Jinbe returned.
Fish-Man Island was his home. Unless he was truly tied down elsewhere, he would never dawdle before coming back.
"So that is what happened…" After listening to the explanation, Jinbe's expression became very complicated.
Naturally, Jinbe knew the fish-man Hody Jones, and he also understood his personality to some extent. He was someone capable of doing something like this.
"Your Majesty, what would you like this old man to do?" Jinbe asked.
The nature of Hody Jones murdering Queen Otohime was far too vile. Under circumstances like this, there could be no room for softheartedness.
So many years had passed, yet Hody Jones had never let go of his ambition. Before he could reveal it fully, they had to suppress him swiftly.
"If Hody Jones does not resist, imprison him directly. If he does resist…" Neptune's meaning was already very clear.
This was him giving Jinbe, a powerful warrior, some face. He did not want to make things too difficult for him.
"This old man understands. If Hody intends to resist to the bitter end, I will not hold back," Jinbe said with a nod.
When it came to right and wrong, kinship with one's own race could be given, but only if the other party was willing to accept it.
"Princess Shirahoshi, you can come out now," Jinbe said, shaking his head as he looked toward Shirahoshi.
"Yes, Boss Jinbe. Koji-sama and the others dealt with Van der Decken!" Shirahoshi nodded.
Jinbe turned his head and saw people he had never met before.
"Greetings. This old man is Jinbe. Thank you for taking care of Van der Decken," Jinbe said very politely.
"No need to be so polite. He was the one who crashed right in front of us," Koji said, waving his hand.
"Jinbe, you rushed back from Whitebeard's place, right?"
Jinbe nodded. Many people knew that he had a good relationship with the Whitebeard Pirates. After all, Fish-Man Island was under the protection of Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
"Has Ace gone back yet?"
Jinbe shook his head. "Brother Ace has not returned yet."
He could sense that, aside from his own worries, the people of the Whitebeard Pirates were all very worried as well.
Although Ace was a division commander, Blackbeard Teach was a veteran member. His strength definitely would not be poor.
No one was particularly optimistic about Ace truly being able to capture Teach and bring him back. At the same time, every one of them had an ominous feeling in their heart.
A man who even dared to kill a brother from the same ship—if he defeated Ace, what would he do? What would happen to Ace?
"Newgate's matter still hasn't been resolved?" Neptune asked in surprise.
"Yes. Brother Ace still has not returned." Jinbe nodded. The longer time dragged on, the more unexpected changes could occur.
"Jinbe, among the current Four Emperors, who do you think is the strongest?" Koji asked.
As someone who admired Whitebeard, would Jinbe blindly believe in him, or did he have his own judgment?
"If it were Whitebeard Pops from ten or twenty years ago, I would say without hesitation that he stood at the very peak among pirates. But now, Pops' body is already far worse than before," Jinbe said.
He was not blindly confident.
People grew old, and Whitebeard was undoubtedly old now. On top of that, he had all those hidden injuries. He could still unleash tremendous power in a short period of time, but if the battle turned into a prolonged fight, he would not be able to keep going.
As for why Jinbe did not say "the strongest in the world," from what he knew, Garp of the Marines was a legend from the same era as Whitebeard. Whenever Whitebeard brought up Garp, he always looked like he had a headache, as if he had suffered losses at Garp's hands before.
"As for Big Mom, she can be ranked at the bottom among the Four Emperors. Kaido is the strongest creature, with an extremely thick health bar and no real weaknesses. As for Shanks, to be honest, I have never fully understood this Four Emperor. He is the youngest of the Four Emperors, and it is said that he possesses top-tier Conqueror's Haki," Jinbe said, giving his view.
Big Mom's strength was not weak, and she also had a rare and powerful physique like an iron balloon, but she could only be ranked at the bottom. The main reason was that she was focused on giving birth to children and was not especially passionate about training.
As for Shanks, Jinbe had never seen him fight, but his strength absolutely could not be underestimated.
"Didn't expect that from you. Many members of the Whitebeard Pirates would believe Whitebeard is the strongest no matter when it is," Koji said.
Jinbe shrugged. Strictly speaking, although he called Whitebeard "Pops," he was not quite the same as Whitebeard's actual sons. He was not an official crew member of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Although Whitebeard's current body was far worse than before, his destructive power was still beyond question. The earthquakes caused by the Tremor-Tremor Fruit were capable of destroying heaven and earth.
"Haha, it's fine. The power enhanced by those Energy Steroids is limited. It is not endless," Jinbe said with a laugh.
If Energy Steroids could truly increase power without limit, Fish-Man Island would have overthrown the World Government long ago.
Even if the price after taking the drug was death, there would still be many fish-men fighting to do it.
Hody Jones was merely blindly confident. He had not seen many true powerhouses, and he was far too confident in himself as a fish-man.
The world upon the sea was vast. Powerful people were as numerous as carp crossing a river. The strength of fish-men did have advantages, but it could not compare to those true powerhouses. After all, all sorts of powers emerged one after another. Relying on brute strength alone made it absolutely impossible to defeat every powerful person.
"Neptune, Fish-Man Island has a Log Pose for Punk Hazard, right?" Koji asked.
Only now did he remember: those transmigrators who came to the world of pirates basically all killed Momonosuke in every possible way.
One could choose not to become the Pirate King, but Momonosuke had to die.
"We do, but are you leaving already?" Neptune hurriedly asked.
He had not properly fulfilled his duties as host yet.
"Yes. We are preparing to leave. We have already seen the most beautiful mermaid on Fish-Man Island, so our goal has been achieved. After wandering around Fish-Man Island for a few more days, we will leave," Koji said with a nod.
Shirahoshi's face flushed. Being called the most beautiful mermaid made her feel very embarrassed.
Neptune felt there was absolutely nothing wrong with that praise. His daughter was indeed the most beautiful mermaid.
"If there is anything you wish to buy, you may put it on the palace's account," Neptune said.
Ningguang fell silent for a moment.
Why did that sound so familiar?
Oh, right. It was Zhongli, Rex Lapis. Everyone knew that Zhongli always put every bill on Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's account.
In all of Liyue, it was hard to find even a few people like Zhongli. Who would go out every time without carrying money?
She had not expected that one day she would also encounter this sort of situation. It felt rather strange.
Koji nodded. Since he did not have to pay the bill himself, it was time to start shopping.
(End of Chapter)
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