I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

Not only did they obtain treasure, but they also acquired more than one Devil Fruit.

However, while ordinary treasures can be given away, things like Devil Fruits or Angel Fruits, if given to others, could become a source of trouble.

These kinds of hard-to-give items have accumulated in Whitebeard's treasure trove, and over the years they've grown quite a lot.

When Marco placed the two Angel Fruits and the Dark-Dark Fruit on the table, Marco, Vista, and the other captains couldn't help but think of one person.

Both the Angel Fruit and the Dark-Dark Fruit were things that Blackbeard Teach dreamed of back then. He was willing to lie low for many years just for a chance to obtain the Dark-Dark Fruit with a small probability.

But Whitebeard never cared about these things, and could even openly give them away as rewards to his sons.

"Eat it."

Ace swallowed the Angel Fruit and the Dark-Dark Fruit one after the other. A moment later, a bright flame lit up in his right hand, while his left hand glowed with a deep, dark light.

Although the Dark-Dark Fruit is a Logia-type Devil Fruit, it cannot be transformed into an element. When two Logia-type Devil Fruits are combined, Ace may embark on a different path.

But that's a story for another time.

Roger looked at Ace, whose body was engulfed in black flames, and couldn't help but think of the other two little guys he had met in the mountains of the Goa Kingdom: Luffy and Sabo.

Sabo became the chief of staff of the Revolutionary Army, Luffy entered the New World to challenge the Four Emperors, and Ace ate the Dark-Dark Fruit and became a dual Logia-type Devil Fruit user.

These young people of the new era all have a bright future.

But the path of the young people has little to do with the older generation like Roger and Whitebeard.

The journey of young people is a new world, a vast ocean ahead, and an endless adventure.

Their journey, however, leads to... the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

“Each generation has its own path, and it’s time for us to set sail.” Roger stood beside him, his gaze filled with emotion.

"Set sail?" Whitebeard seemed to have realized something.

“Whitebeard.” Roger’s gaze lingered: “Two years ago, after Sigurd reappeared, he and I entered the Grand Line one after another, and we both met Crocus, who was living in seclusion at Twin Capes.”

"I didn't think much about it back then. I was no longer a pirate and was looking forward to my trip with Rouge, so I didn't invite Crocus to come with me."

"Later, however, he boarded Sieg's ship and set sail with Sieg."

"What are you trying to say? Your old crew member was kidnapped by Sig?" Whitebeard tilted his head back and gulped down a bowl of strong liquor.

"When we met again later, Crocus told me that he was moved by something Sig said, which is why he accompanied him on the ship."

Roger murmured:

"Why wait for those who come later? We are the sun."

Whitebeard paused slightly in the hand holding the wine bowl, and looked at Roger.

Upon arriving in Laugh Tale, Roger realized he had come too early, a case of being born at the wrong time.

Thus, Roger, terminally ill, displayed an astonishing will to live. He bravely left behind a descendant, hoping that his son Ace would become the heir to Laugh Tale...

However, times have changed.

The trajectory of fate and the tides of the times have long since become a chaotic mess.

The setting sun of the old era not only lingered, but seemed to have turned back time, becoming the blazing sun in the center of the sky.

The new wave crashes headlong into the old wave, while the old wave is now preparing to smash the reef that has stood for eight hundred years.

If Roger were still Roger the King, he might still have the chance to enjoy his later years in peace.

but.....

"You don't actually think that all these years I've just been on my honeymoon with Rouge, preparing for a second or third child, do you?" Roger swirled the wine in his glass, a smiling face reflected in the pale liquid.

It's true that Roger has been traveling and meeting up with old friends for drinks all these years.

His old friends are Rayleigh, Sparky Jabba, and other former members of Roger's pirate crew.

Young people have their own journeys, and they have their own paths.

just now.

The time to set sail has come.

“Neptune’s daughter, the current mermaid princess, wasn’t even born when I arrived at Fishman Island. According to Shirley’s divination back then, she has now grown up and matured.”

Roger murmured, "I came too early back then, and she was born too late... But things are different now."

"Hmm?" Rouge, who had been listening quietly the whole time, suddenly became alert:

"You're here too early, and she's already late? What are you thinking about for someone else's unborn baby girl?"

“...That’s not what I meant.” Roger was momentarily speechless.

Rouge seemed to have misunderstood. Was he the kind of person who would drive a children's stroller? Besides, Shirahoshi...

“The mermaid princess of Fishman Island is not small at all; in fact, you could say she’s quite large,” Marco interjected from the side.

The Whitebeard Pirates had once sheltered Fishman Island, and the two sides were quite close, so they knew about Princess Shirahoshi.

"Very big?" Rouge's expression became even more strange.

"It's not a matter of whether she's big or small, she's a very rare and special kind of mermaid..." Roger was about to explain the special nature of this generation's mermaid princess, but then he stopped himself, remembering that it was not good to publicize the ancient weapon Sea King.

"Roger, come with me..." Rouge's expression darkened slightly as she pulled Roger away. She was prepared to give Roger a good beating and make sure he would never be able to muster his energy again.

..........................

10,000 meters deep in the ocean.

This depth should be an area where sunlight could never reach, a dark abyss where you can't see your hand in front of your face.

But in front of Sieg at this moment, he could see a huge tree that stretched from the ocean surface to a depth of 10,000 meters.

The tree trunk emitted a faint and soft light, attracting countless creatures in the deep sea, like a sun bringing sunlight to the ten-thousand-meter-deep abyss.

This is the Sun Tree Eve, whose existence allows sunlight from the land to reach the seabed.

Because of the Sun Tree Eve, there is Fishman Island, and the habitat of Fishmen and Mermaids, just like the sun in the deep sea.

Under the soft sunlight, an underwater island, encased in a giant transparent bubble, floats quietly in the deep sea, just like a crystal ball.

"We've arrived at Fishman Island again."

Sig didn't waste any time and quickly entered Fishman Island.

He was accompanied only by Barrett and shipwright Tom at the moment, not by the Dushan, but by a coated single-person submarine that Barrett and Tom had built together.

What he has to do next is quite difficult, and it will be even more difficult if he takes the Dushan with him.

The metal submarine penetrated directly into the coating surrounding Fishman Island, paused briefly in the sky above Fishman Island, and headed straight for the Dragon Palace.

At this moment, King Neptune, Queen Otohime, Shirahoshi, and all the ministers were already waiting here.

“Mr. Sig...you really came.” Nip’s expression was complicated when he saw Sig arrive.

There was worry, there was fear, but even more so, there was longing.

The other fishmen or mermaids around him reacted in a similar way.

To save time, before Sig arrived at Fishman Island, he contacted Neptune via Den Den Mushi and told him something important.

Not just Neptune, but the entire population of Fishman Island was incredibly excited by this news.

"Neptune, Shirahoshi, Jinbe, long time no see..." After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Sig got straight to the point: "So, have you thought it through?"

"If you are determined to live in the sunshine on the sea, I can help your entire Fishman Island tribe relocate."

“At the same time, I will also try to take away the Sun Tree Eve,” Sieg said bluntly.

“Yes, of course I’m willing.” Neptune’s excitement was barely contained.

Although he lived underwater, he had heard some news from the land.

For example, Sig has just declared war on the World Government.

Although it wasn't as terrifying as he had initially anticipated—that Sieg would build two hundred Pluto ships—it was still quite frightening.

If Fishman Island were to reach the surface at this point, it risked being dragged into the quagmire of war.

But... in the end, Neptune made his choice.

The reason is simple: living in the sunlight has been the long-cherished wish of all the residents of Fishman Island for eight hundred years.

Even after Aquaman awakens, Fishman Island is not without the ability to protect itself.

"Can we really live in the sunlight, Jinbe-sensei?" Shirahoshi asked timidly to Jinbe beside her. "I want to see the forests on land, and the birds..."

"It should be...it should be possible." Jinbe nodded, somewhat absentmindedly.

Although he was a fish-man pirate who had seen the sunlight, he had lost his usual composure at this moment.

"Mr. Sig, are you planning to use Shirahoshi's abilities to do this?" Neptune nodded and said.

"Shirahoshi's Sea King ability has indeed been fully awakened."

"She can communicate and converse with sea kings; she is a sea king that appears only once every few centuries."

"With Shirahoshi's abilities, she could have the Sea Kings drag Noah to the surface of the sea."

"However, there are still some problems: Noah's Ark of Promise has been sitting idle at the bottom of the sea for at least eight hundred years."

"Although the main body of the ship is relatively intact, there are quite a few minor damages, so it is not suitable to move it immediately at the moment."

"If Noah's Ark is to be used properly and accommodate 500 million people, it will require considerable repairs, but here's the problem." Neptune shrugged, somewhat helplessly.

“We don’t even know how to build the ship to repair Noah.”

Noah's Ark is very special; its size is equivalent to half of Fishman Island, making it exceptionally large.

Ships of this size are simply impossible to build in modern times, and even repairing them would be impossible.

"Mr. Tom, even you can't repair that ship?" Queen Otohime looked at Tom, the shipwright beside Sig.

Tom, the world's number one shipwright, is actually a horned fishman. He also has a younger brother who lives in the Sea Forest near Fishman Island.

"I'm sorry," Tom shook his head.

"Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice, and the shipbuilding technique used to build Noah has long been lost."

"Shipbuilding has its limits. I cannot do this with my own strength unless I am a Devil Fruit user who can transcend shipbuilding."

"For Devil Fruit users, anything is possible."