Lockdown

On Fishman Island, inside the Ryugu Palace, the Left Minister, a fishman with a top hat, a monocle over his left eye, and a bullhorn cane in his right hand, was looking incredulously at the latest intelligence from the New World.

Due to the location of the Ryugu Palace deep underwater, seagulls couldn't reach there to deliver news, so they relied on fishmen to bring the latest information to Fishman Island.

"I can't believe it; this is unbelievably incredible. What kind of...?"

As he perused the intelligence, he kept muttering to himself, leaving Neptune somewhat puzzled by his behavior.

Neptune, now at the helm of the Ryugu Kingdom as the previous Fishman King had aged, had begun delegating more authority to the Left Minister. However, the Left Minister's judgment had been a cause for concern for Neptune.

After all, after years of collaboration, Neptune had realized that the Left Minister's decision-making ability was severely lacking, often suggesting the worst possible course of action.

"What is it that you want to say? You keep muttering to yourself, and who knows what you're trying to express?"

The right minister, a seahorse fishman with a sword at his side and a crescent-bladed longsword in his right hand, looked at the left minister's behavior with a furrowed brow.

Due to their contrasting personalities, the right minister and the left minister often clashed.

"Oh, you rude fellow. Your Highness, according to intelligence, the Rocks Pirates have officially declared war on the World Government. In the ensuing conflict, the flames of war will spread throughout the New World, and many pirates will likely try to escape back to the first half of the Grand Line to avoid the disaster."

"So, I suggest that we open our gates and establish supply points near our shores to provide supplies for these people. This way, they won't attack Fishman Island."

Upon hearing the left minister's proposal, Neptune couldn't help but rub his temples. This was a disastrously bad suggestion. Did they really expect goodwill gestures to make these pirates benevolent?

Neptune could foresee that if they followed the Left Minister's advice and opened Fishman Island to these people, the entire island would be in grave danger. After all, beautiful mermaids were the most valuable slaves, and even the denizens of Fishman District were high-quality laborers.

"What are your thoughts, Right Minister?"

Neptune had given up hope of any meaningful guidance from the Left Minister. Many of his suggestions, when flipped, turned out to be quite good ideas.

After hesitating for a moment, the right minister replied, "I believe Fishman Island's gates should absolutely remain closed to those people. They've wreaked havoc in the New World, and letting them onto Fishman Island would spell disaster. In my opinion, Fishman Island should strengthen its defenses and possibly even enter a state of isolation. Nobody should be allowed onto Fishman Island. By keeping the battle outside our island, we can leverage our advantage in the deep sea with our marine companions against these pirates who can't freely move underwater."

"Indeed, that's the rationale."

Neptune sighed. If only Fishman Island had top-tier defenders, they wouldn't need to bend over backward for various factions.

After hearing Neptune and the Right Minister agree, the Left Minister couldn't help but speak up: "But once we shut them out, the danger increases for those pirates who can't find rest or supplies near Fishman Island and try to reach the Sabaody Archipelago. What if they seek revenge?"

For Neptune, despite the Left Minister's poor judgment, his concern for Fishman Island couldn't be feigned.

Putting down his teacup, Neptune addressed both ministers: "These individuals are villains returning from the New World. Regardless of their character or strength, they are quite troublesome. If we allowed them onto Fishman Island, the destabilizing factors would be too numerous. We've worked so hard for so many years to maintain balance among various factions. Now, it's likely to be disrupted."

So Neptune assigned the task of Fishman Island's defense to the right minister and declared Fishman Island closed effective immediately, with the reopening time yet to be determined.

"Understood!"

The left minister sighed.

In a certain part of the New World, on the main ship of the Whitebeard Pirates...

It was noon, and warm sunlight bathed the bow of the ship. On the deck, a grand feast was underway to celebrate the recent victory in battle.

Barrels of fine wine were brought up from the hold, and the ship's cooks were busy serving up delicious dishes. The wine was quickly consumed, and the food was devoured. Everywhere you looked, the deck was filled with joyous laughter and clinking beer mugs.

It was impossible to tell if there had been tension before the battle.

Whitebeard himself was on the deck, holding a large jug of alcohol and drinking heartily. A beautiful nurse with leopard-print stockings was carefully removing bullets embedded in his body.

"Gurururururu~"

As Whitebeard laughed heartily, the nurses rushed to attend to him.

"Gurururururu, these wounds mean nothing. If they get stuck deeper, you just need to reach further with your tweezers."

Clearly, for a man who had weathered countless storms from setting sail to the present, this bit of pain was nothing compared to the laughter he shared with his crew.

"Just let us play the prelude to war."

Nicholas stood up beside Whitebeard, looking out at the wind-swept sea.