[Fish-Man Island Harbor]
Minister of the Left Holp's expression flickered between gloom and clarity, and he occasionally glanced upward, looking somewhat anxious.
He felt like he was about to go crazy.
Right now, Fish-Man Island was a powder keg, ready to explode at the slightest spark.
Two more division commanders from the Whitebeard Pirates had recently arrived, and they were among the highest ranked.
On top of that, Neptune had been unpredictable in mood lately, making him hard to read.
Not to mention, that Sabina he brought in, relying on her favor, was now starting to act conceited, she even seemed like she was slipping out of control.
Of course, none of this was the main issue.
'The biggest problem is that, in the midst of all this chaos, the Celestial Dragons are coming to Fish-Man Island?'
'It's FUC*KING INSANE!'
'Can't they go somewhere else? Why must they come to Fish-Man Island and court death?'
Holp cursed the Celestial Dragons madly in his heart, but on the surface he didn't dare utter a word.
He didn't have the guts.
Qope was right next to him.
If he said the wrong thing, his head might get twisted off.
"They're here," Qope suddenly spoke, and his whole body dropped to both knees in pious reverence.
Seeing Qope's movement, Holp was stunned.
He knew one was supposed to kneel before the Celestial Dragons, but he'd always been living on the seafloor 10,000 meters down on Fish-Man Island, he'd never seen this kind of scene.
'The ship hasn't even arrived yet, and he is already kneeling?'
'Now the question is, should I kneel or not?'
The key point, he didn't even have legs. How was he supposed to kneel?
Splash!
Above, with the soft sound of waves, a massive ship appeared at Fish-Man Island harbor. On this ship, the symbol of the World Government was carved.
Those more knowledgeable would recognize that below the World Government emblem, the crest of the Rosward family was also engraved.
"WELCOME, SAINT ROSWARD!"
Qope's powerful voice echoed across the entire harbor. His fanatical cry instantly suppressed all other sounds.
Seeing this display, Holp felt numb.
But with things already at this stage, he had no choice but to curve his fishtail and loudly shout:
"WELCOME, SAINT ROSWARD!"
With Holp's bow, the rest of the guards and merfolk quickly lowered their bodies.
From the look of things, clearly a major figure had arrived. None of them dared to mess around at a time like this.
"WAHAHA! Ro—cough cough, look! My fame has already spread to Fish-Man Island," Rosward stood at the bow of the ship, arms spread wide, laughing arrogantly.
He thought his pose was very cool.
But little did he know, in Holp and Rosse's eyes, he looked like a clown.
Mainly, it was a matter of looks. Rosward lacked the dominance of the great pirates and didn't have Rosse's good looks either.
This kind of display was nothing but an awkward imitation.
Rosse didn't even bother acknowledging him. He just placed a hand on Otohime's shoulder, and the two vanished in an instant, ignoring the celebration behind them.
"Where are we going now?", At a corner of the harbor, Otohime looked slightly confused.
"This is your turf, you're asking me where to go?", Rosse laughed, pointing to himself.
Only two days remained before Neptune's bride-selection ceremony. Which meant, Otohime had just two days left to take care of things.
Once the queen's seat was confirmed, it would be too late for her to do anything.
Actually, the ideal situation would be for Otohime to find out about this after two days, that way, Rosse could win effortlessly.
However, Rosse never based his victories on his opponent's actions.
Since Otohime wanted to come, he would bring her. Let her witness everything with her own eyes.
Nothing hurts more than seeing it for yourself.
Although, even "seeing" may not equal "truth."
"I want to go to Fish-Man Street!", After thinking for a moment, Otohime looked at Rosse with hopeful eyes.
There was something she really wanted to confirm.
If she couldn't confirm it, she simply wouldn't be able to make a decision.
"Then let's go. Everything is up to you. I'll protect you, just like I did on Sabaody Archipelago."
Rosse smiled. Following the direction Otohime pointed to, the two headed toward Fish-Man Street.
He didn't care what kind of answer Otohime was chasing.
He didn't operate as sloppily as others. Everything had been handled long ago, without leaving a single trace.
As for what kind of inferences it might lead to, that wasn't something he could predict. After all, he never said anything.
'Thank you, Saint Rosse...'
In her heart, Otohime thanked him again. She didn't believe Rosse didn't know what she wanted to do.
The source of everything was that accident on Fish-Man Street.
So she wanted to return to the beginning, to see whether there was something wrong behind that event.
If it truly was just a coincidence, then she would let go of all doubt and choose Rosse with her whole heart.
She no longer wanted to live in mutual suspicion, it was too exhausting.
She wasn't suited for that kind of atmosphere of mistrust, nor did she want to challenge the darkness of human nature.
This was her final confirmation.
After confirming it, she would entrust her future completely.
No matter whether the future turned out as she hoped.
"Fish-Man Island has day and night cycles too. The roots of the Sunlight Tree Eve can transmit sunlight to the seafloor, so Fish-Man Island can also see the sky and clouds."
Along the way, Otohime kept introducing things to Rosse.
Fish-Man Island was where she had grown up. She was familiar with every tree and blade of grass.
"Fish-Man Island is home to five million merfolk and fish-men. The numbers are roughly equal. I didn't think much of it before, but looking at it now, I can see a lot of differences."
Otohime sighed and glanced around Fish-Man Island.
They had just passed through the harbor area and entered the inner parts of Fish-Man Island. This was where merfolk lived, there wasn't a single Fish-Man in sight.
She hadn't thought much of it before, just that the two sides had different habits.
But now, it was clear that a deep rift existed between fish-men and merfolk.
"This has nothing to do with you. Ryugu Kingdom is the real obstacle," Rosse shook his head, "If I remember correctly, all the good areas on Fish-Man Island are exclusively for merfolk. From the kingdom's perspective, this is understandable."
"I know. It's just... I used to be a bit too naive."
Otohime smiled and shook her head. She was far more composed than when they first met.
Having seen the darkness of Sabaody Archipelago, and the splendor of the Holy Land, she could understand why Ryugu Kingdom did what it did.
After all, the rulers of Ryugu Kingdom were merfolk like her.
But understanding didn't mean agreement.
Even now, she still held to her original beliefs.
Whether merfolk, fish-men, or humans, though they had different origins and appearances, those were not reasons to suffer discrimination.
In this world, you can be criticized for lacking ability or for doing wrong, but racial discrimination should not exist.
You shouldn't look down on others just because you're a mermaid. You shouldn't think you're better than humans just because you're a Fish-Man. You shouldn't enslave other races just because you're a human.
This was the beautiful vision in Otohime's heart.
And she also believed, with Rosse's help, this world had a chance to realize that vision.
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