Jotaro stared straight ahead, without replying immediately.
He saw further than even Whitebeard.
Fishman Island was without a doubt a land of treasure.
First, the abundant mineral resources hidden deep in the sea.
These were the indispensable foundation for developing power.
The ridiculous thing was, in this world, almost no one truly developed undersea resources, even the merfolk who had lived in the deep sea for generations had never really made use of them.
Second, there lived here several million fishmen and merfolk residents.
They possessed their own racial talents.
If they could be effectively integrated, this fighting force would be extremely terrifying.
To say one had no desire for these resources would only be self-deception.
Jotaro was very clear that if he wanted to shake the authority the World Government had built over eight hundred years in a short time, the only way was to take an unorthodox path.
On key issues, he would never be soft.
But he also understood that to truly bring Fishman Island into his sphere of influence was far more difficult than it appeared on the surface.
Even if Neptune nodded and agreed, the entire Fishman race would not necessarily accept it willingly.
When they first arrived at Fishman Island, most of the residents behaved quite friendly.
Yet Jotaro sharply noticed that behind those smiles, there was a deep-seated hatred.
This was something that could not be resolved in a short time.
"More importantly, old man, don't forget the purpose of why we came here."
Jotaro spoke as a reminder.
"The Poneglyph is located in the undersea forest northeast of Fishman Street. I'll take you there later." Whitebeard replied in a slightly dissatisfied tone, "Kid, you're about to meet the famous mermaid princess, so why are you so impatient?"
He paused, then revealed a meaningful bad smile on his face.
"Conquering Fishman Island, marriage alliance is not a bad method. If the princess suits your taste, I can put in a word for you before Neptune…"
Before finishing, Whitebeard suddenly shivered.
Shinobu was standing behind him, smiling sweetly at him, but that smile sent chills down his spine.
Jotaro's face darkened.
"Old man, I've already said it before. I will not use marriage alliances to consolidate political ties."
"Oh? I actually think, in multi-racial coexistence, marriage is the most effective way."
The success of Big Mom's pirate crew was laid bare as an example.
She not only built a massive nation that included various races, but even through this crude yet direct method of 'marriage,' she made the ethnic relations inside Totto Land exceptionally stable.
She personally took action, combining with men of different races, giving birth to a huge bunch of mixed-blood offspring, who were ruled by her to maintain the interests and balance of all races.
In Whitebeard's view, if Jotaro truly intended to build a nation capable of opposing the World Government, Big Mom's path was not a bad shortcut.
"King Neptune, Princess Shirahoshi has just finished her lunch."
The guard responsible for security around Hard-Shell Tower reported.
Neptune nodded slightly, "Open the door. I want to see her."
A stranger's voice came from outside, and as the large gate slowly opened, the timid Shirahoshi immediately shrank back into her bedcovers, only revealing a pair of watery big eyes peeking carefully outside.
"Shirahoshi! I've brought Uncle Whitebeard to see you."
Neptune's voice was gentle, filled with doting, afraid of scaring his precious daughter.
Whitebeard looked around at the interior of Hard-Shell Tower, frowned, and cast a dissatisfied glance at Neptune.
"Living in a place like this for over ten years, anyone would be stifled into illness."
Neptune gave an embarrassed smile.
"This also can't be helped."
Whitebeard had already made up his mind, before leaving Fishman Island, he would settle that insignificant clown, Vander Decken.
"Shirahoshi, Uncle Whitebeard has come to see you, come out quickly." Whitebeard curved his mouth, making his smile as kind as possible.
Yet from Shirahoshi's perspective, this completely looked like a bad uncle trying to trick a child.
"So scary…"
She wrapped herself tighter, not daring to come out, and even tears were already swirling in her eyes.
Whitebeard's expression froze, "…"
Neptune coughed once, "My daughter is naturally timid…"
"Yare yare… old man, we don't have time to fool around with a little brat here." Jotaro turned his back, "If she doesn't want to come out, then forget it. Let's head to the Sea Forest first."
At that age, being called a brat, no one would feel good.
But Shirahoshi was simply too timid, she didn't even dare to retort, and could only cry alone.
"Waaah… what a terrible person."
Whitebeard sighed, "Guess it can't be helped."
Just then, from the distance suddenly came the sound of something tearing through the air, followed by a huge spiked mace appearing in everyone's vision.
The mace howled as it came, the spikes flashing with a chilling cold gleam.
"It's Vander Decken, he's harassing Shirahoshi again!" Neptune's eyes widened, shouting in alarm, "Quickly, shut the door!"
"King Neptune, it's… it's too late!"
The closer the mace got to Shirahoshi, the more it seemed to be pulled by gravity, its speed becoming even faster.
The guards shouted in panic, completely unable to stop it.
"Uwaaaa… Father, Fukaboshi brother, Ryuboshi brother, Manboshi brother, hurry and protect me!"
Shirahoshi suddenly sat upright, bursting into loud sobs.
"The bad man wants my life! Waaaah!!"
Her ear-splitting cries reverberated inside Hard-Shell Tower, sweeping across everyone's eardrums like a tsunami in an instant.
Jotaro's rage meter instantly maxed out.
"Shut up already! You stinking woman!"
"Stinking… woman?" Shirahoshi froze, her whole body almost fainting.
"How could you say such mean words… until now, no one has ever scolded me… waaah… what a scary man… so mean…"
"Shirahoshi!!!"
Neptune's pupils contracted, he suddenly spread his arms wide, standing in front of his daughter, almost instinctively shielding her with his body.
The next second...
BOOM!!
The huge mace tore through the air and came crashing.
Scarlet blood bloomed like a flower before Shirahoshi's eyes, dyeing her vision red.
"Father!" Shirahoshi's eyes widened, she screamed, throwing herself forward, tears blurring her sight.
"You mustn't die!!"
"I'm fine!" Neptune's body was completely unharmed. "The mace… was caught by him!"
"Huh?" Shirahoshi blinked her eyes, only then realizing that the mace had somehow landed in Jotaro's hands, and that earlier burst of blood was nothing but a hallucination conjured by her extreme panic.
"Thank you… you look so frightening, but I didn't expect you're actually such a good person."
Shirahoshi wiped her tears, unable to stop sobbing.
Jotaro's face darkened as he threw the mace aside.
All the surrounding guards stared at him blankly.
The attack they were completely helpless against had been so easily caught by the man in front of them?
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/XenosX
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰