One Piece: Under the Throne

After leaving the tavern, Fisher Tiger invited Leo to go see the wise man. Will was already Leo's crew member, so he naturally wanted to go with him. To Leo's surprise, Charlie also wanted to go with him. In the end, he couldn't persuade the little girl and had to take her with him.

"Brother Tiger, who are we going to meet?" Leo was also full of curiosity about the person he was going to meet. Who on earth could he, the boss of Fishman Street, respect so much?

"Haha, you'll know when you get there. She is a truly wise person, and many of her ideas coincide with yours, so I think she will be very happy to see you."

The group took the mermaid bus to the gate of the Dragon Palace. When the guard saw that it was Tiger, he took the group directly into the Dragon Palace without informing them of their purpose. Leo observed carefully along the way, and some details that he had not noticed in the previous anime were clearly seen this time. The more he looked, the more he felt that the architectural style of the Dragon Palace was very similar to that of the Flower Planting House. This discovery made Leo feel very familiar and looked forward to the upcoming meeting.

In fact, when Tiger said that the man was one of the few wise men in Fishman Island, Leo knew who he was going to meet. Although his ideas were a bit naive, he was also a rare person with a long-term vision.

After passing through the pavilions and towers of Ryugu Castle, they came to a white tower. Before Leo and his three companions reached the door, they saw a goldfish man jumping towards them. Seeing Otohime, who was dressed like an ancient court maid, Leo immediately had a good impression of her, so he also greeted her with a smile as bright as the sun.

"Boss Tiger, when did you come back? Come and tell me about your adventure story. I've been looking forward to it for a long time." The petite Otohime came in front of everyone with a smile on her face.

"Hahaha, Otohime not only has a story this time, I also brought you a human friend." After saying that, Tiger pushed Leo in front of him.

Otohime was stunned for a moment, then her eyes brightened and she happily turned around Leo a few times. Looking at this human boy who was not much taller than her, she poked and pinched him left and right. Seeing that Leo did not resist, she even tried to touch the boy's head with her tail.

Leo's face was filled with black lines. Who could have thought that the kind and loving Princess Otohime in the future was so naughty when she was a child? Seeing that she was about to grab his hair, Leo quickly said, "Nice to meet you. My name is Leo."

Otohime was startled and quickly hid behind Tiger. This comparison made her look even shorter, not even as tall as Tiger's calf. She grabbed Tiger's calf and half of her head was exposed, and she said to herself: "Oh my, the human boy just talked to me, that's great, it's the first time I heard a human talk, Otohime is so excited, wow, wow, cool."

Tiger held up his pants awkwardly and lifted up Otohime: "Otohime is here to say hello to you."

Otohime's hands were on her chest, her fingertips moving slowly, she wanted to look but didn't dare to. Her eyes just made contact with Leo and then left as if she was electrocuted. After repeating this several times, she dared to look up and look at the boy: "Hello... Hello, I... My name is Otohime, can I be your friend?"

Yoho! Otohime, you are such a person. Leo's smile became more kind. He bent down slightly and stretched out a hand to Otohime and said, "Of course, my mother taught me to treat others with kindness since I was a child, let alone a kind girl like you."

"Oh, you speak so nicely. I am a grown-up girl, not a young girl. Your mother must be a kind person."

However, the image that flashed through Leo's mind was Susanna looking at a big fish with her bright eyes, her palm slowly brushing across the scales of the fish, and saying gently, "What a good fish."

Leo quickly recalled the middle part and couldn't think any further. The following scenes could not be viewed without the company of parents. If Otohime's observation Haki could perceive them, it would destroy the impression of humans in her mind.

Otohime happily invited everyone into the White Tower. This was her residence. The room was decorated in pink, very girlish style. Leo sat down opposite Otohime without the slightest hesitation in his movements. Otohime smiled happily when she saw him so relaxed.

"Leo, how did you get to Fishman Island? Can you tell me?" Otohime asked impatiently as soon as she sat down.

Leo pointed at Will and smiled: "I wanted to come to Fishman Island because I wanted to send this little fat boy home. I have heard many legends about Fishman Island when I was traveling alone. It is really worth the trip to see it with my own eyes this time."

Will also said, "Yes, Sister Otohime, I secretly ran to the sea to play, and was caught by a group of scary people. It was Brother Leo who saved me. He also took me to Shampoo and Politics Park to play." After saying this, Will raised his chin proudly.

When Otohime heard that Will actually went to Shampoo and Magic Park, her eyes were filled with envy, as that was the dream place for all the little mermaids, so she kept pestering Will with questions.

Leo and Tiger smiled like old fathers at the same time, their eyes becoming more kind. After chatting for about ten minutes, Otohime finally realized that she had ignored the guest and turned to Leo with an embarrassed smile.

"Leo, thank you for helping Will and for your kindness to the Fishmen. You are truly a hero of Fishman Island. I have a question that I would like you to answer for me?"

"Of course, please go ahead!"

"What do you think of the relationship between humans and fishmen?"

"This question is very simple. In my opinion, all races in the world are equal, so we should treat all races with kindness. Only in this way can we take the first step in mutual communication. For example, Will and I are a good example. Although I saved him at the beginning, Will was able to stand up for me when I met pirates again. I was very moved. And the same goes for Brother Tiger. I admire his generosity very much."

Leo paused and continued, "You can't judge a person by his race. My hometown is a peaceful and quiet island. We work from sunrise to sunset, live a self-sufficient life and never fight with others. But even so, my hometown was destroyed by the attack of pirates, and my parents also died in that invasion. So I never care what race the other person is. As long as they are kind to me, we can become friends."

Otohime's eyes sparkled as she listened. "Really? Leo, you said it very well. The merfolk are also a peace-loving race. I have always believed that as long as we can understand each other, humans will definitely accept the merfolk. Then my compatriots and I will be able to walk out of the sea and live under the sun."

Although Leo likes Otohime very much, she is simple and kind-hearted, but sometimes being too simple and kind is not a good thing. Besides, she will have such a strong appeal in the future. If things continue to develop according to Otohime's ideas, Fishman Island will be eaten up without leaving anything.

So Leo decided to help them face reality. After all, looking back at the original work, Otohime and Tiger both paid with their lives for their kindness and innocence.

With a serious expression, Leo said, "Otohime, I agree with your yearning for peace, but your idea is too idealistic, even too naive."

Otohime kept smiling, but tears slowly formed in the corners of her eyes. She suddenly turned around, covered her face and started crying: "Wow, Leo doesn't agree with my idea. I'm too naive. I'm crying."

Tiger and Will were frantically trying to comfort Otohime. Tiger even yelled at Leo, "You bastard, how did you make Otohime cry? Come and comfort her."

Leo shrugged helplessly and said softly, "I don't disagree with your idea, Otohime. It is right to yearn for peace."

Otohime opened her hands that were covering her face a little: "Really? Then why did you..."

Leo's voice became softer and softer. "What I mean is that your method is wrong. Don't cry and listen to me slowly. Fishman Island has joined the World Government since 1320, and it has been more than 170 years now. According to the law, the World Government recognizes Fishman Island as a member country, so Fishman Island should enjoy the same treatment as other member countries. But is this really the case?"

Otohime and Tiger knew that what Leo said was right. The atmosphere fell silent for a while. Otohime lowered her head and asked, "Is it really that difficult to get humans to accept us? The fishmen have lived on Fishman Island for generations. We just long to breathe the sea air and long for the sunshine. What have we done wrong?"

Leo could see that this was a young girl who was not very worldly-wise. She thought the world was too simple and had a bit of a people-pleasing personality. She was even willing to give in step by step in order to communicate with humans.

"Otohime, do you know Will's story?" Otohime shook her head. She had lived in Ryugu Castle for many years and didn't know what life was like for Will, who had lived in Fishman Street since he was a child. Leo briefly described Will's past from an objective perspective. The girl listened with tears in her eyes and kept shaking her head. She really couldn't believe that there would be such a dark corner in the beautiful Fishman Island.

"Good and evil have nothing to do with race. There are good people and bad people in every race. For example, the slave trade is what the merfolk hate the most. The merfolk believe that it is a mistake made by humans. Indeed, the leaders are all humans, but how do you know that there are no merfolk involved? Similarly, the human slave traders capture and sell the most humans. In the eyes of the traffickers, humans and merfolk are both commodities. The only difference is the price caused by the different rarity.

Hearing this, Otohime was obviously shocked: "How could they do this? The World Government and the Navy don't care, aren't they supposed to protect everyone?"

Leo did not answer Otohime's question because he did not know how to explain to her the role the World Government played behind the scenes. He was afraid that she would despair about the world after knowing the truth.

So Leo deliberately changed the subject and led the conversation to Otohime's wish: "Otohime, your wish is to allow fish people to have the right to live in the sun. This is a great dream. People who fight for freedom and equality are great, but have you thought about how to do it specifically?"

If it weren't for Leo's previous words, Otohime would have been full of energy to introduce her ideas to him, but now she is a little frustrated, and her voice is much lower: "I want to use a smile to let humans feel our kindness. Only when humans understand that we are not a dangerous race, the era of peaceful communication will come. I have always believed that as long as everyone can understand each other, humans will accept fish people."

Leo was very upset by these words. He could feel that Otohime's mood changed from low to high when she said these words, but she was still idealistic. After hearing the last part, Leo couldn't help but think, naive Otohime! In another world, there is a place called Konoha Village where there is a young fox demon who will be your confidant.