Chapter 19: The Sea Forest
"A fish-man? I did see one, but it was a mermaid."
Robin tapped her finger against her cheek thoughtfully. "I saw Camie taking Nami away. They appeared to board a sea bus."
"Camie?" Zoro's brow furrowed.
"Nami?" Usopp's voice pitched higher.
"Sea... bus?" Brook tilted his skull quizzically.
Itachi added calmly: "When I entered earlier, I saw soldiers fleeing outside. If you're asking about fish-men, those were all fish-men."
"ITACHI!" Usopp's frustration erupted. "I'm asking about THAT fish-man—HODY! The one named HODY! He seems to be the ringleader—the boss of those murlocs!"
Usopp pressed closer, his curiosity overriding his earlier terror. "Speaking of which, Itachi... what WAS that move you used? How can fire burn underwater?!"
Zoro, still recovering from his near-drowning, fixed his gaze on Itachi. "Fire... underwater?"
"Yes, yes! Zoro, you wouldn't believe it!" Usopp's arms flailed as he reenacted the scene. "One second those murlocs were everywhere—the next, BLACK FLAMES started burning them! And no matter how they struggled in the water, the flames WOULDN'T go out!"
Zoro's eyebrow climbed toward his hairline. "Fire in water? What are you talking about, Usopp?"
"You think I'm making this up?!" Usopp grabbed Itachi's arm. "Itachi-brother! Explain it to him! And explain to me too—how DID you make fire underwater?!"
Robin covered her smile. "Itachi might say it's... complicated to explain."
"Yohohoho!" Brook's cheerful laugh interrupted. "Perhaps I can demonstrate, Itachi-san!"
Brook turned around—and everyone saw it: a small patch of black flame flickering on his skeletal posterior.
"THERE! THAT'S IT!" Usopp produced a magnifying glass, pressing it to Brook's bones for closer inspection. "See?! I wasn't lying! This is exactly what I'm talking about!"
Itachi stared in genuine surprise. He'd been careful to extinguish all Amaterasu flames before leaving Ryugu Palace—the eternal flames would have consumed the entire structure otherwise. But somehow...
"YOHOHOHO! I too now believe in flames that burn underwater! However—"
Brook spun and latched onto Itachi. "ITACHI-SAN! I CAN'T GET RID OF THIS! PLEASE REMOVE IT! REMOVE IT!"
It seemed Brook had brushed against a burning murloc while "playing dead" and hadn't noticed until now. The flame was spreading, growing hotter despite the water—despite everything.
"There really IS such a thing," Zoro murmured, watching Brook's desperate attempts to extinguish the impossible fire.
Itachi sighed softly. His Mangekyō spun, and the black flame on Brook's posterior vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
The first time he'd had to use Amaterasu offensively AND defensively in such quick succession.
"SAVED!" Brook collapsed in relief. "For a moment there, I thought even a skeleton could burn!"
Zoro stepped forward, his expression serious. "Regardless, we need to regroup with Luffy and the others. Usopp said that Hody fish-man escaped."
His hand rested on Enma's hilt as he scanned their surroundings. "Something big is definitely coming."
Robin pointed toward a signpost in the distance, marking the entrance to a long, narrow bubble passage. "Nami and the others left through there. Perhaps we should follow that route and find her first."
"YOSH! Everyone regroup!" Usopp clapped his hands and sprinted toward the passage.
Itachi didn't move immediately. His Sharingan had activated again, gaze fixed on the ground beneath Ryugu Palace.
"The samurai is right that something big will happen soon," he said quietly. "But it's not coming. It's already here."
The Sea Forest—Outskirts of Fishman Island
Luffy had already encountered Sanji and Chopper on the way to the Sea Forest with Shirahoshi. They'd also found Hatchan, badly wounded by Vander Decken's relentless attacks, and Chopper had stabilized him. They'd fought briefly to protect Shirahoshi, and Luffy had noticed something strange—the residents of Fishman Island had begun looking at them with hatred.
What Luffy didn't know was that the "mermaid trafficking" the islanders believed the Straw Hats committed was actually the work of Caribou, still hiding somewhere on the island.
Now, they'd finally reached the Sea Forest.
At the same time, Franky had located Tom's younger brother—the mermaid Den—and under Den's guidance, found the Thousand Sunny anchored safely in the forest.
As Luffy arrived, he found a familiar figure waiting.
"Jinbe!"
"Here you are, Luffy." Jinbe's massive form rose from the seabed. "Did Prince Sharkstar deliver my message?"
Luffy blinked. "Sharkstar? Who's that?"
Jinbe's brow furrowed. "Strange. You didn't hear it?"
What Jinbe didn't know was that Luffy and the others had encountered Sharkstar immediately upon arriving—just as Hammond and his crew attacked. In the chaos of battle and rapid departure, Luffy had never received the message.
"Oh! Princess Shirahoshi!" Jinbe's expression softened as he noticed the massive mermaid. "It's been a long time."
"Jinbe!" Shirahoshi waved happily.
Jinbe's eyes bulged. "PRINCESS SHIRAHOSHI?! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"
While Jinbe processed this shock, Chopper waved frantically. "FRANKY! Help me move Sanji and Hatchan!"
Franky approached, blinking at the octopus fish-man. "Isn't this the octopus bastard? What happened to him?"
Jinbe's gaze fell on Hatchan's wounded form, and his eyes somehow widened further. "HATCHAN?! Why are YOU here?! And wounded?!"
He shook his massive head. "More importantly—why are any of you on Fishman Island?! After Arlong's defeat, shouldn't you have been arrested with the others?!"
Hatchan struggled to speak through his injuries. "Jinbe... why are YOU here?!"
Chopper started to call Franky again—but Sanji suddenly leaped up, fully healed, and floated toward Shirahoshi with hearts in his eyes.
"Ah... the mermaid princess!"
He struck a dramatic pose. "In your presence, I am but an incompetent painter! My humble tools could never capture your radiance!"
Shirahoshi blinked in confusion.
Chopper burst into tears of joy. "SANJI! SANJI'S BACK TO WEIRD! He's finally reacting normally to women—SANJI IS HEALED!"
Luffy, meanwhile, had noticed Den standing on the Sunny. Franky explained quickly, and Luffy relaxed—until something flying through the water caught his eye.
He moved instantly, kicking away a flying axe aimed at Shirahoshi.
Jinbe's eyes widened. "Vander Decken's attacks—they never stop."
He quickly explained the stalker fish-man's obsession with the princess.
Luffy just grinned and patted his chest. "Don't worry. I'm here."
"Yes!" Shirahoshi beamed.
Jinbe felt some of the tension leave his massive frame. "With you here, Princess... I truly feel at ease."
Shirahoshi's gaze drifted to the tombstones deeper in the forest—her mother Queen Otohime's final resting place. She excused herself to pay her respects, and Jinbe took the opportunity to explain Shirahoshi's history to the Straw Hats.
None of them noticed the sea bus arriving at the forest's edge, carrying Nami and Camie toward their own reunion—and toward answers Nami had sought for years.
(End of Chapter)
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