Translator: PapaSmurf0700
"Hey! Quit poking me while I'm eating!"
Luffy's cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk's, and Princess Shirahoshi couldn't resist prodding him. Luffy's complaint, though spoken casually, made the giant mermaid's face crumple instantly.
She covered her enormous face with her hands, tears already streaming down her cheeks. "P-Please, Mr. Luffy… don't raise your voice at me. It's scary… No one's ever been angry with me before."
Though Shirahoshi was a colossal mermaid, nearly twelve meters long, she was still a sheltered sixteen-year-old princess. Trapped in this tower for years by the obsessive threats of a deranged suitor, Vander Decken, her emotional resilience was paper-thin.
"Huh?" Luffy stopped chewing, looking at her in genuine surprise. "Why are you crying?"
The heartbroken princess couldn't answer, her sobs shaking her huge frame. If Sanji were here, he'd be a whirlwind of chivalry, doing anything to soothe the beautiful maiden.
But this was Luffy.
"You're huge, but you're still such a crybaby," he said with a laugh. "I don't like crybabies. Hahaha."
"Ehhh!"
His words hit her like a physical blow. "No one has ever said such a mean thing to me… Mr. Luffy, you're so harsh." Her pet shark, Megalo, swam up to Luffy, baring his teeth in a futile attempt to defend her honor.
In that instant, Luffy's eyes sharpened. He vanished.
A massive battle axe, flying from some distant point in the ocean, was hurtling directly toward Shirahoshi.
BOOM!
Luffy reappeared directly in its path. He raised one hand. No Haki, no visible strain. He just… caught it. The colossal axe, far larger than his own body, stopped dead. Compared to the original timeline where he'd struggled with both hands and feet just to divert the weapon, this was an effortless display of power.
The absurd sight stunned both Shirahoshi and Megalo into silence.
CLANG!
The axe dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. Luffy adjusted his straw hat. "Why'd an axe fly in here? That guy must be pretty strong."
"I… I know who sent it," Shirahoshi stammered. Her fear of the axe was momentarily forgotten, replaced by awe at her savior. She told him all about Vander Decken, the threats, and how she'd been forced to live in the Hard-Shell Tower for eight years, never once stepping outside.
"Eight years?! I'd suffocate!" Luffy blurted out.
His words just made Shirahoshi look even sadder. "Usually, only Megalo is here with me. The soldiers who guard me can only stay for five minutes at a time." Her expression shifted, a flicker of curiosity in her giant eyes. "Jinbe told me you're a really powerful pirate, Mr. Luffy. You must have had so many adventures."
She leaned closer, her big, innocent eyes blinking. "Mr. Luffy… you've seen the sun, haven't you? The real sun."
"Yeah, I've seen it," Luffy said, having already returned to the cart of food to resume his meal.
Her face lit up. "Then you must have seen all kinds of flowers, and furry animals, and… and been to a place called a forest!" She spoke faster and faster, a torrent of questions pouring out, desperate to hear about the world she'd only ever dreamed of.
"Whoa, hold on! Too many questions!" Luffy yelled, his mouth full of seaweed. "If you're that curious, why don't you just go outside and see it for yourself?"
"Go outside… and see for myself?" Her tone fell flat. "I can't. I've heard humans on the surface are cruel to merfolk. And Father says there's a powerful force inside me… if I can't control it, it could bring disaster to the world. And the Minister of the Left said… And besides all that, Vander Decken IX is always throwing things at me."
"Even if it's my dream, I can't go out. I'm too scared…"
Perhaps because she hadn't truly spoken to anyone in years, or perhaps because of Luffy's natural ability to inspire trust, Shirahoshi poured out all her deepest fears.
Luffy's response was simple. "Wow, you really are a coward. I still don't like you. Hahaha."
"Ehhh!" Shirahoshi's face went pale. "That's the second time he's said something so mean to me…"
Just as she was about to start crying again, Luffy swallowed the last bite of his meal. He stood up and shouted at her.
"If you have a dream like that, then you have to fight for it!"
"You just listen to what everyone else tells you to do, but you don't have the guts to decide anything for yourself. How's that supposed to work?"
Luffy looked at her, his signature, boundless smile spreading across his face. "A dream is something you risk your life for!"
In that moment, the future queen of the Sea Kings heard, for the first time, the true weight of that word.
"Something… I have to risk my life for?" Shirahoshi muttered to herself, her eyes wide. "Can I… Can I really do that?"
"By the way, you mentioned a power, right?" Luffy suddenly jumped onto her huge tail.
"Eh? Mr. Luffy?" Shirahoshi was flustered as she watched him place a hand on her scales.
"It feels like… it really is an amazing power in here."
After igniting his inner fire through the Soul Tempering Method, Luffy had gained a new perception: the ability to feel the essence of another's soul through physical contact. Right now, he could sense an immense, dormant force hidden within Shirahoshi's timid, trembling body.
"My father and mother said I can communicate with the Sea Kings, but… I've never tried," she whispered, seeing that he meant no harm. "What if I can't control this power…?"
"Why wouldn't you be able to?" Luffy tilted his head, looking at her with genuine confusion. "It's your power, isn't it?"
"Eh?" His simple logic stumped her. It… it did make sense, didn't it? But, having been sheltered her entire life, she could only repeat what she'd been told. "Because… Father said this power is too strong, and that I'm not ready for it yet."
"Is that so?" Luffy nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, right! Bai Ye told me something once. 'Strength comes from the heart…' uh… what was the next part?"
He scratched his head, having completely forgotten the Priest's original words. "Anyway, it means that as long as your heart is strong, you can use strong power. That's pretty much it."