"Natural disaster Kai! What do you want to do on Fish-Man Island!"
Neptune sat on the back of a crown-wearing whale, shouting loudly: "This is Whitebeard's territory! Do you want to start a war with the Whitebeard Pirates!"
The armed fishman soldiers beside him looked panicked but still mustered courage to aim their weapons at Kai's group.
Unexpectedly spirited of them.
Kai looked up to meet Neptune's gaze, his lips curving: "No need to be so tense, Neptune. I came to discuss cooperation."
"Cooperation?"
Neptune frowned.
"As a meeting gift—"
Kai spoke while seemingly casually glancing at a dark shadow that had been hiding in the coral reef shadows, then looked back at Neptune with shocking words: "I can tell you the truth about Princess Otohime's assassination."
"What!"
All three princes staggered as if physically struck.
A fishman killed Mother? Not humans?
What other lies had they been living with all these years?"
First Prince Shark Star forgot etiquette in his anxiety, shouting: "What did you say?! Who's the real murderer of my mother?"
But Kai didn't answer directly. He leisurely surveyed the surrounding tense soldiers and nervous atmosphere, saying calmly: "Should we chat here? Is this Fish-Man Island's hospitality?"
Neptune's massive chest heaved several times as he stared intently at Kai, seemingly judging the truth and ulterior motives behind these words. After a long silence, he finally slowly withdrew his trident, bowing slightly in a "please" gesture:
"I was discourteous. Please accompany me to Dragon Palace. I'll receive you all with royal etiquette."
Thus, Kai brought Yamato, Robin and several core officers aboard vessels carried by sea beasts, heading toward Dragon Palace at Fish-Man Island's highest point, resembling a fantasy castle.
Meanwhile, at the harbor below, the shadow that had been hiding in coral reef shadows spying on Kai's group hurriedly turned and fled the harbor at maximum speed, running back to headquarters non-stop.
Fish-Man Street.
Located in Fish-Man Island's most remote, darkest corner, this was where numerous idle fishman thugs and gangsters gathered—rarely did proper fishmen or mermaids set foot here.
"Boss Hody, trouble!"
The eavesdropping fishman thug tumbled into a dim hall, frantically shouting as he found Fish-Man Street's actual controller—great white shark fishman, Hody Jones.
He gasped breathlessly: "Beast Pirates came to Fish-Man Island! Led by Natural Disaster Kai!"
"What?!"
The hall immediately erupted in uproar.
A fishman who somewhat followed outside news seemed to remember something, saying uneasily: "I—I remember! Recent newspapers! Is it because Whitebeard interfered with their war against Red Hair Pirates, so they're bearing grudges and came to our Fish-Man Island for revenge?"
"That would be terrible!" Another fishman's voice trembled: "Whitebeard isn't on the island now. Can Boss Jinbe alone resist Kai?"
Just as everyone fell into panic and discussion, an explosive roar rang out from the main seat like thunder.
"Shut up!"
The tall, burly, fierce-looking Hody Jones suddenly stood from his seat, his sinister gaze sweeping over his anxious subordinates.
Seeing them all fall silent under his oppressive stare, he nodded with satisfaction.
"Panic about what? Mere Beast Pirates—just a bunch of humans! How could they match us noble fishmen? Don't forget, this is 10,000 meters deep! Our domain!"
Relying on Jinbe for everything—was he, Hody, weak?
He held the absolute trump card to overthrow Fish-Man Island.
"Right, right."
"Exactly! No need to fear them at all!"
After his outburst, many fishman thugs seemed to find their backbone, suddenly understanding.
This was Fish-Man Island, their home turf—no need to fear human pirates.
Among the crowd, only a few clear-headed fishmen showed worry.
Deep sea was deep sea, but Beast Pirates weren't ordinary pirates.
Then the returning informant seemed to remember something, hurriedly adding: "Oh right, that Kai just told Neptune he knows the truth about Princess Otohime's death!"
"Hm? Wasn't Princess Otohime killed by human pirates?"
"That Kai's definitely spouting nonsense, trying to create sensation!"
Most fishmen didn't care, casually discussing, completely unaware of Boss Hody's gradually stiffening expression.
Dragon Palace.
This place was wrapped in an independent giant bubble.
After using bubble coral to create air bubbles around themselves, Kai's group passed through Fish-Man Island's bubble and finally entered the magnificent Dragon Palace.
"Kai, look quickly!"
Yamato excitedly pointed at a giant dragon sculpture perched atop Dragon Palace's highest point: "That sculpture looks just like Hiyori's beast form!"
More like Kaido's beast form, actually.
Father resembling daughter, in a sense.
Kai glanced at Yamato, then looked at that massive dragon sculpture.
Except for color, the shape and expression were extremely similar to the Azure Dragon fruit.
According to Vegapunk's theory, Devil Fruits were born from people's wishes—humanity's pursuit of evolutionary "possibilities."
Perhaps the Azure Dragon fruit was born because of fishmen and mermaids.
After this minor incident, everyone formally entered Dragon Palace's golden, brilliant main hall under Neptune's personal guidance.
Here, Kai met a whale shark fishman with storm-like eyebrows and sideburns, rotund build, yet full of fierce spirit.
Jinbe, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"Natural Disaster Kai, what brings you here from so far away?" Jinbe asked gravely.
"Didn't you tell him?"
Kai looked at Neptune, who was slightly stunned and somewhat embarrassed: "This—I was nervous and forgot."
Then Neptune quietly, quickly informed Jinbe about Kai's supposed "cooperation" purpose and that meeting gift.
After listening, Jinbe's gaze lingered on Kai for a long time.
He didn't immediately voice doubt or objection, only fell into silence.
Actually, on the day Princess Otohime accidentally died, he was personally at the scene and was the main force who captured that human culprit.
Honestly, that human culprit's appearance was indeed full of suspicious points.
It's just that grief and anger overwhelmed him then, plus Princess Otohime's deathbed wishes, so he suppressed all doubts and never investigated deeply.
Inside Dragon Palace, in the luxurious, spacious banquet hall, a grand feast to welcome distinguished guests was underway.
The dining table before Kai's group was laden with Fish-Man Island's unique, extremely fresh seafood delicacies, mainly various deep-sea fish cooked to perfection.
Worth noting: Neptune and the other mermaids were served no fish dishes—only various giant shells and exotic seaweed.
Precisely because mermaids didn't eat fish, viewing them as companions, they naturally possessed the ability to communicate with fish.
Since most fish-men ate fish rather than viewing them as companions, only those few fish-men with kind hearts who respected marine life could develop this communication ability.
Across the long table sat Jinbe and several Dragon Palace high officials as company.
In the banquet hall's center, a team of graceful, stunningly beautiful mermaid dancers swayed to ethereal music, their fish tails refracting dreamlike light under the illumination.
Sanji had fallen into paradise—his eyes hadn't blinked since entering Fish-Man Island.
"Welcome, distinguished guests, for traveling so far to Fish-Man Island!"
Neptune raised his wine cup, delivering welcome words.
"Thank you. This is indeed a wonderful kingdom." Kai smiled while raising his cup in response, his etiquette impeccable.
Seeing Kai so amiable, Neptune's heart relaxed somewhat.
"Please don't be restrained—enjoy this feast to your heart's content!"
Neptune drained his cup, acting like a purely hospitable host without mentioning Princess Otohime, only warmly inviting Kai's group to enjoy the food.
This king certainly had composure.
Kai naturally cooperated, not rushing to the main topic, focusing on sampling the cuisine before him.
He elegantly speared a thick-cut piece of fish with beautiful marble-like patterns, bringing it to his mouth.
His tongue instantly felt perfectly balanced richness, melting like the finest cream, followed by deep-sea fish's unique, extremely sweet flavor exploding in his mouth.
"Not bad."
Kai raised his eyebrows, showing considerable satisfaction.
This was cuisine absolutely untasteable elsewhere.
Only on Fish-Man Island could one eat such fresh deep-sea fish dishes.
Moreover, Fish-Man Island's desserts were also exceptional.
The crème brûlée had silky smooth texture, its surface caramel thin and crispy with just the right bitterness, perfectly balancing the pudding's sweetness without being cloying; special seafood bread was soft and delicious, with a layer of salty, bursting deep-sea caviar inside—this bold combination wasn't jarring but created uniquely sophisticated sweet-salty flavors.
Worthy of Charlotte Linlin's selection.
Seeing Kai and his companions all showing satisfaction, King Neptune's hanging heart finally settled as he secretly sighed with relief.
With such hospitality, surely they wouldn't deliberately find fault?
This was also understandable.
Though Fish-Man Island nominally enjoyed Whitebeard Pirates' protection, distance bred problems—there were always bold pirates driven mad by huge profits who caused trouble here.
If they were ordinary pirates, that would be manageable—Jinbe plus himself could handle it.
But Natural Disaster Kai obviously wasn't ordinary.
After eating and drinking their fill, seeing Kai begin wiping his mouth, apparently finished eating, First Prince Shark Star finally couldn't restrain himself: "Kai-sama, please tell me—who really killed my mother?"
Neptune didn't stop his son, only remained silent, quietly awaiting Kai's answer.
"Hody Jones."
Kai no longer kept them in suspense: "He was a Kingdom Army soldier then, harboring extreme hatred toward humans and greatly disapproving of Princess Otohime's human-friendly approach."
"This hatred peaked when Princess Otohime began collecting Fish-Man Island residents' signatures agreeing to surface migration."
"So he bribed human pirates to burn the signature box, personally sniped Otohime while she collected signatures, then shot the hired human pirates and framed them."
"What?!"
Watching Kai speak confidently as if he'd been present, everyone—mermaids and fishmen—was shocked.
They instinctively wanted to deny this horrifying truth.
But Kai's explanation was logically consistent, momentarily finding no flaws.
Most importantly, Hody Jones was indeed, as Kai said, an extreme fishman supremacist whose radical thoughts were no secret in Fish-Man Street or Fish-Man Island.
Jinbe, recalling various unreasonable aspects of that crime scene, looked extremely grim.
He suppressed his churning emotions, unable to help asking: "Excuse me, Kai-san, do you have evidence?"
"Yes!"
Kai said decisively: "Princess Shirahoshi's pet shark, Megalo. It personally witnessed Hody Jones's entire criminal process and told Princess Shirahoshi."
"What?!"
The three princes were thunderstruck, frozen in place.
If Kai spoke truth, hadn't their sister been bearing this bloody truth alone since their mother's assassination?
How much pain and torment had she endured, hiding this while watching their mother's killer go unpunished!
Jinbe's massive body trembled slightly as he said sorrowfully: "Your Majesty, we must now question Princess Shirahoshi."
Thinking how he'd allowed Hody to twist right and wrong, inciting Fish-Man Island residents' hatred toward humans, causing Princess Otohime's years of effort to go to waste.
His heart felt gripped by an invisible hand, unable to breathe.
Now, despite Princess Otohime's dying wishes, he had to discover the true cause of her death.
Neptune suddenly stood, no longer hesitating: "To the Hard-Shell Tower."
With things reaching this point, he could no longer consider his wife's dying wishes.
The murderer must pay the appropriate price!
Thus, Neptune's group plus Kai's people left the banquet hall, departing for the Hard-Shell Tower within Dragon Palace.
There, most conspicuous were the dense weapon attack marks covering walls and doors.
"What's this?" Kozuki Hiyori was somewhat curious.
"It's a long story..." Neptune was about to explain when sharp breaking sounds suddenly came from the distance.
His expression changed dramatically as he loudly warned: "It's coming! Be on guard!"
Kai's eyes flashed red slightly, his lips curving in a composed smile. Without even turning to look, he casually raised his hand, index finger slightly curved, lightly flicking toward the incoming attack direction.
An almost invisible vacuum wind blade instantly shot out, meeting the incoming giant axe head-on.
Swish—
When wind blade met giant axe, there was no deafening collision—only an extremely slight sound like a sharp blade cutting silk.
The next moment, under Neptune's and others' horrified gazes, that menacing giant battle-axe was neatly split in two along its central axis.
The bisected axe head lost all power, clanking helplessly to the ground.
Kai slowly withdrew his finger.
As if he'd merely done something trivial.