"Alright, tell me—who are these two?" Jin placed the ingredients on the deck, then looked at Papagu and Camie. "If I'm not mistaken, that girl is a mermaid, right?"
As he spoke, Jin sized them up. It was obvious that both of them were covered in blood…
Hm?
Blood?
Could it be… when he made that Sea King cough up blood, they got spat out along with it?
Had these two just been eaten?
At that thought, Jin's expression turned subtle.
"Sorry!"
"Eh?!"
Papagu looked at Camie in shock. Why was she apologizing?
Jin: ...
Jin stared at Camie speechlessly. Why did he feel like this girl was an airhead?
"Robin?"
"They were just spat out from the sea beast's mouth," Nico Robin explained.
As she spoke, she pointed at the Sea King's corpse nearby, allowing Jin to understand where the blood on them had come from.
Just as he thought—they had indeed been expelled along with the Sea King's blood.
"That's right, thank you so much for saving us," Camie said. "Otherwise, we would've been digested by the sea beast."
"Come to think of it, I get eaten by sea beasts quite often… probably around twenty times by now."
Jin: ???
This girl really is an idiot, isn't she?
Eaten more than twenty times—what kind of situation is that?!
How had she even survived until now?
Not being completely digested by Sea Kings… her luck was absurd.
Could it be… that fools are favored by fortune?
Thinking that, Jin looked at Camie with a complicated expression.
"Meat… meat…"
Glancing at Luffy, who was crouched in front of the Sea King meat and drooling, Jin said, "Sanji, I'll leave this to you."
"Ah~"
"No problem!"
Sanji, still lying on the ground, weakly raised a hand.
"What's wrong with you…"
"Don't bother with him. Let him die," Zoro said disdainfully.
"What did you say?!"
As if a switch had been flipped, Sanji sprang up instantly and began fighting with Zoro.
Papagu: ???
"W-why are they fighting?!"
"Ah, don't mind them," Nami said. "More importantly, I want to know what happened to you two. Why did you get swallowed by a sea beast?"
"If I remember correctly, mermaids swim faster than sea beasts, right?"
"How do you know that?" Jin asked in surprise.
"Kokoro Granny is a mermaid. She once brought Sanji and Zoro out of the water, otherwise they would've drowned."
"Crack—"
At those words, both Sanji and Zoro froze as if struck by lightning.
"Kokoro Granny…"
Zoro's expression changed as memories surfaced—only to be forcibly suppressed.
"…Yeah. I guess that was the first time I saw a mermaid," he muttered.
Meanwhile, Sanji turned pale and collapsed to the ground.
"Why remind me of something so terrifying…" Sanji groaned. "Compared to that memory, Thriller Bark is nothing…"
"You're both so rude!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
An annoyed Nami kicked both Sanji and Zoro.
"Show some gratitude to Kokoro Granny for saving your lives, you idiots!"
"Thank you, Kokoro Granny…"
"Hmph."
Nami snorted and ignored them.
"Kokoro Granny is a mermaid?" Merry asked, puzzled.
"Come to think of it, I didn't know either…" Luffy said, equally confused.
"Of course you didn't," Usopp explained. "You weren't there at the time."
One had been fighting Rob Lucci, and the other hadn't even arrived at Enies Lobby yet.
"Oh… I see."
Luffy nodded in understanding—but when he imagined Kokoro Granny as a mermaid, his face twisted.
"Bang!"
"You idiot, why are you reacting like them too?!"
Nami kicked Luffy aside, clearly irritated.
"Yohohoho, this is my first time seeing a mermaid," Brook said as he approached Camie and crouched down. "Miss Mermaid…"
"Could you lend me… lend me some money?"
Jin: ...
He was definitely going to ask to see her panties, but changed it because she didn't have legs.
"Idiot! What kind of nonsense are you saying?!"
Sanji, fully revived, kicked Brook flying.
"Ah!"
"A moving skeleton!"
"See? You scared her!"
"Yohohoho~" Brook laughed as he returned and opened his skull. "Look, my head can open~ Isn't it interesting?"
To everyone's surprise, Camie didn't panic. Instead, she clapped happily.
"So interesting!"
"Her acceptance level is insane…"
"I think she's just an airhead," Jin commented.
Otherwise, how could she get eaten so many times?
After all… mermaids are faster than sea beasts.
"By the way, do you… uh…"
"Idiot, what are you asking again?!"
Seeing Luffy about to say something inappropriate, Sanji kicked him again.
"Respect the lady, you idiot!"
"Ah, I—"
"Don't answer that!"
"Hahaha."
Nami looked at Sanji helplessly, unsure what to say.
"More importantly, I'm curious why that starfish can talk," Jin said, glancing at Papagu hiding in the corner. "Stop hiding. Your leg is sticking out."
That hiding style was suspiciously similar to Chopper's.
Papagu: ...
"Ahahaha, hello everyone~"
As he walked back, Jin asked, "Are you a mermaid too?"
"Of course not! Only someone like this young lady is a true mermaid!"
Sanji's excitement made Jin break into a cold sweat.
Was that level of enthusiasm really necessary…?
"Papagu isn't a mermaid," Camie explained. "He's a starfish—my pet and my teacher."
"Pet… teacher?"
How did those even go together?
"Then why can he talk?"
"Because I thought I was human when I was young, so I learned how to speak."
Jin: ...
What kind of logic was that?
But considering Devil Fruits existed in this world, a talking starfish didn't seem that strange anymore.
"Right, I forgot to introduce myself," Camie said. "My name is Camie, a kissing gourami mermaid."
"This is Papagu~"
"Yo, nice to meet you all~"
Papagu grinned, pulled out a guitar from somewhere, and started playing while singing incomprehensible lyrics.
Jin's mouth twitched. "Where did that guitar even come from?"
"Camie!!"
Sanji looked at her excitedly. "Does being a kissing gourami mermaid mean you like to—"
"Bang!"
"Shut up, you idiot!"
Nami punched him into the ground before he could finish.
"Too… too scary…"
Papagu trembled, nearly snapping his guitar strings.
But the others didn't care. After all… aside from Merry and Robin, who hadn't been beaten by Nami?
"So why are you both her teacher and her pet?"
"I asked her to keep me," Papagu said, putting away the guitar.
"That's right! Papagu is amazing!" Camie said. "He's a very famous fashion designer on Fish-Man Island!"
She pointed at her clothes. "This T-shirt brand is his design—it's really popular there!"
"So… you became his student to be a designer?"
"Exactly!" Camie smiled brightly. "I want to become a great fashion designer someday!"
"You can do it, Camie!" Sanji immediately got up. "You'll definitely become an amazing designer!"
"Really? Thank you!"
"You're welcome~"
Sanji began twisting his body excitedly.
"By the way, to thank you for saving us, I'll treat you to takoyaki!"
"Takoyaki?!" Luffy lit up. "Really?!"
"Yep!"
"That'll be 500 Beli per person~"
Luffy: ...
Luffy stared blankly. Wasn't this supposed to be a thank-you?
"Idiot!"
Papagu smacked Camie's head. "Do you think this is a business?!"
"Ah!!"
"Sorry, I mixed it up…"
Watching her panic, Jin covered his face.
Confirmed—this girl was definitely a complete airhead.
"This time, it's free!"
"Alright!"
"Let's go eat takoyaki!" Luffy cheered.
"What about this Sea King?" Jin pointed at the massive meat and the body floating in the sea.
Wouldn't it be a waste not to eat it?
"We can eat it tonight," Luffy grinned. "Right, Sanji?"
"Yeah, no problem."
Sanji lit a cigarette. "Sea King meat is special—it won't spoil easily."
The deck portion could go into storage just fine.
As for the rest…
"Jin, can your sealing scroll store that big guy?" Sanji asked.
"It can. But time inside storage-type sealing scrolls isn't stopped. If left too long, it'll still spoil."
"No problem. Luffy will finish it quickly."
"Alright," Jin said. "Can you cut it properly?"
"Yes. Just avoid the organs, or it'll affect the taste. Also drain the blood."
Jin nodded and walked to the side of the ship.
Camie and Papagu watched, confused.
Forget it—better contact Hatchan first.
"Such a huge thing… handling it is troublesome," Jin muttered.
"Shing—"
Drawing the Kusanagi Sword, he infused it with wind chakra and circled the Sea King, searching for the perfect angle.
"Need to avoid the organs…"
"Wind Slash!"
"Shing!"
"Shing!"
Two flying slashes cut the massive Sea King cleanly into three pieces—perfectly avoiding the organs.
"As expected, I'm a genius," Jin chuckled.
He then used Water Release to clean out the blood and organs, washing everything into the sea.
Finally, he took out a sealing scroll and stored the meat.
"Poof—"
A puff of white smoke later, the scroll returned to normal size and was placed back into his ninja pouch.
"This place isn't safe for long…"
Looking at the blood-red sea below, Jin knew it would attract more Sea Kings soon.
No point wasting chakra fighting endlessly.
He sheathed the Kusanagi Sword and returned to the ship.
"Hm?"
"Why do you all look so serious?" Jin asked.
Then he noticed Camie holding a Den Den Mushi.
"Camie's friend has been captured."
"My takoyaki…!" Luffy groaned.
"Is that really what you're worried about right now?!" Sanji yelled.
"Captured?"
Jin's expression darkened.
A mermaid… likely taken as a valuable commodity.
"Sorry, Luffy…" Camie said. "We'll have to postpone the takoyaki. I need to rescue my friend first."
"…Next time, huh…"
"Hey!"
Sanji was speechless.
"You're going to rescue them?" Jin looked at Camie doubtfully. "Are you sure?"
A mermaid who got eaten twenty times…?
Wasn't she just walking into danger?
"This is a trap," Robin said calmly.
"But even if it is, I still have to go!"
Seeing her determination, everyone's expressions changed.
"In that case…" Nami smiled. "Camie, you know how to get to Fish-Man Island, right?"
"Yeah!"
"Then tell us the route, and we'll help you rescue your friend."
"Eh?!"
"Really?!"
"Yes," Luffy grinned. "We'll help."
"And after we rescue him, we'll treat you to takoyaki!"
"Treat?"
"Yes, we're rescuing the takoyaki shop owner," Camie explained.
"The best in the world!"
"That's serious business!!" Luffy shouted. "They stole my takoyaki!"
"Let's go save it—even if it costs our lives!"
"Yeah!!"
"Takoyaki!"
"Takoyaki!"
Nami smiled. "Alright, let's go."
"Wait… where did the Sea King go?!" Camie asked suddenly.
"I stored it."
"Stored it?!"
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"So cool! How did you do that?"
"Because… I'm a ninja."
Camie looked confused, but Papagu was shocked.
"You're a ninja?!"
"You know about them?"
"They're legendary figures only seen in pictures…"
"Wow!" Camie gasped.
"Mr. Ninja, please visit my shop when we reach Fish-Man Island!"
"Sure," Jin smiled.
"Then let's go save your friend first."
"Yeah!"
…
Meanwhile—
At the Flying Fish Riders' base:
"Damn Straw Hat Pirates!!"
"Damn Black Leg Sanji!!"
Duval clenched Sanji's bounty poster, veins bulging.
If not for that face, he wouldn't have been hunted by Marines and bounty hunters!
He used to be just a thug…
But because he looked like Sanji's poster, he was chased relentlessly!
"Bang!"
He smashed a wooden board in rage.
At that moment, Macro brought Hatchan over.
"Boss Duval, good news," Macro said. "We used this fish-man as bait to lure that mermaid."
"She should come soon."
"Mermaid…"
Duval glanced at him coldly.
"You're a fish-man too, right?"
"That doesn't stop us from making money," Macro grinned.
"Go check the situation," Duval ordered.
"Yes!"
As his men left, Duval clenched his fists again.
'Damn Black Leg Sanji!!'
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