A month passed like a steady current beneath the sea. What began as tension and suspicion had transformed into something else entirely. Fish-Man Island was no longer merely cautious—it had become untouchable.
Slave traders who attempted to approach vanished without spectacle. Ships drifted back to the surface empty or stained red, their crews erased before they could even dock.
The underworld started calling it a Red Zone.
"Every vessel flagged under trafficking codes has been wiped out," one terrified broker whispered through a Den Den Mushi somewhere in the Grand Line. "Even Cipher Pol squads have disappeared."
And it was true.
Ren's clones—infused with Azure Dark Green energy—moved like silent executioners. They did not posture. They did not announce. They simply ended threats.
Within the palace, life had found rhythm.
Ren spent his mornings training until the coral courtyard trembled beneath controlled strikes. His Haki had sharpened to a blade's edge, his physique refined and dense from devouring titanic Sea Kings daily.
By noon he hunted again, facing creatures many times larger than those in the Calm Belt. Ten to twenty each day fell beneath his staff, their vitality compressed into that ever-darkening reservoir within him.
In the evenings, he sat beside Shirahoshi.
She was massive—four to five meters tall even at four years old. When she sat upright, Ren barely reached her fin or waist, looking more like a small companion doll than a warrior.
"Tell me another story," she demanded one evening, tail swishing impatiently. "The one about the island that floats and has angels."
Ren leaned back casually. "Skypiea again? You really like that one."
"It sounds happy," she replied softly.
Ren smiled faintly and transformed mid-sentence into a winged caricature of an angelic warrior. Shirahoshi burst into laughter so loud that palace guards outside nearly stumbled.
"You look silly!" she giggled.
"That's because you lack refined taste," Ren replied mockingly, shifting into a grumpy Sea King king wearing a tiny crown.
The warmth in those evenings softened something in him, though he never lingered too long on the feeling.
When the month ended, Ren prepared to leave.
He created ten hair clones, each one infused deeply with Azure Dark Green energy. Unlike previous versions, these would survive for months without dissipating.
"They will remain here," he told Neptune and Jinbe calmly. "Watching. Eliminating threats."
Jinbe folded his arms thoughtfully. "You've done more than most allies would."
Ren shook his head slightly. "I don't do this for alliances."
The day of departure arrived quietly. Shirahoshi waited in the courtyard, clearly aware something was wrong.
Ren looked up at her enormous figure and crossed his arms. "What now? You're going to become a crybaby?"
Her eyes widened slightly, moisture threatening to gather.
"Where is the strong girl who trained with me?" Ren continued firmly.
Shirahoshi puffed her cheeks instantly. "Stupid Ren, who is crying?"
Otohime covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. Neptune chuckled deeply, while Jinbe's stoic face softened.
Ren tilted his head. "No need to be mad. You can come and visit me with your mother later."
Shirahoshi's eyes brightened instantly. "Really?"
He nodded. "Of course."
She began nodding rapidly, like a chicken pecking at seeds. "Of course I will be coming! I'm gonna be strong by then and protect Mama!"
Otohime placed a hand gently over her heart, pride shining in her eyes. Neptune, however, raised a finger dramatically.
"What about me?" he asked, feigning injury.
Shirahoshi blinked innocently. "What about you, Papa?"
Neptune clutched his chest as though struck by lightning. "Don't you want to protect Papa too?"
She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Nope. Big brothers will protect Papa. I will protect Mama."
Neptune staggered backward and crouched dramatically in a corner, drawing circles on the floor with his finger. "I see… I have been abandoned."
The courtyard erupted into laughter.
Ren shook his head, amused. "Well, since I won't be here, train with Jinbe. Learn Fish-Man Karate. Learn Jujutsu."
Shirahoshi straightened proudly. "I will!"
Jinbe nodded solemnly. "I will personally oversee her training."
Ren glanced at Otohime one last time. "When Wano changes, send word."
She met his gaze calmly. "Be careful."
Ren summoned his Nimbus cloud, golden vapor coiling beneath his feet. As he rose slowly, Shirahoshi waved both hands dramatically.
"Don't take too long!" she shouted. "And don't forget!"
Ren smirked faintly. "I don't forget."
With that, he ascended toward the surface, leaving ripples in his wake.
---
The New World awaited.
His first stop was Dressrosa.
By the time he arrived at a smaller island connected to it, the land still carried its old warmth—passion and laughter filled the air. Doflamingo had not yet woven his strings around it.
Ren stepped into the forest and immediately felt multiple presences observing him. His Observation Haki painted their positions clearly.
"Come out," he said calmly.
A small voice rang out. "Halt, human! Why are you here?"
Tiny figures emerged—members of the Tontatta Tribe, barely twenty to forty centimeters tall. They gripped miniature weapons nervously.
Ren crouched slightly to meet their height. "I'm here to meet the chief of your tribe. I want help restoring forests that are dying."
The little people gasped audibly.
"Restoring forests?" one whispered. "He wants to save trees!"
Within moments, they swarmed him excitedly.
Even knowing their famously trusting nature, Ren's eye twitched slightly as they grabbed his sleeves and tugged him forward. "You really shouldn't trust strangers so easily," he muttered.
"But you said 'restore forest!'" one replied brightly. "Bad people don't say that!"
Ren sighed internally. They were dangerously innocent.
He met the chief—Gancho, father of Princess Mansherry—and also Leo, who stood proudly despite being only thirteen.
"You seek our aid?" Gancho asked cautiously.
"Yes," Ren replied evenly. "Wano's land and forests have been poisoned. I can cleanse them, but restoration requires skilled hands."
Leo puffed his chest. "We are the best at growing things!"
Ren nodded. "Help me, and I'll give you one entire forest to live freely. And I will guarantee one hundred percent protection from slave traders."
The chief's expression hardened at that word. "Protection… forever?"
Ren's eyes sharpened slightly. "As long as I breathe."
The Tontatta murmured among themselves.
After some deliberation, Gancho nodded. "We accept."
Ren inclined his head. "I'll return in a few months to take you."
Leo grinned brightly. "We'll be ready!"
Ren stepped back into a clearing and summoned his Nimbus once more. The golden cloud lifted him effortlessly.
His next destination was Wano.
Kaido of the Beasts.
Ren's lips curved faintly as wind rushed past him. After a month beneath the sea, after refining Azure Dark Green energy and sharpening his Haki, his body thrummed with contained violence.
"I wonder," he murmured quietly, eyes forward. "Will you roar as loudly when the sky splits?"
The New World stretched ahead like a battlefield waiting for its first strike.