Queen Otohime's Observation Haki

After hearing Neptune's words, Gion, standing behind Gawain, could not help slightly parting her lips.

She glanced incredulously at Gawain's back.

Before coming to the Ryugu Kingdom, her lord had clearly decided to start with Knight of the Sea Jinbe and gradually gain control of all the Shichibukai.

So shouldn't her lord have been coercing and tempting King Neptune into handing Jinbe over?

Or perhaps her lord should have used conditions like the safety of Fish-Man Island to force Jinbe into choosing to join them?

Shouldn't this have been much harder than it was now?!!

For a moment, Gion felt utterly bewildered.

How had things changed from riding a whale to King Neptune begging her lord to accept Jinbe?

And it was even the kind of request where King Neptune would be terribly upset if her lord refused?

Thinking of that, Gion could not help swallowing. In her eyes, Gawain's back seemed to grow ever taller.

Gion realized that her lord's words were themselves a powerful force!

Beside her, while Gion continued thinking, Gawain responded to Neptune's request with a grave expression.

He hesitated before speaking.

"Jinbe... you mean Knight of the Sea Jinbe, who became one of the Shichibukai a few years ago?"

"Yes, Gawain. I hope you can trust my recommendation. Jinbe is truly an outstanding Fish-Man. Though he was once a pirate, before that, he had always been a soldier of our Ryugu Kingdom.

I hope you can overlook his identity as a pirate and let him temporarily become a force by your side. Only then can I barely set my mind at ease and carry out the plan you mentioned with you!"

Neptune earnestly tried to persuade Gawain. What else could Gawain do in the face of such persuasion?

He could only smile bitterly and "reluctantly" accept Neptune's request.

"Since you've put it that way, I'll meet this Knight of the Sea Jinbe. I hope he lives up to your praise, my friend!"

As his words fell, Gawain wore a somewhat unwilling expression, as though he were only doing this as a favor to Neptune.

Neptune did not find anything wrong with that expression. In his eyes, Celestial Dragons had always regarded other races as ants. Though Gawain was somewhat special, no matter how gentle he was toward commoners and kings, surely he would not admire a pirate?

Thus, when Gawain said he could receive Jinbe, Neptune was truly delighted.

"That is wonderful, Saint Gawain!

With Vice Admiral Momousagi and Knight of the Sea Jinbe protecting you, no matter who the mastermind is, your safety should be assured!

So we... we..."

Though the words had reached his lips, Neptune still could not bring himself to say them. After all, Neptune, who bore the title of Great Knight of the Sea, was an exceptionally open and upright man.

Even knowing it was part of the plan, he could not bring himself to say that Gawain should put himself in danger!

Seeing Neptune fall silent, Gawain smiled and patted Neptune's tail.

"Alright, my friend, don't look like that. Everything is for the sake of achieving our shared goal.

Now then, hahaha, isn't Ryugu Palace right here? I'm still looking forward to sampling your local delicacies.

Come on, put your mind at ease and proceed according to the plan we discussed earlier.

It's time we held a grand banquet!"

"Ho ho ho ho, of course! I'll bring the lot of you to my palace, then I'll immediately arrange the feast.

Believe me, ho ho ho ho, this will definitely be the largest banquet Fish-Man Island has held in the past ten years!"

Neptune finally pulled himself together. Laughing loudly, he gave orders to the guards inside Ryugu Palace's bubble. The water bubble coating reconnected, and Gawain's group followed Neptune into the true Ryugu Palace.

Since most of the residents of Ryugu Palace were Merfolk with tails, the interior of the palace bubble was almost completely filled with seawater.

Gawain's group, including Gion, all wore Coating that covered their bodies and remained within close-fitting bubbles. Gawain found the sensation especially comfortable.

Every step felt as though he were walking on clouds.

Neptune took the lead, rushing toward his palace as he shouted.

"Ho ho ho ho, bring out all our wine and ingredients from the storehouses! I am hosting my good friend Saint Gawain, as well as Navy Vice Admiral candidate Miss Gion!"

"Cough cough!!!"

Beside them, Mjosgard began coughing desperately.

What about me?

Had I just vanished from your mouth?!

Noticing Mjosgard's expression, Neptune suddenly understood.

"Ah, right, right, right! And Saint Mjosgard, the mutual friend of Queen Otohime and myself.

Minister of the Left and Right, take care of this..."

"Your Majesty!"

As Neptune spoke, the nearest guard quietly reminded him.

"It seems the Minister of the Left and Right were left behind by you. They haven't returned to Ryugu Palace yet!"

"Uh..."

Neptune swallowed and awkwardly looked at Gawain and the others.

After that glance, Neptune cleared his throat twice and turned to the guards.

"Very well, keep the banquet in mind. Once the Minister of the Left and Right return, inform them immediately!

For now, invite Jinbe to Ryugu Palace. Tell him I have urgent matters to discuss with him!"

"Yes!"

The guards, generally three to four meters tall, accepted their orders and departed.

After the guards left, Neptune brought Gawain and the other two to his palace to chat.

On the highest giant coral in the Fish-Man District bubble of Fish-Man Island.

The round-bodied Jinbe stood in wooden clogs and pajamas, gazing gloomily at the sky.

Just moments ago, he had seen King Neptune riding a giant whale with a Celestial Dragon, passing through the sky in the distance beyond the Fish-Man District.

Jinbe could not help worrying.

"Ah, I hope the arrival of a Celestial Dragon won't bring even more harm to my country!"

He muttered, then lowered his head and looked toward the Fish-Man District.

Unlike most of the other areas on Fish-Man Island, the Fish-Man District looked far gloomier. Even the sunlight there seemed much dimmer.

At the same time, the coral houses in the Fish-Man District were far sharper in style than those elsewhere on the island.

Jinbe remembered that more than twenty years ago, the Fish-Man District had not looked like this. Back then, Roger had not yet died, and the Great Pirate Era had not begun.

At that time, hardly so many humans ventured into the seabed, rushing through the hidden passage around Fish-Man Island into the New World.

Jinbe remembered clearly that more than twenty years ago, if Fish-Man Island received a thousand human visitors in an entire year, that amount of traffic was already astonishing.

Therefore, although Fish-Man Island had factions close to the land and factions close to the sea at the time, conflicts among the Fish-Men had generally been very mild.

Later, the Great Pirate Era began, and countless people rushed toward the New World. Fish-Man Island, situated at the edge of the only route between the Grand Line and the New World, naturally became a place frequented by countless pirates!

More and more humans came. A few months after the Great Pirate Era began, Jinbe had roughly calculated that over twenty thousand pirates applied to land on Fish-Man Island every month!

The growing number of pirates made Fish-Man Island increasingly difficult to manage. The pirates committed every kind of evil and struck everywhere. Not only did they loot shops and seize money, they also delighted in kidnapping Merfolk to sell on land!

Too many Fish-Men became slaves, so Brother Fisher Tiger led everyone in freeing a large portion of the Celestial Dragons' slaves.

Later, after Brother Tiger died, the war faction and peace faction on Fish-Man Island completely fell into confrontation.

That confrontation eased greatly after Queen Otohime appeared. Queen Otohime truly had been a gentle person. She had naturally awakened Observation Haki, and her Observation Haki allowed her to empathize with every person.

That Observation Haki allowed Queen Otohime to feel the emotions hidden in every person's heart, whether pain or joy.

At the same time, Queen Otohime's Observation Haki could share her own feelings with others.

She felt every Fish-Man's pain, then worked hard to mend the emptiness in each Fish-Man's heart. She comforted countless families. What a wonderful person she had been.

Thinking of that, Jinbe let out a long breath. If only Queen Otohime were still alive.

If she were still alive, how could the Fish-Man District be like this now, constantly preparing to launch a large-scale war?

Look at those densely packed houses in the distance. All manner of weapons lay around every single one.

Even when the Fish-Men in the Fish-Man District looked at one another, their eyes were filled with anger.

The Fish-Man District like this gave Jinbe nothing but unease!

Just then, Jinbe looked toward the bubble coating in the upper right. Several guards were passing through it from the sky.

When the guards saw Jinbe, every one of them acted especially familiar.

"Big Brother Jinbe!"

"Boss Jinbe."

"Knight of the Sea!"

After greeting him one by one, they all said to Jinbe.

"His Majesty Neptune invites you to Ryugu Palace. He has urgent matters to discuss with you!"

"Oh?"

Jinbe nodded, and his round body immediately rose to its feet.

"I'll go with you at once!"