One Piece: The Living Devil

"I'm serious," Rosse turned his head, looked at Otohime, and said, "If you agree, I'll announce to the world tomorrow that you will become my exclusive CP0. Once New Fish-Man Island is ready, it will become a member nation. I will cover all the allied nation costs, and you will become the first queen."

"This...", Feeling that Rosse was speaking sincerely, Otohime was a little stunned for a moment.

If it were just being a spokesperson, she could still accept that.

But Rosse's proposal of exclusive CP0, foreign king of Fish-Man Island, was absolutely unacceptable to her.

Even if it had been her dream since childhood, with her current status...

Otohime's voice suddenly stuttered a bit, "But, how could I have the ability..."

"I believe in you, even if we haven't known each other long, I see a kind of leadership talent in you."

"And with me backing you, there's no need to worry about anything."

Rosse interrupted Otohime and spoke from his heart.

Her special Observation Haki ability was to inspire others. If Otohime didn't have leadership talent, then no one else could possibly have it.

"Ah!", Otohime stared blankly at Rosse, her heart thumping wildly.

From birth until now, this was the praise she had most wanted to hear.

But sadly, it wasn't until today that she heard it for the first time.

Rosse was the first person to acknowledge her ideals, and also the first willing to sincerely help her.

Likewise, Rosse was the first to believe she had the talent to lead.

'But... why?'

Otohime suddenly felt a wave of sorrow and loss, tears streaming down her cheeks.

'Why must the right person appear at the wrong time?'

If Rosse had appeared a few years earlier, how great that would have been... Back then, she probably would've accepted without hesitation.

But now... Thinking of her current identity, Otohime sighed quietly in her heart.

She understood Rosse's thoughts very well, but this matter, she really couldn't agree to it.

If it were just moving the Ryugu Kingdom to New Fish-Man Island, that wouldn't be a problem.

But what Rosse meant was to leave the Ryugu Kingdom on Fish-Man Island, and for her to establish a new kingdom on New Fish-Man Island alone.

That would be a betrayal of Neptune. She couldn't bring herself to do such a thing.

Rosse might care for her even more than Neptune did.

But Neptune also cared deeply for her, there was no way she could betray him.

"Saint Rosse, I'm honored to hear your praise, but for this matter, please allow me to refuse," Otohime raised her head, her pretty face serious, "I want to eliminate the cancer of Fish-Man Island, but I will not betray Fish-Man Island."

"I respect your decision. However, I won't take back what I said. I'll prepare New Fish-Man Island for you. Whenever you're ready to agree, you can come find me anytime," Rosse smiled, not the least bit angry at her refusal.

'It is still early.'

If Otohime had truly betrayed Neptune on the spot, that would've made Rosse hesitate instead.

This timing was just right. There would be plenty of opportunities and surprises waiting for Otohime later.

The person he wanted would eventually belong to him.

"Thank you, Saint Rosse," Hearing this, Otohime placed her hand on her chest, feeling that the tension she had been holding inside suddenly relaxed.

However, for some reason...

She still felt a faint sense of regret in her heart.

If not for the issue of identity, she would probably have accepted without hesitation.

"Let's go, check out where they're holding the slaves."

Rosse waved at Otohime and slowly walked toward the place where the slaves were imprisoned.

Otohime came back to her senses, quickly swaying her tail, using the seawater Rosse created to assist her, and swiftly followed after him.

The place where the slaves were imprisoned was a dungeon.

As early as when he entered the manor, Rosse had already noticed the situation here.

"So many people held here... but except for three, all of their auras are weak," Spreading out her Observation Haki, even before the two of them arrived, Otohime had already sensed the condition inside, her expression slightly uneasy.

Before this, she had always believed that it was humans who had wronged fish-men and merfolk, wanting to enslave them all.

That belief was why she always advocated for coexistence with humans, hoping for peace between humans and merfolk.

But after experiencing so much, Otohime could no longer remain as naive as before.

Humans had persecuted merfolk and fish-men, but fish-men and merfolk had also persecuted humans.

The hatred only kept deepening, who knew when it would ever end.

The two walked through the damp underground passage; at the entrance of the dungeon lay two Fish-Man corpses.

When Rosse dealt with Damon earlier, the entire Fish-Man gang had been cleaned out, to prevent anyone else from jumping out later and causing trouble he didn't want to see.

Clink!

Rosse lightly pushed the dungeon's iron gate, and it came completely off.

Immediately, a foul stench hit them in the face.

"It's really unbearable... those fish-men handled the slaves too crudely," Rosse frowned slightly, his face filled with displeasure.

Even slave-catching squads, to ensure the slaves could be sold at a good price, typically wouldn't overexploit the slaves.

At least when slaves were presented in front of them, it wouldn't be like this dungeon, filled with rot, blood, feces, urine, and all sorts of mixed smells.

Otohime merely covered her mouth and nose lightly, her face showing some pity, swaying her tail gently as she entered the dungeon.

Inside the dungeon were cages of all sizes.

"Please... let me go...", In the outermost cage, an adult human woman crawled on one hand and one leg to the edge of the cage, pleading as she looked at Otohime.

Otohime pursed her lips, her eyes filled with sorrow, and instinctively looked at Rosse with pleading eyes:

"Saint Rosse!"

Rosse only smiled, decisively took out a Den Den Mushi, and quickly dialed it.

["Saint Rosse, this is Gion."]

A crisp voice came from the Den Den Mushi, it was Gion.

"Who's the naval officer in charge of the Sabaody Archipelago?", Rosse asked.

["It's Rear Admiral Catacombo,"] Gion responded concisely.

"Have him come to Island #1, to the Fish-Man Gang's location, and rescue all the slaves here. From today on, these people are residents of the Sabaody Archipelago. If even one of them gets harmed, he can pack up and leave," Rosse said flatly.

The Sabaody Archipelago was one of the member nations, but unlike other islands, it had no king or nobility; it was directly under the control of the World Government.

Sabaody Archipelago was the closest member nation to the Holy Land and the Marine Headquarters. Politically, it was bound by the World Government; militarily, it was managed by the Marines.

Although the island was filled with gray powers, the Marines were still the true overlords of this place.

Every year, many wild pirates came here, but those who dared to act against the Marines were rare.

After all, it wasn't twenty years later yet, there was no Luffy showing up here.

After speaking, Rosse hung up the Den Den Mushi and looked at Otohime.

"Thank you, Saint Rosse," Otohime sincerely expressed her gratitude.

Rosse, upon hearing this, simply smiled and shook his head.

Otohime was still too kind.

'Look at that, I saved my own kind, and yet a mermaid like you is thanking me.'

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