Vice-captain of Whitebeard pirates

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When Larson heard about controlling the Neptune class, his thoughts immediately turned to a certain figure—or rather, a fish.

The mermaid princess of Fish-Man Island, Shirahoshi, is one of the three ancient weapons, Poseidon.

Larson wasn't sure if the mysterious conch that suddenly appeared, drawing the attention of Neptune species, had anything to do with Shirahoshi, because as far as he knew, she hadn't been born yet.

But regardless, if this conch truly possessed the ability to attract Neptune species, its value would be beyond estimation.

Roger stood up, saying, "Let's go take a look together."

Whitebeard followed suit, "Then let's set sail and explore."

"No need to sail."

Reilly chimed in, "Even if the Neptunes are hiding beneath the ocean, we wouldn't be able to spot them from above."

As everyone's gaze shifted toward him, he continued, "I'll dive underwater myself to check for any Sea Kings."

Larson knew Rayleigh was an exceptional swimmer—he even had the legendary feat of swimming alone from the Sabaody Archipelago to Amazon Lily. Still, Larson, maintaining an air of caution, asked, "Isn't it too dangerous to swim alone?"

Gaban grinned, "Don't worry, Larson. Something like this is a piece of cake for Rayleigh."

Rayleigh replied, "If it's just the Neptune class, I'll be able to swim back even if I can't handle them."

After thinking it over, Larson suggested, "Let's have a few skilled swimmers follow you from a distance. If there's trouble, they can return to notify us."

It wasn't that Larson didn't trust Rayleigh's abilities; he was more concerned that something on the level of the Sea King class, or perhaps something even more dangerous, might be lurking below.

"Fair enough," Rayleigh nodded in agreement.

Larson and Gaban then began selecting the crew. They picked five members each from the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates, forming a team of ten.

Meanwhile, Shanks stood by, still puzzled about why Rayleigh and the others had called him here. Since his arrival, no one had spoken to him, and Larson and the others carried on as if he wasn't there.

What Shanks didn't realize was that the only reason they had called him was out of respect for his latent Conqueror's Haki, even though it hadn't fully awakened yet.

Rayleigh stood at the ship's edge, then leapt into the water, swiftly followed by the ten crew members.

Larson, Whitebeard, and Roger stood by the ship, silently watching.

After a moment, Roger turned to Larson and asked, "If this conch is really what you think it is, what do you plan to do with it?"

Larson smiled, "I didn't discover this alone. It's up to everyone to decide."

Roger smiled back. He knew Larson wasn't lying, but he also wasn't revealing everything.

From the first moment Roger had met Larson, he could tell that although he appeared to be laid-back and humorous, there was much more to him beneath the surface.

And Roger was right. Larson had been deep in thought ever since the conversation started, contemplating the conch.

First, if the conch could indeed attract Neptune species, what exactly gave it that ability? Was it something innate?

Secondly, if there was one such conch, could there be others yet undiscovered?

If more existed, it could spell disaster.

Imagine: a single conch had just attracted a high-level Neptune species. If several were gathered together, how many Neptune species—and of what level—might be drawn?

A naked beauty lies before you. Perhaps you could resist with immense self-control, but if dozens or even hundreds of people are cheering for indulgence, no one could hold back.

Of course, all of this speculation hinges on the conch's ability to attract the Neptune species.

If Larson's previous assumption was wrong and those Neptune creatures simply appeared by chance, unrelated to the conch, then there would be no reason to discuss any further.

Larson toyed with the conch in his hand. Its mysterious power, as deep as the ocean, was palpable to him.

Suddenly, Larson turned to Whitebeard beside him, "Old Man, take this."

Whitebeard, confused, asked, "What?"

Despite his question, he reached for the conch. Whitebeard had absolute trust in Larson and would follow whatever he asked without hesitation.

As Whitebeard held the conch, his brows furrowed.

Larson immediately asked, "What do you feel?"

Roger and Gaban also looked over, curious. "What are you up to?" they asked.

They had all noticed the conch in Whitebeard's hands. Roger had held it earlier but hadn't felt anything unusual. Now, seeing Whitebeard's expression, he suspected there might be some hidden effect they had overlooked.

"Is this... Seastone?"

Whitebeard frowned, stating, "When I hold it, my abilities feel severely restricted."

Larson frowned in response. Suppressing the abilities of Devil Fruit users was indeed a property of Seastone, but this felt different.

Seastone typically completely nullified abilities, yet Whitebeard still retained some of his power, though diminished.

"That's impossible," Gaban suddenly interjected. "If that were the case, why wasn't the kid affected earlier?"

Gaban's words sparked something in Larson's mind. Yes, Marco had been carrying this conch when he flew back, yet he hadn't been affected at all.

At that moment, Roger mused, "Could it be that only those with the power of Conqueror's Haki are affected?"

Great! Now, even being affected requires Conqueror's Haki?

Gaban felt stung once more. In such a short time, he'd been wounded by comments like this three times. Gaban couldn't help but wonder, "Is it just me getting hit with all of this?"

...

Under the sea, Rayleigh swam steadily into the depths, with ten crew members following not far behind him.

To ensure they could relay any developments promptly, they kept some distance from Rayleigh as they descended.

As Rayleigh swam deeper, he noticed something strange—the ocean was quieter than it had been earlier in the day.

The two Neptune-like corpses still floated on the surface, and under normal circumstances, such carcasses would attract a horde of marine creatures. Yet, as Rayleigh swam for what seemed like ages, he found nothing but emptiness.

This eerie silence wasn't just strange—it was unnatural.

This was the ocean, after all. It was always teeming with life. You could usually see schools of fish swimming about, yet today, Rayleigh didn't encounter even a single fish.

Rayleigh had dived to verify Larson's theory about the Neptunes, but now, not only was there no sign of the Neptune species, there wasn't even the shadow of a fish in sight.

Rayleigh had never experienced anything like this before.

Surrounded by nothing but seawater, it was as if the entire marine ecosystem had vanished, leaving him alone. The depths below felt like a dark hand pulling him further into the abyss.

Rayleigh's heart tightened with a sense of foreboding. What he was witnessing was more unnerving than facing the massive octopus or the Neptune creatures.

Deciding it was best to return to the surface and report his findings, Rayleigh signaled to the ten men above, and they began swimming back up.

Before long, Rayleigh broke the surface of the water.

The first thing he did upon boarding the ship was to strip off his soaked clothes and quickly dry his hair and body with a towel.

Gaban looked disgusted. "Hurry up and put your clothes on. Why are you showing off your muscles?"

Gaban was currently angry because of the overlord's domineering behavior. When he saw Rayleigh, he wanted to find an excuse to argue with him.

Rayleigh completely ignored him and started telling Larson and the others everything he had seen and heard underwater.

After Roger and the others listened, they too were puzzled by the situation beneath the surface. Only Larson frowned in thought.

"Larson, did something come to mind?" Rayleigh asked.

"Yes."

Larson nodded. "I wonder if those fish actually escaped."

"Escaped?"

Roger and the others exchanged glances. "Didn't you say the conch attracts those creatures in the water? How could they have escaped?"

"Why not?"

Larson shot back, "What if something appeared that scared them all away?"

"You mean...?"

Larson's words seemed to stir something in their minds.

Whitebeard grew impatient. "If you've got something to say, just spit it out. It's annoying to keep beating around the bush."

Whitebeard was the kind of person who preferred action over thinking. If he could use his hands, he avoided being rude—that was just his way.

Larson didn't hesitate any longer. "I suspect there's another creature around here, one as strong as the one we just killed. Its presence might have scared off all the sea creatures nearby, forcing them to flee to other areas."

"A creature that could scare them all away…"

Everyone began to think deeply about it.

Just then, a newspaper pigeon flew overhead.

It dropped a few newspapers as it passed.

No one paid much attention. After all, newspaper pigeons were a common sight on the sea.

Someone casually caught one and, after reading it, gasped in surprise.

"What's going on?"

Roger and Larson noticed the commotion.

"Captain, take a look!"

Soon, the newspaper was handed over to them.

When Gaban saw the contents, his jaw dropped. "This is…"

A mysterious island has appeared in the East Blue, possessing the strange power to attract people, like Neptune!

That was the only content in the paper.

Larson glanced at the conch in his hand and muttered, "Is it really just a coincidence?"

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