Wait—so Yi-ge, Shanks, Buggy, and Barrett stayed at Sabaody Archipelago? Roger asked Rayleigh in disbelief aboard the Oro Jackson.
"That's right," Rayleigh replied grimly. "Shakky just contacted me—they're infiltrating Mary Geoise to rescue the Surgery Fruit user."
"Haha… hahahaha! Those fools!" Roger laughed until tears came. "Alright, let's sail back. Those kids don't understand what Mary Geoise is—they're doomed to fail!"
"But, Roger…"
"They're the future of this world!" Roger interrupted, patting Rayleigh's shoulder.
Rayleigh shook his head. "No, we can't go back."
"What?!" Roger looked confused.
"We only have enough onboard air to reach Fishman Island—and we're almost there. If we return now, we'll run out!" Rayleigh explained.
"Oh, that makes sense," Roger nodded. "Then we plan to head to Fishman Island, get the Poneglyph copying done, and then return to Sabaody."
"But when we go back, those kids might already have succeeded—or they might be captured," Rayleigh said, his face dark. "Yi-ge probably anticipated this."
"Hahaha… he's brilliant. Let's trust them!" Roger laughed. He wasn't angry at being deceived—just worried they might be caught by the Marines.
Just then, the Oro Jackson was approached and surrounded by a patrol from Fishman Island.
"Hold on! It's me—Neptune's great knight! I'm Roger!" he called out.
"Roger… I understand now—you're the reason the 'great doors' prophecy stirred up all this panic," Neptune said.
Roger blinked in confusion—he hadn't done anything wrong.
After being escorted ashore, Roger learned why: a prophecy claimed the "gates of Fishman Island would break," prompting Neptune himself to patrol personally.
"Nonsense—you let a prophecy scare you?" Roger scoffed. "I'm not some villain!"
Just then, Marine forces reported that sea creatures—usually docile—had attacked the island gates and broken the outer bubble field.
"Seal the breach and enact emergency protocols!" Neptune ordered calmly.
Rayleigh exchanged glances with his crew—they all knew Neptune had assumed Roger's crew was the cause, and ended up being correct, though not in the way they feared.
"This was caused by someone else—it wasn't us!" Roger insisted to Neptune.
Neptune frowned inwardly; had Roger not arrived when he did, the attack might have happened unimpeded.
"By the way, who gave the prophecy? It was eerily accurate," Roger asked.
"It was Shakky!" Neptune replied, pointing to a young shark-mermaid child. "She's our three-year-old prophet."
"A three-year-old?" Roger and the others exchanged astonished looks.
"Sea creatures attacked because they sense the birth of a mermaid princess," the child said solemnly.
"A mermaid princess? Another prophecy?" Oden wondered.
"You mean the king is about to have a child? How wonderful!" the crowd cheered.
Neptune cleared his throat. "I've only reigned for months—I'm not even married yet."
"But Lord Neptune... Shakky's predictions have always come true! A soldier whispered.
Neptune looked conflicted; he couldn't ignore the prophecy, but neither could he silence the girl.
After explanations and refreshing their ship plating, Neptune took Roger's crew to the Sea Forest, where two Poneglyphs were waiting.
"Finding two at once—what a stroke of luck! One is a Road Poneglyph… the other is a stone inscribed by Joy Boy, an apology message," Oden said, translating the inscriptions for Roger.
Neptune looked surprised: Oden understood the ancient script.
"Oden… the Poneglyph on Sky Island spoke of a weapon controlling Sea Kings—could it be here?" Oden looked at Neptune and quietly asked.
"Oh, it says that?" Roger nodded. "Yi-ge—start copying the Road Poneglyph!"
But he remembered—Fang Yi and the others were not aboard.
Jaba frowned at maintaining the copy: "Captain, we're working on it! As soon as we finish, we'll return. I'm worried about Yi-ge and the others."
Neptune, intrigued by Oden's mention of the weapon, mused aloud: "You said the prophet predicted a mermaid princess—the kind who contacts Sea Kings every few centuries… could it be…"
Roger asked softly: "Your daughter… is she the legendary weapon?"
Neptune frowned. "That's only prophecy. How power is used determines the outcome."
"I never expected Poseidon to be a mermaid," Oden said in wonder.
"Let's go meet the prophet—and then we'll depart," Roger announced as Jaba finished the copies.
The crew was curious about the child. Since the re-plating would take time anyway, visiting Shakky fits their schedule.
Although they had passed her in port before, now they had time to speak with her properly.
Later, Roger approached little Shakky with a smile: "Shakky—is it true you're a prophet? When will the mermaid princess be born?"
"Ten!" she replied simply.
"Ten years from now." Neptune looked relieved, turning to Roger. "I… misjudged you."
"Of course," Rayleigh replied calmly. "The real treasure of Fishman Island is knowledge. Neptune—we treasure it, not princesses."
"Haha! That should put your mind at ease. If your unborn daughter is a legend to be stolen—you can rest now," Roger added, laughing.
"How dare you call her 'that puff-haired girl'!" Neptune roared. "Get out of here—your ship's already been re-plated. I don't want to see your face again!"
Merfolk children—and humans—are born differently. Genetics, inheritance—it's not the same process at all.
Once Jaba had finished copying the Fishman Island Road Poneglyph, the crew prepared to depart. Meanwhile:
Fang Yi, Shanks, Buggy, and Barrett had already reached the front gate of Mary Geoise.
"From here, every step must be perfect. One mistake and our lives end in prison," Fang Yi whispered, gazing at the massive gate ahead.
"We're ready," Shanks, Buggy, and Barrett nodded.
After receiving Shakky's intel, they'd traveled along the Red Line's rim, conducted a discreet test dive using breathable pills, and identified a potential bailout route with the help of Wangcai.
As normal traders passed through Sabaody to cross the Red Line, they too sold their ships and trekked across before embarking again, though disabled pirates like them were denied passage. But they weren't going through—they were heading into the same city: Mary Geoise.
To approach the gate, they'd need to create a distraction. Mary Geoise had only one grand gate flanked by cliffs on either side, just like Shakky had explained earlier.