The ocean trembled.
From the highest coral towers of Ryugu Palace to the furthest trenches of the Deep Current, the water pulsed with unnatural rhythm. Whispers carried on the backs of currents. Whispers of war.
Victor stood on the observation deck of the Byakko, his hands gripping the railing. The lights of Fishman Island shimmered below, dreamlike and fragile beneath its protective bubble. But above, far beyond the shell of safety, waited a threat unlike any they had yet faced.
Marine battleships. Three in total. Each bristling with cannons. Each bearing a flag not of justice—but of suppression.
"They came sooner than expected," Victor muttered.
Robin stepped up beside him, her long black hair pulled back, her expression solemn but calm. "We found the truth, and now they've come to bury it."
Victor glanced sideways. "You sure you want to stay for this?"
She didn't blink. "I want to fight."
There was no hesitation. No fear. Only resolve.
Hours Earlier – Ryugu Palace
King Neptune stood in full regalia at the center of the throne room, the royal trident in hand. His sons stood flanking him, solemn and armed. Robin and Victor faced him, scrolls and maps spread between them.
"The Leviathan Protocol," Robin said, pointing at a line of glyphs. "That's what they've enacted. The phrase appeared twice—in both the underwater temple and your vault."
Fukaboshi leaned forward. "What does it mean?"
Victor answered. "It's a scorched-earth policy. When the Government believes a weapon of the past is about to be uncovered or turned against them, they wipe everything. People. History. Territory."
Neptune's expression twisted with fury. "They would destroy Fishman Island?"
"They would flood it," Victor said. "Collapse the protective bubble and reduce the sea floor to rubble. Then blame the sea kings, or pirates."
Silence settled over the room.
Then Robin said softly, "Unless we show the world something else. Something that cannot be denied."
Neptune looked at her. "The truth?"
Robin shook her head. "Hope."
Present – Byakko Hangar Bay
Robin stood on the training platform Victor had built during their time in the West Blue. Her body was steady, her eyes focused. Arms bloomed across the walls in a massive dome—each one pulsing with Armament Haki.
Victor circled her slowly.
"You're not just defending yourself anymore," he said. "You're fighting for every survivor who lost their home like you did. You're fighting for Ohara."
"I know," she whispered. "And I'm not afraid."
He nodded.
A tremor rippled through the Byakko. The ship's sensors flared red.
Robin turned to the monitors.
"They've deployed underwater units. CP squads. And they're closing in fast."
Victor moved to the helm.
"Then it's time to show them what ghosts can do."
The Battle Below
The Byakko rose from the sea floor in a whirl of bubbles and force. Its rear propeller ignited, wind-fueled turbines roaring to life. The sleek ship turned upward, shifting from submarine mode into its mid-flight configuration.
The first marine sub opened fire.
Torpedoes sliced through the water, leaving trails of steam. Victor twisted the ship, guiding it into a tight spin as he banked left—then launched counter-pulses of compressed wind that detonated the torpedoes midstream.
Robin, from her station, unleashed dozens of shadowy arms outside the ship, gripping and crushing one of the sub's propellers.
"One down," she muttered.
Victor didn't look back. "Three more closing."
Inside the CP Vessel – Deck Gamma
Commander Jace of CP-6 watched the approaching ship through his periscope. "That's no pirate vessel," he muttered. "It's flying. The reports were true."
Another agent beside him asked, "Orders?"
Jace sneered. "Same as before. Kill the girl. Burn the documents. Sink the ship."
He turned toward his squad of cloaked agents. "You know what to do."
Victor's Assault
Outside, Victor dove from the Byakko, landing atop the nearest sub with a sonic boom. Water erupted from the force of his impact. Before the agents could react, he had shattered the hatch, ripping it open and diving inside like a storm made flesh.
Robin, observing through her conjured eyes, coordinated the attack.
"Two coming at your six."
Victor spun, slammed his elbow into one, and used wind pressure to crush the other against the wall. Blackened fists drove into flesh and armor with bone-cracking precision. He moved like a soldier trained beyond normal limits—every motion efficient, silent, lethal.
One agent tried to flee. Victor snapped his neck without looking.
Within moments, the sub was silent.
Victor emerged, covered in salt and blood, as the sub behind him exploded—Robin's arms tearing through its engines with haki-enhanced precision.
The final ship attempted to retreat.
Victor raised both hands.
Wind howled from above, spiraling into the ocean like a lance. It pierced the fleeing sub's hull, imploding it with terrifying force.
Aftermath
The water was stained red. Bubbles and debris floated up to the surface as Robin guided the Byakko to collect Victor.
He landed on the deck, breathing heavily.
Robin walked up to him.
"That was... excessive."
He gave a tired smile. "They never learn."
She held up a scroll. "And we still have the truth."
He looked at her, then to the sky dome of Fishman Island far above.
"We need to get it out. Someone else has to know. Scholars. Pirates. Anyone willing to fight for something real."
Robin nodded. "I know just who."
Back at Ryugu Palace
The broadcast was prepared hastily, but with care. Using old tech hidden beneath the palace—transmitters long thought dead—Neptune and Victor coordinated a short-range burst stream across the sea floor's Blackline Network, reaching several neutral territories in the Grand Line.
Victor stood in the shadows as Robin stepped forward to speak. She wore a scholar's robe, her face lit with quiet defiance.
"My name is Nico Robin. I survived Ohara. And what they burned wasn't dangerous. It was beautiful. It was truth."
She held up one of the scrolls.
"This is history. Not weapons. Not threats. Just memory. And if they fear it, perhaps it is worth remembering."
The stream cut there—brief and sudden.
But it was enough.
Across the seas, those who still searched for light in dark places took notice.
Later That Night
Victor and Robin stood atop the highest coral tower of Ryugu Palace. The sea above was quiet again, as if mourning the dead.
Robin leaned into him, her head resting on his shoulder. "Do you think they heard it?"
"I know they did," Victor said. "And it won't be long before they act."
"But we're not alone anymore," she said softly.
He smiled. "We never were."
A flicker of light pulsed far in the distance. A signal. A flare.
Somewhere, someone had answered.
The ghosts of the past were awake.
And the world would burn or rise—on the back of truth.
End of Chapter TwentyThe tide has turned. The hunters have become the heralds. And the seas await their reckoning.