A Truly Dedicated Guy~

"They haven't come back yet..."

Chopper, now in his giant form, looked up at the sky and said, "I wonder how Luffy and the others are doing."

"Luffy and his crew will definitely be fine."

Franky had just killed Electrolux, emerged from Franky Shogun and said with a grin, "I guess they're figuring out how to set up Noah's Ark right now."

In his opinion, Hody is no match for Luffy.

"That's true..."

Usopp looked at the sky with some worry. Although Luffy was with him, they were still in the ocean!

Thinking of this, Usopp sighed silently.

I hope those two guys are alright.

"Hey, all the cadres have been taken down!"

The members of the New Fish-Man Pirates looked at the Straw Hat Pirates in the distance with panicked expressions and asked, "Should we continue fighting?"

Even the cadres aren't a match for these guys, so what about them...?

"What are you hitting me for!"

A Fish-Man Race nearby said, "They've all failed, what's the point of us fighting anymore?"

The most important thing at this time is to escape from here!

"But Boss Hody hasn't returned yet..."

Upon hearing this, the members of the new Fish-Man Race Pirates immediately fell silent.

Yes, Hody hasn't come back yet.

If their escape is discovered... then death awaits them!

After all, that guy won't show mercy to his own people!

"Damn it, what do we do now...?"

The Fish-Man Race, having lost their will to fight, immediately showed despair on their faces.

They're caught in a dilemma: fighting or not fighting, what should they do?

Zoro, who had taken in the entire situation in the distance, said calmly, "It seems we no longer need to intervene."

Now all we need to do is wait for Luffy and his crew to send back news of their victory, and these guys will completely give up resisting.

Sanji calmly lit a cigarette and said, "Judging from the current situation, they can't fight even if they wanted to."

After the attack by Xi Yan, only 20,000 people remained in the square who could be considered as combatants.

After a series of battles, only a few thousand of the original 20,000 men remained.

If they really wanted to fight, they could wipe them out in no time.

"This is so boring, I haven't had enough fun yet," Perona said, pouting.

However... despite saying that, Perona did not attack these enemies who had lost their will to fight.

Just then, the loudspeaker in the square blared again.

"Sizzle sizzle..."

"Hello, fellow citizens of the nation, I am Sharks," Sharks said. "Now, I have something very important to announce."

"Just now, Hody Jones, the captain of the New Fish-Man Pirates, has been defeated by the Straw Hat."

"And Noah's Ark was returned to Fish-Man Street by the Young man with sunglasses from the Straw Hat Crew."

So... we won!

Upon hearing Sharks's words, the people in the square were silent for a moment, and then burst into incredibly enthusiastic cheers.

"Profound!!!"

"Great! The Straw Hat Crew won!"

"That's wonderful!"

"We don't have to leave our hometown... that's wonderful!"

These Fish-Man wept with joy, each one more excited than the last.

Meanwhile, the members of the New Fish-Man Pirates in the square all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Has Hody finally been defeated...?"

"Very good..."

In this way, even if they surrender, they will not suffer the devil's revenge!

Thinking this through, the Fish-Man exchanged glances, then threw their weapons on the ground, expressing their stance.

After doing this, they ran towards the exit of the square without hesitation, intending to leave first.

As for the defeated officers of the New Fish-Man Pirates?

What's it to them!

"Did we finally win...?"

Neptune, looking up at the radio, gradually relaxed.

That's wonderful.

Just then, the Left Minister approached with a Den Den Mushi and said, "Your His Majesty the King, we have received a message from the garrison of the Ryugu Kingdom."

"Just now, they found the mermaid girl who was abducted earlier near the Ryugu Kingdom," the Left Minister said.

"Such a thing actually happened?"

Neptune's eyes widened immediately. "How are they? Are they hurt?"

"No."

The Left Minister shook his head and said, "Although their consciousness is somewhat blurred, they are indeed not injured."

"It's good that you weren't injured."

Neptune breathed a sigh of relief, then continued, "Do they remember what the prisoner looked like?"

"Know."

As they spoke, the Left Minister produced the Wanted Order for Wet Hair Caribou and continued, "This is the man!"

"They clearly remember that it was this man who did it."

"So it was this bastard." Neptune's face immediately bulged with veins as he said, "Damn it..."

If it weren't for that bastard, how could they have wrongly accused the Straw Hat Pirates?

That damned Calib!

"Can we find him?" Neptune asked.

"Cannot be found."

The Left Minister shook his head and said, "Our men searched their pirate ship, but they only found a damaged pirate ship; the people on board have vanished without a trace."

"What about his subordinates?"

"I don't know either."

Neptune fell into deep thought upon hearing this. Why did the enemy's men also disappear?

Could they be hidden in some secret location on Fish-Man Island?

It's not impossible.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing," the Left Minister said again, "Our Ryugu Kingdom's Treasure Vault has been opened, and all the treasures inside have disappeared."

"All?"

Neptune's eyes widened as he asked, "Including the Tamatebako?"

"Yes..."

"I didn't expect the thieves to steal even that thing..." Neptune said, frowning.

This was quite unexpected for him.

"Your His Majesty the King, what should we do now?"

"Let's announce this to the entire nation," Neptune said. "We must clear the Straw Hat Pirates."

Neptune paused for a moment, then said with a complicated expression, "We were wrong..."

They made a mistake by blaming the Straw Hat Pirates without conducting any investigation.

Therefore... what needs to be done must be done!

"What about the thief?"

"Left Minister, we almost lost a country just now," Neptune sighed. "So let the thieves be."

"I see."

After saying this, the Left Minister turned around to make arrangements for the matter.

Neptune, with a complicated expression, looked towards the square and murmured, "I hope you can forgive this old fool..."

Hey everyone!

Chopper stared at the New Fish-Man Pirates members who were beginning to flee in the distance and said, "They're starting to run away."

"In the end, they're nothing but a rabble," Franky said. "Without Hody's deterrent, they naturally crumbled."

Judging from the behavior of those Fish-Man, these guys only gathered together because of Hody's reputation.

But now Hody has lost!

So... they had no reason to stay any longer!

"It seems we don't need to continue fighting," Usopp said.

That's good, it saves us trouble.

After putting the slingshot down in his arms, Usopp turned to Franky and asked, "Franky, how long would it take to coat our ship here?"

"A few hours should be enough," Franky said.

"So fast?"

Usopp looked at Franky with some surprise and said, "It would take three days to complete in the Sabaody Archipelago, but it only takes a few hours here on Fish-Man Island?"

Is the difference really that big?

"That's what Dan said anyway," Franky shrugged.

"Perhaps it's because of the unique environment of Fish-Man Island?" Nico Robin guessed.

In terms of humidity, Fish-Man Island is far more extreme than the Sabaody Archipelago.

Therefore, she felt it must be an environmental issue.

"It's definitely an environmental issue," Nami said. "I can clearly feel that the humidity here is much higher than in the Sabaody Archipelago."

"This is ten thousand meters below the seabed, the depth is definitely immense," Zoro rolled his eyes.

This is obvious, why make it so complicated?

Nami glanced at Zoro speechlessly upon hearing this. "He's suddenly being clever now, huh?"

Why don't I have this cleverness when I'm lost?

What kind of look is that?

"Nothing."

Nami calmly looked away, indicating that she wouldn't stoop to the level of someone with no sense of direction.

"Is the battle finally over...?"

Jinbe glanced at the fleeing crowd in the distance, paused for a moment, then turned and ran towards the exit.

What are you going to do?

"I will not allow anyone to leave this square until His Majesty the King gives the order," Jinbe said without turning his head.

After saying that, the man darted away in a flash.

"He really is a very responsible guy," Usopp remarked.

"Otherwise, why do you think he's so respected?" Nicole Robin laughed.

On Fish-Man Island, Jinbe is a man highly respected by the Fish-Man.

This time, Usopp didn't say anything, but nodded, which could be considered as agreeing with Nico Robin's words.

"Hey, Chopper."

Perona, floating in mid-air, looked at Chopper with a puzzled expression and said, "Why aren't you shrinking?"

"The battle is over."

The enemy has already begun to flee, why maintain such a large formation?

"There's nothing I can do; I can only revert to this form when the time comes," Chopper said helplessly.

"Is it time?"

"Um."

Chopper nodded and explained, "After eating my special Rumble Ball, my body can grow larger for three minutes."

"I can only return to my original size after the three minutes are over."

"I see."

Perona nodded her lips and then said, "So, your Rumble Ball can grant you, as Devil Fruit User, even greater power?"

"Yes."

Perona pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then asked curiously, "Will eating this help?"

If it can make her stronger, then giving it a try isn't out of the question.

"This..."

Chopper hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's highly unlikely."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a reindeer who ate the Human-Human Fruit," Chopper said helplessly.

"I understand."

Even though Chopper didn't explain further, Perona understood what Chopper meant.

She's a Paramecia Fruit user, so those things called Rumble Ball are useless against her.

After all, that thing is only effective against Zoan Devil Fruit User or animals!

Having figured this out, Perona decisively gave up on trying those strange drugs.

"You can't use Chopper's method," Zoro said. "So you should just stick to your training."

"Hmph, you don't need to tell me."

Perona gave a soft snort, then turned Zoro's back to her.

Zoro:???

No, what did I do to offend her this time?

Upon seeing this, Nico Robin immediately wore a strange smile, as if she had thought of something.

A moment later...

"Ah!"

"Finally, it's gotten smaller..."

Chopper, now back to his normal size, laughed and then turned to return to his friends.

But before he could take that first step, he collapsed to the side.

Seeing this, Perona immediately landed and caught Chopper, then asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just exhausted."

"I see..."

Perona breathed a sigh of relief, then, as if sensing something, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "You're so soft, Chopper! Just like a plush toy!!"

"I'm not a plush toy, you bastard..." Chopper said weakly.

Unfortunately, these words had no effect on Perona; instead, they made the Ghost Girl even happier.

"This feels amazing!"

How come I didn't notice this before?

As she thought about it, Perona picked up Chopper and flew back towards her friends.

"Chopper?!"

Chopper's friends looked at Chopper nervously, wondering why he had suddenly changed like this.

"Hey, Chopper, what's wrong?" Brook asked Chopper with concern. "Are you hurt?"

"No."

Chopper, held in Perona's arms, said weakly, "But after using that enhancement, my body will be weak for two or three hours."

"I couldn't walk during this time, but... the treatment was fine."

After saying that, Chopper took a breath and continued, "Is everyone alright? If anyone is hurt, just tell me."

"You should heal yourself first," Zoro said helplessly.

Even in this condition, you're still thinking about treating them...

After confirming that Chopper was alright, Sanji immediately revealed his true nature.

"Damn it, I'm so envious of Chopper."

Seeing Chopper being held by Perona, Sanji immediately burst into tears.

He also wanted to enjoy the Ghost Girl's sweet and soft embrace!

Nico Robin, who had observed her companions' reactions, chuckled and said, "Looks like everyone's alright."

They defeated nearly 100,000 people without sustaining a single injury... No wonder they're the Straw Hat Pirates!

"No, I'm seriously injured!"

Sanji, who had suddenly collapsed to the ground, shifted his body and said, "Miss Robin, I just used my ultimate attack, and I'm extremely weak right now, so..."

Before he could finish speaking, a white ghost pierced through his body.

Then...

"I... I'm such a scumbag..."

Sanji, struck by Perona's Negative Ghost, looked utterly dejected.

"You should just go die," Zoro said disdainfully.

"What did you say?"

Provoked by Zoro, Sanji instantly broke free of his ghostly control, then sprang up and headbutted Zoro, saying, "You want to fight?"

"Green Algae Head!"

"Ha?"

Zoro's eyes widened immediately upon hearing this, then veins bulged on his face as he shouted, "Who's afraid of who, you bastard!"

"I wasn't quite satisfied with the fight just now, so I'll use you to sharpen my blade!"

Come on!

Come on!

After the two roared, they started fighting loudly next to the Thousand Sunny, leaving the Fish-Man on both sides dumbfounded.

"Why... why did they start fighting?"

Aren't they partners?

Could it be internal strife?

"Hey, Straw Hat Crew, don't fight!"

"Yeah, the battle's over, don't do anything reckless!"

Hearing the sounds from both sides, Nami's face immediately bulged with veins, and then she flashed to Zoro and Sanji's side.

"Both of you, shut up!"

"Bump!"

"Bump!"

A fist, brimming with Haki, struck the two men on the head, knocking them both down instantly!

"So... the powerful Miss Nami is so captivating..."

"Hey, why did you hit me?"

"Um?"

Upon hearing Zoro's words, Nami's eyes widened immediately, as if to say: What, you're not convinced?

Zoro:...

"Tch, I'm not going to bother with you," Zoro said, turning his head away.

He spoke as if it were the truth.

Nami snorted at his words, too lazy to bother arguing with him.

"What... what a terrifying woman..."

After watching Nami easily take down two powerful opponents, the surrounding Fish-Man realized something.

That means... could this woman be the third member of the Straw Hat Pirates?

Wow, that's amazing!

As if she could hear what these guys were thinking, Nami subconsciously turned her head to look in their direction.

"Scare!"

The Fish-Man Race who noticed Nami's gaze immediately took a step back in fright.

Nami:...

"Am I that scary?" Nami retorted. "I'm just a weak woman who looks really frail, okay?"

Why are these guys reacting like this?

"Weak woman?"

Usopp glanced at Zoro and Sanji, who had been knocked to the ground by Nami, paused for a moment, and then remarked, "You're anything but a weak woman."

What weak woman could possibly take down strongmen like Zoro and Sanji with a single punch?

"Hmph, that's because they deserve a beating."

Usopp:...

That's true, but you're definitely not a weak woman.

Forget it, I'll get beaten up if I say any more, so I'd better keep quiet.

Thinking this through, Usopp calmly nodded, agreeing with Nami's words.

Just then, Hall swam over with Neptune and the others, arriving above the plaza.

"His King Neptune?"

Seeing Neptune appear here, the surrounding Fish-Man Race looked puzzled and asked, "Does Your His Majesty the King have something to announce?"

Otherwise, His Majesty the King wouldn't have needed to come here injured.

Meanwhile, the members of the New Fish-Man Pirates below watched Neptune suddenly appear with bated breath, their faces covered in cold sweat.

"Hey, Neptune isn't planning to kill us all, is he...?"

"I don't know."

"No, we have to get out of here right now!"

Staying here will likely get you killed!

"I said, no one is allowed to leave the square without His Majesty the King's permission," Jinbe said.

Hearing Jinbe's words, some of the quick-thinking Fish-Man immediately took out their coral bubbles and whispered, "Let's go, we'll use the bubbles to escape."

Okay~

Before they could even make a move, Jinbe's attack flew straight over.

"Gekisui!"

"Boom!!"

With a single blow, a huge crater was created in the ground!

"Huh?!"

"This is..."

"I said, no one is allowed to leave!" Jinbe said. "If anyone tries to escape with bubbles, I'll shoot them down!"

"Believe me, I have the ability!"

As he spoke, Jinbe glanced at the people in front of him, his expression full of threat.

"This..."

Sensing Jinbe's Jinbe aura, the Fish-Man Race and pirates were immediately frightened and took several steps back.

Then the Fish-Man Race said, "Jinbe Boss, please let us leave..."

"We were forced into this situation, Jinbe Boss."

"That's right, we only listened to Hody's Crew, otherwise we wouldn't have come here."

Many of them were only brought along because Hody threatened them; otherwise, they wouldn't have come.

"I said, no!" Jinbe said.

"Then we can leave, right?" The human pirate ran up to Jinbe and said, "Your Fish-Man Island was saved this time because of the human pirates, so... we can leave, right?"

Seeing the expectant look in their eyes, Jinbe paused for a moment before saying, "There's no need for you to be so agitated. I never said I was going to behead you all."

"Then why won't you let us go?"

"We'll have to wait for the Neptune Royal Family to make a decision," Jinbe said. "Of course, if you're not satisfied, you can try to break through."

"But that means... I'll have to face my wrath!"

After saying that, Jinbe's eyes sharpened, and his aura became even more terrifying than before.

Upon seeing Jinbe, the people instinctively took a few steps back, their expressions turning frightened.

'Should we force our way in?'

This is the sentiment of some people.

But when they thought of Jinbe's strength, they gave up the idea. After all... staying wouldn't necessarily mean death, but if they forced their way in, they would definitely be killed by Jinbe!

Having figured this out, these people obediently returned to the square.

Seeing this, Jinbe revealed a satisfied expression.

In any case, this King's king is King Neptune, so... whatever the outcome, that's for that person to decide!

"What's this old man up to now?" Chopper asked curiously, looking at Neptune in the air. "Shouldn't he be recuperating at a time like this?"

"He is the king of this King, so he has to stand up and say something," Nicole Robin said.

After all... this country has just experienced a rebellion!

Just then, Neptune's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Now, there is a message to tell the entire nation," Neptune said. "Just now, we found the kidnapped Mermaid girls."

"Based on their description, the people who kidnapped them were not the Straw Hat Crew."

So... we were wrong.

"It was our mistake to accuse the Straw Hat Crew of human traffickers without conducting a thorough investigation."

"I'm sorry, Straw Hat Crew... we misunderstood you."

Upon hearing Neptune's words, the Fish-Man Race standing on the high ground immediately smiled.

"As expected, the Straw Hat Crew didn't participate in the kidnapping... That's great!"

"Haha, I always thought they had nothing to do with this, and now it seems I was right!"

Stop lying!

A Fish-Man Race nearby, his face grim, said, "Can you really deceive yourselves?"

"We were all suspicious of them before!"

"This..."

Upon hearing the words of this Fish-Man Race, the expressions of the other Fish-Man Race immediately turned somewhat ugly.

Because... what the other person said is correct.

"Um... actually, we've always believed them, right?" a Fish-Man said with an awkward laugh. "Right?"

"Hahaha~"

Stop lying!

A Fish-Man Race child retorted angrily, "That's not what you said back then!"

"Exactly! It's so cunning to say things like that now!"

"That's right!"

Hearing the children's words, the Fish-Man's expressions immediately turned awkward.

That being said, getting them to admit to this is...

"Admit it," a shark -Fish-Man said with his eyes closed, "Admit we all once doubted them."

"Just because they are human... we suspect them."

Hearing the Fish-Man's words, the other Fish-Man Race also closed their eyes in pain.

Yes, it's precisely because the Straw Hat Crew are human that they suspect each other.

"Why..."

Listening to the conversation of the people below, Neptune sighed helplessly.

Ultimately, the Fish-Man Race's prejudice against humans is still too great.

Hopefully, this time, the Fish-Man Race will change their view of humans.

Only then... can Queen Otohime's wish be fulfilled!

Just then, Sharks's voice came from the sky.

"Father, we're back!"

"Your Three Princes!"

Upon seeing the Three Princes return safely, the Left Minister and Right Minister immediately showed expressions of excitement; it was truly wonderful that they had returned safely.

Neptune smiled and said, "Welcome back."

After saying that, Neptune paused for a moment, then continued, "Where's Hody?"

Didn't they say the Straw Hat had already defeated him? Why haven't we seen any trace of that guy?

And what about Vander Decken?

"Hody and Vander Decken are both dead," Sharks said, shaking his head. "So we buried them both in Fish-Man Street."

"So that's how it is..."

Neptune's expression became somewhat complicated; he hadn't expected those two guys to be dead.

"Vander Decken is dead too?!" the Right Minister exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes."

Sharks nodded and said, "Hody killed Vander Decken so that Noah's Ark would crash directly onto Fish-Man Island."

"So this is why Noah's Ark is gradually sinking..." the Left Minister murmured. "Hody is really ruthless."

To destroy Fish-Man Island, he was willing to drag everyone down with him... What a terrifying guy.

Fortunately, he failed!

The Right Minister, however, glared and exclaimed, "Good riddance!"

"Without this guy, Princess Shirahoshi wouldn't need to live inside the Hard Shell Tower!"

"Yes."

The Left Minister also realized what was happening, and said with tears in his eyes, "Princess Shirahoshi can finally live freely!"

Ten years... a full ten years!

From this day forward, Princess Shirahoshi is completely free!

Tears welled up in Neptune's eyes; as Shirahoshi's father, he was the happiest of them all.

If he weren't at home, he would have hugged his wife's portrait and cried his heart out.

' Otohime, did you see that?!' Neptune thought excitedly, 'Our daughter is finally safe!'

Moreover, from today onwards... the relationship between the Fish-Man Race will be further strengthened!

"Father..."

Seeing their father's tearful eyes, the three members of Sharks immediately felt a pang of heartache.

Their father carried so much on his shoulders...

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about something." Neptune waved his hand, then continued, "Where are Straw Hat and... Young man with sunglasses?"

"They're behind us," Sharks said, pointing to the sky. "The Young man with sunglasses is still treating Straw Hat, so he can't swim too fast."

So they let the three of us come back first.

"Is Straw Hat alright?" Neptune asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, he's fine," Sharks said with a smile.

Lord Xi Yan's Medical Ninjutsu is incredibly powerful; he should be able to heal Straw Hat in no time.

"I never expected that Young man with sunglasses would also know medicine," the Left Minister remarked. "He's even more amazing than I imagined."

Who would have thought that the man who could change the terrain with a wave of his hand was also a Ship's Doctor?

That's amazing!

"Indeed." The Right Minister nodded in agreement, then looked at Sharks with curiosity and asked, "By the way, Prince Shark, how did that Young man with sunglasses manage to move Noah's Ark?"

He had only heard His Majesty the King say that the other party had used their abilities to do that, but he didn't know the specifics of how.

"This..."

Sharks hesitated. How can this be explained?

"Let's discuss this matter when we get back," Neptune said, having discerned his eldest son's thoughts. "We'll talk to them about it personally once we return to the Ryugu Kingdom."

After saying that, Neptune turned to look at the Right Minister and continued, "Send word to prepare a lavish banquet. We need to properly entertain the Straw Hat Pirates."

"And... seriously apologize to them."

"Clear!"

The Right Minister, whose attention had been successfully diverted, nodded, then turned and took out Den Den Mushi to make arrangements.

Neptune breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, then winked at Sharks with a smile, as if to say, "Your dad did a good job, didn't he?"

Sharks was taken aback for a moment upon seeing this, then burst into laughter.

So... Father knew what was going on too.

That makes sense. If you think about it carefully, the watchtower above the Ryugu Kingdom could see what happened back then, so it's quite normal that Father would know that Lord Xi Yan was still alive.

Thinking of this, Sharks laughed along with him.

"Father."

"Um?"

"Let's have a good talk with him after the banquet."

"Certainly."

Neptune gazed intently at the sky and said, "Of course we need to have a good talk."

After all... that man is Blood-Eyed Ninja!