The banquet ended with everyone happy and satisfied.
Princess Otohime suggested taking them on a tour of Ryugu Castle, while King Neptune was reluctantly dragged away by two ministers to deal with state affairs.
At first, every time they entered a new part of the palace, Zhang Da Ye would let out a loud "wow" in admiration. After all, it was a rare chance to see such an underwater palace.
But after a while, it all looked the same—what stood out most was simply the scale of the architecture. Everything was huge, built to accommodate King Neptune's twelve-meter-tall frame.
During the tour, at Princess Otohime's request, Zhang Da Ye told the three princes and Princess Shirahoshi stories about the world above the sea.
He spoke truthfully about what he had experienced at Sabaody Archipelago: good people like the Goodman family, merchants like Old Bob who at least had a bit of conscience, harmless shipwrights and drinking buddies, schemers like the businessman Biznis who plotted in the shadows, as well as brutal pirates and slave traders.
There was no need to explain the Celestial Dragons—they had already seen them firsthand.
The children listened intently, carefully remembering each unfamiliar name, silently labeling them in their minds as either "good people" or "bad people."
Princess Otohime was pleased with Zhang Da Ye's stories. What she wanted her children to understand was the truth—that humans were diverse, not purely good or purely evil.
When the topic of slave traders came up, even the carefree Camie shuddered in fear. She brought up the time she had been kidnapped by Macro's gang.
Even she understood how terrifying it was to be sold as a slave—far scarier than being eaten by a sea beast.
"That time I had just left Fishman Island when Macro's group caught me. They stuffed me in a dark sack—it was so scary!"
"Wait, aren't mermaids supposed to be faster than fishmen? How'd you get caught so easily?" Zhang Da Ye suddenly realized he had never asked Camie how it happened.
"They said they were heading for the surface too, and since it was on my way, I trusted them. Then they grabbed me." Camie stuck out her tongue. "Hehe, lucky you and the others saved me."
That was a hard lesson. For a less cheerful girl than Camie, that might've become a lifelong shadow—like the saying, "never talk to strangers."
"By the way, those guys were once members of the Sun Pirates. Now that we've taken them out, Jinbei isn't going to come after us, right?" Zhang Da Ye asked, following the topic.
Princess Otohime shook her head confidently. "No. Macro's group always targeted mermaids for trafficking. Jinbei simply couldn't bring himself to strike them down because of their past as crewmates. But he would never blame you for what happened."
"You seem to know him well?"
"Yes. Jinbei used to be the army captain. He resigned in order to follow Fisher Tiger, then returned to protect Fishman Island only after becoming a Shichibukai." She added, "He will definitely attend my speech tomorrow. I can introduce you to him."
"That would be great. I'm looking forward to it." Zhang Da Ye was especially interested in seeing if Shark Chili could learn Fishman Karate from him.
That night, Zhang Da Ye and his group stayed at Ryugu Castle. Their room was half water, yet strangely the bed felt perfectly dry and comfortable.
Camie, however, was sent home, with plans to meet again tomorrow at the speech.
…
The next morning, Zhang Da Ye and his companions followed Princess Otohime to Gyoncorde Plaza, where she often held speeches and collected signatures.
In the original timeline, this was also the site where the Straw Hat Pirates, alongside Jinbei, had fought against one hundred thousand enemies. Meaning this plaza could easily hold at least 100,000 people.
Once a large crowd had gathered, Princess Otohime stood on the stage, raised a letter high above her head, and declared loudly:
"Everyone, the proposals of the World Nobles carry great weight in the Conference of Kings, the World Summit itself!
This letter here is a personal message from one of the Celestial Dragons. It says:
'To promote friendship between fishmen and humans, I support Ryugu Kingdom's petition for signatures and for migration.'
That means when we submit enough signatures at the World Summit two years from now, this letter will bring us substantial influence!
We live on Fishman Island only because of the small traces of sunlight and air that reach here. But above the sea, there is a far brighter sun and a boundless sky! This is the closest we have been to the surface in hundreds of years!
Now I ask you all—make your decision. Please, express your will! I beg of you, sign your names, submit your signatures!"
Those born under the sun could never understand the longing fishmen had for it.
If sunlight truly meant nothing to them, then even ten years ago, before pirates overran Fishman Island, they could have abandoned this place and fled into the dark abyss of the sea. In that case, what power would humans have had over them?
Princess Otohime knew her people's desire for sunlight. She also knew that their fear of the surface stemmed from their fear of humans.
That fear had only grown stronger after Fisher Tiger's cause of death was announced: "Humans refused him a blood transfusion."
In truth, Tiger had died because he rejected human blood himself. But Otohime could not reveal that. To say the hero of the fishmen despised humans so much that he would rather die than accept their blood—it would have made everything worse.
Tiger himself had admitted: "My mind knows it's wrong, that it will only harm our future. But my heart has already been twisted by hatred. My body refuses human blood on its own. I can no longer love humans."
After years of torment at the hands of the Celestial Dragons, he had commanded his crew to hide the truth. At least in his final moments, he did not want to burden Otohime further.
So now, Princess Otohime used Zhang Da Ye and his companions as living examples. She retold the stories he had shared, of different types of humans.
She even borrowed the Christmas tree that Shirahoshi treasured. With the princess's teary eyes watching, she gently removed the decorations, promising to hang them back later, just so she could use the tree as a prop.
Tom and Shark Chili weren't human, so they only watched from the side.
Zhang Da Ye, Artoria, and Rui Meng Meng stood next to Princess Otohime on stage, serving as "representatives of kind humans."
Their appearance alone was convincing—none of them looked cruel or vicious like the ragtag pirates the fishmen were used to seeing.
On top of that, they had already saved Princess Otohime once, which gave them even greater credibility.
The majority of the crowd soon understood Otohime's message: humans, like fishmen, could be both good and bad. Trust the good, build ties with them. Guard against the bad, and fight when necessary.
This campaign for signatures was only the first step toward migration—first gaining the willingness of humans to accept them, and then gathering the willingness of the fishmen themselves to move.
After that, there would still be many problems to solve: where to settle, how to coexist with humans, and how to ensure safety after migration.
But every great journey had to begin with a single step. With the Celestial Dragon's letter, passing the test of the human kings was all but certain. What Princess Otohime needed now was the harder part—convincing her own people.
[Please give powerstones if you're enjoying the story.
500 stones = 1 extra chapter
patreon com/GuessMyName33 for advanced chapters]