Queen Otohime

At the Marine G-2 base, the narration closes in on the aftermath of Fisher Tiger's death: "Following the death of Fisher Tiger, hero of slaves..." Arlong's hatred for humans grew still stronger, and he turned upon them viciously, only to be captured. While Jinbe sits in silence, Arlong cannot accept the official story. He rages that if they had only had fishman blood, Fisher Tiger would not have died, then spits the blame outward: "You filthy humans... ...drove him to his death!!!!" The scene fixes Arlong's fury as something that hardens from grief into vengeance.

On the Grand Line, the Sun Pirates' ship sails on while the public explanation says that "due to the humans refusing to offer a blood transfusion," Fisher Tiger, captain of the Sun Pirates, met his end. Yet aboard the ship, Jinbe reads the paper and knows the report is not the full truth. The ultimate blame does lie with humans, but Arlong must have lied to the Marines. It was humans who betrayed Tiger and deepened his grudge enough for him to refuse the transfusion; his past as a slave makes the truth crueller still. Jinbe chooses silence, because Arlong would not reveal such things and because exposing Tiger's past would cast a stain upon his honour.

Even with their leader gone, Jinbe understands that the Sun Pirates can no longer turn back from the path ahead. A lookout cries, "Nyuuhh!!! Captain Jinbe!!! It's an enemy vessel!!!" Jinbe gathers the crew and gives the order that defines his command: "Prepare for battle!!! And remember - we will not take a life!!!" The crew roars back, and the narration marks the change: under their new captain, "Jinbei, Knight of the Sea," the Sun Pirates continued to live out their days of inevitable conflict.

At Marine HQ, a Marine identifies the true danger as Jinbe: his strength is nothing less than astounding. Meanwhile, in Ryugu Palace on Fish-Man Island, Jinbe writes to Queen Otohime. He tells her that he feels she at least has the right to know the entire truth. Otohime reads about Fisher Tiger's last choice and says she has made her decision. Tiger had no choice but to choose the path he did; the hollow scream she heard in his heart that day now makes sense. Still, she refuses to give in to fear.

On Fish-Man Island, Queen Otohime stands before the people and declares, "We must live under the rays of the sun!!!" She insists that the day will surely come when fish-men and merfolk can achieve true understanding with humans. But the crowd pushes back: Tiger was a righteous hero who rescued all slaves regardless of race, yet humans left him to die. People ask how they can forgive that, and even supporters hesitate to sign. Back at Ryugu Palace, four-year-old Princess Shirahoshi finds her exhausted mother after another day with not a single signature. Otohime smiles through the strain: "Ah, Shirahoshi... My haven and comfort..."

Otohime promises the children that she still believes, telling them, "For the sake of your futures...!" Day after day, she throws herself into action: saving survivors from shipwrecks as they shout "Pirates again" and "Let us take you back to the island," teaching the island's children about the world above, explaining that a place with many "trees" is called a forest, and camping out on the streets to gather signatures. Her campaign becomes exhausting daily labor rather than a speech alone, and every act is aimed at making the surface less frightening for the next generation.

When someone tells Otohime that kind people have offered their signatures, she asks how many have been gathered. The answer is bitterly small. She has been gathering them for over five years and still has only around one hundred sheets; with ten signatures on each sheet, that makes around one thousand supporters, while Fish-Man Island's population is around five million. Otohime lowers her head over the box of papers and admits that if possible she would like to take back around fifty of those sheets. Her aides can only say, "Your Majesty..." as the scale of the request weighs on her.

Otohime greets children in the street, asking if they want to hear more about the surface. One child carries a piece of paper from home, but the adults around her confess they have listened to her, yet think the humans are in the wrong. They would appreciate it if she stopped making speeches, because everyone is tired of hearing them. That night, Shirahoshi and the princes welcome their mother home after another tiring day, but Otohime asks her "angels" to leave her alone for a little while. When she is alone, the strain breaks; the queen who never stopped smiling throws her head back and cries.

Otohime's voice suddenly broadcasts across the entire country. The Left Minister panics, asking whether she has been drinking, while Otohime shouts, "You're all horrible liars!!!" When someone protests that she is not drunk, she continues anyway. She asks why they all choose to live in one tiny place when fish-men can live anywhere in the ocean, out in the wide dark seabed. On the surface, the whole world is bathed in sunlight, the sky is vast and open, and even here they can glimpse sunlight and breathe a little air. The crowd listens as the queen's despair turns into a raw public plea.

Otohime keeps speaking to the whole island. She asks why their children must swim up only to sneak glimpses of Sabaody Park, when there are so many more wonderful places in the world. There should not be anywhere beyond their reach. Instead of piling up empty reasons and convincing themselves to give up, they should have the courage to seek out what they truly want. If humans are stopping them, then they should go up there and face them. She believes that if they do that, the future awaiting the children of their land might change a little for the better.

Then one day, a bat brings an invitation "to the Royal Shichibukai." The offer reaches the Sun Pirates, and the bounty on Jinbe has climbed to two hundred and fifty million beli. Arlong reads the government move as proof that Jinbe has become a future threat: they are starting to realize how big a threat he could pose. Arlong urges Jinbe to send them a flat refusal and send his infamy soaring into the skies. But Jinbe quietly answers, "No... I think I might... ...accept their offer!!!" The crew is shocked.

Jinbe returns to Ryugu Palace, where Neptune says it is good to see him again. Jinbe explains his reasoning: if he joins the Shichibukai, the government will grant a pardon, allowing Aladine and the others who no longer desire a life of piracy to return home and live in peace. If he accepts, he might also help their people grow closer to the World Government. He says it could make up for the trouble they caused the queen, and Otohime has been in low spirits lately. But one thing bothers Jinbe about the pardon: Arlong, member of the Sun Pirates, is released.

Arlong returns from captivity in fury. He mocks Jinbe as "old brother" and says he heard Jinbe is becoming a Shichibukai, lowering himself to serve the filthy human government. Jinbe warns him not to forget Fisher Tiger's words, that it is wrong to live a life of hatred. Arlong refuses. If he joined Jinbe again he could be safe, but he will not do that. Their big bro is dead, so Arlong is going back to his old crew, the Arlong Pirates, and he is taking his old comrades with him. The split between Tiger's legacy and Arlong's hatred becomes open.

At the dock, Arlong tells Jinbe, "This is farewell!!!" and dares him to stop him. "This is your last chance!! If you can't do it, then I walk free." Then he spreads his arms and snarls, "Kill me where I stand!!!" Jinbe tries to hold back, but Arlong calls himself "the wrath of the fishman race" and rejects Jinbe's attempt to stop him as nonsense. Jinbe finally strikes him, sending Arlong crashing down as crew members shout for Jinbe to stop. The farewell becomes violent, but Jinbe still does not kill him.

The Sun Pirates sail away while others tell Jinbe there is no need to trouble himself over Arlong. They were brothers in arms, born and raised together in the Fishman District, but nobody could expect Jinbe to take Arlong's life. If Arlong causes trouble, the Marines will move against him; if they do not, the Sun Pirates will find and stop him themselves. With Jinbe's enlistment into the Shichibukai and Arlong's return from captivity, the Sun Pirates split into three groups, each following a different path. Arlong curses Jinbe's strength and leaves with his followers, while another crewman says they will do as they like, just as in the old days.

At Fish-Man Island's main entrance, the border guard calls Ryugu Palace: a gigantic, heavily damaged vessel is requesting admission to the island. The palace orders them to let it in immediately, until the guard reports the problem: "There seem to be Tenryubito on board!!!" The palace shifts at once. Otohime commands them to allow admission and dispatch an emergency squadron to the coast, then declares, "I will be there at once!!!" Her attendants cry for her to stop, but she moves immediately toward the disaster that has arrived from the surface.

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