The atmosphere on the field was a bit strange.
Neptune, the King of Fish-Man Island, looked at Yang Tao and was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Let's start the banquet first!"
With that, Neptune rode his whale towards the palace. Fukaboshi, the eldest prince, swam to Yang Tao's side, staring at Yang Tao with a strange look in his eyes and said, "Please follow me."
It was normal for it to be strange, after all, he was the first heir to the throne.
Yang Tao observed Shirahoshi's eldest brother. He had a circular dot on his forehead, and when he spoke, he revealed a mouthful of sharp teeth. He had long, wavy blue hair and a very upright appearance. He was also one of the few male merfolk Yang Tao had seen who looked like humans.
His weapon, like his father's, was a trident, but his trident was several sizes smaller, as he was only six meters tall, less than half his father's height.
He followed Fukaboshi, swimming towards Ryugu Palace.
"Thank you for helping Ryugu Palace apprehend Vander Decken IX..."
His younger sister had been living in the Hard-Shell Tower for several years because of this guy.
"No matter what, I, Fukaboshi, will remember your kindness."
When Yang Tao heard Fukaboshi's words, a hint of goodwill arose in his heart towards him. At least this guy was clear-headed.
He entered the imperial palace.
Compared to the outside, the interior decoration, though magnificent, lacked a certain flavor.
Yang Tao was led into the banquet hall.
Neptune sat at the head of the table, his eyes fixed on Yang Tao, and asked, "You want Shirahoshi to become your subordinate."
"Hmm... Her potential is very strong, but her personality is too soft."
Yang Tao chose to speak frankly, after all, this was not a major issue.
"In a while, this world will undergo earth-shattering changes, which might be an opportunity for the Fish-Man race."
Currently, there is less than 25% exploration progress. As soon as it reaches 100%, One Piece will be digitized, which will inevitably lead to drastic changes in the world's pattern.
Fukaboshi, the eldest prince, sitting beside Neptune, looked at him and asked, "Shirahoshi is still a child. We cannot hand her over to you, especially since you are a human."
"Human..."
Yang Tao looked at a plate of seaweed brought by a merfolk maid from Ryugu Palace, sighed, and said, "Don't keep mentioning 'human' and 'Fish-Man' all the time."
"As one of the three ancient weapons, Poseidon, her fate has not been in her own hands since her birth, unless she can properly exploit her power."
"Otherwise, all forces will try everything to eliminate her."
Fukaboshi said again, "We merfolk stay on Fish-Man Island, and with Shirahoshi's ability, no one can defeat her."
"Heh heh."
Yang Tao stared at Fukaboshi and said with a smile:
"A hundred years later, when Shirahoshi is gone... will those who know the secret of Poseidon still allow the existence of Fish-Man?"
Yang Tao was a bit unclear about this. If he were the World Government of the One Piece world, he would definitely not allow such power to appear.
Even if it was inconvenient to go to the seabed, he would definitely use various schemes to trick the Fish-Man to the land and completely destroy or fully control them.
The World Government, which erased history, must know the secret of Poseidon.
"How can this be..."
Just as Fukaboshi was about to retort, Neptune suddenly interrupted him and said, "It seems so..."
"Let's eat first. After you defeat me, I will allow you to see my daughter, but whether she wants to leave or not will require you to persuade her personally."
"Father!! Shirahoshi is still a child!"
"But he's right, we can't protect her." Neptune looked at Yang Tao and said, "I know about your activities in Fish-Man Street."
"Your Fish-Man subordinates are very strong."
Hearing Neptune's words, Yang Tao smiled and said, "Not bad, they just defeated Jinbe."
It was perfectly normal for Neptune to know about his activities on Fish-Man Island.
He was a king, not a fool. Perhaps even an ordinary-looking fish on Fish-Man Island was an informant for Ryugu Palace.
Upon hearing that Jinbe had been defeated, Neptune was somewhat surprised. He had learned from his subordinates that the Fish-Man from Fish-Man Street had suddenly returned and become very strong, but he had not expected them to be able to defeat even Jinbe.
The banquet ended quickly.
The battle ended even faster.
Neptune's combat strength was truly not high. His trident poked Yang Tao, and Yang Tao didn't even think about dodging.
His only move, Super Sea Current, only sparked some interest in Yang Tao.
After all, the ability to grab seawater with bare hands looked truly unscientific.
Placing his sword at Neptune's neck, Yang Tao asked with a smile, "Are you satisfied with my strength?"
Neptune lowered the trident in his hand and said dejectedly, "I surrender..."
"Fukaboshi, take your sister to the garden."
Fukaboshi looked troubled and hesitated for a moment before turning and leaving, swimming towards the Hard-Shell Tower where Shirahoshi resided.
After about ten minutes.
A figure timidly followed Fukaboshi into Ryugu Palace garden.
Yang Tao, who was sitting and drinking with Neptune, was instantly drawn to Shirahoshi.
The current Shirahoshi had not yet reached the exaggerated physique of two years later, but she was already over 10 meters tall.
Shirahoshi had flowing pink curly hair, adorned with a taiyaki-shaped hair ornament on her head.
She had bright blue eyes, a beautiful face, a full upper body, and a pink fish tail with alternating light and dark shades on her lower body.
'She truly lives up to her title as Princess Shirahoshi!'
Yang Tao praised inwardly, looking at the timid and pitiful expression on Shirahoshi's face, feeling that this trip to Ryugu Palace was not in vain.
"Daughter..."
Neptune called out to Shirahoshi, signaling her to come over.
"This is Yang Tao. He is the one who arrested Vander Decken IX and saved you."
Shirahoshi's face showed a surprised expression, then she looked at the small Yang Tao in front of her with gratitude: "Thank you very much..."
"You're welcome."
Too big!
Yang Tao had truly seen something new. Even at 14, Shirahoshi's physique could already rival Jean. If she were to truly reach adulthood...
One must know that in the story, Shirahoshi was only 16 years old. If she grew to 22, wouldn't she be 15 meters? Tsk tsk, truly incredible.
Neptune looked at Shirahoshi with a fatherly expression and said, "Daughter, he wants to take you away, and he also defeated your father. He is a true strong man, although he is a human..."
Shirahoshi's face instantly turned red upon hearing this. She lowered her head, not daring to look at Neptune, and whispered, "Father King, I'm still young, I don't want to... so early..."
Yang Tao instantly noticed that things seemed to be going off track and quickly interjected, "Wait..."
To avoid hurting Shirahoshi's feelings, Yang Tao looked at Shirahoshi with a gentle smile and said, "Princess Shirahoshi, you have lived in the Hard-Shell Tower for several years. Since you've finally come out, why don't you explore Ryugu Palace first? I'll talk to your Father King about some things, and then I'll come find you."
Princess Shirahoshi nodded and left as if fleeing.
After Shirahoshi left, Yang Tao's expression became serious, and he slammed the table, saying, "King Neptune, I'm here to recruit Shirahoshi, not to be your live-in son-in-law. Your daughter is only 14 years old..."
Neptune said calmly, "You're right..."
"But you brought a gift!"