The World Government and the Navy typically enter the New World safely through Mary Geoise. So why would they ever risk traveling via Fishman Island?
Unless ordered by higher-ups, the Navy rarely chooses the Fishman Island route. For Devil Fruit users especially, the deep sea is a nightmare—one crack in the ship's coating and it's game over, regardless of whether your fruit is awakened or not.
If pirates had any other option, they wouldn't risk diving 10,000 meters under the sea to reach the New World through the Red Line's underwater passage.
The Navy had another glaring weakness—very few of their ranks possessed Conqueror's Haki. By contrast, among pirates, new Conqueror's users seemed to pop up every few years. In a crisis, one such user might unleash a burst strong enough to scare off even the Sea Kings.
As the Navy officers sat around, nervously eyeing the ceiling, the World Government envoy—an official dispatched by the Celestial Dragons—sighed in exasperation. He didn't want to go down to Fishman Island. Certainly not to confront the Hell Pirates.
And why would he? Fishman Island was Brook's territory now. Dealing with a random pirate was one thing, but going after a New World Overlord? That required serious planning.
No one was acting without a thorough strategy. Every clash between high-ranking officers and Overlords was a world-shaking war. Islands were often wiped out in the aftermath.
As the debate dragged on, a golden ship descended once again on Fishman Island.
Inside the Hard-Shell Tower, poor Ariel—a sweet but naive mermaid—cowered in fear, refusing to step outside. The Hell Pirates had already marked the culprit behind her trauma for death.
"Lord Brook, please forgive us! We failed to protect Ariel and had to trouble you to come here yourself!" King Mars and Prince Neptune knelt in fear as they greeted the arriving captain.
They hadn't expected the Overlord of the New World to appear in person—they thought maybe a single officer would be sent.
"Take me to the Hard-Shell Tower first. Ariel's been cooped up too long. How bad are her injuries?" Brook, standing atop the somersault cloud Hera, flew ahead toward Ryugu City.
King Mars, perched atop a whale, followed immediately. Behind them, Redfield piloted the golden ship straight toward the castle.
"Ariel's shoulder was grazed by an axe—not fatal. But weapons have been flying at her from behind. The guards can't protect her around the clock. That's why she's been hiding," King Mars explained cautiously, sweat beading on his brow. Every time he saw Brook, the pressure on his chest seemed heavier.
They soon arrived at the gates of Ryugu Castle. Brook paused, gazing up in surprise at the massive 40-meter-tall gates.
What truly caught his eye, however, was the colossal dragon sculpture sprawled across the castle roof—easily several hundred meters long.
"King Mars, who built that dragon statue? Has Fishman Island ever seen a real dragon before? Or maybe one of your ancestors encountered a Mythical Zoan—specifically the Azure Dragon Fruit?"
Brook's eyes flicked over to Kaido. In the original history, Kaido's full dragon form was massive—probably bigger than this one. But that dragon was blue. This one looked more like the green Shenron from Dragon Ball.
"This… I'm not entirely sure. There's an old legend passed down in Ryugu Castle about a divine dragon that carried an island on its back. Supposedly, it was the protector of Fishman Island. That's why we called our nation the Dragon Palace Kingdom. But as for the Azure Dragon Fruit, I honestly don't know much."
Brook nodded slowly, absorbing the tale. "Kaido, take a good look. This kind of Mythical Zoan is your ideal path forward. I'll help you find it—just be patient."
Kaido's eyes sparkled. "Thank you, Brother Brook! Even if I can't get the Azure Dragon, any Mythical Zoan would be amazing. Honestly, the Octopus Siren Fruit isn't bad either!"
He was being honest. A Mythical Zoan was rare enough, and Brook already had one in hand. As they say, one mythical fruit in the crew beats chasing legends.
Still, Kaido was eager to grow stronger. If he ate the Octopus Siren Fruit now, he'd transform instantly.
"You've got no ambition!" Brook barked with a laugh. "Just wait. Even if I have to snatch it from the Celestial Dragons themselves, I'll get you that Azure Dragon Fruit!"
Kaido was left speechless, eyes wide with awe. The rest of the crew, hearing Brook's declaration, felt their blood boil. Clearly, it was time to move up the timeline on confronting the Celestial Dragons.
But just as they neared the Hard-Shell Tower, a spinning axe came whistling through the air—clang!—slamming into the tower's outer shell with force.
Brook and Redfield turned sharply toward the weapon's origin. Moments later, a long, slender blade followed the same trajectory.
"Redfield," Brook said calmly, "track him. With your Thunder Fruit's electric-enhanced Observation Haki, I know you can. Tom, Tiger—you two go with him. I bet this guy is outside Fishman Island. Bring some coating material."
"Got it!" Redfield nodded, then vanished in a flash, with the two fishmen close behind.
Brook pushed open the tower doors and walked inside.
"Brother Brook~! You're finally here! Waaaah~ that was so scary!"
Ariel leapt into his arms the moment she saw him. Tears glistened in her eyes, but she fought them back, doing her best to stay strong in front of him.
"It's okay now," Brook said gently, stroking her soft golden hair. "Whoever attacked you is already dead. He just doesn't know it yet."
Prince Neptune stood off to the side, watching with a heart full of bitterness. That intimacy… that warmth… Ariel had never looked at him like that.
But he didn't dare say a word. Ariel was Brook's crewmate, and their bond was obvious. Still… maybe he had a shot? Brook had women all around him. Maybe he'd wait until Ariel turned thirty and could grow legs?
No… no, there was still a chance! After all, mermaids should marry mermaids. It was the only way to make baby mermaids quickly!
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Brook took Ariel out of the Hard Shell Tower, eager to see how far her Observation Haki had progressed. Could she now sense all emotions? Did her voice carry the force of a charismatic leader? Could she even brainwash crowds?
"Brother Brook, I've got fans now! And they admire the Hell Pirates just as much as I do!"
Ariel the mermaid beamed proudly, nearly bouncing with excitement. During this past week, she had drawn a huge following across Fishman Island. Turns out, a lot of people believed everything she said—and treated her words as gospel!
Especially after Brook gave her 500 million berries. For several days, any fishman or mermaid who attended her speeches could receive between 100 and 1,000 berries just for showing up. It was a brilliant marketing move.
Within no time, Ariel had become a household name across Fishman Island. Whether people thought she was generous or just foolish with money, she was unforgettable. On an island with a population of four to five million, at least hundreds of thousands had seen her in person—and millions knew her name.
She was now hosting speeches at various public squares to deepen her influence. At the Gironcord Square's strength tester, any fishman or mermaid who passed the test was immediately recruited into Ariel's Guard.
Once every quarter, the Hell Pirates returned to the island to take promising recruits back to Doragonzo Island for elite training, eventually becoming reserve members of the Hell Pirates. Their territory had become a haven for the oppressed, promoting racial equality and outlawing slavery—drawing rare races from around the world to seek refuge and opportunity.
"You said you've been shaking hands with your fans, right?"
Brook's voice sharpened with interest. That detail had caught his attention. If memory served, the Mark-Mark Fruit user had to physically touch a person to mark them. Afterward, they could throw weapons—or even massive objects—at the target, no matter where they were. A bizarre ability… but not without flaws.
The downside? You could only mark as many targets as you had hands—just two. Worse still, washing your hands erased the mark. Re-tagging someone required direct contact again. The only workaround: wearing gloves if you didn't want to accidentally tag someone.
In the original timeline, Vander Decken IX hadn't washed his hands for nearly a decade just to keep Princess Shirahoshi marked. Pretty unhygienic… and definitely not the most practical Devil Fruit power compared to something like Bartholomew Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit, which allowed teleportation.
Still, the Mark-Mark Fruit had one undeniable feat: Vander Decken once hurled the massive Ship of Promise, Noah, with it. A ship the size of an island!
Brook mused to himself: "Maybe in the future, when we raid islands around the world, we can get Shiki the Golden Lion to float them into the air—and then use the Mark-Mark Fruit to toss them straight to the New World. Save ourselves some travel time and manpower."
Of course, that raised another question. Would the islands survive being flung like that? Might be worth testing...
"Yes! I shake hands with fans all the time—it helps me build trust with them," Ariel said cheerfully, twirling around with glee. She had no idea that each handshake could have marked her unknowingly.
Brook narrowed his eyes. "Do you remember a creepy fishman with four legs?"
Ariel tilted her head in thought. Brook was referring to Vander Decken IX, a four-legged tiger shark merman. He began to wonder—was the current user of the Mark-Mark Fruit his ancestor? Judging by the timeline, probably Vander Decken VII.
For generations, the Vander Decken bloodline had been obsessed with locating the legendary mermaid princess who could command Sea Kings. Any mermaid with unique abilities immediately drew their attention.
Their crew—the Flying Pirates—still haunted the outskirts of Fishman Island. Their vessel, the Flying Dutchman, was now practically a ghost ship, rotting at sea.
According to Vander Decken IX, their clan was "cursed by the Mark," and had lost the ability to swim like true mermen. Was that an actual curse? Or just dramatic storytelling?
This brought Brook to a deeper question—can Devil Fruit powers be inherited?
Was it possible that the Mark-Mark Fruit always regenerated near the Vander Decken clan after its user died? Could it be... conscious? Selective in choosing its next master?
Brook hypothesized that the Devil Fruit's rebirth in the deep sea—nearly 10,000 meters below the surface—might mimic the natural Devil Fruit recovery mechanism linked to seastone. Immersed in seawater, perhaps the fruit's rebirth was no longer random, but influenced by proximity.
"What if being in the deep sea actually overrides the usual 'random rebirth' and instead resets the fruit nearby?" Brook wondered aloud.
It seemed far-fetched. But in this world, anything was possible. There were always stories of "lucky people" winning lotteries multiple times—same birthmark, same outfit, same everything. Coincidence? Maybe not.
If fate—or perhaps the fruit's will—wanted to stay in one bloodline, then maybe it could. If the Vander Deckens believed they were cursed, then maybe it wasn't a curse at all… but a cycle.
Brook remembered something Onota once said: "The Mark-Mark Fruit can be inherited." Maybe that wasn't just a theory. Maybe it really was being reborn in place again and again. After all, "random" means anything is possible.
Of course, Vander Decken IX could just be exaggerating. Maybe he was the only one in his bloodline who ever ate the fruit.
Still, the concept wasn't unheard of. Princess Vivi once claimed that the two Devil Fruits—the Falcon and the Jackal—had been passed down for generations in Alabasta as guardian powers. Did the Nefertari family find a way to recycle those Devil Fruits? Or did they simply track and buy them back whenever they resurfaced?
One thing was certain: those two Zoan fruits had remained in Alabasta's hands for centuries. Could it be that they, too, had a form of memory? A preference for being reborn where they once served?
Ever since Brook learned that the Sun God Nika Fruit had its own consciousness, he began to believe anything was possible.
Even weapons like Spandam's elephant sword Funkfreed, or the dachshund cannon, or the mythical beast raccoon pen Tanuki proved that Zoan fruits granted objects sentience. Tanuki, for instance, had intelligence and could even talk fluently. Practically indistinguishable from a living being.
And artificial Zoan fruits? Even more terrifying. Users often had to wrestle mentally with the animal's consciousness just to gain control of their own body.
With all that in mind, Brook concluded: some Devil Fruits probably did have the will to choose where they went next. Maybe they wanted to be inherited.
And maybe… just maybe… some families had figured that out long ago.
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