There was no awareness for Kouta regarding Sharly’s fortune-telling about him.
He knew of her.
After all, someone who could predict what would happen ten years later, regardless of how she predicted it, was an extraordinary individual.
However, knowing was one thing, and meeting was another.
After all, Kouta had killed Sharly’s only relative, her brother, Arlong.
Therefore, even though he knew of Sharly’s existence, he had not entered the Mermaid Cafe when he had previously wandered through Mermaid Harbor.
And at this moment.
Kouta, Kuina, Robin, and Jinbe stood on the dock where they had disembarked.
Looking at the empty dock before them, Kouta turned his head to Jinbe and said with a light chuckle, "Jinbe, we haven't provoked Fish-Man Island!"
"And I even allowed you to follow us, but now..."
Pausing slightly, Kouta looked up, his gaze passing over Jinbe and towards the distant Fish-Man District, observing the countless heads of various fish-men emerging from the houses.
As these fish-men glanced at them, their eyes were filled with malice.
His gaze returned to Jinbe, and his tone turned cold, "You provoked me. Don't blame me for not giving you face. Move aside! I know this wasn't your doing, and it has nothing to do with you, so I won't come after you."
"And I hope you won't interfere with what I'm about to do. You should know the consequences if you do."
Jinbe looked at Kouta, feeling the coldness in his azure eyes and the hint of killing intent, and froze in place.
He had never expected that things would turn out this way when everything had been going smoothly.
The silver-haired crew was very law-abiding. After arriving on the island, they had behaved like ordinary tourists. Moreover, to accommodate him and the mood of the royal palace, they had planned to leave after only half a day. Yet, at the very end, those scoundrels from the Fish-Man District had taken their ship.
This situation angered him greatly.
Wasn’t this plunging Fish-Man Island into crisis?
One must understand that the person before him was no ordinary pirate. This individual would not care whose territory this was.
As the leader of the Fish-Man District, he was certainly aware of the fish-men's aversion to humans, especially in the years since the death of Queen Otohime, when it had only worsened.
Sometimes, when he returned to the Fish-Man District, he could feel the madness there.
The silver-haired man was going to find his ship, and Jinbe had no reason to refuse. Moreover, the silver-haired man was clearly not just looking for a ship; he would certainly kill the person who had taken it.
This was what he sensed from the look in the man's eyes.
And the scoundrel who had taken the silver-haired man’s ship, he suspected he knew who it was!
Who else could it be but Hody Jones’s new Fish-Man Pirates?
"Damn scoundrels."
He had already disliked that fellow somewhat around the time of Otohime's death.
It was that fellow who had completely shattered Otohime’s efforts.
Although he was also enraged by humans assassinating Otohime, he had not lost his reason. However, Hody Jones, disregarding the overall situation and against his objections, had insisted on making the incident public, placing Fish-Man Island and humanity in direct opposition.
What he didn't know was that the person who killed Otohime was the same sinister individual who had first discovered and killed the pirate with the gun, framing humanity.
Jinbe, having recovered his senses, looked at Kouta, opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found himself unable to. Should he say, "You wait here, and I'll go find your ship for you"?
He probably could retrieve the ship, but he couldn't guarantee whether the retrieved ship would be damaged.
Furthermore, Kouta might not allow him to look for the ship.
"Alright, you just watch from here."
Kouta took a step forward, standing to Jinbe’s right, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Although I can sense the deep malice emanating from the Fish-Man District towards our crew, I am not a heartless person."
"I can guarantee that I will not harm the ordinary people there. However, I will not let the mastermind behind the theft of our ship go."
After speaking, Kouta patted Jinbe's shoulder again, then turned to look at Kuina and Robin, and said with a smile, "You two wait here for A-Hua and the others. I'm going to retrieve the Freedom."
"Mm!" Kuina, holding Robin’s hand, stood gracefully to the side and nodded at Kouta, her face devoid of any worry.
Kouta's gaze returned, and the smile vanished from his face. He looked up towards the depths of the Fish-Man District, a hint of killing intent flashing in his azure eyes.
Then, he strode forward. The space under his feet seemed to fold together, making a single step feel like traversing vast distances. His figure vanished from his original spot, reappearing directly at the entrance of the distant Fish-Man District.
Kouta's sudden appearance startled the countless fish-men in the Fish-Man District who were watching him.
Then, as they regained their senses, their eyes flashed with bloodshot veins as they stared at Kouta.
"Human, you dare to come to the Fish-Man District again? Fellow citizens, attack! Kill him."
Someone shouted, and countless fish-men rushed out of their houses, their eyes red as they charged towards Kouta.
A flicker of red light flashed in Kouta's eyes. Without even glancing at the charging fish-men, he took another step forward. His figure, like a phantom, vanished into the distance once more.
Leaving behind countless fish-men who had charged at him, frozen in place.
They looked left and right, frantically searching for Kouta's figure.
"Where did that human go?"
"Damn it, is that guy a Devil Fruit user?"
"Everyone search! We must find that guy. Brother Hody Jones took his ship, he won't just let it go."
Innumerable fish-men instantly filled the streets, searching everywhere, but Kouta's figure seemed to have truly vanished. No matter how they searched, they couldn't find any trace of him.
Just then, a fish-man looked up and suddenly spotted a figure floating in the distant sky.
His eyes widened, and as he clearly saw the figure, he became incredibly excited.
"Where is that human?"
Hearing his shout, all the fish-men stopped searching and followed the direction of the fish-man’s hand towards the sky.
When they saw that it was indeed that human.
Their eyes all gleamed with bloodthirsty light as they surged towards the figure's direction.
Kouta, suspended in the air, looked down at the tall buildings below.
This was the headquarters of Hody Jones’s new Fish-Man Pirates, and the Freedom was docked in an artificial waterway behind this building.
And in that waterway sat a fish-man who resembled a sea monk, with a giant-like physique.
If he wasn't mistaken, this guy was a subordinate of Vander Decken, a Red-Fin Pufferfish-Man.
As for this guy’s name, he couldn’t recall.
And in the rooms below, he could sense several presences far stronger than ordinary fish-men.
One of them, exuding an aura of boundless madness, should be Hody Jones.
And the other, exuding a lecherous aura, should be Vander Decken IX.