"I'll keep that promise," Queen Otohi said with a gentle smile. "You don't need to worry."
Jinbe was a little confused.
Promise?
All he knew was that Jango had passed on a ssage from White Ghost, Otohi had thought for a bit… and agreed.
But Jinbe didn't overthink it. As long as it didn't harm Fishman Island, it was fine.
And looking at the changes around him now, he was more than satisfied.
"Oh, right!" Jango clapped his hands. "Jinbe—Boss said you can send any troublemaking pirates up to the auction house."
"Hmm?" Jinbe frowned, then nodded.
"I understand. I'll make ti to personally lead a team."
Jango grinned.
"Scum like that… you can kill and kill and never run out. Instead of putting them down with a single strike, better to recycle the trash."
Otohi had heard plenty about the auction house White Ghost ran at Sabaody.
At first, the idea of a "slave auction" only made her recoil.
But over ti she learned the details.
Under White Ghost's rules, the auction refused to accept civilians—only pirates. And not only that, several pirate crews had tried attacking the auction house itself.
They all died.
The small fry were killed on the spot. The captains and officers were captured and sold on stage.
It reminded her of White Ghost's words:
"As long as you have strength, others will fear you. And they'll respect you."
Still, what really changed Otohi's impression was one particular incident.
Two rfolk from Fishman Island had been captured and sent to the auction house.
That ti, White Ghost personally handled it.
He'd spent a long while whispering with Saint Mjosgard. No one knew what was said.
All they saw was Saint Mjosgard pay ten billion berries to buy the two rfolk… then release them into the sea in front of everyone.
Afterward, Mjosgard had spoken lazily:
"Sigh. I've got too much money to spend anyway. Might as well do so good deeds. Maybe it'll earn so rit~"
The Celestial Dragons instantly exploded.
"What, so you're the rich one now?"
"You're the only one who knows how to show off?"
Within days, the trend spread through the Celestial Dragons' circles like wildfire.
They started competing to buy rfolk and release them—just to show how much money they could burn.
White Ghost hadn't really tried that hard to persuade anyone that day.
If Otohi had to guess, Mjosgard's change of heart had been growing for a while—from her influence—and Jin just… nudged it loose.
In the original flow of events, without White Ghost interfering, Mjosgard would eventually have given up using slaves entirely.
Now, things were already much better.
From then on, Otohi found herself genuinely admiring White Ghost. She'd even had people dig up his records.
The more she read, the less she understood him.
If you said he was a good person… a proper good person… then you looked at his thods and thought, which part of this looks good?
But if you called him a villain, truthfully? He was kinder than most "good people."
Contradiction in human form.
In the end, Otohi simply gave up trying to label him.
She only knew one thing: following his lead wouldn't be a loss for Fishman Island.
All she had to do was look at Fishman Island now.
"I heard Mr. White isn't married yet?" Otohi asked suddenly.
"Uh…" Jango's brain stuttered.
Jinbe's eyes went wide.
Wait. Don't tell …?
"Hehe, don't misunderstand," Otohi laughed. "I'm just asking. My daughter is still very young."
Jinbe shot her a strange look.
Still small now… so when she grows up? Is that what you're thinking?
Jango, on the other hand, was in turmoil.
Do I tell the truth? Boss isn't married, but there are already several won hanging around him…
If I lie, I'll die. If I tell the truth, I'll still die…
Before he could finish panicking, a thunderous roar shook the water.
Everyone shot to their feet.
Shouts rang from outside.
"What is that thing?!"
Jango's heart jumped.
Did so monster-level enemy show up?!
"Soru!"
He vanished from his spot, streaking outside.
"What's going on?" Otohi gasped, unease twisting in her chest.
Sothing heavy seed to press down on her heart.
"Your Majesty, allow to check!" Jinbe said, already moving.
"Wait, Jinbe!" Otohi ran after him.
They reached the entrance together—and froze.
A dragon was flying toward them.
A golden dragon, with wings sprouting from its back.
"Roooaaaar—!"
As it drew closer, the visual impact only got more terrifying.
Golden eyes. Golden horns. A dragon's body easily over five hundred ters long. Claws like hooked blades. The entire golden dragon radiated crushing majesty.
"What…?"
Otohi stared, stunned.
A dragon. A creature of legend. Here, at Fishman Island.
And in her heart… sothing about it felt strangely familiar.
White Ghost, anwhile, had planned to slip in through Fishman Island's normal entrance.
But there'd been a fight at the gate.
A bunch of fishn were clashing with a group of slave traders.
Jin didn't even think about it.
He'd swatted a claw once and turned the scum into a sar on the seabed.
After announcing who he was and asking where Jango was, he'd simply flown off.
This was his first ti transforming fully.
And it felt so damn good.
Like breaking shackles he didn't know he had. Freedom, from scales to bones.
He didn't want to change back at all.
And since he could move underwater without fear, nobody even noticed he wasn't drowning. They were too busy fighting for their lives.
Honestly, the beast form just felt right.
So he'd stayed like this out of pure comfort.
A few people saw him along the way.
He didn't care.
Sooner or later, this form would be exposed anyway. As long as his truly important secrets stayed buried, he didn't mind the rest.
Jango had been terrified at first.
He'd thought Kaido had co.
But then he rembered—Kaido was an azure dragon. This was a golden one.
And those golden wings…
Jango put the pieces together imdiately.
"Kaido?" Jinbe stepped forward, placing himself between Otohi and the dragon. "Are you Ka—"
"No… you're not Kaido," he corrected himself a mont later. "Who are you, and why have you co to Fishman Island?"
Most of the fishn around them had already collapsed, kneeling or lying flat, trembling too hard to stand.
You couldn't bla them.
In this form, Jin was simply too terrifying. Just looking at him made them want to curl up and submit.
"Jinbe."
The golden dragon opened its mouth.
"Ng?"
Otohi blinked.
Jinbe froze.
That voice…
It sounded very, very familiar.
"Um… are you Mr. White?" Otohi asked, summoning her courage.
"Yes."
The golden dragon nodded his massive head.
Both of them exhaled in unison.
Not an enemy. They were safe.
"Boss," Jango called, looking at the cowering fishn. "You look incredibly cool like this… but can you maybe stop being a dragon now?"
Jin shook his huge head.
"I don't know why," he admitted, "I just really don't want to. It feels too good staying like this."
The movent stirred the water, the current—and everyone's nerves.
Even with their minds convinced he wasn't an enemy, their bodies still wanted to collapse.
"Um, Mr. White…" Otohi said carefully. "What you requested is ready. It's at Ryugu Palace. Perhaps… you'd like to co over for a banquet? To thank you for what you've done for Fishman Island."
She was tiny compared to him.
She didn't even co up to the diater of one of his horns.
"Sure. I could eat," Jin said, and extended a claw. "Get on."
Jinbe hesitated.
That claw was… enormous.
Jango jumped up without a second thought, shouting down a few orders to the fishn below.
Otohi followed, graceful even as she climbed onto a dragon's talon.
Jinbe could only sigh and join them.
If anything happened to the queen on his watch, he didn't dare imagine the consequences.
The golden dragon flapped its wings.
"Roooar—!"
His body twisted like a living mountain and shot toward Ryugu Palace.
"D-did it leave? That monster?"
Fishn slowly pushed themselves up.
A few sharp ones replayed Jango's shout in their minds.
He called that monster 'Boss'… Is that… that Marine?
They looked up at the diminishing golden silhouette, minds buzzing.
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