The Great Voyage: The Props Master on the Straw Hat Ship

Then, after receiving news of the Straw Hat Pirates' arrival, he immediately returned to the past.

Bai Xing had long wanted to come here to visit and pay respects to her mother.

Especially on a day like today.

Whoosh! !

Suddenly, at this moment.

A rapidly spinning axe hurtled through the sky.

It was the same axe that Vander Deacon had thrown earlier.

Bai Xing also sensed the axe flying from the sky behind her, but she made no move to dodge or defend herself.

Because she knew that none of this was necessary.

Lord Link will protect her.

Whoosh! !

Even as the flying axe drew closer to Bai Xing, she could faintly feel the whirlwind it created.

But he remained unmoved.

Just as the flying axe was about to strike Shirahoshi's head...

squeak~

As if slamming on the brakes, the flying axe suddenly stopped in mid-air.

Then, seemingly losing all support, it slumped softly to the ground.

"Um?"

Bai Xing curiously tilted her head slightly, and suddenly felt a flash of light in front of her eyes.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

"From now on, you will never have to worry about being attacked by these flying axe weapons again, Shirahoshi."

Link looked at him with a smile, his eyes very gentle.

"Lord Link..."

Bai Xing stared blankly at Link, biting her lip tightly, tears streaming down her face.

No matter how hard she tried to hold back, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her face.

She had clearly made up her mind not to be seen as a crybaby by others anymore.

But given Link's words, all we can do is...

"Um!!"

A bright smile appeared on her tear-streaked face, and Bai Xing nodded heavily.

~~~~~~~~~

After Link and Shirahoshi arrived at the Sea Forest, Shirahoshi went to pay respects to Queen Otohime, while Robin went to these archaeological historical sites.

Therefore, Link, who was the most idle, took this opportunity and time to go and find Vander Deacon to resolve the trouble that was causing White Star.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Hody Jones, which was perfect, as they took care of this bunch of scum along the way.

Therefore~

Besides telling Shirahoshi that she no longer needed to live in fear, Link brought her another "gift".

"This is... Hody Jones?!"

Bai Xing stared at Hody Jones in Link's hand, whose mouth was wide open, whose sharp teeth were shattered, whose body was almost charred by electricity, and who was still faintly emitting the aroma of meat. He couldn't help but gasp and cover his mouth.

Perhaps Shirahoshi wouldn't remember if others had fallen to this state.

But as for the culprit who killed his mother, to put it simply, even if he were reduced to ashes, Shirahoshi would still recognize him.

Eight years ago, when Princess Otohime was assassinated by Hody Jones, her pet companion Mecaro witnessed everything.

And during the years he lived in the hard-shell tower, he was also told the truth by Mecarlo.

However, in order to keep Queen Otohime's dying wish that "not to hate the murderer," Shirahoshi has not revealed the truth to the people of Fishman Island for several years.

He didn't even tell his father or his three elder brothers about it.

Instead, he silently endured it all alone.

"Some people do evil, and they should pay the price for their actions."

Link was also moved by Shirahoshi's kindness, but at the same time, he wanted to make her understand.

We cannot let the other party go unpunished because of our own kindness, thus causing even greater bitter consequences.

"Lord Link, did you defeat Hody Jones specifically for my sake...?"

She had been crying for so long and shed so many tears.

But at this moment, Bai Xing felt her vision begin to blur again.

Although Shirahoshi didn't know how Link knew the truth, or how her mother had died.

But Shirahoshi sensed that it wasn't surprising that Link knew about this.

Because he is Lord Link, that reason alone is enough.

Just as Link was about to have a good talk with Shirahoshi about the dangers of life...

On the other side, deep within this sea forest.

Franky and his mentor Dan were there enthusiastically modifying the Sunny.

Robin then arrived at the Sea Forest, in front of a Poneglyph that had been placed there.

““Joyboy…”

Robin gently stroked the ancient characters on it with his fingers, murmuring softly.

Joy Boy is said to have existed during the "Void Century".

Years ago, deep within the Sea Forest of Fishman Island, a mermaid princess made a promise to Poseidon, who was also a "Sea King" at the time.

However, because he was unable to fulfill the agreement, he left behind this historical text of apology here, which violated the agreement with Fishman Island.

Robin watched quietly, taking in this unknown letter of repentance.

~~~~~~~~~

After paying respects to Queen Otohime, Franky was left with the fish-man island's special dishes and drinks from the banquet.

Link then led Shirahoshi and Robin back to Ryugu Palace.

Just as Link said, the banquet was still going on when they returned.

Luffy was still there, holding the plate, constantly shoveling seaweed-wrapped deep-fried meat skewers made from sea king into his mouth.

Zoro was also fighting the three Shark Star brothers all by himself, while they were drinking together.

Nami, whose alcohol tolerance was equally impressive, approached King Neptune, using the treasures within the Dragon Palace as leverage.

The two started playing rock-paper-scissors there.

Brooke was there playing various kinds of music with musicians and dancers.

Sanji, meanwhile, was surrounded by a group of beautiful mermaid ladies acting as temporary waitresses, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he effortlessly charmed everyone around him.

The constant flattery (from Qian Hao) made the lively mermaid ladies laugh heartily.

Sanji himself thoroughly enjoyed the process, so much so that he almost fainted from happiness.

He felt as if he were living in paradise.

Even the nosebleed that Chopper had managed to stop was showing signs of about to burst out again.

Usopp was boasting to his ministers and a group of fish-men soldiers, while Chopper was eating large mouthfuls of sweets.

The atmosphere was far from cooling down after the three left; on the contrary, it remained lively and enthusiastic.

Thus, Link and the others quietly reintegrated once again.

"Huh? Link, where did you guys go?!"

"Did you go to the restroom? I haven't seen you guys for a while."

"Hahaha, who cares? Come and try it, Link! This seaweed and grilled meat tastes amazing!!"

Amidst Luffy's greeting and the equally cheerful cheers of the others, Link smiled and picked up the wine glass from the table closest to him.

Along with everyone else raising their glasses~

"cheers!!"

Joyful laughter and the clinking of wine glasses illuminated the entire Dragon Palace.

The banquet lasted for almost the entire night, until dawn the next day.

No, or rather, it lasted for three days.

Chapter 427 The dust has settled, Zoro has slaughtered Fishman Street!! Is this the power of a great pirate?

After a night of banquet, everyone felt very tired.

It's not just physical fatigue, but also, as mentioned before, the exhaustion that comes after completely releasing all the stress.

If an ordinary person had experienced so many things at such a high intensity continuously, they probably would have collapsed long ago.

But for the Straw Hat Pirates, it was just a matter of taking a break.

Therefore, by daybreak, when the food and wine have been enjoyed to the fullest.

Neptune then specially replaced the entire Ryugu Palace Orchestra with a new one.

As the melodious tune played, everyone slowly drifted off to sleep.

Neptune also thoughtfully prepared rooms and beds for the Straw Hat Pirates so that they could comfortably enjoy this rare time of rest.

This rest lasted for three whole days.

During those three days, Neptune learned from Shirahoshi that the curse that had been sniped by Vanda Deacon had been completely lifted.

The three princes, including Shark Star, were all very happy for Shirahoshi.

Then, they learned some astonishing news from Shirahoshi.

That was the death of Queen Otohime, which was not the fault of humans, but the work of Hody Jones.

That guy was brought back by Link early on and handed over to the fishman soldiers here for temporary care.

Upon receiving this news, Neptune said nothing and took his three princes to find Hody Jones.

Shirahoshi wanted to go too, but was stopped by the ministers on either side.

After that, Shirahoshi never saw Hody Jones again, not even in prison.

The last time I heard about Hody Jones's story was in the announcement the following day.

King Neptune announced to the entire Fishman Island the truth behind the assassination of Queen Otoko 833 eight years ago: the real culprit was Hody Jones from Fishman Street, one of their own brethren!

All they did was to incite hatred and disappointment between fish-men and mermaids towards humans, thereby causing a complete rift between the two races.

His intentions were sinister and could not be tolerated by the world.

This is to declare to all residents of Fishman Island: Do not be provoked or deceived by this person!!

Humans' mistakes are their mistakes, but if it's the fish-men's fault, you can't force the blame onto humans!

We must not allow this to lead to misunderstandings or hatred towards humanity, as that would only deepen the hatred between the two sides to the point of no return.

The announcement caused a huge uproar on Fishman Island.

Only then did they learn the truth about what happened back then, and what Hody Jones had done.

Hody Jones bribed human pirates to set fire to the autograph box, and personally shot and killed Otohime while she was collecting autographs. He also killed other human pirates he had hired to cover his tracks.

Ignoring Jinbe's advice, he then declared in front of the people of Fishman Island that humans had killed Queen Otohime, causing many fish-men and mermaids on Fishman Island to completely despair of humans.

Even Neptune harbored resentment because of this incident.

Despite being instructed by Queen Otohime not to harbor any ill will towards humans and to promote peaceful exchanges between humans and Fish-Man Island.