Next Bonus, 100!!
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On the main island, the residential area was a series of coral structures, stacked like a honeycomb. The upper levels, with their abundant light, were the high-class district—Gyoncorde Plaza. The lower levels were apartments for the common folk.
After waking up, Jin and Robin found a small restaurant on a side street in the lower district.
"Do you feel it?" Jin asked Robin quietly, his eyes scanning the other patrons.
"Yes," Robin nodded. "The hatred. The eyes of most of the Fish-Men here are filled with suspicion, vigilance... and some with outright hostility."
Their entrance caused a small stir.
"Humans?"
The other customers shot them furtive glances and began to whisper.
Fish-Man Island was ten thousand meters below the surface. Although it was illuminated by the Sunlight Tree, the surrounding water was still frigid.
Yet the man wore only a pair of shorts and a shirt, the strong lines of his muscles clearly visible. Most humans who visited, like those who visited a winter island, would be bundled up in thick clothes... like the woman beside him.
"Are they pirates?"
"Seven or eight out of ten humans who come to Fish-Man Island are pirates, aren't they?"
A Fish-Man waitress cautiously approached their table. "What can I get for you?"
"What are your specialties?" Jin asked.
The eel-like girl listed the house specials, and Jin ordered one of everything.
"O-okay. Right away."
Soon, a sharp, formidable-looking man with long hair tied back came out from the kitchen, carrying a tray. He was a Merman, a tailfin visible below his waist.
"Here you are," he said, setting the dishes down. "Tuna-fin pie, kelp soup..."
"Thank you."
"Enjoy."
At the bar next to them, a smelt-whiting Merman sneered. "You've got a lot of nerve, coming to a place like this, young'uns."
"Do we?" Jin replied with a smile.
"You don't know? There's an assassin on the loose on Fish-Man Island. Not just humans, but any Fish-Man who helps them is a target."
"Is that so? Who's trying to assassinate who?"
"It was years ago," the smelt-whiting Merman said, wiping down the bar. "The Queen of the Ryugu Kingdom, Queen Otohime, was killed. Until about 200 years ago, Fish-Men and Merfolk were still classified as fish by humans. It was around that time that the Ryugu Kingdom finally joined the World Government and was allowed to participate in the Levely. But humans continued to despise our race, and so, we refused to accept them. Queen Otohime, she advocated for peace with your kind. She was collecting signatures from the people... but she was assassinated by someone who disagreed with her views."
Robin's sharp eyes noticed a wanted poster on the wall. It wasn't one issued by the World Government, but one distributed only within the Ryugu Kingdom.
"Vander Decken," Jin noted, pointing at the poster. "Is he the one who did it?"
"No... he's a different story," the smelt-whiting Merman said. "There's an old sea legend... on a stormy day, a crazed pirate captain threw his crew into the sea, one by one, to drown. For this, the captain angered the gods and was cursed to wander the seas for eternity, endlessly tormented."
He began to sing a nursery rhyme.
"Dead man's finger needs no jewel, In the dark, no guilt to rule! Find it! Find it! Sunken treasure is all mine, For I'm the richest of all time! Captain Vander Decken!"
Robin listened patiently. She loved these old stories and legends.
"The Flying Dutchman," she murmured. "The legend of the famous ghost ship."
She was reminded of a similar legend among humans, that of Davy Jones... The stories were similar, only the names were different. Could they be the same person?
"That one," the smelt-whiting Merman said, glancing at the poster, "is who knows what generation... A Fish-Man who ate a Devil Fruit. A pirate who's completely backward... a Merman who can't swim. Strange, isn't it?" He laughed.
"So why is he wanted?" Robin asked.
"The late Queen Otohime left behind three princes and a princess. That princess, Shirahoshi... that bastard Vander Decken has been shamelessly proposing to her."
"Is it a crime to propose to the princess in this country?"
"No. Proposing is fine... But being a stalker who won't take no for an answer... that is. That bastard plans to keep hurting Princess Shirahoshi until she agrees to marry him. To protect her, the young princess has been forced to hide in the Hard-Shell Tower of the palace for the past six years."
"And what is the king doing?" Jin asked with a slight smile. "A king should be strong, shouldn't he? Can he not even protect his own daughter?"
The smelt-whiting Merman just shook his head, a sour look on his face. "You think every king is as strong as that one human king who can go toe-to-toe with a Yonko?"
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In the cold, dark depths of the sea, a large ship hung suspended, emitting an ethereal glow. It flew a pirate flag with a crossed-out skull, the words "Flying Dutchman" emblazoned on its sail. A fanged skull adorned its bow. The ship was decaying, but it could still navigate the deep sea.
"Hody Jones..." a strange, laughing voice echoed from within the cabin. "You all look like you've been through a war. Who did this to you?"
Inside sat a strange Fish-Man. He wore a small top hat, his hair coiffed, a mustache on his lip. He was adorned with numerous necklaces and had four legs. A yellow coat was draped over his shoulders, and his body was covered in the swimming resin.
This was Vander Decken IX, the current captain of the Flying Dutchman Pirates.
Across from him sat Hody Jones and his crew—Dosun, Zeo, Daruma, Ikaros Much, and Hyouzou.
Hody Jones had long, black, curly hair, a lock of which fell across his left cheek. He had the sharp teeth of a great white shark. He wore a flat cap with a trident emblem, a wolf-pelt scarf around his neck, and a large tattoo on his left arm that included the mark of the Arlong Pirates. The mark of the New Fish-Man Pirates was on his lower right abdomen, and a long scar ran across his upper left. He wore a red, open-chested short-sleeved shirt with a black-spotted pattern, a white collar, and similarly patterned blue shorts, with a pink sash and sandals.
He was clearly injured, his clothes torn. The other Fish-Men were in a similar state, as if they had just escaped a disaster.
"Mind your own business, Vander Decken," Hody Jones said, his face cold. There was a fresh fist print on his left cheek, and it was swollen. "You want Princess Shirahoshi, don't you?"
"Hm?" Vander Decken IX was surprised. "What? Are you going to help me? Bwahahaha!"
"I'll help you," Hody Jones said, his face a mask of cold fury.
"Arlong was killed by that king," he seethed, his eyes burning with hatred. "And the Ryugu Kingdom doesn't seek revenge? They fraternize with the enemy? It's a disgrace! Fukaboshi is doing the same thing as Queen Otohime. He must be executed, to remind the Fish-Men of their hatred."
"But Jinbe... that traitor... he tried to stop us."
"Jinbe?" Vander Decken IX frowned.
"Don't worry," Hody said. "I managed to seriously wound him. He's been poisoned. He won't live long. He won't be a problem."
"So what do you want?"
"Whitebeard's rule is over," Hody Jones declared. "I will seize control of Fish-Man Island! And then, I will wage a holy war against the humans! I need your power to control the Noah."
"Are you insane?" Vander Decken IX said, shocked.
"Do you want Princess Shirahoshi or not?" Hody Jones stood up, his presence oppressive. "I'll help you."
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