Otohime shed tears of emotion when she saw that everyone on Fish-Man Island was willing to sign the paper.
Coupled with Nero's promise to stand by her side at this year's World Summit, her long-held dream now seemed truly within reach.
Steadily moving forward, step by step, the tearful Otohime could no longer control her tears.
So, when the fire erupted, she rushed into the flames without hesitation to rescue those precious signatures.
It wasn't until the moment she was shot that Otohime realized this must be an assassination attempt targeting her.
The era of hatred fired its last shot at her, so though unwilling, facing her enraged son, she still didn't want her final legacy to him to be fury and hatred.
Meanwhile, Van der Decken, the Mark-Mark Fruit user, took advantage of the chaos to quietly touch the stunned Shirahoshi, then, upon being discovered, immediately fled without a trace.
This touch brought Shirahoshi back to her senses. Seeing the panicked crowd, the young girl instinctively wanted to cry for help from an adult, so she dialed the exclusive den den mushi Nero had given her.
An unknown power spread, and the gigantic Sea Kings residing in the deep sea began to stir uneasily.
The crying Shirahoshi, as Nero had instructed, placed the den den mushi beside her mother, ignoring her mother's request for Nero to take care of her.
Nero said her mother only needed to hold on for five minutes; she was coming immediately.
Her brothers kept talking to their mother, telling her not to sleep. Shirahoshi knew that if her mother fell asleep now, she might never wake up again.
"Mother… don't sleep… boo hoo… Nero, Nero is coming right away! As… as soon as she gets here, Mother will definitely get better…"
Shirahoshi's face was covered in snot and tears, and she intermittently used her own method to urge Otohime to hold on.
In the distance, Hody Jones, at the cliff, ignored Jinbe's obstruction and held up a human corpse: "Humans killed our queen!"
As if worried someone hadn't heard clearly, he raised the corpse again and roared: "The murderer who killed our queen is a human!!!"
The flames of hatred were instantly ignited. The anger of the Fishman and merfolk present found an outlet, and their fury towards humans burned fiercely.
Hody Jones, who planned and executed this assassination, saw this scene and a cold smile curved on his lips.
His peripheral vision swept over Queen Otohime, who was already on her last breath, and Hody Jones sneered inwardly.
Farewell, foolish queen, only your death can rekindle Fish-Man Island's hatred for humans.
With the seeds of hatred sown, Otohime listened to the cries of her children and the rage of her people around her, and her unwillingness grew even stronger.
But sensing her body gradually growing cold, what she was most worried about in the end was still Shirahoshi.
Holding on with her last breath, she wanted to make a pact with her sons to protect their sister, so that her final legacy would still be a vision of protection… Just then, a crimson light appeared in the sky, and a pillar of light descended from the heavens, leaving a bottomless dark abyss in the seabed… Everything in its path was obliterated. The crimson catastrophe named Nero also ravaged the surface of Sabaody Archipelago.
In Kuzan's Observation Haki, even though Nero had slowed down considerably at the end, thirty percent of the area here still suffered catastrophic damage.
This was already relatively good; flying all this way in just a few minutes, he couldn't imagine how many people had died, how many villages, towns, or even countries.
Fish-Man Island was ten thousand meters underwater, but for Nero, a Devil Fruit user, the seabed was an absolute forbidden zone. What would she do next? Get coated, perhaps?
Nero's body gradually shrunk as he imagined, transforming into his Dragonoid form, but his dragon claws still held him tightly.
The next moment, an unparalleled Haki gathered in the sky. This powerful force was something Kuzan had never encountered in his career as an Admiral.
He instantly grasped Nero's intention, his pupils contracting to a pinpoint: "Masaka?"
"Elbaf Spear—Haki Nation!"
The sea seemed to be scooped out, and a channel a hundred meters in diameter was instantly blasted open, bottomless but definitely leading directly to Fish-Man Island.
A strong sense of weightlessness came over him, and Kuzan finally understood why Nero had brought him along.
Not only to preserve Queen Otohime's life, but also this blasted-open ceiling of Fish-Man Island; only his Ice-Ice Fruit could maintain it from getting out of control.
The first moment he arrived, Kuzan froze the queen, who was on her last breath, and then, relieved, went to repair the breach above.
Nero walked slowly towards the frozen Otohime. Shirahoshi stopped crying, though her voice still carried sobs.
Nero looked up, her crimson beast eyes gazing into the depths of the sea: "Too noisy!"
The sea immediately returned to calm. The giant Sea Kings at the bottom of the sea instantly stopped their commotion, and everyone in the square quieted down.
Only Shirahoshi, still sniffling, called out: "Ne… Nero!"
Raising his hand to caress Shirahoshi's cheek, his golden bangs covered Nero's eyes: "Well done. Otohime's life has been saved. Later, I will find the best doctor to heal your mother's wounds, and she will be able to wake up."
"Re… Really?"
"Mm-hmm, I don't lie." Nero's voice was clear, carrying a convincing power.
"Fukaboshi, take your mother and younger siblings back first." Putting down his hand, Nero instructed the eldest prince, Fukaboshi.
The first prince, Fukaboshi, the second prince, Ryuboshi, and the third prince, Manboshi, carried the frozen Otohime, nodded, and took Shirahoshi with them towards Ryugu Palace.
In the distance, Neptune's anxious figure arrived late, rushing towards Fukaboshi and his group.
"Otohime!!!"
Embracing the ice block, Neptune was equally saddened, and raging anger burned in his eyes.
"She still has one last breath. The rest is up to the doctor."
A cold voice clearly reached him. Neptune looked up and finally saw Nero's golden and crimson back, illuminated by the flames.
"Neptune, from today onwards, be your Great Knight of the Sea again."
Nero still didn't turn around, picking up a broken signature.
Paper, once it caught fire, these signatures were rendered useless. Yet, it was just a matter of having them sign again.
Neptune fell silent, looking at his wife Otohime, barely able to feel the last, faint trace of vitality.
He understood Nero's meaning: to be the Great Knight of the Sea again, and Fish-Man Island would be personally arranged by Nero-kin.
This way, Otohime's dream would also be realized, and Fish-Man Island could freely live on the surface of the sea.
However, he also understood that Nero's method was definitely not something Otohime would accept. After a moment of silence, Neptune patted Fukaboshi's shoulder.
"Take your younger siblings and your mother back to Ryugu Palace first."
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