"You're not a Celestial Dragon, but you're their lapdog!", Tiger spat out a mouthful of blood, but unfortunately, since Zephyr had him pinned down, he couldn't move a muscle to attack.
Still, if looks could kill, Moa would've died a thousand times over.
"What, me being a lapdog bothers you that much? There are tons of people working for the Celestial Dragons, why don't you go kill them all?"
Moa's face flushed red with anger.
'What the hell is this nonsense?'
There were plenty of loyalists to the Celestial Dragons and Rosse, many of them far weaker than her, so why the hell had he come after her?
If Sora had been there, she would've cursed Tiger out for being blind.
If he'd actually killed Sora, that would've been a massive blow to Rosse.
Of course, that was something Moa only dared to think about, she'd never actually try it herself.
As long as Sora and the others were around, Rosse stayed relatively sane.
But if something ever happened to them... Moa didn't even want to imagine how insane Rosse would become.
"Hah! Every lapdog of the Celestial Dragons deserves to die. You people destroyed Fishman Island, and now you're hunting down the innocent Fishmen. You'll all die miserable deaths," Tiger sneered coldly.
"Tiger, who told you we were hunting Fishmen?", Otohime caught the inconsistency, frowning as she cut into the conversation.
"Who needed to tell me? Everyone's saying it. Just a few days ago, I secretly sneaked into the Holy Land and overheard the Celestial Dragons talking with those humans. They were all kings from allied nations, would they lie about something like that?", Tiger shot back coldly.
"You're lying, Tiger," Otohime gazed at him and sighed softly.
"You didn't sneak into the Holy Land a few days ago. When you said that, your voice trembled, but what you said afterward was true. You did overhear that kind of conversation."
After eating the Yamauba Fruit, her Observation Haki had evolved tremendously.
Now, even without focusing, she could sense the emotions behind every word Tiger spoke.
"Does it matter when I sneaked in? What's important is what I heard," Tiger argued.
"Maybe you think that's what matters. But actually, the first part is far more important. Tiger, tell me the truth, you know what my ability can do. I don't want to use it on one of my own kind."
Otohime's voice was soft, but her tone was firm, it was her final warning.
With Rosse's influence and her new position as Queen of the Mermaid Kingdom, her temperament had changed greatly.
She wouldn't use her ability lightly, but if it was necessary to reach her goal, she wouldn't hesitate either.
And even she could tell there was something fishy behind Tiger's actions, let alone Rosse and Sora, who were far sharper than she was.
They were holding back now only to give her the chance to handle the matter of the Fishmen herself.
If they had to step in, the consequences would be far worse.
"I…", Tiger wanted to refuse, but when he met Otohime's serious gaze, he couldn't bring himself to say the words.
He had once been the boss of Fishman Street, a man whose word was law there.
Back then, under his management, Fishman Street hadn't yet fallen into chaos. He had even worked closely with Otohime, trying to bring harmony between Fishmen and merfolk.
He'd known even then that Otohime was a woman driven by compassion.
In order to find a greater living space for Fishmen and merfolk, Tiger had decided to venture out to sea, vowing to travel the world and find a new home for them.
But unfortunately, he hadn't gotten far before being captured by humans, eventually becoming a slave of the Celestial Dragons.
In that short period of time, he had truly witnessed hell.
From then on, he was never the same.
He began to hate humans, and no longer believed in the beauty Otohime had once spoken of.
Seeing her again today, Tiger found that even she had changed, into someone he barely recognized.
'Maybe that's just how this world is… what a damn joke.'
"Hah! You're right. I didn't sneak in a few days ago. I escaped from the Holy Land a few months ago, but because of the hoof mark, I got caught again. They locked me in a dungeon, I don't even know for how long. When I finally escaped, I found out the World Conference was happening."
Tiger gave a self-deprecating laugh, finally recounting his story.
He had never truly escaped the Celestial Dragons' pursuit, and now, he didn't even plan to run anymore.
"Which family captured you?", Otohime's face grew serious after hearing his tale.
Even she knew how chaotic things were within the Celestial Dragons' ranks.
It was clear now that this incident had the hand of a Celestial Dragon behind it.
"I don't know. But when I escaped, I saw that their tower was yellow, and not as tall as the others."
Tiger wasn't sure why Otohime asked that, but since he'd already said so much, there was no point in hiding it.
"The Donquixote Family?", Rosse spoke the name with a faintly amused smile.
"Probably not them," Sora said, shaking her head slightly.
The Donquixote family only had two or three ordinary Celestial Dragons left, they'd never dare to plot against Rosse.
"Yeah, definitely not them. They wouldn't have the guts. But if someone cut the trail of evidence off there, then the person behind it has already achieved their goal," Rosse said with a soft laugh.
"But isn't there still one more lead?", Sora asked with a playful smile.
"There is."
Rosse's lips curved upward, and he and Sora turned their eyes toward Moa.
"Me?"
Moa's heart skipped a beat under their gaze. She pointed at herself in disbelief.
They hadn't even said anything yet, how did they already know?
Besides, she didn't even understand what they were talking about.
With the way Rosse and Sora were looking at her, she just looked… dumb.
"Yes, you," Rosse smiled lightly and nodded, giving Otohime a glance.
Otohime wasn't stupid, she could already guess what Rosse was thinking. Turning back to Tiger, she asked, "Then why did you attack Moa? If you'd really done your homework, you'd know I'm in the Holy Land too. Attacking me would've made more sense than attacking her, right?"
Otohime didn't bring up Sora. Realistically, if someone knew about Moa, they'd definitely know about Sora, and attacking Sora would've had far greater impact.
But she couldn't exactly use her own sister as an example, so she used herself instead, it made no difference.
"I didn't know you were in the Holy Land. Wasn't Fishman Island destroyed? I only heard that you took the surviving Fishmen and merfolk and founded the Mermaid Kingdom. I didn't know anything else," Tiger looked genuinely confused. He honestly didn't understand why he would attack Otohime either.
Even if Fishman Island had been wiped out, that still had nothing to do with Otohime. What, he was supposed to kill her just because she'd become a member nation?
The Fishmen still depended on Otohime to survive. That much, even Tiger knew.
"Hey, don't you think you're a bit confused? Everyone knows Queen Otohime is supported by Lord Rosse, how do you know some things, but act like you don't know anything at all?", Moa couldn't help saying.
After all, she was the victim here, so her tone was a bit louder than usual.
But since she was the victim, Rosse didn't mind her speaking up.
And she had a point, Tiger's words were inconsistent.
Yet with Otohime present, it was easy to tell whether he was lying.
So that meant… either Tiger only knew half the truth, or someone had tampered with his mind.
Now that was getting interesting.
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