Ronglin stepped forward, facing the hundred thousand-plus fish-men below. He spread his arms and said loudly, "I want so badly to take you all to see the beautiful world you should have been able to possess and enjoy! I want so badly to tell you, 'Rise to the surface,' and come with me to see what the world beyond Fish-Man Island is like!"
A Sudden Confession!
Inside and outside Ryugu Palace, it was so quiet that even the light filtering down from above Fish-Man Island seemed cold and desolate. Nearly every fish-man turned their gaze toward Ronglin, watching as he opened his arms to them.
His face was resolute and fearless, his gaze clear and earnest.
All the fish-men and merfolk quietly watched him. Their hearts suddenly surged with emotion. This man's body was brave and imposing; though he was far smaller than most fish-men, at this moment, his image grew infinitely tall among the hundred thousand-plus members of the Fish-Man Clan.
Could they believe his words? Could they follow someone like him and leave this deep-sea world together?
Could they bask in the warm, refreshing sea breeze beneath the legendary sunlight? Could they roll around and play upon the tender, lush grasslands of the land?
Everyone fell silent and stopped what they were doing. Even some little merfolk wiped their runny noses as they became absorbed in imagining the beautiful scenes Ronglin had described.
Many people wavered.
"But I heard the humans on land are terrifying!" In the dead silence, Princess Shirahoshi timidly spoke up. "I heard those vicious humans often come to Fish-Man Island to capture fish-men!"
The moment Princess Shirahoshi spoke, the silence shattered. The hundred thousand-plus merfolk erupted into unrest. Many fish-men recalled the terrifying tales of their kind being brutally abused and captured by cruel