BOOM!!
With a tremendous impact, the Noah fell from the sky and slammed onto the surface of the sea. The massive collision sent violent tremors through Fish-Man Island, which rested upon the great ship.
"Ah!! We're flying!"
"This is insane!!"
"Is this what it feels like to soar through the sky?"
Countless cries of shock and shouts of excitement erupted. The entirety of Fish-Man Island was swept up in a joyous frenzy. They could finally see the sky again.
"Ryuuto, thank you!" Shirahoshi said softly, her eyes glistening with tears as she looked at Ryuuto, full of gratitude.
This is the real BIG NEWS, but unfortunately, none of it can be revealed to Morgans, Ryuuto thought to himself, watching the breathtaking scene unfold.
Hancock, Nami, and the others watched with pride.
"A life like this is what's truly meaningful," Crocus murmured, a faint smile on his lips as his thoughts seemed to drift to a distant place.
"I can't hold on any longer!!" Byrrndi World, standing at the prow of the Noah, let out a ragged breath. As if utterly drained of all stamina, he collapsed heavily to the deck.
"Lord World…" Sebastian, Gairam, and the others who stood nearby rushed to his side, calling out his name in alarm.
"We… we did it!" In his last moments of consciousness, World saw his crew shouting around him, but he was simply too exhausted. He no longer had the strength to even keep his eyes open. But he had succeeded. He had successfully moved Fish-Man Island to the surface.
With a smile of contentment, Byrrndi World lost consciousness.
As World fainted, the power of the More More Fruit rapidly faded. Before Binjack and the others' eyes, the Noah began to shrink back to its original size at an astonishing speed.
"Well done, World," Ryuuto's lips curved into a smile as he sensed what was happening, thanking him silently in his heart.
Fortunately, Fish-Man Island was already suspended in the water by this point…
In less than a breath, the Noah had shrunk to half the size of Fish-Man Island. Then, as the eight colossal Sea Kings dove back into the water, they dragged the ship forward for several dozen kilometers. Having completed their task, these kings of the deep released the iron chains from their mouths and swam back toward the ocean depths. Even these eight leviathans were exhausted after aiding Princess Shirahoshi.
Then…
BOOM!!
Fish-Man Island landed squarely on the sea's surface.
The outermost bubble enveloping the island had already expanded by half. Cushioned by the two gigantic bubbles, which provided immense buoyancy, Fish-Man Island floated steadily upon the waves.
"The Fish-Man Island migration is a perfect success!" Ryuuto declared with a hearty laugh, hovering in the air as he surveyed the scene.
"Fish-Man Island has finally returned to the surface! Otohime, your dream has finally been realized!" King Neptune was already in tears, his eyes filled with joy.
"Thank you, Ryuuto!" Princess Shirahoshi suddenly flew over and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. However, the difference in their sizes was simply too great. As Shirahoshi wrapped her arms around him, Ryuuto was plunged directly into a soft expanse, disappearing within it instantly.
"Hmph… Honestly, Captain! I'll let it slide this time, only because everyone is so happy," Nami muttered to herself from below, shooting Ryuuto a sharp glare.
"How could Shirahoshi treat Ryuuto (the Captain) like that!" Hancock and Vivi exclaimed in unison.
"The sense of accomplishment from doing a good deed is so satisfying," Naqin said, unable to help herself as she felt the excitement and happiness radiating from Fish-Man Island.
Instantly, Sebastian and Gairam turned their gazes toward her. The two shared a knowing, wide smile.
"This all feels like a dream," Prince Fukaboshi murmured, standing atop a building and looking toward Shirahoshi and Ryuuto.
"Shirahoshi, quick! Let me go!" After being smothered for what felt like several minutes, a feeling of suffocation washed over Ryuuto, forcing him to pat helplessly against the soft wall. He was genuinely about to run out of air.
"Ah… Captain Ryuuto, I-I'm so sorry!" Realizing her breach of etiquette, Shirahoshi immediately released him. Her face turned beet red with embarrassment.
"Hahahahahaha…" Seeing her reaction, Ryuuto couldn't help but let out a light chuckle, which earned him another round of glares from Nami, Hancock, and Vivi.
At that moment, a scene of pure joy and celebration was unfolding all across Fish-Man Island.
Meanwhile, in a vast chamber within the Holy Land Mary Geoise, Imu knelt, placing a ball of red flame into the center of a pentagram inscribed on the floor.
"The chaos of order, the awakening of the sea god, all unknown variables… return to silence," Imu said softly, their voice exceptionally hoarse as they rose to their feet.
The words were spoken into the empty space, yet they seemed to carry an infinite, magical power.
As Imu finished speaking, the pentagram on the floor lit up, and brilliant rays of purple and blue light began to shoot forth. A powerful wave of energy surged skyward from the pentagram.
A sea chart lifted from the floor, and on it, a location in the Calm Belt not far from the Sabaody Archipelago was marked with a red X.
The immense energy seemed to traverse space itself, vanishing from above Imu's head.
Back on Fish-Man Island in the Calm Belt, the people's celebration of their successful migration was cut short as they realized something was terribly wrong.
In the sky above, a storm cloud larger than the island itself was forming. Not only that, but pulsing waves of purple and blue energy flared within the cloud, radiating a terrifying aura.
Ryuuto was the first to notice this development.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"Imu, is this really necessary?!"
"C'mon, man, don't do this!!"
But no matter how much Ryuuto yelled in his mind, he couldn't change the fact that an attack was imminent. Judging by the terrifying power gathering above, it was clear that Imu had no intention of letting Fish-Man Island survive.
Moreover, at this point in time, the Mother Flame that Vegapunk developed shouldn't have been delivered to Imu yet. That meant this attack was being powered entirely by an ancient energy source.
Imu was truly willing to pay the price. Ancient energy was non-renewable, and Imu's own reserves were limited. Yet they were using it to power the Ancient Weapon Uranus, all to destroy Fish-Man Island just after it had reached the surface.
"Hancock, Nami, Vivi… take these knots. If things go bad, retreat immediately!" Ryuuto first instructed the three women, as well as Crocus and Jean Bart.
Seeing the terrifying energy fluctuations in the sky, Hancock and the others nodded grimly.
Then, with a flash of lightning, Ryuuto appeared on the Noah. He performed the same action, leaving knots storing wind power with World's crew so they could escape if necessary.
With a crackle of lightning, Ryuuto flew into the sky above Fish-Man Island.
"What is happening? What in the world is that thing in the sky?!" Neptune's expression was grave.
"This… this is the future I saw for Fish-Man Island!" Madam Shyarly's face was a mask of disbelief. In her prediction, this event was supposed to happen much further in the future.
"It's Ryuuto… he… he changed fate!" As if suddenly remembering something, Shyarly's face went deathly pale. She lost her footing and collapsed to the ground.
"Madam Shyarly, what do you mean? What future?" Prince Fukaboshi rushed over, grabbing her by the clothes and demanding an answer.
"In the future… Fish-Man Island is destroyed by countless divine punishments falling from the sky!" Madam Shyarly's eyes became vacant as she repeated the phrase over and over.
"What? How is that possible?!" Hearing this, Fukaboshi felt as if his mind had been dealt a heavy blow. He looked up at the sky and froze in terror, sweat pouring down his face like a waterfall.
"Captain Ryuuto…" Princess Shirahoshi looked anxiously at Ryuuto in the sky. She hoped he could save them once more. He had already created one miracle; she now placed all her hopes in him.
"Dammit! Is this the power of Uranus?" Ryuuto felt the hairs on his body stand on end as he sensed the surging energy above him.
"Looks like I have to play the hero again," he murmured, unable to bear the thought of abandoning the countless residents of Fish-Man Island below. Besides, he had worked so hard to bring them up from the seafloor.
"All I can say is, I underestimated Imu."
"If this is how it's going to be, then I'll bet my life on it! Let's see what this power of yours is really made of!"
"A thousand thunderbolts, gather in me… I shall become the lightning itself!!"
With a mighty roar, Ryuuto's heart began to pound violently. An uncountable number of golden lightning bolts erupted from his body.
All of this happened in a fraction of a second.
CRACKLE-BOOM!!!
In an instant, the sky was filled with golden lightning, carrying an boundless aura of destruction. It crackled and hissed through the air, seeming to tear through space itself.
CRACK!
Ryuuto had already injected himself with three stamina potions in quick succession.
The sea of lightning expanded at a frightening rate, soon covering the entire sky above Fish-Man Island.
"Captain Ryuuto!!" Neptune now understood completely. Ryuuto intended to withstand that terrifying energy wave all by himself. This man was going to block an island-destroying attack alone!
"Captain Ryuuto, we'll succeed again, won't we?" Princess Shirahoshi's gaze was fixed on Ryuuto's figure, her eyes filled with anticipation. She believed that he would create another miracle.
"Ryuuto…" Hancock's heart was filled with the image of his magnificent form. Her lips parted as she whispered in adoration, "That man always stands in front of everyone at the most critical moment! I find myself falling more in love with you with each passing second!"
"Captain!!" Nami and Vivi also looked up at Ryuuto, their hearts filled with worry. They could tell from his state that he was betting everything on this.
"To hell with you, Imu! To hell with Uranus! To hell with the Celestial Dragons! The ordinary people of this world have a right to live!" Ryuuto roared, venting the fury in his heart.
"Thunder Prison: Myriad Rising Dragons!"
Following Ryuuto's heaven-shaking cry, the vast expanse of golden lightning instantly coalesced, forming countless golden thunder dragons that shot straight toward the dark clouds above.
"Be destroyed! Detonate!!" A voice that seemed to belong to Imu echoed across the vast distance. The purple energy in the sky instantly formed a massive, five-pointed star.
Countless pillars of purple energy rained down!
BOOM!! BOOM! BOOM!
Below them were the countless golden thunder dragons formed by Ryuuto. In a flash, the two forces collided violently, producing deafening explosions.
The two powers constantly erupted, as the divine punishment of purple energy and the destructive golden dragons annihilated each other in mid-air.
"Shatter for me!!" Ryuuto himself had transformed into a liquid dragon of lightning, roaring as he led the charge at the forefront.
"Captain Ryuuto, you can do it!!"
"You can do it!!"
The residents of Fish-Man Island below began to cheer in unison, their cries as ordinary people soaring toward the heavens.
Ryuuto was like a sharp sword, fighting for their sake. The powerful shockwaves of energy dyed the entire sky in two distinct colors.
He was truly holding back the divine punishment from the heavens all by himself!
"To risk your life for these people… is it worth it?" From the Holy Land Mary Geoise, Imu seemed to see through space itself, slowly shaking their head. "A pity my energy is running low," they added with a hint of resignation.
"Hahahahaha… Is that all you've got?!" As the number of golden dragons around Ryuuto dwindled, the purple pentagram above him also grew dimmer. Seeing this, Ryuuto couldn't help but laugh.
Moreover, as he continued his upward charge, he was getting closer and closer to the pentagram.
"Just like that, let's break through in one go!" Ryuuto roared, the lightning on his body surging once more. The liquid thunder dragon he had become swelled in size, its speed increasing severalfold.
BOOM!!
Countless bolts of lightning shot out!!
One hundred meters.
Fifty meters.
Closer and closer… The sky began to clear, leaving only Ryuuto and the faint purple pentagram above.
The purple energy pillars had stopped falling.
In the vast expanse of the world, only Ryuuto remained!
"Captain Ryuuto, you've saved us again!" Neptune said softly, his grave expression finally relaxing.
"I knew the captain would be fine!" Nami cried out with joy.
Twenty meters.
Ten meters.
"Imu, I'm going to shatter you to pieces!!" The thunder dragon threw its head back and roared. With a whip of its tail, it prepared to slam into the fading sigil.
But just then…
The pentagram, which had been on the verge of disappearing, suddenly erupted with a blinding light.
A pillar of energy, several times thicker than before, shot down toward Ryuuto in an instant.
BANG!!!
In a single moment, the golden thunder dragon was completely engulfed.
...