"Mother, where are you all going?"
Just as Atlas and his group stepped out of the palace gates, a little mermaid girl with pink curly pigtails blocked Queen Otohime's path.
Her lively, big eyes stared at the group, fluttering with incredible cuteness.
Shirahoshi, the mermaid princess of this generation, was also the vessel for one of the three Ancient Weapons, [Poseidon], possessing the ability to summon giant Sea Kings.
Atlas looked at the dainty smelt-whiting mermaid before him, calculating inwardly.
Unlike ordinary fish-men, Shirahoshi not only possessed the ability to communicate with ordinary fish but could also command super-sized Sea Kings.
She was the [King] of all Sea Kings!!!
"Sir White Tiger, let me introduce you. This is my daughter—Shirahoshi."
Queen Otohime smiled and patted the tail fin of Shirahoshi, who had quickly hidden behind her, introducing her to Atlas.
"So it's Little Princess Shirahoshi. We are going to Gyoncorde Plaza. Would you like to come and see?"
Atlas smiled kindly and extended an invitation to Shirahoshi.
"Really? Can I?"
Shirahoshi tilted her head timidly, but her eyes peeked secretly at Queen Otohime, seemingly seeking her opinion.
"Since Sir White Tiger has said so, then go along with us, Shirahoshi."
Otohime shook her head with a laugh.
She knew that, although Shirahoshi had several older brothers to play with inside Ryugu Palace, the palace was ultimately somewhat dull compared to the bustle of the outside world.
Otherwise, Neptune wouldn't ride Hoe around on patrols whenever he had nothing better to do.
"Yay! Thank you, Mother!!"
Hearing Otohime's permission, Shirahoshi danced with joy on the spot, letting out crisp, bell-like laughter.
"Your child, don't forget that Sir White Tiger secured this for you."
Otohime also smiled dotingly, then looked at her precious daughter with feigned reproach.
"Ah? I am truly sorry. Thank you, Lord White Tiger!!"
Shirahoshi immediately stopped dancing and bowed deeply to Atlas.
At this time, Shirahoshi had not yet encountered Vander Decken IX, nor had she moved into the Hard-Shell Tower because of it. So, although she was still somewhat shy, it hadn't reached a particularly severe level.
On the other side of Fish-Man Island.
Notified by Neptune long in advance, the citizens of Fish-Man Island hurried over from all directions, gathering in the small Gyoncorde Plaza.
However, the fish-men present were evidently mostly uneasy. Loud discussions erupted continuously, buzzing like thousands of mosquitoes in one's ears. Although they didn't know what Neptune's purpose was...
Judging from the signs, they could roughly guess the general idea.
In the past, even though Queen Otohime often gave speeches here, they had never been on such a large scale.
Neptune's attitude toward Queen Otohime had always been neither opposing nor supporting.
But now, Neptune's attitude as King had undergone a heaven-and-earth change.
"Does Queen Otohime still want to persuade us to sign?!"
A grouper fish-man guessed.
"Impossible. I just went to Queen Otohime last time to cross my name off. No matter what she says this time, I won't sign again!!"
A fish-man said in a muffled voice, his tone unusually resolute.
"Have you considered why His Majesty Neptune chose to stand up and support Queen Otohime this time?"
"Could it be that Marine called [White Tiger]?!"
A fish-man, fortunate enough to have seen Atlas with his own eyes a few days ago, frowned.
"Very likely."
"Forget it, let's not guess blindly here. We'll know when His Majesty Neptune and the others arrive."
Not just them, but many fish-men and merfolk were heatedly discussing the purpose of this gathering, basically revolving around that signature campaign.
Just as the arguments were becoming more intense, even vaguely escalating toward a fight...
A conversation between a little girl and a deep male voice clearly drifted into the plaza.
"Lord Atlas, have you seen the sun?"
Chatting along the way, Shirahoshi had already found out Atlas's name.
"—Also, have you seen various flowers and animals covered in... fur? Have you been to green places called forests?"
"Are those things really the same as Mother described?"
Shirahoshi walked alongside Atlas, tilting her head to look at him, her azure eyes full of curiosity.
"Uh, you have too many questions. How about I answer them one by one?"
"Shirahoshi! Let's answer these questions later. Sir White Tiger and we have things to do now."
Seeing this, Otohime hurriedly stopped the words on the tip of Shirahoshi's tongue.
The upcoming matter was very important.
If successful, Shirahoshi would be one step closer to truly seeing those things.
After speaking, Otohime left the group and strode to the highest point of the plaza, looking excitedly at the crowd moving below in the centre.
"It's Queen Otohime!!!"
"I want to see how Queen Otohime will persuade us this time. Anyway, I don't want to run up to the land!!"
"Exactly. Staying on Fish-Man Island is quite good, although..."
Feeling the resistance swirling in her ears, Otohime's originally excited mood sank bit by bit. However, she took a deep breath and shouted to the audience with her loudest voice:
"Everyone, please quiet down first!"
Although her voice wasn't loud, it seemed to possess a power to soothe hearts. The originally noisy plaza instantly fell silent, as countless eyes remained fixed on Otohime on stage.
Among them, naturally, were those with ill intentions.
After all, not only did residents of Fish-Man Island come, but some travellers and pirates also heard the news and arrived.
Watching the excitement was the nature of all intelligent races.
"Fellow compatriots, above the sea, there is warm sunshine, fresh and ample air, and all kinds of novel things. These are things we don't have on Fish-Man Island."
"The world is so big, with many places more beautiful than Fish-Man Island. But why can't we come and go freely!!"
"And now, Fish-Man Island is about to welcome new hope!!"
"The Marines!! A brand new Marine branch is about to be located on our Fish-Man Island!!"
Buzz—!!!
As soon as Otohime finished speaking, a heated discussion broke out.
The fish-men below showed expressions of disbelief, their eyes looking now at Otohime on stage, now glancing carefully at Atlas not far away.
"Her Highness the Queen!! Are you joking?!"
"Yeah, establishing a Marine branch on Fish-Man Island doesn't mean letting others live in our home?"
Bang—!!!
Suddenly, a huge roar rang out, followed by the heavy smell of gunpowder spreading across the plaza.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, Queen Otohime on the stage fell in response to the sound!!!
"Yaaaaaahhhhh—!!!"
"Queen Otohime!! —She's been shot!!"
"Who did it?!!"
As blood splattered and Otohime fell to the ground, the already crowded Gyoncorde Plaza instantly fell into chaos, shouts filling the entire space.
"It's that human!!"
Suddenly, someone in the crowd exclaimed. An external force instantly pushed back the surrounding crowd, and a vacuum zone abruptly formed within it.
A man covered in bandages was isolated there, holding a long-barreled flintlock pistol that was still smoking.
Clearly, the murderer was this somewhat wretched-looking human man.
"Heh!! You fish-men..."
The man seemed to want to say something more, but two figures who had been lying in wait behind him immediately pounced. Sharp fangs bit precisely into the man's artery, and the spurting blood sprayed onto those figures.
"It was this damnable human who killed Her Highness the Queen!!!"
Suddenly raising his head, a blood-stained face with sharp fangs dripping blood onto the ground was revealed. His eyes were crimson, his expression excited.
Before the surrounding fish-men could react, several other voices transmitted from the crowd:
"Humans are indeed untrustworthy. We absolutely must make them pay the price!!"
"Drive the humans out of Fish-Man Island!!"
"We want to return a bright and clean Fish-Man Island to ourselves!! We absolutely cannot let damnable humans pollute Fish-Man Island!!"
"..."
Voices rose one after another. The fish-men, originally stunned by the series of changes, instantly became furious. A nameless fire shot up, and eyes full of tyranny began to scan the human pirates around them.
"Kill them! Avenge Her Highness Queen Otohime!!!"
The angry residents of Fish-Man Island were like bulls that had lost their reason, attacking the human pirates around them with their bare hands.
For a moment, public sentiment was enraged, and the scene was utterly chaotic.
Although, since the Tiger incident, the residents of Fish-Man Island hadn't been very interested in Otohime's rhetoric, this didn't mean Otohime's status in their hearts had plummeted.
On the contrary, the residents of Fish-Man Island had a strange admiration for Queen Otohime, who ran around tirelessly for them.
And in a corner of the plaza, unnoticed by anyone, a soldier originally on duty quietly took off his armour and ran quickly toward Ryugu Palace.
On the other side, Queen Otohime lay in a pool of blood with a look of astonishment.
Beside her were Neptune and Jinbe, filled with shock and anger, and Shirahoshi, who was still in a daze.
A large number of Kingdom Army soldiers surrounded the area three layers deep, not even letting in the fish-men, who looked anxious and concerned, wanting to rush in to check the situation.
"Please stop your behaviour. Venting your anger on others, isn't that just a manifestation of cowardice and incompetence?"
Through the gaps in the crowd and the shouts of killing drilling into her ears, Otohime could easily deduce the situation in the plaza.
Even with her life hanging by a thread and blood constantly flowing from her chest, she persisted in persuading Neptune to maintain the order that had fallen into complete chaos.
Meanwhile, Atlas watched everything coldly from the side. His Observation Haki had completely covered the plaza the moment he stepped into it.
Every movement of the criminals from Fish-Man District, and Hody Jones's departure.
All of this was taken into his eyes.
However, he did not immediately step forward to treat the dying Otohime.
He was waiting, waiting for the awakening of that power.
Sure enough, in the next moment—
Shirahoshi's originally constricted pupils dilated gradually. Her brain felt like a heavy blow had hit it, and a heart-wrenching scream resounded through the entire Fish-Man Island:
"Mother!!!"
An invisible force spread out in all directions along with the sound waves. In the pitch-black deep sea, a large group of giant Sea Kings moved upon hearing the sound, churning the cold seawater. Waves of powerful aura appeared outside the bubble of Fish-Man Island.
Shirahoshi threw herself recklessly toward Otohime on the ground, panic on her tear-streaked face.
The girl's unique crying voice seemed particularly abrupt in the suddenly silent plaza.
—[Sea Kings]!!!
The crowd, which had been clamouring just moments ago, craned their necks, staring dumbfounded at the gigantic Sea Kings looking down on Fish-Man Island.
The originally not-so-small Fish-Man Island seemed like a toy in the palm of a hand before such behemoths were easily obtainable.
What made the residents even more terrified was that there were fully a dozen of those Sea Kings, larger than islands!!!
"Shirahoshi, she..."
Otohime, holding on in the pool of blood, naturally noticed this situation, her beautiful eyes opening wide involuntarily.
This power reminded her of a legend...
"Ah—!!! Where did these guys come from?!!"
"Fish-Man Island is about to be destroyed by these guys!!"
Suddenly, a shriek of terror broke the silence. The crowd, previously frozen in place, finally reacted. Instantly, like ants on a hot pan, they fell into chaos.
Countless fish-men began to scatter in panic, attempting to find a safe shelter.
"Let me handle this."
Just at this moment, Atlas stepped out steadily. His body suddenly floated up to the sky above Fish-Man Island, and an intense aura shot up into the sky.
Instantly, the wind and clouds changed colour. A rolling aura spread in all directions with an unrivalled posture. Even the aftershocks of the aura made the fish-men and humans in the crowd lose their focus, with their pupils dilating slightly.
The terrifying aura was like sharp swords, piercing fiercely toward the giant Sea Kings outside the bubble!!!
Hum—!!!
It was as if they had been hit hard on the back of the head by an invisible heavy hammer. Even with the super-large size of the giant Sea Kings, their bodies stiffened slightly, and their eyes lost focus.
After a moment, the Sea Kings, having recovered, couldn't help but communicate telepathically.
[What happened? That human's Conqueror's Haki?]
[Ignore him. He is not the one we are waiting for. Currently, the main thing is whether our King is in danger.]
[Looking at the situation in the field, that human seems to be protecting our King.]
[King! Grow up quickly; we will always be waiting for you.]
After exchanging glances for a while and confirming Shirahoshi's safety, the dozen Sea Kings understood immediately and tacitly left the vicinity of the Fish-Man Island bubble.
"Sure enough, for Sea Kings whose size has reached this level, a simple release of Conqueror's Haki won't have much effect."
Witnessing everything, Atlas muttered with some dissatisfaction.
This Marine...
Seeing this scene, the fish-men cast shocked gazes at the majestic Atlas in mid-air.
In their eyes, this man had scared away such massive Sea Kings and liberated Fish-Man Island from crisis just by releasing his aura.