Castle
Before Luffy could wait for Perona to return, Neptune appeared.
"Luffy, you're really here."
"Neptune? Do you need something?" Luffy asked.
"Father," Shirahoshi also called out.
Without having time to pay attention to his daughter, Neptune said nervously, "Luffy, I heard from Fukaboshi that you made a deal with Shirahoshi?"
"That's right, it's all recorded on the Poneglyph!" Luffy smiled.
"How can this be! I disagree! Shirahoshi is only sixteen. How can she join your crew? How can a princess become a pirate!?"
Neptune was furious.
"So that's it… I thought you didn't want to risk moving Fish-Man Island to the surface." Luffy shook his head and said.
"About Fish-Man Island… that's Otohime's dream, sharing the same sun with humans."
Neptune's expression faltered, and he sighed. "Actually, our ancestors tried that hundreds of years ago, but it was just a dream that ended in regret."
Hearing this, Luffy crossed his arms and said slowly:
"My deal with Shirahoshi is that I will help her realize that dream, and she will join my crew. You don't need to worry about it."
Neptune was speechless for a moment.
"Hahaha, don't be impatient. You can absolutely trust the strength of your daughter—she is Poseidon." Luffy laughed.
Hearing this, Neptune became serious. "So, that's your purpose?"
"There's no good or evil in power itself."
Luffy neither admitted nor denied it. "Think about it: if you really rushed to the surface, how would you protect yourself? My name can shield you for a while, but in the end, you'll still have to rely on yourself—and Shirahoshi is your family's shield."
Reflecting seriously on Luffy's words, Neptune remained silent for a long time.
Shirahoshi sat obediently on the bed without a word, watching the exchange between Luffy and her father.
It seemed… Father lost?
If the promise was kept, she could go on an adventure?
Shirahoshi felt anxious and excited about the future.
"I understand, but will it really work?" After a long pause, Neptune furrowed his brow and asked, "Will Fish-Man Island be in danger?"
"Who knows? That depends on whether Shirahoshi can control her own power. Trust your daughter!"
In the end, Neptune left.
If she could truly realize her ancestors' dream, he could only say that it was destiny.
However, he must go to Shyarly for divination tomorrow!
"Your father agreed, and you cannot go back on your word." Watching Neptune leave, Luffy laughed.
Shirahoshi puffed out her cheeks. "I'll never regret this, Luffy!"
At that moment, Perona's spiritual body emerged from the ground.
Shirahoshi was surprised.
Luffy pointed at Shirahoshi and ordered, "Use Negative Ghost on her."
Perona blinked, letting out a sigh of relief.
She thought he was going to play some perverted punishment game on her again—this really scared her! Although she would never admit that she had secretly liked it to some extent.
Immediately, following Luffy's order, she created a cute negative ghost in her palm.
The naive Shirahoshi reached out to touch it, and then…
Bam.
Supporting herself on the edge of the bed with both hands, her curious eyes sank, and her tone became sad:
"Sorry… I'm just a coward who likes…"
Sure enough, she cried.
Her sobs quickly turned into wailing.
Luffy's heart skipped a beat.
Through Observation Haki, he sensed a massive aura rapidly heading toward Fish-Man Island.
Although the distance was enormous, he could barely feel it clearly.
"Was it successful?"
He quickly stood, looking solemnly at the sky above the tower. His gaze seemed to pierce through the palace, and he saw several enormous Sea Kings emerging from the depths of the sea.
Although he hadn't seen them directly yet, Luffy was certain that they had been summoned by Shirahoshi.
As expected of Poseidon!
Obviously, the cry wasn't loud, but it could be transmitted to a very distant place, far beyond the reach of his Haki.
"Shirahoshi, you did it."
Shirahoshi stopped sobbing, rubbing the tears from her eyes as the negative ghost's power quickly dissipated.
Gradually returning to herself, her face flushed with embarrassment. She puffed out her cheeks and turned her head.
"I don't care about you, Luffy—you really used this method!"
"Shishishi, I'll go see the Sea Kings you summoned. Perona, you can talk to her."
Luffy laughed, took out the Bubble Coral, pressed it, and a bubble emerged from the top, enveloping his entire body.
In the next moment, he transformed into his Nika form.
After that, he quickly left the castle.
Fish-Men were the fastest swimmers in the world.
However, in Nika form, he was faster than the fastest Fish-Man.
Meanwhile.
Three enormous Sea Kings were heading toward Fish-Man Island.
Since it was nighttime, the Eva Sunlight Tree emitted no light. At this moment, the ten-thousand-meter-deep sea was in complete darkness. Only a few glowing beads on Fish-Man Island emitted a faint light.
"Did you hear that?"
"I heard it."
"It's the king's decree."
"There was another voice."
"It was the drum of liberation…"
"After 800 years, it has finally sounded again."
"The two have met."
"Has the appointed day arrived?"
They were communicating with each other.
Each Sea King had a massive body over five kilometers in length.
By comparison, Laboon seemed tiny.
What does it mean to be over five thousand meters long?
Mount Everest is just over 8,000 meters.
Suddenly, the three colossal Sea Kings stopped moving. From the darkness ahead, coming from the direction of Fish-Man Island, a white light swam toward them.
In the blink of an eye, it appeared before them.
Luffy stared at them and exclaimed, "You're really big. It's our first meeting. I am Monkey D. Luffy."
Fearing they might not understand, he used his ability to speak directly into the minds of the three Sea Kings.
Their eyes revealed a kind of surprise.
"It's the Sun King!"
"You've met our king?"
"Are you calling us?"
They sent a message that seemed to echo directly in Luffy's mind.
Huh? Sun King?
Why not call him the Sun God?
Luffy was confused, but it didn't matter.
[I asked the princess to call you. I want to bring Fish-Man Island to the surface. For that, I need Noah and your strength.]
"There's still some time until the promised day."
"You were born earlier than expected."
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."