Volume 3 Chapter 7
"King Neptune, there is no need for all that trouble. My men will handle this problem. Can you please tell us about the legends you mentioned?" Ezra asked
"Actually it also involves you." King Neptune replied looking straight at Ezra. "700 years ago a fish-man named Vander Decken led a bunch of outcast Fish-men, similar to how Fisher leads the Sun Guard. Vander Decken was fortunate in finding a grand ship that was sunk at the bottom of the sea, with the help of the others they fix the ship and became pirates on the Flying Dutchman. Vander Decken fell in love with the Mermaid Princess of that time, this love was a one-sided type of obsession. Angered by a rejection, Vader Decken went mad, killing everyone on his ship, this action angered The Ruler of the seas. A curse was placed on the Flying Dutchmen, a curse that forces the ship to continually roam the ocean floor without end."
"It cannot be docked?" Ezra asked "how powerful was Uranus" He thought to himself
"Yes, the Flying Dutchman cannot be docked, I believe this Vander Decken IX is a relative of the one from 700 years ago. Before Vander Decken died, he made a vow; "even if I die, my descendants will still carry this fire of love to marry the mermaid princess". Shirahoshi is the only mermaid princess born since that time, no wonder the Decken's are back."
"Don't worry about summoning the Guards, leave it to us. I want to use this as an opportunity to test the result of their training." Ezra said looking at his team. "King Neptune, Queen Otohime. I will be taking my leave. I will be back when we have apprehended the culprit"
"Let's Go," Ezra said to his Lieutenants
"Yes Sir" they replied
*
Outside the palace.
"I don't know all the details of your training in these 6 months. I must say you all have not disappointed me, I can feel the increase in your Doriki levels, you all have improved. Has anyone touched on Haki" Ezra asked
All the Lieutenants nodded, they all had some level of mastery at Using Haki the two types of Haki; Observation Haki and Armament Haki.
"You all, Wow, Iron Soldier, you too? I'm regretting not giving you "wrecking ball'' as your codename haha. I am happy, with this you all will be able to stand your own ground when we return to the surface. Remember this is just the beginning, others might relax during their training but you 18 cant, relay the message to Law as well." Ezra said he was still a bit emotional.
"Yes Sir"
"Brains, do you have any thoughts on this situation. It's time to put an end to this nonsense." Ezra asked.
"Sir, I think we just need to find them, block their exits. Iron Soldier should be perfect for capturing Vander Decken." Ezra listened to the plans.
"From the image you showed me earlier it seems, Vander Decken is also a Devil Fruit User. His power allows him to mark a target, in some type of "Lock-on" mode, any object he throws will be sent flying in the direction of the target, at the moment it is roses, if he also becomes deranged, roses can easily be traded for sharp weapons" Ezra added.
"Ok, Brains you handle the planning, Bomber you will be in charge of coordinating this mission. Iron Soldier you will face off Captain Vander Decken." Ezra's announcement signified the start of the mission.
Very quickly troops of marines were gathered outside Atlantis.
"Everyone listen up! We are Atlanteans, we bring peace to the seas! Right now there is a storm coming to Fish-man Island. It must be fate that brought us here, to calm this storm. Commander Brains has found the location of the criminal we are after, each team will be led by a Lieutenant commander, you are to surround the location. Once an Atlantean, Forever an Atlantean." Bomber yelled out
"Once an Atlantean, Forever an Atlantean" 400 officers yelled back in response.
Ezra was shocked, he didn't know when this saying had become the new chant of the crew. This also made him remember his No. 2 officer who lost his life in the West Blue. He was the one who started this chant before Ezra went on his Elite training at HQ. 'Rest well' Ezra thought.
"Move out"
"Yes Sir"
It was an odd sight on Fish-man island. The beautiful coral streets were empty and all the rock and shell houses had their doors shut. Instead, it was groups of armed marines running about.
"Omoi Omoi no Mi (Mind Mind Fruit): Broadcast"
"Leaders stop your troops, My power is still not fully developed. I can only speak to you Lieutenants and not your officers. Proceed with stealth, we do not want to alert the target. Iron Soldier is already on the move."
"Bahohohoho Bahohohoho 6 months of wandering around the ocean looking for an entrance. We are finally here! SHIRAHOSHI your darling is here!" a romantic Japanese bullhead shark fish-man with a rose in his mouth spoke as he stepped out of a resin bubble. He was a tall, beige-coloured skin, slim build and lanky limbs individual with four legs. He had a short scraggly goatee, a long, wavy moustache with spiky edges, similarly, his hair was long, wavy and spiky. His teeth were sharp, his nose was thin and pointy, he also had a prominent hunch that put his head on an equal level with his shoulders. He was wearing three golden bands on each of his ankles, and two pairs of sandals for his four legs. Green overalls reach just below his knees, with ruffled edges and decorative buttons on both straps, over a light green-coloured shirt with also ruffled edges. On his neck were two massive beaded necklaces hanging on his chest. His head had a yellow fedora with a purple band. His right hand had a red glove.
"Captain, we are finally here. Is it not time to take off the red glove?" a fish-man crewmate asked.
"Bahohohoho No No, love is unpredictable. My right hand is locked on to my sweetheart, if I touch anything else with this hand is as if I have broken her trust. You don't understand love Bale" Vander Decken IX replied
"Captain, Bale is not so good with this stuff," Bale responded, leaving the captain to his fantasies.
"Captain there is something strange coming at us, it looks human but it sounds metallic" Bale reported
"Bahohohoho, It looks like we have to fight for our love Shirahoshi! Bale go fetch my axes" Vander Decken asked as he ran in the direction of the metallic human.
"Iron Soldier, Power down in the square in front of you. Vander Decken is approaching. Remember to let him touch you before taking action" Brains used his Mind Broadcast skill to relay information to Iron Soldier who was acting as bait to entrap the target.
"Peep Peep All systems entering Standby Peep peeeeeee…"
"King Neptune must have spent a fortune to get a Cyborg guard, but this is not enough to stop my hot burning love." Vander Decken walked towards the robot, Bale was right behind him with two huge axes that were twice his size. Vander Decken inspected the robot, touching it here and there with his left hand.
"Hmm it looks like it malfunctioned, Bahohohoho, See Bale even fate is in favour of my love" Vander Decken blurted out.
"Target acquired, Power on" Iron Soldier spoke as he swung his large metallic fist at Vander Decken.
Vander Decken dodged the attack as he said "I knew it was not going to be that easy, I am Vander Decken IX, the captain of the cursed ship The Flying Dutchman, and a bearer of a curse. Since you attacked me the curse will take its effect on you. Nothing stands in the way of Love" after speaking Vander Decken tossed the axe in the opposite direction from Iron Soldier. "One must be ready to die for Love, are you ready to die for my love"
Whoosh Whoosh
The axe that was thrown into the air in the opposite direction, flew in a parabolic motion over Decken straight for Iron Soldier.
"DIE!" Vander Decken yelled before laughing psychotically
Clank
The scene in front of Vander Decken was not what he was expecting to see. He was expecting to hear cries of pain, as the cyborg was ripped into parts. Instead, the axe bounced off the chest of Iron Soldier.
"Pirate Captain Vander Decken, you are under arrest. For terrorising the oceans and conspiring to kidnap the Mermaid Princess of Ryugu Kingdom" without waiting for a response Iron Soldier took action
"Shoulder Gatling Guns" the semicircular shoulder joints spun backwards revealing a portable size Gatling gun.
"Fire!"
ratatatatata ratatatatata
Bullets flew in Vander Decken and Bale's direction.
"Captain, we need to take cover" as Bale spoke, he realised that he could no longer move, Decken was holding him as a shield, all he could hear was a whisper in his ears "Sacrifice yourself for love"
"Capt….." before Bale could speak he was already riddled with holes
"Mato Mato no Mi (Mark MarkFruit): Left Hand Homing"
Decken tossed the Bale corpse at Iron Soldier as retreated.
Seeing the body of the large fish-man coming, Iron soldier shoved it to the side with his left hand.
The robotic voice could be heard again. "Peep Peep Target distance: 20m"
"Right Hand: Net Launcher Mode."
"Fire!"
Boom
"Good thing Bale was well fed, he should be able to buy me time. I need to get out of here" Vader Decken swiftly retreated on his four legs
Whoosh
Looking up, he could see the shadow of something approaching. "What's that!" he screamed. "Argh, what is this net, why can't I get it off? My power, Argh"
"Seastone net, Target captured" Iron Soldier reported "Mission Completed"
*
On Atlantis, Law was taking Ezra through some of the upgrades he had installed on Iron Soldier.
"Captain, No. 15 is still the foundation, his mind and bodily functions were kept the same. We just put him inside a bigger shell. The design we found was called Pacifista Project 0, I think Dr Vegapunk was researching something to do with cyborgs on this Island. Using some of the weapons sent in from HQ and the instruments in the mine we were able to fully upgrade Iron Soldier. The only thing is there should be one more step to complete his upgrade, this step should enable Iron Soldier to transform into something larger. That part of the drawing was ripped out of the journal." Law reported
"That is very good Law, I can also see you are cured of your illness now. You sure didn't let me down. Keep up the good work. Even though you are not a Lieutenant yet, you can from now on codename "Doc"."
"Yes sir, thank you for saving me Sir" Law replied
"Don't be so uptight, you are one of us. Isn't he Brains?" Ezra asked out loud
"Yes Captain, Welcome to the family Doc" Brains replied telepathically. "Captain Iron Soldier has secured the Target"
"Shirahoshi"
"Shirahoshi"
"Shirahoshi"
"Shirahoshi"
Vander Decken cried out loudly as he was securely held by Iron Soldier in King Neptunes Palace.
"You….you… why…" King Neptune was so annoyed, his words failed him.
"My dear, calm down. Let Ezra handle it." Queen Otohime was disgusted after looking into Vander Decken's heart. For some reason, Vander Decken's was aware of the hidden treasure of Fish-man Island; a pill that could give one an enormous amount of strength at the cost of one's life span. He was planning to have Shirahoshi consume this pill to age quickly so she could be his bride. 'HOW SICK CAN HE BE' she yelled internally. She would only lose composure if she and her husband go involved in the questioning.
Soon the children walked in
"Shirahoshi my love"
"Shirahoshi my dear"
"Shirahoshi my bride"
"Shirahoshi you have come to set me free, no one can separate our burning love" Vander Decken Blurted out his thoughts as he laid eyes on Shirahoshi.
"Mister, I don't know you, can you please stop sending gifts to me?" Shirahoshi shyly but resolutely asked
Crack
The sound of Vander Decken's heart could be heard breaking, his jaws on the ground, his eyes rolled back. This rejection was too much to handle.
"Ezra, Please take him with you. From now on Vander Decken IX is exiled from Fish-man Island." King Neptune Decreed.
"Very well. King, Queen, Princes, and Princess. We will be taking our leave now! Thanks for the hospitality" Ezra got up and saluted, he was also joined by the rest of the Lieutenants.