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Chapter's Events:
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[Sea depths near the Sabaody Archipelago]
"The surface is so far away..."
Robin said with a smile as she gazed into the deep sea.
"It's beautiful!! You can't get a window this big on a submarine, that's for sure!!!"
added Franky.
"We're sinking!! Deeper and deeper!! Is the water really not going to get in?! This is kinda scary!!"
Chopper was frightened, worried about an unfortunate accident.
"It feels like we're leaving the human world behind… This is so exciting…" said Nami.
"W-We will be able to get back to the surface, right?! I mean…!! I-It's not like I'm scared or anything, but…"
Usopp was sweating nervously at that moment.
"The sea sure is pretty!!!"
Luffy was incredibly excited, as usual.
"Yohohohoho! Take a look over there!!"
"A tree!!! No… It's a root!!"
The sight of marine life in the deep sea was breathtaking, as the ship passed by the massive mangrove trees that form the Sabaody Archipelago above the surface.
"That's right. The Sabaody Archipelago is actually a forest of giant mangroves, after all…"
Sanji explained.
"The wonder of nature in all its glory!!!"
Brook commented again.
"I've seen it already," said Zoro.
"Yeah, when you got on the wrong ship!! Shut up!! We're trying to be awed here!!" exclaimed Sanji.
"Forget that—There's something behind us!!"
Usopp trembled in fear at the sight of the giant fish lurking behind the ship.
"These roots must reach all the way to the seabed… The sheer magnitude of it is impossible to put into words…"
"There's something huge behind that tree!!"
"Man, this is exciting!! A grand adventure in the ocean depths!! It's like a dream!!"
Luffy jumped and clung to the ship's membrane, shouting: "Ohh!! Fish!!"
"I can almost reach them! Come here, you!!"
Zoro unsheathed his sword, saying, "There are some tasty-looking fish over there, too…"
But in the next moment, both of them were smacked by their crewmates for violating safety protocols.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
This scene from Chapter 603 portrayed the stunning and shocking world of the deep sea in a marvelous way.
A wave of heated discussion erupted among readers who were just as amazed by the undersea world as the Straw Hats were in the chapter's pages.
In Ohara, as well as in other art stores across the world, people were buzzing over the events of the chapter and the vivid imagery of the sea depths where the Sunny-Go was diving.
"Oh my God! So this is what the massive roots supporting the Sabaody Archipelago look like! I never imagined I'd see it with my own eyes!"
"Incredible! These details! The undersea world is absolutely amazing!"
"Haven't you tried traveling to Fish-Man Island before? Give it a shot—you'll see the same view the crew did."
"Have you tried it?"
"No… Not yet…"
"Then why are you bragging?"
"Man, the journey to the depths using the enclosed sea train is super expensive and far riskier. Everyone prefers teleportation using the Sky Port. Direct sea routes using coated ships or the coated train are declining. No one wants to risk it!"
"We're just ordinary people who get scared—we're not the Straw Hat Pirates!"
"Heh~ Luffy and his crew taught me that the joy of life lies in experiencing adventures like this!"
"Dude, look at the giant fish stalking the ship! It could swallow them in one gulp!"
Readers' eyes widened in shock at the size of the fish lurking among the mangrove trees.
Not far from the excited crowd, Brook was more thrilled than ever.
"Yohohohoho! To think that after being buried in the Florian Triangle for decades, I would one day see sunlight again and dive into the deep sea to live out adventures like this…"
"Truly, fate is ever-changing and mysterious…" At that moment, Brook felt like crying, which Laboon Jr. on his shoulder noticed, comforting him with a gentle whale sound.
Everyone present saw how moved Brook was, but no one commented on it.
Vegapunk chuckled and said, "Pépépépé! It seems that the One Piece manga is the best way to get people everywhere to connect with their world. It's almost impossible to grasp just how vast this world is."
"And most people don't understand how dangerous it is either. The Hunter Guild has worked to make it extremely safe in recent years, and people have forgotten how ferocious this world can be," added Clover.
"That's fine. With the game world, people are starting to regain that sense of fear they had lost," added Saul.
There was no Hunter Guild protection in the game world—only the Navy, just like in the manga. This let players experience the world's dangers firsthand.
"I'm amazed by the sheer size of these mangrove trees… Their height is measured in kilometers…"
"As my counterpart said, 'The wonder of nature in all its glory.' Yohohohoho!!"
Brook regained his energy after briefly getting lost in his painful Florian Triangle memories, laughing again and engaging energetically with the manga's events.
Elsewhere, as Issho and Mihawk enjoyed reading the manga, Mihawk commented,
"I wonder if these sturdy mangrove trees can be cut down by my sword…"
"Oh, come on, man! Are you seriously thinking about that? These trees support hundreds of thousands of people living on the archipelago…"
Even Issho shuddered at the mere thought of cutting down such trees.
"Not only that, these trees are the only path for sunlight to reach Fish-Man Island."
"I'm just imagining it and asking questions—I'm not saying I'd actually do it," Mihawk replied, annoyed.
"Eh… Don't get upset. You can try it in the game world once you reach the proper level."
Noticing his companion's frustration, Issho offered the best solution.
"The game world? Heh… I forgot I can try whatever I want in my story… I've been too focused on defeating my strongest Warlord clone…"
Mihawk smiled as he remembered he could test his crazy idea in the game world.
Cutting the mangrove trees supporting the Sabaody Archipelago—without a doubt, the craziest idea any player has thought of or will ever think of!
"If you have the heart to bear the sin of killing so many NPCs in the Sabaody Archipelago, go ahead,"
Issho sighed in grief for those innocent NPCs. He always felt they were practically real people.
"I'll cut down just one tree. I don't think that'll affect an area as large as the archipelago," said Mihawk.
"Are you sure about that?"
At that moment, Rob, who was watching Mihawk with a smile, asked:
"How do you know that cutting just one tree won't impact the whole archipelago?"
Mihawk looked at Rob, and without overthinking it, he realized he was wrong.
"Well then, let's leave it to trial and error. You can play your story however you want—don't worry."
Rob placed his hand on Mihawk's shoulder as he said that before walking away.
...
Back in the Sabaody Archipelago, readers here were in total awe after witnessing the world beneath their feet brought to life with incredible detail on the manga's pages.
"Oh my God, so much massive marine life!"
"What an amazing world lies beneath the sea!"
"Look at the size of that fish!"
"Pfft! Are Zoro and Luffy trying to sink everyone!? He actually drew his sword!"
"Look at Luffy clinging tightly to the bubble membrane!"
"Hahahaha! Looks like Usopp and Sanji punished them properly for their recklessness!"
"Wait—look how the mangrove trees are being eroded by seawater. Does that mean one day these trees won't be able to hold anymore?"
"That's a very insightful question…"
"Well, when that day comes, at least we won't be around for it. The day the Sabaody Archipelago sinks beneath the sea is still far off."
"The lifespan of the mangrove trees can be measured in hundreds of thousands of years."
"Is that really true? Thanks for the info, old man!"
"Are you skipping your biology classes, kid? Go to school!"
The atmosphere in the art store here at the Sabaody Archipelago was just like in stores everywhere else—but what made this place special was that the manga scene was directly connected to it.
Life above the archipelago and beneath it were completely different—and both were shown in the manga, making readers' impressions here more vivid than anywhere else in the world.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 909: Bartholomew Kuma, The Ally.
Chapter 910: Life as a Pirate Is So Exciting!
Chapter 911: The Strongest Trio!
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