— — — — — — — —
At this time, Fish-Man Island was not yet under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates.
It would take a few more years before that happened.
"We couldn't ask for more! Then, we'll gladly accept your invitation."
Hearing this, Kaito and his crew immediately nodded with a smile.
"Haha! That's great! Please, come along!"
King Neptune laughed heartily and gestured for Kaito's group to board the fish-cart that would take them to Ryugu Palace.
On the way, Neptune noticed that Queen Otohime seemed troubled. Concerned, he asked, "My dear, what's wrong? You seem preoccupied. Is there something off about the Uchiha Pirates?"
"Not exactly," Otohime replied, shaking her head. "You know that my Observation Haki allows me to sense people's emotions and intentions, right?"
"Yes, and it has always been reliable," Neptune agreed.
"But just now, when I tried to read the thoughts and emotions of the Uchiha Pirates, I encountered a strong resistance. I couldn't perceive anything specific from them."
"The only thing I could confirm is that they mean us no harm."
"This... makes me uncomfortable."
It was clear she had grown dependent on her ability, and suddenly losing access to it left her unsettled.
"Hiss... You mean you couldn't sense anything at all?" Neptune asked in shock.
"Yes, absolutely nothing," Otohime confirmed with a nod. "In fact, I have a feeling that the kindness I sensed from them was something they deliberately allowed me to perceive. Otherwise, I might not have been able to detect even that."
That was truly terrifying.
"It seems the Uchiha Pirates are far more mysterious than they appear on the surface."
"That being the case, we must be even more cautious not to offend them. If possible, we should build a friendly relationship with them."
"Since they have shown us goodwill, we should respond in kind. What do you think?" Neptune asked after a moment of thought.
"Yes, that's the best course of action," Otohime agreed.
This was the most reasonable approach they could take.
What they didn't realize was that, despite the distance, Kaito and his crew had heard their entire conversation.
Soon, Neptune led them into Ryugu Palace, where they were seated in a grand hall.
With a clap of Neptune's hands, several beautiful maids entered, serving exotic fruits, vegetables, and fine drinks on the table before them.
"Haha! Everyone, please, enjoy! Taste the specialties of Fish-Man Island, don't hold back!" Neptune invited enthusiastically.
"Much appreciated!" Kaito and his crew didn't hesitate and began eating immediately.
"Whoa! This tastes amazing!"
"Indeed! It's on par with the finest chefs at our base, and it has a unique flavor!"
"These fruits are new to me. They must be specialties of Fish-Man Island."
The lively praises filled the hall, and the mood became even more enjoyable.
As the feast continued, Neptune finally couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore and asked, "Kaito, do you and your crew plan to venture into the New World next?"
"That's right," Kaito confirmed with a nod. "The first half of the Grand Line no longer holds much meaning for us. Our next step is naturally the New World, where we'll challenge the Three Emperors and claim a seat among them!"
"Speaking of which, we can't just accept your hospitality without giving something in return. Consider this a gift from us."
"Please wait a moment."
With that, Kaito stood up, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from the hall.
"What... where did he go?" Neptune was stunned and turned to ask Koshiro and the others.
"Relax," Koshiro chuckled. "Didn't the captain just say he was preparing a gift for you?"
"He'll be back soon."
Hearing this, Neptune felt a bit relieved, but his curiosity only grew.
What kind of gift could Kaito be preparing?
— — —
Meanwhile, Kaito had instantly teleported from the palace to the lower levels of Fish-Man Island, his spiritual senses spreading out across the entire area.
The next moment, he teleported toward the massive Noah's Ark at the top of Fish-Man Island.
Within moments, he arrived at the island's highest point.
Now, he was less than ten meters away from the colossal Noah's Ark, with the entire ship within his sensory range.
"Found you! Just as I expected, you're here."
Kaito smirked slightly, then, with a mere thought, forcibly teleported Vander Decken from within the Noah's Ark directly in front of him.
"Wha—?!"
Vander Decken appeared with a look of utter confusion and rage, completely clueless about what had just happened.
The moment he saw Kaito, he opened his mouth to speak, but Kaito had no patience for his nonsense.
Boom!
A powerful fist smashed into Vander Decken's face, instantly knocking him unconscious.
After a moment of thought, Kaito waved his hand and stored Vander Decken within his space-time dimension.
Then, with another thought, he extracted the Mark-Mark Fruit (Mato Mato no Mi) from Vander Decken's body.
Finally, he performed a bit of micro-surgery on Vander Decken's brain, turning him into a complete idiot.
He also used genjutsu to erase all his memories related to the Mark-Mark Fruit before finally stopping. Once done, he teleported him back out and grabbed him by the hand.
In the next instant, he reappeared in the banquet hall of Ryugu Palace, tossing Vander Decken in front of Neptune and Queen Otohime.
"Here… this is my gift to you. Satisfied?"
"This is…!"
Seeing the familiar face of Vander Decken, Neptune and his family immediately stood up in shock.
"Isn't this that scumbag, Vander Decken?! Lord Kaito, you actually caught him?!"
"How did you do it? Where did you find him?"
Neptune's family knew Vander Decken all too well, and they despised him. This bastard had fixated on their daughter, Princess Shirahoshi, ever since she was born, shamelessly proposing marriage to King Neptune.
Though rejected, he never gave up. For years, he kept obsessing over Shirahoshi. Two years ago, during a public event where Queen Otohime brought Shirahoshi for a signing ceremony, Vander Decken managed to touch her, marking her with his Mark-Mark Fruit ability.
From that day on, Shirahoshi's nightmare began.
Every day, weapons would come flying at her from an unknown distance, forcing Neptune and Queen Otohime to lock her inside the Hard-Shell Tower for protection.
Although it kept her safe, it also took away her freedom.
One could only imagine how much Neptune and his family hated Vander Decken.
"Vander Decken? He was easy to deal with."
"As for where I found him, he was hiding aboard Noah's Ark above Fishman Island. You never thought to check there?"
Kaito chuckled.
"Noah's Ark? So, that's where he was?"
Neptune was stunned, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "We did search for him!"
"But the ark is too massive! Finding someone inside is like searching for a needle in a haystack!"
"Besides, Vander Decken was always hiding from us. Capturing him was incredibly difficult!"
"Regardless, thank you, Lord Kaito!"
"With Vander Decken gone, my daughter Shirahoshi will no longer have to live in fear inside the Hard-Shell Tower. She can finally be free!"
"On behalf of my family, thank you!"
With that, Neptune and his family bowed deeply to Kaito.
"Don't worry about it. It was just a small effort on my part. Didn't you already host us?"
Kaito waved his hand dismissively.
"No!"
Neptune immediately shook his head. "Hosting you is nowhere near enough to repay this kindness!"
"If there's anything you need, just tell me! I'll do everything I can to help you."
"Also, from now on, you are Fishman Island's eternal benefactor! We will never forget this debt."
Hosting Kaito and his crew was just common courtesy—how could that count as repayment?
"For now, I don't need anything."
Kaito shook his head but then raised a finger as he recalled something. "Oh, actually, there is one thing. After the banquet, could you have someone take us to the Sea Forest to check out the Poneglyph there?"
"I'm quite interested in it."
After all, he had promised Robin that he would make a copy for her.
She was very interested in such things.
This was the perfect opportunity to earn some favor with her and get closer to reaching the contract threshold.
Right now, her favorability towards him was only at 61, and the progress was a bit slow.
Kaito understood why.
Robin had been through too much betrayal and deception in her past. She was extremely wary of the outside world.
Raising her favorability to 80 wouldn't be easy.
In the original timeline, it was only after Luffy and his crew saved her from Spandam, even going to war with the World Government for her sake, that she truly opened her heart to them.
"Maybe I should find time to take her to meet Aokiji and reunite her with Saul. That might be the key to helping her truly open up." Kaito mused to himself.
"Oh? The Poneglyph at the Sea Forest? No problem!"
Neptune was briefly stunned but quickly agreed. He turned to his eldest son and instructed, "Fukaboshi, after the banquet, accompany Lord Kaito to the Sea Forest."
"Yes, Father!" Shark Prince responded immediately.
With that settled, Neptune had his men take Vander Decken away, preparing to deal with him properly after the banquet.
He swore he wouldn't let that scumbag get off easy.
.
.
.