After the spar ended, Neptune seemed completely stunned.
He simply lay quietly on the beach, staring blankly at the sky above Fish-Man Island.
Sami sat down beside him, his gaze resting on the silent prince.
"As for bounties..." Sami began slowly, breaking the silence, "they're only a rough point of reference. They can generally indicate how strong a wanted criminal is, but they're by no means the sole measure of someone's strength. A bounty reflects a combination of factors—combat ability, the crimes committed, the level of threat posed, and how seriously the World Government views that individual."
He paused before meeting Neptune's eyes as the prince finally turned to look at him.
"What I can say with certainty is that, with my current strength, I wouldn't even be considered part of the first tier among humanity's strongest."
"If anything... I could barely squeeze into the second tier."
Neptune slowly sat up, seawater dripping from his orange-red curls.
He looked at Sami with a complicated expression.
"The first tier... who belongs there?"
"On the Navy's side, naturally, the Admirals," Sami replied. "Although one Admiral died a few years ago, there are still two serving today—Kong and Padel. As for the World Government..."
He paused briefly.
"They maintain their own independent military organizations, from CP0 to CP8. Each agency has anywhere from a handful of members to several dozen. Their overall strength varies greatly, though. The strongest among them might barely reach the lower end of the second tier, while the weaker ones are probably only around the third."
"And if we're talking about pirates based on bounty..."
Sami smiled faintly, a trace of self-deprecation in his expression.
"...there are plenty."
"The highest bounty in the world right now exceeds four billion Berries."
"More than ten times my own."
Neptune listened in silence.
Every sentence landed like a heavy hammer, shattering the foundations of everything he had believed.
A pirate worth three hundred million Berries had already defeated him with overwhelming ease.
Then just how terrifying were those with bounties exceeding four billion... or the Navy's greatest military power?
He still couldn't fully imagine it.
But he understood one thing.
Against opponents of that caliber...
Even if every soldier in Ryugu Palace charged into battle together, it would likely mean nothing.
"Four billion..." Neptune murmured.
Then something occurred to him.
"The one you're talking about..."
"...is Rocks?"
"That's right."
Sami nodded.
"He's probably one of the strongest people alive."
"I don't think there are more than five people in the world capable of standing on equal footing with him."
Neptune muttered quietly,
"I always thought his bounty was so high simply because he stormed the Reverie..."
"Not just because of that."
Sami shook his head.
"Invading the Reverie was only one of three things he accomplished that day."
"He also personally killed one of the Navy's greatest military powers—an Admiral—in open battle."
"And by himself, he destroyed one of the World Government's greatest symbols: the Gates of Justice."
"Any one of those three feats would have shaken the world."
"But Rocks accomplished all three in a single day."
Looking at Neptune, Sami added calmly,
"Putting everything else aside, the death of a Navy Admiral alone..."
"...is probably worth three billion Berries."
Neptune fell silent once more.
Seawater gently washed over his fish tail, yet he felt a suffocating chill spread through his body.
After a long while, he finally spoke again, his voice noticeably hoarse.
"Captain Sami... if someone with your three hundred million Berry strength..."
"...were compared to an Admiral..."
"The difference is like heaven and earth."
Sami answered without the slightest hesitation.
After thinking for a moment, he continued,
"The Navy's officer ranks go from Rear Admiral, to Vice Admiral, and finally Admiral."
"My strength should probably be around a Rear—"
Suddenly, he thought of Garp and Sengoku, whose power completely defied common sense.
He shook his head and gave a more conservative estimate.
"...No."
"I'm probably only comparable to the weaker Rear Admirals."
Neptune said nothing more.
He simply sat there, gazing at the beloved kingdom protected by the great bubble surrounding Fish-Man Island.
For the first time, he had formed a concrete image of what humanity's greatest powers truly looked like.
After a long silence, he let out a deep sigh.
Seeing the troubled expression on his face, Sami chuckled.
"What is it?"
"Feeling like the world is much bigger than you imagined?"
Neptune's voice was low.
"Against power like that..."
"...can we really protect Fish-Man Island?"
At that moment, his understanding of humanity's greatest warriors had finally reached something very close to that of his father, King Nerius.
Only now did he truly understand the weight behind his father's philosophy of balancing strength with restraint.
That realization settled over Neptune's once-confident heart like an invisible mountain.
"Of course you can."
Sami answered without hesitation.
Neptune looked up.
Sami continued,
"How many years has the World Government existed?"
"How long has the Navy been around?"
"How many centuries have the Celestial Dragons ruled?"
"And after all that time..."
"Fish-Man Island is still standing."
"You are still its rightful rulers."
"What does that tell you?"
"It means you possess enough strength that even they are wary of you."
"They don't dare launch a full-scale invasion of this kingdom beneath the sea."
Sami reached out and patted Neptune's sturdy forearm.
(At his height, that was about as high as he could reach.)
"You're still young."
His tone carried the calm assurance of an experienced senior.
"Strength is something that can be accumulated through training."
"Your foundation is already excellent."
"If you can learn Haki..."
He looked up, meeting Neptune's gradually brightening eyes.
"With your talent and physique..."
"...it's entirely possible for you to join the first tier one day."
"...Really?"
A faint trace of longing entered Neptune's voice.
"Absolutely."
Sami nodded confidently.
Then a sly smile appeared on his face as he changed the subject.
"How about this?"
"I'll teach you Haki."
"And in exchange, you teach me Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu."
"What do you think?"
Neptune blinked.
Then the tension gradually melted from his orange-red brows.
He nodded firmly.
"Deal."
"Then let's head back."
Sami stood.
Neptune took out a piece of Bubble Coral and formed a floating bubble ring around his waist once again.
His massive body immediately became light as he floated upward.
He leapt gracefully onto his waiting giant killifish mount.
Just as Sami was about to follow, his footsteps paused.
As though sensing something, he turned and glanced toward the shadows deep within a distant coral forest.
For the briefest instant, a flash of red disappeared behind the jagged coral formations.
"What is it?"
Neptune followed his gaze.
All he saw was gently swaying sea grass and silent coral.
"...Nothing."
Sami withdrew his gaze, his expression returning to normal.
He climbed onto the back of the giant killifish.
"Let's head back."
The killifish flicked its powerful tail, carrying the two of them back toward Coral Hill.
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