Chapter 247: Shirahoshi's Wondrous Journey
Half a month later, in the seas far from the Red Line.
A giant sailing ship, flying the flag of the Ryugu Kingdom's royal family, sailed the seas. On its wide deck, one after another, fish-man soldiers of various appearances stood with an assortment of weapons, vigilantly observing the surrounding waters.
The current king of the Ryugu Kingdom, Fukaboshi, stood at the bow with his trident in his arms. His gaze fell on the churning sea in the distance, and he fell into thought.
Beside him, Shirahoshi, who had grown quite a bit again, was raising her cute head, gazing at the azure sky and the patches of pure white clouds.
At this moment, Fukaboshi was thinking about the various things the merfolk and fish-men might encounter when they went to live on land, and the appropriate countermeasures.
The prejudice and problems humans had against them. The possibility that they might have ideological conflicts with humans after they went to the surface. And most importantly, the reaction of the World Government.
Fukaboshi understood that Fish-Man Island did not have the strength to resist the World Government. Therefore, he had to go to that land called Terra and talk with Archangel Louis. If the Archangel was unwilling to accept the merfolk and fish-men, then Fukaboshi would immediately terminate this plan and honestly stay at the bottom of the sea. Because without the protection of a top-tier powerhouse, the ten-thousand-meter-deep sea was the best natural barrier for Fish-Man Island.
Just as Fukaboshi was lost in thought, a timid, soft voice sounded beside him. "Brother—are you worried about having the citizens move to Terra?"
Fukaboshi was taken aback. He then subconsciously turned his head to look to his side. Shirahoshi had, at some point, brought her head over and was looking at him with a worried face.
"So you also knew of my plan?" After a long while, a bitter expression subconsciously appeared on Fukaboshi's face.
Shirahoshi heard him and nodded firmly. "Yes," she said softly. "I actually know everything. Brother, you've been discussing with father and our two other brothers, preparing to hold another vote. And I also know that there is a group of pirates in the Fish-Man District that is giving you a lot of trouble."
Hearing this, Fukaboshi glanced at her worried face and let out a long sigh. "So you knew— I really shouldn't have let you worry about this kind of thing."
Ever since Jinbe had gone to the East Blue to atone for the crimes Arlong had committed and had decided to stay there with his other kinsmen to do so, the Fish-Man District had been taken over by a group of vicious fish-men. That person's name was Hody Jones, a racist who was even more extreme than Arlong. Many fish-men and humans had been forced to become his subordinates. His existence was even threatening the entire Fish-Man Island.
Therefore, with the internal threat of Hody Jones and the inevitable external threat of the World Government, Fukaboshi simply did not dare to let the citizens vote again.
The deck fell into a brief silence.
"If only Boss Jinbe were here." After a long while, Shirahoshi looked up, an expectant look on her delicate and lovely face. "If he were here, with his prestige on Fish-Man Island, he would definitely be able to get the citizens of the Fish-Man District to vote!"
"Boss Jinbe is currently in the East Blue, atoning for the sins committed by Arlong and the others. I'm afraid it will be very difficult for him to come back in a short time," Fukaboshi said, shaking his head.
Ever since Jinbe had arrived in the East Blue two years ago, defeated the Arlong Pirates who had been causing trouble everywhere, and sent everyone except Arlong to prison, he had chosen to stay in the East Blue. He had set up a base near the villages that had been harmed by Arlong, helping the villagers rebuild their homes and occasionally wandering around to eliminate pirates. He had been doing this for two years. Under his day-after-day actions, many of the citizens who had been very hostile to fish-men had gradually come to accept him.
Just then, a short-haired mermaid in a hooded coat, holding a pipe, left the cabin and came directly to the two of them. "Your Majesty Fukaboshi, Princess Shirahoshi, good day." The black-haired mermaid said this, but her appearance at this moment was quite casual.
Fukaboshi saw her and nodded. "Madam Shyarly, good day."
Madam Shyarly was also one of the people heading to Terra this time. And with her ability to predict the future, she was highly respected by the royal family. She had been able to join this secret trip because she had foreseen it. She had then proactively gone to the palace and directly proposed to join.
Shirahoshi bent down, blinked her large eyes at Madam Shyarly, and said good morning softly. "Good morning, Madam Shyarly."
Shyarly heard her, raised her head to meet her gaze, and a faint smile appeared on her cool and beautiful face. "Princess Shirahoshi."
As a person with the ability of foresight, Shyarly naturally knew what kind of identity this princess before her had, besides her royal status. She knew what kind of terrifying ability this incomparably delicate young girl possessed. Therefore, although she didn't care much about the royal family, she would still greet Shirahoshi with a smile.
...
A few hours later, the royal sailing ship that was sailing on the sea was covered by a huge shadow.
When Fukaboshi, Shirahoshi, and the numerous guards looked up at the sky, a flawless white cloud and mist fell directly from it.
"Is this..." Shirahoshi looked at the pure white cloud and mist, and instantly began to recall the even larger cloud she had seen at the bottom of the sea several years ago. "Is it Lord Louis and the others?" she said, looking at the giant cloud, and gradually thought of Louis, Uta, and the others.
Nearby, Fukaboshi, who had been somewhat panicked, froze upon hearing her words. Then, he also suppressed the fear and unease in his heart and gave the order for all the guards not to act rashly.
Then, the thousand-meter-long cloud and mist, in the terrified eyes of the fish-men, made contact with the ship's mast and gradually swallowed it, turning everything in their sight pale. Immediately after, with a slight tremor, the cloud and mist that had enveloped everyone dispersed.
The next moment, a somewhat annoying, clear female voice sounded. "You're the royal family of Fish-Man Island, right?"
Fukaboshi followed the source of the voice and looked. Two young people, a man and a woman, with horns on their heads and half their faces covered by masks, were slowly walking toward them.
"We are the executives of the Archangel Pirates! The road ahead may be a bit unsafe, so we will be the ones to escort you!"
Although the long-awaited trip to the sea made Ulti a little excited, she still tried her best to calm herself. She crossed her arms, put one foot on the bow, her gaze falling on Fukaboshi, and shouted in an extremely annoying tone, "With me, Page One, and Lady Snow-Fiend here, no one can threaten your safety!!"
Seeing this, a hesitant look appeared on Fukaboshi's face. Whether it was at the palace banquet back then, or in the news in these two years, he had never seen the man and woman before him. Therefore, a hint of unease gradually rose in his heart.
Beside Ulti, Page One stared with his dead-fish eyes and silently took a few steps back.
Just then, a cold but somewhat puzzled voice sounded. "Aren't you two just apprentices? Since when did you become executives?"
A Daz Bonez who looked like a CP agent slowly stepped forward, his face blank as he looked at Ulti.
Fukaboshi saw Daz Bonez, who had appeared in the royal palace back then, and instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing this, Ulti was not afraid in the slightest. She glared with her pink eyes and replied matter-of-factly, "With my and Page One's strength, isn't it an easy thing to be an executive? And let's not talk about that until you've gotten rid of your apprentice status."
To this, Daz Bonez left this one sentence, then walked past Ulti and came directly before Fukaboshi and Shirahoshi. "Follow me."
Facing Fukaboshi, who had already become the king of a country, Daz Bonez didn't have much of an expression. After a simple statement, he had already turned to leave. And Fukaboshi, who had already known that Daz Bonez was this cold years ago, didn't mind. After instructing the guards to rest where they were, he followed with Shirahoshi.
Soon, they followed the passage into a large hall formed from a cloud house. There, more than a dozen figures were sitting in a circle. One of them picked up a large revolver and aimed it at his temple. Immediately after, with a gunshot, a lead bullet left the chamber and instantly collided with his indestructible skin, shattering, and the broken pieces of the bullet flew out.
The next moment, the dozen or so figures who had been gathered in a circle burst out in a clamor of noise, madly mocking their unlucky comrade.
This scene made Fukaboshi freeze for a moment. He had never thought that a pistol, used for killing, would only have such an effect in the hands of this group of people.
When he came back to his senses, he shifted his gaze from the group sitting in a circle and landed on the young woman with white hair and red eyes. "I didn't expect that even you would come," he said with some surprise. "Lady Yelena—"
On a sofa forged of cloud, Yelena, who was dressed in casual home clothes, was wiping the dust from her war hammer with a cloth. Facing Fukaboshi's question, she put down her war hammer and replied seriously, "Because Lord Louis attaches great importance to this visit of yours and Shirahoshi's. He was worried that you would run into an accident on the way, so he had me bring people to pick you up and take you to Terra."
At these words, Fukaboshi froze again. He had never thought that Louis, who had already become a Four Emperor, would attach so much importance to a small king like him. But this unexpected situation also gave him a bit more confidence for the upcoming talks.
On the other side, Shirahoshi bent down and looked at Yelena's gentle face. "Lady Yelena," she said in a soft voice, "long time no see!"
Hearing this, Yelena also gave her a gentle smile. "Indeed, it's been a long time, Princess Shirahoshi."
"..."
"From now on, your route will be changed from the sea to the sky. In this way, the possibility of encountering trouble will be greatly reduced." After a brief pleasantry, Yelena put on her armor and explained in a deep voice.
"The sky?" A puzzled look appeared on Shirahoshi's delicate face. "The sky... is it the sky I'm imagining?"
To this, Yelena looked up at her and replied with a smile, "That's right. We are currently flying in the sky. Does Princess Shirahoshi want to go up to the Island Cloud and see?"
Shirahoshi heard her and subconsciously glanced at Fukaboshi. When she saw the encouraging look in her brother's eyes, she turned her head back and nodded firmly at Yelena. "If it's not a bother, I'd like to go outside and see!"
Seeing this, Yelena replied again, "Come, I'll take you outside to see!" With that, she extended her hand to Shirahoshi, gesturing for her to take it. However, after a glance, Shirahoshi extended both her hands and directly scooped Yelena up, placing her in her palm.
"Which way should we go, Lady Yelena—"
Then, under her guidance, Yelena led her along the corridor, and they climbed the stairs to the top of the Island Cloud. Behind them, Fukaboshi followed closely. He also had a certain interest in flying in the sky. Of course, he was also worried that if he stayed there and wasn't careful, he would be killed by a stray bullet coming from who knows where.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the top of the Island Cloud.
As far as the eye could see, pale white clouds and mist flowed past them like water.
When the Island Cloud flew over the dense cloud area and reached its peak, Shirahoshi and Fukaboshi were able to see this unique sight. The dense clouds and mist were rapidly receding beneath their feet. The sun above was exceptionally warm, and the sky was a vast expanse of blue.
When the Island Cloud crossed the dense cloud area and entered a cloudless zone, the two of them also saw the azure sea and the green Island Cloud slowly receding.
A few days later, the flawless white Island Cloud arrived above Terra and slowly descended at its edge. Then, Shirahoshi and Shyarly walked out from the interior of the Island Cloud, truly touching this land.
After the two of them had landed, the giant Island Cloud rose into the sky again and disappeared straight into the sky.
Shirahoshi looked at the endless land before her, and the lush forest, and the startled wild beasts, and a look of unprecedented joy appeared on her face. "Is this... the land?"
Beside her, Madam Shyarly slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. She first glanced at the surrounding plants and land, and then slowly raised her head, gazing at the sky-high giant tree that occupied the sky. "The Treasure Tree Adam—"
Soon, Shirahoshi's gaze turned to the sky-high giant tree, which was even more massive than a mountain range, and the strange light in her eyes grew even stronger. "That is—the Treasure Tree Adam from the newspaper. It's even bigger than in the photos."
Just then, a voice that was very familiar to her sounded from in front.
"Shirahoshi! Madam Shyarly! Come on! I'll show you around this infinite land!"
Shirahoshi heard him and subconsciously looked in the direction of the voice. On the road in front, a magnificent cello-chariot pulled by two giant dinosaurs slowly came to a stop.
At the edge of the giant seat, which seemed to have been made for a giant, a young girl with red and white hair was waving her fair, slender hand, smiling as she extended an invitation to them.
"Yes, Lady Uta!"
Fukaboshi, led by Yelena and the two apprentices, walked along the corridor and entered a secret conference room. The first moment he stepped into this space, he saw Louis, who had been waiting for a long time.
After Fukaboshi had taken his seat, Louis lowered his head slightly and cut straight to the chase. "Let's talk about it. How are you planning to persuade the more than five million citizens of Fish-Man Island to all board the Noah and come to Terra?"
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