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"Will the world be ready to welcome the Fishman race among them under the sunlight after this arc?"
Rob smiled as he stared directly at the sun, which was now at the center of the sky — a clear sign that it was already midday.
With his hands in his pockets, Rob walked quietly in the sunlight.
Achieving Otohime's dream was never going to happen overnight; it was a dream passed down through generations for 800 years.
Otohime was the inheritor of the will of the Mermaid Princess from 800 years ago, the one whom Joy Boy never kept his promise to.
For his wife, achieving such a dream would be the simplest of things for Rob.
With a single thought, he was once able to lift Alabasta into the sky and turn it into a Sky Island.
What would stop him from doing the same thing again now?
As long as his art store had planted its foundation somewhere, the entire place could be moved wherever he wished.
"As for the Noah, it will remain unused…"
…
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Chapter's Events:
— — — — — — — — — — — —
[OTOHIME, THE PASSIONATE 'QUEEN OF LOVE'…]
"WE MUST RAISE OUR RYUGU KINGDOM ABOVE THE WAVES!!" After dealing with the thief, Otohime looked at the crowd and spoke.
[EVERY DAY, SHE DESCENDS TO THE ISLAND, AND MINGLES WITH HER SUBJECTS.]
"THEIR SKIN MAY BE OF A DIFFERENT COLOUR… THEIR BODIES MAY DIFFER FROM OURS…"
"BUT IT IS NOT ENOUGH FOR US TO WAIT FOR THE DAY WHEN THE HUMANS COME TO UNDERSTAND US!!"
Her voice was gentle, but it carried a strong tone that everyone present could hear.
"… WE MUST TAKE ACTION OURSELVES, AND STRIVE TO UNDERSTAND THEM!!!"
"… TEN THOUSAND METRES OF OCEAN WATER… THIS IS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN OUR CULTURE AND THEIRS!!"
"… PLEASE DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND!!"
Otohime paused for a moment when she saw the crowd's disturbed expressions, but she was used to that.
"THE HUMANS THAT VISIT OUR ISLAND ARE A SPECIFIC TYPE KNOWN AS 'PIRATES', AND THOSE HUMANS WHO PURCHASE FROM THE SLAVE TRADERS ARE AN ELITE MINORITY KNOWN AS NOBLES!!"
She had long lost count of how many times she had given the same explanation…
"THE HUMANS WITH WHOM WE ARE FAMILIAR ARE BUT A TINY FRACTION OF THEIR SOCIETY… WE STILL KNOW NEXT TO NOTHING ABOUT HUMANITY AS A WHOLE!!"
"… THAT IS WHY WE MUST MOVE OUR KINGDOM, SO THAT OUR SOCIETIES CAN LIVE TOGETHER UNDER THE SAME SUN!!"
Moving the Ryugu Kingdom to the world above — that was her dream.
"… AT THIS YEAR'S UPCOMING REVERIE COUNCIL, I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS THIS WISH TO THE WORLD AS A WHOLE!!!"
"… CITIZENS OF THIS KINGDOM, I ASK FOR EACH OF YOUR INDIVIDUAL SIGNATURES!!!"
The decisive moment came — she asked the kingdom's citizens for their signatures.
"I DUNNO…"
"… EVEN IF IT IS A REQUEST FROM QUEEN OTOHIME…"
The public clearly refused to do so; fear and distrust of humans were etched deep into their bones.
"HMPH. IT'S USELESS."
"HISTORY HAS ALREADY MADE THE ANSWER CLEAR…"
Jinbe expressed his annoyance at the matter.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Otohime's gaze fell away from the chapter after seeing how much the people refused to sign.
"Isn't this a selfish idea of yours, Otohime? It's obvious they wouldn't want to accept it."
Otohime sighed sadly. This didn't mean she didn't share her counterpart's dream, but after learning the truth of the world through the manga and seeing how harsh the human world was — even toward humans themselves — Otohime's views had drastically changed.
That was why she loved Rob so much; he was a man who had managed to restructure the world entirely — something impossible even for high-ranking and powerful figures, like the Pirate King Roger, who had only succeeded in making life in the world worse than before, as shown in the manga.
To make the world less chaotic, safer, and grant more freedom to those living in it, only Rob had been able to achieve that. Even Joy Boy, who had tried to do so, had failed for one reason or another.
But seeing her counterpart putting in such great effort, striving to unite the people behind her vision — as if she had done it countless times before — filled her with immense pride.
"Perhaps she died in pursuit of this far-off dream…" Otohime knew herself better than anyone, which made her fully aware of how much her counterpart clung to this dream.
"It seems that Jinbe at that time opposed Queen Otohime's actions…" Olivia spoke, having gotten over the shock of Queen Otohime's sudden appearance at that moment.
"That's right, I can see that Jinbe is annoyed…" Otohime smiled in response to Olivia.
At that time, Jinbe was part of the kingdom's soldiers, meaning he was a subordinate of the queen, which explained his appearance among the queen's escorting forces.
"What a great dream Queen Otohime has… This great faith she has in humans — I think every human who reads this chapter will feel ashamed," Bell-mère said admiringly.
She wasn't the only one impressed by this character's appearance; many others felt the same.
For example…
…
Far away in the South Blue, in the Sorbet Kingdom:
Dragon was staring at the contents of Chapter 621 — the flashback where Queen Otohime appeared. It was still in its early stages, but even the beginning alone astonished him.
"To think that Queen Otohime would be the greatest representative advocating peace between the two races… and that she would declare this wish at the Reverie council… What a great character."
"Unfortunately for her, those who rule the world consider even their own kind as slaves — let alone 'fish' in their eyes…"
Dragon's eyes darkened as he remembered that the World Government still existed and lingered in this world.
Although their authority had diminished and their situation looked grim, they still existed. They had no intention of challenging Rob, and Rob had no intention of challenging them… For some reason, it seemed Rob still needed them.
"Queen Otohime, huh? She seems like a true queen who cares for her people…"
Garp loved the way Otohime handled the thief. He saw how she ignored her broken hand and kept hitting the thief without regard for the pain; the sincere tears she shed for the thief even softened Garp's heart.
She was truly a great character — that's what Garp realized.
"Unfortunately, it seems she has died… These are just memories."
Kuma smiled when he saw such a kind soul as Queen Otohime, wondering how wonderful the world would be if everyone were like her.
…
Marigoa:
"That bastard really stole Neptune's wife… and he even has the face to admit it in his own manga."
"Hahaha! Interesting."
The Five Elders were surprised to see that Queen Otohime from the manga was one of Rob's famous wives…
"I want to see Neptune's expression right now, hahaha!"
"When your destined wife gets stolen from you and you can't take her back, Neptune surely won't be able to sleep tonight…"
"Forget that — I want to know why Rob drew his wife as someone else's wife…"
"He can't just change events as he pleases, which means that if the Sky Sword hadn't interfered, Otohime would indeed have been Neptune's wife…"
"That makes things even worse, hahaha!"
"Oh, it seems Queen Otohime wants to collect votes for the upcoming Reverie. She really wants to move her people to the surface?"
"A truly interesting character."
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 937: The Liberator of Slaves, Fisher Tiger.
Chapter 938: Heroes Don't Always Survive.
Chapter 939: Wherever there is light, there will be shadows.
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