White Ghost flew until he found a stretch of empty sea. Then he folded his wings and dove straight down into the water.
—
In Ryugu Palace on Fishman Island, King Neptune was pacing restlessly.
"Otohime, are you truly going to give that to him?" the massive merman asked, brows knotted. "You know that medicine is forbidden."
Queen Otohime nodded.
"Yes. You've seen it yourself—all that Fishman Island has gained thanks to his help. But these past few days, there's been a steady trickle of unusually capable pirates sneaking in."
Her delicate brows drew together.
"I suspect something has gone wrong on the surface. I need to speak with him."
Neptune sighed heavily. He'd come to the same conclusion.
"Mother… is Lord White coming again?" Shirahoshi asked, eyes shining with hope.
"Yes, my sweet Shirahoshi," Otohime said warmly. "The very same 'Mr. White' from before."
Neptune stood off to the side, wearing the classic expression of a father whose precious daughter was being eyed by a passing boar.
He truly didn't understand it. Their gentle daughter had only met that man once—and ever since, she brought him up every few days, always asking about that "damn marine."
"Really? That's wonderful!" Shirahoshi clapped her hands, tail swishing. "Oh—last time Lord White came, he was really hungry. I need to hurry and prepare food!"
She practically swam out of the hall, flustered and happy.
Neptune watched her go, tray in her hands, and felt his heart crack a little.
…Does she ever ask if her father is hungry?
"Ohoho…" Otohime cleared her throat softly and leaned closer. "Neptune, you'd best not make that face in front of Mr. White."
"Jinbe met him at the harbor, remember? After that great battle in the New World, he went to watch the fight. You do remember how he described that marine, don't you?"
Of course he remembered.
When Jinbe had returned, he'd hesitated, then spoken carefully:
"There's no one on Fishman Island who can stop that man.
To put it bluntly… even if everyone on Fishman Island attacked together, it still wouldn't be enough."
That had shaken Neptune to his core.
Especially when Jinbe described the battlefield:
The sky torn open. Thunder roaring. Seas surging.
Like the end of the world itself.
"We must cooperate properly with Mr. White," Otohime said gently. "I can tell he isn't evil. With someone like that, if you treat him sincerely, he won't treat you poorly."
"…I understand, Otohime," Neptune said at last, nodding. He really had no other choice. That man was simply too strong.
Otohime lowered her voice.
"And Jinbe mentioned something else—about the surface. It seems some rather ugly rumors about Mr. White have been circulating among the Marines. Humans are so strange. They finally have someone that strong… and they're pushing him away."
She sighed.
"I truly don't know what they're thinking."
"Neptune!" Otohime suddenly snapped, eyes widening.
He jumped. "Wh-What is it, my queen?"
"You… just now… did you seriously refer to a man with Four Emperor–level power in that tone?"
She stared at him in disbelief.
"I know you look down on his background," she said quietly, "but look clearly at the situation Fishman Island is in. If those words ever reached the wrong ears… do you know what kind of disaster that could bring to our people?"
Faced with his wife's anger, Neptune hurried to apologize.
In his heart, though, he still couldn't help looking down a little on White Ghost's origins—just a merchant's son, blessed by sheer luck with a Mythical Zoan.
By the time he'd managed to soothe Otohime's temper, Jinbe had arrived at the palace with White Ghost in tow.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness," Jinbe called, bowing. "Mr. White is here."
Otohime stepped forward quickly.
"My apologies, Mr. White," she said sincerely. "We were unable to welcome you at the harbor in person."
"It's fine," White Ghost said, sidestepping her attempt at a formal bow. "No need for that. Did you bring what I asked for?"
Otohime clapped her hands.
The right minister stepped forward, holding a small ornate box with both fins.
"This is what you requested, Mr. White," Otohime said. "But I must remind you—this medicine is dangerous. It puts a heavy burden on the body, with severe side effects."
White Ghost took the box, flipped it open, and glanced inside.
The pills were correct. The formula was there as well.
"Good," he said. "Thanks. Ask what you want to know."
He sat down casually in a coral chair, as if he were in his own home.
"Then I'll be direct," Otohime said, smiling faintly. "Has something happened above, Mr. White?"
White Ghost picked up an apple from the table and bit into it with a crunch.
"Yeah," he said. "Those five old fossils up there want to suppress the Marines, in case the organization slips out of their control."
He spoke almost lazily.
"They've been cozying up to some of the hawk-faction hardliners and spreading… unflattering stories about me. My guess is they're planning to ship me off to some backwater corner of the world."
…You're taking that awfully well, Jinbe thought, a bit speechless.
White Ghost caught their expressions and went on:
"I'm planning to leave the Marines anyway. Just need to tie up a few loose ends first."
"What?!"
Otohime, Neptune, and Jinbe all cried out at once.
They couldn't help it.
At this point, Fishman Island was practically standing on his shoulders. Without White Ghost, were they supposed to go back to how things were before?
"Mr. White," Otohime asked carefully, "may I ask… where you plan to go after you resign?"
White Ghost swallowed the last bite of apple and reached for a piece of cake. Fishman Island's sweets really were something special.
"First, I'll tour the four Blues," he said. "Then head along the Grand Line. After that, I'll enter the New World… and take Wano from Kaido as a retirement home."
The first half of the sentence, Otohime and the others could nod along to.
Then the ending landed.
"What?! You're going to take Wano?!" Jinbe's eyes nearly popped out.
"Yeah," White Ghost said matter-of-factly. "I'll take Wano. Have a fight with Kaido—winner stays. Who knows, maybe I'll end up as one of the Four Emperors."
"Th-Then… are you going to become a pirate?" Otohime asked, expression complicated.
White Ghost shook his head.
"No. A traveler. A world traveler."
He smiled faintly.
"Kaido's territory is just one possible retirement option. I just happen to like the look of that country."
Privately, he added: and putting certain people in chains there will be very therapeutic.
"Of course, that's not happening anytime soon," he continued. "I've got to raise my crew's strength first. We'll train while we travel.
"And Wano's just a backup plan. If I find another place I like more, I'll just take that instead."
Otohime and the others exchanged glances.
Finally, she drew a breath and spoke again.
"In that case, Mr. White… if, someday, you truly do find a place to settle down… Fishman Island would be honored to help."
"Queen Otohime!" Neptune blurted, startled.
"Your Highness?!" Jinbe was just as shocked.
White Ghost paused mid-reach and looked at her.
"You want me to shelter your people?" he asked.
"Yes," Otohime said, meeting his gaze head-on. "With your strength, it's only a matter of time before you can take—or be offered—territory now ruled by pirates far worse than Kaido, or by lesser crews who have no right to it.
"I only hope that when that day comes, if we fishmen and merfolk are willing to work for it… you might grant us a small piece of land. A place where we can live under the sun.
"As for construction costs, labor, everything else—we will handle it ourselves. All I ask is that, when the moment comes, you don't abandon my people."
White Ghost fell silent, resting his chin on one hand.
Otohime watched him quietly, not daring to push.
Neptune, Jinbe, and the right minister all understood what she was trying to do. And to be honest… they were tempted. The man in front of them could make such a promise real.
At that moment, Shirahoshi swam back in, hugging a large platter.
"Lord White!" she called joyfully. "I heard you were here, so I prepared roasted Sea King meat for you. They said it's your favorite!"
As soon as she entered, she realized the atmosphere was strange.
No one was speaking. Everyone was watching White Ghost.
White Ghost looked at Shirahoshi and smiled.
"I'll do it," he said simply.
"Thank you very much, Mr. White!" Otohime bowed deeply.
This time, White Ghost didn't dodge.
"But—" he added.
The room tensed.
"But what?" Otohime asked at once.
"Your people are still too weak," White Ghost said bluntly. "While I'm out traveling, you'd better start training them seriously.
"Otherwise… when the time comes, they'll just be cannon fodder—and I don't need that.
"Oh, and—" His gaze slid to the side. "The shark girl hiding over there can come out now. Your tail's sticking out."
His eyes flicked toward the back of the hall, where a fin and tail-tip were very conspicuously poking out from behind a coral pillar…
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/StrawHatStudios