The descent to Fishman Island felt like entering another world.
The coated ship drifted downward through layers of deep blue, sunlight thinning into fractured beams before dissolving into bioluminescent glow.
Ren stood at the railing, wind brushing his hair back as the massive mangrove roots loomed overhead.
Below them, the great bubble shimmered—an entire kingdom resting beneath the sea.
When the ship docked, he stepped off without hesitation.
Conversations hushed almost instantly.
Eyes followed him everywhere.
Fisher Tiger had died not long ago.
The wound was still fresh, raw and bleeding beneath the surface.
Humans were not welcome here.
Ren walked openly through the kingdom streets, hands relaxed at his sides.
Suspicion trailed him like a shadow, but his expression never shifted.
He felt it—the anger, the grief, the betrayal embedded in the air itself.
But he did not flinch.
Otohime stood at the edge of the plaza, speaking gently to a group of children about the surface.
Her voice carried warmth, though exhaustion hid behind her smile.
Her petition had been shattered.
Signatures torn away in anger after Fisher Tiger's death.
She had spent years building hope.
Now she was rebuilding it from ashes.
Her innate Observation Haki pulsed quietly, as it always did.
Emotions brushed against her senses like currents.
Hatred. Fear. Resentment.
Then—
She paused mid-sentence.
There.
Among the countless shifting feelings, one stood out.
Bright.
Steady.
Warm like sunlight breaking through deep water.
She turned her head slowly.
Ren walked past the fountain, eyes calm, posture unthreatening.
There was no disgust in him. No superiority. No hidden malice.
Only understanding.
She dismissed the children gently and began walking after him.
Ren noticed.
And she noticed that he noticed.
Yet he did not quicken his pace.
Fishmen glared as he passed.
Some muttered openly.
"Another human…"
"After what they've done…"
Ren heard it all.
His emotions did not ripple.
Otohime finally spoke when they reached a quieter corridor near the coral gardens.
"Who are you?"
Ren turned slightly, smiling without arrogance.
"Just a traveler."
She studied him carefully.
"You are not afraid."
He tilted his head faintly.
"Should I be?"
Her Observation Haki brushed his heart again.
No deceit.
No hidden disgust.
Just clarity.
"You understand why they glare at you," she said softly.
Ren nodded once.
"Yes."
Silence lingered for a moment.
Then he reached up and plucked several strands of his hair.
Otohime blinked.
He blew them forward.
The strands shimmered mid-air, transforming into identical copies of himself.
The clones landed lightly and glanced at each other once before dispersing in different directions.
Otohime's eyes widened slightly.
"What is this power?"
Ren looked at her calmly.
"About your immigration… I know a perfect location."
Her breath caught.
For years she had begged the surface for acceptance.
For years she had been ridiculed by her own people.
"Where?" she asked, voice steady but trembling beneath.
"Wano," Ren replied. "Specifically… the old Wano beneath the sea."
She froze.
He continued, tone measured and clear.
"The original land lies submerged. Vast. Hidden. Protected by natural barriers."
He met her eyes directly.
"No human discrimination. No Celestial Dragons. No surface politics."
Her heart pounded.
"You speak as if you have seen it."
"I have."
"And you would give this information so easily?"
Ren's smile softened.
"Hope should not be monopolized."
Her Haki flared instinctively.
Truth.
Absolute truth.
Behind him, far across the island, something changed.
The first scream echoed through a distant alley.
A human slave trader staggered backward, throat opened cleanly.
Another clone stood over him, expression cold and emotionless.
Elsewhere, chains shattered.
Locks broke.
Cages opened.
"Run," the clones told the captives.
And then the killing began.
Otohime felt it before she heard it fully.
Shock.
Fear.
Panic.
Slave traders scattered through the undercity were being hunted.
Her eyes widened.
"What is happening?"
Ren's expression did not shift.
"Cleaning."
Blood flowed through coral-lined streets.
Warehouses storing chained fishmen and merfolk erupted into chaos.
Every trader that tried to fight back died.
Every one that tried to flee was found.
Some attempted to report.
Den Den Mushi lines were cut mid-sentence.
One desperate voice managed to send partial coordinates before silence swallowed him.
Otohime stared at Ren.
"You are doing this."
"Yes."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Do you understand what this will cause?"
Ren met her gaze evenly.
"Yes."
She searched him again with her Haki.
No pleasure in the killing.
No cruelty.
Only resolve.
"You hate them," she whispered.
"I despise what they do," Ren corrected calmly.
Another distant explosion shook the water.
Slaves poured into open streets, blinking in disbelief.
Fishmen guards froze, unsure whether to intervene.
"Every slave trader operating here," Ren said quietly, "will die today."
Otohime's heart trembled.
"Violence will bring more violence."
"Perhaps," Ren replied. "But fear will also bring hesitation."
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"Fishman Island will become a red zone for slavers."
She felt it again.
Not hatred.
Protection.
Somewhere far above the sea, a Den Den Mushi rang frantically.
Big News Morgans slammed his desk in excitement.
"What? Rivers of blood in Fishman Island?!"
His eyes gleamed wildly.
"A young Conqueror wreaking havoc beneath the sea?!"
He burst into laughter.
"The new king has made his first move!"
He flapped his arms dramatically.
"Print it! Spread it everywhere!"
Back below, Otohime closed her eyes briefly.
"You are forcing the world to look."
"Yes."
"And when they retaliate?"
Ren's voice remained calm.
"Then they will face someone who does not run."
She opened her eyes again.
"You plan to rule Wano."
"Yes."
"And you would shelter us there?"
"Yes."
Her lips trembled faintly.
"For what reason?"
Ren looked toward the coral skyline.
"Because the world needs balance."
Another tremor rolled through the kingdom as the final slave warehouse fell silent.
His clones began returning one by one, dissolving back into drifting strands of hair.
Blood stained none of him.
Otohime felt the island shifting emotionally.
Shock.
Relief.
Fear.
Confusion.
But beneath it—
A small spark.
Hope.
"You are dangerous," she said quietly.
Ren smiled faintly.
"Yes."
She studied him long and hard.
"You could rule through fear."
"I prefer loyalty."
Her Observation Haki pulsed once more.
No deception.
"You understand," she whispered.
"I understand enough."
In the distance, freed captives wept openly.
Some fell to their knees.
Some stared at the ocean above as if seeing it for the first time.
Otohime's eyes shimmered faintly.
"You have complicated my dream."
Ren tilted his head slightly.
"Or accelerated it."
She almost laughed.
"You are bold."
He shrugged lightly.
"Time is limited."
She looked at him differently now.
Not as a human.
Not as an outsider.
But as a force.
"You will bring storms," she said softly.
Ren's gaze drifted upward toward the faint silhouette of the surface.
"Yes."
Far above, Marine Headquarters received fragmented reports.
Sengoku read the early bulletin with tightening expression.
"Fishman Island… mass casualties among slavers?"
Garp whistled low.
"That brat doesn't waste time."
Sengoku exhaled slowly.
"He just declared himself."
Back below the sea, Otohime extended her hand gently.
"If what you say about Wano is true… I will remember this."
Ren looked at her hand.
Then took it.
His grip was steady.
And somewhere beyond the horizon of the sea, the era shifted once more.
{Extra Chapter for fun 😊}