The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

Ah Long, tears streaming down his face, pleaded incoherently, citing Tiger's dying wish and brotherhood as his last hope.

Hearing Arlong's desperate pleas, especially the line "Brother Tiger told you, we are brothers," struck Jinbe's heart like a heavy hammer.

For a moment, his hand gripping Ah Long's neck trembled slightly from the force, and immense pain and struggle were etched on his face.

After a long while, as if all his strength had been drained, Jinbe slowly and with great difficulty released his grip on Arlong's neck.

Ah Long collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted, clutching his neck and coughing violently, gasping for breath, his face filled with the relief of surviving a close call.

Jinbe turned his back, no longer looking at Arlong's disheveled appearance. His voice was hoarse and weary, carrying a deep sense of powerlessness.

"Remember what you said today, Ah Long."

"Leave Fishman Island, leave the New World... and never come back."

"And don't let me hear again... what excuse you're using to do something irreversible."

"Otherwise... next time, I won't hold back."

……

[Comment from Xianyu: The timeline will span quite a bit in the coming days. Please connect to the new era as soon as possible, and introduce more characters from the new era.]

Chapter 364 Fate Continues

Meanwhile, inside the coated channels formed by the bubble corals of Fishman Island.

Gern and Toritoma were walking towards the warships anchored outside.

The surrounding area was filled with colorful deep-sea fish and magnificent light and shadow...

“Hey, I said, Gern…” Toritoma recalled the tense scene in the Sea Forest just now.

Especially seeing Jinbe's rare, almost tangible killing intent, he couldn't help but ask...

Do you think... Jinbe would really kill Arlong?

Gern walked steadily, his gaze fixed ahead. He remained silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "No."

"Jinbe...he can't bring himself to do it."

As he spoke, he turned his head slightly to look at Torritoma: "After all, the title 'Sea Knight' isn't given for nothing."

He has his own sense of morality and bottom line, towards his companions, brothers, and especially the brothers Tiger entrusted to him (he even took care of Luffy after promising to do so).

Therefore, the murderous intent just now was more to intimidate Ah Long and also to give me an explanation.

Ultimately, the most likely outcome will be the expulsion of Ah Long.

Upon hearing this, Torituma's slender eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if he wanted to say something more about the potential threat of Alon.

But Gern didn't give her a chance to continue the topic, and directly changed the subject, asking, "Nothing special has happened in the New World lately, has it?"

When Guern asked about serious matters, Torritoma immediately composed himself and replied directly, "It's nothing serious."

Although there are always some clueless newcomers entering the first half of the Grand Line, with Enel and Barrett taking turns patrolling and cleaning up, they basically can't cause any waves.

With Ribo and Kuma overseeing the base's daily defenses and operations, and Tesoro managing the overall situation, everything runs very smoothly.

She paused, then suddenly leaned close to Gern and hugged his left hand, adding, "Moreover, within the G-10 base area and the surrounding core sea area..."

With Tesoro around, his intimidation power... is probably even stronger than Barrett's.

Upon hearing Toritoma's assessment of Tezzolo, Guern had no doubt whatsoever.

He knew very well that Tesoro, who could develop the Gold-Gold Fruit to its fullest potential in a "home field" environment, possessed terrifying strength, definitely on par with the Four Emperors.

Moreover, who knows how much fine gold powder Tesoro has secretly incorporated into the entire G-10 base and its surrounding waters?

"Well, with them around, I can relax a lot," Gern said casually. "Alright, you can go back now!"

I'm planning to take a vacation at the Four Seas. If I'm lucky, Vice Admiral Garp will be back in the East Blue! Then I might even be able to hitch a ride on his dog-headed warship.

Upon hearing that Gern was going on a solo vacation across the world, Toritoma's stunningly beautiful face instantly fell.

Her rosy lips pouted high, resembling a bloated pufferfish, and she huffed in dissatisfaction, "Alone again..."

As she spoke, she instinctively tried to get closer to Gern, employing her tried-and-true method of coquetry; her slender fingers even subtly hooked towards Gern's hand.

Unfortunately, Gern has now developed a strong "resistance" to her moves.

Without changing his expression, and even with a hint of composure as if he had expected it, he calmly uttered a sentence: "This time I specially accompanied you back to Amazon Lily and stayed for so long."

Our little Libo is home all by herself!

My beloved Snake Princess.

These words instantly struck Torritoma's "Achilles' heel".

Her gesture of trying to act cute suddenly froze, and she awkwardly withdrew her fingers.

The feigned grievance and dissatisfaction on her face quickly faded, replaced by a subtle sense of guilt and embarrassment.

Indeed, this time, in order to accompany her to handle the affairs of Amazon Lily, Gern spent a long time eating alone on Amazon Lily.

Meanwhile, at G-10 base, Libo, who always carries a carrot cake and has eyes as pure as a little rabbit's, is eagerly waiting for the two of them to return!

Especially when she was leaving, Ribo innocently handed her a big list, which was filled with all sorts of Kuja specialties and strange little gadgets that could only be found in the first half of the Grand Line.

The thought of Libo's expectant eyes, and the fact that she had "monopolized" Gern for so long...

Torituma's minor dissatisfaction vanished immediately, and he even felt a little guilty.

It's hard not to feel a pang of conscience to deceive such an innocent child!

She's such a beautiful but wicked woman!

"Hmm..." Toritoma then kicked the ground with the tip of his shoe, somewhat unwillingly, and muttered under his breath.

"Okay, okay... I'll head back now! So Lipo won't get impatient waiting..."

Although there was still a hint of awkwardness in her tone, she had clearly accepted Gern's arrangement.

A barely perceptible smile flashed in Gren's eyes as he looked at Toritoma, who had been instantly "controlled".

Soon, he watched Toritoma's figure disappear at the other end of the coating tunnel, while Gern turned around and strode towards the core of Fishman Island, the Dragon Palace.

As he walked, he kept replaying in his mind the merchant ship he had seen when he entered Fishman Island not long ago. The ship had obvious signs of damage to its hull, but its style was extremely luxurious.

I didn't pay attention at the time, but now, looking back and considering the development of the "plot," the origin of that ship is clear.

"It seems that what was bound to happen will eventually happen," Gern thought to himself.

Even though my intervention changed the overall fate of Fishman Island, in those unaffected corners...

Certain 'inevitable events' belonging to this world's timeline will still stubbornly unfold according to their original trajectories.

He was almost certain that the damaged merchant ship was the one that carried the stranded Celestial Dragon from the Don Quixote family.

Following the original trajectory, the Dragon Palace should have just experienced a commotion.

The young Princess Shirahoshi awakened unconsciously for the first time in extreme fear.

Her terrifying power as the ancient weapon "Sea King" Poseidon summoned a giant sea king.

"It's a pity I missed the scene of Shirahoshi's awakening."

Chapter 365 You think you're taking the civil service exam?! And you think you'll actually pass?

Meanwhile, inside the Dragon Palace, King Neptune was racking his brains over how to deal with the "uninvited guest."

A royal guard swam in hurriedly, reporting nervously, "Your Majesty! General Gern... General Gern is heading towards the Dragon Palace!"

"What?!!"

Neptune's massive body sprang from the throne, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

He almost dropped the trident in his hand. His mind went blank for a moment, and only one thought remained: "It's over! General Gern must know something!"

His wife, Queen Otohime, saved a Celestial Dragon; this matter could be considered a big deal or a small deal.

But at a time when Gern had just left the Sea Forest and was clearly not in a good mood, this was practically walking into the line of fire!

Seeing her husband panicking like an ant on a hot pan

Queen Otohime simply smiled gently, patted Neptune's arm lightly, and her tone remained optimistic.

"Don't worry, darling."

General Gern is a reasonable man and will not blame us for this.

On the contrary, this is a golden opportunity! Otohime's eyes still shone with an idealistic light.

"Look, this is a Celestial Dragon, a member of the World Nobles!"

He ended up on our Fishman Island and was rescued by us.

Isn't this a gift from heaven to Fishman Island, a place where we can achieve our goals without resorting to force or relying on the intimidation of General Gern?

Is it not a precious opportunity, through our own goodwill and efforts, to engage in direct and equal communication with the highest levels of the human world?

She became more and more excited as she spoke, as if she could already see a bright future: "And don't you think, a Celestial Dragon who 'fell from the sky'..."

Is this itself a blessing from heaven, a revelation bestowed upon our fish-men by fate?

“Favor?! Revelation?! My silly queen!” Neptune looked helpless as he listened to Princess Otohime’s still innocent and idealistic words.

But idealists are sometimes just adorably silly!

"Do you know that General Gern has always clashed head-on with the World Government since he rose to power?"

Killing Celestial Dragons is commonplace for them, let alone trespassing on Holy Lands...

You're telling me now that he's 'reasonable'?

Would he see this as a 'communication opportunity'?

I'm afraid he'll just see this as a nuisance, or... a new bargaining chip he can use to make deals with the World Government!

Oh no, my Otohime has been blinded by her overly idealistic dreams!

Despite his outrageous complaints, Neptune outwardly maintained his composure as king.

Taking a deep breath, and using the gentlest possible tone, she tried to make a final attempt at persuasion: "Otohime... my queen, my little goldfish, your ideals are beautiful."

But look, isn't our Fishman Island doing pretty well now?

Under Admiral Gurn's protection, both human pirates and merchant ships enter our Fishman Island with utmost respect and dare not act recklessly.

Why should we... why should we go through all that trouble and take this risk?

Wouldn't it be better to maintain the status quo and live a peaceful life?

“No! It’s different! Neptune!” Otohime shook her head sharply, her voice soft yet carrying an undeniable resolve.

She grasped Neptune’s enormous hand and looked up at him: “What we want is not a peaceful existence under intimidation!”

What we need is genuine, heartfelt understanding and coexistence!

We must truly live in harmony with humanity!

We want our people to be able to live openly and freely under the true sunlight!

At this point, Otohime clenched one fist, making a fist-like gesture, her eyes clear and resolute as she spoke.

"We—want to get ashore!"

"You think you're taking the civil service exam?! And you actually succeeded?"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Neptune's heart leaped into his throat.

At the same time, Gern pushed open the magnificent doors of the throne room in the Dragon Palace and stepped inside.

However, the scene before him made even this seasoned general, who was used to seeing all kinds of storms, freeze in place, his steps instinctively halting.

The towering King Neptune was seen somewhat flustered as he lifted the petite Queen Otohime into his arms, seemingly trying to stop her from doing something.

Although Queen Otohime was being held, she still clenched one fist and raised it in the air, her face still flushed with excitement.

This posture...this atmosphere...is this what 'coming ashore' means?

Given the size difference, Neptune is probably almost bigger than Otohime.

Guern's mind raced, combining some basic biological knowledge with the somewhat "intense" interaction before him.