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Following his whale friends, Bright found a group of sea turtles. From the oldest turtle among them, he learned the direction to Fish-Man Island.

His enthusiastic whale friends said they would take him home.

Bright figured it was because there were still quite a few whales whose barnacles he had not finished removing.

But he did not mind. Having these friends accompany him meant the journey home would not be lonely.

And so, riding atop a whale, he began his journey home.

Sometimes he played with whales big and small in the water. Other times, when the whales surfaced to breathe, he rode the columns of water from their blowholes into the sky.

It was a brief but joyful journey.

What could be happier than returning to one's hometown full of anticipation while making a group of good friends along the way?

But the journey truly was brief. Punk Hazard was already near the entrance waters of the New World, not far from the Red Line, and Hag had taken Bright even farther ahead.

So before long, that enormous red wall appeared before Bright's eyes.

"What a magnificent sight."

Standing atop the head of a whale floating on the sea, Bright gazed at the steep mountain wall that blotted out the sky and could not help but sigh.

He still remembered the shock he had felt as a child when he had secretly followed Arlong and the others to the surface and seen the Red Line for the first time.

Just as he could never forget the excitement of truly bathing in sunlight for the first time, or the amazement of seeing a genuinely blue sky for the first time.

Fishmen and merfolk lived in this world, yet they could never truly draw close to it.

"Thank you, everyone."

Pulling his gaze away from the Red Line, Bright crouched down and stroked the big whale's head. "It's time to say goodbye."

"Awoo!"

The whale friends let out ethereal calls, one after another, without pause.

"Don't want me to leave?"

Bright smiled. "Partings are common. We just have to look forward to our next reunion."

"We'll meet again someday."

"Awoo!"

The whales still called out reluctantly, but in the end, they bade Bright farewell.

After saying goodbye to the friends he had met along the way, Bright jumped into the water and headed for the deep sea without stopping.

Fish-Man Island was already very close. He only needed to follow the Red Line downward and find the great hollow leading to Fish-Man Island.

As for how to find a hollow in the deep sea, he only needed to ask the fish living nearby for directions.

The farther down he went, the dimmer the light became. But as a fishman, Bright's pupils could freely adjust to the light underwater, so he did not feel the darkness.

But when he reached the deepest depths of the sea, all light had been blocked by the seawater. Even Bright could no longer see anything.

But that was fine. It did not matter if he could not tell east from west. He only needed to keep going down.

It did not take long before Bright reached the bottom of the deep sea, the deepest part of the world, at least ten thousand meters below the surface.

Perhaps this was how the Fishman Tribe and Mermaid Tribe had developed such physical strength. Living in such deep-sea waters, they had to withstand immense pressure, so naturally their bodies had to be strong enough.

Though everything was dark, Bright's senses could still barely function. After asking a few fish for directions, he sped off in a certain direction.

Before long, he entered the enormous hollow beneath the Red Line.

Here, a faint glow appeared in the seawater, and even the water nearby was warmer than outside.

He was finally almost there.

Delighted, Bright accelerated toward the source of the light ahead.

Soon, an island bathed in sunlight appeared before Bright on the seafloor in the distance.

Light poured down from above. Bright knew it came from the sunlight carried down by the legendary Eve Tree. It was precisely because of its existence that Fish-Man Island could exist at all.

As he gradually drew closer, the island's form became clearer and clearer.

A massive bubble enveloped all of Fish-Man Island, keeping the seawater out.

Bright had now arrived outside that bubble.

Normally, anyone entering Fish-Man Island had to use the main gate. Trying to break directly through the bubble was extremely dangerous.

But that danger was for outsiders, for humans. For a local resident like Bright, it was actually more convenient.

He passed directly through the bubble, and before him lay a vast space. Farther ahead stood another blue wall.

That was the danger faced by outsiders who barged in directly.

When they entered the initial air-filled area, their coating would peel away, and their ships would fall and shatter to pieces.

Even if they somehow survived, the enormous wall of water stretching before them was an impassable chasm enough to drive them to despair.

Of course, none of that posed any obstacle to Bright.

Passing easily through the layer of seawater, Bright finally returned to the interior of Fish-Man Island.

"It's been so long!"

Bright could not help stretching and taking a deep breath.

Maybe it was just an illusion, but even the air on Fish-Man Island seemed sweet.

Unlike what ordinary humans imagined, thanks to Eve's blessing, Fish-Man Island even had blue skies and white clouds. At least to the naked eye, it looked no different from the surface.

Bright looked around and confirmed where he was.

"Is this the Sea Forest?"

Perfect. It was right beside the Fish-Man District.

After getting his bearings, Bright leisurely headed toward home.

The Sea Forest was a coral forest beneath the sea, and more than half of it even lay outside Fish-Man Island.

Two very important things were located within this forest.

The Poneglyph recording Joy Boy's apology and the promised ark, Noah.

But Bright had no interest in either of them. He had seen them countless times since childhood.

At that moment, he only wanted to get home.

Passing through layers upon layers of coral forest, then crossing a hilly stretch of land, Bright saw a dark, dilapidated cluster of buildings before him.

The taller parts stood exposed in the air, while the lower parts were submerged in water.

This was the place where Bright had grown up: the Fish-Man District.

"I'm finally back."

With light steps, Bright came down from the slope and finally entered the district.

It had been nearly four years since he had left this place with Brother Fisher Tiger.

The injuries on his face had completely healed. He could not exactly call it a triumphant homecoming, but at least he had not returned in disgrace.

The moment he entered the Fish-Man District, it became lively.

Fishmen could be seen everywhere on the run-down streets, gathered in groups of two or three, idly chatting and bragging.

The Fish-Man District had no real industry, and its residents were always idle.

A scene he had once found boring now felt deeply familiar to Bright.

"You are—"

At last, someone noticed Bright. A fishman cried out in surprise, "Bright! Are you Bright?"

Bright glanced at him and smiled in greeting. "Long time no see, Mark."

"It really is Bright!"

"The little brat's back!"

"I heard you were taken away alone? What happened afterward?"

The fishmen enthusiastically crowded around him.

Mark said happily, "Bright, Brother Jinbe and Brother Arlong were talking just yesterday about when you would come back."

"They're already back?" Bright was a little delighted.

"Yeah, they came back yesterday. I think Neptune summoned them?"

"Alright, I understand."

Bright nodded with a smile. "I'll go home and clean up first. I'll treat you to a meal when I have time."

"Hahaha, then I won't hold back," Mark said with a hearty laugh.

"Hey, what about us, Bright?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't play favorites!"

The fishmen joked around.

After exchanging a few final pleasantries with his old acquaintances, Bright headed toward his home.

Although he was an orphan and could not inherit anything, Bright had at least run with Fisher Tiger and Jinbe, so he had a house of his own in this district.

Built above the water, it was one of the rare homes in the dark Fish-Man District with decent lighting: a small one-bedroom apartment with a living room.

When Bright arrived at his own front door and took out his key, he remembered that he had lost it somewhere long ago.

Bright casually removed the door and stepped into his home.

"Hm?"

To his surprise, the room was very clean. The furniture was arranged neatly, and it did not look like a place that had been unoccupied for years.

The corners of Bright's mouth curled upward, and his gaze turned nostalgic. "That guy..."

Walking into the bedroom, Bright opened the wardrobe. He was still wearing prison clothes, after all.

As expected, the clothes in the wardrobe were also neatly arranged.

But when Bright tried to take out an outfit to change into, he realized that after nearly four years, he had grown far too much. His old clothes no longer fit.

"Should I go to the shopping district later?"

Bright muttered.

Then he remembered that he was broke. He could not even scrape together a single beli.

He would have to borrow some money from Brother Jinbe.

Bright slumped onto the sofa in the living room and lazily closed his eyes.

Sure enough, coming home put him at ease.

Thanks to readers '20200103210129900' and 'Super Single Dog' for their 100-point tips, and thanks to 'Please Eat a Lemon' for the 1,500-point tip. Thank you, thank you!