"Mermaid—mermaid—mermaid!!"
"Quiet down, you guys!"
"Why is even Sanji...?"
Nami, speechless, looked at the Straw Hat trio excitedly dancing shoulder to shoulder in front of her... No, now Sanji was in the mix, and she just didn't feel right about it.
"Heh, perverted kappa."
Zoro sneered beside her. "Women, they only slow down my sword drawing speed!"
With Roman leading the way, they certainly didn't end up in the same situation as in the original story: encountering rare underwater volcanic eruptions, the legendary ghost ship "Flying Dutchman," or some random pirate crew...
Although they couldn't use a wide-range pigeon scouting in the deep sea, Roman's Observation Haki was still the strongest among the Straw Hat crew, so avoiding these unnecessary troubles was no problem at all. So,
"See that? That's the entrance to Fish-Man Island."
In the deep sea not far away, a huge two-layer circular bubble shield surrounded an island, with an air layer in between the two shields.
"Even though it's underwater, there's still sky and clouds on the island,"
Roman began explaining to everyone—well, everyone except Nami.
"Because of the giant tree 'Solace Eve' near Fish-Man Island, sunlight from the surface can reach the island. That's why Fish-Man Island, located deep underwater, has sunlight and changes in day and night. The locals even refer to this phenomenon as 'the blessing of the sun.'"
"Wow, sunlight underwater..."
"This is Fish-Man Island?"
"Beautiful~~"
"Delicious~~"
"Beautiful women~~"
...
"You're the Straw Hat crew?"
At the entrance of Fish-Man Island, in the artificial circular harbor that penetrated the giant bubble, the warriors from Ryugu Kingdom saw the Straw Hat flag and Luffy's signature straw hat. They immediately let them pass and even sent someone to notify the princes, leaving Luffy, who rarely had time to think, scratching his chin and wondering:
"Do they want to invite us to eat?"
"That's obviously impossible, right?"
Usopp immediately complained, "We're pirates, and they didn't capture us on the spot. That's already good enough. Wait a second..."
"Could they be calling for reinforcements?!"
"Hehehe, who cares! Let's just go to Fish-Man Island and see if there's anything good to eat~~"
Luffy, always restless, immediately jumped off the ship and ran off to start an adventure. Fish-Man Island wasn't fully underwater; it had a unique environment, half submerged and half air. Everywhere, there were buildings built on the water using coral, as well as various houses with a shell-inspired design.
"I'm going too!"
Sanji, with heart-shaped eyes, also jumped off the ship, followed by Usopp and Chopper, who were eager to join in.
"Fish-Man Island, the history of this country must be really interesting..."
Robin also prepared to explore and do some archaeology, with Brook just as eager. So,
"This is a rare opportunity. Let's all go explore the island!"
With a snap of his fingers, Roman summoned white doves that flew out from his body and scattered in all directions.
"With me here, it's fine even if no one stays behind to guard the ship."
"That's such a convenient ability~~"
Since Roman was taking charge, everyone in the Straw Hat crew, including Franky, disembarked and wandered along the streets full of underwater charm. Just like Sabaody Archipelago, everywhere was filled with bubble technology—bubble cars, floating bubble tools, and:
"What's that? A pipeline formed in the air!"
Luffy, who was excited and shading his eyes, asked. Roman glanced at the rainbow-colored pipes, filled with seawater, where fish and starfish were swimming, and noticed:
"Mermaids~~!!!"
Graceful female mermaids swam through the pipes, dressed in cool clothes, with devilishly good figures, beautiful faces, and short green hair—?!
"Camie!"
"Huh? Huh?"
When Sanji's voice made the mermaid stop suddenly, causing her to bump into the pipe, Roman calmly explained to the others:
"As you can see, this is a 'waterway' made from bubbles, which mermaids use to move around. Of course, if you can hold your breath for over ten minutes, you can try it too—"
"I'll give it a try!"
Splash.
"Ahh, I can't swim~~glub glub glub..."
?!
"Hahahaha, thanks to Camie!"
Looking at Luffy, who was laughing while being pulled out by Camie, Roman rubbed his temples, feeling his blood pressure rising!
Come on, can't you, a Devil Fruit user, respect the world's 'settings'? You keep jumping into the sea every day, and you still haven't drowned yet! Does the sea have no shame?
"You've gotten even more beautiful, Camie-chan~~"
Anyway, meeting an old friend in a foreign place was something to be happy about. Plus:
"Luffy, Sanji, and... Roman, since we've met here, let me be your guide and show you around."
Back at Sabaody Archipelago, the Straw Hat crew had almost been wiped out saving Camie!
They were truly life-and-death friends.
"Hee hee hee, I'll leave it to you then, Camie~~"
With Luffy agreeing right away, Nami and Robin chatted with Camie about some girly topics as they walked along. Just as they were enjoying themselves:
"We're here, this is the 'Fishman Café' I work at—"
With a grand sweep of her hand, Camie pointed to the sea ahead, which was filled with:
Various beautiful mermaids!
"Dormitory."
Pure type, seductive type, older sister type... All of them had angelic faces, devilish figures, plus the traits of fishmen! It really hit some people's sweet spot, for example:
"Ahhhh!!"
"Sanji's crying his heart out..."
Chopper looked at Sanji, who was crying while his nosebleed gushed out. Even this experienced doctor couldn't understand this 'symptom'.
"He's crying harder than when we left the Baratie…"
Even Luffy, who usually didn't notice things, had a worried look on his face.
"Do you know how I've survived these last two years—"
Sanji was tearful,
"If it weren't for Roman sending me... cough cough, I almost couldn't hold on anymore."
"Little bro, you're Camie's friend?"
A mermaid swam over and, generously, took Sanji's hand.
"Stop crying, come dance in the sea!"
...
"I get it, this happiness... today is my day of doom..."
"Why so negative!"
Usopp was stunned, someone stole his line! This was simply—
"Hahahaha~~"
Mermaids, all kinds of mermaids, and these mermaids were top-tier in both looks and figure! Sanji, who had jumped into the water to play, was completely lost in the moment, forgetting about his constant nosebleed.
"I'll die with no regrets!"
"Roman, does my swimsuit look good?"
"Good."
"You answered too quickly! You didn't even take a proper look."
"...From the style, it's a two-piece swimsuit; from the material, it's likely made in East Blue; as for the defense area—"
*Splash!*
"Ha ha, Roman is still so bad at cheering girls up."
Robin, now in a different swimsuit, chuckled and dove into the water, swimming like a mermaid to comfort the fuming Nami, leaving Roman to seriously contemplate the defense of swimsuits.
"Must be nice, everyone can swim."
Luffy, sitting dejectedly on the shore, sighed. Although his goal was to become Pirate King, after eating the Devil Fruit, there was no doubt that he was a lousy swimmer. He could only watch enviously as everyone else swam, but at least he had company:
"Roman, use your invincible Paper Paper Fruit and think of something..."
?!
"It's simple. I can just wrap you up in life paper and you can swim. But—"
Roman pointed to Chopper, who was happily splashing in the water inside a bubble.
"Why not just use a bubble to block the seawater?"
"Ugh~~~"
"It's a shame, even with the bubble, I still can't swim."
Franky, while saying this, didn't look disappointed. The reason he couldn't swim:
"Because I'm super heavy!"
With his entire body made of steel… no, many parts were made of Wapol metal. If Franky went into the water, it would be like a piece of lead sinking straight to the bottom—hard as a rock!
"Yohoho, I'd drown if I went in too."
"Even though I'm just bones, I'd still suffocate, yohoho~~"
"Hey, isn't that the Soul King?"
A group of mermaids swam over.
"Ah~~, it's really the 'Soul King' himself, I want an autograph!"
"I do too, I'm your fan~~!"
"I bought all your songs—"
In an instant, the place turned into a fan meet for Brook, which made Sanji insanely jealous! While everyone was busy having fun, a ship appeared, carried by a giant ribbon fish.
"Here come the Neptune Brothers!"
With a loud trumpet sound, three mermen stood on the deck of the "biological ship."
"Is this the Straw Hat crew?"
On the left was a tall, slim merman with long red hair, wearing a yellow ribbon fish costume; on the right was a fat merman with brown hair, dressed as a sunfish; and in the center:
"Excuse us for disturbing your time, ladies from the 'Bay.'"
"Prince~~!"
With a round dot on his forehead, sharp shark-like teeth and gills, blue wavy hair, a serious face, and a golden trident, the merman prince nodded seriously to the mermaids. Then he turned to Luffy and the others:
"I am the prince of Ryugu Kingdom, Fish-Man Island. I've been sent to invite you all to visit the royal palace."
?!
"Wait, what? They're really inviting us over?"
Usopp was stunned, and Luffy seemed to be following his whims!
"Please wait—"
Anyway, it was a personal invitation from the prince of Fish-Man Island, so Nami and the others immediately swam to the shore. Only:
"I don't want to, this place is paradise!"
Sanji, who was blissfully enjoying the water, didn't want to leave, leaving the Straw Hat crew with their faces in their hands, silent.
How embarrassing...
"Chopper, use that move."
Roman calmly ordered, and Chopper was horrified.
"Roman, do we really have to use it...?"
"Or do you have any way to get Sanji out of this paradise? —This is for his own good. If he keeps going like this, he'll bleed to death."
The first crisis the Straw Hats faced in the New World: Sanji losing blood like some ridiculous drama. Of course, Roman had already made plans.
"Sanji, sorry."
Swimming up to Sanji, who refused to leave the mermaids, Chopper acted quickly:
"Let's go."
Seeing Sanji in his "sage mode," Nami, Usopp, and the others looked on with concern.
"Are you really willing...?"
Sanji clasped his hands together, his face calm.
"I have no desire for worldly things."
???
"Chopper is too scary..."
"Yeah, I can't believe he has that kind of technique..."
"What kind of look is that? Roman made me do it!!!"
"Let's go."
Roman didn't care about the method as long as it solved the problem. No matter how tricky it was, in front of Chopper's hormone gloves, everything had to obediently turn into a wise monk!
———
----You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu