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"I heard from my mother that this place was prepared for the people of Fishman Island to migrate to the surface. There are so many rooms! Maybe my husband can use it to house people, "Shirahoshi said hopefully.
It was indeed a last resort.
If they couldn't find a better place, Hikaru thought, letting his subordinates live in Noah temporarily would be acceptable.
Setting aside these thoughts, Hikaru used his Observation Haki to lock onto the Flying Pirates hiding inside Noah. His Conqueror's Haki quietly erupted, sweeping through the ship.
A moment later, Vander Decken and his men collapsed under the pressure, completely unconscious.
Hikaru didn't even bother going inside to deal with them. Instead, he simply used his Door-Door Fruit powers to open a portal, unleashing a violent storm of thunder and lightning. The electric current paralyzed them instantly, ensuring they couldn't even regain consciousness — falling into eternal silence.
He retrieved Vander Decken's Target-Target Fruit, sealed it inside another fruit, and stored it safely in the storage room.
Shirahoshi had won the battle without even meeting her enemy.
Speaking of which, the Target-Target Fruit wasn't particularly powerful, but it wasn't completely useless either. Vander Decken had managed to shake Noah and hurl it using that ability, after all.
The fruit's power worked by marking a target simply through touch. If the user touched another creature, the mark would refresh. However, washing hands or feet would remove the mark completely.
Normally, since people have two hands, they could mark at most two targets at a time.
Once marked, any item thrown by the corresponding hand would automatically seek out the marked target. However, if the thrown object was knocked away or blocked by an obstacle, the tracking would stop immediately.
This major flaw, along with the need to physically touch the target, greatly weakened the fruit's potential.
For Hikaru, it was completely unnecessary. With the power of flight and his advanced Observation Haki, he could lock onto targets without needing to touch them at all.
As he thought about it, Hikaru led Shirahoshi to the bow of Noah.
He unleashed his floating power, and under his command, Noah began to rise and soar through the water.
"Shirahoshi, can you feel the power inside you?" Hikaru asked seriously.
His question wasn't random. If Shirahoshi could awaken the ability of Poseidon earlier, it would be a huge advantage.
"Eh? Me?" Shirahoshi closed her eyes, trying to sense something within herself. After a while, she frowned slightly and replied,"I don't feel anything... Am I really useless, my dear husband?"
"How could that be?" Hikaru smiled gently. "You're extremely important. I'm simply not strong enough yet to bring out your true power. Don't worry. You'll awaken it sooner or later. There's no need to rush."
Hikaru's comforting words worked. Shirahoshi's frown softened, and she leaned in closer to him, paying no mind to the shifting scenery around them.
Since she couldn't summon Sea Kings yet, Hikaru decided to try ordering them instead.
Controlling Noah, he made the giant ship circle around Fishman Island. However, he found no trace of any Sea Kings.
It seemed the same situation as before — just like when he had fought the giant hippopotamus earlier, the area had the aura of a Sea King, keeping ordinary Sea Kings away.
It looked like he would have to take Shirahoshi to the Calm Belt to try. As long as luck wasn't too bad, Sea Kings should be easy to find there.
Wait a second...
Could he possibly use White Thunder to extract the power of Poseidon from Shirahoshi?
Without hesitation, Hikaru acted. He looked up at Shirahoshi, his eyes filled with intensity. Shirahoshi blushed under his gaze and turned her eyes away shyly.
"Shirahoshi, give me your hand," Hikaru said.
"Ah? Yes! My husband!" she answered in surprise. After a moment, she eagerly stretched out one hand — then worried it wasn't enough and offered both hands.
Hikaru gently took her hands, letting White Thunder surge from his palms into her body. He carefully examined her, searching for something hidden inside.
"My dear husband, did you find anything?" Shirahoshi asked hopefully.
Hikaru shook his head. It seemed the power of Poseidon couldn't be unlocked or transferred so easily — at least, not for now.
Fishman Island, Ryugu Kingdom.
Jinbe had finally returned to Fishman Island. Over the years, he had been secretly coming and going from Whitebeard's ship, doing everything he could to support Whitebeard.
All because of one simple sentence Whitebeard had once declared when Fishman Island was in danger:"Fishman Island is my territory!"
From that moment on, few dared to lay a hand on Fishman Island.
At this time, Jinbe had not yet officially resigned from his position as a Shichibukai, and the main members of the Sun Pirates still treated Fishman Island as their home base.
Returning with him was Namur, the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' 8th Division. Since both were shark-type fishmen, Namur's appearance was quite similar to Jinbe's.
Jinbe had been a leader of the Ryugu Kingdom's army for many years. Nearly every fishman he passed greeted him respectfully as "Boss Jinbe."
The moment he returned, several soldiers from Ryugu Kingdom — ones he was familiar with — informed him that something big was happening the next day.
After digging for more details, Jinbe managed to get the truth from the Left Minister:Fishman Island was about to submit to the rule of the Divine Emperor, Hikaru.
The news left Jinbe stunned and speechless. He knew far too little about this so-called Hikaru.
Unable to sit still, he rushed to the palace to confirm the news with King Neptune — unaware of the growing anger simmering in Namur's eyes.
Seeing that Namur, a captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, was present, Neptune hesitated to speak openly. But it was impossible not to explain the situation to Jinbe, so he gave a roundabout account of what had happened earlier that day.
"I see... I understand Your Majesty's good intentions," Jinbe said after listening carefully.
He couldn't openly object to the king's decision, but deep down, he felt uncomfortable. After all, Fishman Island's peace over the years was largely thanks to Whitebeard's protection.
Although he respected Neptune's choice, Jinbe knew he needed to confirm for himself whether Hikaru was truly worthy of ruling Fishman Island.
"How can this be, Boss Jinbe?!" Namur's furious voice made Neptune realize things might get out of hand.
"Fishman Island is still the territory of the Whitebeard Pirates! Isn't that brat provoking my father?!" Namur growled.
Jinbe's face stiffened. What Namur said wasn't wrong. After a moment of thought, Jinbe spoke firmly:
"Then let me meet Hikaru first. If he really has the strength to take over Fishman Island, and if his rule doesn't bring suffering, I will personally explain everything to Father Whitebeard. But if he proves unworthy, even if you say nothing, I'll step in myself and drive him off the island."
Namur snorted coldly but said nothing more. In his mind, it didn't matter what kind of person Hikaru was. Anyone who dared to challenge the Whitebeard Pirates deserved to be punished.
Besides, he hadn't forgotten — Hikaru had once attacked Ace's hometown, forcing Ace to chase after him across the Grand Line, only to come up empty-handed.
"Jinbe, there's no need for that. I'm not the type to go back on my word," Neptune tried to persuade him gently.
"Your Majesty, you don't need to say more. Do you have that young man's Den Den Mushi number? Contact him. I'll speak to him myself," Jinbe said seriously.
Namur cut in sharply, making it clear that, as far as he was concerned, Neptune's opinion didn't hold much weight anymore.