"I'll keep that promise," Queen Otohime said with a gentle smile. "You don't need to worry."
Jinbe was a little confused.
Promise?
All he knew was that Jango had passed on a message from White Ghost, Otohime had thought for a bit… and agreed.
But Jinbe didn't overthink it. As long as it didn't harm Fishman Island, it was fine.
And looking at the changes around him now, he was more than satisfied.
"Oh, right!" Jango clapped his hands. "Jinbe—Boss said you can send any troublemaking pirates up to the auction house."
"Hmm?" Jinbe frowned, then nodded.
"I understand. I'll make time to personally lead a team."
Jango grinned.
"Scum like that… you can kill and kill and never run out. Instead of putting them down with a single strike, better to recycle the trash."
Otohime had heard plenty about the auction house White Ghost ran at Sabaody.
At first, the idea of a "slave auction" only made her recoil.
But over time she learned the details.
Under White Ghost's rules, the auction refused to accept civilians—only pirates. And not only that, several pirate crews had tried attacking the auction house itself.
They all died.
The small fry were killed on the spot. The captains and officers were captured and sold on stage.
It reminded her of White Ghost's words:
"As long as you have strength, others will fear you. And they'll respect you."
Still, what really changed Otohime's impression was one particular incident.
Two merfolk from Fishman Island had been captured and sent to the auction house.
That time, White Ghost personally handled it.
He'd spent a long while whispering with Saint Mjosgard. No one knew what was said.
All they saw was Saint Mjosgard pay ten billion berries to buy the two merfolk… then release them into the sea in front of everyone.
Afterward, Mjosgard had spoken lazily:
"Sigh. I've got too much money to spend anyway. Might as well do some good deeds. Maybe it'll earn me some merit~"
The Celestial Dragons instantly exploded.
"What, so you're the rich one now?"
"You're the only one who knows how to show off?"
Within days, the trend spread through the Celestial Dragons' circles like wildfire.
They started competing to buy merfolk and release them—just to show how much money they could burn.
White Ghost hadn't really tried that hard to persuade anyone that day.
If Otohime had to guess, Mjosgard's change of heart had been growing for a while—from her influence—and Jin just… nudged it loose.
In the original flow of events, without White Ghost interfering, Mjosgard would eventually have given up using slaves entirely.
Now, things were already much better.
From then on, Otohime found herself genuinely admiring White Ghost. She'd even had people dig up his records.
The more she read, the less she understood him.
If you said he was a good person… a proper good person… then you looked at his methods and thought, which part of this looks good?
But if you called him a villain, truthfully? He was kinder than most "good people."
Contradiction in human form.
In the end, Otohime simply gave up trying to label him.
She only knew one thing: following his lead wouldn't be a loss for Fishman Island.
All she had to do was look at Fishman Island now.
"I heard Mr. White isn't married yet?" Otohime asked suddenly.
"Uh…" Jango's brain stuttered.
Jinbe's eyes went wide.
Wait. Don't tell me…?
"Hehe, don't misunderstand," Otohime laughed. "I'm just asking. My daughter is still very young."
Jinbe shot her a strange look.
Still small now… so when she grows up? Is that what you're thinking?
Jango, on the other hand, was in turmoil.
Do I tell the truth? Boss isn't married, but there are already several women hanging around him…
If I lie, I'll die. If I tell the truth, I'll still die…
Before he could finish panicking, a thunderous roar shook the water.
Everyone shot to their feet.
Shouts rang from outside.
"What is that thing?!"
Jango's heart jumped.
Did some monster-level enemy show up?!
"Soru!"
He vanished from his spot, streaking outside.
"What's going on?" Otohime gasped, unease twisting in her chest.
Something heavy seemed to press down on her heart.
"Your Majesty, allow me to check!" Jinbe said, already moving.
"Wait, Jinbe!" Otohime ran after him.
They reached the entrance together—and froze.
A dragon was flying toward them.
A golden dragon, with wings sprouting from its back.
"Roooaaaar—!"
As it drew closer, the visual impact only got more terrifying.
Golden eyes. Golden horns. A dragon's body easily over five hundred meters long. Claws like hooked blades. The entire golden dragon radiated crushing majesty.
"What…?"
Otohime stared, stunned.
A dragon. A creature of legend. Here, at Fishman Island.
And in her heart… something about it felt strangely familiar.
White Ghost, meanwhile, had planned to slip in through Fishman Island's normal entrance.
But there'd been a fight at the gate.
A bunch of fishmen were clashing with a group of slave traders.
Jin didn't even think about it.
He'd swatted a claw once and turned the scum into a smear on the seabed.
After announcing who he was and asking where Jango was, he'd simply flown off.
This was his first time transforming fully.
And it felt so damn good.
Like breaking shackles he didn't know he had. Freedom, from scales to bones.
He didn't want to change back at all.
And since he could move underwater without fear, nobody even noticed he wasn't drowning. They were too busy fighting for their lives.
Honestly, the beast form just felt right.
So he'd stayed like this out of pure comfort.
A few people saw him along the way.
He didn't care.
Sooner or later, this form would be exposed anyway. As long as his truly important secrets stayed buried, he didn't mind the rest.
Jango had been terrified at first.
He'd thought Kaido had come.
But then he remembered—Kaido was an azure dragon. This was a golden one.
And those golden wings…
Jango put the pieces together immediately.
"Kaido?" Jinbe stepped forward, placing himself between Otohime and the dragon. "Are you Ka—"
"No… you're not Kaido," he corrected himself a moment later. "Who are you, and why have you come to Fishman Island?"
Most of the fishmen around them had already collapsed, kneeling or lying flat, trembling too hard to stand.
You couldn't blame them.
In this form, Jin was simply too terrifying. Just looking at him made them want to curl up and submit.
"Jinbe."
The golden dragon opened its mouth.
"Ng?"
Otohime blinked.
Jinbe froze.
That voice…
It sounded very, very familiar.
"Um… are you Mr. White?" Otohime asked, summoning her courage.
"Yes."
The golden dragon nodded his massive head.
Both of them exhaled in unison.
Not an enemy. They were safe.
"Boss," Jango called, looking at the cowering fishmen. "You look incredibly cool like this… but can you maybe stop being a dragon now?"
Jin shook his huge head.
"I don't know why," he admitted, "I just really don't want to. It feels too good staying like this."
The movement stirred the water, the current—and everyone's nerves.
Even with their minds convinced he wasn't an enemy, their bodies still wanted to collapse.
"Um, Mr. White…" Otohime said carefully. "What you requested is ready. It's at Ryugu Palace. Perhaps… you'd like to come over for a banquet? To thank you for what you've done for Fishman Island."
She was tiny compared to him.
She didn't even come up to the diameter of one of his horns.
"Sure. I could eat," Jin said, and extended a claw. "Get on."
Jinbe hesitated.
That claw was… enormous.
Jango jumped up without a second thought, shouting down a few orders to the fishmen below.
Otohime followed, graceful even as she climbed onto a dragon's talon.
Jinbe could only sigh and join them.
If anything happened to the queen on his watch, he didn't dare imagine the consequences.
The golden dragon flapped its wings.
"Roooar—!"
His body twisted like a living mountain and shot toward Ryugu Palace.
"D-did it leave? That monster?"
Fishmen slowly pushed themselves up.
A few sharp ones replayed Jango's shout in their minds.
He called that monster 'Boss'… Is that… that Marine?
They looked up at the diminishing golden silhouette, minds buzzing.
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