Chapter 553: Volume 4 – Chapter 72: Fish-Man Island on High Alert

"This is so strange. How could so much gold just vanish overnight?"

Roger scratched his head, completely baffled.

"What's there to think about!? Some bastard beat us to it! Damn it!!"

Hearing the talk about "gold," Buggy's ears immediately perked up.

Gold and silver were like blood and flesh to him—utterly irresistible.

The thought of all that glittering treasure being snatched away first made Buggy grind his teeth in fury, his face twisting in anger.

He didn't care about anything else. Buggy had joined Roger's pirate crew for one reason—getting rich!

Conquering the seas, traveling the world, fighting and killing... None of it mattered to him.

All he wanted was gold and treasure!

That, to him, was the true meaning of being a pirate!

It was the whole reason he signed up with Roger in the first place.

What he never expected was that his idiot of a captain had absolutely no interest in gold and treasure.

Roger couldn't even be bothered to loot like a normal pirate.

Since boarding the Oro Jackson, Buggy hadn't had a single good day!

Wherever there was danger, Roger insisted on going.

Whenever they ran into a powerful enemy, he had to fight them.

Their enemies were all over the seas now, and on top of that, they were constantly being chased by that old bastard Garp...

Buggy had pinned all his hopes on finding the legendary City of Gold once they reached Sky Island—

But someone had gotten there first!

"Don't let me find out who stole my gold, or I'll gut them!"

Buggy growled, playing with the throwing knife in his hand.

"Whoever could move all of Shandora in one night couldn't be an ordinary person. What if it was Kaidou?"

Shanks teased, watching Buggy fume.

Buggy's face froze.

Thinking of Kaidou's demonic figure, he shuddered.

"...Forget it."

He muttered dejectedly.

Seeing this, Shanks burst out laughing.

...

While Roger's crew was joking around, the Oro Jackson was gradually approaching the entrance to Fish-Man Island.

"Stop immediately!"

"Attention! Do not approach Fish-Man Island!"

"Otherwise, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

A series of sharp, wary voices rang out.

The crew turned toward the sound and saw a large group of heavily armed fishmen guarding the entrance to Fish-Man Island.

At the same time, they noticed enormous shapes moving through the pitch-black waters surrounding the Oro Jackson.

One after another, the elite warriors of Ryugu Castle, clad in armor and gripping tridents, rode giant sea beasts up from the inky depths, ready for battle.

They were completely surrounded.

Seeing this, Shanks and Buggy immediately drew their weapons, preparing for a fight.

The others tensed as well, eyes scanning the dark waters carefully.

The atmosphere grew heavy and tense.

Fighting the fishmen here, 10,000 meters under the sea, was sheer madness.

If the coating on the ship was damaged during battle, the crushing pressure of the deep sea would flood in—

Even if most of them weren't Devil Fruit users, the terrifying pressure alone would wipe them out.

"The fishmen are really something... They move so fast down here that even with Observation Haki, I almost couldn't sense them..."

Roger looked at the strong army of Ryugu Castle with admiration and couldn't help but feel emotional.

Rayleigh, who was standing next to him, saw Roger's eager look and couldn't help but say,

"Hey, don't be impulsive. We can't start a conflict on Fish-Man Island."

"I know, I know..."

Roger waved his hand impatiently, then turned his head to look at a crew member behind him who was wearing a loose floral shirt and holding a huge trident.

"Sunbell, I need your help."

The crew member named Sunbell replied in a deep voice,

"No problem."

His lips were thick, and he had fish-like fins growing from the top of his head and back.

He had shark-like gills on his neck. He was clearly a fish-man!

Sunbell slowly walked forward and shouted toward the entrance of Fish-Man Island,

"Everyone... I'm Sunbell!"

His voice pierced through the coating and slowly rippled out into the deep sea.

A few seconds later,

"Sunbell!?"

"Sunbell! Is it really you?"

"Hahaha! You're back!"

"It's been so many years, you've grown a lot!"

"..."

Joyful voices rose from the crowd.

They looked at Sunbell standing at the bow of the ship, recognized him, and greeted him excitedly.

Many of the Ryugu Castle guards riding sea monsters also recognized Sunbell, put down their weapons, and swam over enthusiastically.

"You've grown so big, kid..."

"I used to carry you around when you were little..."

"You still wet your pants when you were four years old! Hahahaha!"

The originally tense atmosphere suddenly became harmonious and friendly.

Only Sunbell's rough face turned bright red, causing Roger's crew to burst into laughter.

"What brings the famous Roger Pirates to Fish-Man Island?"

At that moment, a deep, rich voice suddenly rang out.

The soldiers of Ryugu Palace were taken aback, but they quickly made way and knelt respectfully on one knee, saying in a loud voice,

"Your Majesty!"

The man wearing a crown was more muscular than the average fish-man, with thick, fluffy orange hair and a beard, flame-like tattoos on his arms, and thick body hair.

He held a finely carved golden trident in his hand, which, combined with his powerful and strong physique, made him look extremely imposing.

He was Neptune, the king of Ryugu Palace on Fish-Man Island!

"Wahahaha, you are the king of the fishmen? I am Gol D. Roger!"

Roger walked forward with a hearty smile.

"We are here because we have discovered information about the ancient weapon Pose..."

Before he could finish, two hands reached out from behind Roger and covered his mouth tightly.

Rayleigh and Gaban looked anxious, seeing Roger struggling, and grabbed him with their hands and feet, their faces red with anxiety.

However, upon hearing these words, Neptune's expression changed greatly, and his pupils contracted.

He frantically glanced around and found that the soldiers all looked puzzled, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Neptune suppressed his inner uneasiness, put on a smile, and said,

"Distinguished guests, you have come from afar. Please come to Ryugu Castle."

With that, he ordered the soldiers to open the entrance and led Roger's pirate crew into Fish-Man Island.

...

At the same time.

Hundreds of nautical miles away from Fish-Man Island, a small metal submarine was traveling at high speed in the deep sea.

If someone were to observe closely, they would be astonished to discover that the submarine's original engines seemed to have been violently dismantled.

Despite lacking any propulsion system, the small submarine was moving forward at a terrifying speed that no ordinary vessel could match.

It silently sliced through the water pressure in the vast depths, like a black bullet.

...

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