Ten thousand meters beneath the sea, in the pressurized, humming silence of his makeshift lab, Ron was deep in thought when the entire ship was jolted by a violent, jarring impact.
The sudden shock not only shattered his concentration but sent a lamp skittering across his desk, its light dancing wildly across the room.
He quickly shot out a hand to steady it.
"What's going on?"
Filled with questions, Ron pushed open the cabin door.
The main hall was empty, but he could hear the distant, muffled sound of surprised shouts from the deck.
Rushing outside in a few quick strides, the sight before him instantly made everything clear.
Pressed up against the ship's coating was a face—a face so colossal it nearly filled his entire field of vision.
Its eyes, each one larger than a man, were wide with a simple, childlike innocence and wonder as it stared at the strange, glowing ship.
It was the undersea giant, Wadatsumi.
"Eh?? The ship... it glows. Fun... fun," he muttered to himself, raising an enormous hand, wanting to gently touch the mysterious little vessel.
As his palm slowly approached, the surrounding seawater was pulled by the sheer scale of the movement, forming swirling currents that rocked the ship violently.
The crew members on board immediately tensed up.
"This bastard's asking for death" a crewmate with the Ice-Ice Fruit muttered, a frosty mist starting to form around his hands.
"Relax," a commander replied coolly, leaning against the railing as countless golden beams of light began to gather between his fingers.
"I'll handle it."
"Ugh, Glint-Fruit users are such show-offs!" the first man grumbled.
Just as a laser cannon was about to be fired, Ron's voice cut through the tension.
"Wait!"
"Huh? Vice-Captain Ron?"
Ron stepped forward.
"He means no harm," he explained calmly as his gaze fixed on the giant.
"He's just curious. His name is Wadatsumi. He have a decent heart, but unfortunately, he follows the wrong person."
"Ron, you're amazing! How do you know about a creature from this deep?" Ace asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Idiot," Jozu grunted, "Ron is the world's greatest scientist. Isn't it normal for him to know things?"
Ron walked to the ship's edge.
"Wadatsumi," he spoke, and as he did, he focused his will.
The gentle ripples his voice made in the water, visible only to his keen eyes, began to expand and amplify his voice.
"This is the Whitebeard Pirates Ship, one of the Four Emperors. Leave now!"
To Wadatsumi, the voice wasn't just loud; it was an omnipresent, terrifying command that seemed to emanate from the ocean itself.
"F-Four... Four Emperors?!!!"
Fear and dread flooded his heart.
His captain had warned him to flee at the very mention of a Four Emperor.
With a panicked yelp, Wadatsumi spun around and bolted, his massive form creating a powerful current that surged behind him in his frantic escape.
Ron murmured to himself, pleased with the experiment.
His Size Manipulation had worked perfectly on the sound waves.
Jozu, standing nearby, watched the giant flee and exclaimed in genuine shock.
"I didn't realize our reputation was that big down here."
Marco just glanced at him and patted his shoulder with a knowing smirk.
"Jozu, have you gone senile? Fish-Man Island is our turf. Of course they're scared of us."
Jozu blinked, then scratched his head sheepishly.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "I've been spending too much time with Ace lately. I think it's making me dumb."
From across the deck, Ace, who had overheard, erupted in a column of pure, indignant fire.
"[○?｀Д′?○]!!!! You bastards! You absolute bastards!"
The deck filled with the sound of roaring, good-natured laughter that echoed inside their bubble, a warm and welcome sound in the cold, dark depths of the sea.
As the deep-sea currents gradually slowed, a breathtaking sight came into view.
Encased in a massive, shimmering double-layered bubble, the underwater paradise of Fish-Man Island glowed with a soft, ethereal light.
Ron could see that this unique structure was a marvel of engineering, a natural barrier that prevented any unauthorized ships from sneaking in.
Anyone foolish enough to try would find their ship's coating fusing with the first bubble, causing them to lose all protection and be crushed in the dark, watery gap between the layers.
However, as they approached the official entrance, Ron noticed a large crowd had gathered, standing in two neat rows as if preparing for a grand ceremony.
"Huh?" he asked, slightly surprised. "Did they know we were coming?"
Jozu, looking ahead, chuckled.
"Ron, you might not know, but this is Fish-Man Island, one of Pops' territories. Our reputation has scared off countless pirates trying to invade this place. Of course they'd be thrilled to see us!"
"Ron," Ace added, "With Big Mom currently on the island, they've probably been terrified out of their minds. They're desperate for us to be here."
At the front of the welcoming party stood the three princes of the Ryugu Kingdom: Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, and Manboshi.
When they spotted the familiar faces on the approaching ship, their anxious expressions visibly brightened with relief and excitement.
"Marco! Ace! BJozu!" Fukaboshi, the eldest prince, called out, greeting them warmly from outside the coating.
"It is truly great to see you all again!" his brothers added, their voices filled with genuine joy.
"You three have grown so much," Marco waved back with a smile.
"Marco," Fukaboshi began, his own smile quickly fading as he tightened his grip on his golden trident.
"That ill-tempered old woman is here. Her subordinates are strong, and if we don't hand over the sweets they demand, our people get beaten. Some have already been badly injured."
His brothers' faces also darkened with a helpless, resentful anger.
Hearing this, Marco's expression grew grim, and he glanced at Ron.
Ron simply nodded, his voice calm and cold as ice.
"Medical expenses, lost wages, emotional distress," he stated, as if reading from a ledger.
"We'll tally it all up. They'll compensate us in the end."
The three princes sensed the absolute authority in Ron's voice and didn't press the matter.
Fukaboshi then gave Ron another curious glance.
He had never seen this man before, yet Marco, a top commander, had clearly deferred to his judgment.
"Marco," he asked, "Who is this…?"
"Oh, let me introduce you," Marco explained with a proud smile.
"This is Ron, the Vice-Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates."
The three princes were stunned, their eyes widening in shock.
Since when did the Whitebeard Pirates have a Vice-Captain?
The news was completely unheard of.
They quickly recovered and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Vice-Captain Ron."
Ron gave a casual nod and pointed toward the island's entrance.
"Take us in. Let's settle this Big Mom issue."
Hearing this, the princes felt a surge of joy, but it was quickly tempered by a wave of disappointment and skepticism.
He's the vice-captain, but we've never even heard his name, Fukaboshi thought, his heart sinking.
Can he really stand up to an Emperor like Big Mom? He glanced inside the ship's bubble, but didn't see the one man he knew could solve this.
"Did Captain Whitebeard not come along?" he asked, his voice laced with a thinly veiled anxiety.
Ron paused, a faint, knowing smile on his lips as he understood their doubt.
As he was about to say something—
Suddenly, a massive, shadowed axe, larger than a man, sliced through the water currents.
It streaked past their heads at an incredible speed, a silent, deadly projectile aimed straight for the bubble of Fish-Man Island!
"Oh no! It's that bastard's attack again!" Fukaboshi exclaimed, his voice filled with urgency and fury.
"Stop that axe!" Ryuboshi shouted, but his tone was already filled with a hopeless resignation.
"Damn it!" Manboshi cursed, shaking his head.
"It's too fast! There's no way to catch it now!"