Beneath the waters near Marineford's G-1 base, ten thousand meters deep, lies the mysterious Fish-Man Kingdom, Fish-Man Island.
Legend has it that treasures prized on land—agate pearls, coral amber—are as common as trash here.
It's said Fish-Man Island is built from pearls and gold, illuminated by countless fist-sized night pearls.
Guarded by terrifying Sea Kings, home to the world's most beautiful mermaids and fish-men whose natural strength dwarfs humans, this is where the great hero Fisher Tiger—who scaled the Red Line bare-handed to liberate countless slaves—was born.
Ten thousand meters underwater, a massive spherical structure floats in the sea, resembling an enormous pearl.
Within this pearl lie mountains, lakes, pavilions, palaces, and a constant flow of peculiar fish-men.
At this moment, in the royal palace of Fish-Man Island, several distinguished guests had arrived.
"Hahaha, Neptune, it's been over twenty years, hasn't it? We passed by a few days ago but didn't stop—my apologies," Rayleigh, wearing round-framed glasses, and the others were led by the palace guards to meet the island's king, Neptune.
Neptune, a towering figure with a wild mane and beard, brightened upon seeing Rayleigh, Gaban, and the others, laughing heartily as he strode forward.
"Hohohoho, if it isn't the Roger Pirates! Rayleigh, Gaban, Isaac, Sunbell—long time no see! You've all aged quite a bit."
Gaban rolled his eyes and snorted.
"Hmph, Neptune, you still haven't learned how to talk properly."
The fish-man Sunbell seemed uneasy, his gaze wandering.
Though also a fish-man, he hailed from the Grand Line and had little connection to Fish-Man Island.
"Ho ho ho ho, don't stand on ceremony, please sit! I'll have a banquet prepared immediately. Today, I must properly entertain our distinguished guests!"
King Neptune wore a sincere smile as he instructed his eldest son.
"Fukaboshi, quickly have the servants prepare fine food and wine. Also, send someone to invite Jinbei over for a gathering."
Fukaboshi immediately went to carry out the orders.
The fish-man chefs worked with great efficiency.
Before long, an endless stream of various delicacies and fine wines were brought out.
Only then did Gaban's displeasure fade away.
He reached out and grabbed an entire giant roasted squid, stuffing it into his mouth in a few bites.
"Mmm, truly delicious! I've been starving for ages. Isaac's cooking isn't fit for dogs—he uses more salt than actual food!"
Gaban spoke between voracious mouthfuls, curling his lip in disdain.
Isaac rolled his eyes, thinking to himself:
'That's because I cook according to my giant clan's tastes. Don't you know we giants prefer stronger flavors?'
As everyone drank and ate, the conversation flowed pleasantly.
A short while later, Fukaboshi returned leading a blue-skinned, rotund figure.
"Oh? Isn't that Jinbei? Come, have a drink!" Rayleigh waved cheerfully at Jinbei.
A smile also appeared on Jinbei's face as he strode forward.
"Rayleigh-san, what brings you to Fish-Man Island?"
Rayleigh downed half a bottle of fine wine in one gulp, wiping his lips.
"We just returned from Totto Land and are heading back to Sabaody Archipelago, so we're passing through Fish-Man Island. Also, we have some matters to discuss with Neptune."
"Totto Land?" Jinbei's expression turned alarmed as he quickly took a seat beside Rayleigh.
After first bowing respectfully to Neptune, he asked Rayleigh.
"Isn't that currently Beast God Pirates' territory? Rayleigh, why would you go there? That's an extremely dangerous place."
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"You haven't heard about recent major events?"
Jinbei and Neptune exchanged glances before shaking their heads.
Fish-Man Island's location at 10,000 meters underwater made information scarce.
They typically relied on passing pirate ships or special merchant vessels to receive newspapers and news, meaning the information was often several days old by the time it reached them.
While they could communicate with the outside world via Den Den Mushi, since Whitebeard's death, Fish-Man Island had lost its protector.
Later, after falling out with Linlin and allying with the less reliable Straw Hat crew, their knowledge of world events had become even more limited.
Seeing their blank expressions, Rayleigh briefly recounted the major events of recent days to Jinbei and Neptune.
By the time he finished, both men were completely shocked.
"Is this true? That Caesar is really that powerful? He killed the Navy hero Garp? Garp was a good man—he protected our fish-man race during the last Reverie at the Holy Land Mariejois. We owe him a great debt!"
Neptune's face showed profound sorrow as he sighed deeply.
Jinbei, meanwhile, focused on the matter of the Pirate Council.
His expression grew extremely grave as he considered Luffy having to oppose such a terrifying figure, feeling deep unease about the situation.
"The Pirate Council, this Caesar, his ambitions are no small matter! Now that he's become the chairman of the Pirate Council, nominally, he's already the spokesperson for all pirates in the New World. His status is so high that it's comparable to the leader of the Revolutionary Army or the Fleet Admiral of the Marines."
Jinbei was filled with worry, unable to suppress his concern for Luffy.
He hoped Luffy would act wisely and avoid recklessly picking a fight with Caesar.
Rayleigh took a sip of wine and chuckled.
"Status aside, the key issue is Caesar's strength—he's already on par with Roger in his prime. Perhaps even stronger! That's why we're here."
"Hiss... You're not joking, are you, Rayleigh? Stronger than Roger?"
Neptune was utterly stunned.
He had seen Roger with his own eyes and felt the overwhelming presence of that legendary figure—a force so immense it had sent nearby Sea Kings fleeing in terror just by standing in Fish-Man Island.
"Unfortunately, Rayleigh isn't exaggerating. As much as I hate to admit it, Caesar's strength is beyond description. To put it simply, he single-handedly defeated Blackbeard Teach and Shanks—two Emperors—working together. You can imagine just how overwhelming that power is."
Gaban stuffed a large scallop into his mouth and mumbled indistinctly.
Jinbei's face twitched.
He had personally experienced Caesar's power during the battle in the Flower Capital.
At the time, his Fish-Man Karate ultimate technique had been punched right back at him by Caesar, slamming into his own body and leaving him critically injured—his ribs shattered in over a dozen places, nearly killing him on the spot.
Seeing the shocked expressions on Jinbei and Neptune's faces, Rayleigh and Gaban exchanged glances and nodded.
Clearing his throat, Rayleigh turned to Neptune.
"Neptune, the reason we're here is about your precious daughter—the Poseidon, Shirahoshi!"