Waiting for death, Slardar of the Sirenfolk blinked in surprise. He slowly opened his eyes to find Tengetsu Ares, all beastly presence and raw pressure, hovering an arm's length away.
"You… you're not going to kill me?"
"Why would I?" Ares's golden, amber-lit eyes held his, and he actually smiled. "You and I don't have a grudge. What would I get out of killing you?"
If anything, he felt a flicker of gratitude. Trading blows with Slardar had let him adapt to underwater combat and steal a few tricks for shaping the sea itself into a weapon.
Seeing the sea fiend still a little dazed, Ares tried again, candid as ever: "So? Want to join my crew and take a look at the world above? Cross blades with more strong people?"
He meant it. As a newly minted division captain in the Rocks Pirates, his "crew" was basically him and Kaido. Charlotte Katakuri didn't count yet at four years old, the kid wasn't even qualified as a trainee.
He needed people. And Slardar, born to the deeps, fought like he belonged there. His raw power was real; today he'd just run into someone stronger.
"The world above…" Slardar's voice was gravel and current. He met Ares's open gaze. "My purpose has always been to guard the treasure. You came for the treasure too, didn't you? If you spare me, is it just so I'll give up where it lies?"
Ares shook his head, blunt as a hammer. "I don't give a damn about treasure. I care about getting stronger. Tougher. Treasure is dead weight; people are living. Treasure can't buy you real strength."
He added, still frank, "If you don't want to tell me, I won't force you. And even if you keep silent, you can't actually stop us from searching. Guarding it alone is pointless."
They were the words as he felt them.
Slardar's next line, though, snapped Ares's eyes wide as if he'd been slapped. "I do know where it is. And if I told you there's a Mythical Zoan in that trove would you still feel nothing for 'dead weight'?"
"A Devil Fruit?" Ares asked, startled despite himself. "A Mythical Zoan?"
He knew how rare they were. He knew it in his bones his own Mythical Zoan had given him powers that broke human limits. And…
He'd promised Kaido he'd help him find a powerful fruit.
Excitement crept into his voice before he could stop it.
"I'm not mistaken," Slardar said at once. "It's the Sirenfolk's relic. In the old Siren Kingdom, we kept two Mythical Zoans under royal seal. On the day of our calamity, when the enemy came without end, Her Highness the Princess ate one in desperation…"
Meanwhile elsewhere.
The pirate ship raced over the waves, drawn as if on a line by a song.
Far ahead, a colossal Sea King roared across the surface like a black-and-white banded eel hundreds of meters long. A figure stood upon its head, the source of that voice an ethereal chant carried by a great conch lifted to her lips.
"Their course screams 'treasure hunters.' If they crossed that death-trap sea, there are monsters aboard. Some of them may not be wholly bound by my song," the woman mused, a cool glint in her eyes. "To be safe…"
"Lead them to the feeding ground. Let the Sea Kings drown them."
"Almost there."
Keeping her distance, she guided the ship toward the ambush she'd chosen.
On deck, Silver Axe and every last hand were lost in the music. Some moved like sleepwalkers, working the lines and rudder without knowing it. Others stood with eyes closed, faces slack with bliss.
Silver Axe swayed dreamily, trying to conjure a face that fit such an unearthly voice. He combed through every beauty he'd ever seen none matched. A nightingale wasn't a phoenix.
"I can't wait to see the owner of that voice…"
"Wait."
His eyes flew open. A thought hit like a slap. "It's been at least half an hour. How could I not have seen her yet? How is the voice carrying this far?"
He darted a look around; the whole crew was adrift in the song's tide, unaware.
"Damn it! I got so wrapped up in the music I stopped feeling the sea." His face blanched. The ship was still moving.
He snatched out a pocket watch, flicked it open and his eyes bulged. "Bad. It's been almost an hour. I can't even tell how long for sure; that's how deep I was."
"Captain John and Wang Zhi must have surfaced already. They'll have found the ship gone."
Even with his brain, he didn't need one to know he'd messed up.
He bellowed to the deck, "Hey! Wake up! Turn us around!"
No one answered.
A chill crawled up his spine. He smacked his own forehead. "The song is wrong."
He stomped to Kaido, controlled the strength in his fist, and hammered the younger man once in the chest, shouting into his ear, "Kaido! Kaido! Wake up!"
A few seconds later, Kaido's eyes snapped open. "What happened?!"
"Look around," Silver Axe ordered.
Kaido took in the marionette movements, the unfocused smiles, the tear-tracks cooling on his own cheeks. He wiped them and stared at the wetness in disbelief. "This song… it got to me."
Silver Axe grimaced. "We've sailed the better part of an hour under it. You grab the helm and turn us back. I'll try to rouse the rest."
"As for that cursed singing we'll figure it out once we regroup with Captain John."
Kaido nodded and rose
And the song's style changed in an instant. The melody reared into something sharp and warlike, a beat that made blood surge and hands itch for battle.
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