"...Lord Karl, I'm entrusting Shirahoshi to your care!"
"I'm very sorry, King Neptune. I've brought you trouble."
"Please don't say that. If it weren't for you, Lord Karl, the Celestial Dragon would have surely captured Shirahoshi... I've seen Shirahoshi's changes over the past half-year through the Den Den Mushi. She likes life in the world above the sea and also enjoys spending time with you, Lord Karl."
"Rather than having her stay in the Ryugu Kingdom, where we have to guard against sneak attacks from CP agents every day, it's better to let her stay by your side, Lord Karl. I'll be more at ease with her safety that way."
"...No matter what, please accept my apology, King Neptune, and let my flag fly at the port of Fish-Man Island."
"Although my bounty has risen by 2,511,000,000 Berries, I am not a pirate, and my flag is not a pirate flag. Flying it will not offend the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Alright then... Lord Karl, before you leave, I will tell you a secret about Shirahoshi. Please come with me..."
A week later.
Ten thousand meters below, Fish-Man Island, Ryugu Palace.
Karl, who had brought Shirahoshi back to see Neptune, had a scene that went exactly as planned just as he was about to leave.
After the Celestial Dragon incident, Neptune, who had no good feelings for Mary Geoise, didn't care at all whether his kingdom would be removed from the list of member nations.
The reason Ryugu Kingdom had joined the World Government two hundred years ago was because at that time, merfolk and Fish-Men were classified as fish and were severely discriminated against by humans.
Now, two hundred years later, this discrimination had not improved but had, in fact, worsened.
The only change was perhaps that the auction prices for merfolk and Fish-Men on the black market had increased countless times.
They paid so much in Heavenly Tribute every year, yet they received nothing they wanted.
If Mary Geoise dared to remove Ryugu Kingdom from the list of member nations, Neptune might even clap his hands in applause. In the future, he wouldn't give those bastards a single 50-Berry coin.
With the advantage of being in the deep sea ten thousand meters below, and with the World's Strongest Man as a backer, Neptune was even less afraid of retaliation from Mary Geoise and Marine Headquarters.
Furthermore, the fault in this incident lay entirely with the Celestial Dragon.
If the Celestial Dragon hadn't coveted Shirahoshi, he wouldn't have been killed by Karl.
Not only was the Celestial Dragon killed, but in terms of public opinion, Mary Geoise was also at a disadvantage.
Karl, who knew the power of public opinion and had used it to whitewash his image back then, had been in frequent contact with Morgans during this period, using the World Economic Journal to establish Mary Geoise's villainous identity.
Everything was unrelated to Ryugu Kingdom.
If Mary Geoise were to pressure Ryugu Kingdom, they might not only be despised by the world but also questioned by other member nations that paid a large amount of Heavenly Tribute every year.
Although the Celestial Dragons enjoyed all privileges, they couldn't possibly have the privilege of attacking innocent member nations, right?
Then wouldn't the kings of these member nations be existences that the Celestial Dragons could kill whenever they were in a bad mood?
If that were the case, then why join the World Government?
Why would they pay so much money to support those guys?
It was for this reason that Mary Geoise had to play dumb, ignoring the fact that Ryugu Kingdom had Shirahoshi, and only increased Karl's bounty, as well as giving a bounty to Yamato, who could fight Akainu to a standstill for a short time.
Karl's bounty soared from 2,011,000,000 Berries to 2,511,000,000 Berries.
Yamato, on the other hand, received her first bounty, becoming a super rookie with a bounty as high as 500 million Berries.
To be able to achieve a captain's bounty of 2.5 billion Berries with a crew of only about ten people, it was clear to what extent Karl was a threat in the eyes of Mary Geoise and Marine Headquarters.
One must know that in the original story, Blackbeard, who became a user of two Devil Fruits and became one of the Four Emperors of the New World in just two years, with a large number of powerful individuals under his command, only had a bounty of 2,247,600,000 Berries.
As one of the Kings of the Underworld, yet possessing a bounty of this level, Karl had arguably raised the value of the Kings of the Underworld.
But I digress...
Although Mary Geoise was deliberately ignoring it, or had not yet announced how they would deal with Ryugu Kingdom and Shirahoshi, Neptune was still worried that they would secretly send the all-pervasive CP organization to deal with Shirahoshi.
So, that led to the conversation just now.
Neptune personally requested that Karl take Shirahoshi away.
Not only that, but Neptune also told Karl the secret about Shirahoshi.
His daughter was being entrusted to the other's care. Regardless of the other's safety or his daughter's, Neptune believed he had to tell Karl the secret of Shirahoshi being Poseidon.
Karl was not an ambitious person, and Neptune was very clear about his group's feelings for Shirahoshi, having seen it through the Den Den Mushi and his daughter's current state over the past year.
If they encountered danger in the future, Shirahoshi's ability might be able to turn the tide.
Seeing Neptune personally reveal Shirahoshi's secret, Karl's favorable impression of him grew even greater.
The races of merfolk and Fish-Men were indeed better than humans in some aspects.
For example, the bad were extremely bad, while the innocent were extremely innocent.
Like Neptune before him.
Compared to his daughter's safety, the mere secret of Poseidon was nothing.
After hanging the flag with the little dragon on it at the port of Fish-Man Island, Karl took Shirahoshi, who had said goodbye to her father and brothers, and returned to the New World.
Although Shirahoshi was full of reluctance when she left.
But learning that her father had agreed to let her leave with Lord Karl, Shirahoshi, who had already formed a bond with Karl over the past year, was actually more joyful than reluctant.
There was no helping it; girls of this age were full of a spirit of adventure and curiosity about the world.
Shirahoshi, who had completed two routes in the first half of the Grand Line and had seen all sorts of incredible islands.
She had completely fallen in love with the world above the sea, and with her companions.
Shirahoshi, who had adapted to life and adventure on the sea, actually did not want to return to her previous life.
Therefore...
Upon learning that she could go to the New World with Lord Karl, Shirahoshi, who had returned to Fish-Man Island and had been in low spirits these past few days, fearing that Karl's group would suddenly leave, was suddenly filled with pleasant surprise.
And so, Shirahoshi, unaware that she had been tricked by Karl, happily became the tenth member of Karl's crew.
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