The giant Mermaid Princess, who had been rescued by Luffy and Orochimaru, suddenly stopped crying at this sight and stared blankly at Luffy.
A cacophony of noise erupted, and the giant Mermaid Princess seemed to have a premonition. Without thinking, she extended her hands, tightly grasping Luffy and Orochimaru in her palms, and then quickly hid them behind her back.
"Excuse me..."
A moment later, a group of Fishman soldiers surged into Shirahoshi's room like a tide.
Following them, a middle-aged man resembling a seahorse rushed in.
"Are you alright, have you been hurt? We were very worried when we heard your unusual crying, Princess."
Who opened this door? Is it an intruder?!"
Just as Luffy was about to speak, Shirahoshi covered his mouth with her pinky finger.
Orochimaru's eyes lit up at this scene, and he once again raised his small camera, snapping pictures of them from every angle.
Luffy thrashed his body vigorously, making "Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm" sounds, glaring angrily at Orochimaru.
"What in the world are you..." Luffy had just pushed Shirahoshi's finger away and uttered a sentence before Shirahoshi covered his mouth again.
Orochimaru watched from the side, gloating. Orochimaru stretched his neck, bringing his head close to Luffy's face, and began making funny faces at him.
He even pulled out a small stick from who knows where and kept poking Luffy's backside.
(*ﾉ▽ﾉ)...So fun... Has he become childish? But it doesn't matter.
Shirahoshi struggled to control the constantly thrashing Luffy, her gaze directed at the soldiers in front of her.
"I'm sorry... for making you worry... I think I had a nightmare..."
"Hey! Orochi..." Luffy, who had just managed to break free slightly, only had time to take a breath before Shirahoshi quickly covered his mouth again.
A hint of suspicion flashed in Minister Hippocampus's eyes.
"It did sound like someone's voice."
Shirahoshi hurriedly explained, "No... this... that... it's my stomach making noise... I'm a little hungry."
Suddenly, a sound came, and the soldiers' weapons were instantly aimed in that direction. A shark wearing a red jacket suddenly appeared, and everyone's attention focused on the shark.
Shirahoshi looked at the shark and greeted, "Mekaro, welcome back."
Seeing who the fish was, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Minister Hippocampus put away his weapons.
"Speaking of which, there's something I wanted to tell Her Highness the Princess. It's about the pirate who saved Mekaro the shark, Straw Hat Luffy.
We suspect they've abducted a large number of Mermaid Princesses, and according to Madam Shyarly's prophecy, we've decided to imprison the Straw Hat as future dangerous individuals.
The swordsman who arrived at Ryugu beforehand has already been arrested for being drunk. Another Crewmate said he was going out for some fresh air and is now missing. The three Crewmates who just arrived have probably been successfully captured... And the other missing person is the Captain, Straw Hat, he might have sensed something and has also disappeared... We believe these two are likely plotting something within the city, please be careful..."
The shark on the side discovered the two in Shirahoshi's hand and thrashed in astonishment. Shirahoshi gave the shark a meaningful look... but it was useless.
The chattering Minister Hippocampus frowned, looking at the strange Shirahoshi.
"Your Highness the Princess, aren't you acting a little strange... How is it that..."
The minister, about to inquire further, was suddenly interrupted by a soldier nearby.
"Right Minister... it's almost time."
Minister Hippocampus stopped speaking.
"Ah... has it been five minutes already? Then we shall take our leave."
With that, the group retreated, and the door of the Hard Shell Tower closed again.
Shirahoshi finally breathed a sigh of relief, carefully releasing the two she had been clutching tightly, then gently cradling them in her palms.
"Thank you both so much just now... I was truly rude just now, I hope you can forgive me... But what are you two doing?"
Shirahoshi's watery eyes were full of confusion, her gaze moving back and forth between Luffy and Orochimaru, who were wrestling with each other.
"Are you two enemies?"
Luffy was vigorously pulling Orochimaru's face, kneading it repeatedly, and his two legs were flexibly wrapped around Orochimaru's waist.
Orochimaru refused to be outdone and bit back fiercely. Luffy winced in pain, letting out a "Hiss," then looked up at the enormous Mermaid Princess before him.
"No... we're brothers... This is my younger brother, Orochimaru... I'm Luffy... What about you?"
Shirahoshi lay on her bed, gently holding the two still wrestling figures in her hands, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"I am Shirahoshi... Are you Sir Luffy? Thank you for saving Mekaro... But I heard your Companions were captured by our soldiers..."
Having had enough, Luffy instinctively embraced Orochimaru, stroking him like a pet to soothe him, then let him lie comfortably on his lap.
"Ah... it's fine, there's no way you could catch them."
Orochimaru lay contentedly on Luffy's lap, his gaze fixed on the giant Mermaid Princess before him.
"Are you... the Mermaid Princess?"
Shirahoshi nodded slightly.
"Yes... Sir Orochimaru, thank you for saving me just now."
Orochimaru looked at the very polite Mermaid Princess, then awkwardly got up, stretched out his tail, and gently patted Shirahoshi's head. In truth, he knew he hadn't intended to save her just now.
"You're welcome."
Shirahoshi's eyes instantly lit up like twinkling stars, fixed on Orochimaru's tail.
"Is Sir Orochimaru also a Fishman? But your tail seems a bit different, are you a Snake-person?"
It's truly a beautiful white... It looks as if it's been carefully blended with the silvery glow of the Gekko, very beautiful."
Orochimaru looked at Shirahoshi, who was earnest and spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
A blush suddenly spread across his face, and he lowered his head shyly (灬°ω°灬).
What to do, this mermaid is a bit too well-behaved... I want to keep her... Luffy looked at the suddenly blushing Orochimaru with a look of disdain, ￢mouth￢ノ What an unpraiseworthy snake.
Then he looked up at Shirahoshi.
"Alright, let's not talk about that for now. What was with the axe earlier? Who threw it, and from where?"
Shirahoshi's voice instantly became a little low.
"I know who the culprit is, it's a man named Vander Decken. I rejected his marriage proposal, so he's always hated me... That man possesses the Devil Fruit ability of the Mark-Mark Fruit.
No matter when or where, I can become his target and be hit by him.
So, it's very dangerous outside... I can only stay in the Hard Shell Tower and can't take a single step out."
Shirahoshi, who was speaking, suddenly heard her stomach rumble and looked at Luffy in surprise.
Luffy was pitifully slumped on Orochimaru's back.
"Ah... I'm so hungry... Orochimaru... food..."
Shirahoshi smiled and led the two to a nearby dining table.
(✧ᗜ✧) Luffy's eyes sparkled as he looked at the enormous food before him.
"!!! Oh oh oh!!!"
It looks so delicious! Can I eat it?!"
"Please do," Shirahoshi said happily, looking at Luffy.
Luffy excitedly dove onto a piece of bread.
(￣～￣) Chew! Mmm!
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