novelraw Page 68
Page 68
"As expected of a natural Observation Haki that can't be turned off, it's really impressive."
"Even I was affected for a moment."
Black focused his attention on Queen Otohime:
"Is that so? I do think the pearls on the princess's clothes don't seem as bright anymore."
As he spoke, he used his scepter to lift the pearl necklace from Princess Otohime's chest.
The 26-year-old Otohime wagged her tail fin, appearing somewhat uncomfortable.
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Black, but there have been some problems with the pearl-diving fields belonging to Dragon Palace City recently."
"That's such a pity."
Blake feigned regret and said:
"I used to think pearls were formed from the tears of mermaids."
"I originally planned to have the princess conjure a special pearl for me."
As he spoke, Blake's fingertips brushed against the corner of Princess Otohime's eye.
Princess Otohime was somewhat flustered, but dared not dodge.
Upon seeing this, the ministers of the Dragon Palace who were accompanying him quickly bowed their heads.
Neptune, standing to the side, clenched his fist, then slowly relaxed it, forcing a smile:
“Lord Black Saint, we have prepared a welcome banquet for you in the Dragon Palace. Please follow me.”
As he spoke, he made a gesture of invitation.
Blake did not continue to make things difficult for them, and led more and more maids to the Dragon Palace.
Although Black's "full control" attribute seems to have been activated again since that day, he has serious business to attend to on Fishman Island this time.
Besides, the girl in front of me, Princess Otohime, is only 26 years old and hasn't even had her legs drawn yet. Neptune isn't like King Taya, who shamelessly fawns over the world's nobles.
Blake was just making a few casual jokes.
At the banquet, amidst the clinking of glasses and the exchange of toasts, Blake did not continue to act aggressively, which reassured Neptune somewhat.
Blake gently swirled the crystal glass and sighed:
"The merfolk's brewing techniques are truly unique."
Neptune explained with a smile:
"This is brewed using coral unique to the Sea Forest, so the taste is naturally different from the wine from the sea."
"Sea Forest?"
Blake replied as if he were hearing the name for the first time:
"It sounds like... a good place for a walk."
His gaze shifted to Queen Otohime, who was drinking with him.
"How about Your Highness takes me to see it tomorrow?"
The crystal chandelier in the banquet hall suddenly swayed slightly, whether due to deep-sea currents or Neptune's sudden outburst of anger, it was unclear.
But when Blake turned around, the King of the Dragon Palace had already resumed his smile:
"As you wish, Lord Black."
As he spoke, he gave Princess Otohime a wink.
Princess Otohime knew she couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to agree.
For Blake, choosing between a beautiful female merman and a fat male merman as his guide was a no-brainer.
Neptune should go somewhere cool and stay there; with such a large size, don't bother showing up in front of him.
After spending the night in the Dragon Palace, Queen Otohime led Black and his party to the Sea Forest early the next morning.
Her pearl waist chain shimmered in the water, and she deliberately slowed the frequency of her tail fin movements as she walked, introducing the local customs and culture of Fishman Island to Black.
Otohime actually wanted to test Black's attitude towards the Fish-Men and Mermaids because she saw that Black wasn't as irritable as the other Celestial Dragons.
Blake was getting a little annoyed, and suddenly his white-gloved hand landed on her shoulder:
"The princess's scales are even more dazzling than the corals in the sea..."
Otohime's body stiffened slightly, then quickly returned to normal:
“Lord Black Saint, you flatter me. This is just… just a talent of the merfolk.”
Blake, however, seemed oblivious to her unusual behavior, his fingers slowly sliding down her back:
"I'm more inclined to believe it's the result of skincare."
Otohime suddenly sped up, seemingly unintentionally shaking off Black's finger, pointed forward, and changed the subject:
"The fluorescent coral area is just ahead!"
Black seemed to have been genuinely diverted from the conversation and looked in the direction Otohime was pointing.
After spending almost the entire day exploring the Sea Forest, Blake and his group finally got up to return home once dinner was prepared at the Dragon Palace.
After another round of toasts and drinks, they returned to the rear hall to rest.
Blake called Kella to his side:
"Did you notice? When Otohime took us to visit the Sea Forest today, she deliberately avoided a certain area."
Kerla thought for a moment, then nodded somewhat uncertainly:
"It seems...that's indeed the case?"
Blake handed her the tools needed to make rubbings of the historical text:
“Go over there and take a look. There should be a piece of the red Poneglyph that we saw in Wano Country before.”
"Make a rubbing of the contents above."
Chapter 89 Eating spinach can turn you into a strongman
Kerla easily found the historical text of the red road sign, and the whole process went unnoticed by anyone.
This made Blake even more satisfied with her; in a few years, she might be able to stand on her own.
While Black may not be able to recruit Kizaru, he can train one of his own Glint-Glint Fruit users.
After making rubbings of the historical text, Black, accompanied by Queen Otohime, visited the legendary Noah the next day.
Blake had initially shown considerable interest in this ancient, massive ship, which was suspected to have been built by the Hammerhead.
The ancient weapon Hades and the shipbuilding industry of Water Seven both seem to be related to this fleet of giants.
Black had thought that Noyard might contain some clues about them that could satisfy his curiosity.
After searching around inside, they found nothing of any use.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Noah has been stuck there for hundreds of years. If there were any clues, they would have been discovered long ago.
Having figured all this out, Black decided not to stay on Fishman Island any longer.
The deep-sea environment always made him feel insecure, so on the third day he chose to say goodbye to Neptune.
Neptune visibly relaxed; he had been worried that if Blake stayed a few more days, he would abduct his princess.
He had never felt as fortunate as he had these past few days that mermaids only evolved legs at the age of thirty.
Seeing the other person's expression, which bore a resemblance to King Riku's, Black felt somewhat displeased.
Am I some kind of monster? Why is everyone so unwelcoming to me?
So he repeated what he had said in Dressrosa:
"I have a very good impression of Fishman Island, and I will come back again next time I have time."
Seeing that Neptune's expression also froze, Blake finally felt much better.
Robin, standing behind him, glanced at Black with disdain and muttered two words under her breath:
Blake secretly tapped her on the head, making her crouch down in pain, only then was he satisfied.
Neptune escorted Black all the way to the port.
Before boarding the ship, Blake suddenly stopped, turned around, and asked:
"By the way, have you ever seen a super-sized sea king shaped like an lanternfish?"
Neptune was taken aback by the sudden question. After a moment of thought, he finally spoke:
"Since I became king, there seems to have been no reports of colossal sea kings passing by Fishman Island."
"Due to the presence of the Sun Tree Eve and the special magnetic field, few sea kings pass through Fishman Island."
Blake nodded, said nothing more, and turned to board the Temple.
The red line encircles the Earth, but the only passage at its bottom is to Fishman Island.
If it can be confirmed that lanternfish have not appeared near Fishman Island, their activity range can be narrowed down to three sea areas: the West Sea, the North Sea, and the New World.
Well... it's really not very useful.
But it's still a reduction of half the area.
The world government has not shown the necessary attention to pure gold.
On the one hand, they only knew that the island eventually disappeared, but they didn't know the relationship between the pure gold and the lanternfish, so finding it wouldn't be easy.
On the other hand, ordinary Celestial Dragons have limited resources to mobilize, so they can't get too many CPs to go out and find pure gold for them.
The high-ranking members of the Holy Land, such as the Five Elders and the Knights of God, already possess the immortality granted by Im, so they naturally do not need to go to great lengths to find pure gold.
So the disappearance of pure gold is actually a good thing for them.
Unless someone else obtains the pure gold, it will be difficult to shake the World Government's 800-year rule within a limited lifespan.
Blake had to be more careful than ever in his search for pure gold.
This is because it also contradicts the basic policies established by Im.
Im will only grant immortality to those who are capable, and can control them by taking it back at any time.
Blake's attempt to obtain pure gold was, in effect, a quest for immortality.
If you don't let Im have any weaknesses about you, will Im still consider you one of his own?
After leaving Fishman Island, the Temple quickly emerged from the sea, leaping out of the water like a sea king.
This time, Black did not stay in the Sabaody Archipelago and went straight back to Mary Geoise.
Osvid remains the commander of Red Harbor.
When this guy saw Blake, it was as if he had seen his own father. He slid down to Blake's knees and hugged his leg.
"Lord Black Saint, you're finally back."
Blake's face darkened. "You're a grown man, how dare you hug my leg?"
He kicked Oswald several meters away:
"Stop pretending to be dead, quickly arrange for someone to take good care of my Temple."
After saying that, he led Stella and the others back to Mary Geoise.
Oswald sprang to his feet, gave a comical salute, and shouted:
"Yes, Lord Black! I guarantee I will complete your mission!"
Back in Mary Geoise, Blake washed up and then began his dinner.
As expected, Roswald sent an invitation as soon as he heard that Blake had returned.
He planned to throw a banquet to celebrate Blake's return.
In reality, she just wanted to show off her status as a woman to the other Celestial Dragons.
Blake declined the invitation, citing travel fatigue, so the other party found another reason and started inviting other people.
The manor's dining room became much livelier, with Blake pushing spinach, which Mandy hated most, in front of her: