Bang!
"Shalria-san~~~"
The kitchen door flew open, and a sparkling figure, swirled with pink hearts, twirled toward the beautiful girl sitting next to Shirogai. With a gentleman's bow, he proudly presented his creation:
"This is a special dish I made just for you, Vanilla Ice Cream."
"Thank you, Sanji-san."
The girl gave Sanji a sweet smile, took a careful bite, and her enchanting eyes sparkled:
"Delicious!"
The chef on Darling's ship is truly skilled.
If Darling and I get married, I will bring him to Holy Land Mary Geoise to cook for our family!
"Wow! An angel is smiling!"
Under the girl's radiant look, Sanji spun around, completely delighted.
Then, under Sanji's watchful gaze, the girl lifted the spoonful of ice cream and offered it to Shirogai with big, expectant eyes.
"Shirogai Darling, ah~ This Princess, let me feed you a bite~"
"Thanks, but not."
Shirogai smiled lightly and shook his head, politely declining the girl's declaration of affection.
"Wow! Darling's voice is so pleasant to hear!"
The girl wasn't disappointed. Instead she grew even more enchanted by Shirogai's simple smile, her heart fluttering.
"Ah! Shirogai!"
Sanji, caught off guard, tumbled to the floor under the intensity of the moment.
"Why! Why!!"
He rolled on the ground, muttering in frustration, face twisted:
"&…%&…￥&…%…&"
Nearby, Usopp the Great Immortal was calmly delivering a reading to his three devoted listeners:
"This Immortal once read Sanji's palm. In this life, he is destined to be a ladies' man, though his romantic luck is scattered, so he can never win any heart."
"Wow! Usopp the Great Immortal, you're amazing!"
The little believers stared at Usopp in awe.
"Something's not right…"
Nami sat a short distance away, eyes narrowed suspiciously as she observed the charming girl who had been clinging to Shirogai since she boarded the ship.
"Robin-san, doesn't this girl's origin story sound strange? She claims to be a merchant's daughter who was sent away in a wooden boat when pirates attacked her ship last night," Nami whispered.
"But…"
She examined the girl's face, clearly made up with carefully applied cosmetics, and asked in doubt:
"Why was she wearing perfect makeup when she left the ship? And she seemed so awkward with the oars just now, like she had never rowed before. Yet when Luffy and Sanji offered to help find her father, she claimed she'd been rowing too long and didn't know the way back. And she won't stop clinging to Shirogai — doesn't she worry about her father being captured by pirates?"
Nami frowned sharply.
"She might be a spy sent by some pirate crew! Similar things have happened before. Pirates disguising themselves as helpless survivors to sabotage the ship once aboard."
"Hmm, she certainly doesn't seem like an ordinary merchant's daughter," Robin responded with a calm nod.
Robin sensed a strong aura of pride and arrogance from the girl. That kind of presence could not come from an ordinary merchant family.
She also noticed the girl's clothing, although simple in appearance, was made of high-quality material that common merchants could never afford. It had to be the kind of fabric only royalty or nobles would wear.
"Should we tell Shirogai that this woman seems specifically interested in him?" Nami asked, a hint of jealousy in her tone.
Although she didn't want anything to happen between Shirogai and the girl, she still felt uneasy at seeing someone so close to him.
"If it were Luffy or Sanji, I might say something, but Shirogai…"
Robin smiled lightly while turning the page of her book.
"Don't worry, this girl won't fool him. Even I couldn't fool him."
Robin's lips curved in a faint, knowing smile.
A man strong enough to rival even Sengoku in wisdom, the World Government's greatest headache would not be easily swayed.
"You're probably right, he likely already noticed something off about her," Nami yawned, stretching and asking Kemi, who was gossiping next to her:
"Kemi, are we almost at Sabaody Archipelago?"
"Mm-hmm, Nami-san."
Kemi looked up at the distant sea, her eyes shining as she pointed:
"Look, we can already see the bubble clusters above Sabaody Archipelago, those transparent bubbles refracting colorful light under the sun…"
"Wow!"
Nami stood, surprised, gazing at the growing cluster of bubbles ahead.
The bubbles rose in the sunlight, casting rainbow hues before gently popping — each burst a momentary bloom of color.
"So beautiful!"
Nami called to the others:
"Hey everyone! Look at the sky over there!"
Luffy laughed and jumped onto the bow of the Thousand Sunny.
"Hehe, so many bubbles! That must be why Hachi suggested we go there to coat the ship with bubbles."
"Does the Thousand Sunny really need a bubble coating?"
Chopper asked, staring warily at the floating bubbles, terrified they might pop underwater.
"If the Thousand Sunny gets covered in a bubble coating and it bursts underwater, what if we sink? That's scary!"
Meanwhile on Shalria's side of the deck…
"Why don't you apply to the World Government for safe passage across the Red Line? That's so much safer," Shalria asked innocently, eyes wide.
"We're pirates!"
Luffy replied with a grin, adjusting his Straw Hat.
"Pirates can't get permission from the World Government to pass, and besides, we wouldn't abandon the Thousand Sunny in this sea."
"It's fine, if this Princess orders it, they shall…"
Shalria proudly lifted her fair chin, confident.
She was about to guarantee that the World Government would find a way to transport Shirogai's crew and ship across the Red Line.
But then she caught Shirogai's faint half-smile and quickly covered her mouth.
"Ugh, I was talking nonsense!"
That was close, she thought, nearly revealing too much.
"Oh? Seems you're talking nonsense out of fear,"
Nami said suspiciously, sensing there was something shocking about to be said.
---
On Takoyaki No. 8
Hachi looked nervously at Pappagu, hesitating.
"Pappagu, I can't shake the feeling that the girl the Straw Hats rescued isn't simple. Could she be a Celestial Dragon…?"
"Hachi, you're too nervous,"
Pappagu said, patting Hachi's shoulder with his starfish arm.
"How could a Celestial Dragon appear alone at sea? She's just an ordinary distressed girl."
"I hope I'm overthinking it…"
Hachi murmured, brushing the Sun Pirates' symbol on his head. Recalling past tragedies, his voice trembled.
"The way she looked at me… it reminded me of how high and mighty Celestial Dragons look at people like us… cold and disgusted, as if we shouldn't exist in this world."
…
Approaching Sabaody Archipelago
The Thousand Sunny soon reached the waters near Sabaody Archipelago, the island rising from massive roots intertwining like skyward mangroves.
"Hehe, so many bubbles! I want to land already!"
Luffy laughed as he leaped onto a floating bubble.
"Don't rush, Luffy,"
Shirogai said with a smile, extending a hand to pull him back.
"Hachi still wants to say something."
Hachi glanced uneasily at Shalria, still clinging beside Shirogai, and then spoke in a serious tone:
"On this island, there's something important you should know, something that concerns all our lives. I will take you to find a trustworthy coating mechanic, but please promise one thing.
Do not offend the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, who appear on this island."
---