The banquet hall was extremely noisy. Mu Yang spoke in an ordinary tone, which should have been drowned out by the clamor. Neptune and Whitebeard were standing quite far away—logically, they shouldn't have been able to hear a thing.
But Neptune and Whitebeard heard him loud and clear, as clearly as if the words had been whispered right beside their ears.
Neptune held a wine cup, twisting his thick waist. His fluffy fur rubbed against his skin, emitting a soft rustling sound.
"Who are you?"
He bent down, staring at the small man seven or eight meters away. With drunken, blurry eyes, Neptune squinted for a while before finally seeing Mu Yang clearly. After confirming he was someone he didn't know, Neptune asked in confusion.
"Boss Mu!"
Beside him, Whitebeard's attention was also drawn away by that voice. He looked toward the source, and the familiar silhouette appeared in his vision. Three words filled with surprise burst out of his mouth.
"Newgate, you know him?"
Hearing this, Neptune looked at Whitebeard in astonishment."Don't tell me he's someone you newly…?"
"No."
Although Neptune hadn't finished saying the last part, Whitebeard already knew what those words would have been. He sucked in a sharp breath, and before Neptune could speak out the crucial part, Whitebeard cut him off immediately.
"Eh? He's not?" Neptune looked quite surprised.
"No. Boss Mu is…" Whitebeard glanced at Mu Yang from the corner of his eye, choosing his words carefully.
"…a dimensional merchant who travels across endless worlds. He follows the rule of equivalent exchange. No matter what your wish is, as long as you can pay the price, he can make it come true."
(?_??)
Neptune stared at Whitebeard with his drunken, blurry eyes. His expressive face conveyed his confusion perfectly.
Travel across endless worlds?Can grant any wish?
What kind of person could do such a thing?
No—more accurately, anyone capable of such things had already surpassed the realm of mortals. Such a being should be called… a god.
Are there gods in this world?
Who knows!
Hearing something is one thing; seeing it is another. Neptune didn't believe in gods simply because he had never seen one. If he ever saw one, he would believe it then.
"Ahahahaha… Newgate, you're drunk!"The wild fantasies in his head were washed away by the wine sliding down his throat. Neptune let out a hearty laugh."What kind of strange drunken nonsense are you spouting!"
"I'm not drunk." Whitebeard lifted his wine bowl, took a sip, and exhaled a strong wave of alcohol."And I wasn't joking. Everything I said is true."
"…"
Neptune's smile froze.
He considered himself very familiar with Newgate. That man never spoke irresponsibly. Since he said he wasn't joking, then he absolutely wasn't—alcohol or no alcohol.
Which meant everything he said earlier was not drunken nonsense, but the truth.
Then… the person standing before him really was a dimensional merchant capable of granting any wish.
Cold sweat poured down Neptune's stiff smile.
Oh no!
Since the dimensional merchant was real…Then all his earlier behavior must have been terribly rude.
S-Should he apologize?
H-How should he apologize?
Ah! How embarrassing!
Hey—! Anyone there? Can someone please break this awkward atmosphere!?
Left Minister! Right Minister! Hurry and save your king!
Newgate, my dear friend…
Neptune's inner thoughts were exploding like firecrackers, one after another, and even his expressive eyes darted around wildly, hoping someone might read his desperate signals and pull him out of this mess.
"Don't waste your energy. Your eyes are about to pop out, and no one is going to notice you here."
Mu Yang had set up a barrier that repelled all bystanders. Other than the White Demon, no one could notice this place, much less approach it. And the only person who could see them—the White Demon—was fully absorbed in the ample bosom of a mermaid lady.So all of Neptune's pleading glances had been thrown straight into the void.
"Ahem… hello, Boss Mu!"
Neptune coughed dryly, his expression awkward, his entire posture stiff with discomfort.
"Don't be nervous. I don't mind what you did earlier."
Mu Yang had seen far too many things. He had met countless non-believers. Neptune's reaction was exactly what he expected.
Hearing this, Neptune forced out an embarrassed smile.Whitebeard, meanwhile, simply drank on his own, clearly enjoying the show.
"You really… can grant any wish?"
Neptune's pupils reflected Mu Yang's silhouette. The drunken blur in his eyes was gradually replaced with solemnity.
"I know you want a definite answer, so I'll give you one."Mu Yang met Neptune's gaze, his words filled with confidence."That's right. I can grant any wish."
The instant he heard "grant any wish," Neptune spaced out for a moment—then quickly recovered.
"…I want to resurrect someone. What price must I pay?"
"I'll give you two options…"Mu Yang held up one finger and spoke succinctly."First, your daughter's special ability."
Poseidon—the King of the Sea Kings—could communicate with and command them.
Although this ability was extremely limited and useful only in the One Piece world, its power was unquestionable.
Sea Kings were an unimaginably vast race. No one knew how many dwelled beneath the endless seas—or how many colossal ones could destroy an entire island.
Owning this ability meant becoming the King of the Seas.
Its value exceeded one million gold.
"Second…" Mu Yang raised a second finger."Slowly save money."
Although he called it "slowly," Neptune was a king, and his own strength wasn't weak either. Gathering a million gold wouldn't be too difficult for him.
Hearing this, Neptune's expression shifted. After a moment of contemplation, he said:
"I choose option one."
He had never viewed his daughter as a weapon—and he didn't want her to become one. His daughter only needed to be a happy little princess. This was the perfect opportunity to free her from the burden of Poseidon.
Sell it, exchange it for money, resurrect Otohime.
Two birds with one stone!
"Since you've decided…"
Mu Yang waved his hand, and the mermaid princess appeared beside Neptune.
"Now explain it to your daughter."
"Eh?!"The sudden shift in space startled Shirahoshi.
After speaking, Mu Yang turned and walked toward Whitebeard.It would take Neptune some time to explain things to Shirahoshi, so Mu Yang planned to chat briefly with Whitebeard meanwhile.
"Uchiha Madara and Sengoku are taking a group of people to fight Kaido. In Wano."
Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, wondering why Mu Yang was telling him this.
Sengoku and Kaido fighting—what did that have to do with him?
"Kozuki Oden's daughter, Kozuki Hiyori, is in Wano. Her alias is Komurasaki—the number one courtesan in Wano."
"PFT—!!"
The moment Whitebeard heard this, the wine in his mouth sprayed out in a long stream.