Luffy's eyes widened in disbelief, filled with awe, as he stared intently at Vander Decken, who lay in the pit, his fate unknown.
His gaze then shifted to Shirahoshi, his mouth slightly agape, a hint of surprise in his voice: "You... you're actually that strong! Even though you're such a coward."
At this moment, everyone around them was still frozen in place, immersed in the lingering shock of what had just happened.
Luffy, however, seemed to suddenly remember something, slapped his head, then kicked Mekaro, and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Shark! Wake up! Stop sleeping!"
With that, he directed Chopper to throw the unconscious Sanji and Hachi onto the shark's back.
He then used both hands to hoist Orochimaru steadily onto his shoulder, before making a light leap and landing firmly on Mekaro's back.
He looked up, speaking rapidly, at the group of Fishmen approaching with ill-intent and weapons.
"We don't know why the people on this island hate us, we have to leave quickly, coward, let's go."
"Okay... but I haven't found the jar yet..."
A hint of anxiety and flurry flickered in Shirahoshi's eyes as her gaze swept over everyone's faces. Seeing Luffy's determined expression, Shirahoshi quickly lay on Mekaro's back, holding onto Mekaro's mouth with both hands to steady herself. As Mekaro slowly awoke, his massive body gradually ascended into the sky.
Shirahoshi's voice echoed in the air:
"I'm so sorry, everyone... I'll definitely be back before dinner... And... please help me put that person in a jar."
The group of Fishman residents looked at each other, their heads all tilting to one side in unison, their faces full of confusion as they watched Shirahoshi, who was gradually disappearing into the sky, their hearts full of questions: Why does it have to be a jar... The group quickly arrived at the Sea Forest.
Luffy looked up, gently stroking the back of the now-awake Orochimaru, who was on his lap, as if coaxing a child.
His eyes were full of wonder, constantly looking around, and he let out a sincere exclamation: "Wow~ This place is absolutely beautiful... So this is the Sea Forest!"
Tears sparkled in Shirahoshi's eyes, and her gaze, filled with endless fondness, took in everything around her, her voice slightly choked:
"It's truly beautiful... I've always wanted to come here... Mr. Luffy, thank you very much."
Beside them, Sanji slowly woke up, still a little dazed, muttering continuously: "Ah... Mermaid Princess..."
At this moment, Luffy, who was fully focused on observing his surroundings, suddenly his eyes lit up, and he pointed forward, shouting loudly: "It's the sunny!"
Chopper, who was wiping Orochimaru's face, heard this and his head snapped around as if on a spring, his face also showing surprise: "It's true! Franky is here too!"
Luffy excitedly waved his hands and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Hey! Franky! So you were here!"
Franky looked up and said, "Oh! Luffy!"
Then he seemed to notice something, took off his glasses, blinked, and looked closely.
"What's going on? How did you bring a super beautiful woman?"
The descending group met, and Luffy raised his hand, pointing at Shirahoshi.
"Let me introduce you, this is coward."
"Oh, oh, oh..." Franky didn't doubt the meaning of the name at all, looked up at Shirahoshi, and then shifted his gaze to Orochimaru in Luffy's arms.
"coward, huh... You need to be stronger, big sister.
Speaking of which, why is Orochimaru acting up again? Who provoked him this time...?"
Upon hearing this, Chopper's eyes darted away, and he nervously kicked a small pebble on the ground. "Plink," it rolled far away.
Shirahoshi lowered her head slightly, and said softly with a hint of shyness,
"Yes... I am very sorry, my name is Shirahoshi... And about Master Orochimaru's matter, I am truly very sorry..."
Her voice was like a gentle stream, soft and graceful, and her hands unconsciously clasped together slightly in front of her, her fingers gently twisting.
Luffy waved his hand, a carefree smile on his face, and said,
"Don't worry about it, he's just like that. This guy acts up from time to time, we're all used to it, haha!"
As the group was discussing animatedly, a "da da da" sound of wooden clogs approached from a distance.
"Mr. Luffy?" A familiar voice rang out.
Luffy, as if an excitement switch had been flipped, his head snapped around, his eyes sparkling with excitement, and he shouted loudly: "Ah!!! Jinbe! It's Jinbe...!"
Jinbe smiled and slowly nodded: "Hmm... It's truly nostalgic... You've grown stronger, I thought I was mistaken."
Orochimaru, who was draped over Luffy's shoulder, heard the approaching footsteps and slowly lifted his head, staring intently at the newcomer, uttering: "Is that fathead fish?"
As that hoarse, low voice emerged, Jinbe finally noticed Orochimaru, with his snake tail and human body, draped over Luffy.
He staggered back a few steps, his face full of shock and wariness.
"You... why are you here? Weren't you supposed to be with the Whitebeard Pirates? And... I am a Whale Shark... not a fathead fish!"
Because of this, Jinbe hadn't sought out Whitebeard for the past two years.
Luffy, seeing this scene, awkwardly raised a hand to scratch his head, trying hard to remember. He seemed to have not told Jinbe that Orochimaru was his first mate, but did he really need to explicitly say such a thing? Wasn't it all in the newspapers?
Although he wasn't sure what Orochimaru had done to Jinbe, the atmosphere at the moment was indeed a bit delicate.
Orochimaru slowly narrowed his long, slender eyes, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, and said unhurriedly:
"Don't you read the newspaper? I am Luffy's first mate... If nothing unexpected happens, please take care of me from now on.
Also, I don't recall ever doing anything to you, you know... Don't be so wary, honestly... It's as if I did something terribly wrong to you."
Jinbe was speechless, but an uncontrollable sense of exasperation welled up in his heart.
His thoughts were instantly pulled back to the eerie and terrifying scenes of Impel Down, and Orochimaru's chilling, covetous gaze towards him at that time clearly resurfaced in his mind.
If it weren't for Ace (actually because of Luffy), Jinbe was convinced that he would probably be part of that scroll as well.
"Don't forget, you were in Impel Down..."
"Hiss... Shut up!" Orochimaru's face suddenly changed, his previously calm expression instantly turning ferocious as he sharply cut off Jinbe's impending words.
Luffy looked bewildered, not understanding what was going on between the two, but he still instinctively reached out and gently stroked Orochimaru's back, softly coaxing him,
"Good boy... Jinbe helped me a lot, so you need to be a good boy, okay?"
Even Sanji, despite smoking and gazing adoringly at the Mermaid Princess, was subtly positioning himself between the two, preventing Jinbe from getting close to Orochimaru.
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