Raising his cup, Ortoren clinked it lightly with Neptune's and drained it in one go before praising,
"The royal wine of Ryugu Palace truly lives up to its name. It leaves a lingering aftertaste."
Neptune was delighted.
"If Admiral Benn enjoys it, I'll have some prepared for you to take along when you leave."
"Hahaha, then I won't hold back," Ortoren laughed heartily.
Although this was their first meeting here at Ryugu Palace, the atmosphere between them was relaxed and friendly from the start.
After several rounds of drinks and courses, the banquet continued, but Ortoren and Neptune naturally shifted to more serious matters.
"Before we get into cooperation projects like Golden City," Ortoren said as he set down his cup and looked at Neptune, "there's something I need to confirm with you first, King Neptune."
"Please, Admiral," Neptune replied, likewise putting his cup aside.
"The World Conference at Mary Geoise is approaching," Ortoren explained. "The World Government intends to invite Fish-Man Island as one of the fifty participating nations. However, they haven't received a response from your side. Since I happened to be here, I was asked to check in and see whether you have any interest."
Before Neptune could answer, Ortoren added calmly,
"Of course, whether Fish-Man Island chooses to attend or not won't affect any of our future cooperation in the New World."
Neptune thought for a moment, then asked,
"Does the Admiral himself have any particular view on this?"
Ortoren considered briefly before replying,
"Speaking personally, the World Conference doesn't interest me much. I won't be attending myself. That said, for Fish-Man Island, it could be a valuable stage. If you're concerned about safety, you can rest assured. Mary Geoise has been showing Fish-Man Island a great deal of respect recently, and the Marines will have senior officers present as well. Admiral Kuzan is a close friend of mine. He'll ensure your safety while you're there."
Once Ortoren finished speaking, Neptune no longer hesitated. He nodded at once.
"Since you wish for Fish-Man Island to take part in this World Conference, then we will attend."
It was a gracious answer, one that gave Ortoren more than enough face.
Ortoren was clearly pleased.
"Then I have my thanks, Your Majesty Neptune," he said with a laugh.
With that matter settled, the two moved on to discussing Golden City.
Neptune had already reviewed the Golden City proposal many times and was very familiar with the plan. As they talked, he and Ortoren confirmed several details, further increasing Fish-Man Island's level of involvement.
Going forward, Fish-Man Island would supply Golden City with specialty products from the deep sea. They would also relocate a portion of their people to settle there, establish song and dance troupes and performance groups to join Golden City's entertainment system, and even provide strong fishmen to serve as part of the city's security forces.
This deeper cooperation benefited both sides, and the agreement was reached smoothly and amicably.
Beyond Golden City itself, Ortoren also discussed undersea resource development with Neptune. They planned to establish a deep-sea mining company, jointly funded by Ortoren and Ryugu Palace, to develop and sell the ocean's abundant mineral resources.
In addition, they intended to cooperate in fisheries, which naturally tied into the food industry. In a world dominated by the sea, while farming and livestock were important, fisheries also made up a significant share of food production.
As the Fishing King of the New World, Ortoren naturally placed great importance on these industries.
Although the mermaid race lives in harmony with fish and does not eat them, the fish-men have no such taboos. Especially in Fish-Man District, those fish-men who can't make a living often rely on their racial talents. When they get hungry, they simply go catch fish to eat.
In that regard, they are naturally advantaged. Because of this, Ortoren planned to organize and recruit a large number of fish-men as legitimate "fishermen," establishing large-scale fisheries in the New World. They would become the backbone of the fisheries sector within his food industry.
As a member of the mermaid race, Neptune had little personal interest in such matters and had no intention of investing. However, he still supported the arrangement. It would create many jobs for Fish-Man Island, absorb the street thugs and troublemakers from Fish-Man District into the workforce, and ease public security issues.
With Jinbe and Tiger both absent, Neptune decided to leave this matter to Arlong.
After all, even if Arlong was a small-time figure in the grand scheme of things, within Fish-Man District he was still considered the third-ranking boss.
Over the following days, Ortoren remained at Ryugu Castle, frequently discussing these matters with Neptune, gradually refining and improving their plans and cooperative arrangements.
During this time, he also met Queen Otohime and the newborn Princess Shirahoshi.
To be fair, Queen Otohime wasn't short at all. Even standing next to Ortoren, she didn't look small, given that she was over two meters tall.
But beside Neptune, she appeared quite petite. Neptune himself was practically like a giant, standing over twelve meters tall.
The two of them together looked as if Neptune had married a figurine.
Although Ortoren never asked, he genuinely couldn't help wondering how the two of them managed their married life.
And how Queen Otohime managed to give birth to a child as enormous as Princess Shirahoshi.
The questions were simply too awkward. Even though his curiosity itched unbearably, Ortoren ultimately held his tongue, afraid that asking might make Neptune turn hostile on the spot.
After that, Ortoren visited the massive ark Noah on Fish-Man Island. He also had the Poneglyph from the Sea Forest loaded onto his ship, intending to take it back with him. Neptune raised no objections.
All told, after staying on Fish-Man Island for nearly half a month and attending one final farewell banquet, Ortoren and Hina's group brought their visit to an end and prepared to return to the New World.
The coated warship slowly departed from Fish-Man Island's harbor, following the deep-sea currents toward the surface waters of the New World.
On the deck, Ortoren held a cigarette between his lips, gazing at the shrinking outline of Fish-Man Island behind them, lost in thought.
Just then, Hina walked over with a Den Den Mushi in hand.
"Admiral, Mr. Momonga has sent word. They've already surrounded Kozuki Momonosuke's group and also managed to trap San Juan Wolf. The capture operation is about to begin. You may see the results once we return to the New World."
"Is that so?" Ortoren said, extinguishing his cigarette. "Then lift the blockade on the New World's gateway waters. It's only been sealed for half a month, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku has already called me several times from headquarters just to chew me out…"
Sengoku genuinely found Ortoren to be a headache. When he liked him, he adored him to no end. When he was angry, he hated him so much his teeth itched.
This guy had inexplicably sealed off the entire gateway region of the New World for more than half a month, trapping the royal families of twelve allied nations in the area, unable to move.
Those royals didn't dare voice any complaints. Once they heard it was Ortoren's order, they all obediently complied.
After all, they were operating in the New World. Who would dare give someone like Ortoren any attitude?
But the officials in Mary Geoise responsible for reception were losing their minds. They waited and waited, yet no royals arrived. With the World Conference about to begin, how could they not panic? Den Den Mushi calls flooded Ortoren one after another.
Ortoren only answered the first few. After that, he refused to take any more, using "poor signal on Fish-Man Island" as an excuse.
Left with no other choice, they went to Sengoku to complain, pestering him endlessly. In the end, Sengoku could only call Ortoren himself and angrily scold him for acting like a menace, demanding to know why he couldn't wait until after the World Conference to pull this stunt.
...
Meanwhile, at the edge of the New World's gateway waters.
Inuarashi stood on the deck, staring at the scene around him with a completely stunned expression. In the distance was a colossal giant, towering like a mountain, with only its head exposed above the sea. It even looked as though it believed it was hiding successfully, an almost foolish sight.
Around that giant, and surrounding their own ship, more than thirty Marine warships formed a massive encirclement, sealing them in completely.
"So… what exactly is going on here?" Inuarashi said helplessly. From the looks of it, this was some kind of accident.
They had most likely wandered straight into the Marines' encirclement of that massive giant and gotten caught up in it.
They tried quietly steering the three-masted sailing ship away, but after drifting barely ten meters, the opposing warships opened fire, forcing them back.
On deck, Foxfire Kinemon grabbed a broadcast Den Den Mushi and shouted toward the Marines.
"This is a misunderstanding! We're not companions of that giant! We're a merchant ship. Please let us pass!"
On the warship directly facing them, Momonga smiled faintly, holding his own broadcast Den Den Mushi.
"There's no misunderstanding. We came specifically for you. Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, former members of the Roger Pirates and current members of the Whitebeard Pirates. Kozuki Momonosuke, son of Kozuki Oden and the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Captain. And all of you, Kozuki Oden's retainers. You are either pirates or criminals directly tied to pirates. How can you call this a misunderstanding in front of the Marines?"
As his words fell, a ruthless glint flashed through Momonga's eyes.
"All ships, activate signal-wave jamming. Cut off all communications within the sealed area. By the Admiral's order, not a single one of these trash is to be let go."