As the Dodo Advance dived into the deep sea, Sherwin and the others returned to Fish-Man Island once again with practiced ease.
Just like last time, King Neptune and the three princes were waiting early at the entrance to Fish-Man Island, and this time, Jinbe was also present.
When he saw Shirahoshi stepping off the Dodo Advance looking perfectly fine, Sherwin could clearly sense King Neptune and Fukaboshi letting out a collective, silent sigh of relief.
Tch! It was just that everyone felt repeating a prank they'd already pulled wouldn't be any fun.
Sherwin curled his lip, but a mischievous, "watching-the-show" smile quickly spread across his face.
Because...
Weren't there other "good tidings" waiting for King Neptune?
Sherwin didn't even need to guide the conversation. After returning to Ryugu Palace with King Neptune and the others, Shirahoshi immediately took the initiative to push Dellinger in front of her father and brothers. She began gushing non-stop, introducing her newly made best friend.
Even without Sherwin doing a thing, the expressions on the faces of King Neptune and the others shifted from relieved smiles to looks of guarded suspicion.
Furthermore, how could the Hunter, who was already looking for a bit of fun, resist throwing a hand in?
And so, Sherwin waited for the perfect opening and casually chimed in—
"Right, right. This kid barely even pays attention to our cute cats he only wants to be around Shirahoshi."
The moment those words left his mouth, it wasn't just King Neptune and the three princes—even Jinbe and the Left and Right Ministers instantly changed countenance.
The kind and lovely Shirahoshi had been watched over by them since she was a child. To these high-ranking officials of the Ryugu Kingdom, she was no different from their own daughter.
The three princes immediately crowded around with "enthusiasm," subtly moving to partition Dellinger away from Shirahoshi.
"Are you a half-fishman who has been stranded outside? This is quite rare, as most humans are not very friendly toward our fishman race... You must have had a hard time out there, right?"
Although they were quite displeased with this fellow who was eyeing their younger sister, the Neptune family was far too kind, so Sherwin did not see the scene he had been hoping for.
Fukaboshi even inquired with great concern about Dellinger past and proactively offered comfort: "You can rest easy now that you have reached Fishman Island. There is no discrimination against your identity as a half-fishman here."
The concern shown by the three princes was not insincere. Dellinger, who had already begun to change slightly under the influence of Shirahoshi, was naturally touched upon sensing this.
However, before his touched sentiment could last for even a moment, he heard Fukaboshi speak again:
"That being said, you probably don't know Fishman Karate or Fishman Jujutsu. That won't do. For the period to come, the three of us brothers will teach you the combat styles of our fishman race!"
With that, the three Neptune brothers grabbed Dellinger, who hadn't yet realized what was happening, and swiftly departed the area.
"Father, did I say something wrong just now? Why do you all seem a bit angry?"
Shirahoshi, who also didn't understand the situation, looked completely dazed and continued to diligently "add fuel to the fire" for Dellinger:
"Dellinger has really started to become a better person, and since he the same age as me, he hasn't actually done too many wrong things following Doflamingo yet."
"The three princes haven't taught many people before, so I'll go lend a hand as well. Besides, that kid used to be a pirate, so he should have plenty in common with Aladine and the others."
Jinbe spoke to King Neptune with a serious expression, then chased after the three Neptune brothers.
"Eh? Eh? Eh?!"
Shirahoshi head became even more muddled. Why was it that instead of everyone calming down, they seemed even angrier?
It was finally Jinx, sitting atop her head, who couldn't stand to watch any longer. The little blue Felyne patted Shirahoshi head with a paw and interrupted the mermaid princess, who still wanted to say something, with a look of helplessness.
"Just hurry up and shut your mouth. If you keep talking, that idiot Dellinger really is going to be killed by you, meow."
(ω)
"How could this be..."
Shirahoshi was no fool. Although she hadn't yet grasped the specific reasons, she could still discern the general cause and effect of the situation.
She could only pout aggrievedly and look with deep resentment at her father, who seemed to be acting out for some unknown reason.
As a devoted daughter-lover, King Neptune immediately panicked. Ignoring the need to attend to Sherwin and the other guests, he rushed over to Shirahoshi side to coax her with gentle words.
Although it was somewhat different from what Sherwin had expected, this kind of family comedy was quite entertaining to watch.
Naturally, he had no objections, leisurely petting the Felynes while eating the food prepared by the fishmen and continuing to enjoy the show.
...
With some time remaining before the start of the Levely, Sherwin and the Felynes spent their days wandering around Fishman Island and occasionally heading up to Sabaody Archipelago to have some fun.
In truth, the people of Sabaody Archipelago did not exactly welcome Sherwin arrival, because every time he showed up, the island business suffered.
Not only would a segment of the more cautious pirates choose to leave as quickly as possible, but the industries related to slavery suffered even greater losses.
Even though Joker had already been taken out by him, other people had stepped in to fill the void on the very day the news spread, continuing to maintain these underground slave trades.
Not to mention, the Human Auction House here in Sabaody Archipelago had the backing of the Celestial Dragons, so the slave business here was hardly affected by Doflamingo death at all.
However, Sherwin arrival was a completely different matter. Although he did not want to move against the Auction House for the time being to avoid a direct confrontation with the World Government, he showed no mercy toward the slave traders, and the Celestial Dragons couldn't care less about their lives.
The slave traders, knowing this, naturally weren't foolish enough to stay and wait for death. After learning that Sherwin was on his way, they all fled and hid outside, just like last time.
If Sherwin wanted to deal with them, he would have to find an opportunity later to use Dodo Advance for a surprise attack.
However, without addressing the root cause, the effect of doing so wouldn't really differ from the current situation as soon as he killed them, others would immediately step in to take their place.
Therefore, Sherwin heart remained quite calm upon learning that those slave traders had left again.
Aside from that group, Rayleigh was also not on the island this time. It was unclear if he truly hadn't returned at all, as Shakky claimed, or if he was intentionally avoiding Sherwin...
Well, considering Rayleigh personality, the first possibility was likely higher.
He might have even gone to find Ace.
Over on Fish-Man Island, although Dellinger was taken by the three sister-complex mermen for rounds of "instruction," it didn't hinder his pace of integration.
After all, being royalty of the Ryugu Kingdom, they weren't exactly capable of being "villains." Their so-called strict teaching was, in Dellinger eyes, actually very "gentle."
One must remember that this kid previous instructors were the likes of Lao G and Gladius—men who would beat someone within an inch of their life for the slightest mistake.
After the brutal training of the Donquixote Family, how could the Fish-Men level of training be anything but gentle to him?
The only thing that made Dellinger somewhat unhappy was likely the fact that the number of times he met with Shirahoshi had significantly decreased.
Moreover, after barely exchanging a few words during a meeting, he would be dragged away by those three sister-complex brothers using various excuses.
In addition, Jimbei also took Robin to see a piece of Poneglyph information he had recently found.
According to him, it was found in the "town" where those Sea Beasts lived while resolving a dispute between them.
Sherwin recalled carefully that there was such an incident in the manga cover stories in the manga, he should have handed this Poneglyph over to BIG MOM, who later protected Fish-Man Island.
In this way, the time for the Reverie quickly arrived, and the Marines responsible for leading the way arrived at Fish-Man Island early.
The Marines leading the way were also old acquaintances of Sherwin.
"Iron Fist" Garp,
And...
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"