Next Bonus, 100!!
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"A coated ship uses the sea currents, just as a normal ship uses the wind," Jinbe explained, his tone grave. "But sixty percent of the ships that set out for Fish-Man Island sink before they arrive."
"Is it really that dangerous?" Robin asked, surprised.
"The ocean floor is home to many dangers," Jinbe said as he expertly steered the coated ship downward. "Massive sea beasts, Sea Kings... even the currents and the reefs themselves are a threat."
Jin leaned against the railing, watching the magnificent, ever-changing scenery as the light from the surface refracted through the water.
Massive roots of the Yarukiman Mangrove were surrounded by schools of brightly colored, bizarrely shaped fish.
Gradually, the light faded, and a quiet stillness settled over them. A pod of massive whales swam slowly past.
Jinbe carefully navigated the currents. He had made this journey countless times and was used to it. But this time, the cargo was... precious. If anything happened, a hundred of his heads wouldn't be enough to pay the price.
"Fish-Man Island is located at a depth of ten thousand meters," he explained. "A ship can't reach the true depths on its own. We have to use the deep-sea current, a cold, heavy current, to descend. The deep and surface currents connect at a certain point. Only by finding that incredible downward-flowing current can we reach Fish-Man Island."
"So the deep sea protects the Fish-Men," Jin said with a faint smile. "Without these harsh conditions... your people are truly blessed by the ocean. It's a shame most of them don't realize it. They resent the depths and yearn for the sun, not knowing that without the deep sea, given the malice of some humans, Fish-Man Island would have been destroyed long ago."
The Fish-Men's situation was similar to that of the humans in Attack on Titan, yearning for the world outside the walls, only to be terrified when they finally reached it. Only when the walls came down did they realize that they hadn't been a prison, but a protection.
"Prince Fukaboshi said the same thing," Jinbe murmured. "He was also pondering the future on his way back."
The temperature began to drop.
A human navigator would have struggled to find the deep-sea current, but Jinbe, relying on his instincts, found it with ease.
"It's so cold," Robin said, a chill seeping through the coating, as if they had plunged from a temperate climate into the dead of winter.
"We're here," Jinbe said.
"That's..." Robin looked up.
A strange current had appeared. It was like a massive waterfall within the sea, thousands of meters wide. It was like an upside-down galaxy, a river of stars pouring into the abyss—a truly spectacular sight.
"And that's just the plume of the current," Jinbe shouted. "Hold on tight! We're going down!"
The coated ship plunged into the current, and they were suddenly weightless, plummeting toward the ocean floor.
After a violent descent, Jinbe skillfully steered them through the current.
Soon, they reached the bottom. The temperature rose, and it began to get hot.
"A 'hydrothermal vent field,' formed by a cluster of underwater volcanoes," Robin said, looking out at the fiery glow of the volcanoes, which erupted like torches, spewing lava.
Jin's eyes flashed. Gold? It had to be.
Volcanic eruptions were a natural disaster, but they also brought rare minerals to the surface. The ocean floor was a treasure trove, inaccessible to humans.
But the Fish-Men... all of this was their territory.
'The Fish-Men were sitting on a treasure trove,' Jin thought. He couldn't understand how, on a planet where the ocean covered over ninety percent of the surface, the Fish-Men had ended up in such a state.
'Well, they can be my deep-sea miners in the future.'
"Hey! What's that? A Sea Scuttler?" Robin pointed.
A giant, eyeless sea crab was charging at them, its massive pincers raised.
"A deep-sea predator," Jinbe said, calmly steering the ship through the gap between the crab's pincers.
After a few more close calls, the ship entered a long, narrow trench, even darker than the deep sea.
They continued their descent.
Soon, the darkness began to fade, and sunlight reappeared.
"Sunlight... at the bottom of the sea!" Robin exclaimed. Even though she had read about it in books, seeing it in person was breathtaking.
"We're at the sea floor, ten thousand meters down," Jinbe said. "The trench's bottom. And the sunlight... is coming from right in front of you."
Jin and Robin looked ahead. Beside a massive tree root, a giant bubble floated, and within it, the faint outline of an island could be seen.
"That is Fish-Man Island," Jinbe said. "And that is the Sunlight Tree, Eve. It channels the light from the surface down to Fish-Man Island, giving it a day and night cycle. It is the blessing of the sun."
The main island of Fish-Man Island was located within the largest bubble. A harbor at one corner of the island allowed coated ships to dock. Above it, in a slightly smaller bubble, was King Neptune's massive palace, connected to the main island by a corridor.
"I've never seen anything like it," Robin breathed. "It's beautiful..."
The light was a faint, orange glow, like a sunset.
The Sunlight Tree, Eve, over ten thousand meters tall, brought the light from the surface to the bottom of the sea.
Its trunk could conduct light.
It looked as if night was about to fall on the surface.
Within the viscous bubble, formed by a special tree sap, a unique ecosystem had formed, with its own coral, plants, even forests.
Not only Fish-Men, who could breathe in the water, but humans could also survive here.
With Jinbe, who knew the underwater routes like the back of his hand, at the helm, they docked safely on the main island.
"So this is where you grew up, Mr. Jinbe?" Robin asked, looking around.
Jinbe shook his head. "I grew up in the Fish-Man District, not here."
"There are other islands?"
"On the way here, didn't you see that massive sunken ship?"
Robin thought back. She remembered a dark, gloomy place.
"That's the Noah," Jinbe said. "And right next to that massive ship is an island formed by a giant scallop, also enclosed in a bubble. That's the Fish-Man District. It used to be a large orphanage, but now it's become a gathering place for outlaws. Most of the members of the Sun Pirates came from the Fish-Man District."
"A slum..." Robin murmured. "So it's the same no matter the race or the country. Where there is light, there is also shadow."
"As humans," Jinbe said, "it's best you stay away from there. It's a death sentence. Although Captain Tiger and Queen Otohime tried to change things, after they died... the Fish-Men's views on humans changed. The relationship deteriorated. Humans and pirates have abducted a large number of mermaids, because they fetch a high price on the slave market. And some Fish-Men have come to see humans as an inferior species. It's... a complex issue."
Jin gazed into the darkness. "The assassination attempt on Prince Fukaboshi... it's probably connected to Fish-Man Street."
Jinbe frowned.
"Jinbe, have you ever considered," Jin asked casually, "that Queen Otohime wasn't killed by a human, but by a Fish-Man extremist?"
"To sabotage her plan?" Jinbe's thick eyebrows furrowed.
"Yes," Jin said with a shrug. "Although it was an idealistic, fundamentally flawed plan. I apologize if that sounds harsh. But even if Tiger and Otohime hadn't died, they wouldn't have been able to resolve the fundamental conflict between humans and Fish-Men. They had their own limitations, as did their plans. Of course, that was a product of their experiences and their circumstances. At least they recognized the problem and tried to do something about it."
Jinbe listened, not refuting, but thinking. He was no longer the impulsive young man he had once been.
Madam Shyarly arrived and took them to a residence. She filled them in on the current situation on the island.
Prince Fukaboshi had broadcasted a recording of the New Year's Eve gala, as well as a short film of their warm reception in Hannabal, in the Coral Hill and other public places. He had given a speech, urging his people to let go of their hatred and to learn more about and interact with humans.
It had caused a sensation on Fish-Man Island. Many who had hated humans since Queen Otohime's death were beginning to have a change of heart.
But there were also some who had tried to disrupt the broadcast, and rumors were spreading that Prince Fukaboshi had been bought by the humans.
"Jinbe," Jin said, "I want you to go to the Fish-Man District and see if you can find anything unusual."
"Alright," Jinbe nodded.
After he had left, Madam Shyarly looked at Jin, her expression worried. "King Jin, can you really stop it?"
Jin smiled. "Do you believe in the light?"
The light?
Madam Shyarly was confused. Living in the deep sea, the Fish-Men naturally had a certain reverence for the sun, for the light. She nodded slowly.
"Belief itself is power," Jin said.
Madam Shyarly pondered his words.
"Now then," Jin said, "we'd like to go to the Sea Forest. Would you be able to show us the way?"
She was confused, but she nodded.
"Let's wait until after dark," Jin said, looking outside. "For now, it's best if no one knows I'm here."
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