their biology.
Shallow-water fish would die if dragged down into the abyss, and deep-sea creatures could not survive near the surface.
What would become of the Kraken as it drifted downward? El did not particularly care. It was far too large to bring back anyway, and leaving it in the depths was the only option.
"Captain! Well done!"
Doflamingo, Crocodile, and the others quickly gathered around him.
"Lord El, you really didn't have to handle it yourself—we could have taken care of it," added Boa Hancock, stepping forward.
El raised a hand to calm them. "Easy now. There will be work for you all before long."
While outside the protective coating of his ship, his Observation Haki had sensed far more than just the Kraken.
Aside from strange deep-sea creatures and the giant beast, he had also detected something else: another ship drifting slowly through the depths, its hull coated to withstand the pressure.
What made it interesting was that there were barely any pirates aboard.
From what he could sense, only a handful of people were on board—and the vessel itself looked ancient, rotted, and clearly adrift for many years.
Even more curious was how it moved. It did not rely on ocean currents or oars. Instead, it seemed to be pulled forward by another massive creature.
No sooner had El dealt with the Kraken than they encountered yet another sea monster.
This one was humanoid in shape, towering in size, nearly naked, and seemingly able to breathe freely underwater—likely having Fish-Man blood in its veins.
It was this giant being that dragged the decaying pirate ship through the abyss.
It was even larger than the Kraken El had just defeated; next to it, a Giant from the Giant Tribe would look like a small child.
When El said there would be work for his crew soon, he was referring directly to this ship he had discovered.
Pirates rarely met each other on friendly terms. Rivals by nature, they often fought each other even more fiercely than they fought the Marines.
Having entered the world of piracy, El understood this well. Whoever was on that distant vessel was far more likely to be hostile than welcoming.
"So that's the ship…"
By now, Doflamingo and the others could also make out the vessel drifting in the dark waters ahead.
"I've heard legends about that ship too," added Hancock.
The stronger users of Observation Haki among the crew could now see it clearly.
It still flew a tattered flag bearing a skull and crossbones, while its figurehead was carved into a skull with bared fangs.
The hull itself was rotted through in many places, barely holding together.
That was why it could no longer sail under its own power and had to be pulled by the giant humanoid monster.
"Oh? This ship has quite a history then?" El asked, unfamiliar with the old tales.
Hancock knew more because Amazon Lily was located in these waters, while Doflamingo, having once worked in the underworld and traded information, had heard many rumors.
"It's called The Flying Dutchman," Doflamingo explained.
"A legendary ship from ages long past. Its first captain was Vander Decken."
"But clearly, the original crew is long gone, and it has a new master now," Hancock added.
As they pieced together what they knew, El began to understand just what kind of vessel lay before them.
"Quite the famous ship, then," he mused.
The original Vander Decken was certainly dead and gone—so who was in command now?
…
"Captain! There's another ship ahead!"
At the same time El and his crew spotted The Flying Dutchman, the other vessel had also detected them.
The giant humanoid monster pulling it had a better vantage point, and even through the murky depths, it had quickly spotted El's ship and reported back to its master.
The current ruler of The Flying Dutchman was Vander Decken IX.
Born a Fish-Man, he should have been able to breathe and move freely underwater—but he had eaten a Devil Fruit, gaining its power but also suffering its curse.
Like all Devil Fruit users, he was rejected by the sea, losing the natural swimming ability of his kind.
To move around in the depths, he had to wrap himself in a protective bubble—an absurd sight: a Fish-Man forced to rely on a bubble just to survive in the ocean.
"Excellent! Set a course straight for them! This could be another great haul!"
Vander Decken IX was a far cry from his legendary ancestor.
Though he was a Fish-Man, he had lost the very advantage of his race, and now lived a pitiful existence drifting through the depths.
Still, his heritage gave him an intimate knowledge of the waters around Fish-Man Island and the deep sea itself.
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