Neptune was taken aback upon hearing this and asked urgently, "You've thought of a way?"
Taro nodded, "Yes, isn't Princess Shirahoshi Vander Decken's target?"
"That guy keeps throwing weapons over from time to time..."
After explaining his idea, Taro quietly waited for the King's reply.
The Three Princes couldn't sit still and all voiced their objections; the Grand Right Minister and others also felt the risk was too great.
Neptune pondered for a long time before finally speaking, "Can you guarantee Shirahoshi's safety?"
Taro had that much confidence and replied without hesitation, "Of course!"
From what he remembered, Vander Decken's strength was pathetic, just like the name of his Mark-Mark Fruit—it really was a piece of crap.
"Then, I agree!" Neptune extended his fist.
Taro also raised his fist and bumped it, "It's a deal!"
Soon, Mack and George were brought over. They indeed didn't seem to have been mistreated and were in decent spirits.
Seeing Taro, both felt guilty, "We're sorry, Vice Admiral. We didn't consider so much, only wanting to achieve something. Now..."
Taro shook his head, his tone serious, "Mack, George, I was the one who sent you here. You were just following orders!"
"Vice Admiral, you..." Mack and George were so moved they were almost in tears.
"Alright, wait at ease in the palace. I'll take you back soon."
After speaking, Taro turned to look at Neptune.
"Please, Your Majesty the King, allow the other Marine Soldiers to return first. Sabaody Archipelago still needs a garrison to maintain stability. Mack and George can stay behind, and once I've resolved..."
"Father, no! What if he fails to deal with Vander Decken?" Shark Star urgently advised.
"Then you can chop off these two guys' heads!" Taro pointed at Mack and George, his tone quite matter-of-fact.
Mack, George: "..."
"Hohohoho, no problem," Neptune laughed heartily and nodded to the Grand Right Minister, "Release the other Marine Soldiers!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Taro bowed.
The heavy door of the Hard Shell Tower slowly opened, revealing a vast, pitch-black room.
"Click"
With a light switch sound, bright lights instantly dispelled the darkness.
Big! Truly enormous!
Even though he was mentally prepared, the first word that popped into Taro's mind upon seeing Shirahoshi was still this.
"Father, brothers, why have you come?" Shirahoshi's voice was as soft as a small animal's.
"Shirahoshi, my dear daughter, I came this time to get you out of here!" Neptune leaned close to Shirahoshi's bedside and said softly.
Shirahoshi's eyebrows, a rare downward curve in the pirate world, always gave her a worried, dejected expression.
"Ah?" Shirahoshi's aqua-blue eyes instantly lit up but quickly dimmed again, "But, but..."
Neptune waved his hand and moved aside slightly, "Don't be afraid. Let me introduce you. This is Zhou Qi, he is a..."
Taro's mouth twitched. He leaped up, landing on Shirahoshi's wide bed, and shouted loudly, "My name is Taro, and I'm a Marine!"
He turned to glare at Neptune, "You got my name wrong again. Are you doing it on purpose?"
Taro's loud voice startled Shirahoshi. Her enormous pink tail lifted and quickly shrank back.
Holy crap!
Taro hopped back and forth a couple of times, dodging the massive tail. Just as he was about to complain, he saw Shirahoshi wiping her tears with both hands.
"Lord Taro, you're so fierce. Are you here to hurt me too?"
Taro was instantly speechless. He jumped back and forth again underfoot, dodging the giant teardrops, then jumped onto Shirahoshi's tail and extended his palm.
"Stop! No crying! Listen to me first!"
Shirahoshi's eyes brimmed with tears, making her look even more aggrieved, and she pursed her lips tightly.
"There's a place you want to go, Sea Forest, right? I'll take you there, but you must not cry or run around, understand?"
Taro had no experience dealing with such an oversized little girl, so he quickly got to the point.
When Shirahoshi heard Taro mention Sea Forest, her tears instantly vanished. She looked at Neptune, saw him nod in agreement, and finally became happy.
Her massive tail wagged, twisted behind her, and she bowed to Taro, "Lord Taro, is it really okay? Thank..."
Taro, standing on Shirahoshi's tail, was directly flipped over by her movement. He tumbled several times in the air before stabilizing and landing again.
Taro's face darkened. Damn it, my cool master demeanor! Completely ruined!
You, girl, have no martial virtue! Why move so suddenly? That was a sneak attack!
Shirahoshi, mid-sentence, also noticed she had flung Taro away and immediately became awkwardly flustered. Tears welled up again.
The ironclad straight man Taro felt like dying. He rubbed his forehead, "Why are you crying about this? I give up!"
Then, he looked at Neptune and the others, "Then it's settled as discussed. I'll take Princess Shirahoshi out and notify you once the matter is concluded!"
"How do you plan to take her out? With Shirahoshi's size, it'll be hard to avoid detection, won't it?" Neptune frowned.
That's easy. Just borrow from Luffy's successful experience.
"Where's the princess's pet shark?"
... Taro sat on the back of the pet shark named Mekaro, while Shirahoshi hid inside its belly.
Along the way, Shirahoshi kept asking Taro about things and life on land. Taro, fully focused on guarding against possible attacks, responded rather flatly.
"Lord Taro, do you really dislike me?" Shirahoshi's timid voice came through.
Taro rubbed his cheeks. This sensitive, tearful, gentle, and kind Mermaid Princess—he truly had no idea how to handle her.
"No, I was just thinking about something," Taro shook his head and answered softly.
Shirahoshi's tears instantly fell, "Lord Taro is lying. I hear the voice in your heart; you're very helpless!"
Taro was stunned, "What did you say?"
"I said, I can hear the voice in your heart..." Shirahoshi repeated.
Taro stood up in shock, "Consort Otohime's Observation Haki?"
Did Shirahoshi also inherit her mother's powerful Observation Haki?
Hearing Taro mention her mother, Shirahoshi wriggled a bit, "Lord Taro, did you know my queen mother?"
"Uh, I've only heard of her. She was a great mother and also..." Taro thought of Consort Otohime and momentarily didn't know how to evaluate her. After hesitating, he continued, "...a passionate, benevolent idealist."
Then he asked again, "Can you always sense the voice in my heart?"
Shirahoshi, simple-minded, didn't detect any issue with the term "idealist" Taro used to describe Consort Otohime. She happily believed Taro had given a very high evaluation.
"Lord Taro, you really are a good person!"
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.