Morning descended upon Water 7.
A thin veil of mist draped itself over the city's crisscrossing waterways like gauze.
In the distance, the Sea Train let out a long whistle, shattering the quiet stillness of dawn.
At the plaza of Dock One, the air itself shimmered from intense energy fluctuations.
Within the tenfold gravity field precisely controlled by Nami, the entire space had become as dense and oppressive as the deep sea.
Tiny arcs of lightning crackled through the air with sharp sizzling sounds.
Under the constant tempering of thunder, the marble flooring around the platform had been partially vitrified, transformed into a strange glass-like surface under immense heat and pressure.
Ronan stood shirtless at the center.
A dark golden sheen flowed across his body in the morning light.
Every inch of muscle looked like tempered steel forged through countless trials.
He drew in a deep breath.
Thunder-infused internal energy surged through his meridians like roaring rivers, forcefully counteracting the crushing gravity that sought to pulverize his organs.
Beside him, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were also finishing the final stage of their training.
Over the past three days, none of them had relaxed for even a moment.
The battle at Enies Lobby had revealed just how vast the gap was between them and the world's true monsters.
Each of them was pushing themselves to the absolute limit.
"Haa…"
Nami lowered her golden staff.
The suffocating pressure instantly vanished.
"Morning training is over. Take a break, everyone."
She raised her pale wrist and glanced at the Log Pose.
Her eyes immediately lit up.
"It's full! The needle has locked onto the next island!"
Luffy shot over like a black panther, his face overflowing with excitement.
"Really?! Then all we're waiting for now is the Merry! I can't wait to see what Franky turned her into!"
"Yeah."
Nami sighed, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Franky said he was preparing a 'super surprise' and banned everyone from getting near the ship until it was complete."
"With a full billion berries worth of Adam Wood and all kinds of rare materials…"
She smiled.
"The Merry probably can't even be called just a ship anymore."
Nearby, Kokoro sat on the steps, sipping liquor.
She squinted at the Log Pose on Nami's wrist and let out a raspy laugh.
"Kehehehe… Little girl, do you know where a downward-pointing Log Pose will take you?"
Nami studied the needle carefully and frowned.
"It really is angled downward… I've never seen one point like this before."
"Of course."
Kokoro rose to her feet dramatically.
"The next island lies ten thousand meters beneath the sea."
"Your destination is Fish-Man Island!"
The moment those words were spoken, the lively atmosphere froze.
Ronan tightened his grip on his long spear, his gaze turning distant.
"Fish-Man Island…"
In the original timeline, the Straw Hats only reached that place after suffering total defeat and spending two years training.
But now…
His eyes swept over his companions.
They already possessed the strength needed to step into the New World.
"Two years is far too long."
His lips curved into a faint smile.
"We'll seize every moment and conquer the New World ahead of schedule."
"Fish-Man Island…"
Sanji's expression underwent an instant transformation from shock to ecstasy.
His eyes turned into pink hearts as he collapsed onto the ground like melted wax.
"Finally…!"
His voice drifted into dreamy muttering.
"The kingdom of beautiful mermaids… tracing elegant arcs through crystal-blue waters…"
He clasped his hands together in worship.
"If I die there, I'll die without regrets!"
"Sanji, your nosebleed is shooting higher than a fountain."
Chopper stood nearby with his medical bag, staring worriedly at the nearly ascended cook.
Unlike Sanji's unrestrained enthusiasm, Nami's expression was far more complicated.
"Fish-Man Island…"
She repeated softly, her palms damp with sweat.
Luffy's usual carefree grin faded as he walked over to her side.
"Nami…"
His voice was gentle.
"Is it because of what happened in your village?"
Everyone's thoughts drifted to Cocoyasi Village.
To the eight years Nami had spent under Arlong's tyranny.
To the tears and blood of her childhood.
"Arlong may have been a fish-man…"
Zoro crossed his arms and spoke coldly.
"But he was also a pirate."
He opened one eye.
"Race and morality aren't the same thing."
"Damn mosshead!"
Sanji leapt to his feet, though he unexpectedly nodded.
"For once, you're absolutely right."
His expression once again turned dreamy.
"Fish-Man Island is one of the most famous places on the Grand Line."
"The culture, the scenery…"
He spread his arms dramatically.
"Arlong's kind of trash could never represent all of that!"
"Is that true?"
Chopper's eyes sparkled.
"That sounds amazing!"
Just then, Sanji turned and accidentally caught sight of Kokoro laughing with her mouth wide open.
He immediately froze.
The next second, he collapsed to the ground again and pounded the floor.
"No! It was all an illusion!"
He trembled.
"Mermaids aren't supposed to look like that!"
"This must be a nightmare!"
Kokoro nearly hurled her bottle at him.
"Hmph! I was a stunning beauty in my younger days, you brat!"
Robin stood quietly in the shadows, one elegant finger resting against her chin.
"The ocean floor…"
Her eyes shone with scholarly curiosity.
"That's something I'm very interested in."
"Me too…"
Nami placed a hand over her chest, still somewhat uneasy.
"Now that I'm a Devil Fruit user, I know firsthand how dangerous the sea is."
She gave a self-deprecating smile.
"I jumped into the pool the other day before remembering I'd become a hammer."
"For people like us, one mistake at sea means an eternal grave."
"We'll find out when we get there!"
Luffy adjusted his straw hat and stared at the vast ocean stretching toward the horizon.
Kokoro suddenly snorted.
"That's not the real problem, youngsters."
She pulled a stack of newspapers from her clothes and tossed them onto the table.
"Take a look at the headlines. That's the truly frightening part."
Nami caught the papers and scanned the front page.
Her complexion immediately stiffened.
"What is this?"
She read aloud.
"'Fourteen ships have vanished into the fog this month alone'… even heavily armed merchant vessels?"
Her fingers unconsciously rubbed over the blurred coordinates printed beneath the article.
She looked up.
"Where did this happen?"
Kokoro's voice dropped into a grim whisper.
"The Florian Triangle."
She let the name hang in the air.
"It's the sea you must cross to reach Fish-Man Island."
"In that perpetual shroud of fog and darkness…"
Her expression grew solemn.
"Over a hundred ships disappear there every year."
"Some say it's a cursed sea."
She took another swig of liquor.
"The only vessels that sail there are ghost ships, carrying nothing but the dead."
As Kokoro's words settled over the plaza, even the warm morning sunlight seemed to dim.
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