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At this moment, Jimbei and Shyarly felt their heads spinning. The Poseidon was a person!
And she was the Mermaid Princess of their own Fish-Man Island! This completely shattered their worldview!
They then heard Auguro say that Joy Boy's promise was, in reality, a way of restricting the Mermaid Princess.
Jimbei quickly asked, "What do you mean by 'restricting'?"
Auguro showed a cold smile. The restriction he referred to was not explicitly in the manga's narrative, but through analysis, he was certain of it.
"The power of the Sea Kings—I believe you two are very clear on its magnitude!"
"If the Mermaid Princess had truly wanted to return to the surface, having the Sea Kings as escort would have been the simplest thing in the world!"
"But Joy Boy used a simple promise to make the Mermaid Princess refrain from using the power of the Sea King. Then, with a mere statement of his failure and an engraved apology, he convinced the Mermaid Princess to completely give up on returning to the surface!"
At this, Auguro's expression was one of extreme contempt.
"It's like this: A Yonko is about to attack a Supernova, and another Supernova volunteers to 'help' the Yonko. After failing, he tells the Yonko, 'Just stop fighting and go home quietly.'"
"Do you think this Supernova was truly helping, or just getting in the way?"
Hiss!
Hearing this, even Jimbei, who was normally so mild-mannered, felt a burst of anger shoot straight to his head. Was that helping?
That was clearly sabotage!
This was the long-cherished dream of Fish-Man Island for hundreds of years!
It had been the closest they ever came to success. And it failed just like that!
Joy Boy, you bastard!
In this moment, Jimbei felt the apology letter was a painful eyesore; he wanted to throw it straight out!
Shyarly was equally furious. It was safe to say there wasn't a single person on Fish-Man Island who didn't yearn to return to the surface.
Auguro nodded with satisfaction at their reactions. His intention in presenting the story this way was to pave the road for Fish-Man Island to join his Empire.
Although Jimbei and Shyarly were unaware of this history, the Royal Family certainly was. And they still believed that a new Joy Boy would appear to lead them back to the surface—a role reserved for Luffy.
However, Auguro decided, "I won't bother the Protag with this small matter; I, Auguro, can handle it!"
Furthermore, and most importantly, Auguro was convinced that Luffy was unreliable.
While Luffy was a fine leader for an adventuring crew, when it came to major issues concerning a nation or the world's power structure, Luffy's only function was that of a fighter!
Yes! Just a fighter!
Looking back at the original timeline, Luffy certainly went on adventures and saved many kingdoms. But think about it carefully:
Alabasta was concluded by Vivi's family.
Skypiea had Gan Fall.
Fish-Man Island had Neptune.
Dressrosa had King Riku.
Wano had Momonosuke.
Luffy only cared about the fight itself and never considered how to clean up the aftermath. What happened to those countries afterward was of no concern to him!
One could argue that Luffy inherited Joy Boy's mission to bring smiles to the world, and Auguro would grant that point. But to claim he could be a Savior?
Please, don't be ridiculous!
The original Joy Boy didn't have that capability, and the current Luffy not only lacks the ability but also lacks the desire!
Don't forget, Luffy always wanted to be the Pirate King, because the Pirate King is the freest person in the world!
Therefore, the freedom Luffy pursues has always been for himself alone!
In the original timeline, Luffy openly vowed to defeat Big Mom and claim Fish-Man Island as his territory. He succeeded. But what was the result?
Shirahoshi was nearly kidnapped by the Celestial Dragons at the Reverie to be kept as a pet! What did Luffy do? Absolutely nothing!
That was supposedly his territory!
Perhaps he was too far away in the New World to intervene directly. But he could have at least sent a message of condemnation to express his position!
Instead, even when someone rode roughshod over his territory, Luffy didn't even fart in response!
This shows that deep down, Luffy truly doesn't care about the territory at all! How can a person like that be a Savior?
If Fish-Man Island were Auguro's territory, he would not only bring them back to the surface but also provide them with complete protection!
If a Celestial Dragon dared to lay a hand on Shirahoshi, Mary Geoise would need to prepare to greet Soi Fon's Jakuhō Raikōben that very day! And the culprit would have to personally kneel in apology on Fish-Man Island!
That is what a qualified leader should do!
Having finished his story, Auguro prepared to leave for the palace. He had toured enough of the sights. It was time to meet Neptune and discuss placing the Holy Spirit Empire's flag over Fish-Man Island.
Hearing Auguro wanted to see Neptune, Jimbei immediately panicked. Judging by the time, Neptune was likely in the middle of receiving the Big Mom Pirates. If they went now, they would walk right into a collision!
Jimbei quickly argued, "Your Majesty has toured so many places today; perhaps you should rest first!"
"King Neptune has been dealing with state affairs for the last two days and hasn't had time to properly prepare to receive Your Majesty!"
"Tomorrow! Wait until tomorrow! Fish-Man Island will prepare the finest banquet for His Majesty Auguro to enjoy!"
A Fish-Man Island banquet? Auguro recalled it being incredibly lavish in the anime; he was eager to experience it. However, wouldn't everyone enjoy the feast more if they held it after Fish-Man Island agreed to join his Empire?
"No need to worry! This is a good thing! If I reach an agreement with Lord Neptune, it will be a major celebration for Fish-Man Island! We can simply hold the feast tomorrow to celebrate the success!"
Jimbei stood stiffly, blinking as he tried to dissuade him, but he couldn't think of anything to say.
Shyarly, thinking quickly, smiled and said, "Your Majesty Auguro, King Neptune is still attending to state duties, and meeting him abruptly would be disrespectful!"
"I suggest you allow me to take you to a pleasant place to rest first! We can let Jimbei return to inform the King so the Palace can make some preparations before your visit!"
Jimbei nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, yes! Relations between two nations should not be treated lightly!"
Unfortunately, Jimbei was fundamentally an honest man. His barely contained nervousness was completely noticed by Auguro.
Recalling how the two had been constantly leading him away from the city center, Auguro had a strong suspicion.
"These two don't want me to see Neptune. Has something happened on Fish-Man Island?"
Auguro's eyes narrowed, and his Observation Haki (Kenbunshoku Haki) instantly spread out, enveloping nearly the entire city. Moments later, he found Neptune and others gathered at the port! This included the Left and Right Ministers and Neptune's three sons.
"Such a grand arrangement? What is Neptune doing?"
Auguro immediately exposed the situation at the port.
Both Jimbei and Shyarly were startled. The port was easily ten kilometers away; the fact that Auguro could sense the situation there was terrifying!
Seeing that the truth was exposed, Jimbei realized that continuing to hide it would only risk offending Auguro, so he sighed and told him everything.
Learning that the Big Mom Pirates were sending representatives, Auguro frowned slightly. That Linlin, is she acting this fast?
Too bad. I can't let you have Fish-Man Island!