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Chapter's Events:
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"Once again, I shall send her an axe embossed with the image of a rose…!!"
"Guaaah!!"
"It came flying back this way, Captain!! You missed good and proper!!"
The axe thrown by the fishman returned, cutting through part of the ship and continuing to fly off.
"Fools!! I never miss a target!! I know it!! Bahohohohoho!!"
"Princess Shirahoshi!!! No matter how I roam these ocean depths… I have yet to find another woman as vast and beautiful as you!!"
[Captain of the Flying Pirates, VANDER DECKEN IX, (Bullhead Shark Fishman)]
Vander Decken was expressing his love and resolve in that moment—if the princess would not be his, then she would be no one else's.
"If our lives can be fulfilled, then so be it!!"
"But I cannot allow you to live your life with another!! If that should happen… You must die!! Shirahoshi!!"
He looked slyly at the axe that was accelerating as it flew toward the upper part of Fishman Island.
"Either swear your undying love for me!! Or choose death!!!"
"Yes, your life is a choice… Between 'Death or Marriage'…!!!"
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Neptune's eyes turned red as he read the first scene of the chapter, "So that bastard is Vander Decken!!!"
"Because of him, my counterpart locked my beloved daughter in the Shell Tower for ten years… Ten years!?!? What!?"
Neptune looked like he wanted to grab Vander Decken out of the manga page and rip him to shreds right there.
"Oh, so that's how it is… It turns out the Straw Hats were imprisoned immediately after arriving at the supposed party… Seems the decision came after deliberations between the eldest prince, the two ministers, and my counterpart as well."
Neptune looked at the right and left ministers, "What do you think?"
"Your Majesty, it seems the misunderstanding caused by that scoundrel Caribou is going to create a rift in our relationship with the Straw Hat crew… They won't stand for injustice," said the right minister.
"But it only makes sense that they'd act against them, since they didn't know Caribou was hiding in the shadows and had arrived with them in the first place," added the left minister.
"Sigh~ I thought things were going well already, but look at this now, total chaos… Thankfully, it seems the relationship between Luffy and my princess is progressing nicely—he even saved her from that bastard Vander Decken's axe."
"Wait! So the villain has eaten a Devil Fruit, huh? A son of the sea, and the sea rejects him. Isn't that a real curse?"
"So tell me—how the hell would my tall, beautiful daughter ever want to marry a small lunatic like you!? Impossible! Even if she agreed for some weird reason, I'd refuse on her behalf as her father—damn you!"
King Neptune smashed the table in fury. He truly wanted to find the counterpart of this Vander Decken and crush him for any petty reason.
…
"I know this man…"
Arlong looked at Vander Decken IX in the manga with a strange expression before speaking to the one beside him.
"I know him too. He's always sailing around in that junk ship. And lately, he's been frequenting the Art Store a lot, hasn't he?"
Jinbe confirmed in response.
"He's here, then!? I didn't expect him to have such a fateful future. Wanted by the kingdom, a notorious pirate, and a relentless pursuer of the kingdom's only princess."
Fisher Tiger scanned the area with his eyes, looking for anyone who resembled the manga character, but to no avail.
…
Because at the moment his counterpart's name first appeared, he had already slipped away from the Art Store.
Outside Fishman Island, a ghost-like sailing ship drifted far from the island as if its captain was in a rush.
"Huff, huff, huff! I finally managed to escape… Unbelievable—so just as I suspected, this is my counterpart!"
The current Vander Decken, just 17 years old, was already a fully grown young man and a pirate commanding the Flying Dutchman, aware of his lineage as the eighth descendant of the original legendary Vander Decken.
That's why seeing himself in the manga as a potential villain greatly disturbed him. Not only that—it meant he would lose his secret cover forever. Now that his counterpart's actions were being revealed one after another, he would be blamed and feared just for being directly associated, even if he personally hadn't done a thing. Not to mention, he had a naturally wicked side as well.
"Shirahoshi… Oh my god, what is this beauty!? My counterpart wasn't wrong to love you! I love you too! I'm madly in love! Even if you haven't been born yet! I love you! Ahaa~ My beloved Shirahoshi, when will you come into this world so I can make you mine!?"
"Of course, I won't repeat my counterpart's stupid actions!"
"Wait, what is the Mato Mato curse? Is it a Devil Fruit!? He ate a Devil Fruit as a fishman!? What a disaster! Wait, I haven't eaten it yet!"
Vander Decken felt joy upon discovering he hadn't yet eaten any Devil Fruit and was still fully able to swim and maneuver underwater as a proud fishman.
…
"Heh~ Of course you haven't eaten it yet—it's in my hand right now…"
At that moment, Rob was holding a gray-colored Devil Fruit with a protrusion shaped like an arrow and the symbol of the infinite eight, indicating that the arrow would hit the target no matter what.
It looked like he was analyzing Vander Decken's current mental state while playing with this Devil Fruit, which Vander Decken was supposed to obtain somehow years later.
But here it was, in Rob's hands, just like many other identified Devil Fruits, along with some still unknown, all thanks to the treasure houses whose safe haven was the Art Store, where sellers receive full payment without fear of theft or harm. That's why nearly everyone prefers trading Devil Fruits in the nearby treasure houses.
"There's no point in waiting. This fruit won't be yours in this life. It's mine now…"
Rob enjoyed stockpiling Devil Fruits and using them as rewards for his subordinates. It was a strange hobby he had developed in this life.
"That's why, in this life, you can't target Shirahoshi, whether she's born into this world or not."
Rob smiled as he looked at the scene of Luffy and Shirahoshi talking about Vander Decken.
"Hahaha! She poked Luffy's cheek while he was eating, it's like asking to be yelled at your face~"
Robin laughed after seeing Luffy's angry reaction to what Shirahoshi had done, frightened by it.
"Hahaha! Luffy is so violent, isn't he, my little daughter?"
Rob chuckled as he patted Robin on the head.
"She's really cute~"
"You think so too? But I don't see her as sweet as you do…"
"Oh, you're just saying that because I'm your daughter…"
"That's not the reason…"
…
Otohime looked at the interaction between Luffy and Shirahoshi with a cheerful tone and a smile.
"This girl still seems so young, maybe 16 at most… Despite her size, she's still a child."
Otohime shared her impression of the mermaid princess, Shirahoshi.
"I wonder what happened ten years ago for that damned scumbag named Vander Decken to touch Shirahoshi and mark her with that wicked ability of his…"
"For ten whole years, she's remained imprisoned within these walls because of the threat to her life… That's heartbreaking."
"Vander Decken must not have given up after being rejected and decided to pressure the royal family."
"What!? Luffy wants to take her out on a tour!? Pfft~ Hahahaha! As expected of Luffy—he can literally do anything he wants."
"King Neptune might consider that a kidnapping and start a full-scale manhunt for Luffy."
Sora, Bella, Olivia, and the others felt this scenario was very possible, after all, the Straw Hat Pirates were currently the suspects in the mermaid kidnapping incident caused by Caribou.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 926: Hody & Decken Alliance
Chapter 927: The Beginning of the Attack.
Chapter 928: The Queen's Grave.
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