Morning light streamed through the colossal roots of the Sunlight Tree Eve above Ryugu Palace. It fell in golden pillars across the broad shell plaza, soft and warm.
"Shirahoshi. No need to hide behind me. No one on these seas can harm you while I'm watching."
Ace walked at the front of the group, tossing the words over his shoulder at the enormous pink figure trailing behind.
"Y-yes! Lord Ace!"
Princess Shirahoshi straightened her back at once, though her tail still swayed with a trace of stiffness.
That was only natural. Nearly six years. Ever since she was six years old, that axe-throwing lunatic had hounded her, trapping her inside that cramped, pitch-black Hard-Shell Tower. Day after day, she had faced nothing but cold walls and the worried faces of her father and brothers. She had almost forgotten what the wind outside felt like.
Now, suddenly out in the open, noisy streets beyond Ryugu Palace, facing the stares of civilians and guards alike, a little strangeness and fear were inevitable.
But that stiffness didn't last. It was swiftly and completely devoured by the curiosity of an eleven-year-old girl.
"Wow... the outside world really is so beautiful."
Shirahoshi gazed at the colorful streets beyond the palace, the ones connecting to Coral Hill. Houses built from enormous, brightly hued coral and shells lined both sides. Giant bubbles for merfolk travel drifted through the air above. Schools of tiny, brilliantly colored tropical fish darted cheerfully through water channels suspended over the streets.
All of it seemed to glow in Shirahoshi's deep blue eyes.
"That smells amazing! What is that?"
Inside a bubble car pulled by a massive flounder, Chopper suddenly twitched his blue nose and leaned halfway out the window.
"Those are Coral Hill's famous seaweed skewers and deep-sea donuts."
The Minister of the Right swam alongside the bubble car, serving as their guide. Despite his deep wariness of these pirates, he performed his duty diligently. "They're the most popular street snacks on Fish-Man Island. Princess Shirahoshi used to love them."
He sighed, a flicker of heartache crossing his eyes.
"If it smells good, let's try some. Jeno, go grab a few skewers."
Ace stopped walking and pointed casually at an open-air stall nearby, smoke curling up from its grill.
"On it, Captain! I'm feeling a bit hungry myself."
Jeno grinned and hopped out of the bubble car.
Less than ten minutes later, he returned with an armload of giant skewers taller than a man and dozens of colorful donuts.
"Here, Chopper, your donuts. Ace, Sabo, your skewers."
As Jeno handed them out, he passed a huge bundle of skewers and donuts to Shirahoshi with perfect ease.
"Huh? Th-these are for me?" Shirahoshi froze, staring at the fragrant food in her hands. She looked at Ace, uncertain.
"Go on, eat." Ace bit into his skewer and smiled at her. "It's not as refined as what your royal chefs make in Ryugu Palace. But out on the sea, street-grilled meat with a little smoke on it, paired with fresh air and freedom, tastes pretty damn good."
"Thank you, Lord Ace! Thank you, Mister Jeno!"
Shirahoshi beamed and took the enormous bundle. She bit into it eagerly.
The moment it hit her tongue, that long-lost burst of rich, savory juices and sweetness from the marketplace exploded in her mouth.
"Mmm... so good!" Her huge eyes lit up with delighted surprise. She ate in big, happy bites, her cheeks puffing out like a hamster's.
Watching her blissful expression, Sabo adjusted his hat and couldn't help but laugh.
"Seems like girls of any station have exactly zero resistance to sweets and good food."
The group wandered slowly through Fish-Man Island's bustling, colorful streets, eating as they went.
Shirahoshi was like a curious child seeing the world for the first time. Everything was new.
"Lord Ace! Look at that waterwheel! It can pump water up that high!"
"Lord Sabo, what are those glowing bubbles the fish-man children are playing with?"
Sabo answered every innocent question with a patient smile. Ace, for his part, browsed around with genuine interest, even spending money on several odd coral flutes that blew rainbow-colored bubbles. He tossed them to Chopper and Shirahoshi and told them to see who could blow the biggest one.
After about two hours of wandering, Shirahoshi's hands were stuffed full of Fish-Man Island trinkets and snacks.
"Had enough fun for now?"
Ace stopped at a massive underwater crossroads. He tossed his empty skewer into a nearby trash bin with perfect aim and turned to Shirahoshi.
"Anything else you really want to see?"
Shirahoshi hesitated. She looked at the lively streets, then back at Ace. A flicker of longing and conflict crossed her eyes.
"I don't know. Just being outside, everything looks wonderful to me. But if I could..."
She lowered her head. Her voice shrank with hope. "I... I want to go see my mother..."
"The Sea Forest?"
Ace smiled. "Then we'll go to the Sea Forest."
"Really?!"
At those words, Shirahoshi's enormous body trembled with emotion. Her already rosy cheeks flushed even brighter with excitement.
Six years! She had dreamed of going to the Sea Forest, of seeing her mother's resting place with her own eyes!
"Why wouldn't it be?" Ace turned to the Minister of the Right, who had been following as their guide. "Minister, prepare the bubble car. We're heading to the Sea Forest now."
"Yes, Lord Ace! I'll arrange it immediately!"
The Minister of the Right didn't waste a single word. He knew better than anyone the strength of the people before him. And this was Princess Shirahoshi's greatest wish in six years. He summoned a squad of guards at once. In under ten minutes, an enormous coated bubble car built for deep-sea travel was brought out, harnessed to several powerful deep-sea flounders.
Everyone climbed aboard.
The flounders pulled, and the bubble car slipped gently through the semi-transparent bubble membrane surrounding Fish-Man Island.
A soft pop.
The world outside transformed in an instant. The sunlit town was gone, replaced by a dim, high-pressure deep-sea channel. But the faint glow radiating from the Sunlight Tree Eve's colossal roots lit the way, keeping the passage from turning pitch black.
"Whoa, we're really out here."
Chopper pressed his face against the window glass, eyes shining. "Shirahoshi, is the Sea Forest really a forest growing out of the ocean floor?"
"Yes!"
Shirahoshi's mood was radiant now. She looked at Chopper and nodded eagerly. "My mother told me about it once. Because of the currents, a lot of shipwrecks from all over the Grand Line get swept there. That's why everyone calls it the Ship Graveyard. But with Eve's sunlight, the sea trees and coral grow so thick it looks like a real underwater forest!"
"Ship Graveyard?"
Jeno sat up in the bubble car and rubbed his stomach. His eyes lit up. "So there's tons of parts to scavenge? Sunken ships on the ocean floor might still have century-old cannon blueprints and discontinued alloys!"
"Jeno, isn't your stomach full of enough scrap metal already?" Sabo teased from the side.
"What do you know? This is called a mechanic's premium material reserve!" Jeno shot back proudly. "Once we get there, I'm treating myself to an all-you-can-eat buffet!"
The group bickered and laughed all the way.
About half an hour later, riding the powerful current, the flounder-drawn bubble car slowed and came to a stop at the Sea Forest, in the northeastern waters of Fish-Man Island.
The doors opened. The group walked through a dense forest of colorful coral that rose like ancient trees.
A silent, solemn clearing opened before them.
Countless massive shipwrecks, draped in seaweed, lay like nameless tombstones in the quiet, faintly lit seabed.
And at the deepest part of that graveyard stood a huge, square monument of dark blue stone.
Even more striking was what lay before it.
A grave, utterly serene, surrounded by countless flowers and beautiful sea grass.
This was the resting place of the former queen of Fish-Man Island. A great woman who had spent her entire life striving for peace between fish-men and humans: Otohime.
"Mother..."
The moment Shirahoshi saw the grave, her enormous body went rigid.
Her tears, held back for so long, spilled over like unstrung pearls. They fell without end.
She swam forward slowly. Her giant hands pressed together. She knelt before the flower-covered grave and wept in silence.
"Six years without visiting her mother. Let her cry for a while."
Sabo watched her trembling back and adjusted his hat gently.
In the stillness of this deep-sea graveyard, only Shirahoshi's stifled sobs echoed through the water, unbearably sad.
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