At the port of Fish-Man Island, Teach and the members of the Nightfall Pirates disembarked after securing their pirate ships.
The crew looked around curiously.
Pearls, coral, rare shells, and all kinds of precious treasures were casually placed as decorations by the fish-men. The phrase jewel-encrusted barely described what lay before their eyes.
Then Nightfall noticed the enormous tree rising in the direction of the royal palace.
The Sunlight Tree Eve.
Its massive roots stretched down into Fish-Man Island, bringing both sunlight and fresh air into the deep sea. Without it, life on the island would be impossible.
For the residents of Fish-Man Island, the Sunlight Tree Eve was like a mother.
Fish-Man Island itself lay directly beneath Mary Geoise, ten thousand meters under the sea. It served as the gateway to the New World and was the birthplace of most fish-men and merfolk.
Because of its beauty, it was often called the "Underwater Paradise."
The island's population consisted mainly of merfolk and fish-men. One of the three Ancient Weapons, Poseidon, was said to be a mermaid princess born once every few centuries.
The gigantic ark known as Noah also slept here.
After the Great Pirate Era began, however, endless waves of pirates flooded the seas. That beautiful island was quickly filled with wounds and suffering.
Fish-men and merfolk prayed helplessly for salvation.
Then one man appeared.
Edward Newgate.
Whitebeard defeated the pirates who threatened the island and declared Fish-Man Island to be his territory.
From that day onward, peace returned.
Across many parts of Fish-Man Island, the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates could be seen proudly raised.
At the port, Teach immediately noticed the familiar flag. It had been several years since he last saw it.
Under Whitebeard's reputation, passing pirates did not dare cause open trouble. They knew that anyone reckless would eventually face consequences in the New World.
Still, their dark thoughts never disappeared.
Besides slave traders, many pirates were tempted by the island's vast treasure.
Centuries of accumulation had produced mountains of gold and jewels.
The treasure of the underwater royal family.
Countless treasure ships carrying gold and silver had sunk to the bottom of the sea, their riches claimed freely by the residents of Fish-Man Island.
Ironically, the fish-men themselves did not value those treasures very much. Gold and silver had little meaning to them.
All they truly wanted was peace.
Before receiving Whitebeard's protection, the island had often paid pirates for safety. Much of its wealth was looted during those years.
The king of Fish-Man Island might have been an excellent ruler during peaceful times. The deep affection the island's people held for him proved that.
But this was not a peaceful era.
Unable to strengthen the island or resist outside forces, he could only rely on powerful allies to maintain stability.
In this chaotic world, that made him seem weak.
At that moment, Teach and his crew looked ahead.
A squad of Fish-Man Island guards approached from the distance. Riding at the front was a massive figure.
Teach immediately recognized him.
The king of Fish-Man Island.
Neptune.
The giant merfolk rode a whale toward the port. His enormous body radiated strength. Even so, Teach could easily judge his power.
Roughly at the level of a Marine Vice Admiral.
Impressive by ordinary standards.
Insignificant in Teach's eyes.
Neptune dismounted from the whale and respectfully cupped his hands.
"Welcome, Dark Emperor, leader of the Nightfall Pirates. I am Neptune, King of Fish-Man Island. How may I assist you?"
Teach glanced at the towering merfolk king before casually sweeping his gaze across the group.
His eyes paused briefly.
A familiar figure stood among the guards.
Jinbe.
The future Warlord of the Sea, known as the Knight of the Sea.
At this time, he appeared to be serving as the captain of the Fish-Man Island guard squad.
Teach's gaze returned to Neptune as if nothing had happened.
"ZeHaha. Don't worry. We're just passing through Fish-Man Island on our way to the New World. We don't plan to stay long."
The smile on his face immediately eased Neptune's tension.
Not only Neptune, but all the fish-men present had been extremely nervous. The leading officers of the Nightfall Pirates alone were terrifying.
If the crew attacked the island, Fish-Man Island would have no ability to resist.
Hearing Teach's words allowed Neptune to breathe again.
"In that case, please accept our hospitality at Ryugu Palace tonight. A feast has already been prepared."
Neptune genuinely wished to maintain friendly relations with powerful figures.
At the very least, he hoped not to make enemies.
If a deeper relationship could be formed, it would only benefit Fish-Man Island.
Teach smiled.
"Let's do that tonight. For now, we'd like to explore Fish-Man Island."
The unique scenery of the island was worth seeing.
But Teach himself had other interests.
His gaze drifted subtly toward a woman standing beside Neptune.
Otohime.
The future mother of the Mermaid Princess who would inherit the power of Poseidon.
It was hard to imagine how such a slender mermaid could give birth to children with a gigantic fish-man like Neptune.
Otohime stood quietly beside her husband, her golden hair flowing in gentle waves. Blue eyes reflected a calm kindness. She wore a long robe decorated with fish-scale patterns and an orange hair ornament.
Teach paid special attention to her.
Otohime possessed a rare natural awakening of Observation Haki.
Just like Redyat.
However, her ability differed.
Instead of reading memories, Otohime could sense the emotions and thoughts of others. She could even project her own feelings into their minds, creating deep empathy.
At its highest level, that ability could influence a person's values and beliefs.
This kind of Observation Haki could not be trained.
Like Conqueror's Haki, it was innate.
And perhaps even rarer.
In Teach's eyes, it was an extremely dangerous ability.
Even the Celestial Dragons could be influenced by such power, potentially becoming loyal supporters of her ideals.
If the Revolutionary Army possessed someone like her, their growth would be explosive.
Redyat also noticed Teach's gaze and glanced toward Otohime.
His eyes flickered slightly.
Because she was unguarded, he could sense fragments of her thoughts.
A natural Observation Haki user like himself.
Different abilities.
Highly practical.
More importantly, he could clearly feel her sincerity and kindness.
A heart that pure was extremely rare.
Otohime looked back at Teach and Redyat.
To her surprise, she heard nothing from their minds.
Normally she could easily sense people's thoughts.
But the moment she attempted to look deeper, both Teach and Redyat instantly sealed their minds.
Her ability could not penetrate their defenses.
Unlike them, Otohime was not a combatant. She had no way to force her way through.
Fortunately, she withdrew immediately after realizing she had been discovered.
Continuing would only create hostility.
Teach shifted his gaze away.
"You have a fortune teller on this island, don't you?" he asked calmly. "Where is she? I'd like to ask her a few questions."
His tone was calm but carried undeniable authority.
Neptune and Otohime both changed expressions.
They had not expected Teach to know about her.
The only person he could mean was the fortune teller known as Shyarly.
Her ability was extremely important to Fish-Man Island. She had predicted many disasters and helped the island avoid them.
But faced with Teach, refusal was impossible.
"Very well," Neptune said slowly. "I will have someone take you to her. But please… she is still a child. I hope you will not make things difficult for her."
Teach chuckled softly.
"Relax, Neptune. I only want to ask a few questions."
Even so, Neptune remained uneasy.
Shyarly lived in the merfolk residential district. Because of her fortune-telling abilities, she was widely respected on the island.
Her predictions had helped countless people.
Teach was curious about this mysterious girl.
Her prophecies were said to be completely accurate.
She had predicted the beginning of the Great Pirate Era.
She had foreseen the birth of the Mermaid Princess.
She had even predicted Whitebeard's death.
It sounded unbelievable, yet her visions always came true.
Several members of the Nightfall Pirates were curious as well.
Especially Baccarat.
Her own Lucky-Lucky Fruit could influence probability.
But Shyarly's power was different.
It was true prophecy.
While the crew discussed the matter, Teach focused on something else.
Where was the missing Poneglyph?
Through Observation Haki, he had already scanned the entire island.
Two Poneglyphs once existed on Fish-Man Island.
One contained the message known as Joy Boy's apology.
The other was the red Road Poneglyph.
But now only the apology Poneglyph remained.
The Road Poneglyph had already been taken by someone.
Soon they arrived at Shyarly's residence.
A small girl wearing a dark blue robe bowed respectfully to Neptune.
"Your Majesty, what can I do for you?"
Despite her young age, she carried herself with remarkable calmness.
Neptune spoke gently.
"Little Shyarly, this gentleman has some questions for you. I hope you can help him."
The moment Shyarly looked at Teach, she recognized him.
Even though she was still a child, she followed events in the outside world closely through newspapers and video Den Den Mushi.
Teach spoke calmly.
"You're Shyarly?"
Their eyes met.
Suddenly her pupils shrank.
In her mind, a terrifying scene appeared.
A world of endless darkness.
Mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.
At the center stood a man looking down upon the entire world with cold indifference.
Around him stood powerful figures, clearly his subordinates.
Yet beneath them, countless people cheered.
This strange contradiction stunned Shyarly.
Many had died because of them.
Yet many others worshipped them.
She had seen similar visions before.
Gol D. Roger.
And Whitebeard.
Each time she saw such scenes, it represented their future.
All powerful figures walked paths filled with blood.
Roger's future contained both admiration and hatred because he had started the Great Pirate Era.
Whitebeard's vision carried deep reverence from those who followed him.
But Shyarly was still just a child.
Each prophecy left a heavy shadow in her heart.
After a long moment she finally regained her composure.
"Yes."
Her voice trembled slightly.
Teach watched her curiously.
"What did you see?"
Shyarly hesitated but eventually told him everything she had seen and how she interpreted it.
Her instincts told her not to hide the truth.
The man before her felt far too dangerous.
His mere presence placed tremendous pressure on her mind.
"It looked like…"
She paused nervously.
"Like what?" Teach asked with a grin.
"…like an emperor."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
The atmosphere instantly froze.
Neptune, Otohime, and Jinbe all stiffened.
They knew Shyarly's predictions were always accurate.
And the word emperor carried a special meaning in this era.
Although many people already believed it was only a matter of time before Teach reached that position.
Had they just heard a secret they should never know?
Would they be silenced?
The Nightfall Pirates did not even glance at them.
All the senior officers had heard the words clearly.
For a moment, silence lingered.
Then Teach burst into laughter.
"ZeHahahahaha!"
His crew quickly followed.
"Ah, so this is fate!" Van Augur laughed loudly.
"It seems destiny has already been decided." Laffitte smiled strangely.
"The throne is waiting for us," said Shiryu while licking his lips. "Let's kill anyone who dares stand in our way."
His voice carried pure excitement.