"Glub glub glub!"
The sudden noise from a gaudy pink Den Den Mushi caught everyone's attention.
Shakky and Rayleigh exchanged looks.
After a brief silence, the call connected, and the two of them asked at once:
"Doflamingo, what exactly do you want?!"
"How are Tritoma and the Kuja now?!"
"Fufufufufufu~"
Doflamingo's lazy voice drifted through the receiver.
"Rayleigh-san, Miss Shakky, I know you're both in a hurry, but relax."
"As for Amazon Lily... of course, it belongs to me now. If you want it back, come find me there."
His words only deepened the frowns on their already anxious faces.
Before they could question further—
Click! Doflamingo abruptly hung up.
Crack crack crack!
Rayleigh's grip on his sword tightened until his knuckles popped.
He felt like all the restraint he'd cultivated for six or seven years had been completely wasted on Doflamingo.
...
While both sides made their way toward Amazon Lily...
On Tenryu Island.
Queen Otohime stood with the now-settled citizens along the shoreline, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their displaced kin.
Time passed.
The first group of citizens who had fled Fish-Man Island amid the chaos slowly docked.
All the fear they had carried across the journey burst forth the moment they saw familiar faces. Cries broke out.
"Queen Otohime, everyone! Waaaah~"
"We finally found you—it's so scary!"
"Fish-Man Island... it's not our home anymore."
"..."
The heartbreaking cries silenced the cheers that had started to rise from the original islanders.
Something was clearly very wrong.
A heavy sense of dread welled up in Otohime's chest. She clutched the hand of the first person off the boat.
She gripped so hard she didn't even notice her bones had fractured. Her voice trembled.
"What happened?! What exactly happened to Fish-Man Island? Tell me!!"
The memories were too vivid. The merfolk's faces were deathly pale as they all spoke at once, voices choked with panic.
"Queen Otohime! Waaaah~ Fish-Man District has rebelled!"
"King Neptune was killed by Arlong! He even ate his tail!"
"Prince Fukaboshi and Prince Ryuboshi are both missing—some say they're dead. People saw their bodies."
"It was horrible! So many merfolk had their tails eaten!"
"..."
Otohime stood there, completely stunned. Voices boomed and faded in her ears. The world around her spun wildly.
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She muttered unconsciously:
"Neptune is dead? Fukaboshi and Ryuboshi too? Neptune is dead?! Fukaboshi and Ryuboshi too!?"
"They're all... dead?!"
Thud!
Otohime collapsed unconscious to the ground.
"Queen Otohime?!"
"Queen Otohime!!!"
...
Former Angel Island region.
"Bullet-sama! Is it good?!"
Conis clasped her face in her hands, watching Bullet with eyes full of excitement.
Bullet, visibly awkward, lifted the massive bowl to block her line of sight.
He stuffed several mouthfuls of curry shrimp noodles into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed.
Seeing Conis's sparkling eyes still fixed on him, Bullet hesitated for a second before shoving the bowl toward her and gruffly saying:
"It's good. Tastes great."
"Hahahaha! I knew Bullet-sama would like it!"
Overjoyed by the praise she'd hoped for, Conis took the empty bowl and turned to leave.
"I'll get going then, Bullet-sama. I won't interrupt your training. I'll bring you grilled flat-mouth fish next time!"
"Hmm." Bullet grunted lowly.
He leapt up into the palm of the massive statue behind him, grabbed the living plant weapon—a giant serpent—and began exploring more ways to fuse with it.
Suddenly—
Bullet, still in his Demon form, opened his eyes and looked toward a strange island drawing closer.
There was curiosity in his gaze, but even more disappointment.
"Doflamingo didn't come back?"
"Doflamingo has more important matters."
Smoothie answered coolly, not interested in chatting with a battle maniac.
She steered the island toward the location of Tenryu Island.
In the next instant—
What had been a bright, clear sky was now dark as night.
As though... something massive was covering the sky above the island!
Both Smoothie and Bullet frowned, instincts screaming.
"Something's wrong."
Not far away, Conis—approaching the old Upper Yard region—abruptly slammed the Waver to a halt.
Fear rapidly took hold in her heart.
She and the nearby prisoners turned their eyes to the sky.
"What is that?!"
In that moment, the prisoners' vision was filled with sixteen glowing lights in the heavens.
Then—sixteen massive laser beams rained down from the sky.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The world-shaking explosions obliterated the prisoners and the floating island clouds they had labored so hard to build—erased from existence in an instant.
"I'm gonna die..."
Staring at the shockwave rushing toward her, Conis felt despair.
In the next second, a massive, terrifying figure stepped in front of her.
...
Down below in Mock Town.
A group of pirates looked up at the explosions in confusion.
"Something wrong with the Clouds?"
"Isn't the Heavenly Yaksha living up there? Probably testing some new weapon again."
"No more ringing the bell, huh? Now it's all bombs?"
"Like we care. Keep drinking!"
"..."
Before they could debate further, a column of divine light pierced through the Imperial Clouds above Mock Town—
And continued crashing downward.
It was like a miniature sun had slammed into the ocean.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Tons of seawater vaporized instantly. Even though the impact didn't directly hit Mock Town—
The shockwave alone sent pirates tumbling in all directions.
"What the hell is that?!"
No one could fathom what kind of weapon could produce such destruction.
Before they could gather their wits—
The rising wall of seawater turned their faces pale. Screams erupted as they fled toward buildings inland.
No ship could survive a tsunami like this.
THUD!
The mountain-sized wave crashed down, engulfing Mock Town completely.
The ancient jungle—grown for who knows how long—was smashed to bits like scattered blocks.
Buildings were annihilated in the blink of an eye. The people inside? No need to ask—completely consumed by the sea.
When it all finally settled—
Only bare rock remained where Mock Town had stood. The topsoil had been completely washed into the sea.
...
Creak!
Amid the silence, a coffin burst from beneath the island's surface.
Lao G kicked off his coffin lid, leapt out, and surveyed the devastation with a wipe of sweat from his brow.
"Phew! That was close—this old man nearly bit it. What kind of attack was that?!"
He'd once wondered why the Boss made Pica build underground safe rooms at every outpost.
Now he understood—completely.
"No clue what's happening above right now..."
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg