"A dreamed life? Grant?"
Tiger froze, silently chewing over those words.
A heavy weight in his heart finally lifted.
At the very least, from what he could see so far, Doflamingo didn't seem to have any ill intent toward Fishman Island.
But Arlong, standing nearby, couldn't take it anymore. If not for Jinbe holding him back with all his strength, he would've already gone after Senor Pink with his signature lock-tight grip.
His shark-like teeth were already inches away from Senor Pink's stoic face.
Internally, he was screaming.
"Damn it! This lowly human… what right does he have to act so superior here?!"
...
Amid Yamato's constant exclamations along the way, Tiger led Senor Pink and his crew to a guesthouse on Coral Hill.
"Senor Pink-san, I'll go report your arrival to King Neptune. Please wait here for a while."
"Do as you wish. Just don't keep us waiting too long."
Behind his glasses, Senor Pink calmly took in everything around him on Fishman Island.
His eyes searched for anything of value.
Tiger took out a pink piece of coral and pressed it.
A circular bubble formed and wrapped around the seated whale's body.
Then, it carried Tiger and Jinbe into the sky.
As for Arlong—he had already slipped away as soon as they'd entered Fishman Island waters.
"We're flying!!"
This time, it wasn't just Yamato—Buffalo and Monet also widened their eyes in shock, staring without blinking.
After all, they were floating in the air... without a drop of seawater in sight!
...
Ryugu Palace
Reception Hall
Neptune, groggy-eyed, looked down at Tiger, who was pacing back and forth anxiously.
"You've been waiting a while, haven't you, Tiger? What's going on? What's the matter?!"
His youngest son, Fukaboshi, wasn't even a year old yet, and he was still busy helping Otohime look after him.
"Your Majesty Neptune! Yonko Doflamingo has sent someone to visit you!"
Neptune's eyes flew open. Instantly wide awake, he gasped.
"What?! Yonko?! Doflamingo?!"
Tiger wasn't the kind of man to lie. Realizing how foolish his reaction had been, Neptune stood up, his tail twitching nervously.
"What does Doflamingo want from Fishman Island?!"
Having seen the terrifying power of Whitebeard, Neptune no longer pinned his hopes on the Yonko's flag alone.
That flag might scare off some sea trash, sure.
But monsters like Doflamingo, on par with Whitebeard, weren't so easily intimidated.
"The Donquixote Family has never been involved in human trafficking before... Are they planning to carve up Fishman Island too?!"
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
Tiger offered a calm reassurance.
He understood Neptune's panic.
After all, very few in this world could remain composed in front of Yonko.
And Neptune... bore the weight of all Fishman Island on his shoulders.
"The ship they arrived on... has children aboard. That's not something someone with malicious intent would do."
"Children? Right! No one launches a war using kids as a front—especially not someone like the Heavenly Yaksha who stirs the seas at will."
That logic helped soothe Neptune's racing thoughts.
"Neptune, what's wrong?"
A gentle voice came from behind.
A graceful silhouette slowly emerged from the back of the hall.
Petite and elegant, clad in a palace gown embroidered with shimmering scales.
Her gentle, water-like eyes seemed to reflect the purest kindness in the world.
It was none other than Queen Otohime, now a few years into marriage.
"Otohime?! Why are you here?"
Neptune quickly moved to support his delicate wife, afraid she might trip and shatter into a hundred pieces.
"I'm fine, Neptune. Fukaboshi's asleep. I just came to check on you."
Holding Neptune's thick arm, her eyes were filled with worry.
It was the panic and fear in Neptune's heart that had drawn her here.
"Queen Otohime." Tiger bowed respectfully.
"Tiger-san, did something happen?"
"...Senor Pink says Doflamingo intends to grant Fishman Island the life we've always dreamed of."
Tiger kept it brief, summarizing everything.
"Grant?!" Neptune scoffed coldly.
"Even the World Government isn't that arrogant…"
He was about to keep ranting when a soft hand nudged his arm gently.
He looked down—straight into Otohime's hopeful gaze.
"Neptune... let's hear them out first, okay?"
"I want Fishman Island to live on land. I want our children to grow up under the warmth of the sun. I want them to see forests..."
"..." Neptune paused.
Otohime's dream was the dream of Fishman Island.
He wanted it too—but was it possible?
Even after joining the World Government, humanity's exploitation of Fishman Island never stopped.
Could Doflamingo really be so generous?
"Invite them to the palace tomorrow."
Before Tiger could even feel relieved—
The big blue ball of nerves, Jinbe, came rushing in.
"Tiger-sama! Arlong just started a fight with the people Doflamingo sent!"
"What?!" *N
...
Meanwhile — half an hour earlier
Click!
Senor Pink lit the cigarette in his mouth and took a deep drag, visibly pleased.
Facing the rowdy group of kids around him, he waved lazily.
"Free time now. Go do some social research. Yamato—200 words. Monet, Buffalo—2,000 each. Weevil... uh, don't eat the fishmen or merfolk."
"Yay!"
Yamato clapped excitedly.
Buffalo cast a dead-eyed glance toward Monet.
Ever since this fanatical BOSS-lover showed up, somehow he had to write more too.
Weevil: (º﹃º)
"We're off, Senor Pink-san!"
Yamato tugged Monet's hand and ran in the direction where that saw-nosed fishman had gone.
She wanted to find him.
...
At the center of Fishman Island.
Arlong, Hachi, Kuroobi, and Chew were all huddled together.
Trying their best to console the furious Arlong.
"Don't be mad, Arlong! Tiger-sama has his reasons!"
"Jinbe-sama feels the same way about humans as we do. He's just got to follow Tiger's lead, that's all."
"Yeah! Besides, Tiger-sama won't stay long. Next time we catch some humans, we'll have our fun anyway."
"Damn it! Just another Yonko!"
Arlong, too bold for his own good, scowled.
"Sooner or later, we'll launch a Holy War and wipe humans off the map!!!"
"Holy War!" *N
The others—his fellow species supremacists—echoed in unison.
"C'mon, let's go have a drink at Shyarly's place!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg