Chapter 113: No Need for Such Trouble
Shirahoshi and Uta seemed to have forgotten about Louis and the others, as well as Neptune and his retinue, as they began to chat enthusiastically.
Shirahoshi's overly sheltered experiences left her worldview and mindset slightly less developed than her peers. Therefore, Uta, relying on her years of experience traveling the Four Seas and the Grand Line, completely took control of the conversation's rhythm. With her outstanding eloquence and vivid descriptions of the outside world, she successfully made Shirahoshi's eyes sparkle, and the princess became gradually immersed in the world Uta described.
Neptune and his several sons watched this scene and looked at each other. Seeing the genuine joy and visible excitement on Shirahoshi's face, they ultimately decided not to interfere.
Just then, Louis and Yelena slowly walked up and stood beside Neptune, looking up at Shirahoshi, whose size was already considerable despite being only seven years old.
"Lord Louis..."
"And this lady—"
Their approach made the slightly relaxed Neptune and his sons tense up again, their faces visibly flustered. Jinbe saw this and inconspicuously took two steps forward, so that he could intervene quickly if anything he didn't want to happen occurred.
Whether it was Louis or Yelena, neither was an existence that could be easily ignored. The conversing Shirahoshi and Uta naturally noticed the two approaching as well.
To this, Uta, with a smile, rose from Shirahoshi's palm and, under everyone's gaze, swam toward Louis and Yelena. Her graceful figure cut a pink arc through the air as she flipped and swam, slowly coming to sit on Louis's shoulder.
Uta draped her pink fishtail in front of Louis's chest, flicking it lightly. She patted his shoulder and, with a bright, brilliant smile, introduced him. "This is my captain, Louis! He's super strong! If he wanted to fight for that great treasure, even Shanks would have a hard time competing with him!"
Then, before anyone could react, Uta zipped over to Yelena's back, draped herself over it, and said with a grin, "And this is the strongest person in our pirate crew besides Louis! Of course, being strong is just one of her insignificant advantages!"
The next second, Uta's figure left their sight again. When she reappeared, she was beside Daz Bonez. She made a presenting gesture with her hands and explained with a solemn and serious expression, "Ahem—Daz is our most outstanding intelligence specialist. Although he's a bit taciturn due to his professional habits, he is an extremely reliable person!"
In the next instant, Uta's figure returned to Louis's side. She sat on his shoulder, changed back to her human form, and swung her fair, slender legs.
Jinbe and the others watched Uta's movements, which were almost impossible to follow with the naked eye yet produced no sonic boom, and their hearts were thrown into turmoil. With such speed, among all the fish-men present, only Jinbe was confident he could handle her in a fight.
But soon, a flash of insight went through the minds of Neptune, Jinbe, and the others. In her words just now, they had caught a familiar name.
In front of them, Shirahoshi's gaze first swept over everyone, then landed on Louis. Looking at Louis's transcendent appearance and bearing, Shirahoshi couldn't help but move a little closer. She blinked her blue eyes and looked with great curiosity at the snow-white wings on his back.
After a brief hesitation, curiosity drove her to ask in a soft, sweet voice, "Lord Louis—are the wings on your back a decoration?"
Louis heard this familiar question, glanced at Uta sitting on his shoulder, and then replied with a smile, "No, they grew out of my body." As he spoke, Louis extended a flawless white wing, displaying the full, neat feathers before Shirahoshi's eyes.
Shirahoshi looked at the wings, which were shimmering and dazzling under the light, and the curiosity on her face grew even deeper. "Do people on land actually grow wings?"
To this, Louis shook his head. After folding his wings, he added, "No, I'm just a bit special."
Shirahoshi heard this, and the confusion on her face eased slightly. She then shifted her gaze to Louis's face, and her expression gradually became one of surprise. Then, under the gazes of the others, she said softly, "Lord Louis is very dazzling, just like the sunlight from the Sunlight Tree Eve."
"Is that so? Many people say that." Louis revealed an unreadable smile.
The others were taken aback, then their expressions became strange. Shirahoshi actually thinks a pirate with a bounty of over a billion Berries is "dazzling." But when they shifted their gaze to Louis, they too fell silent. It wasn't unreasonable for Shirahoshi to be deceived by Louis's appearance. Who would have thought that a person with such a holy appearance would have the blood of countless people on his hands.
Neptune made a decision in his heart. After the matter with Van der Decken was resolved, he had to teach Shirahoshi not to judge a person's character by their appearance.
On Louis's shoulder, after hearing Shirahoshi's words, a proud smile appeared on Uta's face. "Of course! Louis is an angel!" Anyone could see that Uta was even happier hearing Shirahoshi praise Louis than if she had been praised herself.
Seeing this, a gentle smile couldn't help but appear on Shirahoshi's face. "Lady Uta is very happy~"
Uta heard this, and the corners of her mouth turned up, not hiding her emotions at all.
Just then, Louis turned his head to look in the direction of the main gate. The others had various expressions, not understanding his actions, but curiosity drove them to follow his gaze. As for Yelena and Daz Bonez, who knew Louis well, their hearts grew cold, and they slowly prepared for battle.
Soon, Jinbe's gaze also became sharp.
SHINK—
With the sound of metal embedding itself deep in the stone gate, a sharp blade pierced through and was revealed to everyone.
Seeing this, Shirahoshi's face turned pale, and a look of terror once again appeared in her eyes.
Neptune and the others also reacted, their faces turning ashen, the rage in their eyes almost about to erupt. "Van der Decken!!" Neptune's furious roar echoed throughout the banquet hall.
After venting his emotions, he cast a glance at his eldest son, then suppressed his anger and began to comfort the once-again-startled Shirahoshi in a low, soft voice.
Neptune's eldest son, Fukaboshi, had an icy expression. He held his trident and was about to turn and leave through another passage to lead men to capture the culprit.
However, Louis raised a hand and stopped him.
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Louis looked thoughtfully in another direction and said in a light, slow tone, "No need for such trouble."
Louis had already followed the flying trajectory of the longsword in his Observation Haki, found the culprit who had thrown it, and confirmed his strength. Then, Louis slowly walked forward. Before Fukaboshi could react, he had taken the trident from his hand. Immediately after, Louis infused an appropriate amount of life force into the trident, turning it into a living thing.
Then, he casually threw the trident out. It created a smooth hole in the stone gate and then disappeared from everyone's sight.
"..."
Yelena and the others saw this and relaxed their guard.
Uta even jumped down from Louis's shoulder, once again came before Shirahoshi, and comforted her with a grin. "Don't worry, it's all over now."
Uta's words made the already-about-to-cry Shirahoshi freeze again. She looked down at Uta with her watery blue eyes. "R-really?"
To this, Uta nodded lightly, a serious look on her face. "Yes, really!"
A few minutes later, Jinbe, whose brow had been slightly furrowed, now had his eyes wide open, a look of seeing a ghost on his face.
The next second, the heavy stone gate was smashed to pieces. A sharp trident had skewered a fish-man and pinned him deep into the floor of the banquet hall.
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