Country of Dressrosa, Green Bit.
At the outskirts of the island, I had to release a bit of my Haki to keep away the annoying fighting fish that clustered in the waters of Green Bit.
We docked in the place I was most familiar with. Back in the time when I came here looking for answers, I grew more familiar with the Tontatta Tribe than I did with any of the nobles in Dressrosa. Even though I respected the King, I didn't trust him.
But I trust the Tontatta, and I wanted to meet Leo and Mansherry First.
"I will wait here; there is no need for me to go in further" Sakazuki pinned the boat and sat next to it.
"You don't need to wait here, just don't cause trouble, Sakazuki... you can go and get your cigarettes, I don't mind", I said to her. During our time sailing, we can't be called friends, but at least she now understands that I can destroy her ass whenever I want, and doesn't try to upset me as much.
Besides, I know how stubborn she is. If I want her to talk about what she was trying to do in my island, I need to be on her friendly side. This woman could get tortured for a while and still not speak.
"Don't expect me to say thanks," She murmured.
"I don't. If you go deeper into the kingdom, just say you're with me. This island is not affiliated with the world goverment so you marines are not seen with kind eyes here".
I stepped inside with Shirahoshi, the mermaid leaned on me with a smile, "You're getting along now".
"We aren't!"
"You are~".
"We ar-en't!"
"You a-re!~".
"Hyan~!"
I pinched her waist lightly to let her know she was being stubborn, but she didn't stop. If my relationship with Sakazuki improved from enemies into 'acquaintances', then with Shirahoshi... we were just too stupid kids in love. Well, she was the kid, and I was just a fool playing along.
Seeing the purity of her love, I was afraid to look too mature, but at the same time, she complimented me so well that I felt like I could just be myself.
I am glad I took her along.
Upon reaching the centre of the small island, I released a warm wave of Conqueror Haki. Soon, they started to come out.
"Veyron!"
"It is good to see you, Chief Gancho".
"Veyron-nii, it's you! You took so long!"
"It has only been a few months, Leo".
"That's too much!"
"Veyron!"
"Mansherry!~"
The little, pretty fairy jumped at me. I held her in my hands preciously, like she was a little crystal that I was afraid to shatter.
"Who is this?" she looked at the mermaid like she was looking up a titan. Ironically, Shirahoshi was also staring down at her like a titan with interest. I guess she has never seen someone so small, while also being this small.
"This is my fiancée, Shirahoshi", I introduced Shirahoshi to her and received an earful from Mansherry.
"Veyron... you can't be like this... what about Hancock-sama!?"
"Relax, they're all my beloveds", I said shamelessly.
"This perverted boy..." Mansherry blushed, "You'd better make sure to treat Princess Viola well, you fiend, she has suffered so much!"
"Don't worry, Mansherry, I will keep all of my lovers close to me".
"T-Then–"
"You are the tontatta? You're all so cute!" Shirahoshi snatched Mansherry away like she snatched a little doll.
"T-This is a mermaid? Are you perhaps... the cutest thing in the world!?" Mansherry rubbed her cheek against Shirahoshi, and I could tell immediately that these two were going to be best friends forever.
"No, you are! My name is Shirahoshi, Princess of the Ryugu Kingdom. Nice to meet you!"
"My name is Masherry, Princess of the Tontatta, the pleasure is mine".
"You're a princess?!~"
"Yes!".
I deadpanned, it is so very easy to tell a princess from your average girl. Unmatched beauty? Check. Naive? Check. Weird coloured eyes? Check.
They talked with one another while I arranged some deals with Gancho to have the tontatta move from Green Bit into Skypea. Something he rejected, saying that right now, Dressrosa needs them to help reconstruct it, but that he didn't mind sending a portion of their population to expand in a different terrain. We were given tea, and soon I had tontattas all over me.
"Veyron, why don't you marry her? She's a princess!"
*PFT!*
I spat my tea at Shirahoshi's proposition.
"S-Stop it, Shirahoshi!".
"But she's so pretty and cute! It doesn't make sense. Could it be... You don't like her?" She put on those cute puppy eyes, naively asking her fiancé to take in someone else.
"Mansherry has Leo! Right?!" I said to the green-clothed tontatta sitting on my shoulder, but he tilted his head aside and smiled.
"What are you talking about, Veyron-nii? I would be more than glad if you married–".
"Stop it!" I screamed, everything came to a stop, then I realised I had raised my voice, looked at Mansherry, who was about to cry, and I took her and cuddled with her, "Please don't cry, it is not what you think".
Perhaps I rejected her a little too vehemently. It is not that I don't like her... it is just... she's way too small! Am I fated to not have a normal-sized lover? First, Shirahoshi, who is a mountain and now Mansherry, that's a little leaf dwarf?
"I understand, but still, you didn't have to reject me like that, baka!" she pinched my cheek, I allowed it since I was really cold just now.
"Okay, okay, I am sorry. I will propose, and then you can reject me, how about that?" I said, trying to give her a way to recover her honour.
"Good!" Mansherry laughed joyfully, "Go ahead, do it, do it!"
"Alright, Mansherry. Do you want to marry me?" I knelt down in front of her and her whole 'kingdom', big mistake.
"Yes, I want!~"
"... eh?"
That's not what we planned...
Mansherry and Shirahoshi leapt on me, "Yay! Now we can be together always, Shirahoshi!".
"Yay!"
"W-Wait! That's not what we planned?!–".
"Yes, this is a sacred union!".
"Long live the Tontatta!"
"Congratulations, Mansherry!"
My screams for justice were shut down by the celebrations of the tontatta who had, now, after millennia, claimed a consort who could protect their tribe from those who had taken advantage of them for so long.
"..."
"You're not going to go back on your word, right, Veyron?~" Shirahoshi and Mansherry winked together, in complete sync, even when they just met.
I was stupefied. In the end, it is all politics, isn't it?
**
**
I finished with the Tontatta and took Mansherry and Shirahoshi with me to the castle to meet Viola. On our way, we encountered Rebecca; she gave me a polite bow and greeted Mansherry.
"You left the small forest?!"
"S-Some things happened..." Mansherry was too awkward to say she was my fiancée. Naughty dwarf, you set me up first, don't get embarrassed now!
"If you wish to meet my father, allow me to lead the way, Lord Veyron", Rebecca said and led us to the King's quarters. We found him having a meeting with some of his ministers.
!!!
"L-Lord Veyron, we didn't know you were coming" He said nervously.
"Did I come at the wrong moment?"
"It is never a wrong moment for you, Lord Veyron, please come this way".
"... It is good to see you, King Riku. This is my fiancée, Shirahoshi... and this is my other fiancée, this little scammer, Mansherry".
Mansherry winked at the King, but he still looked at me with this weird criminalising gaze.
'Please don't look at me like that! I am not what you think!
"I am glad, this makes yet another tie between you and Dressrosa" He hooked his arm around my shoulder and whispered, "You really have no limits, kid".
"It is not what you think".
"Oh, no... son-in-law... It is exactly what I think".
I twitched my tongue in annoyance, maybe it is, maybe not...
*cough!*
"In any case, I have to talk about a few things with you. Not about Viola, about something else".
I took my seat in the middle of the room, and they even allowed me to take the spot that was fully King Riku's.
"Since you are now allied to me, we are family as well... so I think I should share something with you that's very important and that I hope you can keep to yourself but at the same time, have it into account when it come to your future stratagems".
King Riku swallowed a mouthful.
"In this world, there is a King. Someone is sitting at the empty throne in Marie Geoise".
!!!!
"That's impossible! That's not what was accorded as per the world goverment–".
"I am telling you that's how it is".
My authority made that man sit down and shut his mouth.
"W-Who is this person, Lord Veyron?".
"What I know about him is very limited. But I know a few things: First, he is someone who has used unknown means to stay alive since the void century or even before".
"R-Ridiculous".
"Two, he is someone almost as strong if not stronger than me".
"And third, he has the Godly Knights by his side, who are also very strong, also immortal, and whom he can easily control. I am not aware of his objectives, but at the very least, he wants me dead".
"Son-in-law... all of this... is this the truth?".
I inhale and exhale, "This is the truth, and now, only the people affiliated with me know this truth; everyone else is in the darkness, and it is better for it to remain this way because who knows what the person is going to do if that truth is revealed. The chessboard may change into something unexpected, which I'd rather not face".
The things are good the way they are. If something happens and this Imu starts acting recklessly, I won't be able to plan ahead. I can't risk anything until I know exactly how strong this person is.
I clenched my hands together after a second of silence, as the truth settled in their minds.
"Right now. Rusukaina, Skypea, Amazon Lily, Fishman Island, Dressrosa and the Country of Wano are all the nations under my protection, openly enemies to the world goverment. As strong as I am, it is difficult for me to cover such a massive extension of land on my own... the weight on my shoulders is heavy".
"Please rest assured that we will do everything in our power to stand back up as an independent nation. Once we accomplish that, we will be able to help you a lot more, son-in-law".
I smiled at the King, "That's what I expect from you and everyone else. Even if I am not present, I have tried to build those nations into literal strongholds. What I have accomplished with Amazon Lily and Skypea, I plan to accomplish with Dressrosa and Wano; there are even ongoing plans for Fishman Island... you can trust me, but I expect cooperation on all ends. Primrose in Amazon Lily, Gan Fall in Skypea, Neptune in Fishman Island, Kozuki Hiyori in Wano and you, Riku Doldo, here at Dressrosa... even Gancho of the Tontatta, I expect you all to communicate with one another, even without my involvement, for the betterment of all nations".
They all stood up from their seats and then, even the King knelt in front of me.
"It will be done as you wish, Lightning God, we shall work together for the sake of our nations and the world overall, the tyrannic regime of the World Goverment can't be allowed to continue, paying endless tributes... for what? I am glad things turned out this way"
I used my powers to make them stand back up and smiled, rising from the 'throne' which I had been compelled to sit on.
"Good, if that is the case, then I can be on my way. You know that in everything related to resources, you can directly contact Stussy. Is there anything worth commenting?"
"Nothing as of now, My Lord. No marines, prominent pirates, or any group has dared to approach our borders, and those who try... they have been successfully shot down. Our borders remain closed".
"If that's the case, I will be on my way. Where is Viola? She hasn't come to see me".
"Hmn, Viola... she... should be supporting the construction endeavours. About that, son-in-law, do you plan to take Viola to live with you?"
"Would that be okay?".
"Of course, so long as she is with you, I will be reassured, although I am under the understanding that she wants to join the Kuja Fleet".
"She wants to join Hancock...?"
"Her gratitude towards the fleet is immense, she also happens to respect Lady Hancock a lot... would that be possible?".
"Of course it is possible. But she's going to have to ask Hancock, not me. I don't control what Hancock does" I scratched my head, lying a bit. I do control what she does, but only because I impose on her as her husband... if she hadn't done anything to worry me, Hancock wouldn't follow my whims.
In her mind, she is SO BEAUTIFUL, that there is nothing I wouldn't allow her to do. And maybe... that's right, everything she has asked me for, I have gone to deliver like a lovestruck idiot.
After a brief talk with King Riku in which he also had a chat with Shirahoshi about Neptune and their kingdoms, they agreed that he'd do an expedition to the Fishman Kingdom to meet Neptune once things settled down in Dressrosa... diplomacy, that's what I like to see.
I held Shirahoshi's hand, and Mansherry rested on my shoulder. We set off to look for the third princess, Viola.
"The King said she was supporting the reconstruction efforts. Is she lifting blocks of concrete and all that?" I wondered.
"Or maybe she's just being supportive", Mansherry added, "Ever since she was a child, Viola always involves herself a lot with the citizens of the Kingdom. If nobody told you, you wouldn't know she's a princess~".
The construction efforts were mainly focused on building houses since a lot of them had been destroyed during the assault, and they were of maximum priority. No one on this island was idle, but according to Mansherry, there was a resting period which they called 'ciesta', and during that time, everyone was allowed to rest, drink, eat and party. We were at that moment right now.
When I passed by most of them, they didn't recognise me, but they looked nonetheless because of Shirahoshi and Mansherry. I don't have much of a reputation here, considering they were all toys when I came, but still... have these people not seen my wanted poster?
Compared to me, Hancock, Sandersonia and Marigold have a way better reputation. I could even see, in the centre of the city, that they were erecting a statue for Hancock.
'Amazing...' I deadpanned, it is incredible how far beauty can take you..
...
Soon, we came across a street where we heard a faint melody coming from a corner. We chased it and look and behold, here she was.
Viola was dancing flamenco, and there were a lot of men and women around dancing alongside her; everyone was enjoying themselves. Viola herself was dancing with some young man, although he looked like he could barely keep up, and they were very close, dancing almost like lovers.
I felt my brow twitch a little, but didn't think this was worth making a scene. After all, this is how this dance is danced.
She looked absolutely gorgeous in her red short dress with speckles. Perhaps a bit revealing, but she looked so good in it. I was entranced, and to my surprise, so were Shirahoshi and Mansherry.
"Is that Lady Viola? she looks so pretty! Veyron! How are all of your lovers so pretty?!" Shirahoshi asked me with puffed cheeks.
I pushed out my chest, "Hmph, don't think you're the only pretty one, Hoshi... I am popular, don't you see how cute Mansherry is".
"D-Don't say that!"
We were in the middle of our own world, listening to the music and watching the dance, and that's when everything stopped; all of the men present switched their gazes from Viola to Shirahoshi as if a bigger monster had just come into the room.
My mermaid princess was roughly my same stature, a bit taller; she was walking with her two legs, although she had to cling a bit to me not to lose balance. She was also in a dress, looking absolutely astonishing.
No man in this world wouldn't gawk at Shirahoshi, especially seeing her for the first time. She was more of a Goddess than a Princess.
Being subjected to so many gazes, Shirahoshi immediately blushed and concealed behind me. I looked at Viola, who had also stopped and the young man who was holding her waist very closely.
She finally realised I was staring and quickly made some distance from that young man.
"L-Lord Veyron, this is... I can explain!" Viola said anxiously.
I tilted my head a bit, "What is there to explain? Why did you guys stop? Go ahead and keep dancing, it has been a while since I saw someone dancing a Spanish flamenco".
"Spanish Flamenco, what is that?" She faltered, perhaps a bit surprised that I wasn't angry at her dancing with someone else.
"N-Nothing, in any case, just keep going!"I said and beckoned for the musicians to keep the melody going. The musicians heard my call, they looked one time at Viola, and when they saw no drama was about to unfold, they continued.
"In that case, should we–" Viola extended her hand, but I had already taken Shirahoshi to dance.
"Veyron, I don't know how to dance! Mansherry, help me!" Shirahoshi screamed.
"I don't know either!" Mansherry screamed.
"Don't worry, me neither~" I screamed too, laughing out loud and taking them both onto the dance floor to ridicule ourselves. It didn't matter to me; we were just having fun. Besides, this will help Shirahoshi get used to her legs further.
As we danced, she almost tripped a few times, but I used my powers to prevent her from falling. I had Mansherry dancing with my finger mid-air, and she was unnaturally good at this.
As we danced, I felt a dark energy looming around me, and then I turned to look at Viola, who was still dancing with that man, earning all the gazes since they were quite good at it. But her eyes were glaring at Shirahoshi and me.
'Oh...?~' I didn't say anything to her and kept going.
I danced two pieces with Shirahoshi and Mansherry until the music stopped, and everyone around us applauded and whistled.
"That was amazing!~" Shirahoshi jumped on me and kissed me in front of the crowd, so happy and bubbly.
"Yes, you may have talent for this".
"Alright, you all, the ciesta is over, time to go back to work!" The main musician with a guitar put it away and said to everyone, who then started to disperse.
"Thank you so much, Princess Viola!" They all screamed, it seemed that's the way she came to support them.
"It is okay, everyone. Thanks for working so hard for our kingdom!" Viola thanked them all as they went. But... there was someone who didn't go.
"Uhm, Princess..." The guy who had been dancing with Viola suddenly knelt down in front of all of us. He took out a bouquet of flowers from who knows where.
"Princess, the truth is, I have loved you since–"
"Lord Veyron, let's go!"
She didn't give the man time to finish his sentence; Viola pulled us out of the plaza with hurried steps. Once we were out of the crowd, she let go, looking very anxious.
"Was it okay to leave him like that, Viola?"