Inevitable Fate!

"Neptune..."

"Otohime."

Upon hearing Neptune's words, Princess Otohime silently reached out and grabbed Neptune's hand, wanting to say something. However, before she could speak, Neptune interrupted her. Seeing Neptune's gently shaking head, she already knew that Neptune had made up his mind. Although Neptune usually listened to her about everything, and even fulfilled her unreasonable requests, when he truly made a decision, she could only give advice but not make decisions for him.

"Fish-Man Island is too weak now, or perhaps I am too weak, weak to the point where I can't even protect our people from harm."

Neptune looked at the images broadcasted by the den den mushi, filled with self-blame. Although the pirates were leaving in the footage, the dilapidated towns, deserted streets, and the fish-men's bodies lying in ruins all told Neptune that all of this had indeed happened. He couldn't pretend that nothing had happened just because those pirates were leaving. If Nicholas was here now, then what about next time?

Moreover, even with Nicholas's protection, what about the future? Did Fish-Man Island have to constantly bow to the will of others?

Upon hearing Neptune's words, Nicholas was initially stunned, then burst into laughter. Clearly, being the leader of a race was no simple role, and certainly not something two fools on an elephant's back could handle.

"It seems you have made the decision as a king, Neptune."

Nicholas paused, then looked at Fisher Tiger and his whale shark fish-man underling standing nearby.

"Tiger and Jimbe are trustworthy friends; there's no need to keep them out of this."

Of course, Neptune understood Nicholas's meaning and directly voiced his agreement.

"Oh, then there's no problem. According to the records of your Fish-Man Royal Family, every few hundred years, a Fish-Man Princess is born. This princess may not have extraordinary strength herself, but she can command all Sea Kings in the entire ocean. Even the gigantic Sea Kings would unconditionally obey her summons."

Nicholas calmly spoke of the secrets of the Fish-Man Royal Family.

"You really have it all planned out, don't you?"

Neptune glanced at Nicholas deeply, realizing that Nicholas was not joking but indeed had a plan. When Nicholas first met him, Neptune thought it was just a joke when Nicholas said he wanted to be the godfather of his daughter. After all, at that time, he didn't even have a partner. Although he liked Otohime, it was more of a one-sided love.

However, with Roger's arrival and Shyarly's birth, along with the prophecy of the birth of a king, Neptune began to realize that something was amiss. After hearing Nicholas describe the legend of the Fish-Man Princess passed down in the royal family, Neptune finally connected all the dots and understood why Fish-Man Island would be drawn into war in the future.

If the world found out about the Fish-Man Princess's ability to control Sea Kings, it would be a disaster for Fish-Man Island. Nearly ninety percent of the world was covered by the sea. If the Fish-Man Princess unleashed the Sea Kings' attacks against all humans, the connections between islands would be severed, and the civilizations on each island would be cut off. This would be a heavy blow to humanity.

Even worse, if this situation continued for hundreds of years, the entire world's human civilization might regress.

Nicholas smiled, clearly aware of the seriousness of the situation that Neptune had now recognized.

"Are you not afraid I might commit suicide?"

Neptune suddenly said something shocking, causing Otohime, Fisher Tiger, and the three useless princes to look at Neptune with horror. They could tell from Neptune's tone that he was not joking, but really might choose to do so.

"I'm not afraid."

Nicholas looked at Neptune calmly.

"The birth of the Fish-Man Princess in this era is already set. Even if you die, I can let your three sons or the others there mate with Princess Otohime. The birth of Poseidon is destined, and the process is not that important."

Although Nicholas said that Neptune had the choice, Neptune knew he had no choice. He didn't want a family tragedy to unfold in his home.

"Fish-Man Island is willing to submit and accept your protection, Nicholas."

Neptune said solemnly.

Upon hearing Neptune's words, Nicholas smiled.

For Nicholas, the importance of having control over the Sea Kings was self-evident. Once he controlled the Sea Kings, he would control the authority over the entire ocean.

With that, Nicholas's plan was once again complete.

"Good."

Nicholas looked at Neptune and accepted the invitation.

Thinking about maintaining good relations with Fish-Man Island, Nicholas suggested:

"Neptune, to show sincerity, I will use my channels to try to return any merfolk or fish-men being sold back to Fish-Man Island as much as possible. Additionally, I will provide Fish-Man Island with some weapons to enhance its defense capabilities."

In the world of pirates, weapons were crucial resources. Not only for individuals but also for nations. Adequate weapons were a manifestation of a nation's strong military power, and they were also crucial to winning wars. Many countries in the tumultuous world of pirates often failed in wars because of a lack of weapons, leading to their demise, or won wars due to an abundance of weapons, just as Doflamingo was able to become the joker of the underworld by selling arms.

From this, it could be seen how valuable weapons were in the world of pirates.

Nicholas soon picked up the den den mushi and dialed a number. He first called Bedeck, although Bedeck mainly dealt in weapons trading, he was also quite successful in the Sabaody Archipelago. However, Nicholas was surprised to find that he couldn't reach Bedeck. After waiting for a moment, Nicholas hung up the phone and dialed the number of the flamingo. After all, this flamingo had made his fortune mainly by trafficking people.

Upon receiving Nicholas's call, Doflamingo was not surprised at all. In fact, he even offered to help Nicholas repurchase merfolk and fish-men from others, showing enthusiasm that made Nicholas even suspect if Doflamingo had some request for him.