"Welco, Jinbe!"
Nami lifted her glass high, laughing brightly as she joined the toast.
Sanji stood beside the table with a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. He raised his glass toward Jinbe and smiled warmly.
"Welco aboard, Jinbe. From now on, we're family. And thank you for taking care of Luffy during the Marineford War."
Jinbe slowly lifted his own cup toward Luffy. A quiet sigh escaped him before he spoke.
"To be honest, my joining your pirate crew at this mont might seem like I am relying on your influence, and Shirogai's as well. In truth, that is exactly the case."
He paused briefly, his tone calm but sincere.
"Over the past few months I have traveled across many seas and observed the state of the world. The global situation is changing rapidly."
"If Fish-Man Island were to rely only on the strength of our old generation, we would likely be unable to suppress the increasingly restless pirates who roam these waters."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"In the future, the Sky Island Alliance founded by Shirogai will certainly guide the world into a new era."
"As a Fish-Man, I will never allow my entire race to be abandoned at the threshold of that era."
Jinbe spoke with complete honesty about why he had volunteered to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He showed no hesitation in expressing the deep respect he held for both Shirogai and Luffy.
The hall filled with laughter and music, yet soone at the head of the banquet table remained silent.
King Neptune watched Jinbe quietly.
The old king's eyes lingered on the Fish-Man warrior, who sat in a yukata and wooden geta, a cape draped loosely over his shoulders.
Neptune understood Jinbe's intentions clearly.
This decision was made for the future of Fish-Man Island.
Jinbe had willingly placed himself in the center of the board as a political bridge, perhaps even a hostage, between Shirogai and the Ryugu Kingdom.
By publicly joining the Straw Hat Pirates as the forr captain of the Sun Pirates, Jinbe had ensured that the God King would no longer doubt Fish-Man Island's loyalty.
After all, the balance between the two sides was overwhelmingly unequal.
Compared to the power commanded by Shirogai, Fish-Man Island's influence was almost insignificant.
The man now known throughout the world as the God King stood at the top of the Sky Island Alliance and commanded the Air Force.
If he desired cooperation, countless forces across the seas would rush forward to align themselves with him.
Even the Four Emperors could not ignore such a figure.
Many believed the World Governnt despised the Sky Island Alliance.
But Neptune knew the truth was more complicated.
If Shirogai ever declared that he was willing to cooperate with the World Governnt to unify the seas, the Celestial Dragons at the very top would likely agree imdiately.
They would never allow such an opportunity to slip away.
Later, once the world was firmly under control, they would surely attempt to eliminate the Sky Island Alliance's leadership in secret.
Even so, the Celestial Dragons no longer dared to underestimate the pirate they themselves had titled God King.
Ironically, the people in the world who understood Shirogai's threat most clearly were the very leaders of the World Governnt.
They had been the first to notice him.
When Shirogai had only just begun to make a na for himself, the World Governnt attempted to recruit him as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, hoping to turn him into a weapon that could be used against other pirates.
Instead, they watched helplessly as that unknown pirate rose like a storm.
In a short period of ti, he had grown into a pirate of Four Emperor level, a force powerful enough to shake the world itself.
Then ca the Marineford War.
A war the World Governnt had not expected to unfold the way it did.
During that conflict, they witnessed sothing that truly terrified them.
Shirogai was no longer simply an overwhelmingly powerful individual.
He had suddenly gained control of an entire military force, one equipped with advanced Sky Island technology that far surpassed the current era.
The Air Force.
In an instant, he had transford into a superpower capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the World Governnt.
Trust built only through words would never be enough when dealing with such a figure.
After the Marineford War ended, Jinbe had returned to the Ryugu Kingdom and spoken with King Neptune about Shirogai.
Their first eting had taken place inside the great prison of Impel Down, and Jinbe had also learned much about him through Portgas D. Ace.
Jinbe had even felt uncomfortable addressing him directly as Shirogai.
Instead, he had respectfully called him Brother Shirogai.
In the world Jinbe grew up in, strength commanded respect.
The elder was called brother.
The capable were honored as brother.
And those who ignored strength were considered foolish.
For soone like Jinbe, a man with deep loyalty to his holand and strong martial values, Shirogai's life and achievents naturally earned his sincere admiration.
"The world that had long been ruled and eroded by the World Governnt fractured the mont a military force called the Air Force appeared."
Jinbe had spoken those exact words during a private conversation with King Neptune shortly after the Marineford War.
At that ti, the Sky Island Alliance had not yet expanded across the world as it had now.
Its advanced technology from the Sky Islands had already beco famous, however.
Many nations dread of obtaining those technologies, hoping they could use them to secure a place in the skies.
But Jinbe had already seen sothing far greater.
He believed the balance of the world had already shifted.
From that mont onward, the future would beco a struggle between two colossal forces.
The World Governnt.
And the Sky Island Alliance.
All other powers would eventually be swallowed by the conflict between these giants.
The global order would no longer belong solely to the World Governnt.
Instead, it would beco a world divided between two competing forces.
During that conversation, Jinbe had made a serious proposal.
"King Neptune, I suggest sending an envoy to establish contact with the force created by Brother Shirogai."
"Perhaps the Ryugu Kingdom may benefit greatly from such cooperation in the future."
"If you trust , I am willing to serve as the envoy myself and travel to the Sky Island ten thousand ters above the sea."
At that ti, Neptune had been skeptical.
"Hmm? You believe this newly ford force can rival the World Governnt?"
"Jinbe, that seems like an exaggeration."
The old king had shaken his head.
"Making contact with Sky Island would anger the World Governnt. Our people are already treated poorly as Fish-n and rfolk. We should not provoke further hostility."
Neptune believed Jinbe was simply overestimating the so called Arrogant Emperor Shirogai.
Although he acknowledged that Shirogai's personal strength was extraordinary, the organization he had built seed insignificant compared to the World Governnt, which had ruled the world for centuries.
There appeared to be no real comparison.
Yet reality proved him wrong.
Within only two months, sothing astonishing happened.
One after another, nations that had once been allied with the World Governnt withdrew their allegiance.
The very sa countries Neptune had long hoped Fish-Man Island could soday join.
Instead, those nations turned toward the Sky Island Alliance.
They joined it willingly and began supporting its policies with surprising enthusiasm.
Watching these events unfold left King Neptune stunned.
Only then did he realize how far-sighted Jinbe's earlier proposal had been.
If the Ryugu Kingdom had established ties with the Sky Island Alliance earlier, the future of their race might have taken a very different path.
Jinbe had likely foreseen all of this long ago.
anwhile, Neptune, a king who had spent most of his life deep beneath the sea and far removed from world affairs, had foolishly allowed a rare opportunity to slip away.
And now Jinbe had gone even further.
He had willingly placed himself on the board as a bargaining chip in order to secure a better future for the Fish-n and rfolk.
Compared to Jinbe's selfless determination, Neptune suddenly felt ashad.
As the king of their people, he felt he had failed to live up to that sa level of responsibility.
Perhaps Shirogai had been correct.
Perhaps he truly had grown old.
His gaze slowly shifted toward his eldest son.
Prince Fukaboshi laughed loudly while drinking alongside Luffy and the others.
The younger generation was lively, fearless, and full of energy.
Neptune exhaled quietly.
"The future of the Fish-n and rfolk..."
"It belongs to the new generation."
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