Neptune looked confused. He naturally had a reason for doing such a thankless thing. To put it bluntly, it was to avoid offending both sides. After all, in the face of such a behemoth as the World Government, not everyone is like Rhine, who dares to step on their heads and provoke them.
Neptune was also afraid that if he turned against the World Government, they would send troops to attack. The situation on Fish-Man Island is completely different from Rhine and his gang. Although Rhine and the others had gravely offended the Celestial Dragons, they had the power to not fear the World Government. They could always stay on the move. As long as they ran fast, it would not be easy for the World Government to catch them.
Although Fish-Man Island is 10,000 meters under the sea, it stays in one place permanently. Once the government sends people to attack, it is impossible to sail away like ordinary pirates. Therefore, for this reason, Neptune would rather be taken advantage of and pay a huge sum of money to the World Government every year. He didn't dare to turn his back on them.
After listening to Neptune's explanation, Rhine shrugged. "It seems that being a king is not what I imagined. But that's none of my business." Seeing that the atmosphere was almost ready, Rhine gradually got to the point.
"Ahem~ King Neptune, I heard that the jewel of your family hasn't been doing well these years?"
As soon as these words came out, Neptune's expression changed suddenly. "You, how do you know?"
As early as eight years ago, the mermaid princess Shirahoshi was targeted by the ability of the Devil Fruit user Vander Decken IX. The ability of this Devil Fruit allows the user to hit a target no matter how far away it is. For this reason, Vander Decken IX had not washed his hands for nearly ten years, using this as a threat to coerce Neptune into betrothing Shirahoshi to him. And Neptune had no choice but to let Shirahoshi live alone in the Hard Shell Tower for many years.
Facing Neptune's surprised expression, Rhine smiled lightly. "It's an open secret on Fish-Man Island, isn't it? Just ask anyone."
Hearing Rhine's answer, Neptune's expression changed from astonishment to sadness. "I-I'm sorry, Shirahoshi. I'm not a good father..."
"Okay, okay, don't be so depressed, King Neptune. I have a way to help. Do you want to try it?" Rhine grinned mischievously.
"What way!?" Neptune raised his head suddenly and asked impatiently. He wanted to help his daughter so much that he didn't notice the evil in Rhine's eyes at all.
"Let Shirahoshi join my pirate group and leave Fish-Man Island together."
Rhine's words left Neptune dumbfounded. "What...what kind of method is this?"
After being stunned for several minutes, Neptune gradually came back to his senses and said to Rhine, "But Mr. Rhine, Vander Decken IX's Devil Fruit ability can hit Shirahoshi no matter how far away she is. Even if you bring her to your pirate group, it's useless, isn't it?"
Neptune suspected that Rhine was just trying to take his treasure. But due to his high emotional intelligence, he didn't say it clearly. The point is, this method is not very reliable. So what if you take Shirahoshi away? The effect of the target fruit still exists.
Rhine smiled and explained, "But it's better than letting Princess Shirahoshi stay in the Hard Shell Tower for the rest of her life, isn't it? Besides, Vander Decken IX is just a third-rate guy. His attack can be blocked by any pirate with a bounty of 50 million. I can definitely send my subordinates to protect Shirahoshi from his attacks 24 hours a day. So at least her life will be a hundred times better than it is now, right?"
This was a lie. Vander Decken IX's target fruit ability is indeed troublesome. Once the target is locked, it can continue to track the target even if the target escapes far away. Even Jinbei couldn't find a way to deal with him after all these years. However, as a time traveler, Rhine had at least dozens of ways to kill him.
One of the easiest ways was to call Hody Jones, the fish-man who had a cooperative relationship with Vander Decken IX, and let Lafitte use his hypnosis technique to control him, order him to lead Vander Decken IX out, and then kill him. But Rhine chose not to do so. For killing Vander Decken IX, at most he would be thanked by Neptune. In all likelihood, Princess Shirahoshi would continue to stay on Fish-Man Island. What Rhine had to do was find a way to get Neptune to entrust Shirahoshi to him. Then he could fill up Shirahoshi's favorability, so she couldn't leave him at all, and then kill Vander Decken IX. This was the only way.
"This…"
After listening to Rhine's speech, Neptune fell into a dilemma. What he had to admit was that what Rhine said made some sense. The only trouble with Vander Decken IX's target fruit ability is the 100% hit rate, which is hard to guard against. But the power is not worth mentioning at all. If there were 24-hour personal protection from some powerful pirates, there should be no problem. It's a pity that Neptune had no such people under his command. Although Jinbei had this ability, men and women are different after all. Moreover, with Jinbei's ability, it would be too overqualified for him to be a bodyguard.
"Think about it, King Neptune. If you entrust Shirahoshi to me, I can let the female pirates of the Kuja Pirates protect her. Then Shirahoshi can live freely like an ordinary girl, isn't that good?"
Noticing the hesitant look on Neptune's face, Rhine struck while the iron was hot.
"Uh…"
Neptune stroked his beard, tangled, and after hesitating for a long time, he said to Rhine, "Mr. Rhine...give me a day to think about it?"
"Of course, I didn't mean to force you. I just feel that Princess Shirahoshi is too pitiful."
Rhine knew the art of playing hard to get and didn't push Neptune too hard. After a friendly smile, he got up and left the palace.
Not long after, Rhine returned to the residence that Neptune had prepared for them and hugged Nami, who was sitting in front of the shell-shaped dresser, putting on makeup, from behind.
"What are you doing? You scared me to death!" Nami exclaimed.
"Well, no struggle to get used to it. You're already so pretty, why wear makeup? Give other women a chance." Rhine picked up Nami and walked toward the bed.
"Is that one of the most beautiful Pirate Empresses?" Nami sneered in response.
"You are much prettier than her."
The first rule of picking up girls: When you are with a woman, you must devalue other women.
"Open your eyes and talk nonsense." Nami rolled her eyes.
Soon, feeling the push from the lower part, Nami exclaimed, "Wait! You bastard! Put something on for me!" She didn't want to return to the Straw Hat Pirates with a big belly. Just die straight away, okay?
On the other side, after Rhine left, Neptune immediately summoned Jinbei and his ministers to discuss what Rhine had said.
"What do you guys think of this man's proposal?" Neptune asked after repeating Rhine's words to everyone.
"This... Your Majesty, the other party is a pirate. Would it be too dangerous to entrust Princess Shirahoshi to them?"
"But Her Royal Highness has lived alone in the Hard Shell Tower for eight years. Do you want her to die of old age there?"
Many fish-man ministers held their own opinions. Some thought Rhine and his gang were brutal and untrustworthy. Others felt that this was the only way to restore Princess Shirahoshi's freedom. After all, Shirahoshi had lived alone in the Shell Tower for eight years. If there is no way to solve it, the princess is afraid that she will really die of old age in it for the rest of her life.
The two sides were at odds for a while, and Neptune could only ask Jinbei for help, "Jinbei, what do you think?"
Jinbei frowned tightly and replied, "Your Majesty, I met the Rhine Pirates during the Summit War. Their behavior is too vicious. To be honest, I think it is too dangerous to entrust Princess Shirahoshi to them."
"Then you mean to refuse?" Neptune frowned.
Jinbei shook his head, "No, Her Royal Highness has lived alone in the Hard Shell Tower for eight years, and it is really not an option to continue like this. The old man thinks it's best if I follow. If Rhine wants to do something bad to the princess, I will stop him even if I risk my life!"
Jinbei's meaning was very clear. Try entrusting Shirahoshi to Rhine for a while. If he made any bad moves, Jinbei would intervene. Although Jinbei felt that relying on his own strength might not achieve much effect, at least it could play a monitoring role. If there was a conflict between the two parties afterwards, risking his own life could buy time for the princess to escape.
"Will this trouble you too much, Jinbei?" Neptune said guiltily.
According to Jinbei's statement, wasn't it just letting him be a bodyguard?
Jinbei laughed and said, "Your Majesty, you don't need to worry. The old man is no longer a Shichibukai, and I have nothing to do in the short term. If I can help Princess Shirahoshi, I would also appreciate it."
Early the next morning, the knock on the door woke Rhine, who was holding Nami and dreaming sweetly, from her sleep. "Who is it? Do you want to die early in the morning?" Rhine had already woken up. It was a pity that the rowdy night had been a bit too much.
"No, I'm very sorry, Mr. Rhine. His Majesty the King invited you to Dragon Palace City, saying he wanted to give you an answer."
The fish-man waiter outside the door trembled in fright. Rhine's drowsiness disappeared instantly, and she replied, "Okay, I see. Thank you for your hard work."
"What...what's the matter?" Nami rubbed her sleepy eyes and tried to stand up.
"You'll find out later. Do you want to go together?" Rhine lowered his head and tapped her forehead.
"Uh... Then you can rest for a while."