"By the way," Otohime suddenly spoke up, "I heard that Jiexi, the Grand Marshal of Soldiers of the Fengtian Empire, is currently selecting outstanding fish-men on Fish-Man Island to form a Fish-man Fleet."
Neptune snapped back to attention and nodded. "Yes, I've heard about that too. Apparently, many fish-men have signed up since joining the Fengtian Empire's Marines is a rare opportunity for many young people."
Otohime's eyes lit up. "Why don't we take this opportunity to prepare this year's tribute and have Marshal Jiexi bring it back to present to His Majesty Raiver?"
Neptune nodded. "Excellent idea. His Majesty Raiver has given Fish-Man Island such tremendous help. We must carefully prepare this year's tribute offerings."
The two began discussing. "We should definitely include Fish-Man Island specialties - desserts, deep-sea fruits, seafood, coral furniture, Deep Sea Gems, and Seashells..." Otohime counted on her fingers. "That should be enough, right?"
Neptune thought for a moment before suddenly saying, "I heard that His Majesty Raiver's Sky Palace has many beautiful maids."
Otohime was momentarily surprised, then understood. "You mean... sending maids?"
"Yes," Neptune nodded. "And I've noticed that many mermaids on the island greatly admire His Majesty Raiver. Their eyes light up whenever his name is mentioned."
Otohime smiled. "That's actually a good idea. It both serves as a gift and fulfills those girls' wishes."
"Then it's settled," Neptune said. "We'll adopt a voluntary principle, announce the news, and select the most suitable maids from among the applicants."
Otohime nodded. "Good, I'll handle this right away."
Once the news was announced, the entire Fish-Man Island erupted in excitement.
"What?! We can go serve His Majesty Raiver in the Sky Palace?!"
"I want to go! I want to go!"
"That's the world's strongest man! Being able to see him every day would make me wake up smiling from dreams!"
A long queue had formed at the Dragon Palace City registration office since morning. Mermaid girls arrived one after another, all dressed up carefully. The fish-man soldiers handling registration were sweating from the busy work.
"Don't push! Don't push! One at a time!"
Despite this, the number of applicants grew at an astonishing rate. In just three days, the number of applicants surpassed one thousand.
In Dragon Palace City's main hall, Neptune and Otohime looked at the stacks of application forms, exchanging glances.
"This... this is too many people," Neptune said with a bitter smile.
Otohime also smiled helplessly. "It seems His Majesty Raiver's popularity on our Fish-Man Island is even higher than we imagined."
"What should we do? We can't possibly send them all, right?"
"Of course not," Otohime thought for a moment. "We can only select the best. We need to consider appearance, temperament, and talents."
"One more thing," Neptune added. "Their personalities must be good too. After all, they'll be serving His Majesty. If their personalities are poor and they anger him, it would be counterproductive."
Otohime nodded.
As they were discussing, a guard suddenly reported: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, Marshal Jiexi of the Fengtian Empire has arrived."
Neptune and Otohime exchanged a glance, quickly rising to greet him.
Jiexi strode into the grand hall.
He was tall and powerfully built, with a resolute face, dressed in the marshal's uniform of the Fengtian Empire, a Black Dragon Cloak draped over his shoulders.
"Your Majesty Neptune, Queen Otohime," Jiexi gave a slight nod in greeting.
"Marshal Jiexi!" Neptune warmly stepped forward. "We were just thinking of looking for you. Come, come, please have a seat."
Jiexi sat down and got straight to the point:
"My visit this time is regarding the matter of forming the Fish-man Fleet.
We have already selected three hundred qualified fish-man soldiers and plan to take them to the Empire for formal training."
Neptune nodded. "That's excellent news. Rest assured, Marshal Jiexi, for these young men to be chosen is a blessing earned over many lifetimes."
"By the way," Jiexi paused, "Your Majesty previously instructed me to bring back the tribute from Fish-man Island to the Empire on this trip. I wonder..."
"It's all prepared!" Otohime smiled. "Marshal Jiexi, your timing is perfect. We were just hoping to ask for your advice."
"Advice?"
"It's like this..." Otohime explained their idea of preparing mermaid maidens as tribute:
"We've heard that His Majesty Raiver appreciates beautiful attendants, so we wish to select a group of mermaid maidens to serve him.
However, since we are not familiar with His Majesty's preferences, we hoped you could assist in the selection."
After hearing this, Jiexi's expression turned somewhat odd.
After a moment, he nodded:
"Alright. Since it's an offering for His Majesty, I'll help take a look."
Thus, a unique beauty pageant commenced within Dragon Palace City.
Over a thousand mermaid maidens, in the order they had registered, entered the grand hall one by one, passing before Neptune, Otohime, and Jiexi.
Some were shy, some bold, some dignified, some lively.
Jiexi initially felt a bit awkward, but gradually, he got into the rhythm.
"This one won't do; her gaze is too wandering."
"This one is acceptable; her demeanor is good."
"This one... well, her looks are fine, but her posture while walking isn't quite right."
"This one! This one is good! Her smile is sincere, her eyes clear, and her posture upright."
Otohime diligently took notes beside them.
For an entire day, they selected fifty candidates from over a thousand.
The next day, they narrowed it down from fifty to thirty.
On the third day, the final selection—
Twenty mermaid maidens stood in the center of the hall, nervous yet hopeful.
Jiexi looked them over and nodded with satisfaction.
"These twenty should do. His Majesty will likely be pleased."
Otohime breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on her face.
Next came the preparation of the other tribute items.
Deep Sea Sweets, Rare Fruits, Fresh Seafood, Exquisite Coral Furniture, Deep Sea Gems, and Seashells...
One precious gift after another was packed into specially made crates, sealed with the Fengtian Empire's official stamp.
Three days later, everything was ready.
On the plaza outside Dragon Palace City, the twenty mermaid maidens stood in a row.
They were all dressed in their finest clothes, adorned with the most exquisite jewelry, their faces wearing shy yet hopeful smiles.
Behind them were piles of tribute crates stacked like mountains.
Jiexi stood at the forefront, clasping his hands in salute to Neptune and Otohime:
"Your Majesty Neptune, Queen Otohime, I assure you I will safely deliver this tribute to the Sky Palace and convey Fish-man Island's sincerity to His Majesty."
Neptune returned the salute solemnly:
"We are grateful for your efforts, Marshal Jiexi. Please also convey our regards to His Majesty Raiver."
Otohime added, "Please also inform His Majesty that Fish-Man Island will always be the Fengtian Empire's most loyal vassal state."
Jiexi nodded.
...
Six years later, Sea Calendar 1496.
Roger Pirates.
At this time, Roger had contracted an incurable disease. The ship's doctor Crocus declared that, even with medication injections, he had at most two years left to live.
Years ago, Roger and the others followed the Log Pose's guidance and arrived at the final island recognized by the world in the New World - Water 7 Island.
On this island, they discovered the Log Pose had completely malfunctioned, unable to point in any direction.
Everyone thought this was the final island and began celebrating with cheers.
But Roger frowned deeply, as his intuition told him there was still one true final island.
He believed the endpoint of the Log Pose didn't equate to the world's end.
However, he didn't share this with his companions at the time.
Now, Roger intended to find that ultimate final island within his remaining lifetime, truly accomplishing the great feat of circumnavigating the world and fulfilling his dream.
Therefore, Roger revealed this matter to his companions.
"What? The island we found back then wasn't the final island?" Everyone was astonished upon hearing Roger's words.
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