Just before they parted ways with Whitebeard, he told Fitz the route to Fish-Man Island. Fitz really was a remarkably intelligent bird. Under Barn's training, Fitz had already learned to understand human speech and might even have spoken it, if not for having different vocal cords. Still, that was enough. Once Whitebeard explained the route, Fitz translated it into animal language for Laboon.
Meanwhile, Barn sat quietly beside the sea of stomach acid inside Laboon, fishing with a specially made rod.
Naturally, there were no fish in this sea of stomach acid, let alone any to catch. Even fish bones could not survive here. But it would have been the same outside anyway-he never caught anything.
Barn had grown used to that, and to this way of life. Fishing made it easier for him to calm his mind and think things through. Whether he caught anything no longer mattered. As he put it, he simply enjoyed the process.
Laboon was clever, or perhaps it was simply a sea creature's instinct. The whale knew to avoid dangers, such as those treacherous underwater tornadoes. Laboon had no desire to wander into one for a "dry cleaning." Soon, they reached the great underwater waterfall, beneath which lay the legendary "undersea paradise," Fish-Man Island.
Fish-Man Island looked like a round sphere completely enclosed in bubbles. An enormous, double-layered hemispherical bubble shield surrounded the entire island, with a layer of air between the two shields. If ships coated at the Sabaody Archipelago entered Fish-Man Island by the wrong route, their coating would automatically peel away and merge with the island's shield. Some ships would even fall to the ground in the air layer between them. Even if intruders managed to force their way through the shields, the seawater inside would wash them and their ships away. Barn had come to visit a friend, and he had no intention of forcing his way into Fish-Man Island and causing a disturbance.
It was worth mentioning that, although Fish-Man Island lay deep beneath the sea, it still had a sky and clouds. The enormous Sunlight Tree Eve, which grew nearby, could transmit sunlight from the surface down to the island. This gave the deep-sea island sunlight and a cycle of day and night. The locals even called this phenomenon "the sun's blessing."
Enclosed in a bubble, Fitz poked a head out of Laboon's blowhole, surveyed the situation, then directed Laboon to "land" at Fish-Man Island's entrance.
Barn had barely emerged from Laboon's blowhole, enclosed in a bubble with Fitz perched on his head, when a squad of soldiers riding seahorses surrounded them. Just as on Sky Island, outsiders arriving at Fish-Man Island generally had to undergo an entry inspection, or they would be arrested by the Ryugu Kingdom's Neptune Army.
"Outsider, what brings you to Fish-Man Island?"
One soldier who appeared to be the leader thrust his spear toward Barn as he spoke.
"Chirp, chirp!"
Seeing this "person" point a spear at Barn and Fitz, the bird chirped angrily and fluttered up and down inside the bubble.
Barn had naturally activated his Mind's Eye long ago. The outlines of the nearby Neptune Army soldiers appeared in his mind, surrounded by a somewhat grayish white glow. That proved these so-called Neptune Army soldiers did not even qualify as small fry to him.
Yet Barn cooperatively raised both hands in surrender inside his bubble. He also stopped Fitz's fussing and put on a smile.
"Don't be nervous. I'm here to find a friend. His name is Fisher Tiger. I'm sure you know him. Sorry for the trouble, but could you let him know I'm here? Just tell him my name is Barn."
The Neptune Army soldier gave Barn a suspicious look, then went into Fish-Man Island to report his arrival. The other soldiers kept their weapons trained on Barn, but he did not get angry. He simply kept smiling.
At that moment, Fisher Tiger was in Dragon Palace, discussing matters with Neptune, the ruler of Fish-Man Island, and his queen.
The giant fish-man wearing a crown was Neptune. He was more heavily built than an ordinary merman, with thick, fluffy orange-red hair and a beard, a ruddy, angular nose, flame-like tattoos on his arms, and dense body hair. The beautiful mermaid seated beside him, with medium-length wavy hair and a Han-style robe patterned with fish scales, was his wife, Otohime, the current queen of Fish-Man Island's Ryugu Kingdom.
"Report! Lord Fisher Tiger, a human calling himself Barn is asking to see you at the entry checkpoint!"
Fisher Tiger had been speaking with Neptune, but his eyes lit up when he heard Barn's name from the soldier. He immediately ordered that Barn be brought here.
"Sir Fisher Tiger, you said the human Navy had set its sights on you after you caused an uproar in Mary Geoise?"
Neptune spoke as he grasped the long beard piled over his chest.
Fisher Tiger sighed before replying.
"Yes. The Navy has already issued a wanted notice for me. I'm afraid Fish-Man Island could get dragged into this."
"It's all right. I believe the Navy will listen to reason. Sir Fisher Tiger, you're a hero of Fish-Man Island. You freed so many slaves. I'm sure even humans won't make things difficult for you."
Otohime could be considered a little blindly optimistic, perhaps because she had never had any contact with humans.
"They won't. The holy land I wrecked is home to the world's nobles, the Celestial Dragons. Under their pressure, the Navy will stop at nothing to capture me."
Fisher Tiger knew very well how deranged those Celestial Dragons were, and he immediately voiced his concerns.
"What? Then what are we going to do...?"
This time, Otohime seemed to have truly recognized the gravity of the situation.
"That's simple!"
Just then, a voice other than theirs suddenly rang out. It was Barn.
At the sight of Barn, Fisher Tiger stood up excitedly, walked over, and embraced him.
"Barn, my friend, it's so good to see you here safe and sound."
Barn could feel Fisher Tiger's sincerity. He was a good, loyal man. Adam had already told Barn how Fisher Tiger had insisted on going to Impel Down to rescue him.
Barn smiled as well and patted Fisher Tiger on the back. Then he released him and turned toward Queen Otohime, who sat beside the throne.
So this is Otohime?
The thought had just crossed Barn's mind when Otohime spoke.
"You must be Sir Barn, who went to Mary Geoise with Sir Fisher Tiger that day. Indeed, I am Queen Otohime. Hello."
"Huh? How did you...?"
Barn was startled that Queen Otohime had answered his unspoken thought. Otohime smiled and explained.
"This is an ability of mine. In human terms, I believe it is called 'Observation Haki.' I imagine you possess this ability as well, Sir Barn."
"Oh."
Barn realized that Otohime's ability was another evolved form of Observation Haki, and immediately understood what had happened. He then activated his Mind's Eye. As another evolved form of Observation Haki, the Mind's Eye was no weaker than Queen Otohime's voice of all things when it came to enhancing mental power. He immediately blocked her from reading his thoughts.
When Queen Otohime realized she could no longer hear Barn's inner voice, her brow furrowed slightly, but she otherwise gave nothing away.
"I heard what you and Fisher Tiger were saying while I was outside, Queen Otohime. The solution is simple. Fisher Tiger just needs to set sail. Then the Navy will focus its efforts on him, and Fish-Man Island won't be dragged into it."
Barn's words made Fisher Tiger's eyes light up. That really would solve the problem facing them.
In the end, Barn joined Neptune and the others in their discussion, and Fisher Tiger decided to set sail to resolve the danger facing Fish-Man Island. Once the conversation ended, Fisher Tiger left to prepare for his departure, while King Neptune and Queen Otohime asked Barn to stay.
"Sir Barn, you may have noticed that the fish-men here on Fish-Man Island are very hostile toward humans. That is because humans classify us fish-men as 'fish,' and even buy and sell our people as merchandise!"
Queen Otohime grew increasingly agitated as she spoke, until she struck the throne with her fist.
Crack...
"Ah! It... it's broken!"
"Oh no, Your Majesty! The royal physician! Call the royal physician!"
Barn was utterly speechless. He knew Queen Otohime was physically fragile, but he had never imagined she was this fragile. One punch to a chair had fractured her wrist...
Once her arm had been bandaged, Queen Otohime held the injured arm with her other hand and continued.
"But, Sir Barn, there are still people on Fish-Man Island who wish to live peacefully with humans..."
Barn talked with Queen Otohime and Neptune for a long time. By the time he finally left the palace, Fitz and Neptune had both fallen asleep. He slept in the room Neptune had arranged for him in Dragon Palace, and when he returned to the royal hall, he happened to meet Fisher Tiger, who had come to say his farewells.
Fisher Tiger was wearing a large pair of beach shorts and a T-shirt. His shirt hung open, revealing a sun on his chest. The many fish-men following him bore the same design on various parts of their bodies. This was the method Fisher Tiger had devised to cover the shameful mark of the Celestial Dragons, the "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon."
Although Fisher Tiger had freed many fish-men and brought them out to sea, the brands marking them as former slaves could not disappear. To erase the mark of shame and enslavement the Celestial Dragons had burned into their bodies, the crew designed a "sun" emblem resembling the "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon." They branded it onto the backs of both the freed fish-man slaves and the new members who later joined the pirate crew. The fish-men thus named their new crew the Sun Pirates.
Barn had come to Fish-Man Island to see Fisher Tiger; meeting Queen Otohime had been an unexpected bonus. He deeply sympathized with the fate of this tragic hero, and if possible, he would gladly save Fisher Tiger's life. He immediately declared that he would leave with him.
That very day, Fisher Tiger and Barn left Fish-Man Island together and headed out to sea.