The members of the Straw Hat crew were each accommodated and warmly welcomed.
Sanji had constant nosebleeds, his eyes glued to the mermaids.
"Luffy, my dream has come true! I have no regrets in this life!!"
Pffff!
"Sanji! Weren't you after the ALL BLUE?" Chopper shouted frantically. "Someone call a doctor! Sanji's bleeding too much! Ah—wait, I'm the doctor…!"
"Really, it's just a nosebleed…" Law rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"Hahaha."
Luffy couldn't help but laugh. "You can stay here if you want, Sanji."
He wouldn't stop anyone who wished to leave.
Well, except for Nami and her girls.
After a brief bit of fun, everyone enjoyed the food.
Luffy conveniently opened up the Adventure Shop—something he checked every single day.
Looking over his adventure coin balance, he felt full of confidence and decided it was time to stop hoarding them.
After four consecutive spins, he finally saw the item he wanted.
[Emptying Fruit]: Upon eating, the effect of any Devil Fruit will be erased, and 99% of the spent adventure coins will be returned.]
[Price: 1000 Adventure Coins.]
A brand-new product!
This was the first time Luffy had seen such a fruit.
His eyes lit up. "So it lets me recycle adventure coins? That's right—if anyone from my crew leaves, the coins I worked so hard to save won't be wasted, huh?"
Adventure Coins: 1000
Keep reading.
[Awakening Fruit (Gift Box)]: A three-in-one gift box that guarantees 100% awakening of a Devil Fruit's power upon consumption. (No chance of failure)]
[Price: 50,000 Adventure Coins.]
Unpayable. Skip.
The next items were all familiar.
A Rokushiki Fruit? Buy it.
A Haki Fruit Box? Buy.
And finally—another Blank Fruit!
If you've got the coins, keep upgrading!
Luffy spotted three more worthwhile items.
Awakening Fruit—only 10,000. Buy!
Large Gift Box with Height Fruit—just 3000. Buy!
Healing Fruit—100. Buy!
[Adventure Coins]: 39145 → 17645
[Inventory]: Haki Fruit x11; Haki Fruit x7; Longevity Fruit x3; Emptying Fruit x1; Blank Fruit x1; Awakening Fruit x1; Height Fruit x11; Healing Fruit x1
He had spent more than 20,000 adventure coins in one go… Half on an Awakening Fruit, the other half on a Blank Fruit.
Forget it. The New World lay ahead, and a steady income of 3000 adventure coins per day was guaranteed.
With that in mind, Luffy closed the shop, satisfied.
Observing the lively banquet atmosphere, he quietly got up and left.
No one was alarmed.
Sanji, with Chopper's help, recovered quickly—two napkins stuffed in his nose.
Yet every time a mermaid passed, he bled all over again.
"Stop it, Sanji! You'll bleed to death!"
"It's fine, Chopper. This is how I wish to die!"
"No… Don't you see the disgusted looks on their faces?" Usopp rolled his eyes.
"Hehe."
Robin couldn't help but chuckle. She turned toward the king. "King Neptune, our captain said there's a Poneglyph here on Fishman Island. Is that true?"
"Poneglyph? Ah, you mean that square stone." Neptune placed a hand to his chest, nodded, and replied: "It's in the Sea Forest."
After a pause, he asked in surprise: "You can understand that script?"
"Yes."
Robin admitted openly. "Back on Sky Island, I saw another Poneglyph. It said there's an Ancient Weapon here on Fishman Island—Poseidon."
Neptune's expression changed.
"The weapon that controls the Sea Kings… is really here?"
"Shirahoshi is not a weapon!"
Neptune's tone was sharp, then he realized he had let something slip. His forehead instantly broke into a cold sweat.
"Shirahoshi?"
Robin picked up on the key word, her eyes curving like crescent moons. "Could you explain in detail, King Neptune?"
---
At the same time—
Luffy left the banquet hall and walked until he reached a massive stone gate.
The towering gate was slightly ajar, leaving a crack that revealed pure darkness within.
Scattered around the stone gate were swords, axes, and spears haphazardly stuck into the walls.
"Don't they know how to clean up the princess's residence? Having all these weapons jammed in the walls… really shameful."
Luffy cursed inwardly, extended his hand, and pushed the gate open.
He slipped through the back entrance and shut it quietly behind him.
"Who's there?"
The voice was shrill.
"Monkey D. Luffy."
Luffy grinned awkwardly.
Suddenly, there was a faint tapping sound, as if searching for something, and the next moment, light dispersed the darkness.
A massive mermaid, nearly 10 meters tall, appeared before him.
She had long, voluminous pink hair, with a lock pinned by a taiyaki-shaped clip filled with anko.
This was Shirahoshi.
She lay on a huge, shell-like bed, wearing shell-shaped earrings. Her eyes were large, shining like sapphires.
She wore a yellow pearl-studded top with a plunging neckline, straps widening across the back of her neck. She also had mollusk earrings, a jeweled chain across her waist with cloth draped at the front. Her long tail was striped in pale pink and red.
It was clear this princess had a fondness for pink.
At that moment, as she looked at the uninvited guest before her, tears welled up in her large eyes.
"Y-you… you're here to kill me?"
She spoke fearfully, using honorifics.
"Nope, just here to take you out for some fun."
Luffy laughed. "Don't worry, you'll be safe with me. Your stalker can't do anything."
"Huh?" Shirahoshi stopped crying instantly.
Out for fun?!
Her heart skipped a beat, though she quickly shook her head.
She had been confined in this tower for years. Though she longed for the outside world, she couldn't risk leaving.
"You don't believe me? Just know—I'm your father's guest."
"You're a pirate?" Shirahoshi tilted her head curiously. Compared to her enormous body, Luffy looked tiny.
"You're so young." She couldn't help but laugh.
Perhaps instinctively, she felt no danger and relaxed.
"Young?"
Luffy smirked and instantly transformed into his Nika form.
In seconds, he was towering over Shirahoshi.
Shirahoshi's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief as she covered her mouth. "You got bigger!? Do all humans grow like that?!"
"Men do grow bigger, but I'm really good at getting big and stiff."
Luffy answered solemnly.
Unfortunately, Shirahoshi didn't understand his words.
"Really? That's amazing!"
Her eyes sparkled with pure excitement.
Luffy: "…"
Her pure innocence completely outshone Luffy's dirty joke.
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."