Shiki had floated dozens of massive islands for years; no matter how vast Fish-Man Island was, he could still make it rise.
"Shiki! You'd better stop! The Marines won't let this slide!" Aokiji barked, lances of twin-barbed ice forming around him as he readied a second assault.
"Keh-ha-ha! Nosy Marines," Shiki sneered. "I already said this is the choice of King Neptune and his millions of citizens. I, the Golden Lion, don't force the unwilling."
Seeing Aokiji about to strike again, Shiki flicked his foot; a slanted slash sheared the top clean off a palace building. Within the exposed ruin, Neptune and his ministers stared out, pale.
Aokiji caught Neptune's reluctant nod—a confirmation of Shiki's claim. He clicked his tongue and lowered his spears.
Rumble—rumble—rumble—
The whole island shook. Merfolk and fish-men cried out as panic rippled across domed streets. But Neptune's island-wide broadcast and the Palace Guard's calm orders steadied the chaos before it boiled over.
And as word spread that Fish-Man Island would finally see true sunlight, a feverish excitement replaced fear.
Reporters poured from Ryugu's corridors—their assignments had been to cover a tea party, but a bigger story was here. Cameras flashed; Den Den Mushi chattered. Some even opened live feeds with Vision Den Den Mushi, patching the scene up to surface newsrooms and onto screens across the world.
What is this?!
BIG MOM + Golden Lion + Katakuri vs. Creed + Kuzan + Redfield.
Emperors, a legendary pirate, a Marine admiral, and the highest-bounty monster of the age—all converging.
Adrenaline spiked. This was the headline of a lifetime.
Then something else stole every eye.
"Uu… uu…"
A delicate sobbing, clear as a skylark, floated from the Hard-Shell Tower—half of which had been sliced open by stray sword aura. Through the ruined wall, people glimpsed a canopy bed—and on it, a young mermaid girl, more than ten meters long, pink tail rippling as she covered her face and wept, shocked past composure.
She was breathtaking beyond sense: snowy skin, cascading rose-pink hair, sea-blue eyes, features so flawless they seemed carved by the tides themselves.
"I—impossible… such perfection actually exists?"
"Too beautiful… the most beautiful mermaid I've ever seen!"
"Even the Mermaid Café's top beauties can't compare!"
"Is that… the fabled Mermaid Princess—Princess Shirahoshi?!"
"I've seen the world's 'number one beauty,' Boa Hancock of Amazon Lily, and fell head over heels—but compared to Princess Shirahoshi…"
Cameras nearly slipped from the reporters' hands before they recovered and fired off burst after burst.
Click. Click. Click.
For a heartbeat, even the top combatants were forgotten as the entire palace fell into an awed hush—broken only by Neptune and his princes sprinting with guards toward the tower.
"So lovely," Big Mom murmured, eyes glittering. "If only such a beauty could live in my Totto Land."
Everyone knew of her collector's habit; in Totto Land, almost every rare creature had a place. With that hungry gleam in her eyes, this mermaid girl would be in danger.
"BIG MOM, Shirahoshi is my disciple. Don't even think about it," Shiki said coolly, cutting her off.
"Oh? The sky-pirate fancies a child of the sea?" Big Mom scoffed. "Careful—up in the sun and wind she'll dry into a mer-jerky. But if she's your disciple, I'll let it pass."
Shiki's mouth curled, gaze turning frosty; he said nothing more.
Their exchange pricked Creed's ears. "So the Golden Lion came to Fish-Man Island to take a disciple—and singled out Princess Shirahoshi? He must know the truth… that she's Poseidon."
That guess neatly tied together Shiki's appearance and his alliance with Big Mom.
The hush didn't last.
Whooooosh!
A deafening roar came from above—the sea pouring through a new wound. As Fish-Man Island rose, the outer coating bubble had scraped or been squeezed; now it had torn open, and ocean water surged inside.
Luckily, the second inner membrane bulged with seawater of its own, taking the pressure and holding. But if that layer failed too—
Then the entire island would be flooded.
A trifle for Fish-Man Island's residents. For Devil Fruit users like Shiki and Aokiji? A disaster.
And if the Golden Lion touched seawater and his power faltered, the island's ascent would stop dead.
(End of Chapter)
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