"What's going on?"
Shano noticed something and looked puzzled.
Nami raised her head weakly.
Her expression was full of grievance. Before she could speak, two maids from the Dragon Palace happened to pass by with Princess Shirahoshi's fat shark, Mekaro.
Seeing Nami, the two mermaid girls were so frightened their eyes nearly popped out. They flailed their arms and screamed:
"Ahh! It's the pet-eating demon!"
"Run! Mekaro, why are you standing there? You're the one who should run the fastest!"
"If you get eaten, Her Highness the Princess will cry her eyes out!"
The two girls and the shark bolted and disappeared in a flash.
"..."
Shano turned his head and looked at Nami, who was already expressionless. He suddenly understood something and was also a little speechless.
This poor girl—why does the Navy's intelligence department always target her? She finally gets recognized by the bounty department, but the title is messed up again.
He could only gently pat Nami's head to comfort her.
"Brother."
Nami looked at Nuomici, wanting to cry but unable to. "Do you think this little guy will evolve again?"
Shano looked at her with sympathy but said nothing.
But that look was already the best answer.
It's over!
Nami really felt like crying this time.
Why does it have to evolve again? What if next time the Navy Headquarters thinks she ate a dog again?
"Pet-eating demon"… this damn title, how can she ever shake it off?
Thinking of that little newspaper boy, who looked like he'd seen a ghost when he saw her—so scared he didn't even dare to take her money when she bought a paper…
Nami was both embarrassed and angry. Why is the Navy Intelligence Division always making up these ridiculous stories?
Damn it!
In the wanted poster photo, she was clearly eating cotton candy! Cotton candy!!
…
After everyone arrived, the banquet soon began.
The hall was brightly lit, and the chefs of Ryugu Palace served all kinds of delicate, fragrant, and unique dishes.
Everyone had been hungry, and under Shano's lead, they dug in without holding back.
The banquet was joyful for both hosts and guests.
Princess Shirahoshi originally sat shyly beside Neptune, her head lowered and too timid to speak. But after Nami and Nokiko took the initiative to chat with her, she slowly opened up and began laughing from time to time.
Neptune saw this and couldn't help but take a sip of wine, his eyes full of relief.
"Come to think of it, Shirahoshi, now that Vanda Decken is arrested, you're finally free." Nami, in a much better mood, leaned her chin on her hand and smiled. "Where do you most want to go?"
"Um, let me think..."
Shirahoshi tilted her head and then blushed a little. "There are lots of places I want to go, but the first would be Sea Forest. My mother is buried there… but I've always been too scared to go visit her..."
"This isn't your fault, Shirahoshi!"
"We're the ones who wouldn't let you leave the Hard Shell Tower. You should blame us!"
The eldest prince Sharkstar and the second prince Royalstar quickly said.
"Sea Forest..." Robin murmured, "What a coincidence. I just came from there."
"You found the Poneglyph?" Shano asked, cutting in.
Robin was a bit surprised, turned to look at him, then smiled. "Nothing escapes the captain."
"I'm just guessing."
Shano shrugged. He had almost forgotten there was a Poneglyph on Fishman Island. It was Robin's unconcealed joy at the banquet that reminded him.
But they already had one Poneglyph on the ship.
The one on Fishman Island was too large to move anyway. A rubbing would be enough.
"Rather than a Poneglyph, it's more like a letter of apology from someone called Joy Boy for failing to keep his promise to a mermaid princess."
Robin glanced at Neptune.
"…"
Neptune was stunned.
How did this girl know? Looking at Robin's face, he felt more and more familiar. Suddenly, it hit him: "I remember now—you're from Ohara, right?"
Robin nodded. Since she had Shano's protection, she no longer needed to hide her identity.
No wonder.
Neptune sighed with emotion.
Joy Boy… that name hadn't been spoken in a long time…
Eight hundred years had passed, and fishmen and merfolk were still trapped 10,000 meters beneath the sea. The dream of returning to the surface was still far off. When would the next Joy Boy appear?
Would it be him?
Neptune looked at Shano.
The young man was eating with joy, gazing off toward the Hard Shell Tower, lost in thought.
This youth had already made a name for himself on the sea. Even Rayleigh was defeated by him, and the admirals couldn't do anything to him. He was about to become the strongest man below the Four Emperors.
And he helped Fishman Island without asking for anything in return. His character was trustworthy.
Could he be the next Joy Boy?
Who could say for sure?
Neptune didn't know—but one thing was certain: once Shano left Fishman Island and entered the New World…
…the entire sea would likely witness the most violent upheaval since the Great Pirate Era began.
"Your Majesty Neptune?"
Robin's voice pulled him back to reality.
"Ah, sorry, I was lost in thought."
Neptune smiled and raised his glass. "Come, let's toast to today's perfect victory, and give our thanks to Mr. Shano and Brother Jack!"
"Cheers!"
Everyone laughed and raised their glasses.
Clink!
…
As the night deepened, the Ryugu Palace banquet ended.
They had already bought a New World Log Pose. Shano originally intended to leave that night, but Neptune was too hospitable and insisted they stay one more night.
The crew stayed in the left side hall of the palace, while the right side hall had been transformed into Shirahoshi's new bedroom.
Without the threat of Vanda Decken, and finally getting to sleep outside the Hard Shell Tower, Shirahoshi slept soundly.
So soundly, she didn't hear the rumbling sound behind the adjacent hall… as something slowly rose from underground...
…
The next morning, Neptune and the three princes personally escorted Shano and his crew to the island's exit.
Princess Shirahoshi followed behind, her long pink hair flowing gently, eyes full of sadness.
"Are you really… leaving?" she asked her two new friends in a soft voice.
"Yeah."
Nami smiled and reached up on tiptoe to pat Shirahoshi's… tail. "Don't be sad! We'll visit again next time!"
"That's right!" Nokiko smiled and nodded. "Next time we'll even bring a gift!"
Shirahoshi's eyes lit up, and she nodded hard. "It's a promise! Don't break it!"
The three girls made a pinky promise. Kuina stood at the bow, arms crossed, watching them. Smoker came up beside her and said quietly:
"Hey, you had a good chat with Shirahoshi last night. Why not join them now? As the vice-captain, you shouldn't be so reserved all the time!"
"Shut it."
Kuina didn't even look at him and punched back.
Smoker screamed as he flew ten meters, slammed into the guardrail, and winced in pain.
Damn…
When he first joined, he could still spar evenly with her. Now, the gap was widening!
Was there any timeline where he was the superior and the sword-crazy girl was the junior?
…
…
Rumble—!
Thick black clouds rolled in the sky, lightning streaked through them, illuminating the dark ocean.
The wind howled. Huge waves dozens of meters high crashed onto the ship, making the End heave and toss.
"A big storm's coming."
Shano sat under the kendo deck's umbrella, drinking orange soda, and looked up at the horrifying weather.
They had left Fishman Island five days ago, waved off by Neptune and the others.
For the first two days, they continued diving through the deep sea. About three days ago, they broke the surface, shed their ship's coating, and officially entered the New World.
Before even reaching the first island, they'd already experienced the brutal climate.
Just an hour ago, it had been sunny with clear skies. Four hours before that—freezing cold, with snow drifting down.
And last night?
Last night, it was hail all night. No one could get a good sleep.
This is the New World's weather.
Heavily affected by the islands' chaotic magnetic fields, it was completely unpredictable.
Until you reached a large enough island to stabilize the magnetic field, this craziness would be the norm.
Compared to this—
It's no wonder the first half of the Grand Line is called Paradise.
But with a ship made of Treasure Tree Adam, the best navigator in the world, and now Jack as helmsman (replacing Smoker's part-time job), capsizing due to weather was unlikely.
After finishing his soda, Shano opened the system panel.
The trading market should have refreshed in the last couple of days.
Sure enough.
But before buying anything, he had to tally his gains and check how many points he had.
From the Whitebeard crew, he had received a total of 9,700 points, bringing his total to 50,900.
And if you add what he secretly scraped from Ryugu Castle at night…
[You sacrificed Princess Shirahoshi's Hard Shell Tower and received 1,500 points]
[You sacrificed Neptune's Crown and received 500 points]
That's another 2,000.
Add in the three princes, the Left and Right Ministers, plus the New Fishman Pirates' leftovers… another 3,000.
Total: 5,000 points.
His current total: 55,900 points — the highest in memory.
Time to shop!
He opened the market and scanned through.
The first item was uninteresting—pass.
But the second item immediately caught his eye:
[Flowing Water Rock-Smashing Fist]
Type: Training Manual
Price: 7,000 points
Description: Supreme martial art from the One Punch Man world. Uses flowing motion to deflect massive force and combines soft technique with explosive power. High requirements on physique.
Seller's Note: I just want to know who the guy in the Pirate World is—why is he always selling junk?
Shano: "?"
Is his reputation among his peers that bad?
What could he do? He didn't want to sell junk, but his system only let him sacrifice this stuff.
Still, the technique was good—he added it to the cart.
Next!
[Digital Gem]
Type: Consumable
Price: 700 points
Description: A gem from the Digital World. Feed it to a Digimon to greatly boost growth and accelerate evolution.
Seller's Note: Seriously, who is the trash dealer in the Pirate World?
Enough already!
Shano's forehead veins throbbed.
These sellers were ganging up on him!
But… he still had to buy it.
Why?
Because he actually did have a Digimon, and this was cheap.
Nuomici had taken over a month for each evolution stage. If this item sped things up, even better.
Next!
[Skill Stealing Technique]
Type: Consumable
Price: 6,000 points
Description: One-time item. Steals and comprehends a target's signature skill—could be physical, sword, or Haki-based. Devil Fruit skills may not fully function.
Seller's Note: Sold directly by the system.
Shano's eyes sparkled.
A skill-stealing scroll?!
It even said signature skill. That meant no junk skills in the pool!
If he used it on Magellan, it wouldn't give him fart-related skills—it would be real poisons.
On Aokiji, it wouldn't give him "tricycle riding skills", but real freezing techniques.
The Devil Fruit caveat was reasonable. It would depend.
For instance, Luffy's "Giant Axe" could be mimicked through full body control and Life Return.
But Kaido's "Heat Breath" in dragon form? No way.
So if he wanted a 100% chance of stealing a usable skill…
"Do I have to find you?"
Shano looked into the distant horizon.
That old friend who once helped him...