Arrival!

To eliminate the threat from the pirates, it seems that apart from seeking the protection of a major pirate in the New World, there is no other way.

As for the Marines, ha.

Although Fish-Man Island is located just above the Sabaody Archipelago, not far from the World Government's central hub, Mary Geoise, and the Marine Headquarters in Marineford, Neptune knows that humans have quite a prejudice against fish-men.

Even though Fish-Man Island established diplomatic relations with the World Government hundreds of years ago, in the eyes of humans, the merfolk and fish-men of Fish-Man Island are still nothing more than variants of fish, with the only difference being that the previous discrimination was overt, and now it might be somewhat subdued.

But that's about it. As a key entry point for pirates into the New World, the Sabaody Archipelago and Fish-Man Island's status in the eyes of the World Government are as different as night and day.

Amidst his contemplation, Neptune also began to seriously consider which major pirate in the New World should seek protection from.

The Roger Pirates were naturally ruled out. If Fish-Man Island were to fly the Roger Pirates' flag now, not only would there be no protection, but it would also bring about a huge crisis for Fish-Man Island.

Not long ago, when the Roger Pirates came to Fish-Man Island to take away that piece of historical text, Neptune also learned about the general situation of the Roger Pirates.

Apart from Roger, Whitebeard seemed like a good choice. In terms of strength, Whitebeard was undoubtedly a figure standing at the pinnacle of the seas, and with the strength of the Whitebeard Pirates in the New World, Whitebeard's flag could definitely protect Fish-Man Island. After all, the pirates coming to Fish-Man Island were ultimately heading for the New World.

And the most important point was that Whitebeard had a good reputation. Even if Fish-Man Island sought his protection, there would be no need to worry about oppression.

So Whitebeard ascended to the top of Neptune's list of candidates.

But the problem now was that Fish-Man Island couldn't contact Whitebeard for the time being.

And the members of the Big Mom Pirates had already landed on Fish-Man Island at this critical juncture, and it seemed that the Big Mom Pirates had come to provide "protection" to Fish-Man Island.

"According to the frontline intelligence, after the ships of the Big Mom Pirates landed on Fish-Man Island, they headed towards Gyro Plaza, and those pirates who occupied Coral Hill, Watermill Town, and scattered throughout Fish-Man Island are now flocking to Gyro Plaza, seemingly receiving orders from the Big Mom Pirates."

The guard continued to report the information just received from the informant.

Hearing this, Neptune's headache worsened. Originally, if it were just the Big Mom Pirates, Fish-Man Island still had some bargaining power. Perhaps negotiations could be delayed until contact was made with Whitebeard.

But now, with the news that the pirates from Coral Hill and other places were gathering towards Gyro Plaza, this hope was almost nonexistent. With the high-end combat power of the Big Mom Pirates, combined with the pirates on Fish-Man Island now gathering their strength, they were already enough to directly break through the Ryugu Palace.

Indeed, facing the pirate forces gathering at Gyro Plaza with the military force of the Ryugu Palace, they couldn't even manage to defend unilaterally.

"I understand. You may leave."

Neptune took a deep breath.

"Right Minister."

After the guard left, Neptune looked at the right minister, who was under the throne, and ordered, "Immediately send someone to inform the guards of Fish-Man Island, and try to avoid conflicts with the people of the Big Mom Pirates as much as possible. Also, send someone, or even you personally, to meet with the Big Mom Pirates, invite the person in charge to the Ryugu Palace. Remember, no matter what their intentions are, we must not act aggressively."

"Yes."

Although he knew that this might be a mission with no return, the right minister still agreed and immediately went to arrange it.

After the right minister left the palace, the left minister looked up at Neptune, hesitatingly asking, "Your Majesty, we were about to prepare for a desperate battle, why did Your Majesty decide to surrender first?"

"..."

Neptune remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "Perhaps this is the only way to resolve the crisis. Our strength on Fish-Man Island is too weak, and I dare not gamble."

"But the other party is the Big Mom Pirates..."

The left minister was about to continue speaking, considering that Big Mom's reputation in the New World wasn't too good.

"I know."

Neptune interrupted the left minister.

"As far as I know, the captain of the Big Mom Pirates, Charlotte Linlin, has always intended to establish a utopia in the Totland Sea, and Fish-Men are undoubtedly able to occupy a place in it. As long as we express our willingness to submit, the people of the Big Mom Pirates shouldn't go too far. And the most important thing is that with Big Mom's power, she has the ability to protect us on Fish-Man Island..."

Actually, Fish-Man Island's strength was still quite strong. Whether it was the merfolk or the fish-men, their racial talents were quite good. An ordinary fish-man already had strength tens of times greater than an ordinary human, not to mention the special races among the fish-men.

But all of this was compared to ordinary humans. Humans who had undergone continuous training could easily handle fish-men, just like handling ordinary humans.

And the pirates who could reach Fish-Man Island from the Sabaody Archipelago were naturally not ordinary people, so Fish-Man Island was in a very awkward situation.

And as the king of Fish-Man Island, due to the strength problem of Fish-Man Island, Neptune could only watch as the situation became more and more serious and deteriorated.

In fact, he was very clear.

If the situation couldn't be improved, Fish-Man Island would eventually reach its end, it was only a matter of time.

After all, mermaid girls were good toys, and fish-men were excellent slaves. For the vast population of the world, Fish-Man Island was indeed very weak.

And it was precisely because he saw through this that Neptune began to entertain the idea of seeking protection from a pirate crew.

After all, in Fish-Man Island and the New World, the title of a top pirate had more deterrence power than the Marine Headquarters.

It sounded like a joke from hell, but that was the reality.

Suddenly, Neptune furrowed his brow, feeling like the light in the entire palace had dimmed in an instant.

"You, you...how could you be here...!?"

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing the right minister's startled cry, Neptune and the left minister in the hall immediately tensed up, subconsciously looking towards the direction of the hall door. However, the view was blocked by the door, and they couldn't see what was happening outside.

Just as they were wondering what was going on outside, they saw the right minister, with a serious expression, retreat into the hall, gripping his weapon nervously as he looked outside.

Neptune realized that something was wrong, stood up suddenly, and grabbed the huge trident placed aside, his gaze serious as he looked towards the direction of the hall door.

"Right minister, what's happening? What's happening? What's happening?"

The left minister, now also anxious, repeated his words, but much faster this time, with his habit of repeating words still evident.

"Neptune Majesty...Nicholas has come outside!"

"What?"

Seeing the right minister struggling to articulate, Neptune's brow furrowed even more tightly, feeling a very ominous premonition.

The left minister hurriedly stood protectively in front of Neptune, his expression tense as he looked towards the hall door.

This was almost an instinctive action for him, although his strength might not even be enough to withstand a single blow from Neptune's trident, but it didn't affect his loyalty.

[AN-Cliffhanger 😞😞]