I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

Ordinary Dragon Palace soldiers were alright; they were merely intimidated by their imposing presence.

However, the officials of the Dragon Palace Kingdom and King Neptune, being well-informed, were still shocked even if they only recognized one or two of them.

"Red-Haired Shanks? This is a Yonko's ship?"

"That's the right hand of the Pirate King, Rayleigh?"

But among these people, the most eye-catching was a young man who looked to be only in his early twenties. He had handsome features, red lips and white teeth, and an ordinary yet extraordinary appearance. He had an otherworldly air about him, like a firefly in the dark night, making the other men with equally strong auras pale in comparison.

“Neptune, long time no see.” He nodded softly.

Neptune looked bewildered, but Queen Otohime beside him was the first to react:

"You... are Mr. Sig?"

“Yes, it’s me.” Sig nodded slightly, his eyes sparkling as if they were starlight, instantly attracting the attention of the mermaids on the white beach, their eyes gleaming.

"I'm not pretending anymore. I'm laying my cards on the table. This is my true self."

“For so many years, I’ve been struggling to suppress my good looks, but now I don’t have to,” Sieg said calmly.

This is no exaggeration.

But Sieg's current face was created by hand using a photo editing camera, based on his memory of his past life's appearance, with a 1000% accuracy rate.

"So it's Mr. Sig..."

Neptune summoned his men, and after comparing the latest bounty list with the actual bounty, he finally smiled.

In the previous Fishman Island incident, Sigurd killed Hody Jones, saved Queen Otohime's life, and almost maxed out the Ryugu Kingdom's goodwill towards him.

“This isn’t the place to talk.” Sieg glanced at the crowd that was gradually gathering around them.

“I have a friend who wants to talk to you. Why don’t we go to your Dragon Palace?”

Sieg glanced sideways at Roger, who was wearing orange sunglasses, and the latter nodded slightly.

Neptune was quick-witted. After surveying his surroundings, he ordered his soldiers to disperse the crowd, and then led Roger and the others away towards the Dragon Palace.

Sieg didn't move immediately; he watched Roger and the others leave.

As the giant submarine deformed and disintegrated, several revolutionary ships moored inside drifted out.

“Mr. Sig, we have other matters to attend to, so we’ll be taking our leave first,” Long said.

Getting involved with the Four Emperors is too dangerous for the Revolutionary Army right now.

By this time, Dragon and the others had arrived at Fishman Island, so they could find the coating craftsmen there and then head to the New World, no longer needing to travel with Sig and the others.

The two sides parted ways, and Robin and the giant Saul left with the dragon.

Saul's only purpose in escaping from prison was to see Robin, not to become a pirate. Sigurd tried to persuade him to stay, but the latter politely declined.

After bidding farewell to the revolutionary army, Sig led the remaining bandits towards the Dragon Palace Castle, following the official's directions.

To be honest, he was somewhat reluctant to meet Queen Otohime, a person who could see through people's hearts, a natural enemy of him, a veteran actor.

"After impersonating Arlong using Hody Jones, Arlong should still be living on Fishman Island, right..."

"Oh, and there's also Ah Long's sister, the mermaid fortune teller Shirley."

Sieg remembers that there was something fishy about Shirley's prediction back then.

The prophecy that Shirley told him was that he, Sieg, was sitting in a pile of gold coins, surrounded by a group of little girls... This differed from the actual prophecy.

"If I find Shirley again, I might be able to rack up another achievement..."

Sig was pondering things when he entered the Dragon Palace.

...........

Meanwhile, a banquet had begun again in the palace.

Roger had already removed his orange sunglasses, revealing his identity, and was having a pleasant conversation with Neptune.

"Is this your daughter? She's already six years old? I thought she'd have messy hair like you..."

Roger looked at six-year-old Shirahoshi and grinned.

“I’ve always said my daughter wouldn’t have messy hair,” Neptune retorted loudly, a hint of anger in his eyes.

"Rayleigh, how many years has it been?" Roger asked with a wry smile, his eyes filled with a touch of melancholy.

“If you’re asking when I last visited Fishman Island, it’s been 14 years,” Rayleigh replied.

When they last visited, Neptune was not yet married to Queen Otohime, let alone their daughter Shirahoshi.

"It's wonderful to have lived to this day," Roger said with a heartfelt smile.

“Rayleigh, when we arrived last time, Oden and I both heard a huge conversation between the Sea Kings of the Deep Sea. They were discussing two unborn kings…”

"Back then I thought I didn't have time, but now it seems that might not be the case." He said meaningfully, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"I hope we can live to see that time, witness future generations surpass us, and witness the arrival of a new era."

"In that case, I will have no regrets at all."

The adventure of One Piece ended 12 years ago.

The final mission of the former members of Roger's Pirates, including Roger, Rayleigh, and Crocus, is to wait for the appearance of a successor.

Of course... Shanks, Barrett, and other young talents are not included.

“I never expected you to still be alive… Roger.” Neptune smiled slightly.

Queen Otohime, sitting next to him, was not so calm.

Queen Otohime can hear other people's thoughts, and is especially sensitive to those with strong emotional fluctuations.

At this moment, she noticed someone at the banquet whose emotions were fluctuating significantly.

That's Tom, the fish-man shipwright.

He kept glancing at Neptune and Barrett sitting on the other side, hesitating for a long time as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't dare to say anything.

Queen Otohime sensed his inner turmoil, so she leaned closer to Neptune and whispered in his ear.

"Tom? He's back on Fishman Island too? Wait... is he with Roger and Sieg?"

Neptune then noticed Tom's presence and was quite surprised.

In his mind... Sieg was likely coveting the power of Hades, and he had even warned Tom about it. But now it seems that Tom has become one of Sieg's allies?

He pondered for a moment, then excused himself to urinate.

Tom's eyes lit up, and a moment later he got up for the same reason, finally escaping Barrett's sight.

"Fortunately, Barrett is unaware of my connection with the Dragon Palace Kingdom... otherwise he might not have let me leave so easily."

Tom was a little scared. He quickly walked down the corridor and secretly met with Neptune in the next room.

He is the only fish-man in Water Seven, and like his brother Dan, he was born on Fish-Man Island, not a native of Water Seven.

Despite not being a native, he became a fish-man shipwright and obtained the Pluto blueprints passed down through generations of shipwrights in Water Seven... But that's another story.

"Your Majesty Neptune... I've finally met you."

"I won't waste time with small talk, time is of the essence..."

Tom recounted how Sieg had invited him to modify the giant ship Thriller Bark, and how Barrett coveted the Hades blueprints and his craftsmanship.

"Has it really come to this? Could it be that Sieg and Barrett are both eyeing the Hades blueprints?"

Neptune looked worried.

He shared Tom's concerns and found it difficult to discuss the matter with Roger in front of Sieg and Barrett.

After Tom left first, Neptune discussed the matter with Queen Otohime for a while.

"I don't quite believe it," Queen Otohime stated frankly.

“When Sieg came to Fishman Island last time, I heard his thoughts. He still has good intentions and is unlikely to build a large number of Pluton warships to start a war, as you said.”

“Perhaps…” Neptune nodded, then shook his head.

"We cannot place our hopes on Sig's morality."

"The power of ancient weapons is devastating; the decision to destroy or save the world rests in the blink of an eye..."

Neptune and the others also had a good impression of Sieg, after all, Sieg had helped them a lot during the Hody Jones incident and had even saved Queen Otohime and Princess Shirahoshi.

The only thing that bothered Neptune was that Sieg seemed to have a strong interest in Hades.

"No, I believe his true feelings; true feelings don't lie." Queen Otohime remained steadfast in her opinion.

“Neptune, if you still have doubts, I have a solution,” Queen Otohime said.

"Doesn't Sig like little girls? Let Shirahoshi become his nominal goddaughter."

What are you saying?

Neptune was immediately stunned:

"Sig is a world-renowned lolicon! Aren't you pushing our daughter into a fire pit with your own hands?"

"What lolicon... He doesn't have those kinds of crazy thoughts in his heart. His heart doesn't lie." Queen Otohime shook her head.

Neptune remained silent.

Even the most cunning or habitual liar will not lie from the heart.

Queen Otohime's words truly moved him.

"You mean, let Sig form a bond with us, so that even if he builds hundreds of Plutons in the future and drags the world into an unprecedented war, our Fishman Island can be spared because of Shirahoshi's existence?" Neptune asked.

"At the same time, Shirahoshi, once she reaches adulthood, becomes Neptune. With Neptune's power, she can also check and balance Hades to prevent the order from being disrupted?"

Queen Otohime stared blankly at her husband for a long time before shaking her head.

"I didn't think that far ahead or in such a complicated way."

"I just think... he's a good person." Queen Otohime quietly gave him a "good person" card.

"With Shirahoshi around, even if he creates Hades, he probably won't stray too far from the truth, right?"

Neptune paused, and the two stared at each other for a long time.

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