They named me Arquen.
It meant "guardian of the depths" in some old fishman language that most people didn't use anymore. Neptune seemed really proud of it, going on about how it was a name fit for a future king. Otohime just smiled and said it was perfect.
Honestly? I didn't hate it. Arquen. It had a nice ring to it.
The first few months were frustrating as hell. Being a baby sucked. I couldn't walk, couldn't talk, couldn't do anything except lie there and observe. But at least my mind was fully intact, and that superior comprehension ability seemed to be working overtime.
I picked up the fishman language way faster than I should've. Started understanding the differences between the various species of fishmen and merfolk just from watching the guards and servants. There were shark fishmen, octopus fishmen, ray fishmen - dozens of different types, each with their own characteristics.
And I could feel the water constantly. That authority the system mentioned wasn't just for show. Even as a baby, I knew where every current flowed in my room. Could sense when someone was approaching by the way they disturbed the water. It was like having a radar that never turned off.
The system interface stayed visible in the corner of my vision. I'd learned to pull it up with just a thought.
[Name: Arquen]
[Age: 4 months]
[Species: Poseidon-Class Fishman]
[Health Points: 150/150]
[Evolution Tier: Sovereign]
[Abilities Unlocked: 2/10]
My HP had increased as I grew. Made sense, I guess. The system treated physical development like leveling up in a game.
What interested me more was that "Abilities Unlocked" thing. I focused on it, and new text appeared.
[Current Abilities:]
[1. Water Authority - Complete control over water within range. Current range: 50 meters]
[2. Aquatic Dominion - Absolute command over sea life. Current range: 100 meters]
[Locked Abilities: 8]
[Requirements: Increased comprehension, physical maturity, evolution mastery]
So I had more powers waiting to be unlocked. Good to know. Though I had no idea what they might be yet.
"Look at him, he's staring at nothing again," one of the nursemaids said. She was a goldfish mermaid named Mira, and she'd been taking care of me along with two others.
"Prince Arquen is very focused," another one replied. That was Kora, a sea bream fishman. "I think he'll be wise like his mother."
If only they knew I was actually staring at a video game interface.
Otohime visited every day. She'd hold me and talk about her dreams for the island, about wanting fishmen and humans to live in peace. Her voice always got so passionate when she talked about it, like she truly believed it could happen.
It broke my heart a little.
I knew what happened to her in the original timeline. She'd be assassinated in a few years, shot by a human while giving a speech about coexistence. Her death would traumatize her children - my future siblings - and set back human-fishman relations for years.
But I was here now. And I had time to change that.
Neptune was different from Otohime. He visited less often because of his duties, but when he did, he'd talk to me about strength and protection. About what it meant to be a king.
"Power isn't just about being strong," he said once, his massive hand gentle on my head. "It's about using that strength to protect what matters. Remember that, Arquen."
I would've nodded if I could.
Around six months old, I started testing my abilities more actively. Nothing obvious - I didn't want to freak anyone out. But small things.
Like making the water in my bath swirl in specific patterns. Or calling tiny fish to my window. The nursemaids thought it was cute, that sea creatures just naturally liked me.
They had no idea I was literally commanding them to come.
The comprehension ability was the real cheat, though. I started understanding things that shouldn't make sense to a baby. The structure of the palace. The politics between different fishman factions. The economic problems facing the island.
Fishman Island was beautiful but poor. Most of the wealth came from trade with passing ships, and humans always underpaid or refused to trade fairly. The island relied too much on outside resources and didn't produce enough of its own.
That needed to change.
I also learned about the current state of the world. Roger hadn't become Pirate King yet. The Great Pirate Era hadn't started. It was relatively peaceful, but there were still plenty of pirates and slave traders who targeted fishmen.
Whitebeard had apparently declared Fishman Island under his protection a few years ago, which helped. But protection from one pirate crew wasn't a real solution.
What the island needed was development. Infrastructure. Technology. Self-sufficiency.
And that gene serum I was supposed to create? That would be key. If I could help other fishmen evolve, give them real power, then the island wouldn't need to rely on anyone's protection.
But first, I needed to grow up enough to actually do something.
The system pinged suddenly.
[Milestone Reached: Six Months Old]
[Comprehension Level Increased]
[New Function Unlocked: Analysis]
Oh? That was new.
I focused on the Analysis function, and information flooded my mind. I could now analyze things I observed - break them down and understand their fundamental properties. It wasn't perfect yet, but it was a start.
I tested it on Mira when she came to feed me. Information appeared next to her like a character sheet.
[Mira - Goldfish Mermaid]
[Age: 24]
[Strength: Average for species]
[Special Trait: Enhanced swimming speed]
[Evolution Potential: Medium]
Evolution potential? So I could see who would benefit most from the serum once I created it. That was incredibly useful.
I tried analyzing the water around me.
[Ryugu Palace Water]
[Purity: 94%]
[Mineral Content: High]
[Optimal for: Fishman development, coral growth]
Even the water had stats. This system was more detailed than I'd thought.
"You're smiling, little prince," Kora noticed. "Having good dreams?"
Something like that, I thought.
The door opened, and Otohime swam in. She looked tired but happy.
"How's my Arquen today?" She scooped me up, and I felt that warmth I always did around her. "You're getting so big already. Soon you'll be swimming around the palace causing trouble."
If she only knew the kind of trouble I was planning.
But it was the good kind of trouble. The kind that would save lives and change history.
I just needed to be patient a little longer.