After listening to Allen's explanation, Nami and the others finally understood his plan. She couldn't help but say,
"So, we'll be staying in the first half of the New World for the next year? I thought we would just keep sailing straight through like before."
"With our current strength, even if we wanted to push forward, we wouldn't be able to take a single step once we reach the Four Emperors' territories. Don't underestimate the New World," Allen chuckled as he spoke to her.
They had been advancing triumphantly before because his strength was enough to steamroll the vast majority of opponents in the first half, but the second half was a different story.
He chose to enter the New World immediately because staying in the first half would make it difficult for Sanji and the others—including himself—to make any real progress.
It was hard to push oneself in a comfortable environment. The fastest way to improve was always through real combat and life-and-death struggles.
But he couldn't take it too far, either. Challenging the Four Emperors right now and having Sanji and Nami fight Disaster-level opponents would just be asking for a beating. One-sided massacres offered no training value.
As he pondered this, the group stepped through the gates of Ryugu Palace. As soon as they entered, a squad of Fish-Man guards immediately approached them, each wearing an expression of anger.
"Members of the Demon Lion Pirates, the King is already waiting in the banquet hall. Please follow me."
To the surprise of Allen and his crew, even though the guards' faces were full of hostility, they didn't attack. Instead, they invited them inside.
Allen didn't say anything and simply followed them. After passing through a winding corridor, they arrived at the entrance of a magnificent banquet hall.
The guards pushed open the heavy doors, and Allen's group entered the banquet hall. Rows of guards standing in the corners on both sides turned their heads to look at them.
At the far end, seated on a throne atop a flight of stairs, was a massive man. He had fluffy orange hair, a thick beard, and a burly, robust physique.
Seeing Allen and the others arrive, Neptune stood up from his throne and said in a flat tone,
"You have arrived. The banquet is prepared, so please make yourselves at home."
He offered neither a warm reception nor any overt hostility. After speaking, Neptune swayed his fishtail and slowly floated down from above, adding,
"I have already heard about what happened outside just now. Although my three sons were a bit impulsive, considering what you did, I believe their actions were justifiable."
"My ministers have informed me of your purpose for coming. I hope the previous misunderstanding will not affect our business. Please, take a seat."
Neptune raised his hand, gesturing for them to sit.
Allen glanced at Neptune, then walked over to a nearby seat and sat down, speaking bluntly,
"Since you know why I'm here, let's skip the pleasantries. I want to bring Fish-Man Island under my banner. In return, we will provide protection for the island."
"If you can truly protect Fish-Man Island from external threats in the future, I naturally won't dwell on this matter."
Neptune was equally straightforward, stating directly, "But before that, as the price for this protection, I want to know what Fish-Man Island will have to give up."
Regardless of his bond with Whitebeard, he would never sacrifice his country and his people for it.
With Whitebeard dead, it likely wouldn't be long before Fish-Man Island returned to the dark era when pirates slaughtered Fish-Men and slave traders captured mermaids at will.
If Allen could truly provide protection for Fish-Man Island, and the price was something they could bear, then he had no reason to refuse.
Furthermore, given the forceful attitude Allen had displayed so far, he certainly wouldn't allow him to refuse anyway.
However, Allen's next words left Neptune looking astonished.
"I want Fish-Man Island to open up completely to the outside world."
"Open up completely?!"
Neptune's expression changed as he blurted out instinctively.
"That's right. Fish-Man Island sits on a massive abundance of underwater resources but doesn't know how to utilize them. In my eyes, it's a complete waste. In the future, it must be fully opened up."
Allen said firmly.
Hearing this, Neptune immediately rejected the idea, shouting,
"Absolutely not! You are too naive. The relationship between Fish-Man Island and humans is complicated. Opening up will only invite greater disasters. I will never agree to this."
"It's you who is too cowardly, Neptune. Don't give me that excuse about self-preservation. Even with Whitebeard's protection all these years, you still didn't dare to fully open Fish-Man Island to human contact."
Allen's lips curled into a sneer as he mocked, "You loudly proclaim that you want humans to accept Fish-Man Island, but deep down, you can't accept humans yourself, can you?"
"What did you say...!"
"I said you're a coward. Drop the act, old man. You don't have a fraction of Otohime's resolve."
Allen said in a deep voice, his words dripping with sarcasm.
Hearing Otohime's name, Neptune couldn't help but clench his fists, gritting his teeth as he glared furiously at Allen.
The man before him seemed to know far more about Fish-Man Island than he had imagined. Whatever he was plotting behind the scenes was likely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Nami, standing to the side, was completely lost. Why was Allen doing things she couldn't understand? She turned her head to look at Robin.
"Queen Otohime was someone dedicated to promoting peaceful coexistence between Fish-Man Island and humans. However, it's said she was later assassinated. I don't know the exact details,"
Robin explained to Nami in a low voice.
Ignoring Neptune's furious glare, Allen continued on his own,
"First, I want you to reform the Fish-Man District and turn it into a place that fully accepts humans."
"After that, you will issue more policies allowing humans to enter Fish-Man Island freely. There will definitely be a lot of chaos at first, but our pirate crew will suppress it all."
"We can discuss the specifics later. I only have one demand: in the future, twenty percent of all revenue from Fish-Man Island's foreign industries must be handed over to me."
Allen laid down the law directly, his tone leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.
Neptune still refused to back down. In his eyes, fully opening Fish-Man Island to the outside world was completely unrealistic. He stated directly,
"Setting aside whether your plan can even be successfully implemented, the Fish-Man District is currently occupied by the New Fish-Man Pirates. Even Ryugu Palace cannot intervene there."
A few months ago, news of Arlong suddenly appeared in the newspapers. Following that, Hody Jones, a former guard of the Neptune Army, formed the New Fish-Man Pirates and completely took over the Fish-Man District.
He had previously sent troops to try and reclaim control, but they were completely repelled. Now, that area had become synonymous with chaos and violence, making reform impossible.
"The New Fish-Man Pirates? Understood."
Allen stood up from his seat and turned toward the door. "Gin, you three stay here. Perona, come with me."
"Eh?"
Perona froze for a moment, blinking in confusion before getting up to follow him. "Wait, where are we going?"
"To purge the Fish-Man District."
Saying that, Allen looked back at Neptune and added, "Prepare a mount to lead the way."
"You...!"
Neptune glared at Allen, gritting his teeth before finally saying, "I will go with you personally! Today, I want to see if you truly have the capability!"
"Your Majesty!"
"Don't be impulsive, Your Majesty!"
"If you travel with pirates, what if they...!"
Hearing that Neptune intended to go personally, the two ministers who had been standing silently in the back hurriedly voiced their objections in a panic.
"If he wanted to attack, he could have done it right here. Do you think I'd be afraid of him once we're in the sea?!"
Neptune stubbornly shouted at the ministers, "How do you think I earned the title of the Knight of the Sea? Bring me my weapon!"
"But...!"
"Enough nonsense! Go get it!"
"Th-Yes, sir!"
Seeing that Neptune was about to lose his temper, the two ministers could only bow their heads in agreement and retreat to fetch his weapon.
"To call me a coward... stop being so full of yourself, human."
Neptune glared furiously at Allen, gnashing his teeth.
Perona followed Allen out, glancing back at Neptune before looking at Allen. She said,
"He seems really pissed off at you."
"Tch, he's just a simple-minded brute with more brawn than brains. Ignore him."
Allen scoffed disdainfully.
'Someone who could watch helplessly as Shirahoshi was bullied by a Celestial Dragon has no right to spout nonsense about the greater good. He's not even as good as Fukaboshi and his brothers.'
'As long as Fish-Man Island is in Neptune's hands, it's destined to be suppressed by humans. It might be better if he abdicated to Fukaboshi sooner rather than later.'