Fish-Man Island could be said to be an island quite close to the Marines' sphere of influence.
Relatively speaking, it was also an island far from the sphere of influence of the Four Emperors.
Back then, out of consideration for their friendship, Whitebeard had brought Fish-Man Island under his sphere of influence in order to protect it.
Under the deterrence of Whitebeard's reputation, the pirates who would originally have posed a huge threat to Fish-Man Island instead became its regular clientele.
For more than a decade,
The endless stream of pirates traveling from Fish-Man Island to the New World had brought vigorous economic development to Fish-Man Island, allowing it to grow into a mature fruit radiating an alluring luster.
Now,
After losing Whitebeard's protection, this mature fruit had been laid out before everyone's eyes.
As a result, Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, one of the Four Emperors, had set her sights on Fish-Man Island—the territory farthest from her and the last remaining piece of delicious cake—after swallowing up every territory she could divide among herself.
For this purpose, she had even sent her highest-ranking officer, one of the Sweet Commanders, Charlotte Smoothie, along with nearly a hundred elite soldiers.
This showed just how much importance Linlin attached to this operation.
"Lady Smoothie, shall we make a move? If we kill the pirates in the plaza now, the follow-up work will be much easier."
One of her squad leaders looked up at the coldly beautiful Smoothie and offered his suggestion.
"No. Go to Ryugu Palace first."
Smoothie rejected him outright. Her gaze moved away from the plaza and turned toward Ryugu Palace, suspended in midair.
They had come to seize territory, not destroy Fish-Man Island.
Compared to establishing their authority immediately, it was more important to make Neptune's family submit first.
The