Chapter 332
The Sword Severs the Sun Tree, the Wrath of the Sea!
Chapter 332 The Sword Severs the Sun Tree, the Wrath of the Sea!
Shamrock's cold voice echoed through the deep sea.
A terrifying slash roared out from the three ferocious jaws of the rapier in his hand, named 'Seven Sins,' which had transformed into a hellhound.
"boom!"
The seawater was torn apart in an instant, and the destructive torrent stretched across almost everything in sight, even swallowing and cutting off the radiance emitted by the Sun Tree Eve.
The incredibly powerful slash hurtled toward the giant tree standing in the deep sea.
The next moment.
"Boom!"
The radiance of the Sun Tree Eve dimmed in the deep sea—its trunk was suddenly covered by the earth-shattering strike, and the violent ocean currents submerged it in an instant.
A massive tremor erupted from the deep sea and began to propagate outwards via the seawater.
Those are 'ocean waves'.
Shamlock's attack created a wave formed out of thin air in the deep sea.
"boom!"
Countless corals and seaweed clinging to the Sun Tree Eve were reduced to dust by this wave.
Countless deep-sea fish swam away in terror, but their massive bodies were still inevitably torn apart.
Blood stained the murky seawater red in an instant.
Yes.
Shamrock's goal was very clear from the beginning.
He came to destroy the Sun Tree Eve.
Of course, to almost everyone in the world, this goal itself is unbelievable.
After all, the Sun Tree Eve is a legendary tree, on par with the Precious Tree Adam.
Its size is theoretically beyond what any living being could destroy with individual strength—not even giants or ancient giants could do it.
But
"!!!"
At this moment, the endless ocean currents and terrifying slashes dissipated.
But the fish-men could see it clearly.
The current form of 'Sun Tree Eve', which stood above Fishman Island and supported its existence throughout the distant past.
The light on its body had now disappeared, revealing the tree trunk that existed only in the legends of the fish people.
The enormous, warmly glowing trunk resembles the legends surrounding it—the Sun Tree, Eve's mother tree, always radiates a gentle light.
A huge slash mark had already appeared on that straight and thick tree trunk!
The slash had cut more than a fifth of the trunk of the Sun Tree Eve, and golden sap was gushing out wildly from the crack.
"Buzz!"
Inside the tree trunk, the light transmitted from the sea surface flickered constantly, as if the tree was crying for help.
"Eve actually..."
Upon witnessing this scene, Neptune, the three princes, and all the merman soldiers who saw it were all filled with rage.
"Your Majesty, an earthquake—a violent earthquake has just struck the island, and many buildings in the lower levels have collapsed!"
At that moment, from a Den Den Mushi on Neptune's body, the Left Minister, who had just received orders to remain on the island, uttered such an exclamation.
"."
Neptune's face had become extremely gloomy.
Not only him, but the three princes and the Right Minister were also in a very bad mood at this moment.
They certainly understood that.
Fishman Island exists because of the Sun Tree Eve—the Sun Tree Eve provides Fishman Island with sunlight and oxygen, and its root system is also the basis for Fishman Island's existence.
The earthquake on the island was caused by Shamrock's attack, which injured Eve of the Sun Tree.
In other words...
"Father, stop that bastard—if we let him continue to harm Eve, Fishman Island will..."
"Prepare for battle!"
At this moment, Shark Star roared in anger.
The merman soldiers each gripped a trident, their eyes glowing red.
But
"stop!"
Neptune's roar exploded in everyone's ears like thunder!
"Are you looking for death?"
"Everyone, do not make a move—return to the island immediately."
His massive body instantly blocked the path of all the warriors, his trident held horizontally in his hand.
"That guy's strength... He's a 'monster,' there's no chance of winning if we go up against him now!"
His eyes were also bloodshot with anger, yet there was a strange calmness about them.
That calmness comes from long-term experience and the knowledge gained from seeing too many strong people.
He had seen Harald, Whitebeard, Roger, and Garp—Neptune had seen heroes of this sea from past eras.
Therefore, he understood very well.
The young monster that suddenly appeared was also an irresistible powerhouse of that level.
No, judging from the power he has shown, he is likely even stronger.
To put it bluntly, if that attack were repeated just once, the soldiers of Fishman Island would be completely wiped out.
"But Father."
At that moment, Shark Star was also gritting his teeth.
They knew that Shamlock possessed terrifying power, and even now, many of the merfolk soldiers' hands were trembling as they held their weapons.
But
"If this continues, Fishman Island..."
He gritted his teeth.
"I know!"
Neptune interrupted his son: "But as long as the fish-men exist, Eve won't be so easily 'destroyed'!"
As the king of the fishmen, he clearly knew more secrets than Shark Star—especially the secrets about the Sun Tree Eve.
It was as if this was to corroborate his words.
"Buzz!"
At that moment, the dazzling light shone brightly once again.
"!!!"
The fish-men instinctively raised their heads, their gazes fixed on the direction where the Sun Tree Eve was.
Shamrock also watched the scene unfold with an icy expression.
At this moment, the edge of the huge rift that had almost cut the Sun Tree Eve in half was visible.
From the Fishman Island below, points of light, like fireflies, continuously converged.
These points of light continuously converged and merged into the Sun Tree Eve.
So, visible to the naked eye, the severed tree trunk began to writhe under the golden light—the gushing golden sap was restrained by an invisible force, and the huge wound healed at an abnormal speed.
Upon seeing this, Shamrock frowned, a cold glint in his eyes, and without hesitation swung his rapier once more.
"boom!"
"boom!"
"boom!"
With his swing, powerful slashes erupted from the three hellhound mouths once again, cleaving the trunk of the Sun Tree Eve in two.
However, in just a short while, the trunk of the Sun Tree Eve was once again continuously healed.
And most importantly
"The strike hit, but its 'presence' was not diminished in the slightest."
Shamrock could sense this.
But this didn't hold Shamrock back for long. As one of Im's current representatives, and having learned most of the world's secrets, he quickly determined the source of Eve's current state.
It is a 'wish'.
At the same time, Neptune whispered to his eldest son the ancient secrets of the inheritance.
"Eve of the Sun Tree was born in accordance with the wishes of the 'Fish People'."
"She is the mother of the fish people and their guardian, ensuring that the fish people have a 'home' in this world."
Those are records from the oldest era.
The fish-men and the giants—two races that once made great contributions to the establishment of the 'Great Kingdom'—share common characteristics.
Each of them contains an 'ancient weapon' inside.
At the same time, none of them had their own hometown.
So the first king bestowed seeds, allowing his homeland to sprout—and that's how 'Elbaf' and 'Fishman Island' came to be.
Their existence is based on the 'wishes' of these two races.
Unless, like Adam the Tree, Loki completely absorbed the bloodline factor source energy within it through the 'Nidhogg Fruit'.
Otherwise, as long as the fish-men and giants still exist, and as long as their wishes can still be heard by the tree.
Then Adam's precious tree and Eve's sunlit tree will never wither and die.
"Return to the island immediately and activate the 'bubble shield' to its maximum to buy time."
"In addition, have all the islanders leave the island and hide in the deep sea!"
"As long as our people are safe, Eve can still exist—even if this island is destroyed, the fish-men can rebuild a new fish-man island in the future!"
Neptune growled as he gave the order.
Upon hearing this, the three princes showed a range of emotions—hesitation, pain, and struggle—fleetingly.
But a moment later, they chose to obey their father's orders—they led the merman soldiers and retreated swiftly downwards, returning to the Dragon Palace.
"Your Majesty, we should do it immediately as well."
The Right Minister looked at Neptune, intending to escort his emperor back to the island for evacuation.
But
"Right minister."
At that moment, however, he saw Neptune's serious eyes.
".His Majesty?"
The Right Minister immediately had a bad feeling.
He looked at the king before him, who had protected Fishman Island for decades: "You..."
Give me the contents of the inner box of the 'Jade Hand Box'.
Neptune said only softly.
"!!!"
Upon hearing this, the Right Minister's expression changed drastically, and panic appeared in his eyes: "You, you can't!"
What is a tamateba (玉手箱)?
That's the national treasure of the Dragon Palace on Fishman Island.
What is stored there is a special medicine called 'the deadly drug'.
Creatures that take the deadly drug will gain extraordinary power, but the price they pay is their life and accelerated aging.
After Queen Otohime died, due to the chaos in the Ryugu Castle, someone took advantage of the confusion to steal some of the deadly medicine from the Tamatebako (treasure box).
Fortunately, the thief was unaware that the tamateba (treasure box) actually contained two parts.
One of them is the outer box, which contains ordinary 'ES lethal drugs'.
Inside the inner box lies a most unique and deadly drug called "Wrath of the Sea," whose effects are more than a thousand times stronger than ordinary drugs, granting the user the power to shake the ocean.
That is the most dangerous force on Fishman Island, and very few people know about it—it can be said that on the entire Fishman Island, only he, the Left Minister, and Neptune know of its existence.
And now Neptune's meaning is very clear.
"If you take that medicine, you will..."
The Right Minister knew very well that the effects of taking 'Wrath of the Sea' were countless times more terrifying than ordinary deadly drugs, and taking it meant certain death.
"Even if you absolutely must eat it, I can do it."
But he was met only with Neptune's calm gaze.
"You can not."
"While 'Wrath of the Sea' can amplify the user's power a hundredfold or a thousandfold, it also depends on the user's existing strength—the stronger the user, the greater the limits they can break through with it."
"That guy is so strong he's like a monster. Only if I take 'Wrath of the Sea' can I possibly fight him."
From the moment he made the request, this great knight, who was once the strongest merman, was already prepared.
The power that Shamrock had displayed was beyond his comprehension.
Therefore, his life was something he was destined to lose from the very beginning.
As they spoke, the two moved with incredible speed, already arriving at the royal treasury of the Dragon Palace and taking out the jade box.
"Right minister."
At this moment, Neptune simply looked at the Right Minister—who was not only his subject but also his comrade-in-arms of many years.
"After my death, you and the Left Minister must assist Shark Star in ascending the throne."
He said in a deep voice.
“I’m not sure why the government suddenly took action against Fishman Island, but it seems they’re at least going to destroy Eve—which means we’re doomed to never be able to fulfill Otohime’s wish.”
"If I defeat that person and Fishman Island survives, then please, along with Shark Star, immediately lead the fishmen to join Whitebeard's ranks."
"If I am defeated, you and Shark Star must lead the fishmen to quickly evacuate and hide, and try to save as many people as possible."
He was clearly already making arrangements for his own funeral.
Finally, he took a deep breath and looked earnestly at the Minister of the Right: "Finally, promise me, you must find Shirahoshi no matter what."
That was his last and most important request.
Shirahoshi—his most precious treasure, his most beloved daughter, and also the hope of the fish-men.
No one understood better than Neptune how important Shirahoshi's innate power was to Fish-Man Island—in this chaotic era, with his inevitable death and Fish-Man Island's inevitable inability to join the World Wheel, the existence of 'Sea King' was the cornerstone of Fish-Man Island's survival.
But at the same time, this is also what pains him.
He never wanted his kind daughter to become a 'weapon'—just as he had never used Shirahoshi's power for anything in all these years.
He just wanted to protect her from harm.
But he had no other choice.
"She is the princess of Fishman Island, and I believe she will become a hero of Fishman Island."
"."
The Right Minister was speechless.
He also looked at the monarch he had been serving since he was a boy.
After a long while.
"It is Your Majesty."
He said this in a trembling voice.
"Ah."
Neptune nodded in satisfaction.
He seemed to want to say something more, but it was too late for him to speak.
The next moment, he seemed to realize something and suddenly raised his head.
At this moment
Shamrock, above the deep sea, has already lowered its gaze.
(End of this chapter)