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Chapter 97 Difficulty Entering Fishman Island
Chapter 97 Difficulty Entering Fishman Island
The White Pearl turned on its searchlights, illuminating the darkness and revealing the silhouette of the apex predator.
Only then did everyone realize that it was an incredibly large narwhal.
The narwhal's scales shimmered with an eerie, cold light; each scale was several meters long. If it weren't for the searchlight, its massive size would have blended perfectly into the surrounding darkness, like a ghost.
Its size is even larger than that of the Misty Whale, Big Black.
This is probably why the whale dared to attack Norton's fleet.
Although the rules of the ocean and land are somewhat different, the survival of the fittest is the essence of this world. If this narwhal hadn't been larger than the mist whale, it wouldn't have come close.
In this dark abyss, faced with such a gigantic monster, some cowardly pirates began to tremble once again.
"Damn it, what kind of monster is this?!"
"Admiral, please act quickly!"
"Oh my god! It must be Sanosuke's bad luck!"
The pirates were filled with fear, but at the same time, they had complete faith in their great Admiral Norton.
Upon entering the underwater waterfall, Admiral Norton displayed convincing strength in the face of the legendary sea monster, the Kraken.
With a single punch, the enormous monster was plunged into the abyss.
Now, this narwhal monster is even larger than the Kraken...
Although it seemed even more troublesome than the Kraken, the pirates believed that as long as it was Admiral Norton, he could handle it.
Meanwhile, Fu Ning had already located the previously missing ships using telescopes and the searchlights of nearly 50 ships.
Without exception, they were all destroyed. The bubble wrap burst, the hulls were crushed by the immense pressure of the deep seabed, and the pirates on board fell into the abyss.
"These are several ships that originally belonged to the Krieg Pirates." Nami identified the ships' ownership.
"It seems those people are beyond saving," Norton said with a hint of regret.
In such a deep-sea environment, even he could not save so many people at the same time, because of the water pressure. If they were separated from the bubble membrane, normal people would simply explode and die.
He might be able to survive in this environment, even move freely, thanks to his physical strength, but being able to move freely and being able to save so many people are two completely different things.
Moreover, even with the number of ships in the Norton Pirates, there wasn't enough room for so many people in distress.
The only result of a bubble membrane bursting is death.
At this moment, several fishmen came over and suggested, "Sir, perhaps we can save some people. Please let us try."
Unlike humans, fish-men are naturally adapted to the deep-sea environment, where immense water pressure is absorbed by their skin. This allows them to move normally even under such high pressure, which is likely the advantage fish-men have over humans.
These slaves were the fish-men among the slaves Norton rescued in the Sabaody Archipelago.
Normally, these fish-men would never help humans.
But the ones in trouble now were their saviors, which is why they said such things. Norton, of course, wouldn't refuse, and with the thought of saving as many as he could, he watched as the fish-men emerged from their bubble membranes.
They swam toward the pirates who had fallen into the deep sea but whose bodies were still strong enough not to be crushed by the water pressure.
At the same time, the enormous narwhal monster swam slowly towards them once again.
Those pupils, larger than the ships themselves, slowly moved and fixed their gaze on even more vessels.
"What an arrogant guy..."
'
Norton took a deep breath and jumped out of the bubble wrap.
While he couldn't save all his men who had fallen into the water, Norton could still avenge them.
After all, destruction is what he's best at.
What's that saying again? Destruction is much easier than construction.
Ignoring the surrounding darkness and the icy seawater pressing in like death itself, Norton warmed up briefly and threw a punch.
The terrifying power caused a dragon-like gust of air to rise the moment the punch was thrown.
In the darkness, the deep, cold seawater was stirred up by the air current, transforming into a terrifying deep-sea whirlpool. The silent world was suddenly filled with a terrifying explosion, and the surrounding fish fled in panic.
When everything calmed down, the shattered corpse of the narwhal monster fell heavily into the darkness.
The slightly larger fish nearby pounced on the pieces of the corpses indiscriminately.
Norton's fleet, meanwhile, left the area after the fishmen rescued the few remaining pirates they could save.
However, the danger was far from over. Perhaps it was that Sanosuke's bad luck had truly struck again, or perhaps the White Pearl was facing another test. Shortly after Norton's fleet left the area, an underwater volcano erupted with a deafening roar. Thick volcanic ash instantly filled the field of vision, and countless rocks and lava spewed out, forming a crimson sea.
Fortunately, Nami was there. Her expertise as a top-notch navigator prevented the fleet from suffering heavy losses.
Even so, when Norton's fleet successfully reached the bottom of the abyss 1 meters below the sea, only about 50 ships remained.
"I've taken stock, King. We've lost 6 ships, leaving us with 54. The pirate crew still has about 5500 people left."
After a short rest, Clod obtained specific information about each ship through the Den Den Mushi devices installed on each ship and reported it to Admiral Norton.
As a housekeeper or advisor, Clooney always appeared very professional and competent.
The sailors' hushed discussions could still be faintly heard on deck.
"This is probably another trouble caused by that guy Sanosuke..."
"7
"The White Pearl's fate has been so fraught with misfortune. Fortunately, the Admiral is invincible; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"
Ignoring the whispers of the lower-ranking pirates, Norton looked up and saw the sunlight streaming in.
"It's incredible that sunlight can shine in such a deep sea!"
It wasn't just weak sunlight; the brilliance of the sunlight was almost indistinguishable from what one would see on land.
The surrounding darkness was suddenly illuminated, and a beautiful underwater scene was presented to the Norton Pirates.
Aside from the enormous tree roots that reach to the sky like stone pillars, there are schools of fish of all sizes and colors, as well as various algae and sea monsters on the seabed...
The most eye-catching feature is undoubtedly the coral island floating on the seabed, enveloped by a giant bubble membrane.
Fishman Island.
When the island was reflected in everyone's eyes, the pirates also broke free from their fear, as if they had forgotten the horror they had just experienced.
For these pirates who have never set foot in the latter half of the Grand Line, Fishman Island is nothing but a legend.
But now everyone knows for sure that the legendary Fishman Island is real!
Just as Norton and his officers were discussing how to enter the legendary Fishman Island, several tall fishmen riding on sea monsters approached from the front of the fleet.
"Who are those people?" Norton asked.
"They look like the guards of Fishman Island..." Nami whispered.
"Hey, does anyone know them?" Zoro asked the fishmen on the ship.
"Uh, Admiral Norton, those should be from the Sea King's army," the fish-men replied after a moment's thought.
"Are you here to welcome us in?" Norton chuckled.
"How could that be, you idiot? Look at their serious expressions, they don't look like they'd welcome guests!" Nami rolled her eyes at Norton, annoyed.
"So, are they here to cause trouble?"
"Very likely!" Nami nodded firmly.
"Forget it, whatever they're here for, there's no need to care. If it's a fight, then let's fight," Norton said.
.
Although he had promised Rayleigh not to cause trouble, Norton would not stand idly by if trouble came knocking on his door.
"Admiral Norton, I suspect these Sea Kings are just here to inquire about the situation. After all, almost every few days, ships from the first half of the Grand Line arrive at Fish-Man Island..."
'
As they spoke, the Neptune Army soldiers approached.
A few minutes later, one of the pirate ships at the front relayed the purpose of the Sea King's crew to Norton.
"Those Neptune soldiers came to stop us from crossing the border. They said our numbers were too large."
More than 50 pirate ships—such a force would indeed plunge any island into panic. A number of pirates like that would be a disaster anywhere.
Most people in this world have a very bad impression of pirates, especially the residents of Fishman Island.
For hundreds of years, Fishman Island has been discriminated against by various races, among which humans are undoubtedly the most discriminatory towards fishmen and mermaids.
During the long period when humans discriminated against fish-people the most, they were even treated as fish rather than human.
Among humans, the most wicked are undoubtedly pirates.
It's understandable that the Neptune Army wouldn't let Norton's fleet pass.
"What do you mean, King? Are we going to force our way in?" Kro pushed up his glasses.
Norton shook his head: "There's no need for that. If the other party is willing to negotiate, then let's negotiate first."
"Relay my message to those Sea King soldiers: I will keep my men in check and prevent them from causing trouble on Fishman Island. I am making this guarantee in my own name, so they can rest assured."
Upon hearing this, Kro nodded and relayed Norton's words to the pirate ships at the front. After receiving Norton's instructions, the pirates put aside their hostility and chose to negotiate peacefully with several Sea Kings.
However, the result was not good.
"King, they still refuse to let us go. In their own words, pirates are not trustworthy."
"That would be a bit troublesome."
Norton could probably understand some of the Sea King's thoughts. If they were just ordinary pirates, letting them in wouldn't be a problem. The problem was that the Norton Pirates were not ordinary pirates, but a terrifying pirate crew whose reputation was on par with the Four Emperors.
If it were just a terrifying reputation, that would be one thing, but the sheer number of people involved is terrifying as well.
Recklessly placing such a large and terrifying pirate crew on Fishman Island is undoubtedly like opening your door to terrorists.
In these kinds of situations, it's better to be safe than sorry.
"Tell those Sea Kings that we will not stay on Fishman Island for long. After we resupply, we will head to the New World."
"If you're still not at ease, you can have the King of Fishman Island come out and negotiate with me personally."
"If they still disagree, we can use appropriate force to deter them and tell them that if I want to force my way in, even if they try to stop me, there will only be one outcome: failure."
After changing their negotiation tactics, several of the Sea King's soldiers from Fishman Island finally showed a slight hint of cowardice.
After exchanging bewildered glances and realizing they couldn't make such a crucial decision themselves, the news finally reached the King of Fishman Island after being reported through various levels of government.
Soon after, a small squad of the Sea King's army, riding sea monsters, swam out from Fishman Island, bypassed the leading pirate ships, and came directly in front of the White Pearl.
"Your Excellency, we have no intention of offending you, but for the safety of Fishman Island, we cannot allow all pirate ships to pass."
"As our king wishes, you may send several ships into our islands to make purchases."
"Furthermore, if you wish to start a war, we will immediately notify the Whitebeard Pirates."
The title of the world's strongest man is enough to protect the peace of Fishman Island in most cases.
This is also why Fishman Island, despite being a necessary stop on the way to the New World, has been able to maintain a semblance of peace.
Even the most arrogant pirates, upon learning that Fishman Island is under Whitebeard's protection, will begin to consider their own limitations.
Unfortunately, Norton is not among them.
"Never mind, this is too much trouble. Take me to see your king."
The atmosphere became tense after Norton said those words.
"Please abandon such thoughts. We would never allow such a dangerous person as you to come to our king's side."
""
From any perspective, Norton is an extremely dangerous individual, as evidenced by the high bounty placed on him by the World Government, not to mention his various titles.
Killing the king...
How could the king of Fishman Island not be wary of a pirate who had killed a king?
Rumors about Norton's fondness for killing kings and nobles have never ceased to circulate on the high seas.
"Let me persuade them..."
At that moment, Steel Hand suddenly stepped forward.
"I once stayed on Fishman Island for a period of time and met the King of Fishman Island."
As a veteran of the high seas, Steel Hand has a wealth of experience in all aspects.
After Steel Hand personally negotiated with the Aquaman army, they finally agreed to let Steel Hand enter the Dragon Palace alone.
The fleet remained outside Fishman Island, waiting. During this time, several officers, including Zoro, who were passionate about battle, suddenly proposed a sparring match with the Sea Kings who had stayed behind to monitor the fleet.
"A friendly spar?"
"That's right, I haven't fought a proper murloc yet! Although wearing bubble wrap is inconvenient, I don't want to miss this rare opportunity!"
Norton was frustrated by this, but also found it somewhat amusing, so he agreed.
"Be careful not to make a scene. We need to remain polite until Steel Hand brings back good news."