Only Harald entered the Ryugu Palace; the accompanying World Government staff were left outside.
A standard reception was still arranged, and those people themselves didn't say anything.
The officials the World Government sent to Fish-Man Island all shared a common trait: they were nobodies with no backing, the kind who got pushed around.
After all, in the eyes of the World Government, going to Fish-Man Island was a very dangerous task. Anyone with connections would pull strings to avoid being sent on this assignment.
A supreme powerhouse of the Giants, and a supreme powerhouse of the Fish-Men; even if ordinary officials lacked a true understanding of strength, they knew that if these two kings really fought, the consequences would be immeasurable.
Even the shockwaves of such a battle would likely be something they couldn't withstand.
So no matter what happened, as long as their lives weren't at risk, they wouldn't care. They would even take the initiative to curry favor with the Ryugu Kingdom.
"Alright, Harald, there are no World Government people here. They don't have the ability to eavesdrop on our conversation within this range.
Are you still going to keep up that respectful demeanor? Or have you truly integrated into the World Government after all these years?"
Inside the Ryugu Palace, Harald noticed that Nereus's ears had changed slightly. Those sharp, distinctly vampiric ears indicated that Nereus had already entered the Beast Form of a Zoan user.
"Nereus, this is my choice."
Harald let out a long sigh, sounding as though he had already grown accustomed to it.
"Choice… After all these years of effort, aren't you still just working off the books for the World Government? They've credited all your achievements to me, don't you feel even a bit resentful?"
"Saint Saturn gave me an explanation. I think I can accept it. After all, the sins once committed by the Giant Kingdom need to be repaid. Spending a few more years doesn't mean much.
Rather… I never expected that your extreme methods would yield such good results."
"Blind compromise will only make the other side push further. If you had shown enough toughness, you might have already achieved your goal.
Even the World Government wouldn't want Elbaf to stir up any major trouble, the strongest nation. A small compromise would mean nothing to them."
Hearing Nereus's words, Harald nodded thoughtfully, but then quickly rejected the idea.
"Our situations are different. To erase the sins of the past, we can't rely on force like you do… There is only one nation belonging to Fish-Men and Merfolk, but there is more than one Giant Kingdom.
The past actions of the Giant Warrior Pirates, as well as the wrongdoings of other giants, have caused people to develop prejudice against Elbaf…"
"Alright, enough of that. This is your choice. The World Government sent you to 'escort' me. Do they have any other demands? Say it. For the sake of old acquaintance, I'll try not to make things difficult for you.
You should understand that while I may not be able to defeat you in a short time, with my speed, if I really want to do something, you might not be able to stop me."
Harald was strong, but Nereus's understanding of him only came after his transmigration.
Before that, among the giants he knew about, Harald wasn't one of them, though he was familiar with his son, Loki.
For such a powerful figure to have remained completely inactive, either he was dead, or there was some information about him Nereus didn't know. Either possibility was worth paying close attention to.
"There aren't any special demands. Just try not to cause a big incident."
"I hope everything goes smoothly as well, but unfortunately, that's not something I can decide. However, during the time you're escorting me, I probably won't make a move. Even if something does happen, it should be your duty as an escort to handle it, right?"
"..."
Harald felt that what Nereus said made sense. Even if the World Government wanted him to stop Nereus should he make any uncontrollable moves, it didn't change the fact that his role was that of a World Government escort.
If something really went wrong, he would indeed have to continue cleaning up these messes for Nereus.
But for some reason, Harald felt that something wasn't quite right.
Nereus, however, wasn't in a hurry. In theory, the Ryugu Kingdom was the closest nation to Mariejois, a true neighboring country.
After a few hours of ascent, they could directly reach beneath Mariejois.
"Come to think of it, I do have a question for you. The Galley-La Company, do you have any information about those people?"
Nereus recalled the giants Tom had mentioned. Given the lifespan of Giants, they might not necessarily be dead.
Now that Harald, the Giant King, had come in person, it was only natural to ask about it along the way.
"No. Those people… are something from a long time ago even for me. I've only heard about them from the elders of the tribe, and even they don't have any accurate information.
Long ago, we lost contact with those giants."
Harald didn't avoid the topic at all and gave an answer without even thinking. Even to him, it was already something akin to a legend.
"I see. Then forget it. Judging by the time, we should be setting off soon, right? Then I'll leave my safety in your hands, King Harald."
After arranging the accompanying personnel and planning the Ryugu Kingdom's operations for the next few days, Nereus set out with Harald and his group toward Mariejois.
Because Harald, the Giant King with ancient giant bloodline, was present, the World Government simply used the ship Harald usually traveled on.
It gave Harald the feeling of having to bring his own tools to work.
After all, even large Marine warships would seem tiny in front of Harald. People of his size had simply not been considered in their design.
Being able to carry ordinary giants was already the limit of a large warship.
When the ship surfaced, quite a few warships were already active on the surrounding seas.
Every four years, at this time, Marine forces would become somewhat stretched thin.
To be precise, other seas would become tense, while along the routes that the kings attending the Levely would travel, the Marines would deploy heavy forces.
There were no shortage of pirates hoping to take advantage of the situation to rob or kidnap kings. Most of them didn't consider the difficulty of such actions or the consequences of success, only the high rewards that came with high risks.
To avoid making those who arrived first wait too long, and to allow the Marines to concentrate their forces more effectively, kings from different regions usually departed in batches.
Due to its geographical position, the Ryugu Kingdom was actually one of the last to depart.
By the time Nereus arrived at Red Port again, a large number of kings from affiliated nations had already gathered there, and the final batch was still arriving one after another.
The number of arriving nations far exceeded fifty.
The World Government had more than 170 affiliated nations. The number fifty only referred to those eligible to participate in the conference. To compete for those spots, affiliated nations would even engage in various forms of competition.
For example, increasing the amount of Heavenly Tribute they paid, or providing outstanding soldiers to the World Government during the World Military Draft.
In the eyes of kings, the well-being of the people wasn't important. As long as they could elevate their nation's status within the World Government and secure favorable agreements at the conference, these losses could be earned back.
Let the common people suffer a bit so that they themselves could prosper.
The country where Kaido was born was one such example. Although Kaido had demonstrated extraordinary combat power, cultivating such strength could have made the nation stronger.
But in the eyes of the Vodka Kingdom's king, such power was not something he could control. And if he couldn't control it, then it didn't belong to him. It was better to hand Kaido over to the Marines in exchange for greater influence at the Levely.
However, he underestimated Kaido's will, and instead created an uncontrollable pirate on the seas.
Although these nations without the qualification to participate in the Levely couldn't speak directly at the conference, they could still conduct diplomacy over these few days and reach private agreements.
For nations in the Four Seas, it was manageable, but in the Grand Line, due to the dangers of navigation, communication was already difficult. Kings, concerned for their own safety, rarely went out to sea, so opportunities like this to gather so many people for face-to-face talks were rare.
"Kano Country's King Ramen has arrived!"
"Whiteland Kingdom's King Iwatobi has arrived!"
At Red Port, there were dedicated personnel to receive arrivals. Whenever a ship arrived, someone would announce the king's name, and the journalists gathered there would seize the opportunity to look for news.
If they could capture two kings from rival nations breaking out into a full-on fight, that would count as major news.
"Ry… Ryugu Kingdom's… King Nereus… has arrived!"
Security at Red Port was handled by the Marines, so the announcer was also a Marine. Even though he had been mentally prepared, after receiving notice from the World Government officials on the ship, he still felt some resistance.
His tone became somewhat stammered, but in the end, due to orders from above, he completed his duty.
The large-scale personnel reshuffle at Red Port back then had been Nereus's doing. Even after quite some time, the Marines still retained some impression of it.
"Deul Kingdom's King Chap has arrived!"
Golden earrings, a hat made of reflective material resembling a military cap, and a square mustache under his nose.
In terms of fashion sense, this Chap had fairly good taste. His clothing not only carried the distinctive characteristics of his country but also aligned well with general aesthetics.
It was said that this king had studied art, and these designs were all his own work.
"Chap, Deul Kingdom—the country of that Hardinge, right? Harald, do you think this is a coincidence? Or was it deliberately arranged by the World Government?"
Arriving at the same time as the Deul Kingdom made Nereus feel that something was off. After all, if one were to say which country currently had the greatest conflict with the Ryugu Kingdom, it would only be the Deul Kingdom.
But judging from Harald's attitude, the World Government seemed afraid that Nereus might cause trouble here, so why would they arrange for them to arrive at the same time? That made it all the more intriguing.
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