"So that's how it is? Fascinating…" Roger's eyes gleamed as if he'd uncovered some great truth—or a new toy. He stared at King Neptune, gaze drifting again and again to the king's massive tail.
"Do you ovulate? Or lay eggs?"
Pfft!
Beside him, Sunbell sprayed liquor, his broad face flushing scarlet.
Neptune's lips twitched. His grip tightened on the golden trident; veins stood out on his brow as his chest rose and fell.
"But that doesn't add up…" Roger went on, as if remembering something. "You're a man. You shouldn't lay eggs. Unless males can give birth—mmph!"
Seeing their idiot captain winding up his "research" while Neptune's face darkened by the second, Rayleigh and Gaban clamped hands over Roger's mouth, sweat pricking their temples.
"Er—Roger has a terminal illness. He isn't quite himself…"
"Yes, yes, please don't mind him…"
They bowed low, sincere and apologetic.
Neptune sighed. "I never imagined the legendary Gol D. Roger…" He gave Roger a strange look. "…would be so… peculiar." Shaking his head, he went on, "Shyarly's vision must mean my future wife and I will have the Mermaid Princess. I've actually seen similar prophecies in the royal archives."
His expression sobered. Clutching the trident, he lifted his chin, emotion knotting his features. "Every few centuries a Mermaid Princess is born. She bears a terrifying, godlike power and is destined to become Poseidon—the Sea King who will destroy the world." He hesitated. "I always dismissed it as myth. Now… perhaps not."
"You don't seem thrilled," Rayleigh observed quietly. He'd felt the weight behind Neptune's words.
The others were puzzled too. A Mermaid Princess with the Sea Kings' power, born on Fish-Man Island and destined to be Neptune's daughter—wasn't that cause for celebration?
Why did the king still look so burdened?
"For me, it's wonderful," Neptune said at last, worry clouding his eyes. "For Fish-Man Island—for our whole race—it's a disaster."
"My daughter would hold the power of an Ancient Weapon. Imagine the chaos if that truth leaked. No one resists such power, least of all the ambitious fools of the sea. They'd claw to seize the Mermaid Princess, even if it meant destroying Fish-Man Island and wiping us out."
"This is annihilation."
Silence fell over the hall. Neptune's stark picture left no room to breathe.
Pirates, schemers, even Marines and the World Government would come from every corner, breach the island, crush this underwater paradise, and slaughter everything that lived—just to claim Poseidon.
Golden Lion Shiki was proof enough. Desperate to wring secrets of the Ancient Weapons from Roger, he had mustered dozens of ships into a Flying Fleet and started the Edd War. If that madman still lived and learned of Poseidon, he'd raze Fish-Man Island to the seafloor.
The Roger Pirates said nothing.
Rayleigh stepped forward. "Your Majesty, rest assured," he said, face set. "We'll guard this secret with our lives. No one else will learn it."
The others echoed the vow.
Some of the strain bled from Neptune's brow. He knew the Roger Pirates' reputation—they weren't the treacherous sort who'd sell the sea for power. They had their own code. With Sunbell's word besides, he chose to trust them—and to welcome them as guests.
Of course, if they'd refused, the Roger Pirates might simply have blasted through the gate.
"Hahahaha! Exactly! Leave your secrets to me! Everyone knows I'm the best at keeping them!"
Roger threw his hand up, voice booming with enthusiasm.
Neptune: …
The crew: …
"So, bluntly, your daughter will be a weapon of world destruction?" Roger asked, blithely ignoring their faces.
Neptune paused, then said, "It depends on how that power is used."
Roger nodded, then tipped his head at Shyarly. "Little fish-girl, when does your prophecy say the Mermaid Princess will be born?"
"Ten years," Shyarly answered softly, unruffled.
Roger scratched his head and laughed. "Then we're a bit early!" There was no regret in it—only acceptance.
Shyarly studied him, expression shifting. "May I see your future?" she asked suddenly.
Roger blinked, then waved it off with a chuckle. "Go ahead."
"Do you believe in prophecies?" she asked.
"Not really," he said. "But there's no harm in looking. Either way, it won't change my course."
Shyarly nodded. Brief as it had been, their meeting had left her without doubt: this man's resolve was unlike anything she'd known. He'd pursue his dream even at the cost of his life.
Intrigued by the pirate with the ridiculous nose hairs, she drew a crystal ball close, settled on a coral outcrop, and placed her hands on the smooth sphere. Closing her eyes, she began to chant.
The hall hushed around her, curiosity etched on every face. After a time, the crystal bloomed with shifting colors and hazy images that refused to come into focus.
"Your future is destined for greatness," Shyarly murmured, eyes still shut. "You will achieve your dream, but soon after… you will die at the hands of the Marines."
Gasps broke across the hall.
"Impossible!"
"How?"
Captain Roger was the strongest. Even Garp—"the Strongest Marine"—couldn't lay hands on him. How could he die to Marines?
Only Roger seemed calm, a complicated light kindling deep in his eyes.
"Your fame will echo through the ages," Shyarly went on. "You will usher in a new era. You will—wait!"
Her face tightened, calm shattering into alarm.
An ominous dark red tide surged up from within the crystal, swallowing the sphere whole.
Crack.
A jagged fissure split the glass.
Shyarly's eyes flew open—usually cold, now naked with shock. "The future… changed?!"
The words had barely left her when—
BOOM!!
A deafening blast rolled in from the horizon. The world seemed to lurch.
Neptune's pupils pinched to points; color drained from his face.
That came from the island's gate.
The prophecy—coming true?
The gate of Fish-Man Island—breached!
A strange red gleam flashed in the eyes of Roger and his crew; their expressions shifted, taut.
A heavy, almost demonic aura had invaded Fish-Man Island.
"Huh? Oden?!" Rayleigh blurted.
Behind them, a one-armed figure in kimono had already launched. Murderous intent roared off him; his robes whipped in the gale of it. Teeth clenched, eyes reddening, he hurled himself forward like a fired shot.
Kozuki Oden drove his feet into the floor with a thunderclap and blasted through the air.
"That damn Marine!"
To be continued...