Vander Decken IX

At the shipwreck site, a severely hunched, four-legged freak in a tiny top hat shouted at the top of his lungs.

He directed a large number of fish-men as they searched back and forth through the wreckage, hoping to find lost treasure.

"Wadatsumi, you idiot! Put some more strength into that waist of yours and flip these sunken ships over!"

Vander Decken IX pointed and barked orders at a fish-man with a childish face but a body even larger than a giant's.

"Yes, Captain Vander Decken!"

The enormous fish-man Wadatsumi answered loudly, sounding immensely cheerful. He tirelessly flipped over wrecked ships with his hands, shook them back and forth, then leaned in close to listen for anything inside.

Ships capable of carrying hundreds of people looked like slightly oversized toys in Wadatsumi's hands, making Vander Decken IX swallow hard.

"What a monster."

He cursed under his breath, then secretly began to laugh.

Fortunately, this monster was simple-minded. A few casual words, plus meals, were enough to make him obediently work for him.

He, the great Vander Decken IX, truly was the great man of legend who would fulfill the long-cherished wish of the Vander Decken Family!

"Captain, I think I found something!?"

Just as Vander Decken IX was lost in his fantasies, a sudden shout snapped him back to his senses.

"What is it!?"

He barked angrily, but the four-legged freak still hurried over.

"Captain, look!"

A fish-man excitedly held up a chest. Though old and battered from soaking in seawater, its former splendor could still vaguely be seen.

"There's definitely something good in here!"

"Bahahahaha, you really are lucky!"

The moment he saw the wooden chest, Vander Decken IX's eyes lit up.

As a captain from a family with such a legacy, he recognized it at a glance. This was a captain's treasure chest!

It was a chest only a ship's captain had the right to store treasures in, and its contents were usually the precious treasures a captain had accumulated over a lifetime!

Vander Decken IX snatched the chest away, his face full of excitement.

"Treasure, let me see what exactly you have in there~"

That said, he was not foolish enough to open it directly ten thousand meters beneath the sea. Instead, he sealed it off with a bubble membrane before preparing to open it.

"My treasure..."

"No, mine."

A light voice drifted over. It was slightly muffled in the deep sea, but everyone present was a fish-man, and with their racial gifts, they heard it clearly.

The dark seawater suddenly stirred. With a single pull, Vander Decken IX felt a massive wave slam into him, making him stagger as pain exploded through his back.

The treasure chest wrapped in bubble membrane slipped from his hand, then was swept away by the seawater and floated into the distance.

Mobius reached out. His hand was likewise covered in bubble membrane, with another hidden layer of water control on its surface, and he steadily caught the captain's treasure chest.

Snap~

A crisp sound rang out as Mobius opened the chest in Vander Decken IX's place. A faintly murky gas drifted out, but the inside had been preserved quite well.

The gold, silver, and jewels still gleamed brightly. At the very center sat a round fruit.

Paramecia: Mark-Mark Fruit.

"Thank you. This is quite a nice gift."

Casually absorbing the chest into his body, Mobius bowed forward in thanks.

"You're welcome."

Vander Decken IX replied instinctively, then rubbed his agonizing back.

"Wait... that's not right!"

Coming back to his senses, the four-legged freak flew into a rage. "You damned bastard! How dare you steal the treasure of the great Vander Decken IX!"

Mobius blinked and sighed. "What a long name. Anyone could tell at once that your father was named Vander Decken VIII."

"How did you know?"

Vander Decken IX was shocked. Could this sudden intruder have investigated him?

This place... was there an ambush!?

Mobius rolled his eyes, unwilling to pay attention to this idiot.

Hatchan, standing nearby, could not stand it any longer. He straightened up and stepped forward.

"Vander Decken IX, what are you, a wanted pirate, trying to do now!?"

Hatchan's tone was unfriendly. Though the Vander Decken Family counted as fish-men, Vander Decken I had been a genuine human. This family had been outsiders from the start.

Even so, Fish-Man Island did not place much importance on bloodlines, because any pair of merfolk or fish-men could give birth to merfolk or fish-men of any lineage.

Take Neptune's family. The husband was a coelacanth merman, while his wife Otohime was a goldfish mermaid. Their eldest son, Shark Star, was a shark merman; their second son, Ryuboshi, was a ribbonfish merman; their third son, Manboshi, was a red sunfish merman; and their youngest daughter, Shirahoshi, was a giant smelt-whiting mermaid.

Not a single pair among the family of six shared matching bloodlines.

This was a characteristic of both merfolk and fish-men. The children they bore did not inherit only their parents' fish bloodlines, but all the fish bloodlines of their ancestors.

Under the influence of such genetics, there was almost no species discrimination on Fish-Man Island—except toward the Vander Decken Family, who were despised by most of the island's residents.

The reason was simple. The Vander Decken Family did not regard themselves as part of Fish-Man Island. They had inherited their ancestor's pirate bloodline and had been thieves generation after generation.

There might have been one or two exceptions who quietly left after growing up, but those who became the heads of the family were basically pirates.

Vander Decken IX was one such man. Even while hiding on Fish-Man Island, he had still managed to earn himself a Marine bounty.

It was easy to imagine how much trouble this guy could cause.

Taking a closer look and seeing that it was Hatchan, a master of Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu, Vander Decken IX's eyes darted around as he inwardly cried out in alarm.

"So it's Master Hatchan~ I wasn't trying to do anything. That human attacked first! I was merely carrying out normal salvage work. I'm innocent!"

Vander Decken IX blinked innocently.

That left Hatchan stunned. He was a kind-hearted man; otherwise, he would not have joined the Revolutionary Army in the future.

Though Vander Decken IX was a scoundrel, as long as he was conducting normal business, Hatchan would not attack him.

"This..."

His sense of morality kicked in, and Hatchan hesitated.

"Good chance!"

Vander Decken IX's eyes lit up. He immediately raised his wrist and sent several throwing knives flying out.

With a fish-man's wrist strength, the throwing knives in the deep sea did not slow down in the slightest. Instead, their power became even more pronounced as they flashed with cold light and shot toward Hatchan.

Innocent or not, Vander Decken IX had no intention of letting off anyone who had touched his treasure!

"Not good!"

Hatchan froze for a moment. By the time he reacted, the cold gleam was already before his eyes. He instinctively moved to respond, but it was too late. The blades were about to pierce through him.

Tap~

Suddenly, Mobius flicked his hand. The seawater rippled, and the straight-flying throwing knives immediately went "soft," floating powerless in the water.

Cold sweat poured from Hatchan as lingering fear and gratitude filled his heart.

"Thank you, Mobius."

"It's nothing. I was the one who wanted to come here, after all."

Mobius spoke calmly, but his gaze rested darkly on Vander Decken IX.

This guy really was rotten to the core.

A pedophile, huh? The best medicine for people like that was 7.62mm!

"Damn it!"

Vander Decken IX cursed. His perfect sneak attack had actually failed!?

"Wadatsumi, beat them up!"

"Huh?"

The gigantic fish-man Wadatsumi strode over. Hearing his captain's order, he immediately flew into a rage.

"You bad people!"

A mountain-sized fist came crashing down. Hatchan's eyes widened. How could there be such an enormous fish-man? He had never heard of any fish-giant hybrid appearing recently!?

"I'll handle this!"

With a roar, Hatchan leaped up!

Bang!

A huge bubble burst across the seafloor as Hatchan was sent flying backward, his eyes rolling white.

Mobius smacked his lips. He had said it already—technique without stats was useless.

"Bahahahaha, human, is this your guard? He looks nowhere near good enough~"

Vander Decken IX laughed wildly. Sure enough, he was destined for greatness and legend!

Crackle~

Mobius was not affected by him in the slightest. He merely began gathering Thunder Roar in his mouth.

Electrocuting fish was bad, but this time was an exception~

"Roar!"

"Aaargh!?"

Screams rose one after another...

"Worororo, I think I can feel a powerful presence~"

Reclining atop a stolen ship, the horned brute drank heavily. From within the coating, he looked toward Fish-Man Island in the distance, its outline faintly visible, and burst into laughter.

"Don't disappoint me!"