Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

“We are heading to the ‘New World’ seas,” Kong replied.

"No problem..."

The merman nodded and then said, "The Port of Hell will open in three minutes. Please prepare to pass through. How many of you are there?"

“Nine people,” Kong replied.

The merman nodded, then handed nine transparent spheres from his robes to Kong's hand. He then leaped into the sea and disappeared without a trace.

With the fishman gone, the rest of the Straw Hat crew were completely bewildered, and Usopp hurriedly asked anxiously.

"Empty, what, Hell's Harbor? That name sounds terrifying."

"I'll explain this later. You all take this and make sure you have it safe, or you'll be in a real mess later."

As he spoke, Kong handed the ball in his hand to each of his partners.

"What is this for?"

Luffy looked at the crystal-like sphere in his hand and asked, puzzled.

"This thing is called a 'bubble protective suit.' Its principle is similar to that of ship coating. After contact with seawater, it will automatically adhere to the human body to form a disposable bubble film that can isolate the seawater, allowing humans to breathe temporarily in seawater."

As he explained, Sora gestured for Luffy to grip the sphere tightly, saying, "Especially for Devil Fruit users, without this, their lives could be in danger."

Sanji immediately perked up upon hearing this. "So, we're going to Fishman Island?"

Kong shook his head and replied, "No, we are heading to a port built inside the Red Line, called... Hell's Port."

[Chapter 758. The Port Located Underground on the Red Line]

As Kong finished speaking, a violent whirlpool suddenly appeared on the calm sea where the Merry was located.

After taking one look, Nami immediately tensed up and exclaimed urgently, "Oh no, the Going Merry is going to be swallowed up! Quick..."

Before Nami could finish speaking, Sora interrupted her, saying, "Don't be nervous. This is how you get to Hell's Port. Everyone, just hold on tight to your bubble suits."

Ying chimed in, "That's right, the following scene is going to be very impressive. It will be a voyage across the land."

As Sora and Luminous spoke in succession, the Straw Hat crew, trusting their comrades, stopped rushing to maneuver the Going Merry away from the vortex. Instead, they watched nervously as the vortex below rapidly expanded and then quickly swallowed the Going Merry completely.

Instantly, as the Going Merry entered the sea, the spheres held by the Straw Hat crew transformed into "bubble suits," ensuring their ability to breathe normally in the seawater.

The Merry seemed to be riding on some special ocean current, speeding downwards through the seawater.

Soon, the peculiar ocean current carried the Merry straight towards a dark, gaping hole in the red earth continent, hundreds of meters below the surface.

At that moment, as the Merry entered this large opening, it was as if it had completely entered a dark world. The Merry was like a pipe, moving up and down rapidly, or swaying left and right as it moved forward.

This dark and thrilling feeling caused the Straw Hat crew to cling tightly to the ship, while some of them couldn't help but scream.

"What's this……"

"I'm...I'm going to faint!"

"what……"

next moment……

"Peng!"

As if reaching some kind of destination, the Going Merry leaped out of the sea and crashed heavily onto the surface. The Straw Hat crew's bubble suits burst automatically, revealing a strange world to them.

Everywhere you looked was a deep crimson, as if you had arrived in the legendary hell world.

Contrary to their expectations of darkness, the area was illuminated by soft light emanating from things that resembled the roots of the Sun Tree, Eve, making it exceptionally bright and allowing the Straw Hat crew to see the harbor-like structure around them.

"Where...am I?"

As Sanji uttered a question in a daze, a beautiful mermaid suddenly leaped out of the sea and landed on the deck, instantly turning Sanji's eyes into hearts.

"A...mermaid?!"

The beautiful mermaid sat gracefully on the edge of the ship's railing, a kind smile on her face, and began to speak.

"Hello, I am Saiya. Welcome to Port 8. I will be your guide and take you to the 'New World' sea area."

The next moment, Sanji, who had looked somewhat disheveled, produced a rose from somewhere and knelt down in front of the mermaid Saiya, speaking as if he were a gentleman.

“Oh, it is an honor to meet you, Ms. Saiya. I am also honored to have arrived at Fishman Island. I hope we have a wonderful journey.”

Saiya covered her mouth and chuckled softly, saying, "Sir, this is not Fishman Island."

"Huh?" Sanji said, somewhat surprised.

"This is a hellish port built beneath the Holy Land of Mary Geoise on the Red Line. It is also the third place, unknown to the world, connecting the beginning and end of the Grand Line, besides the Holy Land of Mary Geoise and Fishman Island," Saya corrected.

After a pause, Saiya continued, "Please leave this port entrance first, otherwise it will affect the efficiency of other ships passing through."

As the Going Merry sailed along the river-like waterway that stretched out from the port, Saiya began to give the Straw Hat crew a simple explanation.

"This is Hell's Port. We are currently located in Waterway 8, which corresponds to Port 8. If we follow the waterway forward, we will enter the main waterway and then truly arrive at Hell's Port..."

After a pause, Saiya turned to look at the Straw Hat crew, who were curiously observing the strange sights around them, and said.

"You're pirates, right? Very few pirates have the authority to pass through Hell Port. But if you need supplies, you can resupply there without any problem."

"Is this inside the Red Line? Are there any shops here?" Nami asked curiously.

Saiya smiled gently and said.

"I forgot to add one point: Hell's Port is also known as the Port of a Hundred Races. It is also a port connecting the front and back sections of the Grand Line. Hell's Port has all the resources that exist in this sea."

"A port of a hundred... a port of a hundred races? How is that possible?" Chopper asked in shock.

"That's right, this is a place where all races can live together in harmony, because we once shared a common identity and also experienced pain that allowed us to truly understand each other."

As Saya was speaking, she inadvertently looked up, which made Sanji notice a red mark on Saya's neck.

Sanji had seen that mark on the mermaid who died in front of him before.

"Flying... Flying Dragon's Hoof?!" Sanji stammered, his eyes widening in shock.

"Ah...did I get noticed?"

Upon hearing this, Saiya replied nonchalantly, "However, more than 60% of the original inhabitants living in Hell Harbor now have this mark on their bodies, so there's nothing surprising about it."

"So, you... were once a Celestial Dragon... uh."

At this point, Reiju found herself unable to continue using the word "slave."

After being briefly restrained, Reiju deeply understood how terrifying the feeling of losing freedom was. A foreseeable despair enveloped her, and she was powerless to resist, only able to watch helplessly as she was about to be stripped of everything.

Saiya simply smiled gently and said...

"So, the reason this place is called Hell's Harbor is not only because it's located deep inside the Red Line, making the environment crimson, but more importantly, because those who built this port were people who had once been trapped in Hell..."

As Saiya finished speaking, the Merry gently sank and then merged into a waterway wide enough for ten naval warships to pass side by side.

At the same time, ships of various shapes and sizes came into view of the Straw Hat crew, and strange races appeared on both sides of the waterway.

Long-armed tribe, snake-bodied tribe, long-legged tribe, mink tribe, fur tribe, giant tribe, mermaid tribe...

What's even more remarkable is that these different races live together in extraordinary harmony, their faces generally filled with contented and happy smiles.

"It's so powerful... it's terrible..."

The Straw Hat crew's mouths gradually widened in shock at the incredibly harmonious scene they witnessed in a world that resembled hell.

[Chapter 759. The Shocking Origin]

How can so many different races live together so harmoniously?

Only those who have truly sailed the ocean can understand how incredible this scene is.

Putting aside everything else, just based on Nami's personal experience of the conflict between fish-men and humans, the fish-men, simply because of their physical strength and sense of racial superiority, did not hesitate to enslave and exploit the weaker humans.

"It's...unbelievable, that such a place actually exists in the world," Nami said, stunned.

"A place where all races live in harmony—this is even more incredible than 'ALL BLUE,' where all fish exist," Sanji said, also deeply moved.

"I wonder... if there are reindeer here?"

Chopper, who had been isolated and excluded from his tribe since childhood, felt a glimmer of hope rising in his heart.

"reindeer?"

Upon hearing this, Saiya couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Do you mean ingredients, or means of transportation?"

……

Chopper.

Chopper immediately slumped into a corner, looking utterly dejected, his hooves drawing circles on the ground.

The rest of the Straw Hat crew laughed mercilessly. Ying even went up and picked up Chopper, roughly squashing him while asking in a terrifying tone.

"What? Emergency rations, are you planning to leave us?"

"Haha, Ying, don't scare Chopper..."

Sora, unusually, took the initiative to speak up for Chopper, saying, "Chopper is an indispensable partner of ours."

Chopper, who had gradually learned to enjoy being tormented by Ying, said somewhat dishonestly, "Hmph, I won't be moved, you bunch of idiots! I won't be happy about it, I hate you guys the most..."

Before Chopper could finish speaking, Sanji quickly grabbed a string of marshmallows from the kitchen and handed it to him. "Here, have some marshmallows."

"Oh, thank you!"

Chopper's face unconsciously showed a happy expression. He quickly took it and began to lick it with a satisfied look on his face.

Before Chopper could fully form a happy expression, Sanji conjured up a giant heart-shaped marshmallow and knelt in front of Saya, saying...

"Oh, beautiful mermaid, please accept this cotton candy that represents my feelings..."

Chopper's smile froze. He looked down at his own, then at the one Sanji had given to Saya, and inexplicably felt that his was nothing more than a scrap.

The next moment, the Straw Hat crew's unrestrained laughter rang out aboard the Going Merry, which continued along the main waterway, gradually venturing deeper into this strange, hellish harbor.

……

As the Going Merry arrived at the port area of ​​Hell's Port, Saya was giving the Straw Hat crew a brief explanation of the precautions.

"Fellow pirates, in order to ensure the secrecy and security of Hell Port, communication between Hell Port and the outside world via Den Den Mushi has always been cut off."

"Huh? What if there's an emergency and we need to contact the outside world?" Usopp asked.

Saiya replied.