Chapter 268: A Trembling Prophecy! The Mermaid Café and the Shattered Crystal Ball
Led by Camie and Pappag.
The Straw Hat carried Sanji, who was still gushing blood from his nose like a human fountain, as they twisted and turned through the maze-like, intricate coral reef paths.
Relying on the merfolk's natural familiarity with the terrain, they finally managed to shake off the large number of Neptune Army troops that were pursuing them without incident.
The group ran all the way, finally arriving at the place where Camie usually worked.
It was the "Mermaid Café," located in the most bustling area of Fish-Man Island.
Pushing open the shell-decorated door, they met the manager of the establishment.
She was a giant shortfin mako shark mermaid with short black hair, named "Madam Shyarly."
She wore a black robe, her temperament lazy and mysterious.
The group scrambled to settle the blood-depleted Sanji onto the wide, soft sofa in the café.
The crisis had just passed, but Luffy felt no tension; he rubbed his shriveled belly and loudly complained about being hungry without a care in the world.
Zoro, however, kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, his sharp gaze scanning the café's surroundings, vigilant against potential dangers.
Usopp, with a face full of smiles, bowed and scraped, apologizing profusely to Madam Shyarly.
He explained that they absolutely did not intend to barge in and cause trouble, but just wanted to borrow a place to stay for a while and would leave once the heat died down.
Madam Shyarly's cold eyes swept over this group of uninvited guests.
She recognized them at a glance as the Straw Hat, who had a staggering bounty on their heads.
She did not speak, simply bringing her long pipe to her lips, taking a deep puff, and then exhaling slowly.
This non-committal attitude served as tacit approval for the pirates' brief stay.
Afterward, Chopper jumped onto the sofa with his medical kit on his back, anxiously performing a full-body examination on Sanji.
As soon as he finished, the little reindeer's face turned deathly pale.
He shouted in a panic: "This is bad! Sanji's blood loss has reached a life-threatening level!"
"His blood pressure is dropping rapidly! If he doesn't get a blood transfusion immediately, Sanji will actually die from blood loss!"
Hearing this terrible news, the group was instantly thrown into a panic.
Camie looked troubled and, with some reluctance, explained the cruel law of Fish-Man Island to everyone.
Because of the long-standing hatred forged by the history of humans' frantic hunting and enslavement of the Fishman race.
Fishmen and merfolk were strictly forbidden from donating blood to humans; this was an inviolable iron rule on Fish-Man Island.
Although the other mermaid waitresses in the café sympathized with the critically ill human chef.
Facing such a strict law, they all looked at each other, not daring to defy the iron rule to offer help.
Watching Chopper spinning in circles with tears welling up in his eyes, Tatsuya sighed and stepped forward.
"Let me try, Chopper."
Tatsuya extended his right hand, and a layer of vibrant green Chakra light, full of life, instantly shimmered over his palm.
Mystical Palm Technique activated.
Tatsuya placed his glowing palm steadily onto Sanji's chest.
A vast and immense life force, like sweet rain, instantly infused into Sanji's body.
He forcibly stabilized his rapidly fading vital signs, allowing Sanji's originally pale complexion to regain a hint of color.
"His heartbeat and blood pressure have stabilized!"
Chopper exclaimed in surprise, but then frowned.
"However, this power still cannot conjure matching blood out of thin air."
"To get him to recover quickly, he still needs a blood transfusion with the same blood type!"
Without delay, Chopper and Franky immediately rushed out of the café to search the streets for a human with the same blood type.
Fortunately, they hadn't been out long before they caught two Okama pirates who just happened to be passing by at a street corner.
Under Franky's "physical persuasion," the two successfully extracted enough blood for Sanji's transfusion, resolving this absurd life-threatening crisis.
After the crisis was resolved, peace returned to the café.
Madam Shyarly leaned back in her lounge chair, smoking her pipe, lazily observing this legendary group of "madmen."
Camie walked over with coffee and introduced her solemnly to everyone:
"Everyone, don't underestimate the manager."
"Madam Shyarly is the most famous fortune teller on Fish-Man Island, possessing a 100% accurate divination ability."
"She once accurately predicted the opening of the Great Pirate Era!"
Upon hearing the words "100% accurate," Nami, who had been sitting to the side drinking juice, saw her beautiful big eyes instantly light up.
She set down her cup, rested her chin on her hands, and recalling those three months on Skypiea, a faint blush couldn't help but rise to her cheeks.
Nami thought excitedly to herself: "100% accurate?"
"Does that mean I could ask her to help predict how many children Tatsuya and I will have in the future?"
"Will they be boys or girls..."
Just as Nami was lost in her pink bubble of thoughts, Madam Shyarly spoke up on her own initiative.
She indicated that she had originally intended to break her rule and divine the future fortunes of the focal point of the new era—Monkey D. Luffy.
However, Luffy refused without a moment's hesitation.
He put his hands lazily behind his head, grinned broadly, and said: "I don't want to know!"
"If I knew what was going to happen in future adventures ahead of time, it wouldn't be any fun at all!"
Madam Shyarly, having been rejected, exhaled a white ring of smoke, her eyes becoming somewhat inscrutable.
Then, she slowly turned her gaze toward Tatsuya, who had been sitting quietly beside Nami.
When Tatsuya noticed her gaze and opened his eyes, Madam Shyarly instantly felt an inexplicable and intense palpitation.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, an irrepressible and intense curiosity welling up for this group of unconventional young people.
Out of a fortune teller's instinct to peek into fate, Madam Shyarly turned around.
She quietly took out her prized fortune-telling crystal ball, wanting to bypass Luffy's refusal and secretly see through this group, especially Luffy's fate on this island.
Rich white mist began to churn inside the crystal ball.
Madam Shyarly lowered her head, her deep gaze fixed on the sphere.
At first, the image inside the crystal ball was just a blur of confusion, as if a powerful force was interfering with the path of fate.
But then, the mist cleared, and she saw a terrifying scene that made her scalp tingle.
In the divined image, the entire beautiful and rich Fish-Man Island was engulfed in raging, world-destroying flames.
Ryugu Palace, symbolizing the highest power of Fish-Man Island, collapsed and crumbled in the fierce fire, turning into ruins.
And in the center of that boundless sea of fire, Monkey D. Luffy, wearing his Straw Hat, stood with his back to the image, quietly standing atop the charred ruins.
But that was not the scariest part.
Above Luffy in the image, the entire deep blue sky of the deep sea was completely swallowed by an endless darkness.
In that absolute darkness, which seemed capable of crushing all laws, a terrifying eye, as huge as a star and covered in concentric pale purple ripples, slowly opened.
That eye was coldly looking down at the burning Fish-Man Island!
Madam Shyarly widened her eyes in terror, the scales all over her body trembling.
The pipe she usually held tightly in her hand fell onto the hard floor with a "clatter," scattering ash everywhere.
"Hiss—!"
She let out an uncontrollable gasp of cold air.
At the same time, the crystal ball that bore the prophecy, under the strain of that intense premonition impact, had a glaring crack appear directly on its surface.
"Crack!"
The crisp sound of glass shattering was exceptionally harsh in the originally quiet café, instantly startling everyone.
Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at the manager, who was trembling uncontrollably in her disarray.
"What happened?"
"What's wrong, Madam Shyarly?"
Seeing the crystal ball crack, Camie ran forward in a panic to ask.
On the other side, Tatsuya, sitting on the sofa, seemed to have keenly sensed something.
He did not feel angry about being spied upon.
On the contrary, Tatsuya tilted his head slightly, his gaze crossing over the crowd, looking smilingly at the pale-faced Madam Shyarly.
On his handsome face, the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a meaningful arc.
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