The Straw Hats had arrived in the Ryugu Kingdom. So distant and deep in the sea where the entrance to the New World lied. Despite having some troubles as they arrived, they were able to safely explore the island to their content. As they explored a new arrival shocked them. It was the beautiful golden Queen of the Ryugu Kingdom. That Queen without the Straw Hats knowledge received a concerning vision from the Madame of the Mermaid café, However she wasn't discouraged by it and embraced their arrival without fear, The Queen even invited them to her Castle for a grand feast.
As they arrived on that Castle Luffy got separated from the others arriving at a steel door that was taller than a giant. there he found the grand and gorgeous Mermaid Princess named Shirahoshi. Luffy was sad that she had spent ten years locked away on that tower because of frequent attacks from a known pirate in the Sea Floors. A man called Vander Decken. Promising to protect her, he led her to the sea forest where the Queen and his crew were headed.
There they were able to meet with the Sunny again and the man waiting for them there was Jimbei, the first knight of the Sea. However behind the scenes in the darkness, threatening elements were mobilizing to make the kingdom itself crumble. Using both hatred and drugs to make them stronger. As they were settling in the Sea Forest Vander Decken attacked, wanting nothing more than top kill Shirahoshi due to his strange obsessive love for her.
Queen Otohime and Luffy intercepted Vander Decken and the Queen was able to infect and corrupt Decken's body with a corruption… a timed death attack. However with his ability and craftiness he was able to escape.
And now…
XOX
"—Waaaaah" Screams and cries were heard in the middle of a street.
"Do as I say! Much!" Ikaros, one of the executives gripped his many spears he glared at the woman in front of him, around him the populace was gathered, as well as the fishman pirates.
"—Stop this please! Aren't you from the Fish-man district?!" A man yelled.
"—Why are you doing this?" A mermaid cried in fear and a bit of anger.
"Much! Shut up! This kingdom belongs to Captain Hody now—ch! Now step on this picture!" Ikaros ordered, lest they face the punishment they had to comply.
XOX
"—Waah!"
"Do it! Now!" Daruma yelled at the man.
"—Stop! I can't step on it! Not on her face!" The citizen implored.
"If you can't step on her face then you want to be friends with the humans, huh? Kya Kya~ and that makes you our enemy!"
Daruma shrieked as he went for the throat, slicing off their wind pipes and letting them die in a shower of blood.
XOX
A man put a batch of pills in his mouth and picked up a gourd full of sake and chugged it down, he spasmed a bit as his power shot up.
"Simple, right? Step on that picture or leave the island… if you don't do it either I'm supposed to cut you down, hic!"
The Octopus Swordsman slurred his words.
"—What but…"
XOX
"—You want us to leave our home?!" A merman cried out.
"—But there is no light anywhere else in the deep seas…" A Fishmen anxiously said.
"—And we can't live in the human world either!" A mermaid argued back.
"See? You already know they are a menace!" Zeo grabbed a Fishman who was complaining by his throat.
"Peace between Fishman and humans is a fantasy! Just shut up and bow before your new King Hody! We will conquer the humans and change history, now step on it!"
Zeo ordered as he choked the man, but before he could pass out, he released them.
Beneath the man a photo of a young 11-year-old Otohime in her wedding dress, her serene smile gave the population pause. The shame felt by them having to step on her was too much to bear. They knew that she would save them like she always did, perhaps then they would apologize to her and grovel to the ground.
A significant portion of the population wouldn't step on it, no matter what they did so they were cut down or blackmailed into doing so, threatening family and friends makes easy compliance.
"Hmph, I don't know what she did to gain such loyalty! She is just a whore who will spread her legs for every human after all!"
Zeo screamed at them, they could only glare at him in impotent rage, they could not believe the lies spread by this man.
XOX
"That miserable Prince, Fukaboshi, haaa… haaa…"
Hody clutched his bloody side, the skin was turning purple underneath, the pierce attack he endured was now causing an internal bleeding.
"—Boss, y—you c—can't… Hiii…" A man tried talking his captain down but was immediately silenced by Hody's glare.
"Jahahaha Jahahaha~"
Hody laughed as he started devouring more and more pills, the wound miraculously stopped bleeding, in fact it started scarring already. The pain was now numb to his senses, just like Hyouzou, Hody was using the pills to stave off the pain and he could feel growing more powerful by the minute.
XOX
The soldiers worked tirelessly to rescue the cut down victims. Both Ministers accurately predicted the strength those Executives of the New Fishmen pirates had, so instead of charging through and losing, they performed small rescues and ambush operations.
To capture stragglers and to save victims was their strategy for now.
XOX
"My beautiful ladies~"
Sora said huskily as she twirled around like a pirouette, her beautiful thighs were on display as she approached Luffy, Shirahoshi, Nami, Camie and Otohime.
Luffy shamelessly ogled her thighs, he had no embarrassment in doing things he wanted to do. He was probably the bluntest person one could meet, and he would never change his nature even if he grew up in the last couple of years.
"Have some tea~" Sora stopped with her back turned against them and leaned backwards, her hands had a tray filled with cups, three of them were a lot bigger in size for Otohime and Shirahoshi. During all of this because of her leaning Luffy could see her chest straining against her button up red shirt.
All of them picked a cup and thanked her, the last one she presented towards Luffy.
"Here, Luffy." Sora said as she blushed a bit, he picked the tea and thanked her.
"Thank you Sora-chan, but straighten yourself, we are talking about serious stuff," Nami said sternly as she pointed at her.
"I love it when you are so stern~ perhaps you are also that demanding in the bed~~" Sora whispered as she looked at Nami with a lusty gaze, she licked her lips as Nami blushed a bit.
Nami cleared her throat. "Jimbei, what do you mean you let Arlong loose… in the East blue?" Nami asked, her face was neutral, but she leaned closer to Luffy for support.
Zoro, Sora and Usopp looked on, their memories of Arlong Park were not pleasant ones.
"Urgh… Jimbei-san…" Hachi moaned in pain as he spoke.
"It's true…" Jimbei confessed.
"I remember it, that's what Yosaku told Luffy and me… It was the first time we heard of you Jimbei…" Sora pointed out.
"Huh?" Nami asked confused, Luffy had already finished drinking his tea and now Nami had her hand on his chest as she fed a bit of her cup to him.
"Hmm, this is mint and peaches…" Luffy murmured as he tasted the tea, Nami afterwards drank from the same cup as they exchanged an indirect kiss.
Luffy thought well on the past and a memory surfaced.
"In exchange for becoming one of the warlords, Jimbei the firstborn of the sea released a terror on the east blue."
Luffy sighed and let Sora continue.
"Jimbei if you want to give us an explanation, we'll listen…"
The crew nodded at Sora's words.
"But be warned. The home of our gorgeous navigator Nami was destroyed by Arlong, she suffered terribly because of him"
Sora said with a sorrowful face, an ugly lump formed on Jimbei's throat, cold sweat poured over him, having been the cause of their navigators suffering in his mind was too horrible. Jimbei could not properly look at Luffy, no, facing Luffy and the possibility of perhaps seeing the disappointed, betrayed or hateful look was too much for him.
For people who meet Luffy, betraying him or disappointing him is the absolute worst, it was almost enough to mentally kill someone. The crew had experienced this firsthand when Usopp dueled Luffy, it was almost unbearable to see the look of rage and betrayal in their Captain eyes. For Usopp, depression settled in the following days, for Robin, running away in the Galley-La Mansion was the hardest thing she ever had to do, she could not even face Luffy after that, she wanted to crawl in a hole and die of shame. At Enies lobby it took all her courage to look at her captain in the eye as she screamed for her life.
"Based on what you say, even if you are Luffy's friend… I will never forgive you." Sora said with a warning glare.
"It's true, Jimbei, the anguish we caused that girl… is unforgivable." Hachi lamented.
Jimbei was silent.
Nami looked down.
XOX
"A map of the world? That's wonderful" Bellemere smiled and winked.
They were in their house after a great crop.
"Then this is the map of our island is the first step towards your dream!"
Bellemere puffed a bit of her cigarette as she admired the piece of art that she was holding, it was a complete replica of the island and neighboring regions around it, Nami's nautical, cartography and navigation talents were on another stage.
XOX
In the middle of the plaza, an army of fishmen invaded with all they got.
"Hello, human scum! This island is under my control now!" Arlong yelled, his hands stretched outwards as he laughed, his crew behind, brandishing their weapons.
"Don't die Bellemere-san!" Nami screamed in terror and sadness, tears fell from her face as she reached with her hand in desperation, Arlong had a sadistic smile.
They were in front of Bellemere's house, Bellemere herself was kneeling in front of Arlong as the sound of a trigger being pulled echoed throughout.
"Die for your foolish love." Arlong smirked.
"Bellemere-san! AAAAAAAHHH!" Nami screamed as the sound of shots permeated the island.
XOX
Arlong Park…
"—No food for you human! Hahaha!"
A fishman kicked her stomach as her tiny body was throw on the floor of her room.
She screamed and gurgled as she frothed and spit blood from the kick, she was just a small child being kicked in the stomach by a man ten times more powerful than a normal human.
Nami cried. Nami screamed in pain.
"—Shut up and draw those nautical charts!"
The Fishmen sipped from a bottle of booze and then sprayed some of the alcohol in the bottle above her, staining her body with booze, the others behind him laughed as they closed the door leaving her to cry alone.
XOX
She looked outside her window as one of the moons graced the earth, she continued drawing maps as she cried in anguish.
XOX
"—A thief! Our treasure's been stolen!"
Nami huffed as she escaped her pursuers.
"—It's a girl!"
Nami was not even a teenager at this point she only had dark pants and white shirt.
"—Who cares?! Shoot her dead! Kill the brat!"
They unloaded countless bullets in the direction of the girl.
She escaped and rested on an alley as she grabbed her left arm, a bullet grazed her and opened an ugly wound, blood ran down her arm as she endured the pain, she shivered and trembled constantly as bruises formed on her knees.
"Only seventy million to go…"She whispered in anguish.
XOX
"You are back, but then, you have nowhere else to go… Welcome home, the greatest navigator, Shahahaha!"
XOX
"...!"
Nami blood was pumping fast as she put her lower lips on her mouth, a stopgap so she would not cry. Luffy embraced her, feeling her discomfort and gently caressed her tattoo, Otohime looked to the side as she cleaned a stray tear.
"... It seems you've endured a great deal." Jimbei said seriously.
"Is that all you have to say?!" Sora raged.
Nami had a few words after receiving comfort for her Captain. "...After all this time I still wouldn't pity Arlong no matter what happened to him… Before I went to Saobondy archipelago two years back I never thought the mighty Fishmen had been relentlessly persecuted by humans… then those kidnappers managed to get Camie… I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw Saobondy park! It was exactly like the Arlong Park that was built!"
"...He always admired it, Saobondy Park, I mean, we all did. I'm not saying this because I want you to forgive me, Arlong really hated humans — We went too far… but when we were children, we envied the humans and how they lived."
Hachi said as he remembered the time where he, Arlong and their friends went to the surface, at night and saw the incredible lights of the archipelago, the wonder of Saobondy Park were addictive to see.
"Haaa… until 200 years ago, Fishmen and mermaids were categorized as a 'Fish' rather than people. When the Ryugu kingdom joined the world government 200 years ago we made peace with the humans and the King was allowed to participate in the Reverie World Council… but the humans continued to hate Fishmen."
Hachi continued his speech as the crew continued their work paying attention to the story. Den had a sad defeated look as he worked, Shirahoshi had misty eyes, Otohime's eyes were shadowed, Camie slumped down, but Jimbei continued to look on sternly.
"...The worst time of all… was when the great age of pirates began, human pirates wreaked havoc here, I remember like it was yesterday…"
Den and Jimbei had shadowed faces as Hachi finished.
"...The late old man Whitebeard was our savior." Jimbei continued the story.
XOX
"This island belongs to me now!"
The imposing man yelled, his height reaching 18 feet tall, Many pirates fled for their lives as he swinged his halberd cutting their bodies down with extreme prejudice, the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates stood proudly swaying in the winds as he continued his attack, the fools who dared wreak havoc on his friend Kingdom would pay in full.
XOX
"He restored peace to the island… but that doesn't mean the humans stopped hating us! You all saw the truth back in Saobondy archipelago…"
Jimbei said as all the Straw hats burned with rage at the human auction, Grove 1 was not the only place they visited, there were many underground places that sold slaves as they searched for Camie in a frenetic race across the Archipelago, their poor condition was still fresh in their minds. The bidding in the Human Auction that some witnessed was also nauseatingly horrible to remember, right now all of the Straw Hats were easily triggered by slavery of any kind, if they met any slaver, the possibility of the crew killing them was high if not certain to happen.
Hachi lamented, Camie had a sad look on her face, being treated as a slave for a short time was a bit unbearable, but she endured it, she had to for Luffy's sake.
"...It's almost ironic, those with the greatest power fear change the most..."
Jimbei continued as Luffy and Otohime stiffened, both tried to search deep into themselves, and try to disprove Jimbei in their minds. Luffy hoped that he was not a hypocritical asshole, he searched and searched, yet he could find no evidence to prove or disprove Jimbei, and Otohime grabbed her forehead in shame. Those with power fear change. Then what change did Luffy and Otohime fear?
I am probably the most selfish being in the world, my ambitions are great and to accomplish my dreams I have to stomp on the dreams of others as well… No, on my journey here I stomped on the dreams of many already. Some may consider me a hero, but others consider me a villain, I ended their dreams in a most cruel fashion, yes, that's how it should be, I am a pirate, not a hero… I will do what I want! And continue doing so until the end of my life, I am selfish and greedy. My crew is the same, they will crush others to make their dreams a reality, but that does not matter at all, no to me…
Luffy's thoughts ran rampant in his mind, he was not a hypocritical asshole, he will do what he desires, he will not try to reason his desires with a skewed sense of morals or justice bullcrap. From his actions to his desires all would come from a simple reason… Luffy just wanted to do it… not for justice or some lofty morals. Everything Luffy ever did, and everything he'll ever do would just be purely for his own greed and self-satisfaction.
Yes, I will do what I want, I will not put the blame of my actions in a sense of justice or morals I've supposedly built — because I have no morals in the first place, being raised by that sociopath pretty much guaranteed it.
Why am I having such thoughts in the first place, I never thought like this before— Luffy's thoughts were interrupted as Jimbei continued his story.
"The core of the government decided to join hands with the Fishmen, but under the surface the roots of their racism still ran deep, entrenched and unyielding… On recent history, two people tried to change the tragic course of history…"
Jimbei continued his tale.
"One of them even now is trying her absolute best, She is standing right here, Queen Otohime!"
Jimbei said as he looked at her, She sank her face on her hands in guilt and shame.
No… Jimbei-san… I am not worthy of your praise. I am guilty of crimes that shouldn't be spoken, I am not the one that should rid the world of prejudice when I, myself befell to its same curse of hatred ten years ago… Queen Otohime buried her anguish in her hands.
"...She even now is trying to convince the citizens to live in peace with the humans..."
Jimbei continued his praise.
No Jimbei, I am the worst hypocrite in history, I—I can't… Otohime raged in her mind.
"And the other… was Fisher Tiger, the hero who freed the slaves. He insisted on setting himself apart from humans, he rose up and broke the great taboo by attacking the Holy Land Marie Geoise and freeing the slaves!"
Luffy was indebted to Tiger for freeing Hancock and her sisters. "Fisher Tiger…" Luffy murmured.
His crew had interrogation marks above them as they tilted their head in the direction of their Captain.
"Afterwards, he took the Fishmen who had been slaves and the brothers he made on Fishman island and set sail beneath the sun. He was the Captain and the one who formed the infamous Sun Pirates! Arlong, Hachi, and I were among their ranks."
Jimbei spoke as he revealed the Sun Mark on his chest. Most of the crew had seen the same mark in the various Fishmen they encountered, Luffy knew very well what that mark signified.
"But having defied the government, the Fishman pirates hindered Queen Otohime's efforts to unite with the humans…" Jimbei spoke, he very much lamented this fact.
Otohime was listening to every word with a saddened look. The sun pirates were representing the Fishmen after all, they were the ones on the surface and their actions reflected on their race, and since the paper almost always put them in a bad light, it caused a lot of hardships for her in the long run. However she did not blame them, she looked up to Fisher Tiger so much, her sons always spoke of him, both Jimbei and her husband Neptune always invited Tiger to the palace to share his stories.
He was a great friend of the Royal Family indeed, Fisher Tiger 'The Adventurer'.
"While Queen Otohime endured the pains of the present to make a better future Fisher Tiger threw away his future to save his enslaved brethren. Even today I'm not sure which side was right, but…"
Jimbei started the tale, Otohime helped him fill the blanks.
XOX
Grand Line, 15 years ago…
"Enemy ship sighted!" Hachi screamed.
The ship he was on had a figurehead of a fish, with flames around the neck part while the rudder resembled a fish tail. The cabin on the middle and the back of the ship resembled the motif of sea creatures. Situated on the sides were cannon ports that could blast through any vessel the Pirates set their eyes on to. The ship had five sails with the front two were dark blue boring the Jolly Roger of the Sun Pirates. The middle one was dark blue but was blank. The second one from the back was light blue. The last sail on the back was striped between blue green and green.
The flag of the crew was on top of the foremost sail as a warning to humans worldwide.
"Captain, Captain! I see an enemy ship! Captain! Captain! Captain!"
Hachi opened the door to the hall where Fisher Tiger and the crew was gathered. They were gathered in a table looking ever as bit intimating, every single crewmember was stronger than a normal soldier by an order of ten times of strength, there were also legends here that surpassed even that.
"Shut up Hachi!" A younger Arlong said with a cool demeanor.
"What's with all of the noise?" Tiger asked.
As a Sea Bream Fishman, Tiger had round eyes, salmon-pink colored skin, a flat nose, wide lips. a thick dark beard and sideburns, and a spiky dorsal fin on the back of his head sprouting from under his long curly hair. He was an exceptionally large fishman, being at least a full head taller than Jimbei. As the captain of the Sun Pirates, he wore a camouflage-patterned bandana paired with a sleeveless open shirt, revealing his burly chest and his crew's brand marked on his skin permanently. He also wore a Captain's Coat which hung from his shoulders like a cape and sported the crew's jolly roger on the back.
"Captain Tiger we got trouble!"
Hachi yelled, Jimbei looked at Hachi with curiosity.
"Is it the Navy?" Fisher Tiger, the Hero who saved the Slaves, the one who saved the Future Pirate Empress asked with a commanding voice.
XOX
Fishmen Island, 16 years ago…
"—We have a thief!" "—Somebody catch him! He stole my money!"
"—Outta my way! I've got a gun and a hostage too...!"
The thief had a mask over his head, on his arm was a mermaid, on his back the sack of money stolen, he was armed as he passed the crowd.
"—My queen wait! Please wait! You mustn't involve yourself in such matters! This is our job!"
The soldiers rushed trying to catch the Queen who ran forward, grabbing the hem of her dress, her wavy blonde hair blew in the wind.
"—Queen Otohime! Wait!" The guards yelled.
"—Who's That? Huff... huff..." The criminal saw the woman rushing forward to him. "—I warned you!" He pulled the trigger two times; the screams were silenced by the boom of the pistol.
Yet the Queen dodged both shots with extreme ease, her eyes were closed during the attack.
"—What?"
The criminal screamed, but moments later he was slapped with extreme force, by the lady, her eyes remained closed. The criminal spit blood from the mouth and nose and dropped to the ground.
The queen screamed in pain as she held her hand, the palm was completely purple, it had tears in the skin as it bled. "AAAAAAH!"
"—Wait, you're the one injured?!" The crowd yelled in shock.
The queen was 6-foot-tall, extremely small compared to the present. She wore a white dress with golden orange scales, her face was a bit more oval, however she was still beautiful as ever and she was in her leg form at the moment. She was at 17 years old and a very awkward teenager, her three sons and her daughter were already born at this point in time.
"Doctor!" The guards called; the man did an examination of her hand on site.
"You have a compound fracture and horrible bruising!" The doctor exclaimed.
"I don't care, I am a big girl!" Otohime pouted as she looked towards the fallen man.
"—Queen Otohime!" "—Queen Otohime!" The crowd cheered in surprise.
But her screams and wails of pain were deafening.
"—The Queen?! Huff... Huff ….?!... Huff..." The criminal cleaned his mouth of blood with the back of his hand.
"Why would you do something as senseless as robbery?" She asked her baby blue eyes full of emotion.
"Shut up! You royals wallow in luxury! What do you know about the hardships of life?! I got 10 kids waiting at home to feed!" The man prepared his gun, the sound of the trigger being pulled, however, Otohime swatted the gun out of his hand with the same injured hand.
"That's all the more reason!" She slapped the criminals face with the same fractured hand.
She continued slapping him.
"Your majesty! Please stop! Your body is much weaker than an average person!" The minister of right screamed.
She raised her trembling and flinching hands, it was a dark purple palm with a ton of blood running through it.
"I don't care even if my hand shatters!" Her hand trembled and flinched. "Do you think your children would want to be raised with dishonest money?!" She continued slapping the man.
The man huffed, the side of his cheeks were bloody and bruised, but most of the blood was not his the blood on his face was of her hand.
"Why must you force your children to live a life of shame?!" Otohime continued her interrogation.
"But I… I owe you an apology too." The Queen said as the crowd cringed at the guttural sounds of her hand breaking apart.
"…?!"
"I'm sorry!" Otohime started crying in earnest.
"You are my subject… A—And I failed to notice your pain!" Her tears dropped to the ground as she continued to sob her heart out, the man in the ground was speechless as the others in the crowd looked away from that painful scene.
"The cry for help from your heart… cuts deep inside me! Oh! You must have suffered dreadfully to be driven to this…"
The man started to cry as he remembered what he went through, he grabbed his forehead.
"Ugh! I didn't want to do it! But… I—I had no choice! My shop, burned down, it was arson! My money was stolen! There weren't any job! My debts kept piling up and my kids were hungry! I couldn't bear to see them skin and bones like that!"
The crowd's heart went to the man.
"But you can't steal! If you do, you are part of the vicious cycle! The chain of misfortune and wrong-doing! She slapped the man again.
"I'm sorry!" The man apologized between grunts of pain.
"But I'm sorry! It's our fault as your leaders for failing you!" She wailed.
"I don't deserve such compassion! Really! No, really!"
The skit of her crying, him apologizing, and her slapping him continued for a long time.
XOX
"I've had a change of heart! Thank you for crying for me your majesty!" The criminal now in chains said with an innocent face, golden stars behind him as he was reformed.
"Your welcome! Take care!" The Queen cried holding her broken arm with bandages wrapped around.
The crowd all clapped at the happenings, all of them praised her compassion, her willingness to go out of the castle and interact with the population, truly there was no one quite like her.
XOX
Present Time…
Queen Otohime, awkward teen extraordinaire, young mother of four, the embodiment of Compassion. Love. Understanding… She called out to her people every day. She held speeches of moving the Kingdom to the surface. She spoke that they couldn't wait for the less prejudiced humans to come around, The Fishmen had to go to them that they needed to put in the effort to crumble the separation between races. She spoke of the fact that the fishmen had encountered a small group of humans, these so called 'pirates' and 'nobles' and their cruelty were not indicative of the feelings of normal humans.
She spoke of the Reverie and her desire to start emigration, she proposed a petition that everyone could sign so they could move to a place where there was the sun however even if the crowd loved her, the idea was frightening. Their hesitation was clear in their faces.
"…I, who at the time was in the army, saw her speeches as a load of tosh. History had already shown them the answer. Humans and Fishmen will never see each other eye to eye..." Jimbei said.
Otohime had her heart attacked by Jimbei's words, she worked her whole life for it, but she did not feel worthy of it any longer. She was comforted by Luffy.
XOX
Ryugu Palace, 16 years ago…
"Ohh! Shirahoshi, you bring me such peace of mind, I am sorry I'm late, oh, one side of your nose is still running… but you're still adorabuu~~"
Queen Otohime nuzzled baby Shirahoshi as she slept, she was already bigger than two of her, she was in her daughter's tower. Shirahoshi slept soundly as she felt her mother's warm body comforting her, Otohime's baby Princes were all around her as they excitedly jumped around.
"We were looking after her Okaa-sama, you don't have to worry!" Fukaboshi said excitedly.
"Yeah Yeah" Ryuboshi and Manboshi agreed with their brother's words.
"Thank you, my handsome Princes…" Otohime embraced all of them. Even if she gave birth to her eldest when she was only 12 years old, her motherly instinct was still strong, being a teenager was not a bother at all.
"I will forge a bright future for you my darling babies..."
Otohime said with a tone full of love, her thoughts filled with eliminating the world of prejudice against her race, a foolish dream but she did not care, she would fight to the bitter end that's what she decided, her resolve and will were set and she felt that her resolve was unshakable. And yet… an incident would break that fragile resolve, her teenage sense of invincibility blinded her, and it would set her in a path full of regrets.
XOX
Throne room…
"Queen Otohime should just use the transmitters for her speeches…"
The Minister of Left complained, having her wandering around the kingdom was problematic for security.
"It's her natural color of observation. My wife insists on being close enough that her voice can touch people's hearts, not even I can stop her."
A deep voice was heard, expansive and powerful.
The voice came out from the man with sitting on a giant throne he was Neptune a 65-foot-tall and muscular Coelacanth Merman. He had a red nose, small eyes, and long thick orange curly hair and beard. Both his chest and arms were covered with hair. He was bare-chested and had matching black tattoos on both arms, which looked like a spiral with wavy protrusion designs around it.
As king, he wore a gold crown that resembles a tulip with jewels embedded, a golden bracelet on each wrist, behind him a gold trident with an elaborate design.
"But there are many human pirates recently..." The Minister of the Left continued. "...We may be protected by your friend Whitebeard… but we must still take precautions."
"She is prepared for anything, Minister of the Left. The world Otohime seeks is exactly like the one our forebears sought to create long ago; she is trying to achieve what they did!" His voice permeated the room as he thought back on Noah.
"What do you mean?" The Minister asked.
"I can't stop Otohime… Minister, so we must protect her at all costs! That's what I mean!" The King ordered.
XOX
"—Give them back, how many petitions do you need?!" A beautiful mermaid reached for the pieces of paper in the hands of the Fishman, the crowd behind, scared.
"How many, all of them! Shahaha, what good these pieces of paper can do!" The Fishman waved the petitions in his hand.
"—Hey! Stop that! Aren't you Arlong from Fish-man district?!" A soldier recruit said.
"What? Not exactly." He grabbed the recruit by the throat and lifted him. "I am Captain Arlong of the Arlong Pirates!" Arlong smirked.
"I make a living feeding off that inferior race that cannot even breathe underwater. I am hunting down those human pirates for you! The Neptune army should give me a reward Shahaha!"
Arlong was young at the time, just 25 years old.
"..." A man was sitting down watching the show with boredom.
"—Big boss Jimbei, please don't just sit there! Help!" The recruit cried.
"..."
"Jimbei?" Arlong asked a familiar face came into view.
"Let go of that recruit you hoodlum! He is one of my men you see." Jimbei puffed a bit of his pipe releasing bubbles instead of smoke.
"The petitions mean nothing to me, but they are dear to the Queen, so hand them over." Jimbei asked calmly.
He also jabbed and insulted the Queen on the petition aspect…
Honestly, emigration?
What a terrible idea, humans would never accept them, these were Jimbei's thoughts. Jimbei did not hate Otohime nor what she stood for but her ideas were completely foolish in his opinion, being a high ranked warrior made him meet her quite often, but because of his opinions he always held a passive-aggressive attitude towards he, that frankly disheartened her and scared her sometimes. Jimbei was very strong, probably stronger than her husband the Sea God Neptune.
Jimbei, was of age 30, a soldier of Neptune's army, a whale-shark Fishman reaching 8-feet-tall and beyond.
The crowd cheered as 'Big boss' Jimbei arrived to save the day.
"Shahahaha! 'Big boss'?! That's a nice title Jimbei, you don't see a soldier like that every day! You look like you belong to the mafia instead!" Arlong kept laughing.
A dangerous glare came to Jimbei's stern face. "Do as I say Arlong!" Jimbei exclaimed.
"Fine! Here!" Arlong threw the man and the papers on the ground. "Don't get upset brother! It's been a long time, but we're all orphan brothers from the Fish-man district! We are comrades!" Arlong stretched his arms in welcome.
"I'm nothing like you… Pirate scum..." Jimbei murmured for him to hear.
"Don't call me that brother!"
"How about waste then?"
…
"—Hey! The adventurer Fisher Tiger is back!"
Both Jimbei and Arlong perked up a happy smile overcame them as their big brother came back from his voyage.
"Jimbei! Arlong! You two look well!" A mountain of a man came into view, he wore a blue T-shirt and had a bag full of maps and journals on his back.
"—It's Tiger!" "—Tell us about your adventures!"
…
"This voyage was a long one!" Jimbei exclaimed.
"Aye! And eventful! I have some business in the Ryugu Palace, but you need to come to my ship later!" Fisher Tiger said as the mountain of a man greeted his little brothers.
The Fishmen District began as an orphanage, but it soon fell into chaos and the managers of the orphanage lost control, it became a lawless zone where outcasts from all around Fishman island gathered. At the time Fisher Tiger was the boss of the Fishman District… but he soon sailed off in search of adventure…
"…I was his second in command, I became one of the king's elite soldiers, Arlong was the fiercest of warriors, he became a pirate and terrorized the sea floor, Macro became a cheat and a kidnapper, we all went our separate ways, But a major incident occurred that made everyone wonder…"
"—Tiger defeated the Celestial Dragons!" The crowd roared at the news.
Jimbei could hear those roars like it was just yesterday.
"It was Fisher Tiger's raid at Marie Geoise, after that he was hailed as the hero who freed the slaves and reviled as the greatest criminal in the world at the time even though it was a hyperbole… With the world government after Tiger's head the citizens of Fishmen District rose up to help him and protect him..."
XOX
"I am resigning from the army henceforth. Thank you for everything!"
Jimbei bowed his head in gratitude, Otohime looked at the man sadly as her husband picked up Jimbei's red trident and uniform.
I was not able to mend our relationship, Jimbei… Please, take care, you are more important to this kingdom than you yourself know. Otohime thought.
XOX
Arlong partied with his crew in a bar as they decided to join their big brother Tiger. "Come on, Men!"
"...So that the liberated slaves might blend in more easily everyone received the mark of the sun, a brand that covered the brand of the slaves from the Celestial Dragons..."
Jimbei remembered the sizzle as his chest was marked by the brand.
"...And thus the Sun Pirates were formed..." He remembered the time where they proudly displayed their jolly roger to the world.
XOX
Grand Line, 15 years ago…
Warships of the Navy… Kept attacking and were sunk by them one after another...
"—Take Tiger's head" The marines roared as they fired.
"Shahaha, this is terrible!" Arlong smirked. "Hold it Right there Brother! He's already unconscious" Arlong yelled.
Jimbei held a marine by the throat, he crushed the man's windpipe with his incredible strength.
"It's legal to own slaves but freeing them is a crime… How can you still tell us to love humans… Queen Otohime?"
Jimbei said the name with a bit of disgust dropped the man on the ground, the deck of the marine's ship was filled with groaning marines defeated as the Fishmen cheered another victory. Tiger looked at Jimbei in shock.
The onslaught of the Sun pirates continued…
XOX
Fishmen island…
"—He showed up those Celestial bastards!"
"—Nobody's done that before!"
"—Fisher Tiger Is the hero of Fishman Island!"
The people cheered at the news.
XOX
Before the Sun pirates were even formed. Before Fisher Tiger was considered public enemy number #1 by the humans above. He arrived on the Ryugu Palace one last time. Before he invaded Marie Geoise…
Fisher Tiger. The great adventurer, one of the most celebrated heroes of the age here in the Ryugu kingdom. When the Queen was younger before marring, she had a bit of a crush on him. He lived the dream! He was an adventurer, he had seen places most people had never seen before, having him as a guest in the palace was a frequent business, Otohime and Neptune loved to hear his stories, Otohime's sweet Princes always idolized him… Fisher Tiger was a really great man...
"I can't stand it! Being a Slave is a living hell! It is not right to treat people like cattle! I made up my mind!" Tiger bowed to them
The reason he attacked Marie Geoise, was simple, Tiger could not stand slavery, after all, he was a victim himself…
"What did you see…. On your last journey Tiger?" Neptune asked.
"Human nature!"
Otohime put her hand on her face as unbridled tears came down her face, she saw all of the emotion the man had with her passive observation.
Later that day when both she and Tiger were alone in a balcony in the palace, Fisher Tiger spilled everything he suffered for her to hear, he knew she was the most compassionate person he met, he wanted to vent, he wanted to get his suffering out.
Otohime grabbed his body and hugged his head on her chest, he continued his tale as he basked in his Queens almost motherly comfort — even though he was older — her warm tears bathed his head as she cried enough for both of them. It was a relief for Fisher Tiger, he felt himself worthless for a long time but at least this little Queen and her family saw something in him, which is why he felt like the world's biggest asshole for this, he was still going to invade Marie Geoise, putting the Royal family in a very bad spot.
XOX
"...The status of Fishmen island is worse than before, we will not be able to attend the Reverie anymore..." Neptune lamented as he played with baby Shirahoshi, Fukaboshi who was still a child was already paying attention to the world and studying kingcraft and statecraft so he more or less what was happening.
"But…" Otohime's face was full of anguish as she remembered what Fisher Tiger suffered through. "I couldn't stop him that day… The voice I heard inside of his heart was full of pain..." Otohime swam towards the sleeping Shirahoshi, her small finger intertwined with Shirahoshi's big cute fingers.
Otohime had the happiest smile as she gazed upon her precious daughter.
"Shirahoshi...Please... Give your mother strength…" Otohime prayed.
Otohime's speeches continued as always however with Tiger's accomplishments, less and less people wanted to sign, even without the reverie if they just waited then, their privileges of participating would be answered. Otohime continued and continued to push the idea forward, you could call that a foolish dream… but she still firmly believed that prejudices can only be overcome with cooperation, being distant from the world above did not help dissolve the rampant racism, the criminal activities from the Fishmen Pirates did not help as well, for the surface world they were what represented the Fishmen, and the news did not paint them in a favorable light.
In the Fishman district, young teenage minds were filled with the accomplishments of the Sun Pirates, growing in such a place riddled their minds with hatred towards humans in general, the nurture was very bad and young minds formed prejudice early, one such mind was a teenage Hody Jones. He was fifteen at the time as he cheered on the Sun pirates with his friends, he wanted all of the humans gone even if he never met one, his friends followed his mindset as the older generation poured them with stories of hate and disgust towards humans.
"Fisher tiger admonished us, both me and Arlong killed a lot of humans and he did not like it, he always said if we kill we lose, that our purpose was not to avenge centuries of persecution, that he did not attack Marie Geoise for it, he broke the laws of the world not for selfish desires like revenge but to free the oppressed! The sun pirates fought for freedom and liberty, not for revenge and petty crimes! Their actions in the surface could reflect really poorly on the Ryugu kingdom and bring retaliation to countless innocents…"
Jimbei lamented as he remembered his early day killings. Tiger was not opposed to killing, but their actions reflected on their island, they couldn't afford to paint an even worse light on their Kingdom, they couldn't be the ones who moved the cycle of hatred even deeper.
"...But big brother, didn't you kill dozens of Celestial dragons?" Jimbei argued.
"I did what was necessary at the time!" Fisher pushed Jimbei down he pointed his finger at him, holding him by the scuffle, Jimbei was shocked at the seriousness in his Big brothers face.
"Do you hear me Jimbei?! WE fight and rob those who attack us… but we never must cross the final line… we never kill!" He yelled his orders out, Arlong heard everything as well as the crew outside.
Arlong tried to argue against his Captain, saying that it was okay to kill, it was okay to give out retribution. However, he was brutally beaten down and lectured all day.
XOX
"Jimbei… Queen Otohime's quest… is an idealistic dream… Does she see any difference between me and a person like Arlong? I want to believe that she will succeed… but my logical side says her dream is impossible, the thing I fear the most is the rage inside of me… the Demon inside of me..." Tiger vented as he drank more booze, his heart went out to the little Queen but he was still the scum of the earth.
"Fisher Tiger's war and Otohime's quest continued, after a while, I received my own bounty poster as second in command of the Fishman pirates… My strength was recognized…"
"I did not have success; I couldn't gather enough signatures… I was getting frustrated, but my baby girl was there for me, to give me strength" Otohime smiled as she lovingly gazed at her teenage daughter.
"In no time three years went by, it was at this time, the Sun Pirates met a girl, a little one called Koala, she was only eleven years old, a girl who escaped Marie Geoise, three years prior, we were tasked with delivering her to her family… At the time I finally surpassed the Captain in power… all of the crew knew that to be true, however, in a Pirate crew, the strongest is not necessarily the Captain or the Quartermaster… we all still respected and admired him..." Jimbei said somberly.
XOX
Grand Line…
"It's a human brat! This is too much! What's it doing on a ship with me!?" Arlong raged.
"—It can't be helped." A Merman Pirate sighed.
Arlong glared at the child, she had a permanent grin on her face. Arlong hit her and raged over the infernal grinning, however he was stopped from harming the child further by Hachi, the child started scrubbing the floor, cleaning the blood that fell from her face because of the bruise.
To Jimbei's astonishment…
The child did not want to be killed, so even bleeding, even after being hit hard, she worked to clean the deck, she wouldn't cry no matter what...
So she wouldn't be killed.
She was brave enough to enter the ship so she could see her mother... so if she worked hard for them, perhaps they would not kill her, it was her slave training and how ingrained it was within her.
Fisher Tiger approached the girl, picked her up, brought her to his cabin.
A scream to high heavens was heard as the crew waited outside, Tiger opened the door, showing Koala naked with a sun pirate mark, recently added on her back, it still sizzled as she fought the pain but fainted.
"Bandage her up, it was a harsh cure, but she would have never gotten better with that brand there…"
"Oh… I passed out! I'm sorry!" Her grin in place as she woke up, her face was sweaty with fear. "...But I didn't cry!"
Fisher Tiger glared.
"...So please don't kill me! No matter what you do to me I'll…"
"Cry If you want to cry! We are not like those bastard Celestial Dragons" Fisher Tiger yelled as he held her shoulders.
"..." She still grinned.
"Look!" Fisher drew a gun, she grinned harder and trembled a tiny bit at the sight. Fisher Tiger threw it towards the sea, it splashed as it sank further down.
Koala watched the gun sink to the depths of the ocean.
Her grin started faltering.
"We… will never kill anybody! Let's go men! We are taking her home!"
The pirates cheered, Koala watched the back of Fisher Tiger, her grin faltering. Tears ran down her face as she tried to grin, but her emotions wouldn't let her, her mouth changed position as she wailed between a fake grin and a cry, her eyes had a whisper of hope reignited after a long time. She started screaming and crying in earnest, she could no longer hold the ugly grin.
Jimbei by her side clutched her tiny shoulder in comfort, a lot of feelings and thoughts passed his mind.
The Sun Pirates rejoiced that they found an Eternal Pose to Koala's home island after a few weeks she had been cleaned up and her face looked healthier tan she'd ever been. She became bashful and shy around the Sun Pirates... Not knowing how to receive their kindness after being a slave for so long. What had she suffered, what had she seen while young did not matter.
The tiny girl named Koala had found a group that had accepted her, despite being the infamous Sun Pirates.
However some did not easily accept her.
Arlong needed to show his comrades what she truly was on the inside, to show them how her parents taught her to look down on Fishmen. All humans thought they are the greatest, and their children would inevitably inherit that superiority mindset and unless someone smashed those beliefs to the ground, the cycle would never stop. Surely everyone knows what he was talking about, everyone had seen the way humans look at them when they pass by and he let them go because Tiger was there, fi he wasn't, then what would Arlong, and Jimbei, or the others would do to those humans who looked down on them?
However it was Jimbei that refused to be put in the same category, now he knew that humans mostly feared them, the ones that truly hated Fishmen were just a small portion of humankind.
What makes humans afraid of Fishmen?
"It is because humans do not know anything about Fishmen." That was the reply given by Koala.
Jimbe recalled Queen Otohime saying the same thing about humans.
For these past years, he became wiser, and now… Now he regretted doubting Otohime, his passive aggressive relationship with her was one of his biggest regrets.
The next few weeks Koala befriended most of the crew, their adventures were fun to be in and she formed a special bond with them, especially the Captain Fisher Tiger.
XOX
Finally they arrived at Koala's village. Tiger and Koala walked alone to the village. This was the first time since he climbed the Red Line and liberated those slaves that he did anything remotely nice for a human.
She ran to her mother as Tiger kept his distance, smiling at the reunion as Koala and her mother hugged, although he was met with stares and glares, it was the usual. Tiger would not be discouraged.
He turned to leave, Koala waved at him, and he gave a smile...
After getting a little ways away from the town, he was ambushed.
By a Rear Admiral.
The people in the village tipped off the marines. They prepared an ambush. Fishmen were not to be trusted. Even when he did a great thing he was still persecuted. All so that the marines would be quiet about Koala's slave status.
Was this world serious?
The marine tells him that they were tipped off that he would be coming to this island, saying the people in Koala's village were okay with the Marines capturing him,
Fisher Tiger looked at the sky, a betrayed look overcame as he charged forward for a fight.
The Sun Pirates heard gunshots coming from the direction of the village. However they did not have the time to afford to be surprised because all around they were surrounded by the Navy. The Marines start firing and Jimbei ordered everyone to abandon ship and make for the ocean floor, realizing that Tiger was in trouble.
XOX
Tiger was on one knee and covered in blood.
Fisher Tiger was critically wounded from the ambush, but the crew was able to steal a Marine ship. He was surrounded by his anxious and dreading crew. He needed a blood transfusion if he wished to survive, however he had a rare S-type blood that the Fishmen did not have, however the doctor still had Human blood which was the same as the Fishmen blood.
Dirty blood.
Fisher Tiger, betrayed. Angry. He let the demon inside of him free.
If he were to live with human blood inside of his vein, then it was best for him to die right here.
It would be the greatest shame of his whole life.
Tiger then admitted to them something he had been keeping secret.
He revealed that on his last excursion before the formation of the Sun Pirates, he was never on a voyage. He was captured, and had spent the several years' time at Marie Geoise, and tearfully bellowed that he had been a slave.
Tiger described the human madness he went though. He had barely escaped with his life and could not abandon the other slaves.
Fisher Tiger always lived by his beliefs, making things truly difficult for Otohime's ambition as a result. Otohime's way was right, that everyone should try and live in peace. The ones who can change the world are people like Koala who do not know about hatred. No one could ever know about their rage or their tragedy, The Sun Pirates' curse of hatred. The world is full of kind-hearted humans, but they are a dying breed and soon all that will remain is hate.
Crying hysterically, Tiger told them that he had tried but could never love a human.
However to the crew it was different. Fisher Tiger was the greatest man to ever live. All the slaves he freed owed him a massive debt they will never be able to repay, no matter how badly Tiger thought of himself, he was still the hero of Fishman Island.
"...And so, The leader of the Sun Pirates died. The great Fisher Tiger… Arlong returned to the village and try to kill them all, they betrayed Fisher Tiger, it was a quest for vengeance, however he was brutally beaten and captured by Kizaru who was a vice admiral at the time… The news of Fisher Tiger, betrayed by humans, driven to death because they refused to give human blood… the last part came out as a lie, Arlong lied while being captured, he would never admit that Tiger, who was the one who refused, nor would he reveal that Tiger was a slave… 'Humans refused to give blood' was the lie that was printed for convenience…"
"After that I took the mantle of Captain, with Aladine by my side. I took Tiger' and Otohime's lessons to heart, we never killed anyone, we knew now, that we represented how the world saw Fishmen..."
XOX
Ryugu Palace, 10 years ago…
"…At the very least… I wanted you to know the truth, so I took the up a pen and wrote this, Jimbei, Captain of the Sun Pirates"
Neptune read the letter addressed to Otohime, she was beside him in his throne, her face had a faraway look she was now twenty years old.
Jimbei… Otohime thought back towards him, he always had an aggressive view towards her, but now his words were caring in nature directed towards her. What happened Jimbei, what changed your mind so much, what shook you so much? She asked in her mind, her compassion worried about him.
"I've made up my mind..." Otohime repeated Tiger's words from that day, her voice was serene as she remembers him fondly.
"There was no other way for Tiger…" Neptune lamented the death of his friend.
"I finally understand a bit more of what he felt that day, the way you act when you die is often your true self…" Otohime spoke.
Then, how will I act, when it's finally my time… She lamented, uncertain of herself.
"Don't worry I'll be alright my love; I will not fail!"
Otohime grinned at him, he smiled a bit in relief, however he had a bad feeling in his gut. Fisher Tiger's death was a hard blow towards his family, he was good friends with him and he also knew how much Otohime looked up to Tiger as an older brother, even when he went against her wishes and attacked the Holy Land, Neptune worried for his wife, both for her life and for her mental state.
"My little eldest loved him, he idolizes you, Jimbei and Tiger too much…"
"Hmmm, his dream is to be a great general and warrior after all…" Neptune commented.
"A general huh…" Otohime lamented, he would never become one, he was to be the next King after all.
XOX
"My quest for petitions continued but right after Tiger's death, I could not find success any longer..."
"Not one person signed today…" She leaned and laid down on Shirahoshi's soft body.
"Okaa-sama, are you alright?" Shirahoshi cutely asked, she now was four years old.
"You look very tired." Fukaboshi commented.
"My precious darlings, you are my peace of mind~" Otohime grinned.
"It will be alright."
All of them joined their pinky fingers.
"Let's promise to make a better future." Otohime regained her drive as they nodded.
XOX
"I struggled day after day, to realize my dream, I organized operations for wrecked ships… I taught children about the surface… I circulated petitions; I gave speeches in all of the streets… but…" Otohime held her breath as she spoke.
"—Queen Otohime, we would like to make a request" a crowd gathered.
"...Oh, you are the ones who signed the petition..." Otohime smiled.
"—…I know this is very selfish of us but we like to take back our signatures." The crowd spoke.
"What?" Otohime exclaimed… her frustrations and fears came and formed a lump in her throat.
She grasped the box there were some left as the crowd filtered out shame in their faces.
"—My Queen…" The Minister of Right grit his teeth in frustration.
"Hmmm oh hello children…."
"—Um, you know… that paper we signed the other day…. My mom says…"
"..."
"—...I listened to you because you are the Queen but…"
"..."
"...The problem lies with the humans after all…"
"..."
"...Please…"
"..."
"...Stop giving speeches…"
"..."
"...We had enough…."
"..."
The box with the petitions now laid empty, Otohime smiled sadly…
Years of work undone.
XOX
"I worked very hard today!" Otohime stretched her hands as she said with a fake cheerful voice.
"Welcome home mother!" Shirahoshi greeted her with a smile.
"I'm home, my little angels~~ would you mind giving me some time to myself today?" She asked sweetly.
"...?" Shirahoshi tilted her head cutely.
XOX
She wailed for all the palace to hear, Shirahoshi watched her mother from the door, hiding cutely. Neptune leaned his fist to his temple as he heard the wails of his wife, this was going to be his entire day.
"They are all liars!" Otohime cried, her hands holding the microphone, connected to all towns and cities of the kingdom
"Queen Otohime, that was the broadcast throughout the kingdom!" the Minister of Left warned.
"Shut up Minister!" Otohime screamed
"Are you drunk?"
"I said shut up! I'm not drunk!"
Around the kingdom, the populace was confused, the queen spoke from the broadcast instead of her usual speeches, her drunken slur also clued them in, she was piss poor drunk.
"Yes, you are!" The minister cried out in frustration.
"Given that we can live anywhere in the water, in this vast ocean and on the dark sea floor why do we choose this place to live? Isn't it because we enjoy a little light?"
"The surface has even more light and an endless sky! Why our children love to sneak to Saobondy Park? There are many wonderful places in the world and none of them should be off-limits to us! Aren't we just making excuses so that we don't have to try?! Please gather your courage and go after what you want the most! If the humans form an obstacle to our dream, we should find a way to overcome it together! If we did that… we might change the future of our children for the better!"
Otohime cried, her tears fell, she really wanted to accomplish her dream, her resolve was not yet broken.
The Fishmen around the kingdom bowed their heads in shame.
XOX
"... One day, leading the Sun Pirates a message came to me, inviting me to be a Warlord of the Sea, if I accepted they would pardon the slaves and they all could return home. Influenced by Fisher Tiger and Otohime I returned to Fishmen island and discussed the proposal with Neptune, It was a chance for redemption, if I were to take the position it would bring us closer to the government and make up a bit for the way we sabotaged Otohime's dreams… the King agreed with me, things were really hard on her at the time… However, the title came with the pardon for Arlong as well, he rejected me, what I stood for, he couldn't accept that I became a 'government dog', so in time the Sun Pirates split into different factions altogether and I couldn't bring myself to kill my brother Arlong..."
"By the time Jimbei-san became a Warlord of the Sea, another incident took place in the Ryugu Kingdom… A Celestial Dragon crashed the ship ashore of Fishman island, he was a tiny green haired man, plump with green hair, his face was mostly disgusting to see, and he was the only survivor, miraculously he survived with no life-threatening injuries. However, he would never walk again and even so, he held his arrogance as he challenged us, he did not want to breathe the same air as us, the man bled but did not cry as he pointed the gun at the populace, he felt entitled to everything..."
"...My subjects stayed in inaction, a few soldiers wanted to kill him even… it turned out the man wanted to collect his slaves which had ran away when Tiger-san attacked, since all of them became Sun Pirates and returned home when Jimbei-san became a Warlord, they quickly confronted the man… The slaves, who were used and abused by that man took up their weapons… They aimed their guns and arms at the fallen noble… here in the bottom of the sea, there was no danger present… the admirals won't travel here, the voyage is too risky for their warships… so the power wielded by the noble was null and void… he was just a shipwrecked victim, and if the population kept a gag in their mouth about the issue, there would be no problem… the crowd supported the former slaves with all they had… they started lynching the man..."
"—Kill him!"
"I know I'm supposed to forgive and forget, but I will never forgive you!" A Fishman pointed the gun at the man, the jeers were very loud in their ears.
"Wait!" Otohime soft yell was deafened by the bloodthirsty screams of the crowd.
"Stop! Rotten Fish!" The noble cried and snot fell, he feared for his life.
The Fishmen shot the noble, however before the bullet could arrive and kill him, Otohime put herself between the world noble and the bullet, receiving a wound on her back.
"...!"
"Huh?" The crowd looked on, their Queen protected the noble, her dress had a huge blood patch, a lump formed on the throat of everyone, their minds were in denial.
"Q—Queen Otohime" The Fishman who shot started to cry; their gaze fell on the bloody form of Otohime.
"Ugh!" She clutched her side; the bullet pierced her organs for sure.
"The bullet hit the Queen!" The crowd started to cry, in frustration or sadness.
"Queen Otohime!"
"Put your guns down right now! if not for me, do it for the children, they are watching!" She huffed in pain, the man had an instant regretful look and all of them dropped their arms.
"Aladine, what happened to the celestial dragon?!" Jimbei asked rushing to the scene.
"I just got here."
"Big boss Jimbei our mother rushed out of the palace so…" Fukaboshi rushed forward, his siblings behind him.
"Princes…. Shirahoshi" Jimbei exclaimed.
"What's a celestial dragon, brother?" Shirahoshi asked feeling the tense situation.
"They are humans Shirahoshi, one of the scariest types." Fukaboshi lectured his six-year-old sister.
…
"It only grazed me!" Otohime chewed her bottom lip as she lied through her teeth.
"Of course not, Look at that wound, you need immediate treatment."
"Queen Otohime, why are you protecting that man, do you realized what things this demon has done?" One of the slaves argued.
"I feel the suffering in your hearts…" Otohime started crying.
"I know that this man is hateful, that he is the worst humanity has to offer, but please, don't let yourselves hate humans… and don't teach the children to hate them! They will meet them one day! Then they will learn and form their own opinions… please… please don't continue this cycle, I… I beg of you…"
Jimbei looked at Otohime's crying figure with a shocked look.
"Don't say anything to the people of the island! Don't tell them of our tragedy… of our rage against humans!" Fisher Tiger bellowed out as he was dying,
Those words every single one of them was engraved in Jimbei's mind, he looked at Otohime in a completely different light.
"M...Mother, be careful!" Shirahoshi yelled in fear and shock, the Celestial Dragon held a gun to Otohime's head.
"NO! MY QUEEN! Unhand her this instant she needs treat—" Jimbei rushed forward ready to send the man to hell.
"MOTHER!" Shirahoshi screamed a sound wave blew across the entire seafloor, hundreds of thousands of kilometers.
The shipwreck behind sank with extreme force, as if pushed down by a gravity well, the force caused a large splash that rained down on the beach, shockwaves thundered across the island.
The world noble looked behind him, Giant columns raised as eldritch abominations rose from the water, five of them, they were titanic in scale, easily reaching thousands of feet tall, each of them had an unhealthy stare at the man, their eyes and mouth open. These beasts were Sea Kings, one of the most powerful organisms nature had created, each was different, and the biggest recorded abomination was ten kilometers in length and three across, that one could devour islands.
All of those who were in the plaza almost died of fear, as they gazed the monsters that stared at them. The Noble fainted, Hody feared for his life, Jimbei and Aladine were unresponsive and Vander Decken was shocked but had a greedy look on his face, soon the Sea-kings submerged.
It's the legend! Vander thought.
"What was that? It can't be a coincidence…" Jimbei gazed at the crying Shirahoshi somberly.
Shirahoshi, are you… Otohime's concerned look locked on her precious daughter.
"Ugh!" Otohime clutched her back; the wound was big and she was losing blood fast.
"Aladdin!" Jimbei yelled, as they rushed and supported their Queen, Aladdin started treatment of her wound, then he shifted his attention towards the world noble.
Long time ago a mermaid princess had the uncanny ability to control sea kings, the legend that lured the first Vander Decken to the sea floor, I finally found her. Vander grabbed the chance now that they were occupied with the queen and he touched the princess with his right hand.
"A few days later, we were mostly recovered from our wounds, We gave the noble a ship to sail and all the help he needed, I grabbed the chance and went with him to the surface, if my words were not enough to sway my people then my actions would… a weakling as I was, if I could survive, then it proved that it was safe for everyone to go…" Otohime spoke reminiscing.
"Otohime!" Neptune said concerned.
"Believe in the woman that you love… and in the humans too" Otohime said with a grin.
XOX
Present Time…
"It was a hard time after Otohime left us, most of us could not sleep properly, worried, the entire kingdom worried about you, a single week felt like hundreds of days as most of us settled in silence, the speeches you gave, the lectures, the attention and care, it all felt missing in our hearts… yet you returned… A woman born with a weak body but the strongest heart, returned intact, for a moment there… I wanted to perform a Fisher Tiger and climb Marie Geoise to save you…" Jimbei joked, all of the crew laughed.
"That week was harsh on me, there is no doubt that the celestial dragons are the worst humans imaginable, however, no harm overcame me… although there were times where I was almost kidnapped in the holy land!" Otohime joked the crew released their tension, Shirahoshi laughed as she cried, the story was had too much emotion to a complete empathetic being like her, to get past the bad parts she focused her gaze on Luffy and her Mother, both sometimes noticed her gaze and reciprocated with a caress or a pat.
"Holy Land…" Luffy murmured, he looked down, his grey eyes glowing with unbridled fury.
Perhaps she has met my maternal 'family', my uncles, my maternal grandmother, that utter whore, and my maternal grandfather, that piece of shit. Oh family gatherings will be so much fun... Luffy focused his rage inside of him, Otohime focused her baby blue eyes, that rage, it was the same she felt ten years ago, it was the same rage she still felt today, she could relate so much to this gorgeous man.
"After some days of negotiation Queen Otohime returned to us. She was able to appease the high-handed world nobles, we honestly did not care about the nobles, all of us were in knees crying in relief for the return of our Queen. The population of Five million Fishmen came before her and cried in relief, that's how much we loved you, and that love has grown since then, now every citizen here idolizes you." Jimbei exclaimed.
Otohime dropped her head in shame, perhaps she deserved that love a long time ago, but she did something so horrible, she was not someone that deserved forgiveness nor love, not anymore, she leaned on her corrupted Trident, Jimbei looked sternly at the spear, a spark of disgust flew by, he knew that spear very well, and what it caused.
XOX
"Otohime returned holding a piece of paper, and that piece of paper would become the hope of Ryugu kingdom..."
Otohime grinned, as she waved towards her subjects, she finally returned after negotiation with those hard-asses now it was time to follow her dream once more. Sometime later Vander plotted to steal the Tamatebako, it was then he sent the first marriage proposal to Shirahoshi, a six-year-old girl.
"...A statement from a world noble carries immense weight… even at the reverie, the conference of kings! And this is one statement from such a noble!"
"This is what it says 'I too approve of the friendship between men and fishmen as stated in the petition' in other words… if we present lots of signatures at the reverie this one piece of paper could make our dreams a reality, we could all emigrate!" Otohime preached as the masses heard her.
"—The signature of a celestial will make that happen?"
"—I'm not sure about that"
"All we need now… is as many of your signatures as possible, It's all up to you… please show me your willingness to live with humans… show me your willingness to emigrate to the surface! show me your willingness to end this prejudice once and for all!" She yelled, she trembled, her voice almost cracked during the speech, she was afraid she'd fail, minutes passed as she looked at the box in apprehension, her eyes showed desperation, her lips trembled.
However, several children rushed forward, they each put their petitions in, Otohime's eyes became misty, as she smiled bravely.
"Children… you always bring me such hope… you won't ask for it back later, will you?" she asked them softly.
"—No way! And mom said she'll sign too!" Her eyes became misty, as the child innocently declared.
"What?" She asked baffled, soon hundreds of applications were put on the humble box she was holding.
"—Line up everyone!" "—Hey wait for your turn!" "—Quit pushing!"
The crowds kept coming to the stage delivering their petitions with a happy smile, Otohime put both of her tiny hands in her face as she gazed at the box, Jimbei in the distance smiled at Otohime's dumbfounded face, a stray tear fell from his face.
"Big brother… do you see this… we are moving towards the future…" Jimbei watched the proceedings with Aladine.
"—Queen Otohime! You are going to need a bigger box!" A person good naturally said as the box overflowed with papers, the crowds behind him also agreed. "—Don't you know you know how many people are here?" He mentioned the hundreds of thousands gathered, still waiting for a turn.
"What?" She whispered in shock, she could not understand, tears started rolling from her face.
"Excuse me! Put them in this box please!" The people brought a giant box made of straw; it was twice as big as her.
"Queen Otohime, this is no time for tears, why don't you rest a bit over there?" The Minister of Right motioned.
"But…" She protested.
"If you approve of the Queen's passion, come here and give us your signatures!" The minister of right yelled as the public cheered.
"Waaaah!" Otohime balled her heart out, the minister of the left behind her a hand comforting her.
"...After seven years Otohime's trials and tribulations finally bore fruit… and all of her subjects loved her…" Jimbei remembered Neptune's proud face, as he cried a bit after bragging about his wife, he remembered Otohime happily embracing all of her children, true happiness radiating from her.
"...People from all over the kingdom gathered at the plaza with their signature in hand, day after day" Otohime said excitedly grasping her trident.
XOX
"At that moment… I felt a surge of courage… I knew this island could really change." Otohime said to her baby princes, no they were not her babies anymore, they were her darling boys.
"At what moment?" Mamboshi asked.
"When the Sea Kings arrived" Otohime pointed with a smile.
"Oh, that was a real scare!" Ryuboshi replied.
"...Shirahoshi summoned them..." Otohime said as she closed her eyes.
"...!"
"What?!"
"We merfolk take talking with fishes for granted… but none of us can speak with the Sea-kings, your mother, for example, can only speak with small carps and goldfish, I don't even have luck with small schools, pitiful isn't it?" She raised her palm as a small fish landed on it and started nibbling on her skin.
"Your father, on the other hand, can communicate with whales, yet Sea Kings are out of his reach, but according to the royal legend, there was a mermaid who could communicate with the Sea Kings… this mermaid is born once every few centuries… along with that special mermaid will come one who can guide her to use her power for good, and when the time comes the world will change! That's what the legend says..." Otohime told them the legend with an air of mystery and playfulness.
"The world will change?!" Fukaboshi returned to his thoughts.
"And that means this island will change as well" Otohime pointed out.
"Then we can only hope that this change will be a great help to you mother, as well as your dream" Ryuboshi replied.
"Yes, I'm sure it will, the power of love can save millions… when used correctly, but if used maliciously it can sink the entire world, It is a formidable power that can utterly destroy… your sister is not yet aware of her powers… nor can she hope to control it yet, If anything traumatic would occur and she unwillingly calls the Sea-kings to run amok…" Otohime said seriously.
"The Fishmen island would be wrecked! What should we do mother?" Ryuboshi asked.
"I will take care of that, for now, we are safe, but that's why my gorgeous little princes must grow up to be manly warriors, as her elder brothers and protectors… you must defend your baby sister with your lives!" Otohime said as they immediately agreed, their love for family was too great, and their dreams to be brave warriors like their father, Tiger and Jimbei was on the forefront in their minds.
"Thank you!" Otohime grinned.
XOX
"The incident occurred without warning, the greatest tragedy Fishmen island had seen…" Jimbei spoke, it was hard for him to talk about it.
The box with the signatures burned, the soldiers moved to try and put the fire, they carried some signatures that were not signed, as Otohime begged to put out the fire, the soldiers worked tirelessly as such they missed a bang sound that echoed throughout the plaza. Otohime's trembling head looked down, her chest was pierced as blood spurted out, her heart and lungs damaged, she collapsed, her hand holding her chest wound as her heart pounded, the crowd screamed.
She huffed as she clutched her wound, she looked at her palm, she saw the pool of blood staining her hands, she collapsed forward.
"HER MAJESTY HAS BEEN SHOT!" The crowd yelled and screamed in fear.
"Who did it where did it come from?!" Aladine screamed.
"There is a bastard sniper somewhere! Protect the royal family!" Jimbei screamed out orders, his eyes were red with rage.
The princes screamed, Shirahoshi looked at her mother with a shocked look, she could not move, the warriors and medics gathered around her, the ministers as well, she could feel her husband approaching from the distance.
"Princes, return to the Ship!" Jimbei roared, however, they neglected the order.
"Mother!" The sibling approached her body, she looked at them misty-eyed, Otohime huffed, clutching her wound, the medics worked on her.
"Thank god! It missed the artery, you'll live, just hold on my Queen!" The medic screamed, hysterically crying, but his movements and hands were steady and graceful, he was in a state of shock.
"Who did this!? They will pay!" Fukaboshi raged.
Otohime looked sadly, her misty eyes gazed upon her darlings, she huffed in pain, she opened her mouth however only whines and gurgles of blood came out of her mouth, no voice at all.
She composed herself.
"Calm down my little angels, I let my guard down...mgh... I was so happy about the signatures, being hit like this is embarrassing… the culprit..." She whispered, she coughed a few times as her voice cracked squealed and whined.
At this time her face assumed at shocked look.
"FUKA—"she tried to scream but only a whisper came out, and her voice completely died during her warning, she tried to move but her body was suffering from shock, she saw the spear.
A white spear being launched, right in the direction of her eldest.
It was going to hit Fukaboshi, It was going to hit her darling son, a shadow came and shielded Fukaboshi.
King Neptune blocked the spear with his body as it pierced his back, as he embraced his family, Otohime's baby blue eyes gazed at her husband in shock, her eyes opened to their maximum as her baby blue became dull and lifeless a glint of rage befell her as she looked at her husband screaming in pain.
No, not him, I LOVE HIM! please, PLEASE… plea— Otohime prayed to the gods, this was not happening, not to him...
The last she saw was her baby Princes cheering Shirahoshi, they took her lesson to heart, the trauma of both parents being assassinated was too much, Shirahoshi, the ever strong and steady Shirahoshi controlled herself and buried her feelings deep down as Otohime passed out.
XOX
Present Time
"The man who shot Otohime down and who threw the spear meant for Prince Fukaboshi was a human, Otohime lived through the bullet, a surgery was scheduled late at night, however the spear that pierced the Kings back was poisonous, it contained toxins from the blue-ringed giant octopus, the monster box jellyfish, and the death-touch giant squid, the quantity in his blood was enough to kill twenty blue whales immediately...the King, The Sea God Neptune... had three days to live…
Everyone was told of these news… even the Queen who was in the ER in the palace… despite being sedated, she kept awake, an abnormal situation… she fled by herself from the ER with the bullet still lodged in her chest, she stole the same spear used to pierce the King — it was held in the palace as the ministers and the King himself discussed — and with it she invaded the dungeons of the castle, the human who attempted the assassination was already scheduled for death row… it was the law for the crimes of that magnitude…
Yet despite this she broke into his cell and killed him, mangled him, brutally chopped his body with the spear... she took vengeance with her own hands, after all she just received news that her husband was to die."
Jimbei had a long look in the direction of Otohime, her eyes were shadowed, a hypocrite, she preached about peace, however in her rage and state of mind killed the man in the most brutal way possible, instead of a normal decapitation in which the criminal did not suffer for long.
The Ryugu kingdom, like all kingdom, boasts of a death sentence, in this country it is only given to those with heinous crimes, their attempt of assassinating both the Queen and the Royal Prince, next in line, constituted as one of the most heinous, death row inmates would be taken to isolated locations, and quickly decapitated, while brutal to see it was a painless way to go, unlike hanging or lynching that occurred in other places. Originally it was hanging, however, Otohime wanted to change, she wanted to abolish the death penalty however Neptune fervently denied it, it was a necessity for the country, so she changed into a painless death, and yet… she herself killed the man by her own hands using brutal methods to end his life...
"... She was not the Queen I knew, her eyes were dead, with a dangerous glint, she did that all without regret, however, one look upon her dying husband and her eyes returned to normal, that night… she… you ran away..." Jimbei fixed his glare on Otohime.
"You left that night, without warning, leaving your husband to die alone three days later… the funeral proceeded without you… you left us all stranding for a whole year, Shirahoshi and the Princes had to cope with the threat of Vander Decken alone... While I and the ministers ruled the country..." Jimbei said sternly, each time Otohime flinched, her body shivered with guilt, she abandoned them, she abandoned them all… she ran away.
"...You finally returned home, after a whole year, different, you were even more stunning, having grown several inches, and to this day you still grow larger, you were also carrying that spear, no... you completely reforged that spear into the trident that is today, I bet it doesn't even have poison anymore... what is it?... you carry around the weapon that killed your husband!" Jimbei said his piece as he raised his voice, Shirahoshi gasped as she looked at the weapon, her eyes became a bit misty.
"...All I want to know is what happened to you after you were shot, what happened that night, and what happened to you in that year. Then I'll speak about Neptune, his final days, and his ultimate sacrifice." They started at each other; her baby blue eyes focused on his obsidian ones.
"...Very well Jimbei… while I do not remember much I will speak of everything..." Otohime agreed to his proposition, she always wanted to hear what happened in her husband's final days. However, she felt the greatest shame and refrained for even asking, a person such as her shouldn't deserve anything... Even today as she looked on his grave, she did not know what her love did in his final days, she did not know the hardships her precious darlings passed when she was away… she was the worst.
"After I was shot…"
XOX
Ten years ago…
Otohime opened her eyes, it was so dark, she could only see the outlines of some objects, her ears were ringing and she could hear heart beating full pace, she raised herself from the bed, pulling the needles off her arm tearing the skin with the force, her mind was screaming in pain. However her mind was filled at the moment her husband was pierced, she walked off the room, some medics tried to stop her, she could not see them, only sense them, she wanted them out of here she had to see her husband… a breeze passed her as the medics and guards dropped like potato sacks around her, she dragged herself, hitting walls and sharp edges, her body opened various wounds and bruises, she could not use her observation very well, the palace was dark, why, it should have had light even in the night.
Her ears rang her head pounded against itself, she finally discovered, she was temporarily blind, if one were to see her, they would see a mess of an upper body, full of wounds, her face full of bruises, and her eyes open, yet no baby blue color, they were dead, lifeless grey, she hit another wall, however this time she picked voices, voices that were across the wall.
"—The Queen was shot today; the King is also hit…"
"—What happened to her?"
"—She is still in ER; they will do surgery tonight…"
"—What happened to King Neptune?"
"—He is in his quarters; the ministers and Big Boss Jimbei are with him… He… He was poisoned by that spear…"
"—That one… huh…"
Otohime could gather that they were looking at the spear, where was she, were they soldier, what about poisoning, her husband would be alright, right?
"—The poison will kill him in three days, that's what Aladdin said…"
What? What are they saying? Otohime raged.
"—Moreover the culprit was a Human, there is no justice in this world…"
A human… why...why...WHY? Otohime tried to make sense of the situation… yet all she could do was despair as her resolve was shattered...
"—He is in the dungeons, huh? That bastard deserves the death penalty, how dare he trample on the Queen's feelings—" The soldier who was in the room looked towards the door, there bloodied and naked, full of injuries was Otohime, she looked directly at them, she shed tears of blood.
"My Queen—" Both soldiers dropped down and fainted due to her presence, she dragged herself inhumanly, she could not see, she could not hear well, but she extended her senses of observation to the maximum as she picked the spear, she slowly made her ways to the dungeons using her observation to find the bastard, hitting objects, falling down, hurting herself due to her own confused mind, yet she did not care, her wounds opened as she bled and left a trail of blood for all to follow… she moved like a zombie… unrelenting.
Otohime opened the door to the cell, spear in hand, the human cried for forgiveness, he cried for innocence, even if her own observation banged her head that this was wrong, she pierced, stabbed, and cut the man, unrelenting. She avoided vital spots to prolong the pain, but when the neurotoxins numbed his body as she pierced his jaw, ending the man's life. Yet she continued, cutting the man into pieces, she bathed in his blood as her injuries worsened, a giant hand stopped her, she looked back, an outline of her husband entered her failed vision, Jimbei, and the ministers looked at her in terror as her vision slowly returned to normal, her eyes regained color, as she saw her husband, pale and sickly from the poison, his upper body full of bandages, as he sorrowfully looked at her state…
He tried to embrace his wife, but she ran away with the spear, the ministers and Jimbei were shocked and she bumped into Jimbei on her way out leaving a huge patch of blood in his clothes.
She reached the throne room, she climbed the throne and sat down.
"What now?...What did I do? Ugh…. hahaha... " She cried and laughed as she hugged herself, on her way she picked a giant coat, and she used it around her shoulders, she clutched the coat around her body as she shivered as her blood leaked out of her wounds and impregnated the white coat… she should be dead… her injuries and blood loss were deadly… and yet she was lively, she moved around like she didn't feel pain at all.
"What did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?" She kept on repeat, as she committed the greatest crime against her own ideals, she killed a human out of rage, out of vengeance, she could not even face her husband properly, she shivered as she turned around and rolled around on the giant throne, it was so big that she could lay down on the leather of the seat.
"Hahahahahahahahaha…. The face of the man… NO! What did I do? What did I do? Hahahahaha. Queen of the Kingdom…. This seat is too big for me Hahahahahaha…. My baby Princes come to me…. Hahahahahaha... NO! What did I do? I—I can't face them, MOMMY CAN'T FACE THEM, hahahaha…. My dear Shirahoshi, please use your power to destroy the world! FOR MOMMY PLEASE! NO! No, NO, what am I saying? hahahahahah… p...please, forg—ive me…"
Otohime started a crazy slur of words as she experienced a psychotic attack, she convulsed, she laughed and cried as her brain full of blood went on a craze, she grasped the spear close to her body and she caressed it with an obsessive streak, however after a while she murmured for someone to forgive her.
I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here—
She repeated like crazy as she escaped the palace in her mermaid form, one she not used since she was a child, leaving behind a pool of blood in the Throne of the Ryugu Kingdom… representing the tragedy that happened today and on the next few days.
XOX
Present Time…
"I fled the kingdom that night… for no other reason than of shame… I could not face anyone, not anymore, I failed… I failed everyone; I failed my ancestors… I failed Fisher Tiger… I failed you Jimbei-san… I failed my Ministers… I failed my Husband… Most importantly I failed the promise I made with my darling baby boys and my darling baby girl."
Otohime spoke of what happened, with clear unfiltered detail, what she felt, what she thought, what she said that day, Shirahoshi was crying, her empathy and kindness inherited showed itself. The Straw Hats were shocked at what she did, a kind woman like her did all of that, they couldn't picture it. Luffy, however, looked at Otohime with a look that did not judge her, that understood her, she was grateful to him, so grateful for being so understanding.
"You said I reforged that white spear into a trident, you'd be half right, however, I don't remember any of it, in fact, I don't remember the first three months, the first memory I have is me savagely eating a sea beast, the trident already looked like this, I do not know what I did to change this spear, but.. I don't want to know. The truth might be too horrible… I am still afraid of learning the truth—"
"—Mermaids do not eat meat… yet I did. I was on the North Blue, right next to the polar caps under the dark sea, even with cognition of my mind, I continued to savagely live out in the darkness hunting continental sized beast, the weak and frail Otohime did. I became unbelievably strong… after seven months in, I held onto a fragile hope of returning, however every time I wanted to return back, I was stopped in the calm belt by hordes of Sea Kings… I returned time and time again only to be defeated again and again by those kilometer-wide beasts, I also did not want to kill them, they reminded me of my precious daughter, I... during those weeks and months I surfaced, and began exploring the kingdoms incognito, my sense of justice and morals distorted, I committed atrocious acts… "
Otohime then went on to describe what she did, leaving nothing out, to the shock of everyone present.
"…Until I put my head straight, my fragile hope grew, my resolve came back during those months… I was ready to come back, face punishment, jeers, and boos… I just wanted to see my children again, just that… this time I became strong enough to defeat these hordes of sea kings and traverse the dark floor of the calm belt without killing them… when I arrived…" Her voice died; her eyes rolled tears…
"Why? I didn't deserve it…" Otohime started crying.
"Why did they do that? Why did they bow down to me?… Why did they cry and laugh in relief? I am the worst… I don't deserve to be loved… why did they embrace me… why was I accepted back without jeers? Why? Why did my princes welcome me back with sunny smiles, why did my Shirahoshi cry in happiness...I—I deserved to be punished..." She slumped down as Luffy and Shirahoshi embraced her.
Jimbei looked to the sky.
"Love… you can't reason with love my Queen… The people loved you… it, not a false feeling, it genuine and pure… there is the saying that love and hate are divided by a thin line… that may be true… but it can also be false at the same time… the line can be as thick as the red line, to cross it can be very difficult, especially when the love they feel for you is so genuine… when you left everyone felt betrayed, the King's condition worsened… however when you came back the feeling of betrayal was completely erased by the feeling of relief…the actions you took after your self-exile confirmed our beliefs that it was okay to love you… that you try the hardest out of all to fulfill that promise..."
Jimbei faced the incredulous blue eyes of the Queen, her self-worth was shattered for the longest time, but perhaps she could start to heal… time would tell.
Shirahoshi who heard how hard her mother worked all of these years after she left, flinched.
She thought of her isolation, of how much her mother neglected her after she returned, how much her mother spent time with her brothers, training them teaching them, how much she spent giving speeches, how much she spent on various rescue operations, how much she trained to be a better 'warrior', how much she spent state crafting with her ministers, while she wasted away in her little tower for days and weeks on end, her only pet for comfort, no! her mother gave her all, she was not neglected… yes… that right...
Shirahoshi's thoughts impeded that train of thought, her self-sacrificing and selfless nature denying any possibility that she was neglected in favor of her brothers…
No it was just a necessity, mother spent more time with my brothers and the people because she is the Queen, I—I am just not worthy of her attention, she g—gives her b—best after all, I—I am j-just a bad girl for t—thinking like this, Luffy-sama, Luffy-sama, Luffy-sama...
Shirahoshi flinched and shivered as her bad thoughts continued, she drew strength from the name of her darling.
Unfortunately, her neglect was a caused by the threat of Vander Decken, the heavy burden Otohime had with the administration… the time spent training her princes into great warriors… all to protect Shirahoshi… and yet…
Otohime, her sons and the ministers all wondered the cause of Shirahoshi self-destructive depression, they thought it was caused by the death of her father… yet… the answer was right there...even today they couldn't grasp the problem that was hidden well beneath Shirahoshi's selfless and self-sacrificing nature… but there was so much a person could take until they started breaking down, it was luck that she met Luffy and loved him at first sight, it was a flash of light in her dark life.