The first half of the Grand Line. The coast of Asuka Island.
Ever since Brook subdued the Seven-Star Sword, the eerie green mist that had shrouded the island had completely dissipated. Saga, his sanity restored, was out of danger under Maya's care.
To the island's natives, these black-sailed pirates were saviors sent by the gods. To the Eclipse Pirates, it was nothing more than a minor footnote on their voyage.
After restocking fresh water and a few coastal sea beasts for provisions, the Eclipse, under Little Eclipse's autopilot, rose silently into the sky and continued deeper into the Grand Line.
With Leona's ability boosting it, the Eclipse's flight was even more effortless. It barely consumed any energy, and its speed was blistering.
"Next stop, the Florian Triangle."
Ace sat in the sun chair at the bow, eyes closed, feeling the cold high-altitude wind. "By my count, that fat otaku Moria should have shed a few pounds by now. Let's see how much of his Haki he's recovered, and drop off the Limit Breaker Serum while we're at it."
"Squawk! Going to see the big onion head! Squawk!"
Berries stood on Chopper's medical kit, flapping his wings arrogantly. He had now mastered the Bari Bari no Mi and acted as the ship's gatekeeper.
"Stupid bird! Get off my medical kit!"
Chopper shifted into his agile Jumping Point and chased Berries across the deck, fuming.
In the shadows nearby, a sleek, sci-fi black mechanical spider crawled with uncanny agility. Inside the fully enclosed cockpit, Bonney giggled at the display screen, occasionally using the spider's mechanical arms to tease Berries as he dodged Chopper.
Amid the lively chaos on deck.
"Captain, we've got something."
Shark, who had been standing at the stern with his eyes closed in Armament Haki meditation, suddenly opened his dead-calm, inverted-triangle eyes.
He walked to the railing, his gaze locked onto the churning, bottomless blue sea below, his brow furrowing deeply.
"What is it?" Ace didn't open his eyes, but he could sense a rare ripple in Shark's usually rock-steady presence.
"In the sea below, I sense two presences locked in combat. One of them," Shark's dark gray-blue fist clenched, knuckles cracking, "is an old friend I used to know. He's fading fast."
"An old friend?"
Sabo, who had been swinging the Flame Dragon Staff, stopped mid-motion. The dark red weapon left a blazing afterimage in the air. He looked over, surprised.
In Shark's perception, that familiar presence was growing fainter by the second. It was clearly under attack by a deep-sea predator far more ferocious than itself.
"Captain."
Shark turned to Ace, still lounging in his chair. "I'm going down. An old deep-sea mollusk friend of mine is about to get eaten. I'll bring him up."
"Go."
Ace didn't even open his eyes, just waved a hand lazily. "And check out whatever's biting it. If it's big enough, we'll have it for lunch. I'm getting sick of yesterday's catch."
"Aye, Captain."
Shark nodded, a flash of urgent killing intent in his eyes.
He stepped to the railing and leaped, his massive frame plunging like a heavy depth charge, crashing into the raging sea below.
Over ten minutes later.
BOOM!
With a deafening water-blast, the sea beneath the Eclipse erupted.
Shark's towering figure burst from the water and landed solidly on the deck.
In his right hand, he dragged a bizarre deep-sea mollusk, three meters long.
Its belly was covered in sucker-like tentacles, but the spiked carapace on its back, its natural defense, had been chewed to shreds. Blue blood gushed from the torn wounds, and its internal organs were faintly visible.
"That's a nasty wound."
Ace stepped forward, looking at the dying sea beast. Without a word, he opened his right hand. A mass of Nirvana Fire, radiating immense life force, instantly engulfed the beast's ruined back.
Under the divine flame's nourishment, the torn flesh and organs stopped bleeding and healed at a visible rate. Its weak breathing gradually steadied.
"Its life is saved. But..."
Ace withdrew the flames and glanced at the completely shattered back shell, frowning slightly.
The divine fire could mend flesh, but it couldn't conjure up the calcified hard shell from nothing. The sea beast's back was now bare, stripped of its only defense.
"Even if its shell were intact, it'd be as fragile as paper on the Grand Line."
Jeno, who had been watching from the side, walked over, stroking his chin. He wasn't wearing any armor, just a simple mechanic's jumpsuit, but his eyes burned with fanatical scientific fire.
Jeno circled the sea beast once, then suddenly grinned.
"Shark, remember when I told you about the cyborg tech I discussed with that pervert Franky back in Water 7?"
Jeno looked at Shark, excitedly pointing at the sea beast's sucker-covered soft belly.
"This sea beast's belly suckers are perfect natural attachment organs! Since its original shell was too brittle and is now destroyed, I'll use my latest lightweight, ultra-hard alloy combined with memory metal to forge it a truly indestructible, fully automated mechanical heavy armor!"
"Normally, it'll be like a living metal backpack, clinging tightly to your back. This mechanical hard shell won't just block every blind-spot attack from behind; it'll also extend a highly flexible mechanical tail to help you keep your balance!"
"And the best part,"
Jeno grew more animated, gesturing wildly with his hands.
"Since it already has organs that compress water, I'll install a few high-pressure metal pumps! On land, it'll be able to fire ultra-high-pressure water jets with the power of a battleship's main cannon! This is practically a symbiotic mechanical armament tailor-made for your Fish-Man Karate!"
Hearing this insane yet perfectly fitting modification plan, Shark's usually steady eyes suddenly blazed with bright light.
"Can you do it, Jeno?" Shark stared intently at the mechanical maniac.
"Don't look at me with those doubting eyes, you damn fish-man!"
Jeno laughed and turned, dashing toward the synthesis lab in the lower deck.
"As long as its nervous system is still functional, this genius will turn it into the finest mechanical symbiotic beast on these seas! Get it into the lab!"
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