After retiring from the Navy, I became a doting husband.

The lower part is isolated by bubbles, just like on land, while the front part is still submerged in water.

Mermaids dance in the water, creating a unique and captivating scene.

As Martin entered, the music ended, and the dancing mermaid slowly exited the stage. Neptune walked to the center of the stage, and the huge stage did not seem small because of his arrival.

"We are holding a banquet in the banquet hall today to welcome our distinguished guest, Mr. Martin."

As Neptune narrated, the scene in the banquet hall was broadcast to various parts of Fishman Island via several camera Den Den Mushi (snail-mounted electric slugs).

Noah, the base of the new Fishman Pirates in Fishman Street.

"Boss, something terrible has happened!" A merman rushed into Noah's Ark.

Upon hearing the fishman's shout, a great white shark man dressed in the uniform of the Sea King's army stood up and said, "What's wrong? I don't think there's ever been a better time, hahahaha!"

The mermaids and fishmen of Fishman Island harbor deep hatred for humans, and they even contact some pirate crews to sell those fishmen who want to live peacefully with humans into slavery.

Recently, several powerful pirate crews have been stranded here, and with his deliberate instigation, the conflict between Fishman Island and humans is intensifying.

"Boss, this is really bad. We just saw the King on the road."

"Hmph! What did you say? He's not worthy of being king. Such a weak merman is not worthy of being king."

Hody Jones was furious when he heard his men refer to Neptune as the King.

"Yes! Yes, boss. We just saw Neptune leading a human to the Dragon Palace on the road. He's currently entertaining that group of humans in the banquet hall."

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, Hody Jones' veins bulged and he was furious.

"Damn it! Even so, Neptune is still trying to curry favor with humans. Does he want us fish-men to go extinct?"

"No, no, boss, Neptune was thanking these humans and entertaining that human?"

"How could such a thing happen? Damn it!"

Hody Jones said incredulously upon hearing his subordinate's words.

"Let's go take a look."

After speaking, Hody Jones led his men out of Noah.

"Get out of the way, get out of here, don't block the way."

Hody Jones's men shoved through the crowd and went inside.

On the huge monitor, a scene of Neptune hosting Martin was playing, with many fishmen also performing a welcoming ceremony.

When Hody Jones saw that it was Martin, he immediately frowned.

“What should I do? I can’t let Neptune continue like this. This Martin might affect my career… All my efforts will be in vain, the hatred I’ve worked so hard to build will dissipate, and there’s even a chance that my betrayal of my compatriots will be exposed.”

Hordy Jones's mind began to race.

“Damo, go and fetch Vander Decken IX. Tell him I have something to discuss with him.”

After thinking for a moment, Hody Jones turned to one of his men and said.

Daruma New Fishman Pirates executive, cigar-smoking Daruma Shark Man, wearing an ancient Eastern warrior's helmet, is the smallest of all the executives, but he is also the fastest.

"Understood, boss."

As he spoke, Bodhidharma disappeared into the crowd.

Hody Jones watched Damo leave, then turned back to Noah to await the arrival of Vander Decken IX.

"Boss! I've delivered the message. Vander Decken IX says he'll be there soon."

Dharma left quickly and returned quickly; he came back not long after Hody Jones returned to Noah.

"Got it. Where is he? Has he set off yet?"

"Hoddie Jones glanced outside and said."

"We should get going. When I came back, I saw him wearing a bubble suit. He's such a failure as a merman; a merman who's afraid of water!"

Bodhidharma said disdainfully, feeling ashamed to have such a compatriot.

"boom!"

Just as Damo finished speaking, a loud noise came from Noah, and a large hole appeared in Noah's body. From inside the hole, a fishman rushed towards Damo.

"Oh!"

Dharma was hit squarely by the flying fishman and sent flying.

"Hody Jones, what do you want with me?"

The fish-man who flew in was none other than Vander Decken IX.

"You came very quickly. I thought I would have to wait a while."

Hody Jones was also very surprised to see that Vander Decken IX had arrived so quickly, clearly taken aback by the speed of the other man.

"Hahaha, you've forgotten my abilities. I shot myself out as a weapon," Vander Decken IX laughed happily when he heard Hody Jones praise him like that.

"I see, no wonder you came so quickly."

"Alright, enough chit-chat. I agree to your suggestion from last time. As long as Neptune's rule is overthrown, White Star is yours," Hody Jones said bluntly.

"Hahaha, you should have agreed a long time ago. If you had agreed last time, you might already be the king of Fishman Island," Vander Decken IX said with a laugh upon hearing Hody Jones's words.

“Alright, it’s decided then. After Neptune is overthrown, I will be the new king of the Fish-Man Kingdom, and you will marry Shirahoshi,” Hody Jones said, looking at Vander Decken IX.

"Haha, no problem."

As he spoke, Van der Deiken IX extended his hand.

Hody Jones also reached out and shook hands with Vander Decken IX.

"Hahaha! Hahaha!"

Their laughter echoed continuously on Noah.

Neptune walked over to Martin, raised his glass, and said to Martin.

"Mr. Martin, welcome. I'd like to offer you a toast."

The Den Den Mushi also slowly changed direction as Neptune moved, broadcasting his actions live across the entire Fish-Man Island.

"Mom! Isn't it said that most humans are bad people?"

"Father! Aren't humans supposed to be a lowly race? Why is the king toasting a human?"

……

Various questions arose in the minds of the new generation of fishmen, who asked their elders, who themselves did not know the answer; it was just a legend that had always been told on Fishman Island.

The confusion wasn't limited to the new generation of fishmen; even the older fishmen shared this thought. This inevitably reminded them of Queen Otohime, the fishman queen who was murdered a year ago—a woman who had worked tirelessly to enable fishmen to live on land.

The fishmen stared intently at the screen, where the human Martin stood up, raised his glass as if preparing to return the toast to Neptune.

Suddenly, the fishmen noticed that the image on the screen was shaking violently, accompanied by loud bombardment sounds.

“Your Majesty, you’re too kind,” Martin said, raising his glass as well. Although he realized that Neptune was using him to put on a show, Martin still played along.

"Boom! Boom!"

Just as Martin was about to drink, the entire banquet hall suddenly shook violently, followed by several loud crashes.

"Minister of the Left, what happened? Was it an earthquake?" Neptune asked, turning around after regaining his balance.

"Your Majesty, please wait a moment, I will go and find out what's going on."

The Left Minister left the banquet hall after speaking, and soon returned.

“Your Majesty is the Hard-Shell Tower. Just now, Vander Decken IX threw something over again. This time the thing was bigger, so it made a louder noise. But it doesn’t matter. The Hard-Shell Tower is very sturdy and there was no damage.”

"Hmph! It's that bastard again. Oh well, let him be! He'll calm down after a while."

Neptune said he would stop thinking about it; he had gotten used to it over the past year, though he felt sorry for his daughter.

Martin learned the whole story while the Left Minister was speaking.

Vander Decken IX witnessed her summoning the Sea Kings with her cries and learned that Shirahoshi was the legendary mermaid princess who could control the Sea Kings, whom the First Ancestor had been searching for for many years. He then fantasized about marrying Shirahoshi in order to obtain this ability.

So Martin asked, "Your Majesty, it seems you've run into trouble."

"It's nothing, just a minor trouble, some idiot who's trying to marry my daughter. Come on, Mr. Martin, let's raise a glass and not let someone like that ruin the banquet."

Neptune raised his glass again as he spoke.

Since Neptune said so, Martin didn't continue and raised his glass as well.

He knew that although Vander Decken IX had been harassing Shirahoshi for over a decade, he had not succeeded, only managing to trap the poor Shirahoshi in the tower.

Martin brought the glass to his lips, about to take a sip, when the banquet hall shook violently once more. The glass wobbled, spilling the wine and soaking Martin's collar.

"What's going on? What is Vander Decken IX trying to do?"

Neptune also joined in with a string of angry curses.

In the past, Vander Decken IX would throw things at most twice, and his own men would run away as soon as they chased after him. Over time, this became a habit, and the Neptune Army became too lazy to chase after them. Neptune didn't take it to heart either. This time, however, he changed his ways and kept throwing things at them.

"The Left Minister, along with the princes, bring Vanderdeken IX back to me. How dare he interrupt our banquet! This is unforgivable."

Neptune immediately gave the order.

"It's Your Majesty."

The Left Minister immediately replied, and then led the Sea King Army out of the banquet hall, with several princes following behind.

Not long after the Left Minister left, the clattering sounds stopped, indicating that Vander Decken IX had been found.

"I am truly sorry, Mr. Martin. I never expected such a situation to occur at the banquet."

Neptune said apologetically, looking at Martin's collar, which was soaked with alcohol.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to blame yourself, this is not your fault."

"I'm quite interested in that unreasonable fellow now, and I'm sure His Majesty wouldn't mind if I took action!"

Martin raised his glass again, took a sip, and said.

“This is Fishman Island, and you are our honored guest. How can we let our honored guest do the work? I think the Left Minister will be here soon with Vander Decken IX.”

Neptune said confidently that, based on past experience, Vander Decken IX would only be able to run away when he encountered the Neptune army.

The banquet went on for a long time, and the Left Minister and the others still hadn't returned, which made Neptune a little worried. However, he thought that since his princes had also gone along, there shouldn't be any problems.