CHAPTER 938 YOU WILL GET YOUR WIFE BACK… BUT ONLY IF SHE FEELS LIKE IT!

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Fisher Tiger stared deeply at Hody Jones, who was sweating heavily after recognizing his counterpart, who appeared at the end of the previous chapter.

"So, it seems Hody really is the leader of the New Fishman Pirates, just as expected," said Jinbe, who had anticipated it earlier.

"No problem, I trust Hody will be a good leader for the New Fishman Pirates," defended Arlong from the other side.

"Arlong-san…" Hody Jones was visibly moved by this support.

"To think that the Noah ship would appear this quickly…" Fisher Tiger shifted the topic directly to Noah, the legendary ship symbolic of the Fishman District, whose existence had remained an enigma for generations.

The number of people who knew the true nature of this colossal ship could be counted on one hand.

...

"Noah… Rob-san told me the manga wouldn't talk about it until the world was ready to know the truth…"

"That means he's going to reveal most of its secrets in this arc."

Not far from Fisher Tiger's group, King Neptune seemed more intrigued by Noah than by Hody Jones.

"That's fine. The world has the right to know why the Ship of Salvation was built in the first place."

Then the manga shifted into the next chapter, opening with Sanji's comical interactions with the mermaids. King Neptune had a smile on his face throughout, but the moment the royal ship searching for the Straw Hats appeared, his expression changed.

"I hope their goal isn't to capture Luffy and his friends… I want them to establish a peaceful relationship…"

He had always had a general idea of what kind of relationship the Straw Hats would have with his royal family—of course, he saw it as a good one.

But if things turned out differently, he would feel terrible. From what he had seen in Luffy's journey, the pirate always formed strong ties with kings, saving kingdoms along the way.

"Wapol, of course, is an exception, due to his inherently wicked nature…" While pondering, he didn't forget to mention Wapol.

"Don't worry, my King… I think everything will go smoothly… Who are those!?"

The Right Minister's eyes widened, as did those of the Left Minister and King Neptune himself when they saw strange figures aboard the Royal Gondola.

"The three Neptune brothers!!!?"

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Chapter's Events:

— — — — — — — — — — — —

"Huh? It's a royal gondola!!" Caimie quickly recognized the royal ship.

"Still, it's not like any of the royal family would be on board. They wouldn't leave their palace just to come out to some remote region of the island…" One of her beautiful mermaid friends speculated.

"Make way for the three Neptune brothers!!!" shouted the royal guards.

"Hello there, ladies of the cove, there's something we need to inquire of you." said the eldest prince from atop the royal gondola.

"Aaaahhh!!! The princes!! What are they doing here?!" the mermaids shouted in shock.

"Princes?" Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper were hiding at the request of the mermaids, while Sanji was being embraced by a gorgeous black-haired mermaid, his head resting on her chest.

"You stay nice and hidden there, Shanji-chin…"

"We've received reports of a number of illegal immigrants. Has anyone here seen them?!"

[Ryugu Kingdom – The three Neptune brothers: Eldest Brother Fukaboshi (a shark mermaid)]

"Akkaa Mambo! Whooo Whoo!🎵 Maaan!! I'd sure love to hang out here awhile!!"

[Youngest Brother Mamboshi (an opah mermaid)]

"If you've seen them, let us know—re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do…!🎵"

"If they haven't, then alas-so-fa-mi-re-doooo!"

[Middle Brother Ryuuboshi (a giant oarfish mermaid)]

"No… No…!! I'm afraid we haven't seen anyone like that here…" Caimie denied the presence of the Straw Hats.

"Are they really that important…?!"

"So important that the princes themselves had to come looking for them?!"

"Hm… Well… It's still not certain that they are the ones we suspect…"

"Indeed, that is so-far-re-mi-dooo!"

"Let's dance! Akka-mambo!"

While the princes were chatting with the mermaids, the New Fishman Pirates arrived not far away.

"Now, what's all this ruckus…?!"

"Those are the three big shots from the Neptune Army!!!"

"What are they doing here?! This is a pain…"

— — — — — — — — — — — —

"Those three… Are my children…?"

After remaining stunned for several minutes, King Neptune finally regained his focus as the realization hit him.

"It appears so, my King…" replied the Right Minister.

"That makes perfect sense. They were introduced with title cards directly by the author as the Neptune brothers…" nodded the Left Minister.

"Fukaboshi… Mamboshi… Ryuuboshi… There's no doubt about it. These names perfectly fit my children…"

Tears welled up in Neptune's eyes as he touched the faces of his now-grown sons, as shown in the manga.

He couldn't stop himself from crying. This revelation was overwhelming. He had a strange, heavy feeling in his heart that he would learn many things in this arc. But only now did he realize that his counterpart had three strong, grown sons, while he was still unmarried—and without one heir!

"My King… It seems it's time to consider finding a queen… Your counterpart in the manga didn't disappoint us, so please don't disappoint us either…" both ministers pleaded.

It became clear that King Neptune had to find a queen as soon as possible.

"But… my queen hasn't appeared yet…" Neptune scratched his head awkwardly. He was fully aware of the heavy responsibility he bore, and he never tried to run from it. But even after hundreds of attempts, his heart hadn't beat for any woman, despite Ryugu Kingdom being full of beauties. Even a random mermaid cove in a remote part of the kingdom was considered All Blue by Sanji!

And this wasn't even the only mermaid cove on the island—there were hundreds!

"You need to hurry, my King…"

"Why rush? I'll find my counterpart's queen in this arc, and I'll definitely find her—"

"Just forget about that, Neptune…"

A deep voice cut him off before he could finish. Its owner stepped out from the most private area of the magical store—the teleportation room.

Neptune and everyone around him instantly recognized the voice. It was the closest human to their hearts—the owner of this magical art store: Rob.

Rob arrived with a calm smile on his face, just at the right moment.

King Neptune welcomed Rob with a smile. Due to the store's Harmony Feature that shrunk Neptune's giant size to normal human proportions, he was able to shake Rob's hand warmly.

"It looks like you've recognized those three as the sons of Neptune, haven't you?" Rob asked.

"That's right… It seems so."

"Their mother is Otohime… and she's my wife now, as you already know."

Rob dropped this bombshell in the most casual tone possible, as if he were stating something mundane.

Neptune felt like he had just been struck by lightning, though his expression didn't change outwardly. "Is that so…? It seems my counterpart was luckier than I…"

Suzan overheard the conversation from nearby, stunned. She had been close enough to catch all of it.

(To think that Otohime—the supposed wife of the king—was taken… How wild. He stole the king's wife…) Her outward expression didn't change, but her wild internal thoughts didn't escape Rob's sharp intuition. He glanced at her, sending chills down her spine.

"Neptune, let me make one thing clear: Otohime is my wife. But if, after reading this arc, she feels she should return and settle down with you, I'll divorce her and won't stand in her way. But if she still wishes to remain with me, it's best that you find another queen."

Rob's words made King Neptune exhale a long, weary sigh—as if he had just unloaded every grievance in one breath. All he could do was nod and say, "Alright."

Neptune still didn't understand how all this came to be, but he knew one thing for sure—Rob and Otohime had clearly been together for a long time. He never imagined that the woman he had always waited for was already claimed by another man—and that man was Rob himself.

He had no intention of challenging this man. But deep down, Neptune was deeply grateful Rob had come in person to tell him.

As for Rob, he had always felt this matter needed to be handled delicately. He had many wives he'd taken from their original husbands, even before they met them. Otohime was just one of them, and not even the most complicated case.

Still, Rob felt he needed to handle this himself. Because the manga would one day reveal the truth to the world.

Knowing this, Rob chose to reveal it and face it like a man. He would leave the choice to the woman—whether to stay with the sky or fall into the mud. It wouldn't bother Rob either way.

The only thing Rob truly didn't want to lose—or taint—was his reputation.

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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):

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Chapter 917: A Ridiculous Way to Die.

Chapter 918: Forbidden Blood

Chapter 919: An Empress Among Pirates, Big Mom!

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