"Queen, how noble! Saint Rosse, how noble!"
Jinbe gave Rosse a surprised glance but still sincerely voiced his praise.
The current problem with Fish-Man Island lay in its deep-sea location and its insufficient size.
Such a small place simply couldn't support the survival of five million merfolk and fish-men.
Otohime's plan was undoubtedly bold and perfectly suited to the current situation.
Jinbe also felt there was no better solution than this.
Although he didn't fully understand why Rosse was doing all this, he had heard of Rosse's recent actions.
That speech about freeing the slaves had also stirred his blood.
To receive the help of such a chivalrous person, this was Fish-Man District's good fortune.
"I will relay Her Highness and Saint Rosse's intentions below. I believe the majority will be willing to follow the Queen," Jinbe spoke in a deep voice, then began calling over his underlings.
He himself certainly had to stay here, at Otohime and Rosse's side. Otherwise, with the wild nature of this group in Fish-Man District, if chaos broke out, it would be too late for regrets.
Moreover, gathering all the people of Fish-Man District wasn't a small project, it required mobilizing all available hands.
Soon, under his command, several hundred underlings began scouring the alleys, entering Fish-Man District to rally people.
While Jinbe was busy assembling the crowd, Otohime simply watched silently, saying nothing more.
In the not-so-large Fish-Man District, tens of thousands of people gathered.
There were all kinds among them.
She knew that the conflict between merfolk and fish-men had almost reached an irreconcilable level.
But that was the conflict of Fish-Man Island, not the new Fish-Man Island.
Everything would start from zero. If even that couldn't bring peaceful coexistence, then she would accept it.
Of course, within Fish-Man District, there would inevitably be some unruly villains.
But those people were never the ones she aimed to win over.
Those who truly longed for hope would absolutely not reject her invitation.
"Looking at this situation, at least more than half will go with you. Even here in Fish-Man District, you still have a high reputation," Rosse said with emotion.
Kindness was the cheapest emotion in this world.
But it had to be admitted, it was also the emotion most capable of moving hearts.
Otohime had visited Fish-Man District more than once. While some here might hate her, more still respected her.
After all, compared to those high and mighty figures who looked down upon this place, at least Otohime came.
Of course, people like Damon and Holp, perhaps even in death they wouldn't understand Otohime.
After all, what Otohime brought was hope, but they already stood at the top of Fish-Man District, villains who had climbed up with their own hands.
People like that didn't need hope, and were the ones who most scorned Otohime's ideals.
But in Fish-Man District, the majority were still ordinary folks who longed for a better life.
Rosse had to admit, he didn't possess Otohime's kind of heart.
If he were in her place, he would have wiped out all of Fish-Man District long ago.
But precisely because Otohime had such vision, she was chosen by him to be the future representative of his family.
After all, for the masses, someone needed to play the role of the angel.
He wasn't suited for it, nor did he want to play it. Making a few speeches about freeing slaves was already his limit.
Otohime, however, fit perfectly, and she herself enjoyed doing such things.
Consider it mutual fulfillment.
Very quickly, under Jinbe's call, the people of Fish-Man District gathered swiftly at the front.
Those willing to go with Otohime all came to register at Jinbe's side.
Those unwilling, Otohime had no intention of forcing them.
She had always planned to seize a time window: those willing to go, she would immediately arrange for them to leave.
As for the rest, whether they could survive the Buster Call was no longer something she would consider.
She had already given countless chances.
Now, she still wished to hold goodwill toward the world.
But that goodwill was only for those who were willing to trust her.
Those who neither trusted nor believed in her, she would never care for again.
This was also to not betray the trust of those who believed in her.
Those people deserved to be treated better by her.
Just as the signing was taking place, Rosse suddenly looked up and stared off into the distance.
"Hmm?"
"They're here?", Otohime was the first to sense something was off and immediately asked softly.
She did have Observation Haki, but her level wasn't high, and she hadn't detected anything.
"They're here, and sneaking around too, seems they don't want to run into me when there's a crowd," Rosse said with a smile.
Although Marco and the others were trying to be stealthy, in his perception, it was no different than walking in openly.
"What should we do then…", Otohime asked, a little nervous.
Even though she knew Rosse was strong, the name carried weight.
The ones coming were from the Whitebeard Pirates, she had heard of them since she was very young.
"Let's handle it right here. Go stand next to Jinbe, he'll protect you."
Rosse smiled and had Otohime retreat toward Jinbe.
As for Jinbe's character, he still felt he was trustworthy.
But since this was Fish-Man District, he wouldn't pin his hopes on a single Fish-Man.
He extended his hand and gently placed it on Otohime's back.
In an instant, a stream of water swirled around Otohime.
"With this protection in place, unless Jinbe goes all out, nothing can hurt you," Rosse said calmly.
He had already checked, Jinbe now possessed B-rank strength.
In all of Fish-Man Island, this already counted as top-tier combat power.
Aside from him, no one else could break through the shield Rosse set up.
"Saint Rosse, please take care too," Otohime just gently nodded, offering her blessing.
She could feel Rosse's confidence, and she believed he could do it.
After speaking, she swam with her tail toward Jinbe.
She would no longer be a burden to Rosse.
If she couldn't fight, then she'd do what she could.
"Everyone! Pause for a moment!"
Otohime came before the many fish-men and asked them all to stop.
As the crowd looked at her in confusion, Marco, hidden in the distance, suddenly sensed something wrong.
"This is bad, we've been discovered!", Marco shouted at once, his body transforming into a phoenix as he charged at Rosse.
Now that they'd been discovered, hiding was pointless.
Knowing Leviathan and Carlo as he did, if he didn't act first, this ambush would fail.
Only if he made the first move would Leviathan and Carlo come in to assist.
"Everyone, take cover! The ones coming are from the Whitebeard Pirates! But don't worry, Saint Rosse will take care of them," Otohime spoke loudly, her gentle voice ringing out, her special ability activated, immediately calming everyone's panic.
This was something she could do.
She wanted everyone to watch, watch how Rosse defeated the Whitebeard Pirates, and see how powerful Rosse truly was.
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