Growing Legs 1
They arrived directly at the base of the cliff waterfall.
This was the only waterway that led up to the island of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets.
Seeing the giant carp scaling the waterfall, Princess Shirahoshi tried calling out to them.
To her surprise, she actually succeeded.
After all, Princess Shirahoshi was an Ancient Weapon; communicating with giant carp was no problem for her.
This scene left King Neptune quite astonished.
Since her awakening, Shirahoshi had become increasingly proficient with her abilities.
However, it was still best to use such power sparingly. If someone with ulterior motives discovered it, it would be a disaster.
But here by the cliff, no one should be able to notice.
Soon, with the help of the carp, the two ascended to the inland sea of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets.
As these two giant merfolk swam on the sea's surface, they naturally drew the surveillance of the Empire's military.
The matter was quickly reported to the Emperor.
Although the Emperor hadn't given any specific orders, the soldiers had read the newspapers.
His Majesty was already engaged to Princess Shirahoshi.
Who else could such a beautiful and giant mermaid be but Princess Shirahoshi?
When Ryōsuke received the news, he was thrilled. He immediately opened a portal and arrived at the shore.
There, he saw the two giant merfolk.
Princess Shirahoshi was truly massive and incredibly fair.
Her ample chest alone was easily as tall as his entire body.
He could easily imagine just how comfortable it would be to sleep on them.
He smiled and said, "I am the Emperor of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets. Welcome, Princess Shirahoshi, King Neptune."
King Neptune was quite surprised.
*'That looked like a portal. To possess such an ability... then what Kaido said might actually be true.'*
Shirahoshi looked at the man who had suddenly appeared—the man who was about to become her husband.
She felt he was very handsome, just a little small.
She smiled and replied, "Hello, I am Princess Shirahoshi."
Ryōsuke was overjoyed. Shirahoshi's voice was also incredibly pleasant to hear; he wanted nothing more than to fly up to her right then and there.
But he held back. King Neptune was right there beside her, after all.
It didn't matter. They had a long, happy life ahead of them.
King Neptune looked at the Emperor of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets and spoke.
"Emperor of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets, you should still remember your promise, right?"
"What promise?"
Ryōsuke was a bit bewildered.
Neptune was shocked.
"Do you mean to tell me you don't even remember your own promise?"
At that moment, he felt as if he had been played for a fool.
Ryōsuke, however, guessed that this was a promise Kaido had made on his behalf. He smiled and said, "Ah, a promise. Of course, any promise is fine."
There was likely nothing in this world he couldn't accomplish; he could even resurrect the dead.
Hearing this, a smile returned to King Neptune's face.
"That is good. You once promised that the merfolk could live safely on land. Can you truly achieve this?"
"If you can, then Princess Shirahoshi will marry you."
"If you cannot, then the marriage arrangement is void."
Hearing King Neptune's words, Ryōsuke spoke with a relaxed expression.
"That is a trivial matter. I will give a stern warning to those pirates, and of course, the World Government and the Celestial Dragons as well. If anyone dares to harm the merfolk, I will annihilate them."
"Of course, this only applies to the kind-hearted merfolk."
Even if he was willing to protect the merfolk, he had no intention of helping them turn around and oppress humans.
That was naturally out of the question, as Ryōsuke himself was human.
King Neptune was both shocked and delighted to hear this.
This man actually dared to speak of annihilating the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
His audacity was simply massive.
He was either incredibly ignorant or truly possessed the power to back it up.
But he would only feel at ease after seeing it with his own eyes.
"Could you demonstrate your strength?"
Ryōsuke smiled and said, "Of course. Do you see that sphere in the sky? Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors, is trapped inside."
King Neptune paled in shock.
"Big Mom of the Four Emperors is actually in there?"
"You don't believe me?"
Ryōsuke shouted toward the massive sphere of rock.
"Big Mom, are you willing to submit?"
An angry voice echoed from the giant sphere in the sky.
"Impossible! I wouldn't agree even if I died!"
As one of the noble Four Emperors of the sea, if she submitted, wouldn't she be laughed out of existence?
She wasn't a coward like Kaido.
Ryōsuke naturally didn't care.
"You heard her. It's a bit of a pity she refuses to submit, so I'll just let her starve for a few more days."
Neptune was utterly astounded. That voice truly belonged to Big Mom.
Back in the day, Fish-Man Island had relied on the protection of the Emperor Big Mom, and later, the Straw Hat Pirates.
Although the Straw Hat crew was very strong, they likely couldn't guarantee the merfolk a safe life on land.
He even formed a bold hypothesis.
*'Could it be that this lord used the exact same method to force Kaido into submission?'*
It was a truly terrifying method.
With the power to destroy one of the Four Emperors, destroying the World Government might not just be empty talk after all.
Of course, annihilating the World Government probably wouldn't be as simple as this lord made it sound.
But this was already enough.
Thoroughly satisfied, he said, "Then Princess Shirahoshi may marry you."
Finding such an excellent son-in-law to protect Shirahoshi was truly a joyous occasion.
Ryōsuke looked at Shirahoshi and asked, "Princess Shirahoshi, are you willing to marry me?"
"I am."
Shirahoshi blushed. She naturally knew what marrying someone entailed.
She was very satisfied with the man before her.
Her father was happy, so naturally, she was happy too.
Ryōsuke wanted nothing more than to take Princess Shirahoshi back right now and get down to business.
But then he remembered her massive tail; she couldn't even walk on land.
He smiled and said, "Princess Shirahoshi, how about I give you a pair of legs? That way, you can walk on land."
Hearing Ryōsuke's words, stars practically popped out of Shirahoshi's eyes.
If she grew legs, wouldn't it be just like the mermaid princess in the stories who grew legs?
And then married the prince?
Although the ending of that story didn't seem very good.
But if she didn't grow legs, she wouldn't be able to live together with this lord.
She smiled and said, "I would love that."
King Neptune, upon hearing this, was shocked.
Giving a mermaid legs... was such a thing truly possible?
He prepared to wait and see.
Ryōsuke directly activated his Seven-Colored Rinnegan.
The Eye of the Creator.
It possessed omniscient and omnipotent abilities, capable of manifesting whatever he imagined in his mind—a god-like method of creation.
Turning Shirahoshi's tail into human legs would be an incredibly simple task.