Chapter 260: The Ark of Promise, Setting Sail for Terra!
In the deep, silent seabed, ten thousand meters down, a giant ship, built entirely of an unknown wood and rivaling an island in size, lay quietly in the silt. Several massive, sky-blotting dark shadows were hidden in various parts of the seabed, quietly watching this scene.
Outside the giant ship, one after another, merfolk and fish-men were, while maintaining order, boarding this "Ark of Promise," which had been sleeping at the bottom of the sea for over eight hundred years, at the fastest possible speed.
This was the Noah, the great ship that the Mermaid Princess and Joy Boy had promised to build eight hundred years ago, a promise that had not been fulfilled. Due to the defeat of the resistance faction led by Joy Boy, this great ship, which had been forced to sleep at the bottom of the sea, was today, eight hundred years later, about to carry over five million merfolk and fish-men to a land that had never appeared before—the infinite land called Terra.
But right now, its departure seemed to have run into a small problem.
In a huge room in the ship's island, Fukaboshi's disbelieving voice echoed.
"Wha-what did you say?! We... we can't move this ship?!"
Fukaboshi's trident fell to the floor with a clatter, making a dull thud. He looked at his father, who was several times larger than him, and a look of confusion, bewilderment, and helplessness flashed in his eyes.
Originally, he had thought that as long as he brought the citizens onto this ship, it would be able to move and surface, heading for that continent. But now, his father, the former king of the Ryugu Kingdom, Neptune, had told him that this ship was not moved by sails, and that he had deceived him earlier. And now, Fish-Man Island was completely destroyed and uninhabitable. At this moment, this ship also couldn't move.
At this moment, the light in Fukaboshi's eyes faded, and his gaze became completely blank. No one knew how helpless he felt.
Seeing this, a hint of embarrassment appeared in Neptune's eyes. He raised a hand and scratched his head, giving a slightly awkward laugh. "Haha—originally, I was planning to tell you how to move it right before we set sail. But things happened so suddenly. We didn't expect the World Government to act so quickly, forcing us to board the Noah ahead of schedule." A look of embarrassment appeared on Neptune's increasingly plump face.
In fact, on the day of this terrifying incident, the Ark of Promise had only just been repaired, and the vast majority of Fish-Man Island's wealth and reserve supplies had just been transferred. There was still some time before the royal family's envisioned departure. This had directly led to Neptune having no time to tell Fukaboshi that the ship's propulsion was actually related to his younger sister, Shirahoshi.
Fukaboshi was taken aback. He then looked up at Neptune. And through the knowledge he had learned over the years, he saw many things in his father's face. His eyes moved slightly, and hope was rekindled in his heart.
Then, he raised his voice and asked tentatively, "Father, from your expression... there is a way to move the Noah, isn't there?"
Neptune nodded with a complicated expression and sighed. "That's right. The Noah's propulsion has never been from sails or technology. It is moved by the super-giant Sea Kings, who hold those large iron chains in their mouths and pull it."
"The Sea Kings?!" Fukaboshi was completely stunned. "How can the Sea Kings possibly help us pull the ship?" he said subconsciously. "Even the rare talent that Big Brother Jinbe possesses... is only able to summon sea fish to help!"
"..."
However, as his words fell, Neptune's expression became even more grave. He raised a hand and patted his son's shoulder. "Things have come to this. It's time to tell you. Your sister, Shirahoshi, is the Mermaid Princess who is born only once every few hundred years. She possesses the talent to summon all the Sea Kings. She is the uncrowned king of all the Sea Kings in the world."
"Eight hundred years ago, there was another mermaid princess who possessed this special talent—Poseidon," Neptune said, turning around to look at his son's gradually horrified face.
He should have told him this when he had taken over the throne. But at that time, Fukaboshi was too young. Although he was quite decisive, he was still not mature enough, so he had never told him. And over the past year, he had also been guiding Shirahoshi to awaken this power, waiting for that day. Although that day had come early, what had happened had happened. He no longer needed to hide it from him.
"The uncrowned king of all Sea Kings... Poseidon..." Fukaboshi couldn't help but turn his gaze to Shirahoshi. "Poseidon..." he trembled.
He naturally knew what weight the title of "King of all the Sea Kings in the world" held, and even more so, what the name "Poseidon" meant. Therefore, he quickly realized what the second identity of Shirahoshi and the other mermaid princess from eight hundred years ago was.
After a brief silence, he glanced at the giant iron chains around the Noah, then at the innocent and lovely Shirahoshi on the deck, a hint of heartache in his eyes. "So Shirahoshi... was born with such a great responsibility?"
He looked at Neptune again, a complicated look in his eyes. "Does she... know about this?"
Neptune calmly nodded. "From the day you proposed to me that we move Fish-Man Island, I told her about it and began to guide her in mastering this power. Everything... was for this day to come—"
Hearing this, Fukaboshi recalled that day, and what his father's words, "Shirahoshi and I will fully support you," had truly meant. At first, he had thought that when his father had mentioned her, it was in terms of her relationship with Miss Uta. It was only at this moment that he truly realized how much his father trusted him.
"..."
"So, in a place I didn't know... Shirahoshi was also working hard and had already made preparations?"
"In that case..." After a long while, Fukaboshi's gaze became firm again, his tone resolute and powerful. "Then let's move forward, full speed ahead!"
Seeing this, Neptune's gaze became filled with relief.
"..."
After a long while, Fukaboshi and Neptune left the cabin, went to the deck, and came directly to Shirahoshi's side.
"Brother! Father!" Seeing the two of them arrive, she gave a sweet smile. "Is it time to set sail?" As she spoke, her tone was filled with a hint of joy. It was clear she had been looking forward to this for a long time.
Hearing this, Fukaboshi, no longer in his previous state of bewilderment, had regained his usual, extremely decisive demeanor. "Whether it's the merfolk, the fish-men, the Noah beneath our feet, or the Sea Kings... we have all waited for eight hundred years. It's time for that 800-year-old wish to be fulfilled!"
"..."
When all the citizens of Fish-Man Island had boarded the Ark of Promise that had waited eight hundred years, one after another, super-giant Sea Kings, each over five thousand meters long, swam over from all directions. They opened their cavernous mouths and took hold of the giant iron chains around the Noah.
"..."
"The Ark of Promise... setting sail for Terra!"
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