"More ships are arriving."
Inside the protective barrier, two fish-men clad in armor, their heads resembling red lobsters, held long spears. They looked up at the Freedom, which was rapidly descending.
"Hmm... this ship's windmill..."
The fish-man on the left stroked his chin in thought.
"What is it?"
The fish-man on the right averted his gaze and looked at his companion.
"I think I've seen this ship with a windmill on its bow."
"Seen it?"
The fish-man on the right looked up again at the Freedom, and as he watched, his body began to tremble violently.
The fish-man on the left also seemed to have remembered whose ship this was. He tremblingly reached into his pocket, pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, and quickly unfolded it.
Upon seeing the windmill head on the paper that matched what he had seen, he trembled and looked up at the Freedom, which was now completely visible, a hint of unwillingness in his eyes.
When he spotted the silver-haired figure floating at the bow of the Freedom, his mind suddenly buzzed, as if it were about to explode.
His pupils contracted into dots, then he quickly looked away, daring not to meet the gaze of the silver-haired figure.
He abruptly dropped his spear and shouted at the other fish-man, "Corado, Corado, Corado!"
Only after he shouted three times did the other fish-man snap back to attention. He hastily lowered his head, looked at the fish-man calling him, and stammered, "W-what, what should we do?"
"The Silver-Haired Pirates are here."
Evidently, the fish-man on the left, who had pulled out Kōta's bounty poster, was slightly calmer than the one on the right. He suppressed the fear welling up inside him and shouted to Corado, "You wait here and guard the Royal Palace guards. I'll go to Fish-Man District and report to Boss Jinbe."
"Alright, go quickly, they'll be here any moment."
"Understood!"
The fish-man on the left nodded, turned, took a coral from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and blew a bubble with force.
Then, without hesitation, he rushed into the bubble, and the bubble flew directly towards Fish-Man District, not far away.
Clearly, the bubble was much faster than him running there.
Watching the retreating back of the fish-man on the left, Corado quickly took a small Den Den Mushi from his chest and dialed the Royal Palace.
The call was connected, and he briefly explained the situation before hanging up.
Then, he gripped his spear tightly with both hands, turned around, and stood rigidly and solemnly outside the barrier.
No matter what, he was a guard of Fish-Man Island, and furthermore, a guard at the entrance.
Although his strength was not particularly great, he possessed this level of composure.
After the initial panic, he knew that Brother Jinbe and the Royal guards would arrive soon, which boosted his confidence and improved his mood considerably.
Although he still didn't dare to meet the silver-haired figure's gaze, he was at least able to face the Freedom.
This was Whitebeard's territory; he didn't believe the Silver-Haired Pirates would dare to act recklessly here.
With this thought, his confidence grew even stronger.
When the Freedom stopped outside the passage, he hesitated for a moment before opening the gate, allowing the Freedom to pass through the outer protective shield and enter the canal.
Then, he pressed the water release button nearby.
The water in the transparent passage flowed down through the pipes into the interlayer, leaving only a pool of water to support the Freedom.
Looking at the Freedom, which had stopped in the passage, Corado felt a pang of anxiety. However, when he glanced sideways and saw the tall fish-man approaching from a distance, followed by Royal guards walking from the street, he relaxed.
He pressed another button nearby and opened the innermost door.
"Phew~ We've finally arrived."
A gentle voice came from the bow of the Freedom, which was gradually emerging from the canal.
Kōta, sitting on top of the windmill, seemed to sense Corado's tension and looked down at him with a slight smile.
Corado cautiously raised his head and met Kōta's smiling gaze.
The boy's smile was full of gentleness, completely different from the coldness on his bounty poster, giving one a feeling of warmth like a spring breeze. It made one unconsciously forget his identity and feel an urge to draw closer.
"Thank you, young man. Where do we dock our ship?"
The same gentle voice echoed in Corado's mind again. He stared at the smiling youth, his mind feeling a bit like it was jamming.
This was completely different from what he had imagined.
Wasn't this guy a terrifying pirate with a bounty of 2.5 billion?
Such an important figure would be polite to him, a gatekeeper, and wouldn't appear fierce at all, but rather full of gentleness.
"What's wrong, young man?"
*Snap!*
Just then, a pair of slender, fair hands patted Corado's shoulder, causing him to involuntarily flinch.
Awake, awake, completely awakened from the boy's smile.
Although he didn't know when the boy had appeared beside him, nor could he feel any aura from him, Corado dared not move.
"Well! It seems you recognize me."
Kōta glanced at Corado with a hint of boredom, shook his head, withdrew his hand, turned around, and personally directed Ah Tao to steer the ship into the harbor ahead, docking it outside a port.
Actually, beyond the passage was a river that resembled a moat.
Dozens of ships were sparsely moored on this river.
Most of them were ordinary vessels, likely belonging to the island's residents.
There were no other pirate ships here, as the people of Fish-Man Island detested pirates.
Therefore, it was almost impossible to let pirates in.
Many traffickers and pirates who wanted to enter had to pose as merchant ships and undergo layers of scrutiny.
However, for strong individuals, it was possible to directly break through the barrier from above.
Those barriers were essentially air bubbles; hard objects could easily push through, but there was also the danger of shipwrecks and death, as there were two layers of these air barriers.
The space between them was completely empty. If one couldn't quickly reach the second layer, they would fall from the air into the rapid currents beneath the interlayer, be washed out of the barrier, and their ship would be wrecked and they would die.
This was likely one of Fish-Man Island's defensive measures.
He wondered if Fish-Man Island was naturally formed or artificially constructed; in any case, it was quite magical.
However, there were pirate ships here.
After the ship docked.
Kōta saw a small, single-person boat moored at a distant pier. Behind the boat was a smoke stack, making it seem like a vessel specifically designed for some ability.
Others might not recognize this boat, but Kōta knew whose it was at a glance.
Although it looked slightly different from his memory, it was generally the same.
Especially the smoke stack at the back.
"Heh heh!! That guy hasn't left yet!"
Ace had left several hours before them. If that guy hadn't stayed here, he should have already returned to the New World.
"Hmm!"
Speak of the devil.
As soon as he led his companions onto the pier, a large number of soldiers approached from the street.
And from another street, a large number of fish-men were approaching.