Red Line

"Father, I am ready!"

In the Ryugu Palace on Fish-Man Island, Shirahoshi, now back to her original size and mermaid tail, was following behind Neptune.

"Then let's set off. Vice Admiral Garp at Marineford has been waiting for a long time, but... are you sure you're okay with going?"

Neptune was still somewhat worried. He had assumed that the Las Noches executives would also try to join in.

Although no bounty has been placed on her daughter's head, her human appearance has undoubtedly been exposed to the World Government.

If someone tries to use this as an excuse to cause trouble, it could lead to considerable problems.

"Don't worry, Father, I'm not alone!"

Shirahoshi swam forward, wagging her tail, and swam ahead of them, her face beaming with joy.

"Since boarding the Las Noches's ship, Shirahoshi has become much more cheerful."

The eldest Prince Hoshi, sighed.

If it were still her younger sister from before, she probably would have just cried and begged not to go.

"Brother Cifer has indeed helped us a lot. I think we need to be mentally prepared for this World Government Conference."

Neptune watched his daughter's retreating figure, seemingly solidifying a certain idea.

"Father! Could it be...?"

Hoshi had some guesses about his father's thoughts, things they had thought about long ago but never dared to say.

"I won't do that rashly, but no one can hurt my daughter!"

Neptune's face regained the tenacity he had when he was a warrior.

The group arrived at the huge, bubble-coated Dog-Head Warship.

"Moo~ Hahahaha~ You must be Shirahoshi! Now that everyone's here, let's set off!"

After confirming that everyone on board was a representative of Fish-Man Island, Vice Admiral Garp ordered the ship to set sail.

"Speaking of which, I wonder if anyone from Fish-Man Island has heard of a high-ranking official in Las Noches named Shirahoshi?"

While eating senbei, Garp spoke up seemingly casually.

"Um..."

Shirahoshi, who had never lied to herself before, blushed instantly and stammered, unable to speak.

"Moo~ Hahahaha~ Don't worry, I was just talking nonsense, just pretend I didn't ask!"

As a legendary figure who has survived from the old era, Garp immediately knew the answer.

But this was merely his personal curiosity, since his chief disciple was now one of the executives of Las Noches.

I have a feeling this meeting won't go too smoothly.

After a period of ascent, the Dog-Head Warship successfully brought the representatives of Fish-Man Island to a certain place beneath the Red Line.

"Click, click~"

"So beautiful!"

Such comments continued to rang out, and the reporters and passersby gathered on both sides of the road were completely captivated by Shirahoshi.

"President, how about we do a special feature?"

A reporter with heart-shaped eyes took dozens of photos before turning his gaze to Morgans beside him.

"Princess Shirahoshi ~"

Meanwhile, Morgans was so infatuated that he couldn't hear anything else.

"President! President!"

The reporter had to push him a few times to bring him back to his senses.

"Of course we should! She's a world-class beauty comparable to that Pirate Empress, she deserves to be featured prominently!"

Morgans wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, his heart already bursting with joy.

First, there was the Whole Cake Island Warcraft incident a few days ago, and now there's the Little Mermaid Princess who's enough to captivate the world—no amount of headlines could keep up!

"But... I feel like I've seen this kind of beauty somewhere before..."

After Morgans regained consciousness, he felt as if he had seen Princess Shirahoshi somewhere before, but such amazing and enormous beauty should have been deeply etched in his mind if he had seen her before.

(At the Whole Cake Island Fashion, the wedding, BIG MOM, and Cifer were the most eye-catching. The latter had such a powerful presence that guests didn't dare to look around.)

"President, she's about to leave!"

"Princess Shirahoshi ~"

Upon hearing this, Morgans, who was deep in thought, stopped pondering and chased after her with hearts in his eyes to take pictures.

"Garp, why does Shirahoshi seem quite popular here?"

This wasn't Neptune's first time coming ashore; he remembered that he hadn't received this kind of treatment before.

"On land, Shirahoshi is quite famous. Rumor has it that she is a great beauty comparable to that Pirate Empress. And she's so big, it must be beyond expectations!"

"Moo~ Hahahaha~"

Even with Mary Geoise right in front of him, Garp continued to eat his rice crackers in full view of everyone.

"Garp, stop right there!"

A sleazy-looking man with a mushroom haircut, dressed in fancy clothes, blocked their way.

"Huh? Who are you?"

Garp chewed on his senbei, having no recollection whatsoever of the mushroom-headed figure before him.

"You bastard... I am King Stelly of your homeland, the Kingdom of Goa. Strictly speaking, you are my subject and must obey me!"

"Stand at my feet and await your orders, Garp!"

A sinister smile flickered across Stelly's face.

"Get out of my way, your face makes me furious!"

In Garp's eyes, the Kingdom of Goa was a rotten country to the core, and the current king, who seemed arrogant and domineering, could not possibly be a good person.

"Damn it... what an impolite person..."

Stelly was so angry that tears and snot streamed down her face, but it only lasted for a moment before disappearing.

He leaned close to Garp and whispered in a cheeky tone:

"To make a long story short, Garp, help me connect with the Celestial Dragons. I want to become Celestial Dragons in the future!"

Stelly had long wanted to use the king's position to rise to the top, and he had also inquired about Garp's deeds as a famous naval hero.

If Garp recommends it, you might be able to strike up a conversation with some Celestial Dragons.

"What, do you want to become that kind of trash too?"

Garp picked his nose dismissively, almost wiping whatever he dug out onto Stelly.

"What did you say?!"

The latter staggered back several steps and collapsed to the ground, seemingly unable to believe what he had just heard.

"Oh right, that's something I can't say, what I said earlier doesn't count!"

Garp belatedly waved his hand, retracting his previous words on his own initiative, while those nearby, even if they had heard them, could only pretend they hadn't.

"What a... what a scary old man..."

Stelly couldn't hold back her tears.

Are you alright?

Neptune saw a little devil lying on the ground and casually stretched out two fingers to help him up.

"What is that... a giant? It has sharp teeth and scales, is it classified as a fish? If I touch it, I'll definitely catch a contagious disease! Don't touch me!"

Stelly, who dreamed of becoming Celestial Dragons, was so frightened by Neptune that he fainted on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

After some twists and turns, the group of kings finally boarded the bubble pods bound for the Holy Land Mary Geoise.

"Why are there so many Crow outside... If the bubble pops, we're doomed! Guards, quickly shoot all the Crow down!"

Stelly stood on the edge of the pod, shouting, her face filled with panic and terror.

"Don't worry, they won't attack the bubbles, King Stelly."

The guard beside him, who was fully encased in armor, spoke calmly, a smile appearing on his burn-scarred face beneath his helmet.

"Shirahoshi, don't be afraid. No matter what happens, your father and your brothers will protect you."

Seeing his daughter lying silently by the pod, Neptune assumed she was scared and went over to pat her on the shoulder.

"I'm not afraid, Father!"

Shirahoshi smiled gently, pushed aside her father and brothers, and quietly stayed in a corner by herself.

"Even though I can't see you, I know you're right next to me, right, Lord Cifer?"

After looking around to make sure no one was in Xizhou, Shirahoshi spoke softly.

"I am here."