His enormous body almost filled the entire screen. His trident struck the ground heavily, his voice low and majestic:
"I am King Neptune of Fish-Man Island!"
"Whoever can solve Shirahoshi's trouble and remove Vander Decken's threat—"
"From now on, they will be a friend of Ryugu Castle! Fish-Man Island's gates will forever be open to them!"
"I swear by the name of the royal family—I will never break my word!"
Boom!!
As soon as these words came out, netizens across the entire world of Pirates instantly exploded!
"A friend of Ryugu Castle?!"
"This is more valuable than the title of Shichibukai! It's totally worth it!"
"Free food, drinks, and entertainment on Fish-Man Island from now on? And I can marry a mermaid wife?!"
"But who is Vander Decken IX? How strong is he?"
"He must be very strong, otherwise Ryugu wouldn't be helpless against him."
"..."
The comment section was instantly flooded with comments:
"Brothers, let's team up to fight the BOSS! Target: Vander Decken!"
"@Fleet Admiral Sengoku, should our Marine take this mission?"
"Dragon, should we make a move?"
Neptune's promise was not just a polite remark.
Although Fish-Man Island is not a top power, as a kingdom ten thousand meters deep in the sea, it possesses unique resources: the treasures of the mermaid race, deep-sea ore, and even a large number of communicable Sea Kings!
Not to mention those beautiful mermaid girls, how many people dream of marrying one and taking her home.
And now, just by dealing with one Vander Decken, you can become an honored guest of Ryugu?
This deal is too good!
...
Shortly after Neptune posted the video,
Vander Decken IX quickly posted a provocative video on TikTok.
In the video, he stood on the deck of the dilapidated Flying Dutchman, wearing his signature Captain's hat, grinning to reveal a mouth full of yellow teeth, and arrogantly giving a vulgar gesture to the camera:
"Guhahaha! Old man Neptune, posting a video for help?" He chuckled strangely, spinning the axe in his hand, "I'm ten thousand meters deep in the sea! Who's not afraid of death and dares to come?"
Saying that, he suddenly threw the axe fiercely at the camera, and the video abruptly ended.
This provocative video instantly ignited the anger of netizens. The comment section exploded, with everyone clamoring to teach this guy a lesson.
But what truly escalated the situation was a netizen with the ID "History Expert."
She calmly posted an analysis video:
"Based on the types of coral and ocean currents in Vander Decken IX's video, combined with the logbook of his ancestor's 'Flying Dutchman'..."
The screen switched to a precise underwater map, with a red circle marking a hidden trench.
An hour later, more conclusive evidence was dug up:
-A Fishman netizen uploaded a screenshot of encountering Vander Decken last year.
-Underwater volcano researchers provided water temperature data for that area.
-Someone even dug up Vander Decken's great-grandfather's logbook, which detailed the coordinates of the family's secret base.
"Found it!" A diving enthusiast live-streamed the shipwreck remains he discovered, "This is the spare anchor of the Flying Dutchman!"
On the rusted anchor in the camera, the Decken family crest was clearly visible.
In just half a day,
Vander Decken's lair was precisely located in the "Devil's Trench" 30 nautical miles northeast of Fish-Man Island!
More ironically, this information was first leaked by a rare deep-sea fish accidentally filmed in his video. That type of fish only appears at a specific depth in that sea area.
Now,
The whole world knows where to "visit" this arrogant deep-sea rogue.
"Scumbag, wash your neck and wait for me. I'm coming to give you a warm welcome!"
"I thought he was some amazing figure, turns out he's just a trash Devil Fruit user."
"I don't have a Devil Fruit, but I'm good at diving. I'm going down there to try it out."
...
On the beach of a deserted island in the New World,
The members of the Kid Pirates were gathered around a phone, with the video of King Neptune's promise playing on repeat.
Under the scorching sun, the reflection of the phone screen shone on their excited faces.
"Boss! This deal is too good!" Killer, wearing goggles, his voice trembling, "Fish-Man Island's deep-sea minerals, the treasures of the mermaid race, and those Fishman warriors who can move freely underwater..." He counted on his fingers, getting more excited as he spoke.
A crew member with a mouth full of gold teeth leaned in and added, "I heard the ladies at the mermaid cafe are all heavenly beautiful! If I could marry one..."
"Shut up, you pervert!" The female fighter Vaye slapped him on the back of the head, but then her eyes also lit up, "But if we can gain the friendship of Ryugu Castle, we'll have an absolutely safe stopover point when sailing in the New World."
Kid sat on a reef, his mechanical left arm making a "click-clack" sound as he got excited.
He grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth: "Fish-Man Island's warriors can perform ten times better underwater. If we could recruit a few..."
"Boss is wise!" The crew members cheered in unison, and some impatient ones had already started packing their gear.
Killer suddenly thought of something and frowned, "But that guy Vander Decken's Mark-Mark Fruit ability is troublesome. He can throw things accurately from a super long distance..."
"Hmph!" Kid suddenly stood up, his mechanical arm transforming into a giant blade with a "whoosh." "I dared to challenge Red Hair, and you think I'm afraid of an old pervert hiding in the deep sea?" He turned and strode towards the pirate ship anchored on the shore, "All hands on deck! Target: Fish-Man Island!"
"Ooh!!!" The crew members excitedly followed, some already boasting in their gaming groups: "Wait and see the Kid Pirates live-stream beating up Vander Decken!"
Vaye quickly caught up to Kid and whispered, "Captain, should we notify the other allied Captains?"
A dangerous light flashed in Kid's eyes: "Tell Hawkins and Apoo that if they want a piece of the pie, they should hurry up and follow." He jumped onto the bow of the ship, his crimson cloak flapping in the sea breeze, "This time, we're going to make the New World remember the name of the Kid Pirates!"
As the pirate ship slowly sailed away from the deserted island, Kid took out his phone, liked that video, and left a wild declaration in the comment section: "Vander Decken's head, I've reserved it!"
....
Marineford,
In the Marshal's office, the atmosphere was so heavy it could almost be wrung out.
On the desk in front of Sengoku, his TikTok account was being furiously @'d, the number in the notification bar had already reached "99+."
"What is this nonsense!"
Sengoku pulled off his seagull hat, his goatee bristling with anger, "A trivial matter of a Pirate seeking revenge is causing more commotion than the World Conference!"
He opened the TikTok group, scrolling through the unread messages, all asking if they should dispatch troops to Fish-Man Island.
Suddenly, the office door was pushed open.
Akainu walked in with a gloomy face, his right fist wrapped in scorching magma, and sat discontentedly on a nearby chair.
Instantly, the armrest of the expensive mahogany chair melted into a smoking hole.
"Damn it!" Akainu gritted his teeth, even biting through his cigar, "Now new recruits don't ask about rank when they meet, they ask about your TikTok level!"
...
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