Chapter 324
I Don't Dislike Idealists
Chapter 324 I Don't Dislike Idealists
"Me? Me?"
Upon hearing Wu Ma's words, Bai Xing seemed somewhat flustered: "You, you know my..."
She was naturally aware of her 'specialness'—she had activated that ability under immense emotional stress when she witnessed her mother's death as a child.
But from a young age, her father told her that the power was too dangerous and she must never tell anyone.
So now, being directly pointed out by Wu Ma about her abilities naturally made her feel flustered.
But amidst her panic, Bai Xing also felt a rare sense of dissatisfaction.
"Lord Wu Ma, please don't say that."
“My father and brothers are not indecisive, and what you just said—my mother’s wish.”
She wanted to argue her case—her mother's great wish was not foolish or naive.
But
"That's just the way it is, and it doesn't matter whether I take back what I said."
Wu Ma's expression remained calm.
"It is a fact that your mother, Queen Otohime, has greatly harmed the Fish-Men."
"What makes you say that?!"
Bai Xing's eyebrows stood on end.
"Based on the facts as they are now."
Wu Ma didn't seem to mind discussing these issues with Shirahoshi.
"Your mother, Queen Otohime, advocated coexistence with humans and even planned to relocate the residents of Fishman Island to the mainland."
He spoke softly about the actions of Shirahoshi's mother, Queen Otohime, who had a significant impact on Fishman Island.
"For this, she asked the fish people to forgive 'Fisher Tiger's' death."
"For this reason, she personally protected the Celestial Dragons' fleet, even after being wounded by arrows from the islanders."
At this point, Wu Ma also looked at Bai Xing.
"Excuse my bluntness, but this was indeed a foolish move."
"You."
Upon hearing this, Bai Xing was furious like never before—although her personality and upbringing prevented her from saying anything unpleasant, her eyes spoke volumes.
That's not surprising.
For Shirahoshi.
Her mother was a great person, and could even be considered a spiritual mentor to her and her brothers as they grew up.
They all firmly believed in their mother's principles and hoped to create a future for the fish-men, which is why they have grown up to where they are today.
Therefore, she naturally could not accept what Wu Ma said.
"You...you despise my mother so much?!"
She couldn't help but clench her fists.
But
"disdain?"
The next moment, she heard Wu Ma's words.
"No, I don't despise her."
Wu Ma said calmly, as if he were simply stating a fact: "On the contrary, I admire her quite a bit."
Bai Xing: "Eh?"
She was a little confused: "But you clearly said that the Empress Dowager's opinion is..."
"Her wish was foolish and naive, but it had nothing to do with her."
Wu Ma also showed a bit of seriousness when he said this.
"She believed that fish-men must coexist with humans, so she made compromises for this, and in the end even revealed her life for it."
"She was not a competent politician, but she was an idealist who dedicated everything to her vision."
He looked at Bai Xing, his words serious.
"I don't dislike idealists."
Yes.
This is Wu Ma's deepest opinion of Otohime.
Otohime possesses an innocence and fantasy that shouldn't belong to her—she believes that as long as Fishman Island shows enough goodwill and compromises and pays a sufficient price to follow human rules, humans will accept them into the Wheel of the World.
But Wu Ma, who knew the truth of this world, naturally understood how ridiculous that idea was.
The Celestial Dragons don't even truly consider humans as 'humans,' and that 'Lord Im' sees everything in this world as his own.
The World Government—the rulers of this world—is fundamentally a festering sore.
Under such circumstances, it would be absolutely impossible for fish-people to truly integrate into the human order.
If they really abandon Fishman Island and migrate to the mainland, then extinction is only a matter of time.
"On this vast ocean, one cannot earn respect through mere compromise."
Wu Ma looked at Bai Xing: "But the power is possible."
"Fishmen can certainly coexist with humans, but there are two prerequisites."
"First, humans have sufficiently kind and rational 'decision-makers' who cooperate with the fish-men to allow their cultures and ideas to coexist and merge."
"Secondly, fishmen possess at least enough strength to protect themselves and earn respect."
And that's the ridiculous part.
Because Fishman Island actually possesses such a power—that is, the Princess Shirahoshi standing before him.
As one of the ancient weapons, 'Sea King' undoubtedly possesses power that could make the world fear her.
But coincidentally, the day her power awakened was the same day Otohime died.
After Otohime's death, King Neptune, perhaps out of faith in his wife's ideals or out of protection for his daughter, did not fully develop Shirahoshi's power.
This is also the source of Wu Ma's words just now.
He didn't dislike idealists—Otohime's ideals and ideas were foolish, but she genuinely believed in and practiced them, ultimately paying with her life.
But given the current situation, he is not so willing to argue with King Neptune.
"The World Government will destroy the Sun Tree Eve and Fish-Man Island no matter what—no matter what your father and brothers planned, no matter what efforts your mother made back then, it's all meaningless now."
Wu Ma looked intently at Bai Xing.
He knew very well that the real reason the World Government attacked Fishman Island this time was that Im had realized the power of the Star Lord, so he wanted to destroy the Sun Tree Eve in advance—this matter obviously would not be changed by anyone's persuasion.
The Five Elders, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and the Admiral of the Navy could not prevent this inevitable destruction.
so.
"Princess Shirahoshi, the only choice you have is war."
"Use your power to protect your people."
He looked at Shirahoshi.
This is also why he was willing to talk to Shirahoshi so much—this mermaid princess's personality is really a bit soft, so much so that her control over her powers is not as effortless as Loki's.
In fact, judging from the original work, this princess will probably only unleash her full potential when faced with a life-or-death situation.
But what he needs now is not a beautiful but cowardly mermaid princess.
Instead, he is Aquaman, an 'Ancient Weapon' who can truly master his own abilities.
"Didn't you want to go out on land and see the forests and the real sun?"
He said in a deep voice.
"Show the world your power."
"Then I can guarantee that you will see what you want to see—not just you, but all fishmen will have the right to see them."
"."
Seeing Wu Ma's serious and solemn gaze, Shirahoshi fell silent.
After a long pause, she finally spoke. "What do you need me to do?"
Her voice was still somewhat weak, but she seemed to be trying her best to appear less timid.
Upon seeing this, Wu Ma nodded in satisfaction: "I will leave you a copy of the detailed plan."
"But before that, I need you to give me directions—I have one more place I absolutely must go. Where is Fishman Street?"
10,000 meters deep in the ocean, Fishman Island, Fishman Street.
The so-called Fishman Street is a very special area on Fishman Island.
Although it is nominally part of 'Fishman Island', it is actually a deep-sea area located outside the giant bubble shield of the main body of Fishman Island.
This place has produced powerful figures such as 'Jinbe the Knight of the Sea' and 'Fishman Hero' Fisher Tiger.
But now, this place is filled with all sorts of outlaws among the fish-men, a breeding ground for evil.
And on the edge of Fishman Street.
A colossal ship, almost half the size of the entire Fishman Island, lies silently on the seabed.
The cold seawater flowed, but the immense pressure of the deep sea could not affect the hull of this giant ship in the slightest.
It is 'Noah'.
In the legends of Fishman Island, there is an ancient ark that will save the island.
But at this moment...
"Hey, Hody, I've heard the humans on the surface of the sea are getting a bit restless lately, and they seem to be planning to attack Fish-Man Island—you haven't left Neptune's army yet, have you got any leads?"
Above 'Noah', a fish-man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and with four legs asked this question.
It's worth mentioning that although he is a fish-man, his body is covered with a 'swimming coating'—which is enough to show that he is a power user.
And that is indeed the case.
He is 'Vander Decken IX', a descendant of the legendary fish-man pirate Vander Decken, and also a user of the 'Target-Target Fruit'.
"Ah, that's true."
Before him, a muscular merman with curly black hair nodded.
He crossed his arms and said coldly, "Those lowly humans are up to no good. They're coating their warships, and I've heard there's been some unusual activity in Mary Geoise as well."
He grinned maliciously, his eyes flashing with extreme malice.
"It's ridiculous."
"What can those lowly, trashy races do? This is the ocean floor, the domain of us 'fishmen'!"
He arrogantly uttered what could only be described as absurd.
After all, anywhere in this ocean, any child knows that humans are the race that rules the sea.
But Hody doesn't think so.
He believed that the fish-men were the superior race, while humans were lowly and evil trash.
The mere thought of the word "human" would ignite an uncontrollable surge of anger within him.
“That old bastard Neptune actually still holds a grudge about it.”
He chuckled, "But it's all good—because of his orders, Jinbe has already left Fishman Island today to scout out Sabaody Archipelago. This is our chance."
Upon hearing this, VanderDeacon's eyes lit up: "Jinbe has left?"
Of course he knew the situation.
He has been working with Hody Jones for several years—he wants to win over Princess Shirahoshi, whom he loves, while Hody wants to control Fish-Man Island and wage war against humanity.
One of them was hiding in Fishman Street, and the other was hiding in Neptune's army. Over the years, they had made considerable deployments and preparations.
The problem is that just a few days ago, the 'Seven Warlords of the Sea' system was overthrown.
As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbe chose to return to Fishman Island.
Jinbe, the leader of Fishman Island, enjoys extraordinary prestige throughout the island, including Fishman Street. Coupled with his immense power, Vander Decken and Hody Jones have been forced to keep a low profile recently, and many of their actions and plans have even been put on hold.
Now, Jinbe has actually left Fishman Island?
"Yes, that idiot Kong has that level of power, yet he's worried that this incident is a 'disaster' he caused while hiding on Fishman Island, so he's eager to find out what's going on."
Hody sneered, "Judging from his words, if those humans were really after him, he would probably just leave Fishman Island. How foolish!"
"No wonder Brother Ah Long was unwilling to follow him back then."
His words were laced with disdain—to him, fish-men like Jinbe, who possessed power yet 'feared' humans, were the most despised.
But without a doubt.
"This is an opportunity."
He said in a deep voice, "We have been preparing for so long and have accumulated so much strength. We can finally use it now—I will immediately establish the 'New Fishman Pirates'."
"If humans really intend to attack Fishman Island, Neptune's army will inevitably suffer heavy losses, and then we can naturally take over the order of Fishman Island."
He grinned, revealing a malicious smile.
That's right.
At this moment, as a fishman, he was actually genuinely hoping that Fishman Island would be attacked by humans.
He could even imagine that by then, the entire Fishman Island would be filled with hatred and malice towards humans.
That was exactly the scene he had been looking forward to.
"At that time, I will hand Princess Shirahoshi over to you. As for Neptune and the three princes, I will publicly execute them after banishing humanity!"
"I will usher in an era belonging to the fishmen!"
He opened his arms wide, his words filled with excitement.
then
"idiot."
He and van der Deiken then heard a voice.
"?"*2
But before the two could react...
"Buzz!"
A powerful aura and oppressive force descended upon this place without warning.
Hody Jones and Vander Decken instinctively looked up and saw—at the bottom of the deep sea, where there should be no creatures other than fishmen and aquatic beings.
A figure radiating starlight, holding a book, and wearing a horse-head mask stepped out from the sea.
"you"
Hody Jones and Vander Decken immediately recognized the mask—just as mentioned before, the intelligence network on Fishman Island was far more advanced than that of the Giants.
Therefore, they instantly understood each other's identities.
"Twelve Stars"
However, they didn't finish their sentence.
Because Wu Ma had already raised his hand just as they opened their mouths.
"Sorry, I don't have time to listen to your nonsense—given the current situation, I don't want any destabilizing factors within the merfolk."
So, goodbye.
then
"boom!"
He pressed his hand down.
As he pressed his hand down, the surrounding starlight seemed to come alive and instantly collapsed inward.
Vander Decken, Hody Jones, and their surrounding fishmen didn't even have time to react before they were crushed by the countless starlight.
Even the blood flowing from their crushed bodies vanished in an instant.
In just a moment, only Van der Deiken's wide-brimmed hat remained on the spot.
At this moment, Wu Ma slowly landed on the 'Ark' Noah.
He lowered his head, looked at the giant ship beneath his feet, and nodded in satisfaction.
(End of this chapter)