The people of Fish-Man Island were celebrating.
Even King Neptune brought several of the princes out to mingle and enjoy themselves among the citizens.
A grand banquet was held in the central plaza.
People brought food of their own accord, and everything was free of charge.
Neptune declared that the entire week should be enjoyed to the fullest.
"All of this is thanks to Luffy! It's because of him that we can realize our dream and enjoy the sunlight!"
In the plaza, Pappag—the starfish and hugely popular fashion designer—was passionately praising Luffy's greatness to a group of young fish-men.
The children clapped one after another.
"So amazing! The air on the surface… it's completely different from the seafloor!"
"I think a statue of Luffy should be built right here in the plaza!"
The children bombarded him with enthusiastic suggestions.
In such a joyful atmosphere, Luffy took Shirahoshi to visit the Mermaid Café.
Shirahoshi was far too large to enter the café, so she leaned her head out through the doorway and peered inside through the window.
"Master Luffy! Princess Shirahoshi~!"
The little mermaids inside greeted them warmly.
Shyarly looked just the same as last time, sitting on a shell-shaped sofa with her tail coiled beneath her, a pipe held lightly in her hand.
"To be honest, I'm not very happy to see you."
"Why?" Luffy asked, surprised.
"Although I can't divine anything about you—just like this time, I can't tell whether Fish-Man Island will land smoothly or not—but…"
Shyarly looked at Luffy and sighed. "I performed a divination on myself, and the crystal ball gave me a bad answer. I may run into trouble soon. And the source of that trouble is you."
"Hahahaha."
Luffy couldn't help laughing. "This time I just came to ask you a question."
Besides Shirahoshi, he intended to take this woman along as well.
The ability to foresee the future was truly useful.
Of course, he still couldn't expose his wolfish ambitions yet—otherwise, Shyarly might refuse to help him with divination altogether.
"Go on," Shyarly said helplessly.
This was a request she simply couldn't refuse.
After all, he was the great benefactor of Fish-Man Island.
"Shirahoshi is going to join my crew and go on an adventure with me, but she's far too big. Is there an Akuma no Mi that can make people smaller?"
"Are you insane?" Shyarly's eyes widened in disbelief. "Princess Shirahoshi is a mermaid! If she eats an Akuma no Mi, she'll never be able to enter the sea again!"
"That side effect can be dealt with," Luffy replied casually.
"…Are you serious?" Shyarly asked flatly.
She then sighed and shook her head. "Forget it. Let's leave that aside. Your question is too broad, and I can't foresee an exact outcome."
"Just try. It doesn't matter if it fails."
Seeing this, Shyarly took the crystal ball out from beneath her tail, closed her eyes, and began divining just as she had last time.
"I can only grasp a very vague clue."
After some time, Shyarly opened her eyes and said, "In the New World, there is a place called Hachinosu. If you go there, you may be able to resolve your current problem."
Hachinosu?
The Pirate Island!
The birthplace of the Davy Back Fight!
That place should currently be under the control of the pirate Ochoku, a former member of the Rocks Pirates.
Whitebeard, Shiki, Kaido, Big Mom, and others had all once been part of that pirate crew in the distant past.
If it was Hachinosu, then although it was no longer as powerful as it had been in the era of the Rocks Pirates, it was still a force not to be underestimated.
After thinking for a moment, Luffy asked, "Is that the only path? No other specific location?"
"No."
Luffy didn't believe her and immediately read Shyarly's heart.
[What are you still waiting for, Straw Hat? You've got to be kidding me, right?]
[You invited me to join your crew last time—you must have liked my ability!]
[This guy forcibly abducted the princess of Alabasta… maybe he'll do the same to me!]
Luffy was completely stunned. This mermaid's intuition was frighteningly accurate—she had already guessed his plan before he even put it into action. She really was a true seer!
But how did she know about his "abduction" of Vivi?
It wasn't from the news.
Besides, Vivi herself had wanted to go—how could that be called an abduction?
Seeing Shyarly's eagerness for him to leave as soon as possible, Luffy didn't rush at all.
"I'll transfer Fish-Man Island into the sea territory under my rule, so I can protect you."
"Where?" Shyarly asked in shock.
"With Elegia as the center… hmm, let me think. From now on, let's call it the 'Sea of the Sun.'"
Luffy smiled and continued, "There are only two islands there right now—one is Amazon Lily, and the other is Elegia. This will be the third to settle there."
Shyarly's mouth fell open in astonishment.
Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the surroundings.
Fish-Man Island separated from the sea and began to rise, flying toward the sky above.
---xXx---
Dressrosa
The government ship had been sunk, and several members of CP9 had been captured.
Franky grabbed Spandam by the collar with one hand and repeatedly punched him in the face with the other, leaving his nose bruised and his face swollen beyond recognition.
"I—I've already explained everything… no, stop hitting me! If you keep this up, I'll die!" Spandam begged.
Franky didn't let go, gripping him even tighter. "Shut up. I'll never forget what you did. You bear ninety percent of the responsibility for Tom's death!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After the brutal beating, Spandam was barely conscious.
Zoro asked from the side, "You've got a grudge against this guy?"
"Calling it a grudge is putting it lightly! Back then, that worm was the chief of CP5. Tom's death was his fault."
Franky spoke with a relieved expression and briefly explained the past.
The story itself wasn't complicated.
"Tom was killed because of him?" Sanji lit a cigarette. "Then why not just throw him into the sea and feed him to the fish?"
"I disagree. Let's wait for Luffy to come back. If Luffy wants him alive, he must have some use for him," Zoro said.
Franky grinned. "You're right. Besides, I've beaten him enough—I feel much better now."
By this time, it was already nearly evening.
The sun was sinking below the surface of the sea.
"Luffy said he went to Fish-Man Island to complete the agreement. I don't know when he'll be back," Usopp said.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present suddenly looked up.
High in the sky, a floating platform was slowly descending.
"Luffy!" Everyone greeted him one after another.
Sanji saw the shy look on the mermaid princess's face and was instantly petrified.
"Oh no, this is bad—Sanji turned to stone again!" Chopper cried in shock.
Shirahoshi found it amusing, covering her mouth as she laughed.
"Hello, everyone from the Straw Hat Pirates. I'm Shirahoshi~"
Luffy jumped down from the floating platform and looked at Sanji, who had turned into a statue, with a speechless expression.
His resistance to beauty was basically nonexistent, wasn't it?
As a member of the Straw Hats, this was unacceptable.
He should just find a chance to send him to the Red-Haired Pirates and let him spend a few days with Beckman.
Hmm… maybe Beckman would even take him to a brothel.
Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Luffy turned his gaze to the captured CP9 agents.
"Spandam, right?"
"Y-Yes! Yes! Please let me go! I've already told you everything!"
Spandam—so badly beaten that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him—trembled violently as he begged for mercy.
"Why are they here?" Luffy asked.
"To investigate," Franky replied.
Zoro added, "They don't seem to know anything about the God's Knights. How should we deal with them?"
"Agents who fail their missions are eliminated by the World Government anyway," Luffy said calmly. "They know far too many secrets they were never meant to know."
(End of Chapter)