143. Fishman Island

Leo and his crew docked near grove 9 at Sabaody Archipelago and found a person to coat their ship.

To reach Fishman Island they have to coat their ship with a special resin found here to bear the immense pressure of the sea.

A day was enough for that work to be done. Looking at his ship covered in a glossy layer Leo marvelled at the wonder of this world.

Even the most advanced submarine in his previous life could only dive a few hundred meters at best. But this fragile looking layer was able to bear the pressure below 10,000 meters under water.

He got onto the ship. The crew started to work. Soon the layer of resin sticking to his ship swelled up like a balloon. It got bigger and finally looked like a huge round bubble and his ship was encased inside it.

Leo pressed his hand on the bubble and felt it stretch. He put some more strength and his hand pierced through the bubble but it didn't break. He pulled his hand back and the bubble still remained intact.

Amazing...

The ship slowly sunk down.

Fishman Island was 10,000 meters directly below Sabaody Archipelago.

As they got further down the light became sparse.

"Camie, can you really see in this darkness?"

Shinobu asked the mermaid.

Camie puffed her chest and raised her chin proudly as she said, "Of course! I am a mermaid, I am made to travel these waters. Just follow my lead."

She jumped out of the ship into the water. Leo ordered the men to steer the ship and follow her.

Camie held a luminous stick in her hand so that they won't lose track of her.

After a while the surrounding got pitch black. The only source of light was from their ship and from Camie.

After traveling through the darkness for a while they reached a huge pit, it looked like a deal abyss. The bottom couldn't be seen.

Camie pointed to the abyss and dived down.

The ship followed her. When they entered the pit an underwater current picked them up and their speed sharply increased.

Luckily the crew already had a crazy experience going up to Sky Island coming back down, so this time they didn't go pale and barf.

After a while the current slowed down and their ship returned to a slow descend.

Leo walked to the edge of the ship, his lips curled into a smile as he said, "We are here."

All of them followed his gaze and saw a faint light in the distance. It got stronger with each second.

Their ship rocked for a second. The crew lost their balance and fell down.

Leo, Shinobu and Mace stood tall and looked up. From the darkness they emerged into a space of light.

The light this deep into sea had a peculiar beauty to it.

Leo was taken back by it. His eyes couldn't hide his excitement as he looked around.

"Look there."

Shinobu pointed up.

Leo raised his head and saw a huge bubble floating several hundred meters above the sea bed.

Looking closely he also saw a smaller bubble above the huge bubble.

Fishman Island!

Camie swam back to them and said, "See that hole on the large bubble, that's the entrance to the island."

Leo nodded. The men started to work and their ship rose up from the ground to the entrance.

From his ship Leo could see many people with traits to marine life walk around the island. They were looking curiously at Leo and his crew.

When they reached the entrance several guards came down. They were blue skinned and wore an armour.

"Welcome to Fishman Island. Dock your ship here and pay a fee to enter. There are only few rules here, don't injure any islanders, don't try to capture any islanders, don't trespass onto Ryuugu Palace."

The guard explained a few rules to which Leo nodded. Just as he got off the ship he saw a flag flying on top of the guards tower.

The flag was painted with a skull with a white beard on it.

Leo's pupils shrunk when he saw it.

Whitebeard!

It was Whitebeard's flag!

So this island is part of his territory. Leo thought to himself and under the guidance of Camie, they stepped on Fishman Island.

Standing in the midst of a crowd of merman and fishfolk Leo felt increasingly curious about the wonders of this world.

Camie took them to a cafe, it was called Shirley's mermaid café.

Inside the cafe were beautiful mermaids. The drinks they served were very tasty.

Camie excused herself and went through a door to the side. Leo and Shinobu didn't mind her absence and enjoyed themselves.

As they were trying out several pastries Camie came back and said, "Shinobu-san, Leo-san, madam Shirley wants to meet you two."

"Who?"

"Madam Shirley. She is a clairvoyant, a great one at that. No predictions she has ever made has failed."

Leo and Shinobu looked at each other and nodded.

Camie led them through a door and reached a spacious hall. They saw a beautiful mermaid, there was a crystal ball infront of her.

Her eyes focused on Leo and Shinobu as they walked in. She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.

Seconds passed by. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, after a while she sighed and took back her gaze.

"Excuse me for my rudeness. I couldn't help but look into your past, and your future."

Leo was curious, "And what did you see?"

Shirley looked at them with a deep gaze and said, "Both of you went through a life a battles and fought a great evil."

Oh?

Leo and Shinobu looked at each other and smiled. She was right!

"And what about our future?"

Shirley shook her head, "I couldn't see your future, it was clouded and filled with uncertainty."

Leo nodded. They were not of this world and they didn't know how to get back, so technically their future was still not set.

"Why did you want to meet us?"

Shinobu asked.

Shirley looked at them seriously and said, "Because both of you will shape Fishman Island's future!"