"Bang..."

  At that moment, in the depths of the dark, murky waters of the first half of the Grand Line, a rge ghost ship pulled by a sea beast drifted through the o.

  In the distance, an enting isnd ed in a massive bubble shimmered in vibrant, multicolored hues, hinting at the magnifit Fish-Man Isnd.

  "Is this the ghost ship you were talking about?"

  A group of Fish-Men with varying skin tones and builds swam at incredible speed through the water. Leading them was her thaiger Jien, a cadre of the Fallen Angel Pirates and a fierce tiger-shark Fish-Man.

  "Yes, Jien-sama... I left a Vivre Card on it!" one of the Fish-Men nodded repeatedly.

  "Since he's a Devil Fruit user, this will be simple..."

  Jien’s sharp eyes caught sight of the ghost ship's rge bubble housing its inhabitants. He smirked wickedly.

  "We Fish-Men don’t fear drowning... Let's go! Sea Walking!"

  In an instant, his body moved like a bolt of lightning, shooting toward the ghost ship.

  As he reached it, Jien began to spin rapidly uer, unleashing a devastating kick with his right leg.

  "Carbon Foot: Sea Tiger!"

  "Ssh!"

  The sound of the slig water echoed like a predator’s roar. A massive cutting wave, shaped like a tiger shark's open maw, shot forward with deadly precision.

  "Boom! Boom!"

  With two thunderous impacts, the sea beast pulling the ship lit ly in half, letting out a final wail. The ghost ship itself was sliced apart.

  "Ah!? What's going on?"

  From withiorn bubble came a panicked shout. A disheveled figure filed as water rushed in, filling the bubble.

  "Blub, blub..."

  The sea swallowed the figure, dragging him downward as his body went limp, sinking toward the o floor. His blue-tinted skin, along with fins and scales, revealed him to be a carp Fish-Man.

  "That's him, Jien-sama—Vander De IX!"

  Several Fish-Men s, capturing the weakened man and hauling him to Jien.

  "Wait, why!?" Vander De IX struggled weakly. Although he was a Devil Fruit user, being a Fish-Man spared him from drowning. Looking at Jien and his rades, terror filled his voice. "I've never... offehe Fallen Angel Pirates, have I?"

  "That's a question you'll soon have an ao." Jien chuckled coldly.

  At that moment, a massive sea beast with a lion’s head and a fish’s body swam over. Its enormous mouth opened wide, revealing a person-sized bubble Homie floating out of it. Ihe bubble sat Sebastian, the Sea Giant wielder of the Water-Water Fruit, calmly the se.

  Smiling lightly, he said, "Looks like I won't o step in after all."

  "Don't make it sound like you're strohan me," Jieed with a dry expression. "Even with your Water-Water Fruit, all it does is let you treat nd as if it's the o, giving you a slight edge over me at best!"

  He crossed his arms and added smugly, "And don't fet—my bounty is way higher than yours!"

  Despite being a few years older than Jieian frow the jab. "That's only because I wasn't part of the st battle!" Sebastian argued, his pride stung.

  The two had traiogether at the same Fish-Man Karate Dojo in the past and only became rades after numerous sparring matches. I years, they had developed a fierce rivalry, stantly pushing each other to grow stronger.

  "Fine, let's see how you perform iure." Jien radiated fidence. Among the inal members of DreamHouse, only Moss could outshine him. He hadn't yielded to anyone else. Even without a Devil Fruit ability, Jien believed that his natural Fish-Man advantages ensured he was not inferior to his crewmates.

  "Put Seastone handcuffs on him!" he ordered the other Fish-Men.

  "Yes, sir!"

  In uwo hours, with Barry’s Mirror-Mirror Fruit, Jien aiauro the Mirror World, bringing the young Vander De IX to Atntis.

  "Whoa..."

  In the bubble-den paradise of Atntis, Ryan regurgitated the lifeless corpse of the Fish-Man. Vander De IX's Mark-Mark Fruit was effitly extracted.

  "Hey, El-sama, here it is." A Devil Fruit with a distinctive bullseye-like pattern reseo El.

  "So this is the Mark-Mark Fruit?" Linlin, intrigued, took it and curiously exami.

  "Do you have a suitable didate in mind?" Gerd asked directly.

  "Of course." El smiled.

  Barry aian had freed many sves from Mariejois, including a wide variety of races—among them, many Fish-Men. Most of the Fish-Men had been vinced by Sebastian and Jien to join the Fallen Angel Pirates. Those unwilling were sent back to Fish-Man Isnd.

  "Brihe Fish-Man named Carlos," El instructed Sally.

  "Carlos? The Fish-Man sve Sebastian rescued?" Jien seemed surprised, then realized, "ht, the giant squid Fish-Man! He's quite strong."

  Carlos, a giant squid Fish-Man, was twenty-two years old. Ten years ago, as a boy, he was captured by svers and sold to the Celestial Dragons, being one of their Mariejois gdiators. Thrown into bat against wild beasts and other sves, he had survived through sheer resilience. Among the freed sves, Carlos ranked among the top three stro.

  When asked if he would join the Fallen Angel Pirates, Carlos was the first to agree without hesitation, leaving a strong impression on Jien.

  "El-sama, you called for me?"

  Soon, a t Fish-Mahree meters tall was brought in. With pale blue ski muscur arms, and a body scarred from tless battles—including vicious scars across his face—Carlos exuded ferocity. But his eyes shoh devotion and gratitude as he looked at El, the man who had dared to oppose the Wover, stormed Mariejois, and freed tless sves. To Carlos, El was both a savior and an idol.

  "Carlos, this is the Mark-Mark Fruit. Its ability is crucial for the Fallen Angel Pirates." El held the fruit out to him. "I want to know—are you willing to bee its user?"

  "Anything for you, El-sama. Whatever you need, I'll do it!" Without hesitation, Carlos accepted the fruit and swallowed it whole. He would never fet the humiliation and pain inflicted by the Celestial Dragons—and the man who had rescued him from despair. Being a Devil Fruit user was a small price to pay. As a Fish-Man, losing the ability to swim didn't matter. After all, Sebastian, the one who saved him, was also a Devil Fruit user and a promi cadre of the Fallen Angel Pirates. To Carlos, receiving this power was both an honor and a sign of El's trust.

  "I'm gd you don't mind." El cpped Carlos on the shoulder, satisfied.

  With the Mark-Mark Fruit, the Fallen Angel Pirates now possessed a game-ging on, ohat could strike fear into the Wover.

  Just then, a member of the intelligenit rushed in, visibly anxious.

  "El-sama!"

  "We've received a report—a powerful figure with bck wings has eotto Land's waters!"

  "They cim to want to meet you."

  "It seems... they're also a Lunarian!"

  "What!?"

  Bleam