The golden dragon carrying Otohime and the others sliced through the water toward Ryugu Palace.
Every fishman—or human—who saw it along the way just froze, staring.
Several hundred meters of gleaming gold.
By the time they reached the crystal towers of Ryugu, Neptune was already on high alert.
The moment he heard a golden dragon had appeared on Fishman Island, he'd thrown the palace into full lockdown.
Now, watching that dragon fly straight toward him, Neptune's hands shook.
Could they win against a creature like that?
He knew the answer.
No.
Before the tension could boil over, Otohime's voice rang out:
"Everyone, calm down! It's me. It's alright—this is Mr. White!"
"Mm?"
At the sound of her voice, the palace guards looked up.
Through the gaps between the dragon's claws, they could see Jinbe and Otohime standing there.
Jin came to a stop above the palace and gently lowered his talon.
Carefully.
If Otohime weren't there, he would've just opened his claw and dropped them. This was him being considerate.
"Dear, what is going on?" Neptune rushed forward as Otohime stepped down. "What is that?"
"Don't worry," Otohime said. "That's Mr. White Ghost."
Just as she was wondering how to deal with the sheer size of the dragon in front of the palace, she saw the golden body begin to shrink.
Compress.
The massive form pulled in on itself over and over until…
A twenty-meter-long golden dragon hovered in front of them.
Jin smacked his lips.
"Sorry, King Neptune, Queen Otohime," he said. "That's my limit."
Otohime waved her hands quickly.
"It's quite alright. This is much better than before."
Around them, the people of Fishman Island collectively let out the breath they were holding.
Much smaller.
Still terrifying… but at least not "blot out the entire island" terrifying.
"Prepare the food," Neptune ordered. "Mr. White Ghost, please, come with us."
They moved toward the main hall.
Jin floated along, too big and too lazy to walk.
On the way, Jango suddenly spoke up.
"Boss, you said this is your first time going full dragon, right? That you feel extremely comfortable like this, and don't even want to turn back?"
"Yeah," Jin nodded.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Jango's expression turned serious.
"You were the one who told us," he said slowly. "What if it's the Devil Fruit affecting you?"
Jin paused.
Right.
Devil Fruits carried remnants of will.
He'd seen it clearly when he first ate his fruit.
No wonder his powers had always felt a bit off—like there was some invisible chain somewhere.
No wonder going full beast felt like finally stepping out into the sun.
Senior Yinglong's consciousness had said he had waited untold ages…
So… was his will still here with Jin?
Or was it only the leftover echo, still influencing him?
He slipped into deep thought.
The others wisely kept quiet and went to sit down.
So that's it…
No wonder he felt so good transformed and so cramped otherwise.
"How curious," Otohime murmured, watching him come back to himself, eyes clearer.
"You seem to have worked something out, Mr. White."
"More or less," Jin replied, nodding.
Otohime signaled for servants to bring something.
A long, narrow box was carried in and set before him.
"This is what you asked for," she said. "I made copies of both. I hope they prove useful to you."
Jin tapped the box with a claw.
It vanished, sucked straight into his bracelet's space.
The bracelet itself grew and shrank with him, snug against his limb.
He'd tested it already—if he took it off, it returned to normal size. Once it was on, it automatically adjusted to him.
Everyone stared, astonished.
Only Jango knew what was actually going on.
"Devil Fruit powers?" Jinbe guessed. "As expected of a Mythical Zoan…"
Soon, the mood relaxed.
They traded small talk about Fishman Island, the changes, the auction house—nothing especially important from Jin's perspective.
Before long, the tables were filled.
"Please enjoy, Mr. White," Otohime said, raising a small cup of wine to him.
"Then I won't hold back," Jin replied.
He opened his enormous mouth and ripped off a massive chunk of Sea King meat with one bite.
Everyone's mouths twitched as they watched.
A twenty-meter dragon eating was… a lot.
Especially that mouth.
They kept chatting around mouthfuls of food, the conversation drifting in circles.
That was when a soft, high voice sounded from the entrance.
"Shirahoshi, you can't go in there!"
A small mermaid girl, wrapped in a bubble ring and tinted pink from head to tail, peeked inside from the doorway.
Her three older brothers scrambled after her, trying to drag her back.
Shirahoshi flicked her tail and darted past them, hiding behind Otohime.
Which… didn't really work.
She was already over four meters tall.
Otohime wasn't even close to that.
Neptune and Otohime both looked at her with fond exasperation.
"Mother… Father," Shirahoshi said in her soft, milky voice. But her eyes never left the dragon at the table, devouring food.
Otohime waved off the guards, signaling that it was alright.
Then she made introductions.
"Mr. White, this is my youngest daughter—Shirahoshi."
Jin had noticed her the moment she arrived.
Along with her… he'd felt them too.
Around Fishman Island, many massive Sea Kings had drawn closer.
Not aggressively. Like guardians.
So this is it.
The Sea King Poseidon.
"Hey," Jin said casually, giving her a little wave with one claw before going back to eating.
If things went wrong, he wasn't afraid of a fight underwater anyway. Worst case, they threw down right here.
Seeing his offhand greeting, Otohime relaxed.
So he's not interested in my daughter. That's good. She's still a child—I'm getting ahead of myself…
Jango, however, was puzzled.
Didn't Boss always have a thing for lolis? Look at those two back in East Blue…
If Jin knew what he was thinking, he'd hose Jango with dragon breath on the spot.
Shirahoshi's eyes never left him.
From the moment she stepped in, she'd been staring.
Earlier, while playing with her brothers in her room, she'd suddenly felt… something.
A pull.
A warm, powerful energy that called to her, whispering: go closer.
Trusting her instincts, she'd followed it here.
The closer she got, the stronger that feeling became.
When she finally saw him, the sensation burst into clarity.
Her heart seemed to be telling her:
Stay close to him. You'll be safe.
As time passed, the others began to notice too.
Shirahoshi wasn't just looking—she was practically drawn to him.
"What's wrong, Shirahoshi?" Otohime asked.
Shirahoshi shook her head, brow furrowing.
"I… I don't know, Mother," she said. "My heart keeps telling me to go over there. To stay near Lord White.
"And it keeps telling me… I'll be safe with him."
"Hm?"
Jinbe and the others looked over sharply.
Boss is attracting our princess?
Jin had reined in his aura, so Jinbe and the rest couldn't feel much.
But Neptune and Otohime… their faces changed.
They knew who Shirahoshi truly was.
The Ancient Weapon Poseidon only appeared in mermaid princesses.
When she was born, the sheer number of Sea Kings crowding around Fishman Island had told them everything.
Now…
The two rulers exchanged a helpless glance.
How were they supposed to bring this up?
Meanwhile, that guy was just stuffing his face.
No sense of the mood at all.
As the minutes dragged on, Shirahoshi couldn't stand it anymore.
She took a deep breath and slowly, cautiously, began to approach.
"Shirahoshi! Princess Shirahoshi!"
Everyone panicked at once.
Jin shot her a look.
He'd known for a while she'd been staring.
"If you want to come over, then come," he said. "I'm not going to eat you."
"O-okay, Lord White!"
She nearly tripped over her own tail in her rush to his side.
Watching her obey his casual words so readily, everyone else was stunned.
This timid little girl, who cried at the drop of a hat… was walking right up to a stranger?
A giant dragon stranger?
Once she reached him, Shirahoshi felt it immediately.
Comfort.
Safety.
Warmth.
Sleepiness seeped into her bones.
She yawned adorably, then leaned against his golden scales.
Her eyes slowly drifted shut.
Within seconds, she was asleep.
Jin stared down at the snoring mermaid princess.
"…Seriously?"
He glanced up.
It was already night outside.
Probably past her bedtime.
He sighed and shifted his wings, draping one over her like a blanket.
Golden scales curved around her like a shining shelter.
"…She… she just fell asleep? Just like that?!"
Everyone's eyes bulged.
None of them quite knew what to say.
She'd walked over…
Leant against him…
And then just… knocked out.
Nobody in the hall knew whether to laugh or cry.
But one thing was clear:
For some reason, the Ancient Weapon of the sea slept like a baby under the wing of the Golden Dragon.
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