"All thanks to the chaos Hody caused. I wonder what happened to him." Vander Decken thought of his partner.
A fishman beside him said, "That guy failed to kill Queen Otohime. He might already be dead."
"That's such a shame. I was planning to send him a wedding invitation," Vander Decken said regretfully. It wasn't often he had someone he could actually send one to.
Another fishman added, "He's to blame for being useless. If he had killed Queen Otohime, he wouldn't have nearly ruined the captain's plan."
"As expected of our captain, to be able to think of a way to approach Princess Shirahoshi in that situation!" another fishman flattered.
"Bahaha! It wasn't easy squeezing through that crowd, but I managed to snatch a strand of her hair during the chaos," Vander Decken said proudly. He carefully put on a glove over his right hand, making sure not to touch anyone else by accident.
His men showered him with more flattery. Vander Decken, smug, declared, "After reading my love letter, Princess Shirahoshi must already be in love with me."
One of his men pointed out bluntly, "But Captain, the princess doesn't even know who you are, right?"
"Eh?!" Vander Decken froze. Right, Shirahoshi had never even seen his handsome face before. Even if he signed the letter, she wouldn't know what he looked like.
"This won't do. In that case, I'll just send her a photo! Bahaha!"
After much rummaging, he found what he believed was his most dashing photo and tossed it out.
…
That night, the photo flew into Ryugu Palace—landing right at the base of Tom's tail.
Fast asleep, Tom felt a smack on his butt. He jolted awake, looked back, and found something stuck there.
He peeled it off, glanced at it, tossed it aside without care, yawned, and burrowed back into Zhang Da Ye's blanket.
In his sleep, Zhang Da Ye hugged his "pillow" tighter and rolled over.
"This is why people who toss and turn in bed shouldn't sleep with pets."
The next morning, Zhang Da Ye expertly shook Tom to return him to normal size.
By now, Tom was used to it. It didn't hurt anyway, so whatever.
"Huh? What's this?" Zhang Da Ye noticed the photo on the floor.
It showed a man with four pant legs in green overalls, a yellow cape, a little top hat, hunched shoulders, messy hair, and a pose he clearly thought was cool.
"This looks like Vander Decken. Where did this photo come from?"
Tom shook his head. He truly didn't know. Yesterday, while they were talking about Devil Fruits, he was distracted thinking about the grilled fish he'd left outside. He probably thought the wind had blown it in.
Never mind that there was no wind inside Ryugu Palace.
"Forget it. We can give this to Neptune to make a wanted poster."
But then Zhang Da Ye frowned. Wait—there shouldn't be any photos of Vander Decken inside Ryugu Palace. Did he throw this in himself?
And why did it land in his room?
As he puzzled over it, an envelope slipped through the door crack and smacked Tom in the face.
Tom ripped it off and saw the words: "To Princess Shirahoshi."
Tilting his head, Tom tore it open, while Zhang Da Ye leaned closer to read.
"My dearest Princess Shirahoshi, this is a love letter I stayed up all night writing. My love for you is as deep as the dark abyss of the sea itself. Can you feel it? You must be moved! After seeing my handsome photo, surely you've already fallen in love with me. So please, marry me!"
It was signed: Vander Decken IX.
Zhang Da Ye: "…"
What awful handwriting. What awful lines. Couldn't he at least hire a grade-school class rep to ghostwrite for him?
Like hell this would move anyone. And sure enough, that photo was from him.
But the biggest issue was—had he marked Tom instead of Shirahoshi? Yesterday, the love letter reached Shirahoshi only because she happened to be playing with Tom.
What a disaster.
"Tom, did anyone weird touch you yesterday?" Zhang Da Ye asked. Maybe Vander Decken had grabbed the wrong person in the chaos?
Tom tilted his head, thought about it, then nodded and shook his head at the same time, meaning maybe someone had, but he couldn't remember.
"Forget it. Let's tell the others first." Zhang Da Ye gave up. Tom was too unreliable—he sometimes didn't even notice when his tail got chopped off, let alone someone brushing against him.
…
"What? The one marked wasn't Shirahoshi, but the little cat?" Neptune's face immediately lit up with relief, though he quickly tried to compose himself. "Ahem. Still, the letter and photo were meant for Shirahoshi. Minister of the Left, copy this photo and issue a nationwide wanted notice!"
The minister accepted the order.
The Minister of the Right said, "Your Majesty, yesterday's search turned up nothing. Even with a photo today, he might already have fled Fishman Island."
"Then that's all we can do for now. Also, send patrols to search the seas outside," Neptune ordered. There weren't many places to look if the man was hiding in some deep-sea crevice.
Queen Otohime wasn't present that day. Concerned Vander Decken might throw something dangerous, Neptune had her and Shirahoshi take shelter in the Hard-Shell Tower, Ryugu's strongest fortress. Even Neptune himself couldn't break it.
Don't think Neptune was weak—his size alone rivaled a giant, and he was a master of Fishman Jujutsu. He only seemed unimpressive in the original events because of his age and declining stamina.
Now that Shirahoshi wasn't the target, she could safely come out again.
After finishing the arrangements, Neptune beamed and leaned in close to Tom. "Little kitty—ah no, Mr. Tom, is there anything you'd like to eat? I'll have the kitchen prepare it right away. Oh, and since Shirahoshi went fishing with you yesterday, from now on, you can catch as many fish in Ryugu as you like. Or—shall I bring you a whale?"
This was someone who had saved Shirahoshi from great danger. He absolutely had to repay that debt. And Artoria had even taken a bullet for Queen Otohime. Neptune felt the favors piling up.
Zhang Da Ye hugged Tom and took a step back. Having a face that big shoved so close was unnerving. Honestly, Neptune looked like he was about to serve Tom a last meal.
Tom, however, didn't mind at all. His eyes glazed over as he rubbed his paws together, drooling while imagining fish served steamed, braised, and fried.
"No problem!" Neptune waved for a servant. "Prepare every dish he wants immediately."
A few seconds later, Neptune froze in thought. Why could he understand Tom's desires so clearly? And in such detail?
Could it be… he had awakened a power stronger than Otohime's Observation Haki?
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