After Momousagi departed, Gustave breathed a sigh of relief before leading his crew toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
As they approached their destination, an unexpected situation arose.
"Uncle Gustave! Something's happening up ahead!" Ace shouted from the crow's nest.
Hearing Ace's call, Gustave immediately emerged from the cabin, grabbed his telescope, and peered in the direction Ace indicated.
On the sea not far away, a young girl with vibrant green hair was swimming with remarkable speed. Terror marked her features as she pushed herself faster and faster through the water, pursued by a twenty-meter ship whose crew leered with disgusting grins from the bow.
"Strange... how can that girl swim so fast?" Gustave wondered, puzzled by her unusual aquatic abilities.
After adjusting the telescope's magnification, he discovered the answer. The girl wasn't entirely human—a distinctive pink tail propelled her through the water. She was a mermaid!
"Tom, bring us alongside! We're rescuing her!" Gustave commanded.
If the girl was indeed a mermaid, the pursuing ship had to be a slave ship. Mermaids commanded premium prices at the Sabaody Archipelago's slave auctions.
Hearing Gustave's order, Tom immediately adjusted course toward the slave ship.
"Boss, there's another ship trying to steal our merchandise!" a scrawny subordinate reported to his pot-bellied captain.
"How dare they interfere with my business without knowing who they're dealing with!" the captain roared.
"Men, show them our power!"
At their leader's command, the slavers immediately aimed their cannons at Gustave's ship. With thunderous booms, cannonballs streaked toward the Bamboo Staff.
"I was content to stay out of it, but you had the nerve to strike first. Now you're asking for it!" Gustave's fury erupted at the slavers' boldness.
"Dragon de Tonnerre!"
Gustave raised his hand, conjuring a massive lightning dragon that not only obliterated the incoming cannonballs but continued forward with undiminished power, splitting the slave ship completely in half.
The captain and his crew were immediately swallowed by the whirlpool created by their rapidly sinking ship, removing their scum from the world permanently.
"Amazing!" the little mermaid exclaimed, swimming to the side of Gustave's ship while gazing at him with star-filled eyes after witnessing him destroy her pursuers with a single devastating attack.
"Hey, why do you have a tail?" Luffy approached Gustave's position, staring at the little mermaid with obvious curiosity.
"Idiot, she's a mermaid!" Ace scolded his brother.
"Can you eat mermaids?" Luffy asked with characteristic tactlessness.
"Mermaids are people, not fish!" Ace prepared to smack Luffy but remembered how Kizaru had recently swindled his naive brother and restrained himself.
The little mermaid recoiled in horror at Luffy's words. The slave ship crew had only wanted to capture her for profit, but these people apparently wanted to consume her! She didn't want to escape one danger only to face something worse.
Seeing the mermaid's terrified expression, Gustave kicked Luffy's rear end before reassuring her: "Don't be afraid—we're not bad people."
"This brain-damaged individual is called Luffy. He's an idiot, so don't take him seriously."
Looking at Gustave's warm, handsome face, the little mermaid nodded with apparent understanding before saying: "I know about idiots. Idiots are pitiful, so I won't blame him."
This response left Gustave speechless, forcing him to change subjects: "My name is Gustave. What's yours? Can mermaids come on land?"
"My name is Camie, and yes, I can go on shore."
After this introduction, the little mermaid flicked her tail vigorously and gracefully boarded their ship.
"Wow, that's incredible!" Luffy exclaimed with genuine amazement.
"It's nothing special," Camie replied shyly, pleased by the praise.
"Camie, how did those human traffickers target you? Don't you have adults watching over you?" Gustave asked, concerned. Looking at Camie, who appeared the same age as Luffy or possibly younger, he was confused about why such a young mermaid wasn't safely on Fish-Man Island.
Hearing Gustave's question, Camie acted like a child caught misbehaving—which, of course, she was. She finally whispered: "I heard there are many fun places and delicious food on the surface, so I snuck away from Fish-Man Island when nobody was watching. I didn't expect to encounter those bad people. They tried to capture me the moment they saw me."
Gustave slapped his forehead, realizing this was exactly what he'd suspected—a curious little mermaid who couldn't resist adventure and had ventured out alone.
"Camie, do you know the way back to Fish-Man Island?" Gustave inquired.
A young mermaid like her needed to return to Fish-Man Island as quickly as possible. The Sabaody Archipelago and surrounding waters were essentially paradise for human traffickers.
"Well, those bad people chased me for so long that I got completely lost and can't find my way home," Camie admitted while nervously fidgeting with her hands.
"Then, Camie, would you like to stay with us for a while?" Gustave offered, having little choice. It would be extremely dangerous for such a young mermaid to drift alone in these waters.
"Brother Gustave, you're a good person. I'd be happy to stay with you for now," Camie nodded, having formed an excellent impression of Gustave after he'd rescued her.
Gustave led Camie into the ship's main cabin, where Tom was steering and Po was napping.
Upon seeing Camie, Tom became quite curious, immediately approaching to examine her carefully. This was his first encounter with a real mermaid—previously, his archnemesis Jerry had only impersonated one to play tricks on him.
Watching Tom's inquisitive expression, Gustave was about to warn him not to frighten Camie, but discovered that she was equally curious about them. The two simply stared at each other with wide, fascinated eyes.
"Camie, this is Tom—he's a cat," Gustave finally provided introductions.
"So this is a cat! I've heard my sisters talk about them!" Camie recalled her sisters on Fish-Man Island describing various land-dwelling species.
"Tom is so adorable! May I hug him?" Camie asked Gustave hopefully.
"You'll need to ask Tom directly," Gustave replied, unable to make decisions for his feline friend.
Camie turned to Tom, preparing to speak, but he nodded before she could ask. Generally, Tom showed great tolerance toward cute children—except for the perpetually troublesome Luffy.
After receiving permission, Camie hugged Tom excitedly, though she maintained proper restraint unlike the female marines at Marine Headquarters. She displayed the manners of a well-raised young mermaid.
At that moment, Po turned over in his sleep, and Camie noticed the rotund black and white figure nearby.
"Brother Gustave, is that also a cat?" Camie asked, pointing toward the slumbering Po.
"That's Po. He's not a cat but a giant panda. When he wakes up, you can hug him just like you did with Tom," Gustave said affectionately, gently stroking Camie's hair.
"Yes!" Camie nodded happily, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.