"Father… is this really your choice…?"
At this moment, Neptune couldn't understand why his father, in his words, did not oppose the other party becoming king, clearly knew he was no match for him, yet still chose to end his own reign in this way.
"Neptune, you may take Pontus's body and leave. Where you bury him is your decision. You may also take all of the royal palace's personal belongings with you.
Since I've agreed to him, I won't lay a hand on you. But if you intend to make me your enemy, I won't show mercy either. Do you understand what I mean?"
Nereus had no intention of playing games where he acted one way to someone's face and another behind their back. If this were negotiations with the World Government, he would treat everything written in the agreement as nonsense.
But in a situation like this, he would still honor what he had promised.
At the same time, he had no intention of letting Neptune remain on Fishman Island; a "mere matter of avenging one's father" was not suited to be carried out here.
The look Neptune gave Nereus was complicated. No matter how one put it, this man had killed his father.
Yet Neptune still remembered Pontus's words.
"I want to bury my father in the Sea Forest."
"Very well."
The Sea Forest was an underwater forest formed of coral, located northeast of the Fish-Man District, an outlying area of an outlying area.
Because of the sea currents, most ships that sank while diving toward Fishman Island would be carried here, earning the Sea Forest the nickname "Ship Graveyard."
There was also a Poneglyph here, engraved with Joy Boy's letter of apology.
"Pontus should have quite a few loyal subordinates. Gather all of them."
"What are you planning to do?!"
"Don't misunderstand. I'm simply letting you take them with you. Of course, they may also choose to stay. But if they harbor any other intentions, I won't show mercy."
Those words sounded as though he intended to wipe them all out in one fell swoop, but that wasn't actually the case. All the high-end combat forces on Fishman Island were under Nereus's command' he already holds absolute military power.
Such a gap in strength wasn't something schemes or tricks could make up for. Calling these people out was simply to reduce the possibility of slaughtering their own kind on Fishman Island.
From the moment Nereus entered the palace, not much time had passed. The exchanges between Pontus and Nereus hadn't taken long either; the entire coup unfolded in a very short span.
But when the doors opened, everything had already changed.
"His Majesty Pontus…"
"Mr. Nereus really…"
Quite a few Neptune Army soldiers were still lying on the ground. They had been taken down earlier by Sebastian and Barbell; at most suffering some superficial injuries, nothing serious.
Yet seeing the situation now, they still felt a deep sense of confusion. Replacing the royal family was something that had never happened on Fishman Island for hundreds of years.
"Lay down your weapons. From now on, the king of Fishman Island is Nereus."
It was Neptune who spoke. He chose to follow his father's wishes. At Neptune's command, the Neptune Army stationed in Ryugu Palace gradually laid down their weapons.
If the coup had been carried out by someone else, their resistance would have been far fiercer. But the one who did this was Nereus.
It wasn't only because of the gap in strength. Nereus's reputation, accumulated over many years, was also taking effect.
Some soldiers even began to suspect that Pontus had done something shameful in secret, which Nereus had discovered, leading to today's outcome.
There was no large-scale clash. Only a small number of soldiers left together with Neptune under the cover of night, choosing to continue following the original royal family.
More people stayed behind. Their families and loved ones were all on Fishman Island, and besides, being ruled by Nereus didn't seem like something completely unacceptable.
"Boss… no, Your Majesty. Are we really just going to let him leave like this? Should I…"
"At a time like this, just keep calling me Boss. As for things like hunting him down, there's no need. Since I agreed to let him leave, I won't resort to any underhanded tricks. Do you really think he has the ability to do anything to me?"
Nereus rejected Sebastian's suggestion. He had no need for his subordinates to deliberately shoulder such an infamous reputation.
As long as Neptune didn't do anything that would affect him, Nereus wouldn't care what he chose to do in the future.
The sun rose as usual, dawn arrived right on time, but for Fishman Island, something momentous had happened today.
First, every member of the Neptune Army received orders to assemble in the morning, instructing them all to gather in front of Ryugu Palace to await further commands.
Fishman Island actually invested very little in military force. Altogether, the Neptune Army numbered only a few thousand, a very small proportion, and the troops that had guarded Ryugu Palace the previous night were already the most loyal to King Pontus's royal family.
After a small number of the Neptune Army chose to follow Neptune and leave, those who remained became the first among the soldiers and civilians of Fishman Island to learn that Nereus had become the new king.
Discussion immediately broke out, mixed with a few cheers.
"Really? That's great! If Boss Nereus becomes king, our lives are definitely going to get better!"
"Idiot! You can't call him Boss anymore! You have to call him His Majesty!"
"Haha, that's right. Long live His Majesty Nereus!"
Part of the Neptune Army came from the Fish-Man District. These people accepted the news right away and celebrated it with enthusiasm.
In their hearts, Nereus should have become king long ago. He had done far more than that king most of them had only seen a handful of times.
The prestige and reputation he had built up over more than a decade were, at this moment, as if being cashed in, helping Nereus resolve most of the issues.
There were no major disturbances within the Neptune Army as a whole. After all, many who chose to join the Neptune Army did so with the intention of protecting Fishman Island.
With Nereus, someone who truly protected Fishman Island, taking over, it even gave them a sense that this outcome was only natural.
And as the sun rose, the news began to spread throughout Fishman Island.
At Coral Hill, in the hotel where the group was staying, the Mermaid at the front desk yawned. Her night shift had ended, and in five more minutes she was supposed to hand things over to someone else and go rest.
"The sky is already bright. Looks like Mr. Nereus and the others didn't come back all night. What on earth did they go out to do?"
It was just then that she saw the colleague coming to take over her shift. She then noticed her colleague say something to someone at the entrance, before hurrying off toward the distance.
"Hey! Come back and take over the shift!! Where are you going?!"
"Hang in there for another two hours, I'll make it up to you later! I'm going to Gyoncorde Plaza! Mr. Nereus has become the new king!"
Hearing this, the Mermaid at the hotel's entrance froze for a moment, recalling what Nereus had said the previous night.
"Mr. Nereus… you really did go and do something big…"
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