"Otohime! Rosse!"
[Ryugu Kingdom, Royal Palace]
Looking at the live broadcast, with Otohime standing beside Rosse, displaying an extremely intimate appearance, a trace of gloom appeared in Neptune's eyes.
The truth was already laid bare; any self-deception was now meaningless.
"I really don't know what's so good about that Saint Rosse besides his identity. There's nothing about him that surpasses Your Majesty," By Neptune's side, a female scorpionfish mermaid muttered discontentedly.
Her appearance was enchanting, lacking in beauty but alluring in temperament. With a body length of over 10 meters, she was about the same size as Neptune. Her fish tail was entwined with Neptune's tail, appearing extremely intimate.
"Hmph! Just a slightly higher status, that's all."
Neptune snorted lightly, his gaze toward Rosse full of hostility.
He never liked Celestial Dragons in the first place, and now that his queen had gone off with one of them, and even looked like she was doing it willingly, he hated Rosse even more.
"Your Majesty, Otohime really is blind," The scorpionfish mermaid giggled foolishly, "Your Majesty treats her so well, and yet she thinks of someone else."
"That's right. You're the one who treats me best," Neptune's expression softened slightly, and the look he gave the scorpionfish mermaid carried a hint of affection.
In his most disheartened time, it was this woman who accompanied him through it, not only comforting him, but also enduring a portion of his indulgence.
Even though it was extremely painful, she never uttered a single complaint.
Not only that, she even helped him prepare for a concubine selection, saying that a nation cannot go a day without a queen. Since Otohime didn't cherish him, then it was time to choose someone better.
Neptune didn't refuse, and simply let the scorpionfish mermaid take care of things. He even let the Minister of the Left assist her and granted her authority to mobilize the Ammo Knights.
He never doubted her.
That past experience made him firmly believe she was a good woman.
Moreover, she was someone Marco had brought, and he could trust that.
Neptune had already prepared to give the position of queen to the scorpionfish mermaid. The concubine selection was just a formality.
———
Meanwhile, in another palace nearby, Marco and Vista were also watching the live broadcast. But their Observation Haki had been monitoring Neptune's side the entire time.
"Told you, out with the old, in with the new," Marco chuckled.
"Geez, the news about Fish-Man Island holding a new queen selection has spread everywhere. Tsk tsk, thousands of mermaids, Neptune sure isn't afraid of overexerting himself," Vista sighed.
"What do you know?", Marco shot him a glance, "Mermaids are different from us. Their mating is just like an adult film, and reproduction uses a different process altogether, so there's no such thing as exhaustion."
"How do you know so much?", Vista frowned.
"Ahem! Don't look at me. I haven't been seeing any adult mermaid girls lately," Marco looked a bit guilty.
"Oh, oh, I actually wanted to find one, but sadly, mermaid girls over 30 aren't interested in me," Vista didn't even notice, still honestly lamenting his misfortune.
"Haha, you'll find one, you'll find one."
Seeing Vista being as naive as ever, Marco felt relieved. He turned his gaze back to the broadcast and said, "With Rosse around, the survival environment for pirates is getting worse and worse."
"What do you mean?", Vista didn't understand.
"I've heard some of Sakazuki's ideology. He's the most hardline hawk among the navy, aiming to eliminate all pirates. Since Rosse supports someone like that, it shows their ideologies are quite similar," Marco explained, a trace of concern in his eyes.
As pirates themselves, even though they fought among each other, when facing the navy and the World Government, they'd still stand united.
After all, if only one pirate crew remained, with the navy's strength, there'd be no chance of survival.
If one wanted to walk far down the path of piracy, more people needed to become pirates.
"If he's such a threat, let's find an opportunity and kill him," Vista stroked his sword hilt, killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"Kill? With what?", Marco shook his head with a laugh, "Even Dad and I wanted to kill him, but he always has at least one admiral protecting him. That world's strongest swordsman isn't weak either. Rosse himself is a powerhouse. With that kind of setup, killing him is easier said than done."
"Hmph! That so-called world's strongest swordsman is purely hyped up. If they come to Fish-Man Island, I'll let that woman know what true swordsmanship is," Vista sneered.
He really couldn't stand Rosse's group. Bot because of ideology, but simply because he disliked Momousagi.
Clearly, she had no real battle accomplishments, yet the World Government hailed her as the world's top swordsman. That was practically stepping on the faces of all swordsmen.
"Coming to Fish-Man Island?", Marco raised an eyebrow, suddenly revealing a thoughtful expression.
If it were anywhere else, they truly couldn't do anything against Rosse.
But if it were underwater, and if they could persuade Neptune, perhaps they really had a chance.
Rosse had never hidden the fact that he was a Devil Fruit user, that had already been confirmed.
Devil Fruit users feared seawater. If they could stall Zephyr, maybe they really had a shot at killing Rosse.
"I have to inform Dad about this, we need to make a proper plan."
———
[Island No. 1]
Rosse's speech was still ongoing.
After finishing the part about punishing the slave shops on Island No. 1, Rosse turned his gaze toward the slaves below, "To be honest, I don't like the word 'slave.' I even think that slaves should not exist."
As soon as he said this, not only the slaves but even the marines looked at Rosse with shocked expressions.
This was the first time in the world that someone in power had said, during a global broadcast, that slaves should not exist.
The shock was akin to barbarians witnessing an airplane.
Not only the people present, but those watching the livestream all over the world were also stunned by Rosse's words.
"In my view, all slaves should be liberated and replaced with an employment system. Everyone should have the right to work and earn money. People can use their own hands to labor in exchange for deserved compensation." [T/N: Modern day Slavery]
Rosse didn't show the slightest fear, speaking calmly right in front of the live broadcast.
According to his depiction, not only should slaves not exist, but pirates and bandits should also not exist.
In the world he envisioned, everyone engaged in different professions. Those with ability earned more and enjoyed more resources.
Those without ability or strength wouldn't need to worry about being captured as slaves, nor about being harassed by pirates or bandits.
Everyone would do their part and work together to build a better world.
You're a farmer, he's a mason, she's a chef, I'm a leader, we all have a beautiful future.
Countless facts had proven that cattle and horses were hundreds of times better than slaves.
To the current slave-holding world, his words were practically a dimensional attack.
Everyone who heard Rosse's words was thrown into a frenzy, and their gazes toward him nearly reached the level of faith and worship.
Saying these words wasn't particularly frightening.
What was truly frightening was that Rosse, as a member of the ruling class, had spoken these words.
That undoubtedly showed this system truly had a chance of being realized.
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