"Sister Gion, goodbye! I'll definitely remember you forever!"
On the bow of Bamboo Staff, Shin-chan bid a tearful farewell to Momousagi as her Marine ship prepared to depart. His voice carried the dramatic weight of a tragic romance, complete with theatrical sniffling.
Today, Gustave had witnessed Shin-chan's legendary seduction abilities in full display. The five-year-old had delivered one smooth line after another, keeping Momousagi giggling and thoroughly charmed throughout her visit.
As Momousagi's mood remained elevated, Shin-chan had reaped considerable rewards. By the time they exchanged their emotional goodbyes, his cherubic face was covered in lipstick marks like a constellation of affection, and he clutched a fragrant silk scarf in his small hands—a parting gift from the smitten Marine Vice Admiral.
"Tom, if you had even half of Shin-chan's natural charm, you wouldn't still be single at your age," Gustave sighed, patting the dejected cat's shoulder with mock sympathy.
While Shin-chan had enjoyed a triumphant day, Tom had suffered a series of devastating defeats. First, Momousagi had completely abandoned him the moment she spotted Yang Chan. Then, when Tom had returned after grooming himself to perfection, Shin-chan had already claimed his position in Momousagi's arms and was basking in her undivided attention.
It would have been bad enough if Tom's romantic pursuits with feline friends had failed, but watching his usually effective cute-factor lose all power with human females was a crushing double blow to his pride.
Tom irritably shook off Gustave's consoling hand and stalked back to his room in a huff, silently vowing never again to rely on adorable antics when it came to matters of the heart.
"Hahaha!" Gustave clutched his stomach, unable to contain his laughter. Not only had he earned a tidy profit today, but witnessing Tom's romantic humiliation had provided endless entertainment. It truly was a wonderful day.
"By the way, Shin-chan, what brought you here alone today?" Gustave finally remembered to ask, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.
Hearing the question, Shin-chan's face immediately fell as he realized his crucial oversight. He'd been so thoroughly distracted by his successful flirtation that he'd completely forgotten the important mission his mom had entrusted to him.
"Brother Gustave! My mom asked me to come invite you all for dinner at our house tomorrow!" Shin-chan announced hurriedly, then immediately scampered toward the Gate of All Worlds on the third floor to make his escape home.
Gustave shook his head with amused resignation. Even though Shin-chan had spent most of the day playing at Bamboo Staff and would only be gone for moments in his own timeline, those telltale lipstick marks and the suspicious scarf would definitely earn him a thorough scolding when Misae spotted them.
Sure enough, although Misae had barely finished waiting, the instant she saw the collection of lip prints decorating Shin-chan's face upon his return, she immediately deduced that her mischievous son had been up to no good during his interdimensional visit. Shin-chan promptly acquired several fresh bumps on his head as proof of his mother's displeasure.
...
The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Gustave and his crew prepared for their visit to Shin-chan's home. Everyone would be making the trip together this time—including the Moral Lord and Chu Zihang. The Moral Lord expressed interest in experiencing another world to deepen his understanding of different universal principles, while Chu Zihang simply felt too lonely remaining alone aboard Bamboo Staff with everyone else gone, leaving him little choice but to join the expedition.
Before passing through the Gate of All Worlds, the Moral Lord presented Po with a recently crafted artifact—an elegant bracelet that glowed with subtle inner light. The moment Po fastened it around his wrist, his adorable panda form transformed into that of a chubby, fair-skinned human in his early 20s, with the same innocent expression and gentle demeanor.
"Po, you look just as wonderfully simple-minded in human form!" Gustave observed with fond amusement, studying Po's new appearance while noting that his essential naive charm remained completely intact.
"Heh heh heh," Po responded, not with words but with his characteristic head-scratching and bashful grin.
Tom showed considerable interest in Po's transformation bracelet, his eyes gleaming with curiosity as he examined the magical accessory. However, when the Moral Lord offered to create a similar item for him, Tom declined with firm dignity. He felt perfectly comfortable with his natural feline appearance and saw no need to disguise himself when visiting the human world.
"Wait for me to establish a protective barrier, then we'll depart," Gustave announced. Since everyone would be leaving and Bamboo Staff ship couldn't be transported to another dimension, he needed to prevent opportunistic pirates from damaging their floating restaurant during their absence. Gustave enveloped Bamboo Staff in a shimmering electromagnetic shield capable of withstanding attacks up to Rear Admiral level—more than sufficient protection given their current location in the relatively peaceful East Blue.
Once the defensive barrier was properly established, Gustave's group passed through the Gate of All Worlds and emerged in Kasukabe, Japan.
Fortunately, Shin-chan's family lived in a detached house with a spacious yard, providing adequate room to accommodate their entire interdimensional visiting party.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Spotting Gustave and the others arriving, Shiro barked happily and bounded toward them with enthusiastic tail wagging.
The sudden dog barking sent Tom into immediate panic mode. He leaped directly onto Gustave and clung to him desperately, trembling while scanning their surroundings with wide-eyed vigilance. The innocent barking had triggered deeply buried traumatic memories of a certain muscular bulldog sporting a menacing red collar.
"Tom, that's just Shiro's friendly greeting," Gustave said with mild exasperation, his voice muffled by the terrified cat wrapped around his head.
Hearing Gustave's explanation, Tom finally realized the source of the barking and gradually relaxed his death grip.
"Phew!" Tom released his hold, slid down from Gustave, and wiped nervous perspiration from his brow.
Tom wasn't actually afraid of small, adorable puppies like Shiro—as evidenced by how boldly he tormented Spike's son Tyke whenever the father wasn't around. It was only the larger, more aggressive canines that triggered his survival instincts.
Hearing Shiro's welcoming barks, Shin-chan opened the front door and spotted Gustave's group approaching.
"Mom! Brother Gustave and everyone are here!" Shin-chan called into the house, alerting Misae to their guests' arrival.
"What?! Mr. Gustave and the others are here already?! But I haven't bought groceries yet!" came Misae's panicked cry from within the house.
After breakfast that morning, Misae had assumed she had plenty of time and decided to take a brief nap before heading out to shop for ingredients. She never anticipated that Gustave's group would arrive so early, catching her completely unprepared.
"I'm terribly sorry! I overslept and didn't expect everyone to arrive so early," Misae apologized as she opened the door, her face flushed with embarrassment but attempting a welcoming smile.
"Mom, this old lady with three layers of belly fat is just too lazy—there's really nothing anyone can do about her!" Shin-chan commented from behind Misae, shaking his head with exaggerated disappointment at his mother's lack of preparation.
BONK!
A bump nearly half the size of his head immediately appeared on Shin-chan's skull.
"Haha, I'm so sorry for the entertainment," Misae said with a strained smile after disciplining her irreverent son.
"It's perfectly fine—we arrived earlier than expected," Gustave replied graciously.
"Ace, Luffy, please give Shin-chan's mother the things we brought," Gustave instructed, gesturing to the brothers carrying several large bags filled with premium seafood from the One Piece world.
"Oh my, this is far too generous!" Misae protested, though her eyes immediately spotted the fresh prawns and crabs visible through the bag openings. Having experienced the extraordinary quality of One Piece world seafood before, she knew exactly how valuable these ingredients were.
"Please, everyone, don't stand at the door—come inside!" Misae invited warmly, then suddenly froze as a horrifying realization struck her.
"Oh no! Shin-chan's toys!"
Indeed, Shin-chan's playthings were scattered across every surface of their living room. Misae had remembered her grocery shopping oversight but completely forgotten about the tornado of toys that had swept through their home.
As predicted, the moment Gustave's group entered the living room, they encountered a battlefield of scattered toys: building blocks, Action Man figures, Gundam model robots, and most prominently displayed, Shin-chan's infamous "Action Mask" action figure in all its anatomically questionable glory.
"Hehe... hehe..." Misae could only stand to the side with the most awkward smile of her entire life.
"What a complete disaster. First I forgot the groceries, now our guests have to see our living room looking like a war zone," she thought miserably, wishing she could disappear through the floor.
"Wow, Shin-chan has so many amazing toys! I definitely wasn't this fortunate when I was a child," Gustave said after a moment of contemplative silence, his voice carrying genuine warmth rather than judgment.
"I've truly embarrassed myself in front of everyone," Misae said, bowing deeply in apology.
"It's perfectly normal—children will be children, after all. Everyone can help, and we'll have this cleaned up in no time," Gustave replied kindly, immediately crouching down to begin gathering the scattered toys. The rest of the group promptly followed his example, turning the cleanup into a collaborative effort.