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Chapter Events:

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[10,000 meters under the sea: The depths (Bottom of the trench)]

"…W… We're safe…!!"

"…Light? Why is there light down here…?!!" Robin asked in confusion, wondering why there was light in a place that should be pitch dark.

"It's too bright!! My eyes can't handle it!!!"

"Even though I don't have any eyes!!! Yohohohoho!!!" Brook laughed loudly at his own joke, as usual.

"Hey, you guys!! Take a look at this!!"

"Look up over there!!!"

"It's so bright I can't make it out…"

"Hey, Nami!!! Is that it?!" Luffy asked excitedly.

"Yes!! No doubt about it!! The log pose is pointing straight at that island!! That must be Fishman Island!!!"

A massive island surrounded by an enormous air bubble appeared above the crew, in a surreal scene where giant Sea Kings swam nearby.

"It's surrounded by a gigantic bubble… There might be air inside…"

"It's huge!!!"

"All Riiiiiight!!! We madeeee ittttt!!!" Luffy was thrilled.

"One of the greatest sights in the Grand Line!!!" Franky exclaimed.

"O… Ohh… We've made it… have we….?? Kehihi…" Caribou spoke from inside the barrel Zoro had his foot on.

"The island where the mermaids dance!! The exquisite beauty of the mermaid princess!!!"

"I've finally found it… The paradise I've dreamed of since I was a child…!!"

"Mer-maiiiiiids!! Mer-maiiii MAIURGLPHH!!!" From sheer excitement, Sanji lost so much blood he almost fainted.

"Sanji!! It's no good!! Just the anticipation is already killing him?!" Usopp noticed in horror.

"I'm sorry, Sanji… I wasn't able to treat you in time… You probably shouldn't be allowed to meet any real mermaids…" Seeing Sanji's condition, Chopper admitted it would be impossible to let him meet the mermaids.

"Meeting the mermaids of Fishman Island is this man's dream!!!" Usopp protested, defending Sanji's dream.

"But if he meets them, he'll die!!" Chopper shouted seriously.

"So be it, then…!!!" Sanji sprang up.

"Sanji!!" Usopp and Chopper yelled.

"Better to die ogling the mermaids to my heart's content… than to live with my dream unfulfilled…" Sanji declared, already in terrible shape before even seeing a single mermaid.

"He's terrible!!!"

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Reclining on a comfy couch in the art store's kitchen, Sora held a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter after reading the events of this ridiculous scene."You haven't even arrived there yet!"

To the side, Otohime was still staring in amazement at the large page depicting Fishman Island's first appearance in the manga.

Being from that place, she couldn't help but feel a mysterious pride swell in her heart as she saw Fishman Island surrounded by Sea Kings.

"To think Fishman Island would look so beautiful from the outside…"

"So beautiful…" Olivia smiled in admiration.

"I haven't seen such a beautiful sight in a long time. It's as lovely as Sky Island." Even Bell-mère felt the same emotions.

"I wonder how such a complex environment was created here. Sunlight reaching this depth, the bubble surrounding the island, and air inside… all of this 10,000 meters down. It's amazing."

Gloriosa had been astonished by Fishman Island for a while, but now was the perfect moment to voice her curiosity.

"I think I know a bit about that."

Gloriosa hadn't expected an immediate answer, assuming she'd find it in the manga, so she looked surprised at Toki.

Indeed, Toki—who had lived 800 years ago—knew many forgotten truths. That's what Gloriosa and the others believed.

"It's clear the ancient mangrove trees are responsible for transmitting sunlight from above to below through their roots, guided intelligently by whoever created Fishman Island," said Toki.

Hearing that someone created Fishman Island sparked curiosity in Gloriosa and the others.

"I mean, the more you look at this island, the more you realize—it's artificial."…

Outside the art store's kitchen, readers were frustrated with the chapter's ending.

"Who's that bastard blocking the way again!?"

"Trouble, trouble, always trouble along the way! Can't they just reach their destination without hurdles for once in their lives!?"

"Seriously, so many Sea Kings that look like jungle animals!"

"So the Kraken was one of those Sea Kings, too!? Who do they obey!?"

"Man, there's a Fishman controlling them! To think Sea Kings can be used to intimidate people…"

"Those are just sea beasts like Momoo, not real Sea Kings."

"Hohoho~ Anyway, the crew can't fight in such an environment… right!?"

"He said he's part of the New Fishman Pirates!?"

Mihawk, Issho, Enel, and the Donquixote brothers ignored the surrounding readers and focused on their own conversation.

"Tch, as expected… Looks like Arlong has a successor here," Mihawk scoffed, looking at the Fishman who introduced himself as Hammond of the New Fishman Pirates.

"They want to recruit Luffy's crew? Is it because he punched a Celestial Dragon before? Fufufu~" Doffy laughed at the arrogance of the Fishman who thought he could recruit people like Luffy.

"Hohoho! He seems like the kind of villain who'd fall over from a single burst of Conqueror's Haki," Issho laughed.

"Looks like we'll be seeing many of Arlong's followers in this arc. Luffy should just knock them all out at once with Haki," Enel said sarcastically.

"Nami has bad memories with Fishmen—I wonder how she'll deal with them in this arc," Rosinante said, remembering the Arlong arc from long ago.

"Just leave Sanji alone—his over-the-top excitement to see the mermaids will flatten any enemy in the way, ahahaha!" Doffy laughed.

…

Fishman Island:

An awe-struck silence spread across the entire island the moment it was revealed in the manga. You could hear a pin drop. Then, the external shot of the island was etched into the minds of the readers—most of whom were Fishmen themselves.

A mermaid swallowed nervously, imagining the scene of Sanji's nose bursting from blood when hugging her. Seeing Sanji pass out even before fulfilling his dream raised doubts in her mind about how ready he really was.

"He's definitely going to die!" she thought, watching that.

But in the next moment, her eyes widened in shock, ignoring Sanji's dramatic moment. She stared directly at the iconic external shot of the island the crew was also seeing.Not just her—all Fishmen wore the same expression, including Fisher Tiger and his group. But after a while, their awe turned into scowls as they saw Hammond surrounding the Thousand Sunny using many tamed sea beasts.

"What a lunatic. He mentioned my name but has evil intentions… That's your counterpart, isn't it, kid!?"Fisher Tiger looked irritably at a boy who had fallen on his rear, staring blankly at the manga page until Fisher Tiger's voice snapped him out of it.

This "boy" was already a young man—Hammond, 19 years old and part of the Hody Jones group. All of Hody's group were currently followers of Arlong, backing him despite his tarnished reputation due to what his manga counterpart did to Nami and her village.

"Tiger-san, that really is my counterpart… I can see he wants to cause trouble for the crew…" Hammond said sadly. He had never wanted to see this. He never thought he'd be the first Fishman whose counterpart appeared in this arc.

"Ohhh! My god, that's my counterpart next to you, Hammond! Look!"To the side, a Fishman resembling an octopus pointed to a drunken swordsman holding a sake bottle."That's really your counterpart, Hyouzou! Hey, is this for real!? Looks like we're all part of the New Fishman Pirates… Even you, Kasagoba!"

"Sigh~ So it's settled. The remnants of Arlong—those calling themselves the New Fishman Pirates—are the main villains of this arc."

"…"Upon hearing this from Jinbe, Arlong silently looked at Hody Jones, fully convinced that this man was the leader of the New Fishman Pirates.After all, Hody had always been steeped in and convinced by Arlong's ideology from the manga—not the current Arlong.

(Maybe he'll be enlightened after seeing the mistakes of his counterpart too… sigh~)Arlong thought silently. Before anything had begun, he had already predicted it all.

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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):

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Chapter 914: The Domain of the Demons!

Chapter 915: All Blue for Sanji!

Chapter 916: You Will Get Your Wife Back… But Only If She Feels Like It!

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