Let's get back a little earlier. The World Government finally discovered that something was wrong over at Fishman Island.
The envoys they had dispatched went missing one after another; the odds of such an incident occurring consecutively had already exceeded what could be considered normal.
Logically speaking, a race born to live in the water should be able to accomplish far more on these seas. The World Government also knew that the Fish-Men periodically possessed the ultimate weapon known as Poseidon, yet their attitude toward Fishman Island never changed in the slightest.
If Poseidon's power alone were enough to make the World Government change its stance, then the status of the Fish-Men would have changed hundreds of years ago.
But it did not. Even getting the World Government to officially redefine Fish-Men and Merfolk as "people" rather than "fish" took an extraordinarily long time.
As a result, although the Marines had soldiers from many minority races—Longhead Tribe, Longarm Tribe, Giants, and others—they conspicuously lacked Fish-Men.
Aside from a very small number of exceptions, the birthplace of both Fish-Men and Merfolk was Fishman Island.
Having grown up in the deep sea, they revered the Sunlight Tree Eve, felt curiosity and longing toward the surface world, were grateful to the pirate flags that offered them protection, and harbored hatred toward humans, but toward the World Government, they felt nothing at all.
To them, the World Government was little more than an insignificant bystander.
Back then, Joy Boy and the Mermaid Princess had brought about some change, but time had long since washed those efforts away.
Charlos's death was entirely self-inflicted, but the Celestial Dragons would never consider that. They only twisted logic to find excuses to vent their rage, and Fishman Island, already unpopular in the eyes of these world nobles, naturally became their target.
Since Neptune chose refusal and resistance, they responded with even more brutal measures. The main Fishman Island still lay in the deep sea, where they had no good way to deal with it for the time being, but the New Fishman Island on the surface was a different matter.
Even with wars raging across the world and Marine manpower stretched thin, they still dispatched firepower on the level of a Buster Call.
Although they did not assign five Vice Admirals like a traditional Buster Call, they instead had the Fleet Admiral, Akainu himself, personally lead the operation.
The Revolutionary Army's revolution had also greatly angered the World Government. Those were all affiliated nations; if this trend could not be contained and the Revolutionary Army continued to grow, then even if things were eventually suppressed, this year's Heavenly Tribute would likely be ruined.
Don't misunderstand: it wasn't that the World Government would give consideration to these nations and give up collecting the Heavenly Tribute. It was that nations ravaged by war simply couldn't produce the money.
Even the parasitic Celestial Dragons realized that without money, life would become difficult. They urged the World Government to take action, and so the World Government needed to act against a disobedient affiliated nation to serve as a warning.
Roswald's constant pressure for accountability over Charlos's death ultimately led to this outcome.
The World Government intended to prove through action that they could ensure these "fish" would never again experience the taste of true sunlight.
After that, as arrest orders against the Shichibukai were put into motion, Marine fleets likewise arrived near New Fishman Island.
Attacking New Fishman Island was one objective; carrying out the operation against the Shichibukai was another. The two proceeded simultaneously, with no particular priority between them.
The Ryugu Kingdom did not remain idle in response. Jinbe stayed behind on Fishman Island to guard against potential special circumstances. The Sea Kings' defense might have some gaps as humans were simply too insignificant for them.
Other Fish-Men and Merfolk couldn't communicate with the Sea Kings, so leaving an extra safeguard was necessary. Meanwhile, Tiger had long since arrived near New Fishman Island, protecting the island.
"Fish-Man Jujutsu - Ocean Current Hook Throw!"
In a place where no one was watching, Tiger had already entered Palafin's Hero Form. Using all four limbs to grip the surrounding seawater, he exerted force from both above and below. Under the control of Tiger's jujutsu, the sea current rose like massive city gates across the inevitable path of the Marine fleet.
A white line stretched into the distance as formless water transformed into a solid barricade. Tiger stood atop the crest of the waves, locking eyes directly with Akainu.
Behind Tiger, one Flygon after another flew out from the bubble barrier of New Fishman Island, forming neat formations in the sky.
"This path is closed, Marines."
"This is an order from the World Government. All units, open fire!"
Akainu paid no attention to Tiger standing in his way. As long as it was an order from the World Government, whether reasonable or not, Akainu would carry it out with all his strength. To achieve the objective, he would even act more harshly than the World Government demanded, leaving not the slightest loophole.
York and Lilith did possess some real capabilities. The Five Elders had once demanded that they recreate the Mother Flame; if it could be mass-produced, the World Government would gain an even more terrifying deterrent.
Zekrom and Reshiram had indeed destroyed one Mother Flame, but that was an exception. Not every faction possessed such powerful defensive measures.
It wasn't that York and Lilith were incapable—they failed because manufacturing such a weapon required the complete facilities of Egghead.
Even the World Government lacked the ability to assemble equipment on the same level as Vegapunk's decades-old laboratory in less than a year.
Although they still couldn't produce the Mother Flame, the two were far from useless. At the very least, Marine artillery had been upgraded, gaining much longer range, enough to launch an attack on New Fishman Island even from here.
It was at this moment that Regigigas appeared. Because of the massive waves Tiger had raised, Regigigas went unnoticed at first. Only when its body expanded into a giant large enough to move an island did the Marines finally take notice of it.
When the magma Akainu fired was gathered and compressed by Regigigas, it shattered the Marines' very understanding of the world.
"What… what is that thing?"
The figure atop the floating stone gradually became clear. Judging by its proportions, it bore some resemblance to that unknown white giant, yet appeared more rounded.
Its body gleamed with a strange metallic luster, and the red dots that seemed to be eyes were scrutinizing the humans ahead.
The Iron Pokémon, Registeel, commonly known as the Steel Giant.
In terms of size, Registeel was under ten meters tall, vastly different from the Regice once created by Arceus. This, too, was a defining trait of the Toilet family.
The power gap between individual Legendary giants was enormous. The weaker ones could be defeated and captured by humans, while the stronger ones stood guard over entire regions like mountain gods.
The Steel Giant created by Regigigas using Akainu's magma naturally couldn't compare to the Ice Giant created by Arceus with the Icicle Plate.
The Ice Giant created by Arceus was, in truth, a transcendence of authority. Arceus could create the Legendary giants family, but the other Legendary giants were essentially created by Regigigas in its own image.
Ho-Oh revived the Pokémon which were burned to death and created its own three Legendary Beasts; Regigigas, however, created even more.
At present, Regigigas had records of creating other Legendary giants using glaciers, rock, magma, electrical energy, and dragon energy. Registeel was a Pokémon born from magma energy.
Yes—although it was a Steel type, Registeel's origin lay in magma energy. Born amid extreme heat and pressure, yet restrained by the power of flames, it formed a peculiar closed cycle.
Still, as Regigigas gazed at the Registeel it had just created, it wasn't particularly satisfied.
[Not enough energy… Is this all I can manage?]
Arceus can create something out of nothing, conjuring existence from the void, but Regigias is different. Its method of creating the other Legendary giants involved extracting power from nature, integrating it into a form resembling itself, and then granting it life.
The original Registeel was born in the planet's mantle. Metallic elements within magma were gathered together and, after countless ages of high-pressure forging, formed the body it possessed today.
Its seemingly smooth metal shell was harder than any known metal, impervious to blades and bullets while also possessing flexible extensibility. Its strange metallic composition seemed as though it should not exist in the human world at all.
If one were to rank it, this would be a special metal second only to the Divine Steel created by Arceus.
Although Akainu was the user of Magma-Magma Fruit, essentially a mobile volcano capable of releasing magma with explosive force akin to an eruption, he is still far too insignificant compared to an entire planet.
After taking control of the magma Akainu released, Regigigas simulated the pressure of the mantle with its own power, and only then was this Registeel born.
[But it should be enough.]
Looking down at Registeel below, Regigigas felt it was sufficient. It had no emotional attachment to the Legendary giants it created; they were much like the Homies created by Big Mom, mere consumables.
If the Legendary giant was crafted with great effort—let's call it an "primordial Legendary giant"—then Regigigas would pay more attention, much like how Big Mom feels a closer connection to the Homies created from her own soul. As for Legendary giants made casually, well, those are another matter.
As long as the energies of nature still existed, Regigigas could always take the time to mold a few more.
[I will go carry out His request. You handle those who stand in the way.]
Regigigas possessed absolute control over all Legendary giants, whether sleeping or already captured, it could command their actions.
In the span of a single thought, Registeel received its orders and locked onto its designated target.
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