Chapter 117: Leaving
As Uta's agreement fell, a look of joy appeared in Neptune's eyes. Beside Uta, a delicate smile also appeared on Shirahoshi's face.
Then, Uta added, "But—if I'm to become sisters with Shirahoshi, I should be the older sister!"
Shirahoshi heard this and nodded, lifting Uta with a smile and calling out with wide eyes, "Yes! Onee-sama!"
Seeing this, Neptune took a deep breath and then said with a laugh, "In that case, I will now announce to all the citizens that from this day forward, Uta is Shirahoshi's older sister, the other princess of Fish-Man Island!"
However, Uta spoke up and stopped him. "Let's skip that! It's better if as few people as possible on Fish-Man Island know about this!"
"Wh-why?" Neptune bent down, a large, puzzled face appearing before her.
To this, Uta pointed at Louis and Yelena and explained with a smile, "We're vicious, great pirates! If you make an announcement like that, it will cause trouble for you and Fish-Man Island!"
At these words, Neptune and the others fell silent. It wasn't that they hadn't considered this point. On the contrary, they had thought of it beforehand and were prepared to make the announcement anyway. However, for Uta to agree and then stop them from announcing it was something they hadn't expected. At the same time, a hint of relief rose in their hearts; it showed that Uta would not act recklessly with this new status.
At this moment, even the more cautious Jinbe no longer felt opposed to the idea.
Then, Neptune asked with a smile, "Uta, could you tell me your father's contact information? I'm preparing to send him a gift!"
To this, Uta replied with a grin, "No need. He's also a pirate, in the depths of the New World."
"A pirate family?" Neptune's eyes widened. "Then, what's his name?" he asked subconsciously. Neptune suddenly felt that Uta's identity might not be so simple.
"Shanks," Uta said with a slight smile, revealing her father's name.
"That name sounds so familiar—"
However, the next second...
"Wait... Shanks?!"
The group was no longer calm, their faces filled with disbelief.
"The Shanks who was an apprentice on the Roger Pirates' crew?" Neptune pressed.
"Yes, that's right!" Uta nodded with a smile.
Jinbe heard this and fell silent. Red-Haired Shanks was now one of the figures in the New World closest to the three top-tier pirates. He was perhaps only one strong stepping stone away from joining their ranks. Many people believed that one of three people—Ochoku, the ruler of Hachinosu; Loki, the legendary giant prince; or Red-Haired Shanks—would ascend to the top, becoming a pinnacle monster on par with Whitebeard, Kaido of the Beasts, and Big Mom.
As for Neptune, the smile on his face became even more pronounced. "Hahaha—Roger and the others are my dearest friends!" Neptune felt that the surprise had come so suddenly; he never expected Uta to be Shanks's daughter. This layer of connection made Neptune feel even more at ease.
In front of him, Shirahoshi carefully tugged on Uta's sleeve. "Onee-sama! What should I call your father?"
To this, Uta gave a bright smile. "Just call him Shanks is fine!"
...
Not far away, Louis and Yelena were still frozen in place, looking at each other.
"It's... just settled like that?" Yelena felt that this was all a bit incredible. She and Louis had just set a goal, and in the blink of an eye, the objective of their plan had been achieved. But they hadn't even made a proper plan yet.
Beside her, Louis quietly watched the blue-skinned merman, for the moment not explaining his guess to Yelena.
In the restored banquet hall, Kuina looked at Shirahoshi and Uta with a strange expression. She asked Louis with some hesitation, "You mean—Uta attended a banquet and then became a mermaid princess?"
To this, Yelena, feeling there was no need to hide herself here, slowly put a piece of food into her mouth. "Although I don't understand what happened," she nodded calmly, "in short, Uta is a mermaid princess now."
Kuina heard this and her gaze shifted back and forth between the extremely similar Shirahoshi and Uta. In the end, she gave up on thinking.
Not far away, the four giants were also looking at each other, at a loss for words.
Neptune and Jinbe were shocked when they saw Yelena, who had taken off her gas mask and revealed her true face. They never expected the infamous "Nation-Destroyer" to be a young woman.
Louis saw everyone's reaction and then explained with a smile, "Her name is Yelena. She's the second-in-command of the Archangel Pirates. She was once the last monarch of the Canaan Kingdom in the East Blue."
"A monarch? A king?" Neptune was stunned, his confusion about her destroying a nation growing.
Beside him, however, a look of shock and uncertainty appeared on Jinbe's face. "Canaan? Could it be that the country you destroyed was the Jacob Kingdom, which was rumored to have been destroyed by Red-Haired Shanks?"
Jinbe had once by chance heard of the bloody deeds of the Jacob Kingdom. Combining that with the news of its destruction in recent years and Yelena's epithet, he understood everything.
To this, Yelena nodded lightly. "That's right. Several years ago, I destroyed that country with my own hands."
Seeing this, Jinbe sighed in his heart. "I see—"
Neptune saw this and instantly realized Jinbe might know a lot, but given the occasion, he couldn't ask him.
Then, Yelena added, "Regarding my information, I ask that you all keep it a secret." She had removed her disguise because, through Uta's relationship with Shirahoshi, the royal family of Fish-Man Island had become one of their own. Once she left this gate, she would need to continue her disguise, so she was reminding Neptune and the others not to speak of it.
Jinbe, Neptune, and the others readily nodded, saying they would not speak of these matters to the outside world.
...
Over the next few days, Louis and his group toured Fish-Man Island and the Sea Forest, led by Shirahoshi. The Poneglyph there was also copied by Louis's people. With that, their journey on Fish-Man Island came to a close.
Atop Avant Heim, Uta, with a bright and brilliant smile, waved goodbye to the very reluctant Shirahoshi. "Remember to practice your music every day! If there's anything you don't understand, just call me on the Den Den Mushi! I'm really looking forward to the day we can stand on stage together!"
Shirahoshi nodded firmly, a determined look on her gentle face. "Yes, Onee-sama! The next time we meet, I will definitely surprise you!"
To this, Uta replied with a grin, "Is that so? Then it's a promise!"
"Yes!"
Just then, Neptune swam into the water barrier, panting. "I finally found it!"
"A crown?" Uta was taken aback, tilting her head to look at what Neptune was holding in his hand.
"That's right! This is a crown worn by a mermaid princess hundreds of years ago who was about the same size as you!"
Neptune's expression was dignified and solemn. He held the crown with both hands and, in a coronation-like posture, placed the magnificent golden crown on Uta's head.
"Now, as the king of Fish-Man Island, I crown you with this crown that belongs to a mermaid princess!"
As a respectable king, Neptune couldn't just make Uta a princess in name only. Although the coronation couldn't be public and time was short, the most important thing, the crown, was something Neptune had to personally place on her head.
Uta saw this and didn't refuse, but accepted the crown with grace.
After doing all this, Neptune took Shirahoshi and swam out of the water barrier. They hovered in the water, quietly watching Avant Heim depart.
"Well then, goodbye!" Uta waved goodbye to Shirahoshi, Neptune, and the others.
"I will be waiting for you!" Shirahoshi's soft call echoed.
On the departing Avant Heim, Louis slowly stepped forward, his eyes piercing through the seawater to meet Jinbe's. "Jinbe, do you want to join me?"
Jinbe was taken aback, then scratched the back of his head and refused with a smile, "Sorry, but Fish-Man Island still needs me as a Warlord of the Sea!"
"I see." Louis was not annoyed by the rejection, but simply nodded quietly. There was still plenty of time. He could invite Jinbe again when the situation changed in the future.
It wasn't until Avant Heim's figure had disappeared from their sight that Shirahoshi and the others turned and returned to the palace and Fish-Man District.
On the other side, however, Avant Heim's path in the deep sea was blocked by the super-large Sea Kings.
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