The "bubble" enveloping Fish-Man Island is a double-membrane structure with air between the two layers. Ships must enter the waterway through the "entrance" that runs through the two membranes to enter; otherwise, they will fall directly between the two membranes.
Fish-Man Island... or rather, the "Ryugu Kingdom," is usually very lively due to its geographical location, with ships coming and going at its entrances and exits, most of which are pirate ships!
After all, most legitimate fleets sail along the Red Line Continent.
Fish-Man Island, having long since adapted, has developed the reception of passing ships into an industry; the only ones it doesn't welcome are slave-hunting teams.
As for the pirate crew...
They may disregard King Neptune's Army, they may disregard the fact that the Ryugu Kingdom Affiliated Nation... but with Whitebeard's flag flying here, which pirate who wants to go to the "New World" dares to provoke Whitebeard?
The Red-Hair Pirates attracted a lot of attention as soon as they entered. Firstly, among the Red-Hair Pirates stood out like a sore thumb; secondly... no other ships had been "let" into the entrance passage by the Sea King!
We attracted attention as we followed the waterway to the immigration checkpoint.
Everyone had breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed, and many crew members were even whistling at the Mermaid ladies lining the waterway.
But just then, Sig suddenly realized that the atmosphere ahead... seemed a bit off!
At the ship's dock, numerous soldiers of the "King Neptune's Army," seemingly having just arrived, were on guard, led by the Minister Right, Fish-Man origin...
Well, judging from the way they're staring intently at the Red-Hair Pirates' ship, it doesn't seem like what they're wary of is a question!
"Boss, have you offended anyone from the Ryugu Kingdom before?" Yasopp asked directly.
While the Red-Hair Pirates might stand out among the rookies who have just passed the first half of the Grand Line, what kind of Great Pirate haven't Fish-Man Island seen? It's impossible that Red-Hair Pirates strength is what makes them so wary...
Moreover, it was clear that more and more people, even ordinary Mermaid girls, were looking at the Red-Hair Pirates with complicated emotions after recognizing them.
"No, no, no, I'm so easygoing... Sig! It couldn't be you from before... Hmm, think carefully, back on Fish-Man Island, was there anything unforgettable that happened?" Shanks immediately shifted the blame to Sig.
"No, I was only conscious for a few hours on Fish-Man Island," Sig refused to take the blame.
The entire crew looked at Shanks and Sig —after all, they were the only two who had ever been to Fish-Man Island, and if they were the ones who prevented everyone from meeting the Mermaid girls, they would be the culprits!
Sig suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Wait, could it be that Jack is the illegitimate son of the previous king or something, so Neptune thinks we need to come back to help him usurp the throne?"
"Don't give me a fabricated background!" Jack snapped.
Without further ado, seeing that the Red Force had already stopped at the dock, and... the target of the King Neptune's Army was clearly the Red-Hair Pirates, they silently surrounded them.
However, this was merely a precautionary measure, and no further action was taken.
The head minister, the Seahorse Minister, merely watched from afar. Although the targeting was obvious, they nominally appeared to be conducting a "normal patrol."
As a result, when Shanks and the others disembarked, only the immigration officer mustered the courage to approach and register them; not a single Mermaid lady came forward to welcome them...
The ordinary Fish-Man and Mermaid watched them from afar, seemingly both interested and fearful.
Just as Sig was about to use his Observation Haki to sense their emotions and deduce their thoughts, a delicate shout rang out.
"Minister Right! Don't be rude."
A slender woman, dressed in a robe with goldfish scale patterns and cinched at the waist with a ribbon, walked over, surrounded by a group of guards.
"Your Highness, be careful, they are..." The Minister Right immediately tried to stop Queen Otohime from approaching.
That's right, this woman is none other than Queen Otohime, the wife of King Neptune!
From a human perspective, Queen Otohime's height of over two meters is by no means short, but her figure is extremely slender.
From the perspective of the Fish-Man Race, she would undoubtedly be considered petite, and compared to Neptune's stature, she would make one want to arrest His Majesty the King.
"I'm so sorry, the Ryugu Kingdom welcomes you all! Shanks... Captain, this isn't our first meeting, is it?" Queen Otohime smiled at Shanks.
"Huh?" Sig looked at Shanks in shock.
Could it be... that Shanks and Queen Otohime were once involved... which is why Neptune sent people...?
Well, Sig didn't originally have such complicated thoughts; it was all because Shanks reminded him beforehand!
Shanks glanced at Sig, then politely stepped forward to greet him, saying, "That's right, Queen Otohime is as charming as ever... Hahaha."
"Really, your praise makes me sound old," Queen Otohime remarked.
When Shanks and Roger arrived at Fish-Man Island, Otohime was not yet the queen, but a popular orator. Because of her naturally infectious Observation Haki, coupled with her own ideas, Otohime often gave speeches in the streets and even organized demonstrations, which caused the royal family a lot of headaches.
It was around that time that Neptune, the Great Knight of the Sea had just inherited the throne, began to harbor special feelings for her and often stopped the guards from dispersing the crowds.
Even though Otohime is now a queen, she still spends her days giving speeches in the streets, striving to get the people of the Ryugu Kingdom to open their hearts to humans and prepare for harmonious coexistence with them in the future.
"Our friends from Fish-Man Island seem to be... towards us..." Shanks looked around before bringing up the matter.
"This matter... is a long story, actually..." Otohime sighed upon hearing this.
"It really is the boss's problem!"
"If you damage the reputation of our Red-Hair Pirates on Fish-Man Island, then atone with your death!"
"Boss, how about you take charge of watching the ship this time...?"
Just as Sig began to incite everyone to condemn Shanks, a commotion suddenly came from afar.
A group of thugs who didn't look like good people pushed through the crowd in the distance. Amid gasps of surprise, the leaders unfurled banners and portraits and started playing various conch shell instruments, creating a deafening din.
Sig looked closely and noticed that the banners and the people in the portraits seemed somewhat familiar...
Welcome home, Fisher Tiger's successor!
[Long live the Sun Pirates!]
[The hope of the Fish-Man Race rests on Siegfried!]
[Humans get out of the way, Fish-Man first.]
[Queen Otohime. jpg(X), Neptune (X), Siegfried's Bounty Poster. jpg(√√√)]
Sig:???
"Sig, are you prepared to atone with your death?" Lucky Roo said as he tore into pieces of meat with bones.
"They're practically rioters..."
"No, he's an ambitious man, an ambitious man!"
The other crew members also joined in the jeering...