With the answer revealed—
The pupils of the three mermaid princes—Shark Star, Emperor Star, and Rollover Star—suddenly contracted.
An expression of disbelief and horror appeared on their faces.
"The Emperor of the Sea?! Kronos?!"
"He... they're the Kamui Pirates?!"
Nearby, the mermaids also gasped in shock when they heard that the human standing before them was actually an Emperor of the Sea.
They instinctively covered their mouths and stared at Kronos in disbelief.
"The Emperor of the Sea?!"
Neptune gave no further explanation. He simply nodded, then turned his gaze back to Kronos.
"I have prepared a banquet in your honor," he said.
"I hope you would do us the honor of visiting the Ryugu Palace as our guest."
Hearing this, Kronos smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Sure."
Seeing Kronos agree, Neptune breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Soon, the cruise ship emerged from beneath the sea once more.
Without the slightest hesitation, Kronos led all his crew aboard.
Not long after, Neptune guided Kronos and the others aboard the ship, rising through the water toward the Ryugu Palace above.
Meanwhile, the mermaids below were still too stunned to react.
They stood there, dumbfounded, watching Kronos and the others depart.
After a moment, one of the mermaids stammered:
"Th-they... they're really going to the palace as guests?"
"Yeah... They were actually invited by His Majesty to Ryugu Palace..."
"Well, he is an Emperor of the Sea. It makes sense that even the king would treat him with respect."
"Right! He's on the same level as Whitebeard!"
On the other side, the six pirates who had been watching the commotion saw that the mermaids weren't paying attention to them.
Without hesitation, they turned to flee.
"Hurry! Let's get out of here!"
"No! Not just out of here—we're getting off Fish-Man Island entirely!"
The scar-faced pirate was drenched in sweat.
Behind him, the rest of the pirates looked confused.
"Why? Can't we just lay low in Fishman Street for a while?"
"Yeah, there's no way that guy would bother going back there, right?"
The five pirates discussed among themselves, but the scar-faced pirate's face remained pale.
Swallowing hard, he muttered:
"I... I have a bad feeling about this."
"The arrival of the Fifth Emperor... it's probably not just a coincidence."
"I'm leaving Fish-Man Island. If you want to stay behind, feel free—but don't say I didn't warn you."
With that, the scar-faced pirate ignored his companions and quickened his pace to leave.
At the entrance to Ryugu Palace—
Neptune thoughtfully handed each member of the Kamui Pirates a bubble coral and explained:
"Since the palace is submerged in seawater, humans will need to wear bubbles to move freely."
"These Bubble Corals will allow you to create a simple air bubble around yourself."
Kronos nodded from the boat.
Then, under Neptune's lead, the group followed the ocean current passageway to the palace.
Upon arrival at Ryugu Palace, the Kamui Pirates used the bubble corals to form air bubbles that enveloped their entire bodies.
Climbing the stairs, they passed through a grand golden gate and entered the main hall of the palace.
As they walked in, two rows of soldiers shouted in unison:
"Welcome home!!"
"Your Majesty the King!!"
Their loud voices echoed throughout the enormous castle.
It was a vast underwater hall teeming with sea creatures. A massive whale even swam above the ceiling of the main chamber.
Kronos and his crew appeared unimpressed.
But those like Asak, who followed toward the back of the group, were clearly astonished by the grandeur of the palace—though they tried their best not to show it.
They silently followed the group, trying to maintain their composure.
"This is the palace—my castle," Neptune announced.
"The banquet hall is just beyond here."
At that moment, a voice rang out in protest:
"Really now! Your Majesty, leaving the city without any guards? That's utterly irresponsible!"
The Right Minister—a seahorse mermaid—shouted at Neptune indignantly.
Surprisingly, Neptune didn't scold the minister. Instead, he looked a bit embarrassed and apologized.
"Sorry, sorry... it was a special case."
"I didn't have time to wait for you. I'll be more careful next time..."
However, Neptune's sincere apology didn't seem to calm the minister down.
"If anything had happened, it would have been too late to regret it!"
"Do you understand the current situation of the country? Things are in chaos!"
Neptune nodded repeatedly and continued to apologize.
Kronos and the others simply watched the exchange with calm indifference.
Gojo Satoru, however, chuckled with amusement.
"How strange! That uncle's a king?"
"And someone can still yell at him like that?"
At that moment, Neptune gestured toward Kronos and his group and addressed the seahorse minister:
"Look, I brought back the Kamui Pirates."
Hearing this, the Right Minister and the Left Minister (a catfish mermaid), immediately remembered Neptune's purpose in descending from the palace.
Noticing the approaching group, their expressions shifted.
They quickly bowed deeply to Kronos.
"Our apologies for our earlier rudeness!"
Kronos simply waved it off casually.
"It's fine."
The ministers exchanged an awkward glance, then instinctively looked to Neptune.
"Your Majesty...?"
But Neptune didn't understand their meaning. Instead, he looked around, then turned to the three princes—Shark Star, Emperor Star, and Rollover Star.
Then he looked back to the Right Minister and asked:
"Where's the princess? What's Princess Shirahoshi doing?"
Hearing the question, the minister hesitated for a moment, then said carefully:
"Well... Your Majesty, there was another attack on the Hard-Shell Tower just now..."
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