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Chapter's Events:
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"There is a grave!" Shirahoshi uttered those words.
Her voice carried a deep longing. "I have never been able to visit that grave even once, since it was first erected..."
Those words revealed a hidden desire.
"For all these ten long years..."
"I have wanted to visit it, more than anything else..." This was her urgent wish and the reason for her insistence on going to the Sea Forest.
...
[The Depths]
Jinbe was sitting on a nearby rock.
Facing a magnificent grave. His silence told a story.
"... Ten years already..." Jinbe murmured.
His voice carried the weight of time.
"It's hard to believe so much time has passed..."
"Since that assassination took place in broad daylight... And shook Fishman Island to its core.....!!"
It seemed Jinbe was speaking about the grave's occupant.
About the Queen who was assassinated.
"Long enough for the princes to grow into fine warriors... Though Shirahoshi is still locked away in her tower..."
"But none of us has forgotten your precious dream..."
"Queen Otohime...!!!"
His words were an oath.
A promise that her dream would not die.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Fishman Island:
Inside the art store, where vibrant colors adorned canvases and stories materialized on pages, the readers received a profound shock.
It wasn't merely the appearance of a new name; it was the name of a queen they had never heard of before in the history of Fishman Island, and what was more astonishing, she had died ten years ago! This stark contradiction, this sudden mystery, struck their hearts violently, leaving them in a state of disbelief and unimaginable sorrow.
"Is it Shirahoshi's mother's grave?" one of them wondered, his voice tinged with confusion.
"This means she's the Queen, King Neptune's wife... But who exactly is Queen Otohime!?" Questions cascaded, each opening a door to more enigmas, as if they were trying to piece together a scattered puzzle.
"To think that the Queen 'we haven't even gotten yet' has died in the manga... What a pity!!" another exclaimed, his facial expressions reflecting deep disappointment.
"Will she appear in a flashback!?" a third person said, attempting to find a logical explanation for this mystery,.
"That's expected."
"It seems Jinbe holds great respect for her." someone observed, his eyes narrowing as he saw Jinbe's scene by the grave.
If Jinbe, that strong and wise warrior, held such respect for her, she must have been an exceptional character, with a profound impact.
"Who is this Queen, I wonder..."
These words expressed a collective curiosity, an urgent desire to unveil this enigmatic character who had begun to dominate their thoughts.
"It seems King Neptune-sama will be very saddened by the death of the Queen who was assassinated." another said, his voice carrying a touch of pity.
If her death was an assassination, it implied a larger conspiracy, perhaps a betrayal, which heightened the drama.
"I smell a big conspiracy here..." someone whispered.
These words served as a warning, an indication that the upcoming events would not be simple, and that hidden threads were moving in the shadows.
"Basically, our King is still single right now, which means our Queen is still alive somehow." one person said.
"Man, that's a relief."
…
Neptune completely ignored the readers' comments. His eyes were fixed on the name displayed on the manga page.
"Otohime... As expected... It seems what Rob told me was absolutely true." His words carried a tone of sadness and acceptance, as if he had anticipated this fate, as if destiny had written this ending long ago.
"The Queen who was supposed to be mine has already been taken..." Neptune sighed.
"Well, at least I'm happy to know she won't die by assassination or anything like that..."
These words expressed a strange contradiction: deep sorrow for loss her, and a peculiar relief that she hadn't died tragically, as if this fate was easier to bear than others.
This Queen, whom he hadn't yet seen, had left a profound mark on his heart, as if she were a part of his soul.
"Your Majesty, who do you think might have assassinated Queen Otohime 10 years ago in the manga!?" the Right Minister asked, his voice carrying a tone of curiosity and concern, trying to understand this mystery surrounding this accident.
"How would I know that!? We haven't even seen the Queen's face yet, and you're asking me about her killer's identity?" Neptune's answer expressed his frustration, his helplessness in the face of this enigma.
How could he answer such a question when he lacked sufficient information?
…
"It seems my counterpart holds great respect for this departed Queen." Jinbe looked deeply at the scene of his counterpart sitting by the grave in the Sea Forest.
His eyes reflecting a profound understanding of this respect, as if he saw himself in that scene, as if fate had connected them somehow.
"She died 10 years ago then... I wonder when my counterpart died in the manga." Fisher Tiger wondered.
What he had been most looking forward to so far was seeing a flashback of himself, and now he was even more interested in this character named 'Queen Otohime'.
"Has it started already!?"
Hody Jones's hand trembled as he held the volume at that moment, after seeing the New Fishman Pirates invade Fishman Island and head directly towards the Royal Palace on the backs of sea beasts.
These words expressed his shock, his fear, his realization that the war had indeed begun, and that the fate he had been awaiting had arrived.
"This means the conflict will inevitably intensify." Arlong patted Hody's shoulder, saying sarcastically, his words carrying a tone of schadenfreude and warning at the same time, as if he was enjoying this tragic scene.
"You, inheritor of my will, look closely at what will happen to your foolish counterpart."
Arlong was confident that the end of Hody Jones and his followers would be far worse than the end of the Arlong Pirates at that time.
These words expressed his confidence that history would repeat itself, and that Hody Jones would meet the same fate, as if destiny had written this ending long ago.
At this moment, Hody Jones removed Arlong's hand from his shoulder, saying; "Even if my counterpart is evil, his principle is still clear: revenge on humans and releasing all grudges."
These words expressed his insistence on his principles, even if they were evil, as if he was defending his own cause.
"He can't be blamed for that, can he!?"
These words were a challenge, an attempt to justify his actions, and to show that there was another side to the story, perhaps a dark side, but it existed.
…
— — — — — — — — — — — —
"Certainly, it is true that Luffy-san and the shark came out of that room..." Brook said that his voice carried a tone of confusion.
"But I saw no sign of anyone resembling a mermaid princess!" This was his keen observation.
"Nevertheless, she would never leave the palace of her own accord!!" King Neptune shouted, his voice trembling with pain.
"And besides, Shirahoshi is as large as I!"
"She could hardly leave without anyone noticing!!!" He was describing Shirahoshi's characteristics believing she was kidnapped by Luffy.
"Eh?! The mermaid princess is huge?! How outrageous!!" Usopp imagined Shirahoshi's shape.
As a plump mermaid princess. Resembling a giant Kokoro.
"I know!! Perhaps the culprit stuffed Shirahoshi inside Megalo's mouth... And took her from the castle that way?!!" said Neptune.
And he didn't know that what he had just assumed was actually the truth.
"Pfffft!!! This is hardly the time for such silly jokes, Your Majesty!!!" The Right Minister shouted angry at the absurdity of his king's idea.
"Even if somebody were crazy enough to think up such an idea... They would never carry it out!! The very concept is absurd!!" He completely rejected the idea.
"... At any rate...! Our captain would never kidnap anyone!!" Nami fiercely defended Luffy.
"So cast your suspicions elsewhere, got that?!!" Her words expressed her loyalty.
"No!! There is no other explanation!!" Neptune said indignantly.
"If Shirahoshi does not return unharmed... I will never bring you your ship or your crewmates!!!" He was clearly threatening.
"No waaay!!"
At this crucial moment, when they were distracted, one of the human pirates who had been beaten by Zoro, managed to open the entrance successfully.
[Ryugu Palace Entrance: All gates open.]
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Ohara:
In Ohara, Brook burst into laughter, a booming laugh that shook the library's foundations.
"Yohohoho! You predicted it correctly, Luffy is indeed the kidnapper, and he did it in the same foolish way you described!"
Holding the manga volume, tears of laughter streamed from his eyes. After all, he never expected anyone to think of the same foolish idea as Luffy.
"I still don't understand how he managed to stuff her inside the shark so easily..." Clover rubbed his forehead in confusion, his words expressing his bewilderment and disbelief, as if logic had abandoned him at that moment.
"Anyway, that shark named Megalo won't be doing well at all."
"Given her large size, her fish part must have entered the shark's stomach, which has already started secreting digestive fluids." Dr. Vegapunk added what he believed was currently happening inside the shark's belly with certainty, his words expressing his scientific analysis of the situation, even if it was absurd, as if he was trying to find a logical explanation for an illogical event.
"Anyway, it seems that somehow Hody Jones and Vander Decken's plan to open the entrances succeeded." Saul's attention fell on the keys that were all in the ON position, in the hand of a human pirate who managed to get there.
"I see chaos will begin from the Royal Palace then? Fortunately, the princess isn't there, which means Vander Decken won't find his bride." Homing said sarcastically
His words expressed his sarcasm towards Vander Decken, and his utter failure, as if he was enjoying this tragic scene. Of course, he was mocking Vander Decken, who seemed like a comical character in this scene.
….
"Oh, is he Tom's brother? How strange, they don't resemble each other at all..."
Rosinante looked strangely at the new Fishman who had just appeared on the Thousand Sunny and introduced himself as Den, while Franky explained that he was his teacher Tom's brother, speaking about the fact that they were completely different ethnically.
"No need to rush, he said that human matters simply don't apply to Fishmen, as their genetic diversity is much stranger than humans."
Doffy spoke with interest in response to Rosinante.
"That's right, it seems logical among fish..." Enel added, his voice carrying a tone of agreement.
"It doesn't matter, it's great to know that someone amazing like Tom has a brother in this place, and he also seems to be a shipwright."
These words expressed Rosinante's happiness at this discovery.
"Hahahaha! This means the crew has found someone to coat their ship for free again."
…
Back on Fishman Island, precisely at the gathering place of Tom and his companions.
"That's…" Den's eyes widened at that moment when he saw his appearance in the manga. This moment was a pleasant surprise for him, as if he was seeing himself in a dream, as if fate had written this appearance for him.
"Tahahaha!! Congratulations on your first appearance in the manga, brother, as expected." Tom slapped his younger brother's back repeatedly, laughing lightly as he said that.
"Alright, stop slapping my back..."
"Heh~ I thought my counterpart would be dead somewhere, I didn't think he'd appear alive, even meet Franky and board the Thousand Sunny..."
"He'll even evaluate this legendary ship and coat it too... This makes me very happy."
Den wiped a small tear that formed in the corner of his eye due to the great emotion caused by this wonderful moment.
After all, appearing in the One Piece manga was no small matter at all; it was a historic event.
"SUUUUPPPER! It's a family reunion in the manga!" Franky also wiped his tears as he commented on the scene with a smile.
"But it seems your counterpart is a big satirist! Do I look like I have a robot ancestor!? Stop messing around!" Franky exclaimed.
"Don't be angry, Franky, it's clear my counterpart is just joking, ahahahaha!"
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 929: You're not my type!
Chapter 930: The Small Knife is No Longer Enough to Face Zoro.
Chapter 931: Please, Wear Your Sogeking Mask Again.
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