"A devil fruit user?" Minister of Right, the seahorse Merman exclaimed. He then yelled at the guards, "Protect the queen!", and decided to fight Blaize by himself.
At that moment, Queen Otohime pushed the Minister of Right aside and stepped forward. "Your Majesty?"
"I apologize for my guard's misconduct. I know you speak the truth with no falsehood." Otohime apologized with a slight bow.
"You shouldn't apologize for such a minor matter, Queen Otohime. Furthermore, I am in the wrong. My body instinctively reacted as soon as they pointed their weapons at me." Blaize waved his hand.
"She's Gion, my good friend, and a Marine, like me. As I said before, we came here chasing a particular pirate crew." He explained.
"Why we didn't receive any news of a Marine ship entering the Fish-man Island?" Queen Otohime asked the minister.
"We both came here on our own accord, boarding a pirate ship," Gion replied.
'Such young marine officers and they look strong too!' Otohime thought. 'It's my chance to develop a friendship with them.'
"If it's not a problem, can I invite you guys to come to Ryugu palace?" Otohime invited as she could tell Blaize is different from any human she had met before.
As a person born with Kenbunshoku Haki, she possesses an innate gift to understand the feelings and emotions of others. From Blaize, she feels radiant energy as that of the burning sun, full of confidence and power.
She has no doubt he will become someone outstanding in the grand line near future.
"If the palace has tasty foods, I will definitely come!" Blaize responded with a drooling expression.
Otohime smiled a little and said, "Of course. You can savor all kind of Fish-man delicacy there."
At that moment, Gion glared at Blaize, "Didn't you just ate your fill? We are here to catch pirates, you know."
"Of course, we will chase them after a meal with complete zeal."
"You said the same thing a few hours back,"
"..."
"Your majesty, you can't casually invite a human with a nameless background to the palace. It may put all your lives in jeopardy." The Minister of Right cried, but Otohime made him shut his mouth with a glare.
Even the surrounding Fish-men discussed, "I can't believe they are invited to the Ryugu Palace, who are these two?"
"I have been living here from birth, but I still don't know how the Ryugu palace looks like."
"Humans should be grateful to the Queen for inviting them. I am envious."
Then, Blaize and Gion were escorted by the Queen and her Royal guards to the Ryugu Palace that's located in the smaller bubble that sits on top of the main bubble surrounding Fishman island.
The Ryugu Palace is enclosed with several layers of bubbles, and the only way in is through a connection corridor. The bubbles surrounding the palace are supposed to be impenetrable, but objects thrown by Vander Decken IX can penetrate them.
On their way, Queen Otohime asked him several questions concerning the human world and how to socialize with them. Blaize answered with the best of his knowledge.
But one particular subject made him sigh. "What do you think about Fish-man migrating to the surface?"
Blaize answered after contemplating for a moment, "Queen Otohime, I have no prejudice against Fish-man, but it's just my personal point of view, and the same couldn't be said about others.
Do you want to hear my honest opinion?"
Otohime nodded. "Yes,"
"I don't recommend moving to the surface. At least, not for now. If you ask me why? I would say it's not the right time yet, and secondly, the Fishmen are too weak.
Even if you somehow convince your citizens and drove them to live on the surface, what you may experience will shatter your very ideal.
Take me, for example, the pirates killed my parents, captured me as a chore boy, and later auctioned me as a slave. No one came to my rescue.
I fought my way out and finally got rid of my status as a slave. If even as a human I was treated this way, think about your Fishmen and Merfolk!"
Hearing his words, strange silence ensued. None foresaw such a young marine to have a dark past. Only Gion knew about this since he told her during their time training camp.
Otohime too didn't expect Blaize experienced such a tragedy in his childhood. It made her think about the issue from a different perspective.
She always believed if the Fishmen interact with the humans, the discrimination will gradually diminish, but it seems like she's wrong. After all, her understanding of humans is limited.
They soon reached the Ryugu Palace, a majestic structure with a golden dragon figure circling it. Blaize and Gion were granted a large bubble to breathe in places permeated with water.
Entering the palace doors, Blaize and Gion came before a huge chamber guarded by Royal guards while exquisite coral plants embellished the place.
King Neptune personally welcomed them as Otohime informed him about their arrival before reaching the palace. "Welcome to the Ryugu Palace, Jamon. Otohime's friends are our Ryugu Kingdom's guests."
Like in the original series, Neptune was a giant-sized and muscular coelacanth merman wearing a golden crown. The only difference is he looked a little young now.
"Otothime told me about your request. I informed the guards around the island to look for the pirates. You will hear about them in 30 minutes." Neptune said. "Until then, please enjoy the foods prepared for you."
Shortly after, Blaize enjoyed a feast that's different than anything he experienced before. Even the foods he ate in Boin Archipelago paled in comparison to Fishman delicacies.