Morning on Fishman Island.
Above the great bubble, the sea was still dark; the sun's light hadn't fully reached this depth yet, so almost no natural light filtered down.
Shirahoshi's nose twitched. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"Mm… so comfy…"
She stretched lazily—then froze.
Right in front of her, the massive golden dragon was watching her quietly.
Her cheeks flushed. Not to the point of bursting into tears like her "canon" self, but definitely embarrassed.
"U-um, Lord White, I'll… I'll go prepare your breakfast!" she blurted.
"No need," White Ghost said, shaking his head. His huge body shrank, scales folding away as he shifted back into human form. "I want to walk around Fishman Island a bit."
"U-um… then, Lord White, could I go with you?" Shirahoshi asked timidly. "I can be your guide…"
White Ghost glanced up at her.
Over five meters tall, looking like a child desperate to help.
"…Better not," he said. "You're too special. If you come with me, we'll be mobbed everywhere we go. I want to walk alone today."
"Oh…"
Shirahoshi lowered her head, shoulders drooping.
White Ghost didn't say anything else. Untangling a young girl's feelings was far more troublesome than fighting Kaido.
He simply spread his golden wings and flew out of the palace. Ryugu Palace was a fair distance from the bustling districts, after all.
—
A short while later, Queen Otohime swam into the hall and saw her daughter looking dejected.
"Alright now, Shirahoshi," she said gently. "There will be a next time. Mr. White will visit again."
"That's not it, Mother," Shirahoshi murmured. "White-sama said he wanted to walk around the island, so he turned down my offer to be his guide…"
Otohime thought for a moment, then smiled.
"Think about your position," she said. "You're the princess of Fishman Island. Even if Mr. White doesn't need guards, all our people know your face.
"If you walk at his side, there will be a crowd wherever you go. He just wanted some quiet."
She reached out and stroked her daughter's hair.
"Be patient. One day, we'll go to the surface and bask in the sunlight together."
"Really, Mother?" Shirahoshi's eyes sparkled.
"Mm." Otohime nodded. "Mr. White agreed that in the future, he'll set aside a place on his own territory for our people."
"That's wonderful!"
Shirahoshi brightened immediately, tail swishing like an overgrown child's.
"But not yet," Otohime added, gently cooling her down. "He said it himself—he needs time to strengthen his position first."
"It's alright, Mother," Shirahoshi said. "Fishman Island has waited so long already. If Lord White promised it, he won't break his word."
"Good, good. Then our little Shirahoshi just has to wait patiently," Otohime said, eyes full of fondness.
"I will, Mother!" Shirahoshi replied, and happily swam off.
"This child…" Otohime shook her head, smiling to herself.
—
White Ghost walked Fishman Island's main streets alone.
Even though it was barely morning, fishmen and merfolk were already out—opening stalls, setting out goods, chatting, arguing over prices, laughing.
He watched them moving back and forth and couldn't help thinking:
With conditions like this… how did they end up pushed this far down?
This many people, this much potential—and still oppressed to this extent. Is everyone here really living with a seven-second memory?
He wandered at his own pace. Whenever he saw a particularly beautiful piece of coral or a shell that caught his eye, he quietly stored it away in his bracelet.
Time slipped by. Before he knew it, it was midday.
He picked a random restaurant, ordered lunch, and ate. The food was solid—better than he'd expected.
Because of the recent increase in trade with humans, seeing a human guest on the streets no longer drew so many hostile stares. People glanced at him, but that was about it.
After asking a few locals for directions, he headed exactly where he wanted to go.
Mermaid Café.
So this was the place. In his previous life, hardcore fans had sworn this was the best spot on Fishman Island. Time to see whether they were exaggerating.
"Welcome to Mermaid Café!" a chorus of cheerful voices chimed.
A number of mermaid waitresses smiled as they greeted him.
In bikini tops or light tops, tails of every color flickering in the water, they were all beautiful in different ways—some gentle, some lively, some cool and aloof.
If Kake were here, White Ghost thought dryly, he'd probably ascend on the spot from sheer happiness.
"Hello, honored guest from the surface," a new voice said.
A stone bream mermaid with a bubble ring around her shoulder swam up to him with a practiced professional smile.
"Welcome to Mermaid Café. I'm a server here, Ishilly. May I ask what you'd like today?"
She had long black hair in twin tails, freckles on her cheeks, and a black-and-white striped tail.
White Ghost glanced at her, then at the menu hanging on the wall behind.
"Give me a private room," he said. "Bring your best coffee, and some snacks. I'll leave the selection to you."
"Of course. This way, please."
Ishilly led him upstairs to a small private room on the second floor.
"Please wait a moment," she said. "Your coffee and snacks will be right up."
White Ghost nodded and walked to the window.
From here, he could see the street below—fishfolk and merfolk coming and going, light drifting through the water in shifting bands.
He rested his arms on the sill, thinking.
Ever since I beat Kaido… something in my mindset has shifted.
I got arrogant without noticing.
He thought back over his recent actions.
He'd been treating everything like it was "no big deal," and until his Observation Haki had broken through yesterday, he hadn't even realized it.
That crystal ball helped, sure. But when I started spreading my Observation across the island, I was… calm. Too calm.
Just peacefully scanning Fishman Island. Watching people live. No urgency. No edge.
Then, almost without warning, he'd touched future sight.
He exhaled slowly.
Was I getting too full of myself?
Don't forget—Kaido lost by a single exchange. There's still Whitebeard. Big Mom. The Five Elders. Who knows how many monsters are hiding in this sea.
He watched the street below and took another slow breath.
Alright. Reset.
Remember where you actually stand.
There was a knock at the door.
"Excuse me, sir. Your coffee and snacks are ready," Ishilly called.
She and a few other mermaid servers came in carrying trays.
White Ghost stirred the coffee once, then took a sip.
"…Bitter."
Right. Forgot the sugar.
"You have to add sugar," Ishilly said quickly, seeing him frown. "Otherwise it's very bitter."
White Ghost huffed a laugh.
"Guess I did mess that up. And you're still here—are you on a break, or is this some kind of 'special service'?"
Ishilly tilted her head.
"What's 'special service'?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.
…Forget it.
He didn't have the heart—or the patience—to explain that one.
Looking at the young mermaid's curious expression, he changed the subject instead.
"Want to hear about life up on the surface?" he asked.
"Really?" Her eyes lit up instantly.
"Sure."
He started talking—about the four Blues, about cliffside towns where houses clung to rock faces, islands with winter all year round, deserts where the sand never ended, cities whose buildings clawed at the sky.
As he spoke, more mermaid waitresses drifted in one by one, drawn by the stories.
None of them had ever been to the surface. Every detail was new.
They gasped, whispered, and exclaimed in all the right places.
"Eeeh, humans build islands in the sky?"
"There's that much snow in some places…?"
"Wow…"
Watching them—wide eyes, bright smiles, tails subconsciously swishing—White Ghost had to admit the atmosphere was… fairly pleasant.
"What are you all doing?" a familiar voice said from the doorway. "Doesn't anyone need to be working?"
Shyarly floated in the entrance, pipe in hand, expression flat.
"Ah! Shyarly-san, sorry! We'll get back to work right away!" the mermaids squeaked.
They hurried out, but kept glancing back over their shoulders, clearly reluctant to leave.
"In the future," White Ghost said casually, "you'll all get to see it for yourselves."
Their faces brightened even more at that, and they left with obvious hope in their eyes.
Shyarly took a long drag on her pipe and sat down across from him.
"If I'd come a little later," she said dryly, "I'd have lost an entire staff of starry-eyed girls."
"I wouldn't go that far," White Ghost chuckled. "Besides, I'm about to start traveling the world. Taking a whole group of mermaids with me would be a logistical nightmare.
"Even if I'm not afraid of trouble… I still prefer to avoid it when I can."
"That's true," Shyarly said, nodding.
"With the way mermaids look—and how rare we are on land—the amount of trouble that would bring you…" She exhaled another plume of smoke.
"Even for 'the strongest creature,' it'd be more of a headache than it's worth."
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