After spending several days on Fish-Man Isnd, Cudius and his party successfully cluded their mission for the Wover. Whitebeard's fg could no longer be raised, aune and the others uood the stakes.

  If the Fish-Man Isnd royals dared to defy this arra, the sequences would be catastrophiot only would the Five Elders lose their patience, but Cudius himself would not tolerate being made a fool of.

  If such a situation arose again, Cudius jokingly thought to himself that he might destroy the entire Fish-Man Isnd ialiation. He could even uproot Eve itself to use its wood for shipbuilding.

  Of course, this was just an exaggerated thought. une and Princess Otohime were certainly not foolish enough to push things that far.

  During their stay, Cudius finally saw Shirahoshi. Though she was just a newborn, her immense size was astonishing. Shirahoshi was absolutely adorable, to the point of being overwhelmingly charming.

  Iure, two individuals would be widely regarded as the most beautiful women in the world. One of them was Boa Hancock, whose beauty captivated tless hearts. However, despite her fame, Hancock's beauty would only be aowledged unofficially, revered among pirates and civilians alike but never formally reized.

  The other was Shirahoshi, who was sidered the world's most beautiful woman with official reition.

  When paring the two, Cudius leaoward Hancock. While Shirahoshi was iunning, her appeal leaned more toward innod ess, with her status as the Mermaid Princess adding signifit weight to her reputation.

  Hancock, oher hand, relied solely on her extraordinary looks to and attention. If beauty alone could determine rank, Hancock's presence was on par with that of a Marine Fleet Admiral.

  As the Prometheus desded from Fish-Man Isnd back to the sea's surface, Cudius found himself marveling at the beauty of the deep-sea ndscape. Uhe trip down, which had been occupied with versations with Sengoku, this time Cudius took the opportunity to appreciate the uer world.

  Both Lenny and Mero remained behind on Fish-Man Isnd. Cudius ehey were well-funded, leaving behind signifit resources to support their new life. He even spoke with une, requesting the king to look after the two women.

  For uhis portunity to gather more insight into Cudius. Were the rumors of his goodwill genuine? Was this Celestial Dragon someohey could trust? With these questions in mind, une readily agreed to Cudius's request.

  On Sengoku's side, pns were already underway. Upon his return to Marineford, he would begin preparations to station Marines on Fish-Man Isnd, further ting the new arra.

  As the Prometheus moved through the depths, Hancock leaned against the railing, her eyes wide with excitement as she spotted a massive, glowing anglerfish in the distance. "What is that? It's so big!" she excimed.

  Cudius smiled at her enthusiasm. "That's a ntern fish. They're huge, and I've heard they even prey on Sea Kings. But… well, they are pretty ugly, aren't they?"

  Hancoodded quickly. "Yes, it's so ugly! It looks like it's from some horror story!"

  Robin, standing quietly nearby, ented in a calm tone, "I think it's kind of… charming."

  Cudius turoward her, amused. Over time, he'd realized that Robin's unusual aesthetic preferences weren't born from trauma or hardship but were simply an intrinsic part of her personality.

  It was the same Robin who had adopted Saul's odd "chuck-he-he" ugh back when she was a child. Even as Cudius reflected on her quirks, he couldn't help but wonder about Saul. The giant Vice Admiral with such a promising future—wasn't he locked away in Impel Down?

  Shaking the thought from his mind, Cudius asked Robin, "Did you find anything iing on Fish-Man Isnd? Something that caught your attention?"

  Robin turo him, her gaze thoughtful. "Yes, I found it fasating. The culture there is so distinct from the surface world. I also bought a lot of books."

  Hearing this, Cudius smiled warmly. "Books, huh? That sounds like you, Robin. Did you spend a fortune?"

  Robiated for a moment before admitting, "I might have gone a little overboard… It cost quite a bit."

  Cudius chuckled. "How much could books possibly cost? Don't worry about it. How much did you spend?"

  Robiated again before sheepishly responding, "About… a billion berries."

  Cudius froze, nearly falling over the railing. "What?! A billion berries? You spent that mu books? Did you buy a library or something? Or was it… was it the Poneglyph?!"

  Robin fli his outburst, her face filled with embarrassment. "Many of the books were inal manuscripts, some of them turies old. Others were rare editions thought to have been lost to time. Knowledge is priceless, isn't it? You always say that, Yhness. Books are the dder of human progress, and knowledge is the most valuable treasure."

  Hearing her justification, Cudius ughed, shaking his head. "Alright, fine. I suppose I did say that."

  Robin sighed in relief, her tension easing as she smiled. "I've already pced them in the ship's library, but it still feels so empty. Your library is too big."

  Cudius nodded, a spark of pride lighting his eyes. "One day, Robin, we'll fill that library together. Every book will represent a journey, an advehe Prometheus will truly live up to its he ship of wisdom."

  Robin didn't reply right away. Instead, she gazed at him for a moment before asking, "The ship of wisdom?"

  "Yes," Cudius replied fidently. "The Prometheus isn't just a ship; it's a vessel of knowledge, discovery, and uanding."

  Robiated, then added, "While we were on Fish-Man Isnd… I visited the Sea Forest."

  Cudius raised an eyebrow. "The Sea Forest? That's the pce with the Poneglyph, isn't it?"

  Robin nodded, her expression suddenly uain. "I had someone move the Poneglyph to the ship's library."

  "What?!" Cudius nearly choked on his words. "You moved the Poneglyph?! The Fish-Men didn't try to stop you?"

  Robin frowhoughtfully before replying, "No, I don't think they saw it as anything important. It was just lying there in the Sea Forest, like an abandoned relio one seemed to care."

  Cudius groaned and rubbed his forehead, but he couldn't find it in himself to be angry. Ultimately, it oneglyph, a priceless artifact that couldn't be read by just as presence aboard the Prometheus was both a risk and an opportunity.

  "Well, what's done is done," Cudius said with a shrug. "No one read it anyway, so I doubt it'll cause much trouble."

  Robin g him, flicted. She had sidered revealing her ability to read the Poneglyphs but decided against it. "Not yet," she thought to herself. "I'll tell him wheime is right.