Chapter 293: The Cursed Prince
When it came to Devil Fruits, fate and destiny often played a terrifyingly crucial role. Some people consumed them entirely by accident, completely unable to explain how they had acquired such bizarre powers; in highly isolated, technologically backward regions, these ability users were often branded as monsters or demons.
Others could spend their entire lives endlessly scouring the seas, exhausting unimaginable fortunes, and still never catch a single glimpse of the specific fruit they desired.
Upon hearing that Jack genuinely wanted to find a Devil Fruit of his own, Arlong and the rest of the crew magnanimously declared that if they ever stumbled across one, they would absolutely let him have it.
Of course, what Arlong and the others completely failed to realize in their absolute confidence was that, up to this very day, none of them had actually ever seen a real Devil Fruit in person.
"Nyu... Arlong-aniki, this new guy looks seriously, ridiculously tough," Hatchan muttered.
This was merely a temporary gathering at the port before their long deployment; the vast majority of the crew had dispersed to formally bid farewell to their families.
As soon as Jack lumbered away, Hatchan quickly rushed to Arlong's side, helping to support his bruised commander as they limped toward the barracks rest area. Taking those two solid punches from the behemoth had absolutely not been a pleasant experience for Arlong.
If this had been the Arlong from the original timeline, that very first punch likely would have shattered his ribs and kept him bedridden for weeks.
"Yeah, let's just go," Arlong grunted, wiping a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth.
As they walked, no one noticed Arlong subtly slipping a few broken, jagged teeth into his pocket. That was the humiliating price of his recent "sparring session." However, to Arlong, losing a few teeth was a completely trivial matter.
As a Sawshark Fish-Man, his biological tooth regeneration was downright terrifying. He didn't even need to chug a bottle of milk to instantly regrow a flawless, razor-sharp set of brand-new teeth.
In fact, precisely because this rapid regeneration ability existed, a shark Fish-Man's teeth were biologically designed to fall out and be replaced relatively easily. Relying on this terrifying regenerative cycle, the loss had zero impact on his combat effectiveness.
Originally, Arlong had considered stopping by the Mermaid Cafe to support Shyarly's new business before leaving. However, the cafe exclusively sold premium coffee, delicate pastries, and highly refined clam meat dishes, catering almost entirely to a high-society Mermaid clientele.
Arlong felt incredibly out of place there. Combined with the sheer, agonizing annoyance of the patrons constantly pointing and whispering, "Look, it's Shyarly's older brother!" he had permanently crossed the establishment off his list after only a few visits.
The rest of the crew spent their remaining time finalizing their own affairs. Hatchan even took a brief trip to the surface, spending a few days at Shakky's Rip-off Bar on the Sabaody Archipelago. Ever since Hatchan had accidentally rescued a shipwrecked Silvers Rayleigh years ago, the naive octopus Fish-Man had forged an incredibly unlikely, enduring friendship with the two living legends.
A short time later, Arlong's detachment officially set sail from Fish-Man Island. Navigating safely through the perilous Calm Belt, the warship set a direct course for the East Blue.
Simultaneously, a terrifying new pirate armada violently erupted onto the chaotic stage of the New World.
The crew was composed entirely of pure-blooded Giants, and leading them was a man universally feared and shunned as the "Cursed Prince"—Loki.
Back when Harald had been completely hijacked by Imu's telepathic control and forced to consume the Mythical Zoan Nidhogg Fruit to gain apocalyptic power, the elite Royal Guards stationed in the Elbaf palace had paid a catastrophic, bloody price in an attempt to stop him.
Aside from the ancient hero Yaruru and Loki himself, those surviving, heavily wounded soldiers were the only souls in the world who knew the agonizing truth of Harald's death.
And every single one of those soldiers had chosen to follow Loki into exile.
In this regard, Loki had vehemently refused to honor Harald's dying wish. He flatly refused to reveal the truth of the World Government's mind control to the general populace of Elbaf. Consequently, in the eyes of his own people, Loki remained a despicable, treacherous patricide who had murdered his own father for power.
Denied the acknowledgment of Elbaf, these exiled warriors naturally refused to sail under the legendary banner of the Giant Warrior Pirates.
However, Loki's voyage was not one of mindless, chaotic destruction.
Starting today, the Marines and the World Government had gained a new, apocalyptic predator actively hunting them. Combined with the rapidly expanding territories of monsters like Whitebeard and Kaido, the Marines were forcefully compelled to drastically consolidate their military presence in the New World.
The Marines' primary operational directive shifted defensively toward fortifying their core G-Branch bases. Aside from deploying heavily stealth-oriented reconnaissance vessels, they entirely ceased launching proactive strikes deep into Emperor-controlled territories.
Loki's current trajectory, however, wasn't permanently fixed in the New World. Following the exact same route Shanks had recently taken, Loki's massive ship eventually arrived at Fish-Man Island. His ultimate destination was the Florian Triangle in the first half of the Grand Line; he wanted to personally witness the cursed waters where his father had secretly operated for so many years.
But before crossing the Red Line, Loki harbored the exact same intention Shanks had: he needed a face-to-face meeting with Nereus in the Ryugu Palace.
Although Harald had lived to the age of 144—technically making him significantly older than Nereus and Rocks D. Xebec—in Loki's mind, those three apex monsters had always belonged to the exact same legendary generation.
When Loki was just a young boy, he had personally witnessed the infamous Rocks Pirates making landfall on Elbaf. It was during that fateful visit that the young Prince had crossed paths with both Rocks and Nereus.
Loki had been so profoundly captivated by their overwhelming aura that he had actually begged to join the Rocks Pirates, only to be bluntly rejected by Rocks himself.
Today, Rocks was dead, violently erased by the World Government. And now, his own father had been murdered, forced into death by that exact same World Government. In Loki's heart, Mary Geoise had become an absolute, unforgivable nemesis.
As the sole surviving, undisputed sovereign of that legendary era, there were certain profound answers Loki desperately needed to extract from Nereus.
Because of the Sunlight Tree Eve, Fish-Man Island experienced a natural day-night cycle. Unlike Shanks, who had openly navigated the daytime bureaucratic checkpoints, Loki chose a far more dramatic approach.
Under the cover of night, he quietly arrived at the desolate Sea Forest. Standing amidst the ancient coral, Loki unleashed a terrifying, concentrated burst of his Conqueror's Haki.
Loki was absolutely certain: if it was Nereus, the King of the Deep would instantly perceive this silent, localized summons.
Loki's eyes were tightly wrapped in thick, heavy bandages.
While the official diplomatic excuse provided to the world was that the Prince suffered from a severe ocular disease, the grim truth was that his eyes were simply too unique—or rather, too horrifying.
When his own biological mother first looked into his infant eyes, she had screamed in terror, violently refusing to acknowledge him as her son. Combined with a tragic series of catastrophic natural disasters that struck Elbaf during his childhood, the populace had branded him the "Cursed Child."
When his mother eventually passed away, the vicious rumors insisted that Loki's inherent curse had drained her life force. From that day onward, Loki permanently covered his eyes. After so many decades, the blindfold had simply become a part of him.
"Visiting so late at night might be considered highly incredibly rude," Loki's deep, rumbling voice echoed through the silent forest as a tall silhouette materialized from the shadows. "But I suppose for a 'Vampire', midnight is essentially high noon, isn't it?"
"If you have come all this way to speak of Harald," Nereus said smoothly, stepping fully into the moonlight, "I am already aware of the situation."
"That bastard Shanks beat me to it, I see," Loki grunted, crossing his massive arms. "I also learned a great deal about the hidden truths of the past from him. The classified details surrounding Rocks's death, for instance.
"However... there are certain critical details that Shanks is completely ignorant of."
Loki took a heavy step forward, the ground trembling slightly beneath his weight.
"That thing sitting on the Empty Throne... It hijacked my father's mind. But telepathic control of that magnitude is a two-way street. During the brief, fleeting minutes my father forcefully regained his consciousness, he managed to read His thoughts.
"The rotting scum ruling the World Government didn't just want a Giant slave. Based on my father's already overwhelming baseline combat power, He wanted to forcibly bestow upon him an immortal body and even greater, apocalyptic strength.
"Even in the eyes of the World Government's absolute sovereign, if my father possessed true immortality, he would have been the ultimate, unstoppable monster."
Loki paused, his blindfolded gaze locking directly onto Nereus.
"But if you really think about it... a being possessing absolute combat power equal to my father in his prime, perfectly combined with a flawless, immortal body... doesn't a monster fitting that exact, terrifying description already exist right here?"
While Nereus wasn't an Ancient Giant, within the crushing depths of the abyss, the absolute, hydrostatic force a Fish-Man warrior could unleash was something neither ordinary Giants nor Ancient Giants could ever hope to rival.
"I come here bearing absolute sincerity," Loki declared, his voice dropping into a solemn, thunderous vow. "The true cause of my father's death remains hidden because the time to strike has not yet arrived. But make no mistake: the World Government is now Elbaf's eternal, unforgivable blood enemy.
"As the strongest warrior of Elbaf, I swear upon my honor and my life that I will use this cursed power to make Mary Geoise drown in its own blood.
"Therefore, I ask you: Nereus, King of the Ryugu Kingdom... Are you willing to target this common enemy and forge a secret, unbreakable alliance with me?"
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