Translator: PapaSmurf0700
The mental breakthrough was an unexpected but welcome surprise for Bai Ye. After so long in this world, he had finally hit a plateau in his training. The Yin-Yang Qimen technique he'd developed during the Summit War wasn't a true evolution, but rather a clever balancing act between his three core disciplines—a way to maximize his existing power. But this... this was different. He could feel the bottleneck that had plagued his spiritual cultivation finally loosening. He had a premonition that his next true transcendence was not far away.
At that moment, King Neptune spoke again, his voice heavy with sorrow. "Forgive me, everyone, for dredging up such a tragic past on this occasion." He took a deep breath. "But it is essential to what I must say next."
"When my late queen, Otohime, rescued that Celestial Dragon, my youngest daughter, Shirahoshi, unconsciously awakened a terrifying power."
Neptune's gaze swept over the crew, and then, as if making a final, momentous decision, he revealed the secret the Ryugu Kingdom had guarded for centuries: "The power to command the Sea Kings."
The words hung in the air, stunning the Straw Hat Pirates into silence.
The three Ancient Weapons: the super-battleship Pluton, which they'd learned of in Alabasta; Uranus, the god of the heavens, still shrouded in mystery; and Poseidon, the god of the seas. Merfolk possessed a magical ability to communicate with fish, but Sea Kings—the colossal, god-like beasts of the deep—were beyond their reach.
Except for one.
Once every eight hundred years, a mermaid princess is born into the royal family with a unique gift. She is a king among kings, with the ability to command legions of Sea Kings. The world has a name for this power, and a warning: It is a force great enough to save countless lives, or to destroy the entire world.
"To make the Sea Kings your own power... incredible," Robin murmured, her historian's curiosity ignited.
"So, both are Ancient Weapons, but Pluton is a battleship and Poseidon is... a person?" Nami asked, surprised. Her experience in Alabasta had led her to assume all Ancient Weapons were inanimate objects of destruction.
"OUCH! Eight hundred years, you say? Now I'm even more interested in the history the World Government tried to bury!" Franky declared, striking a pose. "This is gonna be a SU~PER~ explosive secret!"
Usopp, however, looked confused. "But Your Majesty... what does any of this have to do with us?"
"Address him as King Neptune!" Pappag scolded.
Usopp's question brought everyone back to reality. As shocking as the revelation was, they didn't understand why the king was entrusting them with such a dangerous secret.
"Because of a prophecy," Jinbe answered for the king. "A legend on Fishman Island states that when the mermaid princess who commands the Sea Kings is born, a certain person is destined to appear in her life. Someone who can guide her, helping her to properly channel the immense power within her. When that happens, the world will undergo a dramatic and irreversible change."
Silence fell over the group once more. After a moment, Zoro's sharp gaze landed on Jinbe. "Is that why you chose to join our crew? You believe Luffy is this person from the legend."
Sometimes, the swordsman's perception was astonishingly keen.
"That is one of the reasons, yes," Jinbe admitted openly. "Luffy has already caused great changes in the world, even without meeting the princess. I chose to board this ship because I believe in him."
"On that point, Jinbe, we disagree," Neptune interjected unexpectedly. Everyone, including a surprised Bai Ye, turned to look at the king. "I believe that Mr. Bai Ye is the man from the prophecy."
The king elaborated, "The legend speaks not so much of a guiding force, but of a guide for the princess. The power to command the Sea Kings is something she is born with. Therefore, the person from the prophecy must be someone who can lead her to correctly understand the world and her place in it. In my opinion," he said, his eyes locking with Bai Ye's, "a man who could deliver the speeches you gave at Sabaody and Marineford, a man who helped establish the Spark Alliance... you are the one fit to guide my daughter."
As a member of the Spark Alliance, Neptune knew far more about the Straw Hats' inner workings than Jinbe. He knew that while Bai Ye served as the vice-captain and never overstepped his bounds with Luffy, he was the crew's strategic and ideological anchor. The more Neptune learned, the more he believed that Bai Ye—measured, wise, and profoundly perceptive—was a far better fit to guide Shirahoshi than the passionate, instinct-driven Luffy.
Thinking this, Neptune opened his mouth to continue, but Bai Ye cut him off with a single question.
"The only one qualified to guide a king... is another king. Isn't that so?"
A small, knowing smile played on Bai Ye's lips. "There was a saying in my homeland," he began, his voice calm and steady. "'In every era, be it peaceful or chaotic, there are always those who naturally draw others to them. Those who gather loyal companions, who in turn become great in their own right. That person is destined to become a legend.'"
Bai Ye pointed a thumb toward Zoro. "If it weren't for Luffy, Zoro would have died in a Marine yard in Shells Town."
He gestured to Usopp. "Without Luffy, Usopp would have been buried with his lies in Syrup Village."
His gaze swept over the others. "Robin, Chopper, Franky... all of us. We are here today because of Luffy. If we are truly talking about a guide, then there is no question who it is."
After Bai Ye finished, a wave of smiles washed over the crew—except for Zoro, who scowled at the memory of his near-execution. Though they constantly bickered with and berated their captain, not a single one of them would deny the truth. Luffy had changed their destinies.
"I see," Neptune said, taken aback by Bai Ye's genuine conviction. "It seems I still have much to learn about your crew. My apologies."
"Don't worry about it," Bai Ye said with a chuckle. "It's hard for most people to accept that a guy as seemingly unreliable as our captain could be... well, our captain."
He turned to gesture toward where Luffy should have been sitting, but his hand froze in mid-air.
The next second, his calm demeanor shattered. "WHERE THE HELL IS LUFFY?!" His face was a mask of disbelief. I just gave you the world's greatest hype speech, and you weren't even here to hear it?!
Only then did the rest of the crew notice the mountain of empty plates and the vacant seat at the head of the table.
"Damn it!" Sanji cursed, slamming a hand on the table. "In situations like this, Luffy's presence gets so quiet that we're all used to just tuning him out!"
"He must have gotten lost again," Zoro said, taking a cheerful swig of sake. "That guy is always so hopeless."
"YOU'RE THE LAST PERSON WHO GETS TO SAY THAT!" Usopp roared.
"It's obvious," Nami sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "He inhaled all the food on the table while we were listening to the story, and then wandered off to find more."