Fishman Island – Main Gate.
Only twelve years old, Neptune stood beside his father, brought to the grand entrance of the island. Today, the highest-ranking officials of Fishman Island—figures Neptune had always seen as untouchable—were gathered together, seemingly to welcome someone.
Neptune scowled. "Why are we welcoming a pirate?"
"He's not a pirate—he's our friend," said the current king of Fishman Island, Carlo, ruffling Neptune's hair. At over ten meters tall, Carlo towered over his son, who was barely eight meters and still very much a child.
The story went back more than twenty years. Newly crowned at the time, Carlo had faced a growing crisis: pirates and slave traders were flooding into Fishman Island, abducting beautiful mermaids. This deepened the rift between humans and their people.
Even with increased guards, the profits from selling mermaids were so high that the abductions never stopped.
Then Magnus appeared.
Introduced by a fishman shipwright traveling with him, Magnus—already worth two hundred million Beli—had suggested training unemployed drifters from Fishman Street to become the island's defenders.
On Fishman Island, there were two "kinds" of fishfolk:
The merfolk, who held political power, lived in the island's main city among coral-built apartments, bathed in sunlight channeled from the surface by the great Sunlight Tree Eve.
And the fishmen, who were forced to live in the filth and poverty of Fishman Street.
At first, Carlo dismissed the idea. Though both merfolk and fishmen were lumped together as "fishfolk" by humans, he saw a deep divide.
Fishmen, in his eyes, were too rough and volatile to be trusted as protectors of the city.
Magnus, however, strongly disagreed—telling Carlo that if a king harbored prejudice against his own people, then he was unfit to be king.
To challenge him, Carlo had sent Magnus to rescue a group of merfolk already captured by slave traders and brought to Sabaody Archipelago's auction house.
Incredibly, the White Wolf Pirates brought them all back.
That was when Carlo decided to trust Magnus.
What followed was the legendary day Magnus single-handedly fought his way through Fishman Street, forever changing its place in the island's society.
From that day forward, Fishman Street became part of Fishman Island.
Though the island still had no answer for truly powerful pirates, it was far better than before.
Now, Magnus had sent word through Dean.
He could connect them with the Giant Kingdom, arranging for powerful giants to help defend the island—and would protect Fishman Island under his own banner.
This was why Carlo now stood at the main gate, surrounded by high-ranking merfolk and fishmen, ready to welcome Magnus.
Because Magnus had earned that right.
"They're here!"
With the gentle surge of a wave, a modestly sized ship appeared before the port. The vessel itself wasn't imposing—but the flag on its sail made everyone's expression turn serious.
The White Wolf Pirates' flag.
Even young Neptune noticed the change in those around him. For the first time, he realized there were people in the world who could treat the status and authority of his elders as nothing.
He was the crown prince of Fishman Island, sole heir to King Carlo.
But before true power, he was nothing.
The Millennium Falcon docked. A man—average in height but full of energy, wearing a defiant grin—stepped out.
The crowd held its breath.
Then the man laughed. "Carlo! Long time no see. How have you been?"
"Haha, thanks to you, Fishman Island's in much better shape than before!"
Neptune saw his father smile in return—a smile that was genuine, not formal.
Like one shared between old friends.
"When was the last time you came?"
"Eight years ago," Magnus replied, his voice tinged with nostalgia. That was the time he'd answered Carlo's call to save abducted mermaids—only to cross paths with Rona in Sabaody and lose to her, which had led him to consider retiring.
Back then, he never imagined he'd return here.
"Still the same here, Carlo? The World Summit's going on right now—if you left for it now, you might just make it."
"Magnus, don't mock me. In our current state, Fishman Island can't possibly attend the Summit."
Prejudice and hunting from humans had left his people deeply mistrustful. As king, Carlo had to consider their views.
And in his eyes, attending the Summit wasn't necessarily a good thing.
As for the yearly Heavenly Tribute—
He considered it a protection fee to the World Government.
Fishman Island could afford it.
As the only transit point between the two halves of the Grand Line beneath the Red Line, it saw more than just pirates—merchants also used the dangerous undersea route to smuggle goods to the New World for profit, avoiding the costly official channels.
Those merchants alone brought in considerable income.
Not to mention the rich mineral deposits under the sea.
Selling those minerals brought the island immense wealth.
It was no wonder the World Government wanted good relations with Fishman Island.
Its resources were simply too valuable.
Magnus' visit wasn't just to help the giants build a reputation as mercenaries and shield Fishman Island with his name—he also wanted to create a trade route linking Fishman Island, Elbaf, and Sphinx.
Any country or island along the route could become a trade partner.
A win-win. Fishman Island had no reason to refuse.
And indeed, they didn't.
Carlo, who already owed Magnus, welcomed the proposal and even planned to offer concessions in negotiations.
His goal was simple.
"Magnus, I heard you're recruiting new crew members," Carlo said, drawing him aside and gesturing toward Neptune.
"What do you think of my son?"
Carlo was seriously considering giving his only child—the crown prince of Fishman Island—to a pirate to serve as crew!
"Uh…?"
Even Magnus was taken aback.
He racked his brain—did the future Neptune have any noteworthy feats?
If it were his daughter, Shirahoshi…
Well, that would be another matter entirely.
(End of Chapter)
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