The large three-masted galleon passed through the descending current, officially transitioning from the surface layer to the deep sea, riding the current to descend rapidly.
In just over ten minutes, the large galleon had descended several thousand meters into the deep sea. This speed was second only to the ascent of the Knock Up Stream.
As there was no light in the deep sea, Nami turned on the searchlight on the little dragon's head at the bow and continued the descent.
Before long, Karl's unparalleled perception detected the existence of Fish-Man Island.
Unlike the pitch-black deep sea of their current location, the area around Fish-Man Island was like an island on land, not only having a sky and clouds but also brilliant sunlight.
This was because near Fish-Man Island grew one of the world's largest giant trees, the Sunlight Tree Eve.
The Sunlight Tree Eve could transmit sunlight from the surface down to Fish-Man Island, allowing the island, located ten thousand meters deep in the sea, to experience the same day and night cycle as the surface.
Therefore...
The local residents of Fish-Man Island called this phenomenon the "Sun's Blessing."
Fish-Man Island was like Karl's coated galleon. The entire island was surrounded by a huge, double-layered, semi-circular bubble shield. There was an air layer between the two shields to prevent outside coated ships from entering Fish-Man Island without following the correct path.
To earn some money from outsiders, Fish-Man Island had dedicated entrances and exits.
As the large galleon passed through the dark deep sea and arrived in the sunlit area, Nami, under Karl's guidance, steered the ship to the correct entrance of Fish-Man Island and quickly reached the port.
While passing through the entrance, Karl's Observation Haki sensed the emotional changes of the Fish-Man guards who were specifically watching the entrance and exit.
Then, under his watch, a Fish-Man guard took out a Den Den Mushi with a terrified expression, seemingly contacting someone.
Clearly, if they didn't recognize his identity, they recognized the little dragon on the bow.
Karl was completely unconcerned by this.
Over the past six months, while Karl's group traveled and adventured in the New World, their identities had been recognized by others.
But not a single fool had dared to make a move against them.
Unlike the fools in the first half of the Grand Line, the people in the New World, this strongest of seas, clearly understood what kind of existence an overlord of the seas was.
This included the Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters below.
Because their current backer was the Whitebeard Pirates, currently recognized as the strongest pirate crew, this was one of their territories.
Karl's arrival would inevitably cause a sensation on Fish-Man Island.
He believed that it wouldn't be long before the higher-ups of Fish-Man Island invited him.
This was the status of an overlord of the seas.
Even if Karl didn't care, they would be afraid of Karl being provoked and then ruthlessly destroying Fish-Man Island.
For a monster like an overlord of the seas, destroying an island was an incredibly easy matter.
As expected...
Just as Karl's group finished anchoring and bought a map from a small stall at the pier, preparing to tour Fish-Man Island, Karl's perception seemed to discover something.
His steps paused slightly, and Karl suddenly smiled at Nami and the other girls who were looking at the map, "I've been discovered. There's a pretty strong presence heading this way now."
"Nami, you and Robin take Nojiko and Yamato to have a good look around Fish-Man Island. I'll wait for that guy here."
"Also..."
His tone paused for a moment, and Karl gave Robin a mysterious hint, "My Haki saw something else interesting. When there's time, I'll take you to see it."
"Could it be..."
Hearing Karl's last sentence, Robin seemed to understand, and her beautiful eyes lit up slightly.
"Ah... it's just as you're thinking," Karl nodded.
"Alright, I'll be waiting."
Robin walked over, helped Karl adjust the collar of his blue cloak, and said softly, "Also, be careful!"
"Don't worry. Aren't you clear about my strength?" Karl laughed.
After waving goodbye to Nami and the girls and watching them leave, Karl sat down on a specially made bench on Fish-Man Island, waiting for the arrival of that powerful presence.
As for the owner of that powerful presence...
It was the helmsman of the Straw Hat Pirates in the original story, a current member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the second captain of the Sun Pirates—"Knight of the Sea" Jinbe.
"Fish-Man Karate. It's time to upgrade Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit."
Karl thought to himself.
Before Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit awakened, its attack methods were very monotonous and its damage was very limited. Against powerful opponents with strong physiques, it was even less effective.
After awakening, however, it transformed from one-dimensional to multi-faceted, capable of offense, defense, and control, even creating clones, making it very comprehensive.
Karl still had a deep impression of Robin's new form after her Flower-Flower Fruit awakened in the original story, as well as her palm strikes combined with Fish-Man Karate.
Karl didn't expect Robin to be able to master the Six Powers, the superhuman techniques of the Marines, quickly. Besides Finger Pistol, the other abilities of the Six Powers were not well-suited for fusion with the Flower-Flower Fruit.
Therefore...
Karl prepared to get Fish-Man Karate for Robin, giving her fruit ability an additional attack method before it awakened.
"...Lord Dragon Knight, I've long heard of your great name!"
As Karl was getting a bit lost in thought, a deep and powerful voice suddenly pulled him back to his senses.
He saw that before him, a three-meter-tall, portly whale shark Fish-Man with two large teeth on his lower jaw, wearing a patterned yukata and geta sandals, and bearing the sun symbol of the Sun Pirates on his chest, had appeared at some point.
It was one of the Seven Warlords, "Knight of the Sea" Jinbe, whose bounty had reached a high of 438 million Berries before it was frozen.
"I've been waiting for a while, Knight of the Sea... Jinbe."
Looking at the serious-faced Jinbe, whose eyes were filled with vigilance, Karl smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, I'm not here to cause trouble."
"You should know, I am not a pirate, just an 'ordinary merchant'..."
"This time, I'm mainly here to see the legendary underwater paradise."
"...My apologies, Lord Dragon Knight!"
After hearing Karl's words, Jinbe finally believed in the other party's identity. He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and then said very politely to Karl, "Lord Dragon Knight, King Neptune has learned of your arrival and has specially asked me to invite you to a banquet at the Ryugu Kingdom."
"Thank you for your consideration."
Karl stood up, looked up at Jinbe, and nodded with a smile, "Then I'll have to trouble you to lead the way, Jinbe."
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