"What's wrong? What happened?"
Seeing Mandfeish suddenly raise a hand to the side, Rushaka looked puzzled. This action seemed very strange at this moment.
"Ah? Sorry, my back was a bit itchy just now."
Mandfeish's hand began to exert force, and the bullet in his hand was crushed into powder, which then silently fell to the ground with a slight shake of his hand.
This was his wedding. Although he had already held one on his own turf, he didn't want anything to go wrong at the Fishman Island wedding. This was Rushaka's home, and any accident would be an embarrassment, so he didn't make a fuss about it.
Hody guessed right. The gunshots that accompanied the salute did not attract anyone else's attention. The sound was very small, and the general public didn't notice anything abnormal, but Mandfeish was different.
His identity as a former Scout Captain of the Hundred Beasts cultivated his vigilance, and his current identity as Numberer NO.1 indicated his strength.
He didn't have the hobby of opening Observation Haki for no reason, but he was exceptionally sensitive to danger. Even with the cover of the salute, his intuition felt something was amiss.
Then, relying on his muscle reflex, he caught the bullet out of thin air. It wasn't difficult, just a bit of Haki and a little Machamp strength.
On the Grand Line, many people can do such a thing; anyone with some fame has ways to deal with bullets.
Unless the bullet is shot by someone whose Haki is unusually strong, ordinary guns in the hands of ordinary people cannot cause any harm.
[It should be from the side and rear... is the target Otohime? Damn, of all times...]
Mandfeish suddenly pulled Rushaka closer, positioning himself behind her, then adjusted his angle to shield Otohime in the blind spot of the shooting range. At this angle, to hit Otohime, the bullet would have to pass through his body first.
The other party took the opportunity to shoot when the salute fired, seemingly attempting an assassination and likely wouldn't launch a large-scale operation. So he intended to finish this ceremony and then deal with them slowly.
But leaving such a hidden danger unresolved wasn't realistic. If they really made a big move, it would be disastrous.
"Pierman! I just remembered I forgot something, a little gift for Princess Otohime. You and Jinbe, please go get it for me! There's a purple circular emblem on the box! It's over there."
As he spoke, Mandfeish pointed in a general direction.
He wasn't alone. Since he couldn't leave, he could let others handle it. Pierman had been his assistant for ten years, and their tacit understanding was undeniable.
The purple circular symbol internally in the Hundred Beasts means an enemy is lying in ambush. Hearing Mandfeish say this, he knew something was wrong.
An assistant who can't understand the boss's hints is usually sent away. The requirements for an assistant from a High-Level Official go beyond just strength; intellect is also important.
Mandfeish informed him of an enemy ambush and asked them to get the thing, which means capturing alive. By specifically mentioning it was a gift for Otohime, it indicated that their target was Otohime.
But Pierman didn't understand why Mandfeish wanted him to take Jinbe, too, but in such times, just carrying out the orders is enough.
"Understood, brother, I'll be back soon!"
"Brother Jinbe, come with me. It should be quick."
"Alright."
"Wait, Ah Long, take a few people and go with Jinbe. There should be quite a bit of stuff, help them bring it back."
Originally, Pierman only called Jinbe, but Tiger stopped them suddenly and had Ah Long take a few more people.
"Got it, big brother, but this guy is really unreliable, forgetting something at a wedding?"
Tiger's orders were not to be contradicted by Ah Long, so he took a few people and followed along.
Jinbe didn't respond. He had just sensed that slight anomaly, too. Currently, he was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the World Government's reason for selecting the Seven Warlords of the Sea was solely one thing—strength.
Only those whose strength met the standard would be specially recruited as a Warlord. Ah Long couldn't detect it, but he could. Even as the disgrace of the Seven Warlords, an ordinary bullet couldn't deal with him, let alone with Jinbe whose power was still on the rise.
Tiger was the same. He didn't go personally because he worried that something unexpected might happen if he left the scene.
Originally, his strength was superior to Jinbe's. When he subdued Fishman Street, both Ah Long and Jinbe were defeated by him. Although Jinbe began to grow quickly, gradually closing the gap, Tiger also had his own growth.
Haki is the power of the heart, and there are also rumors that the formation of the Devil Fruit is a manifestation of human wishes. This is a world where idealistic power holds great influence. Without the heart of a strong person, one cannot become a top-tier power.
Originally, Tiger's heart was dead, but after converting, he suddenly found a new direction. Especially after witnessing the ideal utopia during his pilgrimage, his state of mind sublimated, which brought his strength to a new level.
...
Mandfeish watched Jinbe and Pierman leave from the corner of his eye, allowing him to literally relax a bit. In his mind, 80% of this incident was the work of fishmen since humans wouldn't target Otohime.
Whether striving for equal rights with the Fishman Race and the Mermaid Race or continuing to enslave them, a living Otohime aligns more with human interests, and human pirates usually seek living mermaids, not dead ones.
He knew there were extremists among the fishmen, and Ah Long was one of them. It was only with Tiger's restraint and several other factors that a change occurred in him.
Sending Pierman alone could lead to misunderstandings if a conflict breaks out with the fishmen. It's best for the fishmen race to resolve their issues themselves.
If it weren't at the wedding site, he would have resolved it himself. As long as there were witnesses, acting wouldn't be an issue; he was a son-in-law to the Mermaid Race after all.
As for the possibility of the bullet missing its mark, he thought it unlikely. If an assassin accidentally chose the wrong target at such a moment, he might as well hurry up and find a rope to hang himself.
With Jinbe present, it was different. Both Jinbe and Tiger held high prestige among the Fishman Race, and their words could win the fishmen's trust, making it easy to clear up any suspicions if something indeed went wrong.
After they left, the wedding continued without pause. Urged on by Mandfeish, everything kept progressing.
"Princess Otohime, isn't it time to move on to the next step?"
"Ah, of course. This is the ring Neptune and I chose for you, one of the treasures of the Dragon Palace Kingdom. Wishing you both a happy union for a hundred years."
Mandfeish took the ring Otohime handed over. The ceremony was just one step away from completion, but many things didn't go as smoothly as he anticipated. This time, he misjudged one thing. The other party was not acting alone but rather in a group operation.