"What can I do?", Otohime pursed her lips and softly sighed.
She was no longer her former self.
Hearing that the concubine selection was a conspiracy by Saint Rosward, she only felt a wave of helplessness.
She wanted to stop it, but truly didn't know what to do.
At the Sabaody Archipelago, she had personally witnessed the power controlled by the Celestial Dragons.
Saint Rosward was also one of the Celestial Dragons, perhaps the power he held was less than Rosse's, but it was definitely not something she could handle.
And what she could actually do wasn't much, she could only rely on Rosse's strength.
"Whatever you want, you can get. That is the promise I gave you," Rosse chuckled softly.
"Even if it's something excessive?"
"His life or death, is for you to decide," Rosse answered frankly.
Hearing this reply, Otohime held Rosse's arm a bit tighter.
She always felt that Rosse's indulgence toward her seemed a little too much.
'That is a Celestial Dragon.'
'Yet his life is in my hands', This kind of experience, the former her wouldn't even dare to imagine.
"What consequences will different choices bring?", Otohime asked with pursed lips.
"If you leave it alone, the over-a-thousand fish-men in the concubine selection will all become Saint Rosward's toys. As long as the mermaids are taken back to the Holy Land, I won't be able to get them back."
"If you choose to interfere, be prepared for Saint Rosward to take revenge on Fish-Man Island. Whether he lives or dies, he will definitely launch a Buster Call on Fish-Man Island."
"Oh, right, Fish-Man Island still has the Whitebeard Pirates. They want to ambush me. If I'm not mistaken, they're currently hiding in the Ryugu Kingdom. Neptune may even become their accomplice."
Rosse said with a smile, explaining the situation in a few short sentences.
He truly didn't care what choice Otohime made.
Fish-Man Island was Otohime's attachment, not his.
If Otohime truly had the resolve to tear down and rebuild Fish-Man Island, he would only feel joy.
"Buster Call... the one that destroyed Ohara?", Hearing the consequences brought by each choice, Otohime was already finding it hard to stay calm.
No matter what she chose, it seemed to be a bad ending.
And she, the chooser, ultimately had to bear a certain price.
"You could understand it that way. Once the Buster Call is activated, Fish-Man Island will definitely be destroyed. But the executors are the Marine. They won't be that ruthless, and will give you enough time to evacuate. Only the main culprit is punished, not the innocent. That's the unspoken rule of the Buster Call," Rosse lightly nodded.
Though the Buster Call was said to destroy everything, it wasn't that absolute.
Generally speaking, time to evacuate would be given.
During Ohara, time for the crowd to evacuate was also given.
To put it bluntly, the Buster Call was just political theater, so long as the island was gone, the World Government's goal was met.
Of course, the true culprits definitely had to be executed. Otherwise, the World Government wouldn't let it slide.
However...
Thinking of the World Government's typical attitude, Rosse didn't think they'd do much.
Even if the real culprit escaped, the World Government probably wouldn't expend too much effort and would eventually just let the Marine handle it.
And coincidentally, the current Marine was under his control.
A lot of things could actually be negotiated.
It just depended on how far Otohime wanted to go.
"I need time to think..."
Otohime rubbed her temples. Her mind was a mess now and she needed time to sort things out.
"Of course, you have two days," Rosse said with a smile.
"That's enough."
After Rosse and Otohime left the Fish-Man District, they regrouped with Nia.
After regrouping, Otohime didn't pursue the matter of Nia leaving without notice. She simply got close to Nia and started exchanging all kinds of information.
Otohime had more or less seen through Rosse's intention.
This time, the fate of Fish-Man Island all depended on her.
Which direction it would go, Rosse simply wouldn't interfere.
And whatever help she needed, Rosse would try his best to provide.
This level of support made Otohime feel flattered.
But at the same time, it meant she had to be even more cautious.
What she had to consider was not just herself, she also had to take Rosse into account.
Since Rosse supported her so much, she couldn't let Rosse lose!
Because of that, she even contacted Sora in the Holy Land for a long time, just to truly stand from Rosse's perspective and consider what to do next.
———
[Holp's Mansion]
Once the welcoming banquet ended, all unrelated persons were cleared out by Holp.
"How's the preparation going?", Saint Rosward sat at the head seat, eagerly looking toward Holp.
Although the mermaid dance just now was beautiful, it could never compare to thousands of mermaid slaves.
Even without a top-quality one like Otohime, he would win through quantity and become the Celestial Dragon with the most mermaid slaves in the Holy Land.
"Saint Rosward, the concubine selection festival is in two days. All female mermaids will enter the Ryugu Kingdom. At that time, as long as you show up in the Ryugu Kingdom and demand all the mermaids from Neptune, he wouldn't dare to refuse."
Qope bent down and explained his plan to Saint Rosward.
As he spoke, he also looked toward Holp.
"What the lord said is correct, Saint Rosward. This is our plan, as long as you appear and threaten Neptune, he will definitely agree."
Holp gave a forced smile, a little insincere in his words.
'Damn it, I thought Qope had some good plan, but it turned out to be just making threats?'
'The key point is, even if it is just threats, they didn't bring enough people!'
Holp had seen the people traveling with Rosward. There weren't any particularly famous ones, and altogether, there were fewer than a hundred.
Less than a hundred people, how could they threaten Neptune?
Holp had never been off Fish-Man Island. He didn't believe there were strong people in the world who could fight ten thousand alone.
Even if there were, it definitely wasn't Qope.
This made Holp very uncertain inside.
He was truly afraid Neptune would turn hostile then, and by that time, they'd all be dead.
"Saint Rosward, but just in case, should you gather more men? I heard the Whitebeard Pirates came, if they get involved..."
"Whitebeard Pirates?", Saint Rosward sneered, "If they came, then let them come. Since Rosse can twist off the Red Count's head, I, Rosward, can take down Whitebeard too."
As he spoke, he puffed out his chest, showing no fear at all.
Holp: "???"
Holp looked up in surprise, instinctively sizing up Rosward seated at the head.
Ugly face, fat body, a glass dome on his head, just like the pirates' description of those pleasure-seeking nobles with no real strength.
To say someone like this had power, Holp was the first not to believe it.
He had also watched the live broadcast. Rosse's image in the stream was ten thousand times better than Rosward's.
Although you shouldn't judge people by appearance, Rosward's look really made it hard to trust him.
"Don't worry, if the Whitebeard Pirates don't come, fine. If they do come, I'll make sure they don't leave," Rosward arrogantly lifted his head, actually exuding a bit of aura.
"Alright then, hope everything goes smoothly."
Whether others believed it or not, Holp could only force himself to believe.
Right now, he hadn't gotten in touch with Rosse. Instead, Rosward showed up. He had no other choice, he could only follow this road to the end.
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