When they returned to Fish-Man Island, Wadatsumi's massive size once again caused a wave of panic.
Fortunately, King Neptune appeared in ti to calm everyone down.
Naruto first inford Neptune that they no longer needed to worry about Vander Decken, then proceeded to introduce Wadatsumi to him.
"You're saying you want to assign this... this giant to be Shirahoshi's bodyguard?"
Looking at Wadatsumi, who was even taller than a giant, Neptune was montarily at a loss.
"Yes. This guy deeply regrets his past mistakes. If it's inconvenient for him to be a bodyguard, you can also assign him to guard the Ryugu Palace."
Wadatsumi was very cooperative. Hearing Naruto's arrangents for him, he nodded eagerly, afraid of ending up holess again.
Since Naruto had already said so, Neptune thought it over and eventually agreed.
Having a guard wasn't a bad idea… after all, Fish-Man District had been quite unstable lately.
As for the guard's size and appetite... that wasn't a problem. Neptune was, after all, a king, and supplying the Ryugu Palace and the Hard-Shell Tower wouldn't be an issue.
The Hard-Shell Tower was the sanctuary that had protected Shirahoshi from Vander Decken's threats, but it was also the prison that had confined her for ten long years.
Looking at the weapons embedded in the door, the three princes' expressions darkened, and they remained silent, though a hint of unease lingered in their deanor.
"Alright, it's ti to wake your sister up."
Naruto lightly knocked on Fukaboshi's head. He was well aware of the little sche the kid had tried earlier.
But it had all been to get Naruto to help save their sister.
Even if Fukaboshi hadn't spoken up, Naruto would have stepped in after learning about Shirahoshi's situation.
Fukaboshi exchanged glances with his two younger brothers, sowhat embarrassed.
At his command, the soldiers opened the door, allowing the light of the Sunlight Tree to pour into the room.
At the sa ti, it startled Shirahoshi, who had been sleeping.
Inside the Hard-Shell Tower, Shirahoshi spent most of her ti asleep.
It was hardly surprising, after all, being stuck here was no different from being imprisoned.
Though she lacked nothing in terms of food and clothing, and King Neptune and her brothers visited her regularly, there really weren't many ways to pass the ti here.
"Huh? Is it morning already?"
Rubbing her eyes, Shirahoshi woke up, then blinked sleepily at the unexpected crowd in her room. For a mont, she even felt a little excited.
"Father, and brothers, why are you all here to see… ah!"
Her gaze swept from left to right before finally landing on Naruto, causing her to let out a startled cry.
She imdiately burrowed under her blankets, peeking out with just half her head to cautiously observe the outsider.
Though, given her height of over ten ters, even half her head was impossible to miss.
" Shirahoshi-chan, do you rember ?"
Despite the vast difference in their sizes, Naruto spoke to Shirahoshi in the sa tone one would use to coax a child.
"...Uncle Naruto?"
Perhaps because she had known so few people growing up, or perhaps because Naruto's appearance hadn't changed at all in over a decade, Shirahoshi hesitated for a mont before finally recognizing him.
"Waaah!"
The young girl imdiately wrapped her arms around Naruto and spun him around excitedly.
Shirahoshi rembered that this uncle had often played with her when she was little. In her arms, Naruto looked no bigger than a doll.
Neptune watched his daughter's sudden burst of joy with mixed feelings… on one hand, he was happy for her, but on the other, he felt a twinge of jealousy.
'Why didn't Shirahoshi ever get this excited when I ca to visit?'
Ignoring the king's self-doubt, Naruto gently patted Shirahoshi's head, signaling for her to put him down.
Shirahoshi obeyed, realizing that her behavior wasn't very ladylike.
After putting Naruto down with a blushing face, Shirahoshi asked Naruto eagerly, "Uncle Naruto, how long will you stay at the Ryugu Palace this ti?"
"Can you play with Shirahoshi for a few more days?"
"It's really boring here..."
The little girl's mouth was like a floodgate that had been opened… once she started talking, she couldn't stop.
The three brothers rarely saw their sister so excited, to the point where they couldn't even find a gap to interject.
"Shirahoshi, let's go out and play."
Naruto simply listened quietly as the girl vented all her pent-up anxiety and excitent. Only when Shirahoshi finally began to wind down did he pat her forehead and say sothing that stunned her.
"Go out...? B-But... but..."
Shirahoshi, of course, knew why she had been confined to this tower. Thinking Naruto might not understand, she hesitantly glanced at her father.
And Neptune responded with a firm nod.
"Shirahoshi, there's no need to be afraid anymore."
Hearing her father's words, Shirahoshi froze for a mont before looking at her brothers.
Fukaboshi and the other two also had excitent in their eyes, nodding vigorously in response.
"...Really?"
"Really... I can go out?"
Large teardrops began to drip from Shirahoshi's eyes, plopping onto the floor and quickly forming a small puddle.
"Let's go, Shirahoshi. Wherever you want to go, we'll all go with you."
Fukaboshi said, his voice thick with emotion. He understood his sister's suffering all too well… this tower hadn't just imprisoned Shirahoshi alone.
"I... I want to see Mom."
…
Sea Forest, in front of a grave.
Naruto, King Neptune, and the three princes stood silently in place.
Aside from them, there were no other guards present.
After all, with Naruto here, what was there to worry about?
"Mom..."
Shirahoshi curled her tail, kneeling halfway as she whispered softly to her mother.
This was her first ti here.
Ten years ago, during Otohi's funeral, Shirahoshi had been marked by Vander Decken and hadn't even been able to see her mother one last ti.
That bastard Vander Decken truly deserved a fate worse than death.
Otohi's grave was small, just enough to hold her tiny body.
Yet at the sa ti, it was more than enough to carry the weight of her great spirit.
On the tombstone, a relief carving depicted Otohi holding up the Peace Agreent.
Naruto silently observed Otohi's likeness… the woman who had seed so gentle toward the entire world, now smiling softly at him as if she were still alive.
'Otohi-nee… long ti no see.'
…
anwhile, while Naruto was enjoying his leisurely ti on Fish-Man Island, the surface world was already in an uproar.
Sabaody Archipelago was the most obvious example… countless 'innocent' pirates had been rounded up by the Marines en masse, with those who resisted being executed on the spot.
Of course, there were still so formidable figures who managed to escape.
These individuals watched the Marines' aggressive crackdown with confusion.
'Hadn't this place always been a 'lawless zone' by default? What kind of dicine had the Marines taken to act like this?'
anwhile, at the headquarters of the World Economic News Paper-
Morgans' efficiency was truly impressive. By now, the first edition of the newspaper had already been printed.
Sitting in his office, he watched as the News Coos under his command flew off in all directions, carrying papers that would shake the entire Grand Line.
A wide grin spread across his face.
'The seas... will soon boil over.'
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