Chapter 264: Answer Me!
"Oi oi… something seriously bad is coming!!"
The plaza had yet to fully calm down from the earlier chaos when both Zoro—still gripping Sanji by the collar—and Sanji himself suddenly stiffened at nearly the same time.
A crimson glint flashed through Sanji's eyes.
His Observation Haki had already sensed an extremely ominous disturbance coming from the deep sea above.
The two exchanged a glance.
Moments ago, they had been fighting each other.
Now, only shared vigilance and grim seriousness remained in their eyes.
At the same time, Luffy—who had been sitting comfortably in Shirahoshi's palm—stopped joking around.
Under the shadow of his straw hat, his brows slowly furrowed.
A rare look of surprise appeared on his face.
'Crap…'
He cursed inwardly.
'I was so busy dealing with Hody that I completely forgot about that damn Vander Decken!!'
"Huh…? Why did it suddenly get darker?"
"Yeah… did the light from the Sunlight Tree Eve change again?"
The citizens in the plaza gradually noticed something strange.
Confused, they looked up toward Fish-Man Island's "sky," usually illuminated by the Sunlight Tree Eve and glowing deep-sea creatures.
The next second—
Every bit of laughter, conversation, and confusion froze in their throats.
A chill shot up from the soles of their feet, racing through their spines straight into their skulls.
Beyond the gigantic double-layer bubble surrounding Fish-Man Island—
within the dark abyss of the deep sea—
a colossal shadow beyond comprehension was slowly descending toward the island like a moving mountain range.
Its outline vaguely resembled a ship.
But its size…
was nearly half the size of Fish-Man Island itself.
It blocked out every source of light above.
Its massive shadow swallowed the island whole like the jaws of some ancient monster devouring all hope.
"The Promised Ark… Noah!!!"
King Neptune's horrified cry shattered the deathly silence of the plaza.
Even his gigantic body swayed slightly.
Disbelief filled his face.
"Why?! It should still be sleeping in the deepest parts of the ocean! Who…?! Who moved it?!"
"I see…"
A calm, elegant female voice suddenly spoke.
It carried the insight unique to a scholar.
"So this is the 'Promised Ark' mentioned in the Poneglyphs… the ship built by Joy Boy—Noah."
Neptune abruptly turned toward the speaker—
Nico Robin, archaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates.
His pupils contracted violently.
"You… how do you know that name?! 'Joy Boy' is a secret passed down only in fragments among the royal family…"
Robin did not directly answer Neptune's shock.
Instead, her gaze gently shifted toward Luffy, who stood beneath the looming shadow of destruction with a deep frown on his face.
Then she calmly explained:
"Luffy… this was mentioned in the Poneglyph located within the Sea Forest of Fish-Man Island."
"More precisely… in Joy Boy's apology letter."
Her words felt like opening the doors to an ancient era long buried by history.
"According to the Poneglyph, Noah was built eight hundred years ago at the request of a man named Joy Boy in order to fulfill a promise he made to the Fish-Man royal family."
"Joy Boy once promised the Fish-Men that one day he would guide their entire race out of the deep sea and bring them to the surface—to live equally and peacefully alongside every other race beneath the sun."
"And Noah… was meant to serve as the vessel for that great migration."
Robin paused slightly.
A trace of distant sorrow surfaced in her eyes.
"However, for reasons still unknown… Joy Boy ultimately failed to fulfill that promise."
"And so Noah—the ark that carried both hope and that ancient vow—was left abandoned beneath the sea…"
"…becoming the symbol of a dream that was never realized."
Her words connected the monstrous ship looming overhead with an ancient promise, a forgotten history…
and an unfinished dream.
"SHIRAHOSHI—!! My beloved Shirahoshi!! It's been so long!! Have you missed me—"
Vander Decken IX's crazed voice echoed throughout Fish-Man Island through a transmission device, piercing through both seawater and bubble membrane alike.
At first, his tone sounded warped with obsessive affection, like a lunatic finally reuniting with his lover.
But suddenly—
his voice stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes locked onto the scene in the plaza below.
The "pure goddess" he worshipped—
the untouchable Princess Shirahoshi—
was gently holding a man in her enormous hands.
And the expression in her beautiful blue eyes as she looked at him…
was one Vander Decken had never seen before.
Warmth.
Trust.
Affection.
Perhaps even love.
BOOM—!!!
At that moment, it felt as though his brain had been rammed by a Sea King.
Then instantly consumed by overwhelming jealousy and hatred powerful enough to destroy his sanity.
The fake loving smile on his face froze—
then twisted into something hideous and monstrous.
Why?!
Who was that man?!
Why was Shirahoshi looking at him like that?!
She belonged to HIM!
Her smiles, her tears, her fear—everything about her should exist solely for him!!
Wasn't he devoted enough?!
He had waited TEN YEARS!
Sent countless "love letters!"
Protected her in his own way!
So why?!
Why did some random man get to stand beside her?!
"SHIRAHOSHI—!!!"
Vander Decken's scream rose into a shrill howl filled with rage and madness.
"How DARE you betray me?! Betray the sacred bond between us and fool around with another filthy man?!"
He roared at her as though she had committed the gravest sin imaginable.
Within his utterly twisted logic, Shirahoshi was no longer the perfect maiden he wished to "save" and possess.
Now she was "tainted."
"Impure."
A traitor.
"So this is the path you chose…"
"If you insist on defiling the 'love' I granted you…"
The last traces of false affection vanished from Vander Decken's eyes entirely.
Only destruction remained.
Blood vessels bulged violently across his bloodshot eyes as he poured every ounce of obsession and hatred into the powers of the Mark-Mark Fruit.
Raising both arms toward Noah, he screamed with all his strength:
"Then perish together with your pathetic father and your precious Fish-Man Island—!!"
"BE REDUCED TO RUBBLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA!!!"
"NOAH—!!!!"
As his hysterical roar echoed through the ocean—
the massive ark above accelerated once more.
Like a collapsing mountain, Noah descended mercilessly toward Fish-Man Island's fragile bubble barrier.
"Luffy, give the order!!"
Zoro's hands firmly gripped the hilts of his swords.
His knuckles had already turned white.
He stared upward at the enormous shadow eclipsing the sky, his expression unusually grave.
Noah…
was simply too massive.
Its size had surpassed the very concept of ordinary sword slashes.
Even Zoro had no confidence he could completely destroy it before it crashed into Fish-Man Island.
Worse still—
aside from himself and Jinbe, nearly all of the crew were Devil Fruit users.
Once outside the bubble membrane, they would struggle to even use a fraction of their full power.
Which meant the burden of stopping Noah would fall almost entirely upon him and Jinbe alone.
The pressure weighed heavily upon Zoro's shoulders.
Every second wasted brought Fish-Man Island closer to destruction.
"No! Absolutely not!!"
A thunderous roar interrupted him.
King Neptune stepped forward, gripping his golden trident tightly.
His face was filled with unwavering determination—and anger born from violated taboo.
"The Promised Ark Noah must never be moved before the destined day arrives!! Much less destroyed!!"
His voice trembled with the responsibility and faith carried by generations of the royal family.
To the Fish-Men, Noah was not merely a ship.
It was Joy Boy's promise.
The symbol of their future.
A sacred relic protected by countless generations.
If it were destroyed during his reign, how could he ever face his ancestors again?
How could he speak of fulfilling the promise?
"So that's your answer as king, Neptune?"
Luffy gently leapt down from Shirahoshi's palm and landed firmly on the ground.
There was no smile beneath his straw hat now.
Only an overwhelming seriousness that made everyone hold their breath.
"Then look down."
Luffy raised a hand toward the plaza below.
Neptune subconsciously followed his gaze.
And instantly—
the king froze completely.
Everywhere he looked were Fish-Men and merfolk citizens.
No one cheered anymore.
No one spoke.
They simply stood there in silence beneath Noah's looming shadow of destruction.
Their eyes were filled with raw, primal terror.
Faces pale as death.
Many had lost all focus in their eyes, standing motionless like puppets stripped of their souls.
Others had already collapsed to the ground in despair, sobbing uncontrollably as tears streamed down their faces.
The entirety of Fish-Man Island had been dragged into a silent abyss of hopelessness by the terror known as Noah.
"And now…"
Luffy's voice rang out once more like an iron hammer striking Neptune's heart.
"The thing you and your ancestors tried so desperately to protect…"
"…has become the weapon that's about to destroy your people."
Luffy slowly raised his head.
A terrifying intensity burned within his black eyes as they locked onto Neptune's wavering gaze.
"So tell me clearly—"
His voice exploded across the silent plaza like thunder.
"What matters more?!"
"That relic from the old era—the remains of a broken promise—"
"OR THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU WHO STILL BELIEVE IN YOU?!!"
His words struck like ancient anchors crashing into the sea.
Heavy.
Merciless.
Unavoidable.
At that moment—
Luffy's overwhelming presence erupted outward like a tsunami.
A violent storm swept through the plaza.
Dust and debris spiraled into the air.
Even the light itself seemed to dim.
Black-red lightning exploded wildly through the atmosphere like raging serpents, crackling violently.
The heavens trembled.
The world fell silent.
Standing at the center of that terrifying storm of Conqueror's Haki—
Luffy stared directly into Neptune's eyes and roared:
"ANSWER! ME!!"
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