Chapter 128

Chapter 128: The First Step in Fishman Island

After a banquet, everyone enjoyed themselves.

Queen Otohime proposed to take them on a tour of the Ryugu Palace, while Neptune reluctantly left to deal with state affairs, guided by two ministers.

At the beginning of the tour, Adrian exclaimed in awe at each new place they visited. After all, the underwater palace was a novel experience for him.

But as he saw more, his reactions became more subdued. The common feature of these buildings was their immense size, necessary to accommodate King Neptune's 12-meter stature.

During the tour, Queen Otohime asked Adrian to share stories about the surface world with her three princes and Princess Shirahoshi.

Adrian chose to honestly describe the people and events of Sabaody Archipelago. He talked about the kind-hearted like the Goodmans, the somewhat conscientious swindler like old Bob, the harmless shipwrights and drinking buddies, the calculating businessman Bizney, as well as the menacing pirates and slave traders.

The Celestial Dragons didn't need his introduction; they had witnessed their behavior firsthand.

The children attentively listened to Adrian, trying to remember the unfamiliar names and mentally labeling them as "good" or "bad."

Queen Otohime was satisfied with Adrian's storytelling. She hoped her children would understand various aspects of humanity, not just the idealistic or ugly sides.

When the term "slave traders" came up, even the usually cheerful Camie showed a fearful expression. She recalled her own kidnapping by the Macro Pirates.

She understood the terror of being sold as a slave, which was scarier than being eaten by sea monsters!
"That time, I had just left Fishman Island, and in no time, the Macro Pirates captured me, stuffing me into a dark bag. It was so scary!"

"Didn't they say mermaids are faster than Fishmen? How did you get caught so easily?" Only now did Adrian remember that he hadn't asked Camie how she was captured last time.

"They said they were going to the surface, which coincided with my path, so I got caught." Camie stuck out her tongue, "Hehe, thanks to you, big brother Adrian, for saving me."

That's a lesson learned. If Camie were not as outgoing, she might have had a childhood trauma about not talking to strangers.

"Speaking of which, those guys used to be part of the Sun Pirates. We've already taken care of them. I wonder if Jinbe will give us any trouble?" Adrian smoothly changed the topic to ask about news regarding Jinbe.

Queen Otohime confidently replied, "No, they won't. The Macro Pirates originally targeted mermaids for their slave trade. Jinbe is only hesitating due to his past comradeship. He can't make up his mind to act against them. He won't blame you for this."

"Does the queen know him well?"

"Yes, Jinbe used to be a fleet commander. Later, he resigned to follow Tiger and returned to protect Fishman Island after becoming one of the Seven Warlords. He'll definitely be at the speech tomorrow. I can introduce you."

"That's great. I'm looking forward to it." Adrian planned to get to know Jinbe a bit. Mainly, he wanted to see if Sharkler could learn Fishman Karate.

That night, Adrian's group stayed at the Ryugu Palace, sleeping in a half-submerged room. Strangely, the bed didn't feel damp at all, despite the underwater surroundings.

Camie was sent home but promised to meet the queen during her speech tomorrow.

...

Early the next morning, Adrian and his group followed Queen Otohime to the Gyoncorde Plaza. This was where Queen Otohime often delivered speeches and collected signatures.

In the original timeline, this plaza was where the Straw Hat Pirates and Jinbe's group fought against 100,000 of Hody's men. In other words, this place could accommodate at least 100,000 people.

To put it differently, Gyoncorde Square could host a gathering of a million people, so you could imagine the approximate scale.

When the crowd had gathered, Queen Otohime stood on a platform and raised a piece of paper over her head. She spoke loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, the proposal of the World Nobles will have a strong impact on the meetings of the kings, also known as the World Summit.

And this piece of paper is a handwritten letter from the World Nobles. It reads: 'In order to promote friendship between the Fishman race and humans, I also agree with the signatures and migration request submitted by the Ryugu Kingdom.'

In other words, when we submit enough signatures at the World Summit four years from now, this paper will bring us more substantial influence!

Our reason for living on Fishman Island is simply because there's a small amount of sunlight and air here. And on the surface, there's even more radiant sunlight and a wider sky! This will be the closest opportunity we've had to the surface in hundreds of years!

Now, everyone, please make your decisions. Please express your intentions! Please sign your names, please submit your signatures!"

People born with access to sunlight couldn't understand the Fishmen's longing for it.

If they truly didn't care about sunlight, they would have escaped to the pitch-black depths long before the pirates attacked Fishman Island ten years ago. In that case, what could humans do to them?

Queen Otohime understood her people's desire for sunlight and knew their aversion to the surface stemmed from fear of humans.

Especially after the recent revelation that the Fishman hero Fisher Tiger's cause of death was "refusing human blood," countless Fishmen had grown resentful of humans.

However, even knowing the truth, Queen Otohime couldn't reveal it, as it would complicate matters further. If people learned that the Fishman hero, Tiger, who hated humans and refused their blood, had a deep-seated hatred for them, things would become even more troublesome.

Tiger understood his thoughts were mistaken, harmful to the Fishmen's future. But as he said, "Though my mind is clear, my heart is already tainted by demons. My body rejects this blood; I can no longer love humans."

After being tormented by the Celestial Dragons for years, he could only order his crew not to reveal the truth. At the very least, he didn't want to burden Queen Otohime anymore.

So, Queen Otohime used Adrian's group as examples to illustrate the various types of humans. She used the stories Adrian shared to help them understand better.

She even borrowed the Christmas tree that Shirahoshi treasured. While Shirahoshi watched with tearful eyes, the decorations were taken down and Queen Otohime assured her that they would be put back. Then, the tree was used as a prop.

Since Tom and Sharkler weren't human, they just watched the spectacle from the side.

Only Adrian, Artoria, and Rui Mengmeng stood beside Queen Otohime, serving as "representatives of kind humans."

It was their impeccable appearance and demeanor that allowed them to stand on the stage without appearing menacing. Unlike the bunch of eccentric pirates the Fishmen had encountered before.

Additionally, their past favor of saving Queen Otohime lent them credibility while addressing the audience.

Most people quickly grasped Queen Otohime's message. Just like Fishmen, humans had both good and bad individuals. With good people, they should try to trust and connect. With bad people, they should be cautious and prepared to fight.

This signature campaign was just the first step towards moving to the surface. The aim was to gain human kings' endorsement for their migration and secure the Fishman Island residents' willingness to migrate.

After completing this step, they would continue to solve other aspects of migration: where to settle, how to interact with humans, ensuring their safety, and more.

Things needed to be done step by step. With the letter from the Celestial Dragons, they could reasonably expect to pass that hurdle. What Queen Otohime was working on now was the more challenging task of gaining Fishman Island residents' opinions.