Chapter 10: Fishman Island, Here We Come!
The crimson energy radiating from Itachi's Susano'o was more spectacular than the volcanic eruption itself—a beacon of impossible power in the crushing depths.
"ITACHI-SAN!"
"ALL THE ROCKS—CLEAN IN HALF!"
Brook and Usopp clutched their heads in disbelief.
But no one was more affected than Zoro. The swordsman stood frozen, his hand still on Enma's hilt, his single eye fixed on the afterimage of that slash.
This level of swordsmanship...
The comparison formed despite himself: his own Three Thousand Worlds paled beside what he'd just witnessed. The precision. The power. The sheer scale.
Itachi wasn't finished. He raised the Totsuka Blade again, preparing to clear the remaining debris—
"GREEN STAR: SARGASSO!"
Usopp's voice rang out as he fired from his massive slingshot, "Kabuto." The seed pod exploded against the falling stones, and in an instant, monstrous algae erupted outward, entangling and neutralizing every fragment Itachi had severed.
"USOPP! You've gotten stronger!" Nami's shock was genuine.
"Of course! Didn't I tell you? I've left the Coward Trio behind!" Usopp's chest swelled with pride—then his expression softened as memories surfaced. "These past two years... they were the kind that would make anyone weep! Heracles-san and I trained relentlessly! We suffered! We grew!"
He suddenly brightened. "Oh! Would you like to hear my story?!"
"It started when I crash-landed on an island of carnivorous plants—"
He continued talking, but gradually realized no one was listening.
Luffy, Chopper, Nami, and Franky had completely surrounded Itachi, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Tear-Stripe Guy! What WAS that thing?!" Luffy circled Itachi, peering at him from all angles as if expecting Susano'o to be hiding somewhere on his person.
"Itachi! You summoned a giant Super Robot just now, didn't you?!" Franky's interest was intensely mechanical.
"HISS! HISS! Was it a giant soul mech?!" Chopper bounced excitedly.
"Everyone..." Usopp trailed off weakly.
Nami glanced back with a smile. "Usopp! We'll hear your story another time!"
Usopp deflated like a punctured balloon.
"Ah, soul—speaking of which, I AM a soul—" Brook began.
WHAM!
Nami's fist sent him tumbling.
"Speaking seriously, Itachi," Nami pressed, "what kind of Devil Fruit ability IS that? You've used so many different techniques!"
"It's... complicated." Itachi rubbed his forehead. He wasn't accustomed to such enthusiastic attention—not from comrades, not from anyone. "You could consider it something innate. A bloodline limit."
"Bloodline limit?" Luffy's eyes sparkled. "Sounds cool! What's that?!"
Sanji, who had been lost in a nosebleed-induced haze while watching Robin, suddenly snapped to attention. "Bloodline limit? I know about bloodline factors."
He straightened his tie. "It's something that can alter human physiology—edit genes, create modified humans, replicants."
Everyone turned to stare at Sanji.
"Then... is Itachi-san a modified human?" Brook asked.
"Ah... I don't think that's quite what the blond-haired brother means." Itachi shook his head.
Before anyone could pursue the topic further, the Sunny lurched violently.
Nami's navigator instincts kicked in immediately. She looked up—and her blood ran cold.
Usopp's Sargasso had dissolved. The rocks were falling again.
And one of them had struck the Kraken squarely on the head.
The great sea monster's eyes crossed, and it went limp. The Sunny, no longer supported by those massive tentacles, began to plummet toward the abyss below.
"EVERYONE—LOOK!" Nami pointed.
The Kraken was unconscious, sinking separately, while the Thousand Sunny dropped like a stone.
"KUSO!" Franky rushed to the helm, fighting for control.
Itachi assessed the situation instantly and moved toward the bubble—but a hand sprouted from his shoulder, gently restraining him.
He turned to find Robin smiling at him, her arms crossed in their usual pose even as an extra limb grew from his shoulder.
"Itachi, you can rest now. With Nami and Franky handling the ship, we'll be fine."
Sanji approached, placing a hand on Itachi's other shoulder. "I still don't understand where you came from or what you really are. But after hearing what the crew told me..." He glanced meaningfully at the others. "You've done a lot for us."
Something stirred in Itachi's chest—a warmth he hadn't felt in years. Not since—
"Especially, Itachi!" Sanji suddenly pirouetted, spinning to land beside Robin. "You protected ROBIN-CHAN!"
His eyes found Robin's chest, and the nosebleed returned with vengeance. He rocketed across the deck, trailing blood, and crash-landed next to Nami.
"AND NAMI-SWAAAAAN!"
WHAM!
Nami's fist intercepted him mid-sentence, sending him flying from bow to stern. "I'm busy! Stop bothering me!"
Watching Sanji's limp form tumble away, the warmth in Itachi's chest cooled considerably.
Perhaps I spoke too soon about finding normal people here.
"Everyone, hold tight! We're about to—" Franky wrestled the helm, "—LAND!"
"YOSH, Franky! Tilt the ship to a ten-degree angle and fire the stabilizer cannons!" Nami commanded with the authority of a true captain.
"Cola's ready!" Chopper and Usopp—both transformed to adult size—emerged from below deck with fresh cola supplies.
Itachi blinked at Chopper. "The civet cat can grow?"
"REINDEER! REINDEER!" Chopper shrank back to his small form and stormed up to Itachi, stamping his little hooves. "I'M A REINDEER! REIN-DEER!"
"Ah—I understand, I understand." Itachi raised one hand in surrender while covering his ear with the other. "You're a reindeer. The cutest creature on this ship."
Chopper froze.
His face went through several shades of red.
"DON'T—DON'T PRAISE ME, ITACHI-BROTHER! BAKAYAROU! KONOYAROU!"
But his wiggling body and blissful expression betrayed him completely.
"Itachi, Aniki..." Zoro tested the word, watching Chopper's display with amusement. "Chopper already acknowledges you as his older brother, huh?"
He sat on the bow, sword across his lap, studying Itachi with eyes that held more curiosity than suspicion now.
If he were truly an enemy, Zoro reasoned, he could have destroyed the Sunny while we were gone. With power like that...
Maybe he really isn't a threat.
He didn't voice this conclusion aloud—vigilance was still necessary on a crew with an idiot captain and even bigger idiot crewmates—but the edge had definitely softened.
"EVERYONE READY?!"
Luffy leaped onto the lion figurehead at the bow, arms raised high.
Franky fired the stabilizing cannons.
Brook's violin soared into a triumphant melody.
And Luffy's voice rang out, cutting through the deep-sea darkness like a beacon:
"FISHMAN ISLAND, HERE WE COME!!!"
The Sunny, propelled by cola and determination and more than a little help from an otherworldly shinobi, shot forward into the light.
Below them, finally, miraculously—an island took shape within its massive bubble. Towers and spires rose from the seabed, illuminated from within by some unknown light source. Fish of every description swam through the air—through the air—within that impossible dome.
Fishman Island.
They had arrived.
(End of Chapter)
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