Monkey D. Luffy and the others had arrived after a storm of trouble in their descend to Fishmen island, Luffy had woken up to the care of the mermaids who worked in the celebrated and famous café, they treated him very well to the surprise of Camie and Sora. Speaking of Camie she gave them a tour of the reef and they played around with the mermaids until a force of the Royal family arrived and forced Luffy to hide while Sora experienced nightmares about her past. They were found by the New Fishmen pirates containing both Hammod and an octopus merman. The same group that had cornered the Straw Hats in the seafloor earlier. Luffy unleashed a devastating attack that killed r debilitated all of them, with only the octopus merman surviving the attack.
Before the royal forces could reach them, Luffy grabbed his friends and retreated by jumping on the air at intense speeds. Arriving on the mermaid café they met the madam of the place called Sharley and met Brook and Pappagu who were enjoying the famous place. Pappagu offered them to visit his house on Fishverly hills and there on his clothing shop they met Nami again. Meanwhile the madam of the mermaid café Sharley had a terrible premonition, a future where Luffy destroyed their kingdom with the backing of the princess, and another where he was their savior with the princess herself still obsessing and loyal to Luffy. The Queen had arrived to see how she could help and when she heard of the prophecy madam Sharley made.
Queen Otohime smiled and believed in the best outcome with all her heart and she broadcasted her beautiful speech of acceptance and kindness to her people, she always saw the best in people and set out to find the Straw hats. Meanwhile Hody who also heard her announcement raged, he murdered the escaped human slaves and gave his own speech to his crew, a speech of betrayal towards the crown of this Country.
And now…
Queen Otohime extended an invitation towards the Straw Hats that were present in this location. To the surprise of the two friends accompanying them, Pappagu and Camie.
"W—Will there be a banquet waiting for us? " Monkey D. Luffy asked her.
"Yes, your friend is waiting for you there, of course all of your friends are invited as well." Queen Otohime declared. The two who were dumbfounded most by her comment were Camie and Pappagu who never saw the Queen in person, the Queen was such a revered figure, Sora dampened their confusion a little bit.
"If the ruler is so gracious to invite us to a banquet then we will have to go." Monkey D. Luffy declared with the natural ease of a leader above leaders.
"Then let's move post haste, Megalo can you give us a ride back to the palace!" Queen Otohime climbed on the shark, all of the Straw hats jumped as well, Luffy looked back, both Camie and Pappagu were still sitting there shocked, he reached his hands and invited them to come with him, they reached him and soon all of them were flying towards the sky.
"—They're gone…"
"—I can't believe they were invited to the Ryugu Palace by Queen Otohime herself."
"—My Queen!" The soldiers who trailed after her, exhausted by her speed only now arrived, and only saw her on top of the shark, their tears and snot running down as they crashed on the ground.
"—She left…" a citizen said.
All the soldiers went on all fours with a rain cloud above their heads. "—We are supposed to be her bodyguards but…" One soldier stomped his fist on the ground.
"—We are so utterly useless we can't even accompany her!" They looked to the horizon as a waterfall fell from their eyes as they screamed to high heavens.
"—My Queen! We are sorry! We will train harder from now on!" They screamed in conviction, their desire to become stronger had finally revealed itself, a light came and illuminated them.
The pedestrians all were sweating at the silly situation that was being displayed by the Neptune's army.
XOX
"Let me properly introduce myself my name is Otohime, I am the Queen Regent of the Ryugu kingdom, well at least until m firstborn reaches 25 years old" Otohime said with a smile, she was in the front with the Straw Hats by her side, she was a very tall golden mermaid reaching fourteen feet.
"I am Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become Pirate king!" Luffy declared with true conviction.
She giggled softly, Luffy smiled back, it would seem they would get along well, the others also introduced themselves after him.
XOX
A Fish taxi was headed for the Forest of the sea, in it only one person, it was Robin.
"This information is good, there is a poneglyph here, this perhaps will be a key to the void century" Robin murmured as she saw the underwater scenery.
XOX
"—Prince Fukaboshi" A Blue fishman asked.
"Hmm ... And madam Sharley about what you said earlier… did you really see those two kinds of future? Where the pirate Monkey D. Luffy destroys or saves Fishman island?!" Fukaboshi asked his brothers were by his side.
"..." She sat in silence for a while, she leaned on her tail as she sat on a coral, her hoodie was covering her head, she had a sad smile on her face.
"—Have some water Madam Sharley." A green-haired mermaid had a cup in her hands, she gave it to the madam and Sharley gulped it down.
"...Yes, I really saw it...those two futures… one of them will definitely happen!" She said after drinking the water and thanking the considerate mermaid.
"Madam Sharley… Word of your accuracy has reached even the Palace, If one of those futures is to happen, then we must make sure 'Salvation' is the correct future..." the prince Fukaboshi put his hand on his chin as he thought more about the case.
"But my prince your mother…"
"I know, trying to change a prophecy is wrong in of itself, after all most prophecies are self-fulfilling… I fully agree with my Mother in this case… Kindness never will let you down."
He reached the same conclusion as his mother did... After his father's death Fukaboshi had the weight of the kingdom put on his shoulders, even though his mother ruled in his stead — He couldn't be more grateful that she assumed the throne, he was too young when his father died, only thirteen years old, there was no way he could rule at that time.
There were still several responsibilities passed on to him as he was the eldest prince, he had to cope with the expectations of his kingdom had for him, after all King Neptune, and Queen Otohime both were big shoes to fill, not to mention the three brothers vows to protect their little sister and make her happy in sad times — however they could not make her truly happy — after her father's death she was inconsolable...
She buried her feelings deep down for fear that her powers would destroy her people, now in the present she was content, but you could see whisks of depression settling in her eyes, a sixteen-year-old girl already suffering from depression.
XOX
A giant gust of wind blew in the direction of the shark throwing off Chopper, however his worried self was swiftly picked up by Queen Otohime. "Be careful not to fall off!" She said grinning, Chopper exhaled in relief.
"You must be wondering why I invited you to the palace." Queen Otohime said.
"Y—Y—Yes my Queen, us lowly mortals—" Pappagu nervously continued but was stopped by Monkey D. Luffy as he pulled the Starfish cheek, Sora and Nami by his side joined on the fun, and Pappagu was being pulled by three hands, he pleaded for them to stop but they continued, eventually he got out of the death stranglehold and started slapping Luffy at a comical speed, yet Luffy's body wasn't even fazed, In fact he looked at the baby blue eyes of the Queen in intense concentration.
"While I will never refuse a free banquet can you tell me the reason for it?"
She looked at his glowing grey eyes, truly this man was stunning to look at.
"Ufufu~ this shark is called Megalo and he is my daughter's precious pet, when he disappeared, she truly showed her sadness, she kept silently sobbing in her room when she thought we couldn't hear her I didn't know what to do! Getting attacked by a Kraken like that must be truly terrifying for the poor thing — It was why I invited you to the Palace… when Megalo told us some heroes saved his life, It was the first time in eight years that my dear daughter, Princess Shirahoshi, truly smiled." Queen Otohime said with a depreciative smile.
The Shark nodded as it made noises of thanks, Luffy petted it's head as they headed towards the castle.
Luffy chuckled. "Well, it was just a coincidence I noticed this guy on one of Kraken's arms, but I'm glad we were able to help!"
Well, If we hadn't noticed and he became stuck there he would probably be cooked by Sora… well let's not go towards this line of thinking. He scratched the back of his neck.
Even after eight years Queen Otohime could not cure her daughter's state of mind, Otohime became unbelievably strong, raised the livelihood of the populous, turned her sons into great, inspiring leaders — however Otohime could not help her daughter, Otohime did all she could, but after a while she settled as a silent pillar of support, however every time Otohime would look into her daughter's eyes, and see the whisks of depression, Otohime would break a little on the inside, honestly what would her husband do if he was still alive…
Luffy noticed Otohime's state of mind and joined by Nami and Sora cheered up her spirits in a silent conversation, soon the boisterous spirit of the Straw Hats warmed her heart as Otohime laughed at Luffy's bad jokes, Sora's innuendos and Nami greedy exploits.
"The Mermaid Princess's pet huh?" Pappagu said.
"Huh? Pappagu-san, if I recall correctly… weren't you once best friends with the mermaid princess?" Brook asked appearing behind the starfish with his body in a 280º angle, which meant his head was on the back of the shark and his body was upwards.
"Ssssssssssssssh! Sssssssssssssssh!" Pappagu said with a shocked look, his body was pale and white, a contrast to his orange 'skin'.
"...Oh, we already found one of your companions, as I commented earlier." Otohime said.
"Eh?" was Chopper's intelligent response.
"He's already begun drinking, I told him that it'd be more fun if we all drank together but he wouldn't listen!" Queen Otohime grumbled cutely.
"Zoro…" Nami and Chopper said with a blank look.
"Tch… shitty mosshead" Sora said with a loathing look.
"Zoro?" Usopp asked.
"—I think his name is… Zori!" Otohime said ignoring all other comments her finger pointed to the sky, she grinned and Luffy laughed at her obvious bait.
"It's Zoro!" The Straw Hats yelled.
"My soldiers will go find your other companions and invite them to the castle so no worries on that front!" Queen Otohime said happily.
Afterwards Luffy asked Nami if she knew where the others went. Nami told them that Franky went to look for one of Tom's relatives on the kingdom as a whole and Robin went to look up some important history, so the three split up. Nami told them that they did not really have too many problems with the arrival and that Franky had saved them both from drowning.
Nami then asked Oto-chan a question using that weird nickname for the Queen, causing Pappagu to comically bite her on the head and tell her to call her Goddess of the Sea, Queen Otohime. However the complaint was completely ignored by everyone.
Nami asked why Fishman Island was so bright despite being 10,000 meters below the surface. Otohime told them that the Ryugu kingdom came to be when fishmen began living on the seafloor where there was light. She explained that the roots from a tree called Sunlight Tree Eve reached down to this part of the seafloor and transferred light to this kingdom. Scholars have come up with scientific reasons behind how it all worked, but it was still considered a mysterious to those less learned, and it became the sacred tree whose roots emit the light it absorbs from the surface. With the added benefit of supplying oxygen to the ocean floor for both breathing and bubble usage.
Usopp then considered it like the boss of the Mangroves at Sabaody since its roots were of the same colors of the ones found at that Archipelago. Otohime considered the sun a blessing that many take for granted on this kingdom it gave the Fishmen haven from coastal places where humans aggregated up above. Usopp took notes about it to tell Franky later as the Sunlight Tree Eve could have a connection to the Treasure Tree Adam since their names seemed historically linked.
"Hey Otohime-chan I am hungry, are we there yet?" Luffy asked, his hand holding his roaring stomach.
"Come On! It's Queen Otohime Straw Hat!"
"It's fine!" Queen Otohime was fine with the Straw Hats using their endearing nicknames on her and she didn't expect any formalities when interacting with people who were not her subjects.
"Well, we are almost there!" Queen Otohime said looking at the entrance to the palace, the outside of a giant, dark bubble right on the edge of the Main Kingdom Bubble, The entirety of the Ryugu Kingdom consisted of the mainland, Fishman island, surrounded by two bubbles, the population was of 5 million Fishmen and Merman, of various species and characteristics resembling species of Fish-for example Goldfish mermaids, salmon mermaids, sark mermaids and so on - The other pieces of land were the Fishman district, it was a giant city besides the ship of the promise, Noah, and the last was a smaller bubble on top of Fishman island, inside was the Ryugu Palace.
They reached a round entrance and Otohime ringed a bell.
"—Yes?" A neutral voice sounded from the speaker.
"It's me!" Otohime declared, the man from the speaker immediately recognized that heavenly voice.
"Q—Queen Otohime, ma'am! We will put down the corridor at once!" Inside the two bubbles a corridor of high-speed water was formed and connected to the entrance.
Luffy who was beside Otohime looked at her, she smiled as she started fondling her boobs for an unexplainable reason that Luffy could not decipher, she silently moaned as she continued, Luffy who was the only one paying attention, she enjoyed giving him a show as she showed a peek into her rosy nipples, however it was soon hidden by her purple petal bikini, her pink full lips lustfully chuckled as she drew a pink sponge from her plump breasts — The fact that she was fourteen feet tall made her curves even more pronounced, she, giver her size was actually O cup if it ever existed being a Bust of 70' a waist of 37' and yet she was incredibly lean and Hips reaching 57', while these incredible proportions would not occur in a normal woman, the fact was that her body was perfectly proportionate to her size making her one hell of a curvy woman, He silently growled leaking a bit of his Conqueror's Haki, it had the effect of giving Nami and Sora who were besides him as well as the Queen some shivers of pleasure.
Otohime then gave Luffy the pink sponge she retrieved from her chest so it meant her whole moaning show was just her searching for the thing — Honestly what was with busty women and hiding their possessions on their breasts? were Luffy's thoughts as he remembered Nami doing similar things.
"This Sponge is able to produce a bubble just squeeze it!" Otohime pointed out.
Luffy did just that and soon a bubble the size of a bus was formed on top of the Giant Shark, they entered the water tunnel and after a few moments arrived in the entrance of the Ryugu Palace.
XOX
"We are here!" Otohime smirked at their stunned expressions.
A red giant staircase in front that made megalo look small led to a giant green gate with twin dragons circling each other the gate had a huge hole in the middle, the walls of the castle were green and they could see several towers with a wine colored roof, the palace was supported by huge pillars and on the top floors were open archways leading to various rooms, all of it was submerged in water, around it was the most beautiful flora and fauna they ever saw under the sea, and encircling all of the palace was a yellow green dragon statue, the face was roaring on top of the central tower, to finish it off they had the symbol of the dragon written on the center of the palace.
"Woooow! This place is sooo coool!" Chopper praised.
"Whoa!"
"Now this is a view, right Captain?!" Sora pulled on his clothes as she raved, Luffy grinned in response.
"It makes Pappagu-san's estate look like a flea!" Brook said.
"Don't compare it!" Pappagu bit the afro in rage after saying his response to Brook.
"—The Queen is back! Open the gates!" A guard said after scouting the gate.
"—Queen Otohime has arrived!"
"—I wonder where she went!"
"—Now opening the gate!" A voice said from within as the gate creaked open.
"This looks like a fun place!" Luffy grinned, the World destroyer's presence riddled his senses something or someone who could destroy the entire world was here, someone was definitely here, he couldn't wait to meet his equal.
Nami, Chopper and Sora all jumped on him in excitement, behind Brook and Usopp awed at the palace, Camie and Pappagu behind went from awe and a strange feeling of not being worthy, it was comical to see.
Luffy grabbed the sponge, utilized his power to raise it tenfold, then a bubble came fourth and expanded until it covered all of the interior, Luffy and the jumped into the now dry palace, Camie just floated with her bubble ring, and Otohime jumped and after a flash of gold she landed on her feet… feet?
"Wait, your tail...where did it..." Luffy said as he looked at Otohime, she now had feet, thighs, legs and all, she looked human, well that is if you ignore the golden scales adorning parts of it, the fact that she was twelve feet tall would be also strange if not for the fact that Luffy saw many people taller and they weren't even giants, her navel was covered by her pearl waist collar with silk cloth down her navel and posterior, however it did nothing to hide her ass and her side hips.
The others were shocked however after a bit of time Luffy, Nami, Sora and Brook understood. Mermaids had complex body structures that were earlier explained by Camie.
Otohime smiled stomping her feet on the ground without force however all who were in the hall felt the gale wind that waved from her stomping.
"Luffy-chin that's what I talked about earlier…" Camie said a bit intimidated by the force of her Queen.
"The fact that some mermaids can have fin legs, tails, human feet or have the ability to transform between having a tail and feet, isn't that right Camie-chan." Sora said, Luffy and the others nodded in understanding.
"That's right!" She winked at them, The shark went outside of the castle and went off in another direction.
Just then two distinct merman walked up to Queen Otohime, they tried to scold her however she was not even listening to them, Luffy then smelled food and was led outside from the hall to the corridors, Luffy was subtly watched by Otohime's baby blue eyes and Sora's caring chocolate eyes.
Both while a bit worried, they trusted Luffy with their life, Sora being in the crew of Luffy, it was hard not to trust him with his or her life, but for Otohime who only met this man now, she shouldn't have the trust she had, but in just a few minutes Otohime had the feeling that she would trust him with her life, perhaps it was because he held the fate of her kingdom with his hands but who would know about strange links of fate, some relationships can never fully be explained.
After Luffy left, the noise continued from the two, until Otohime hit her Trident on the ground.
"Even if you two are the Ministers of Right and Left that does not give any reason to reprimand myself in any form, I am still the ruler of this country! If you dislike my whims, ministers then you can see yourself out!" Her hard Queenly persona came out.
"B—But! You went out of this castle when, in a time like this!" The minister of the Right said.
"But nothing minister, you can't even believe in the strength of your ruler!" Her eyes turned cold as a gust of wind emanated from her, knocking all the guards in the vicinity, even the ministers were lightheaded, the Straw Hats behind were shocked.
"Supreme king's Haki, she has it, as I suspected this lovely mermaid is really strong." Sora murmured.
"Now look, these people saved Megalo when he was attacked by the Kraken, we must provide a feast of welcoming, where is my precious daughter minister?"
"—About that your Majesty, we just heard that…" The minister of Left continued whispering, his body was still sweaty from the exposure of Haki.
"..." Otohime listened to him, her eyes showed no emotion.
"So she retired to her room of course without me here she cannot defend herself from that man's attacks…" Otohime clicked her tongue, as she gripped her spear harder.
"My Queen, we received information from Prince Fukaboshi, It's about Boss Jimbei…" He continued his speech in silence.
After hearing him, she nodded. "Bring the swordsman, Zoro here… I think it's time" Otohime said, looking unfocused.
"Where is Luffy?" Nami asked.
"I can't wait for them to bring the feast!" Brook said throbbing.
"He was just here; can't our Captain sit still for a second?" Usopp asked looking around.
"Huh?" Chopper asked, looking around for Luffy.
"What is he thinking wandering around the sacred sanctuary?!" Pappagu raged.
XOX
"Hmm… The food and the 'World ender' are here…" Monkey D. Luffy said as he walked towards a giant steel door. A guard was just delivering food as he closed the door, the guard turned around.
"—Bastard, who are you, what are you doing here!?" the guard pointed his weapon at Luffy, but the space tore around Luffy, a gale wind blew the Guard as he foamed at the mouth and dropped to the ground.
"Can't have you interfering, not with this." Monkey D. Luffy passed the fainted guard and entered the door.
It was dark as Luffy followed the smell of the food, he started walking towards it, he jumped and landed on a soft surface, it was unbelievably smooth as he walked and caressed the surface, it was the best thing he felt for a while, he reached twin mountains as he started groping the soft surface — it was so warm, he jumped on the soft surface to relax, it was like laying on a soft pudding, however one part of it was silk, so he removed the silk part with his hand, he was lying face down so he smelled the strong vanilla scent, he followed it and reached a soft protrusion, it smelled so good he latched his mouth and started sucking on it and licking it, he enjoyed the flavor way too much as it resembled honey.
"Hyaaa~~" A very soft voice moaned.
"Nyghaaaah~~" She continued to moan hard.
"I—Is… hyaaa~~, is someone there?" She started softly groaning as she turned on the lights.
She was a huge mermaid, bigger than a giant, she was eight times bigger than Luffy
She has very long, flowing pink hair with a hair grip. Her breasts were very large, even relative to her giant-like size, they spilled towards the side a bit, but were very firm, if she were normal human-sized then Luffy would bet she was the bustiest girl he ever encountered, and did not sag at all, much of her upper body is exposed. Her broadly striped tail ends in a ruffle around her waist. She had blush marks on her cheeks.
She wore a cleavage-baring silk yellow halter top covered in pearls with a strap that widened and stuck out on the back of her neck. She also wore clam earrings and belly chains with a silk cloth hanging down in front and the back. She had a very long light red and pink striped tail, denoting her race, yes, she seemed to be a Sea King mermaid, if her size was anything to go by.
A Sea King mermaid? So this is the World ender, my equal…?
One of her breast had her halter pushed to the side exposing her soft pink nipples, Luffy was latched on as her pert nipple throbbed from the attention, her soft hand gave support to Luffy as he continued, she moaned, until she twitched and came.
Luffy then noted that what he was sucking was not food, but a nipple, he was a bit dumfounded as the huge mermaid hid it beneath the bikini, her face was full of shame as an atomic blush came to her face.
"W—Who are you?" her eyes started tearing a bit. The giant mermaid spoke so softly.
"A—Are you here to kill me too?" She asked softly, she could hold her sobbing, her eyes while they had shame they were almost dead, her baby blue eyes were very different from her mother, she could see straight because of the tears leaking out, she could make up a man wearing a suit, he was sitting on her soft hands.
"No, I'm not here to kill you" Luffy looked at her, looking at this mermaid he couldn't help but feel stunned, this was perhaps one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen.
She started wiping her tears with the forearms as she softly clutched the man with her hand.
"U—Um, who are you? M—My name is S—Shirahoshi" Shirahoshi said with a soft whisper, she was painfully shy, and for what he could see she had no real desire to live, she continued wiping her tears and finally had a proper look at the man she was holding.
"My name is Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become Pirate King!" Luffy words carried strong conviction, Shirahoshi saw the man's appearance, He was a bit stunning, Shirahoshi who only had her brothers to compare to, found the man to be frankly gorgeous beyond belief.
Just then Luffy turned around and glared in the doors direction, an axe coming right for them, or more specifically Shirahoshi, it was still far away, but Shirahoshi also sensed it.
"Not quick enough!" Luffy yelled.
"Huh" Shirahoshi said as her hands moved, dropping Luffy in the mattress and rushed her body to close the door but it was not quick enough, the axe passed the door at incredible speeds.
It headed right for Shirahoshi's heart as she squeaked, Monkey D. Luffy closed the distance at stood in the air in front of her left breast, he stopped the axe with one hand enhanced with Haki, but the axe did not relent and started grinding on Luffy's hand, but eventually the black Haki won and the axe was shattered by its own grinding, the pieces fell on the floor.
While this was happening Shirahoshi saw how dangerously close the axe was to her heart, her hair was flowing by the wind caused by the man blocking the fatal attack, she looked on to the muscular back of the one called Monkey D. Luffy, her heart thumped as an unfamiliar feeling came over her, her dreary eyes came back to life for the first time in many years.
Yes, that feeling is something many will never experience, love at first sight, those were Shirahoshi's feeling at the moment as she caught the falling man with her soft hands, she brought him closed to her face as her hot breath came over him, she smiled a bit and he turned around a hand in his hat and grinned with her. His stormy eyes were so pretty to look at.
"That was a close one wasn't it Shirahoshi?" He smirked.
"H—Hai, Luffy-sama..." Shirahoshi, the mermaid princess, said suddenly self-conscious, the memories of him suckling her breast made her die of shame.
"Awawa..." Shirahoshi started getting dizzy, her eyes became swirls as she wobbled a bit.
Shirahoshi's tail was cutely bashing the bed, well it would be cute if it wasn't for the incredible force she had, honestly Luffy could see some whirlwinds forming in the massive sheets of her bed as she stomped.
"Hrm, -sama? Now that I remember the Amazons always called me that after the incident with World…" Luffy murmured.
Looking around Luffy could see the room was very lavish in appearance, it had lots of furniture with golden decorations, mostly it was white pink and gold in appearance, it was fit for a giant, now looking well at her he could surmise she was at least sixty feet tall.
"U—U—Um, awawa, Luffy-sama! I—I must thank you for saving me e—ever so much." Shirahoshi put the other hand on the bottom of the other one, she raised her hands bring Luffy to eye level as she blushed a bit more, her pink lips curved into a pout and her eyes teared up as she fought her shame.
"Uuuuu~~" With a cute sound Shirahoshi stopped tearing up and put an incredibly cute brave face as she faced those stormy eyes with every bit of courage left in her bones.
Wow, she is an enemy of all women, she was naturally born cute — her appearance is very stunning, sure, Boa can still give her a run for her money though — no, this girl's personality is what is the problem — she is incredibly cute. But is this really the world ender, my equal in strength? Is she going to kill the world with cuteness? Luffy thought.
"Y—You are the one that save Megalo are you not?" Shirahoshi said as she started smiling.
The giant shark came from the corner of the room and nodded with a grateful sound towards Monkey D. Luffy.
"Uh-huh, this guy was very lucky." Luffy petted the shark.
"And you will become the pirate king… does this mean that you are a bad person Luffy-sama?" Shirahoshi asked as she remembered her mother saying something to her.
"Listen well my child, you are now entering puberty, you will someday find a boy that you will form a crush on, but be careful of bad boys, they will bring you nothing but pain, find a nice boy"
"Awawawa~" Shirahoshi head started spinning, her feelings have completely defied her mother's expectations of her.
"Does this mean I started falling for a bad boy? Save me, dear mother." Shirahoshi whispered so faintly Luffy could barely hear, even with her mother's warnings Shirahoshi could not stop looking at him, her heart beat faster than ever, Shirahoshi herself might have realized unconsciously that this was no crush, this was full blown love — a connection far deeper than the depths of the ocean — and that spending more time with this man, Monkey D. Luffy was dangerous.
"Shirahoshi, I might be a pirate, but I never considered myself to be a bad person, well I am not a good person either..." He smirked as he put his next line.
"I am… roguish, perhaps." He gave the most arrogant smirk she ever witnessed as he waggled his eyebrows, Shirahoshi started laughing at his comical expression, soon Luffy also started laughing with her, it was a very poor joke but Luffy wanted to break the tension between the two, even so her laughter was incredibly pleasing to hear, Luffy felt an inexplicable connection between the two of them.
"But in reality, I don't know the answer to your question Hoshi-chan, am I good or evil? You can decide that for yourself." He said with a husky tone of voice.
She blushed.
"Luffy-sama, you are roguish alright… you are a very bad gentleman." she murmured, then after her gears worked.
"Wait, Hoshi-chan?" Shirahoshi asked about her nickname.
"Yes, I like you, but your name is too long, Hoshi-chan it is." Luffy said as his blunt nature came over.
"Like you. Like you. Like you… Hoshi-chan, nickname." Shirahoshi murmured as her circuits fried again from embarrassment.
Luffy looked at her confused, so he picked the ends of her pink lips and started playing around with them making her face show silly expressions.
"Guuuuuh~~" Shirahoshi muttered as she put her face down in shame a bit, it was a bit embarrassing for Luffy to touch her, but her obsession started surging, like a very small candle, she already unconsciously allowed him to touch her casually.
Their personalities were completely opposite, but that's why they had such good chemistry, Luffy was very strong willed, very dominant, blunt to a fault, and very selfish, she was selfless most of the time, very submissive and while she did have will it was suppressed from years of isolation.
"Luffy-sama, do you desire anything, I will give you anything in my power to thank you for saving me from that cruel attack?" Shirahoshi asked, mentioning the axe incident.
"Well, I don't want anything, we met the shark by coincidence really, but what was that axe that flew in just now?! I don't sense anybody nearby that could throw such a thing…" Luffy looked down at the broken pieces of the axe, in the middle was a flower petal engraved in the metal.
"I believe… I know the one responsible, It is a gentleman named Vander Decken… he seems to have a grudge against me since I refused his proposals of marriage… from the information I have, he seems to have eaten a devil fruit, it grants him the power to target me at any time, anywhere, as such, I am only permitted to travel outside when Mother is with me." She explained softly.
"It's been ten years now, ever since I refused him when I was six." Shirahoshi put Luffy down, and both started to dine from the food.
"Ten years in isolation…" Luffy murmured.
"That means you are sixteen?" Luffy asked.
"Yes, Luffy-sama, if you don't mind answering what is your age?" She needed to know her crush's age, even if the age of consent was 11 years old in the Ryugu kingdom Shirahoshi still wanted to know, in fact Shirahoshi's mother married when she was 11 to a 21 year old Neptune, Otohime then birthed her eldest at 12, making her now in the beginning of her thirties.
"Hrm, I'm 19 years old" Luffy said after eating a piece of sandwich with shellfish meat.
She smiled; they were only four years apart, she felt an indescribable happiness.
After eating her fill she leaned her body on the table seeing the man eat more, she pushed her bust forward as she admired him with a hand on her cheek, she mashed her boobs giving a nice view point of her cleavage to Luffy.
They started talking with such familiarity, once her shyness disappeared and her curiosity took over, she asked of his adventures and he told mostly everything, leaving out the violent parts, she also told of her past, her struggles with isolation, her tail swung around madly creating tornadoes in the room. She was smiling happily for the first time, as she laid face down, she pushed a pillow in her chest, it enhanced her cleavage as she listened as Luffy explained the sun, the animals, forests, flowers and his adventures.
There was a lot she did not know, soon Shirahoshi started tentatively flirting even if she did not notice it.
"Hey, Hoshi-chan, is there any place you'd like to go?"
"W—Well of, course there are many places… but," her hands came and started touching Luffy.
"Hmmm there must be huh?" He caught one finger and nuzzled with it drawing a very large blush from Shirahoshi.
"Then! Let's go for a walk! If anything comes flying at you again, I'll send it right back where it came!"
"Eeeek! I… I could not possibly!" Shirahoshi said.
XOX
"Hmm, Luffy-kun is with my daughter, Shirahoshi, if I know you…" Otohime whispered as she used observation.
"...If Jimbei-san said it, then I'll relay the message, minister… is the swordsman not back yet?" Otohime asked.
"—The swordsman is here" A guard came, Zoro was behind yawning and drinking from a barrel of sake.
"Zoro!" The Straw Hats said.
"Hmmm, yo! You guys are alright then!" Zoro said.
"Of course dumb mosshead." Sora said.
"Hahn? You want to fight?"
"Bring it on!" Sora said.
"This is not a time to be fighting, where is Luffy?" Nami asked after diffusing the fight.
"He is with my daughter right now" Otohime said as she approached them.
"I am sorry, but the banquet must be delayed." She said as she adjusted her blond hair, giving Sora a great view of her cleavage, Sora had a lustful smile as she saw the twin peaks jiggling.
"Really, such a pity… I was looking forward to tasting the palace wine…" Nami pouted, Zoro launched a barrel at her and she picked it, she smelled the wood.
"It's sake, well it doesn't matter, booze is booze!" Nami punched the barrel, made a hole in it and started drinking faster than Zoro, she finished in record time and threw the barrel away, causing raised eyebrows from the soldiers as a maid picked up the pieces.
"Puahh~~" Nami puffed after the good drink, but she was not even a bit tipsy from that.
"Yes the reason for postponing, is that Jimbei-san asked to meet you in the sea forest, he stated that he wanted to meet Luffy and his crew, let's leave post haste" Otohime said as she leaned on her trident.
"Then let's find Luffy," Usopp said.
"Don't worry about your captain, as I said he is with my daughter, and if I know her she will want to visit her father's grave, it is also in the sea forest so let us meet there…" Otohime declared as a giant goldfish appeared outside of the gates.
"Well, let's go then." Zoro said as he jumped on top of the goldfish, a bubble already formed on top, Chopper was on his shoulder, the rest of the straw hats also jumped on it. But Sora hesitated for a moment as she looked back for her Captain, she followed suit a little bit after, soon Otohime and the straw hats barring Robin and Franky started their travel.
They headed towards the corridor of water and went out of the palace bubble.
XOX
Hody Jones was informed of the arrival of Vander Decken IX.
"He is here then" Hody's deep voice resounded across the Noah.
Vander Decken IX told Wadatsumi to stay put on the bottom of the giant ship.
As he was led to Jones, Decken apologized for being late, as he ran into some volcanic activity, and asked him if he was talking to the infamous Hody Jones. Both of these insane pirate Captains met in the middle of the room.
Jones said that they were both infamous. Both agreed to do business with the other in an alliance. Jones went in for a handshake, but Decken told him to wait a moment as he put on a glove.
This put off Hody a bit but he bore with it as he knew how Decken's power worked and did not want to fall victim to the power over targets.
Jones then spoke that their alliance was toward a single goal from which they would both profit. Their goal is to crush the Neptune Army and take Queen Otohime's head.
"Now we have a chance against that miserable Queen…" Zeo spoke.
"Of course kya kya~ Now two of the most powerful people in the ocean floor have united after all…" Daruma spoke.
Jones and Decken declared that the complete collapse of the Ryugu Kingdom starts from now, they just needed to take Otohime's pretty little head off her detestable body in a gory execution.
XOX
"Let's go Hoshi-chan! We are going outside!" Luffy declared.
"B—But if I were to do such a selfish thing… It would be a terrible bother for my mother and my brothers, as well as everyone in the palace! And..." she looked to the side as she huffed in pleasure, she breathed hard as her bust expanded and contracted, sweat came down her bosoms, the reason she was so hot was because Luffy was nestled in her cleavage, her eyes were blurry as she faced her crush, she couldn't believe they were already this far, she was dying of shame, but her submissive nature would never say no to Luffy.
"But you want to go don't you?" Luffy asked as he comfortably pushed her breast closer, the overpowering scent of vanilla and her creamy skin was heaven, this was motorboating on another level, she looked around as she raised her shoulders and lowered them, they were pink with how much she was blushing.
"Luffy-sama…I" Shirahoshi said after calming down.
"Where do you want to go?" Luffy grinned.
"…..." She looked to the side as her eyes dropped.
"..."
"..."
"Well…" She said after a few moments of stressing over it.
"Hm?" Luffy prodded.
"...The Ocean Forest… awawawa! No, I just went and said, b—but that's just a dream… In truth I could not do something so outrageous as leaving the tower…" She started tearing up.
Luffy fondled her left tit.
"Hyah~~ " she moaned loudly as she stopped her crying.
"Hoshi-chan, there is no need for you to cry, you can be selfish if you want, I'll protect you!" He laughed.
"But it took all my courage to say it…" she whispered softly. "I've always longed to visit the ocean forest, for all of these ten years, but everyone besides my mother always warned me, I didn't have the courage to ask her, they warned me that is too dangerous to leave the tower without my mother… and the thought scares me terribly…" Shirahoshi said, now she had Luffy sitting on her palm as she put him in eye level with her.
"Luffy-sama… will you really take me out of this place?"
"Yeah!" Luffy said.
"... You truly promise to protect me?" She whispered softly the question, her eyes were misty, she looked uncertain as baby blue eyes met glowing grey.
"Yes, leave it to me… it'll be fine!" Luffy declared, his stormy eyes were giving her a bit of a dizzy feeling.
Shirahoshi smiled at his response, her eyes watered, and she started crying for joy.
Both hopped in the sicty-five-foot shark, Shirahoshi lied face down on the back of the shark and Luffy held on to her shoulder, they barged form the door and headed for the exit of the castle.
"Mother, brothers, everyone, forgive me for my selfishness, I'll be back by dinner time, I promise" Shirahoshi whispered with a brave pouting face.
"Now! Let's go for a walk!" Luffy pointed the way for Megalo, he concentrated a bit extending his senses.
XOX
Near a coast, heading for the Sea Forest, the group following the Queen met someone familiar.
"Hachi!" Sora screamed, Zoro noted as well, Otohime who was on the goldfish along with the straw hats, jumped in the air, her legs turned into a tail again, she located the man, he was floating ashore with various wounds on his back, it seemed he was hit with arrows. She picked him from the water and headed for the sky, where the goldfish was, she used another sponge to create a bubble around her hips to fly and soar with her tail, finally she reached the goldfish and with caution dropped the man on top of it, Chopper started treating the injured man.
"Hachi!" All of them yelled with worry as Otohime eyes held concern for the Fishman, one of her innumerable subjects that she was not acquainted.
"Hachi! What happened?!" Sora yelled.
Hachi looked up his eyes lay on the Straw Hats.
"Hachi! It's us!" Chopper started cleaning his wounds as they headed for the forest.
"Who did this to you?!" Usopp screamed in rage.
"Nyugh~ it's you guys… I'm so glad to see you… Is Straw Hat with you?"
"No, Fishman, the young God is not with us" Otohime put her hands on her heart as she talked with him.
"He's not here right now, but you need treatment fast!" Nami screamed as they started helping Chopper.
"Get your people together right now, Huff… Huff…" Hachi grabbed Sora's collar.
"It's better if you guys don't get involved… with Fishman Island, Leave now! The new Fishman pirates are about to invade! The Ryugu Kingdom will be laid to waste!" Hachi warned them.
"Who are these pirates?! If there is a plot to take place in this Kingdom I need to know!" Queen Otohime hovered over Hachi, right now he realized that he was in the presence of the ruler of the seas.
She gripped her trident spear, the Violet color of it started violently shifting in shades, the corrupted eye looked around frantically.
"Hody Jones and Vander Decken made an alliance, they will attack soon," Hachi said and then passed out,
"What do I do? Should we return? No! I can leave the defenses to the kingdom with my sons, they are strong, but the fact that the contents of the box were stolen not too long ago, now it is best if I reunite with Jimbei, perhaps he can call the Sun pirates for help, yes, having that competent group will be an added safeguard, we are almost at the Sea Forest, Shirahoshi is safe with the young God, I trust him with my life, be careful Fukaboshi… Don't let your rashness make decisions for you… the full might of Neptune's army is with you" Otohime's whispered silently, jumbled thoughts in her mind and no Straw Hat heard her as she bit on her finger and sucked in frustration, even now the seeds of prejudice worked against her dream of peace.
XOX
Luffy caressed Shirahoshi's soft pink hair.
"So how does it feel to be out after ten years?" Luffy asked as Shirahoshi unconsciously nuzzled him closer to her, she opened her eyes, her body trembled a bit.
"It's exciting Luffy-sama, but I feel like I'm doing something naughty…" Shirahoshi confessed her feelings to him.
"There is nothing bad for wanting to go outside, don't worry Hoshi-chan I will shoulder all responsibility." Luffy reassured her.
"Is this what they call an adventure?" Otohime asked her eyes held a childlike innocence and curiosity.
"Hahaha… yeah… if you are this excited about it then it's an adventure, so this Forest of the sea? Is there anything interesting for us to see?" Luffy asked.
Now that I remember those mermaid girls said some rumors of Jimbei being there. Luffy thought.
"There is a grave Luffy-sama… a grave I've never been able to visit, It is the place I've wanted to go most these last years." Shirahoshi said with a big smile on her face.
XOX
An eight-foot Fish-men sit on a hill overlooking a massive monument, around him was a beautiful fauna and flora, the monument was a grave for the Sea God, Neptune, a blue whale merman and late King of Ryugu.
The Fishmen was none other than Jimbei, he paid his respects as he drank cups of sake.
"... Ten years ago… that incident shook the Ryugu Kingdom… An assassination meant for Otohime-sama, and yet you protected her from that poisoned spear… A year after your death, Otohime-sama returned with the same spear, reforged into that 'aberration' she was stronger than ever… her ideals were steadfast and she has been ruling the Kingdom with a firm but gentle hand, you need not to worry about the future… The princes have grown to be hardened warriors, princess Shirahoshi has grown even more beautiful, but she is still confined to that tower…"
"...None of us has forgotten our debt to you King Neptune!"
XOX
Luffy was encased in a bubble as they left the Fishman island, he looked back and was astonished, 150 humans were being launched at them, however, the pressure of being ten kilometers under the sea killed most of them, their bodies were still being attracted to them though.
Luffy put his forearm outside the bubble, he jumped from Shirahoshi's back.
"Huh, Luffy-sama?" Shirahoshi asked as he jumped.
He aimed well, clenched his hand in a punch, and before Shirahoshi saw anything a big circular wave around Luffy blew apart when he punched, this was Luffy punching in ultra-hypersonic speeds, it caused a water shockwave cannon that blew the launched corpses, however the area of the water cannon was small so it only hit a few of them, obliterating all of those who were hit.
Luffy clicked his tongues as more approached.
He increased his attack power exponentially to the power of aimed again now he had infused Haki he punched again, the shockwave cannon blew again but this time it was several times larger, hitting everything in its path, it was as big as the bubble around the Kingdom, in fact, it reached and deformed the first bubble for several seconds, it obliterated all of the human bodies.
He then went back to Megalo and Shirahoshi after confirming their annihilation.
His hand was in his hat as he was in deep thought.
"Luffy-sama?" He petted her hair in reassurance.
What was that all about? Is that the same guy that threw the Axe? were Luffy's thoughts as they approached the forest.
XOX
"Ryugu palace! This is the border patrol! Fishmen island has been entered by dangerous individuals from the Fishmen district! We're making this announcement as a public service! Do not worry our soldiers are stationed for your protection!" An announcement blew from the boxes around the isle and all its cities and towns.
The forces of the new Fishmen pirates, now were sighted above the cities, they were heading for the palace, on top of various sea beast, all of them ingested pills, it was a very addictive drug, even Vander swallowed a couple, their eyes were blood red as their powers multiplied, the time of reckoning has come.
XOX
"This place is called the Sea Forest—"Someone explained how the area they are in was called the ship graveyard, as all the ships that get caught in currents end up there. The so-called Sea-forest
Franky approached the Thousand Sunny, and the man talking was on the deck of the ship. The man said that he had been researching the Sea Forest that stretched along the ocean floor.
Franky said he could believe that he was seeing a place like the forest in the deep sea.
The man added that it was the same as Fishman Island. The man then complimented Franky on being able to find wood from Treasure Tree Adam to build the ship. Franky told him it was the same material that Tom used to make Gol D. Roger's ship, the Oro Jackson.
He added that Thousand Sunny was also his magnum opus. The man says that he will take care of the necessary coating, with a don. Franky thanked him and asked him his name. The man replied with his name — Den.
He was a bering wolffish merman, and Tom's younger brother. Franky asked Den why he did not resemble Tom at all.
Den told Franky with a smile that it was a very human way of thinking about it, but Den did not blame him for thinking that resemblances are necessary for blood relation.
It was true that families of species on land bore lot of similarity to each other. Den explained thus, that fishmen and merfolk can have genes that stay dormant for generations. He gave an example, if a shark merman is born from an octopus mermaid, that would mean that at least one of the parents had an ancestor that was a shark.
Den went on to reveal that no one on Fishmen island really cares what type of children the mother gives birth to. He also added that fishmen and merfolk cannot understand why humans have the need to categorize people by their looks and similarities to each other.
Den asked Franky if he had a robot for an ancestor for example since his features were all metallic in nature.
"No, I'm a human." Franky replied, born like one with flesh and a normal body, an accident made him need metallic upgrades to survive. And after that Franky just kept adding on to himself, turning less and less of a human as time went on, but he did not really care about it, if it meant that he became strong enough to protect those he cared about then that was that.
"I've received letters about you and Iceberg." Den mentioned that he received letters detailing everything about Franky and Iceberg's life. Kokoro used to write letters and made deliveries so she was delivering Iceberg's letters as well. Franky was amazed at that old bag for doing such a thing, with a smile Franky told the story of Tom's last days and how proud and honorable the shipwright was, living with a boom every moments of his life. Hearing the story Den was happy.
Franky remembered that he saw someone sitting a ways away and asked Den about it.
"Huh, that's Boss Jimbei, he's been sitting there since I got here, seems he's waiting for someone. He's technically a criminal so he can't enter the kingdom itself for long" Den replied.
XOX
Fukaboshi fell unconscious as blood started dropping from all over, his brothers all fell from the sky defeated, his spear had blood in it, the blood of Hody.
The man himself was kneeling on the Sea beast, Hody held his stomach in pain as there were three holes in his side, his medics already put some bandages over the wound, yet Hody kept munching on the steroids.
"Shit, we couldn't open the Palace, that damn princess Shirahoshi is not there, that bastard Vander Decken ran away as soon as he heard the news of her disappearance, that disgraceful idiot only cares for that mermaid. Well at least we took down the princes, it should drive the Queen out looking for them…" Hody whispered in rage.
"Jahaha! Capture the princes, we'll make a public execution in four hours, now it's time to start our plan men! Hunt down all of the Neptune soldiers stationed and start it!" He roared as his commanders went to different places, he picked another stack of pills and put in his mouth, he screamed in pain and started laughing maniacally a red outline, or afterimage appeared behind him for an instant.
XOX
A man was on a huge coral, flying at incredible speeds he also had a bubble around him. "It's not going to the tower! Shirahoshi, if I know you — you wouldn't venture out of the palace, that means you are with someone, I think!" Vander Decken yelled with obsessive need.
"Shirahoshi! I am incredibly jealous! I've loved you for these past ten years! Till death do us part!" Vander Decken screamed as he chomped on another power pill. "Bahoho! If I can't have you… no one will! I will kill you!" He screamed in rage, the man who had the power over targets was poised to kill and kill and kill some more.
XOX
"This is the forest of the sea!" Queen Otohime showed the Straw Hats the landscape. The Straw Hats were looking at the landscape in wonder, it was really beautiful almost as stunning as the palace from before.
"This will be a good place to treat Hachi!" Chopper looked at the place as they approached the Sunny, the Ship itself was in a giant bubble spanning across the forest while the tomb was underwater.
The Straw Hats greeted Franky and Den and they disembarked the goldfish, while Queen Otohime went towards the hill where Jimbei was, she joined him in mourning for a while, this was where her husband was buried.
Her husband died because of her weakness… were some of the ugly thoughts passing through the mind of Queen Otohime mind.
XOX
Princess of the mermaids, Shirahoshi laughed at one of Luffy's jokes, he also laughed out loud, she saw his form, a tiny inkling of obsession started to surface as she looked at her 'darling'.
"Oh wow! Is this the Sea Forest? This place is incredible…" He saw the underwater forest with wonder, there were a lot of whales hanging around the place.
"Waah! Thank you so much, Luffy-sama…" Shirahoshi held his body with her hands in gratitude as she cried. "I've always wanted to see it" she pushed him in her bosom as she hugged his body.
Megalo was also excited.
"Hey, It's Sunny!" Luffy exclaimed after enjoying the sensations of her breast.
"Zoro! Sora! Franky! Brook! Usopp! Chopper! Nami! Hey!" Luffy waved towards his crew.
Shirahoshi also saw them from the distance. "So these are Luffy-sama's friends," she spied cutely and murmured.
"Yo Luffy!" Zoro replied.
"Luffy!" Nami replied, waving around doing wonderful things to her breasts.
"Luffy! You finally arrived!" Usopp replied.
"Luffy! He is here!" Chopper replied, he went towards the deck with his medical tools.
"Luffy! Just like Otohime-chan said, and… what is that incarnation of beauty?" Sora shamelessly ogled both Luffy and Shirahoshi.
"Yohoho! Captain! I've waited for you! And who is that pretty lady?" Brook asked.
"Hey is that Luffy? Hm, who is the gorgeous babe with him?" Franky asked.
"Let me introduce her you guys, this is Hoshi-chan!" Both landed on the bubble as Luffy introduced the princess.
"Hmm like as a star?" Franky asked.
"I'm sorry, actually my name is Shirahoshi, sir" Shirahoshi murmured but she was heard by all of them, then the Straw hats each introduced themselves to her with respect.
Jimbei in the distance arrived walking on the sea floor towards the bubble, Queen Otohime behind him with a smile on her face after they made their prayers to the last King and also her husband Neptune.
"Luffy-kun! I almost didn't recognize you!" Jimbei had a huge smile as he approached, finally meeting Luffy again was very rewarding, especially because of the bond they formed during and after the war.
"Jimbei?! Is that you Jimbei?! Finally!" Luffy cheered as they closed the distance.
"Big boss Jimbei," Shirahoshi said with a smile, however, her eyes sometimes darted to Luffy's back, her eyes turned blank in those times as she fixed her stare.
"Oh! Princess Shirahoshi is with you, it's good to see you again princes—" Jimbei continued. "Huh? Princess Shirahoshi?!" A comical look of surprise overcame Jimbei.
"Ufufu~~ That look is unbecoming Jimbei!" Queen Otohime approached and told him of her allowance that Shirahoshi leave the tower with the conditions that Luffy protects her daughter.
Jimbei then noticed Hachi with all of the wounds.
"Hachi, huh?" Jimbei had the same look of surprise when he saw the man bandaged with blood on his clothes.
"Ergh, Jimbei-san" Hachi replied.
However nobody here had the time to properly rest themselves before another threat showed up in the form of an object rushing with incredible speeds towards them underwater.
"Bahoho! Shirahoshi!" Vander yelled in the distance.
"Vander Decken!" Shirahoshi murmured, horrified.
"Why, I am jealous Shirahoshi! Why would you not accept my love?!" Vander held an axe with his right hand, the thing was intricately designed and twice his size but the fishman just wielded it like a piece of paper.
"I'm sorry but you are not my type!" Shirahoshi screamed the truth, the Straw Hats face-vaulted, Luffy and Otohime laughed, Vander Decken had a deathly pale shocked look, as he trembled.
"Then! Die! Shirahoshi!" He threw the axe at her, intending on her gory death.
"Luffy-kun!" Otohime yelled as she closed the distance with the man that attacked Vander Decken, it was time to deal with the man that forced her daughter to be locked behind a tower all her life, Luffy followed suit passing the air bubble into the deep water which affected him badly, he punched the axe destroying it into bits, however, the burden put on his body by the 10km deep pressure was a bit much, he could not move well and was like an iron ball stuck in place.
"..." Shirahoshi meanwhile had an unhealthy stare directed at Luffy, the straw hats all looked in silence as Robin appeared from the forest.
Otohime closed the distance with Vander Decken in an instant, she brandished her corrupted spear and pierced Vander right side, the force launched him and the bubble around his body to a reef.
"Grah…" Vander coughed blood, the bubble Vander had around his body for protection against the sea water had not been destroyed yet, but the blood unleashed from his wound was splashing inside of it, he felt his liver and lung pierced, however he was strong enough to pick a stack of pills and he ate them to numb the pain.
"Alright, I pierced him" Otohime cheered.
However the unexpected happened as his hair started turning white, his eyes were pure red, his body grew two feet in length, his muscles bulged in fury. All due to the pill of power affecting his body, he overdosed, and this was the result, terrible power.
"Bahoho!" He laughed maniacally as he raised himself, his wounds closed for the instant, but he was still bleeding internally, now though… he could fight, he could kill.
"Huh?" Otohime was astonished by the obsession of this man.
"Bahoho! Ughhh!" Vander collapsed to the ground; his stomach had marks glowing an aquamarine blue from the wound.
"What is this?! What have you done? You bitch!" He yelled at Queen Otohime with fury in his gaze, his eyes bloodshot as he unleashed an unbelievable killing intent, he now was transformed with a terrifying visage because of the power drug.
"The corruption of my spear is spreading Vander Decken, you can't fight it, in a few hours you will die! This is punishment for ruining my daughter's life!" these were Otohime's words as she grasped her spear, it was no devil fruit but the properties of her own trident, proof that she could still swim.
But surprisingly Vander raised himself from the ground clutching the corrupted marks, he crushed a coral, and with a giant part of it he touched with his left hand, he grasped the stone as it was launched, in the direction of Wadatsumi, the Umibozu.
Vander was meticulous, he marked his subordinate earlier as a means to escape if the situation went south and it paid off immensely. He was escaping this bad situation easily.
Otohime rushed towards the stone, but she could not catch it, his power was faster than she could swim, she could not believe it she was the fastest sea creature in the world, a mermaid! Was it because of the power drug?
"Grh" Otohime tried her best to pursue but she could not reach no matter how much she tried.
"Bahoho! This is not over yet, you whore!" Vander yelled with an unbelievable rage, the killing intent was chilling and tangible even to the Straw Hats who were in the giant bubble in the forest.
Otohime gave up on pursuing him, she cursed to herself for not being able to finish him, but now there was a death sentence hanging over Vander's head, he would not survive for long.
Queen Otohime swam back and picked Luffy as he was still standing in the water having difficulties moving on the sea floor, she embraced him pulling his head to her breasts and dragged him in that position towards the bubble where Sunny and the others were.
XOX
"What was that?" Zoro asked.
"I don't know, but I know who he was, his name is Vander Decken, he is wanted in this country, but that chilling transformation..." Sora paused her explanation, Nami then did her best to explain the situation they learned from Camie to the others.
All this time Shirahoshi was not focused on any of the happenings, only on Luffy, her gaze did not relent, in a span of a couple of hours her love, at first sight, was turning into an ugly obsession.
"Hoshi-chan are you alright?" Luffy asked taking off his suit, and shirt, then put them to dry, now he was only in his pants, with his top exposed, Shirahoshi shamelessly traced every curve of his torso.
"Eh? Y—Yes, I'm alright, Luffy-sama, Mother!" She was distracted looking at him, so she took her time to answer, her face was red with shame. Shirahoshi whispered silently with her hands on her cheeks in shame. "W—What's happening to me? Am I a bad girl for having these thoughts?"
After a while of discussing, both Shirahoshi and Otohime went together to the giant monument for Shirahoshi to pay her respects towards her deceased father Neptune.
"So that's the grave she was talking about…" Luffy looked at Shirahoshi, she was in a praying position, her gorgeous face was full of tears, but a soft smile was in her face.
XOX
"She has been there for a long time…" Luffy started getting worried.
"Her father, King Neptune, rests here on this tomb, The princess fell victim to Vander Decken at the worst time, she was unable to attend her father's funeral, and spent all of these years on the tower or the palace with her mother's supervision… Shirahoshi has much to say after so many years…" Jimbei explained to Luffy.
Both then returned, Otohime informed Jimbei about Hody Jones and Vander Decken plans of invading, not realizing her dear sons were now captured and her kingdom usurped.
"I'm sorry, you have been troubled enough…" Jimbei apologized and Otohime followed suit.
Sora prepared a feast and all of them were sitting in a circle on a coral bed, Shirahoshi was by Luffy's side she leaned her face to his side.
"There is little time left, but there is a lot I want to talk about… I want to talk about the life of a man called Fisher Tiger, a woman by the name of Otohime, and the sacrifice made by Neptune…" Jimbei faced Luffy with an intense stare, Otohime gripped her spear in a sorrowful mood as Jimbei was going to recount her own past as well.
"I was very grateful to those who stopped Arlong rampage on the east blue, It was you Luffy-kun, was it not?" Jimbei asked, Luffy nodded in response. "But now you must allow me to apologize," Jimbei said, Otohime closed her eyes in sorrow, her observation was so strong it picked the emotions and the nature of a person and their intentions — however for some reason, she could never see into her daughter's state of mind, nor this young God in front of her.
"Jimbei…" Hachi stared intensely at him, gritting through the pain.
"Eleven years ago, the one who released Arlong into the East blue—" Jimbei started, Nami in her desperation grabbed Luffy's shoulder for support, sweat was running down her body.
"—Was none other than me!" Jimbei finished.