"What did those three Sea Kings say to you just now?" Bege asked curiously.
"They said some strange things to me," Shirahoshi recalled, tilting her head. "Something about awakening, and that I haven't fully awakened yet. They also said that if I'm in danger in the future, I should pray with all my heart, and they will hear me and come to my rescue. They told me to grow up happily. They were very nice, and I even made friends with them."
Bege's eyes narrowed. The Sea Kings themselves had confirmed that Shirahoshi's ability had not fully awakened. It was likely that the shock of Queen Otohime's murder had triggered a partial awakening of her Sea King powers, granting her the ability to summon them.
"Little Shirahoshi, don't tell anyone about what just happened, understand?" Bege said.
Shirahoshi looked puzzled. "But if my father asks, I can't lie to him."
"If King Neptune asks, you can tell him. But you must not tell anyone else, or it will bring danger to you and to Fish-Man Island. Do you understand?" Bege instructed.
"It's that serious?" Shirahoshi's small face grew tense with fear. "Then I promise I won't tell anyone else. And I won't see those three big Sea Kings anymore."
"Those three Sea Kings, and in fact all Sea Kings, are your friends. They are not bad," Bege explained patiently. "But you cannot communicate with them in front of other people. You can talk to them secretly, alright?"
Shirahoshi nodded, still a little confused. Bege knew he would have to explain it all to her properly in the future.
When Bege brought Shirahoshi back, Jessica and Viola breathed a sigh of relief, and the three girls began playing happily together again.
Bege did not resume absorbing the Poneglyph. He took the girls back to Ryugu Palace and, over the next few days, focused on completely consuming the rest of the stone. The hardness of his castle was once again enhanced.
During this time, Arlong and his men rounded up all of Hody's subordinates and associates. Neptune dispatched the army to intervene, and with a deliberate publicity campaign, the entire island was made aware of the investigation. This was done at Bege's request; he wanted everyone on Fish-Man Island to know the truth about Queen Otohime's death to dissolve the hatred between Fish-Men, Merfolk, and humans, and to combat racial discrimination.
Under Arlong's interrogation, some crucial clues were extracted from Hody's closest followers. They uncovered Hody's plot to deliberately create conflict between Fish-Man Island and humans, and eventually, they found a witness to his assassination of Queen Otohime.
Neptune moved quickly to close the case, announcing the truth to the entire island and publicly executing Hody.
On the same day, Neptune announced a permanent cooperative relationship with the Fire Tank Pirates, establishing partnerships across dozens of sectors. He also appointed Fukaboshi to lead a diplomatic visit to Bege's territory in the coming days. Accompanying him would be a large trade caravan, carrying a vast quantity of goods for the first official commercial exchange with humans.
More importantly, Fish-Man Island would receive permanent ownership of one of Bege's islands, free of charge, and would send a portion of its population to live there.
This series of initiatives had all been planned by Bege in advance. He wanted to help Fish-Man Island integrate with human society and to help it prosper and advance more quickly. Of course, Bege was not helping them out of pure selflessness. He had his eye on Fish-Man Island's resources—or rather, the resources of the deep sea.
This world was a water world. The oceans were vast, and their resources were far richer than those on land. To excavate these resources, Fish-Men and Merfolk were naturally the best workers. Bege was particularly interested in underwater mineral deposits, which were likely hundreds, if not thousands, of times more abundant than those on land. If he could tap into even a small fraction of them, he could rapidly arm a massive force.
Furthermore, unique items from Fish-Man Island, such as Blood Coral, fish-man lanterns, and giant pearls, were rare and highly sought after on the surface. Trading them would surely generate immense wealth. In the past, human merchants had come to Fish-Man Island, buying these specialty goods at low prices and selling them for a fortune, with Fish-Man Island seeing very little of the profit.
Now, with their partnership, Fish-Man Island's goods would naturally be sold to the world through Bege. He wouldn't cheat them; they would split the profits evenly, ensuring Fish-Man Island would benefit greatly. He also allowed Fish-Men and Merfolk to trade freely in his territory, with all profits from such trade belonging to the Fish-Man merchants themselves. This model of commercial cooperation would not only earn astonishing wealth for both sides but also promote commercial prosperity in their respective territories—a true win-win situation.
The announcement of these policies sparked heated debate on Fish-Man Island. Some conservatives were distrustful of Bege, but there were also adventurous types who, willing to take a gamble, partnered with others and joined the trade caravan with their goods, heading for Bege's territory to start their own businesses.
Once the first pioneers reaped the rewards, the entire island would come to trust the Fire Tank Pirates, and their cooperation would become comprehensive and normalized.
Five days later, a grand fleet of fifteen ships, with the Sky God as its flagship, officially set sail for the New World.
On the surface of the New World, the fifteen ships emerged from the depths. The pirate flag of the Fire Tank Pirates, flying proudly on the Sky God, declared that this fleet was under their protection. Not even another Emperor's crew would dare to trouble them.
After a three-day voyage, they finally entered Bege's territorial waters. A massive, wolf-headed Sea Patrolling Beast surfaced, its crimson eyes fixed on the fleet as it swam at incredible speed. The sight terrified the people on board. But upon seeing the pirate flag, the beast immediately dove back into the sea and disappeared.
Bege's crew began to explain the function of the Sea Patrolling Beasts, though the Fish-Men were still skeptical. It was only after they encountered four or five more of the massive creatures, none of which attacked the fleet, that they finally believed it.
Along the way, they also saw high-speed passenger ferries—vessels of various sizes carried by hybrid sea beasts fused with Super Express Shrimp—speeding past. The sight elicited gasps of amazement and filled them with even greater excitement and anticipation for the trade partnership ahead.
Soon, they arrived at Dragon Fruit Island. The fifteen ships docked in an orderly fashion at the port. As the Fish-Men and Merfolk began to unload their cargo, a large crowd of onlookers gathered in the open space beyond the port. Most of them had rarely, if ever, seen Fish-Men or Merfolk and were incredibly curious.
The Fish-Men and Merfolk were tense and wary. Most of them had never seen so many humans outside of their home island and were still guarded. Because of this, they carefully observed the crowd and found that the onlookers were watching with friendly curiosity, not malice. This helped them relax slightly.
Before his trip to Fish-Man Island, Bege had already issued a decree across his territories, forbidding the persecution of other races. Any violation would be dealt with severely. This was all to pave the way for the arrival of the Fish-Men and Merfolk today.