"Good, good." When Artoria saw Rin's serious expression, she didn't dare waste a second. She immediately obeyed Rin's command and escorted Princess Shirahoshi back to Ryugu Palace without hesitation.
Then, without warning, the ground of Fishman Island began to rumble violently. The shaking grew stronger, puzzling both the residents and the pirates present. Some wondered was this the aftermath of the earlier bomb, or something far worse?
Reacting instantly, Rin activated his shadow clone and sent out mental signals to summon Casa and Enel, who were stationed to the north and south of Coral Hill.
"Ahem… ahem." Rin's first shadow clone slowly stood up, bruised and covered in soot, dozens of meters from the wreckage of the podium. In his arms lay Princess Otohime. At the precise moment of the explosion, the clone had reacted instantly, wrapping Otohime in his arms and using "Soru," one of the Navy's Six Powers techniques, to flash-step away from the blast radius. Though the concussive wave knocked them back and left Otohime unconscious, the two had avoided certain death.
"That was close... almost got blown to bits," the shadow clone muttered. If Rin hadn't sensed the danger and given the command through their psychic link, both he and Otohime might've shared the fate of those near the platform.
"Rin, Princess Otohime and I are both safe. I used Soru to relocate about fifty meters away. She's unconscious, but not critically injured," the clone transmitted to Rin's mind as he gently lifted Otohime and began returning to the others.
"Captain, what was that explosion all about?" Casa arrived breathless, his eyes still wide with panic.
"Yeah, I got completely blindsided," Enel added, eyes narrowing.
"It was a setupnjust a minor incident compared to what's coming," Rin said, staring at the ground, now trembling beneath their feet. "Stay alert. We're likely facing a serious threat. Be ready to fight at a moment's notice!"
Then, turning to Enel, Rin handed him a sleek bottle filled with a luminous blue liquid from his storage ring. "Enel, drink this. Now."
Enel raised an eyebrow. "What is this stuff?" He eyed the bottle curiously. Its glow felt... unnatural.
"It's a Devil Fruit Weakness Elimination Elixir," Rin explained without pause. "Once you drink it, seawater and seastone won't affect your powers anymore."
"Wait—what?" Enel blinked. "That exists?" He was stunned. The idea that a Devil Fruit user could negate their one true weakness was almost mythical. "You always come up with the most insane stuff, Captain."
Still, Enel didn't hesitate. He popped the cork and downed the elixir in one gulp. He trusted Rin—partially because Rin had no reason to harm someone as valuable as him, and partially because Rin always seemed two steps ahead of everyone else.
"Huh...?" Enel's eyes widened. A sensation washed over him like heavy chains falling off his limbs. His muscles relaxed in a way he hadn't known was possible since consuming the Goro Goro no Mi. "I feel… unshackled."
"They're coming." Rin turned sharply. In the distance, shadows loomednvague, massive shapes trudging slowly but relentlessly toward them. Colossal silhouettesbindistinct but threatening advanced across the sea floor, causing tremors with each movement.
The earth beneath Fishman Island quaked more violently as these unknown entities drew closer.
"What the hell is that?" Enel asked, breaking his moment of awe. The tremors yanked him back to reality. The approaching figures stirred a deep instinctual fear.
Ryugu Castle
"Princess Shirahoshi, stay inside the palace. I'm going back to help Rin." Artoria gently pushed the princess toward her chamber. She remembered Rin's urgency whatever was coming must be catastrophic.
"Sister Artoria... when I was crying earlier, I heard something," Shirahoshi said tearfully. "Something far away in the ocean... it was calling back to me. It felt like it could hear my sadness..."
"You must've imagined it," Artoria said, trying to stay calm. "Probably just an auditory hallucination caused by grief." She paused. "There was something something monstrous in the square. But that's why you have to stay safe in the castle. Don't come out understand?"
"But Sister Artoria... my mother..." Shirahoshi's voice cracked again. She broke into sobs.
"Princess Shirahoshi, listen to me." Artoria took her hand. "I couldn't protect your mother but I will avenge her. I swear it. Stay here. Wait for me."
Artoria gently tapped Shirahoshi's leg and turned away, bolting out of the palace, back toward the chaos of Coral Hill.
"...Sister Artoria," Shirahoshi whispered, watching her vanish down the corridor. Even though Artoria looked so small from her height, in her heart, Artoria now felt larger than life.
"Shirahoshi! Where have you been running off to again!?" King Neptune's voice boomed through the hall. He rushed forward, relief flooding his face as he finally saw his daughter again.
Earlier, a maid delivering food to Shirahoshi had found something odd. She climbed onto Shirahoshi's enormous bed, only to discover that the shape beneath the quilt was not the princess but a pile of plush toys. Panic erupted. The staff had turned the entire room upside down searching, but Shirahoshi was nowhere to be found.
The discovery was immediately reported to King Neptune, who ordered a full-scale search across Ryugu Palace. But no one had seen the princess leave until a few panicked maids admitted they'd overheard her sneaking out.
Just as Neptune prepared to leave the palace in desperation, Artoria returned, gently guiding Shirahoshi back inside.
The king exhaled in deep relief. His daughter was safe. For now.
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