"From this day forward, we fish-men..."
His words broke off there. Tears were already streaming down Fisher Tiger's face, and his whole body trembled as he sat there.
Neptune sat blankly on his throne, like a clay statue, as though frozen in time.
How many years had it been?
He had long since lost count!
How many fish-men had struggled for this cause, one after another, sacrificing their lives for that simple word: equality?
Only today had they finally seen a glimmer of hope.
Yet Neptune still maintained his composure. He drew a deep breath, then looked at Fisher Tiger with bloodshot eyes.
"What will Fish-Man Island have to give in return?"
"Surely the Marines wouldn't do something like this for us fish-men for nothing?"
"I know very well what this will cost the Marines!"
Fisher Tiger fell silent at his words, then sighed and spoke slowly.
"Fleet Admiral Xia Le said that Fish-Man Island will need to contribute some money toward military expenses!"
"And some fish-men may need to enlist and serve in the Marines!"
Neptune froze, as though he had misheard. He even felt a little dazed.
"Contribute money?"
"Is that all?"
"And fish-men can become Marines too?!"
Compared with the first condition, he cared far more about the second.
Money meant little to the Ryugu Kingdom. In fact, if it could safeguard the interests of fish-men, they would gladly pay that sum.
But allowing fish-men to become Marines was something else entirely!
It meant that fish-men could enter the Marines and truly work to protect the interests of their own race.
On the world stage, only members of their own race could truly be relied upon.
This second condition from the Marines was a genuine concession.
In the past, the Whitebeard Pirates had used their reputation to