"Little Page! You're so grown up, and you still want to play hide and seek?"
Suddenly, Ulti appeared and locked Page One from behind with a very precise move. This was a daily routine for the siblings, and in Ulti's eyes, Page One's evasion was just a game.
The scene at the moment looked quite "harmonious," provided you ignored Page One's expression of almost suffocating.
"You siblings really have a good relationship."
"How... did you... see that..."
Listening to Yamato's sarcastic remark, Page One, who finally managed to break free, felt utterly headachy. Although Ulti and Yamato seemed to bicker often, their way of thinking sometimes got along quite well, like now.
Apart from Yamato, others rarely concluded that they got along well; rather than sibling roughhousing, Ulti's behavior seemed more like attempted murder.
As for why Page One didn't resist, he had tried to fight back but never succeeded. Ulti's strength grew in tandem with his, always managing to overpower him.
After a bout of horseplay, Ulti seemed to remember something.
"Oh, by the way, Little Page, we're setting sail tomorrow; there's a mission to do."
"Mission? When did that come?"
"I applied for you! Didn't I tell you before?"
Time has passed, and Yamato and Jack have become high-level officials of the new generation, no longer the little kids training under protection back then.
This also means that the era of missing high-level officials in the Hundred Beasts has ended.
Before Yamato and the others grew up, the Hundred Beasts had not produced any strong new-generation officials, and the initial few were still the mainstays of the Hundred Beasts.
People like Mandfeish, with their notable reputations, were among the initial old-timers. This wasn't only the case for the Hundred Beasts Pirates; many pirate crews in the New World were in this state.
The Hundred Beasts and the new generation grown by BIG MOM, the Whitebeard Pirates almost depended solely on Whitebeard during that phase.
But as the young people grew up, all of this changed. Yamato and Jack have reached adulthood, and Ulti and Page One are in their youth. Ulti and Page One are still quite young, but already old enough to carry out some tasks.
So their training has started as well. Ulti is naturally restless, and being able to drag Page One along for tasks is a joy in her life.
"When did you ever tell me about this..."
Page One begins to recall what had happened before; logically, he wouldn't forget such an important thing unless he was enduring Ulti's torment at the time, responding perfunctorily to everything.
"Uh... I suddenly remembered, there indeed was such a thing."
Seeing the change in Ulti's expression, Page One decisively gave up on his insistence. This kind of thing couldn't be joked about. They didn't have a ship of their own; if Ulti was making it up, they wouldn't be able to set to sea at all.
Seeing the potential for her continuing to torment him, he swiftly chose to compromise. The siblings' relationship, to some extent, resembled that of Kaidou and Yamato.
Their daily interaction was quite a unique form of fighting.
"Good that you remembered. Pack up and get ready to depart."
"Wait, whose ship are you leaving with tomorrow?"
As she was pulling Page One to leave, Yamato called out to them. Not many high-level officials were currently staying on Ghost Island, and she couldn't think of who would be suitable at the moment.
"It's Mandfeish. I heard he's working on something called the New Fishman Island, planning to find a suitable territory."
As people leave, naturally, someone will return. Mandfeish was back for his routine report and could conveniently bring along Ulti and Page One.
Usually, taking newbies is entrusted to steady high-level officials. Mandfeish, in terms of seniority, strength, and character, fits this requirement, and he has enough experience as well.
As for the New Fishman Island plan, it counts as a significant event of the year.
Two years ago, Mjosgard, returning to the Holy Land from Fishman Island, gave Otohime the World Government's endorsement slip. After the unstable factor Hody Jones was eliminated, no similar radicals emerged on Fishman Island.
Otohime, leveraging her reputation on Fishman Island, managed to get many residents to sign a consent form — a consent form concerning the Fishman Race residing on land. With the Heavenly Celestial Dragon's backing, they intended to establish a second home for the Fishman Race.
The World Government didn't obstruct this because not only did it have the backing of the Heavenly Celestial Dragons, but it also served as a good chance to promote the World Government's prestige.
As the Great Pirate Era intensified and Dragon's Revolutionary Army caused more problems, the recent World Conference finally acknowledged the threat of Dragon to monarchy, yet they were at a loss as to how to handle him.
The Revolutionary Army only operated in certain regions, and most maintained a detached stance, believing the downfall of other countries' monarchies had nothing to do with them — some even hoped for chaos in other kingdoms.
The world is only so big; with issues elsewhere, they could intervene for their gain.
In the chaos, the "equality" gained by the Fishman Race could better shape the noble and brilliant image of the World Government.
However, the World Government's action was peculiar. They offered the condition that the Dragon Palace Kingdom choose a suitable place themselves.
In this sea-dominated world, land resources are limited. No one wants to give an island away, and the World Government doesn't want to infringe on its assets either.
And being an adhering country, technically speaking, whatever Dragon Palace Kingdom does to non-adhering countries is legal. This was the World Government's condition for them: find a non-adhering country island, which would be theirs from then on.
Otohime and Neptune were not war advocates, opting to find an uninhabited island to redevelop.
Mere island development isn't difficult for them, but reality is far more complex than ideal. Initially, Otohime thought the biggest impediments were the thoughts of Fishman Island residents and the World Government's stance.
But once resolved, she encountered a tougher problem; beyond Fishman and Mermaid thoughts, ill-intentioned humans were a bigger nuisance.
The ten-thousand-meter-deep ocean barrier couldn't shield them from harassment by human slave capture teams; leaving the depths made it even worse, for those teams thrived due to hidden backing.
Receiving early news, they laid ambushes nearby. As for the former protection under Whitebeard's flag, the agreement with the World Government also prohibited its use, leaving Fishman Island with many problems to handle...