Fish-Man Island

Walking through Fish-Man Island, Cifer marveled at the scenery and the residents—especially the universally high beauty of the mermaids. Was it a racial advantage?

Though he had no intention of becoming a pirate, finding a pretty mermaid companion to look after him didn't sound bad. Sailing freely alone was far too dull.

"Mermaid Café, huh? Might as well meet that woman." Lost in thought, Cifer stopped in front of a shop. Under the gathered gaze of the surrounding mermaids, he pushed the door open and walked in.

"Welcome, sir. This is Mermaid Café. What can I get for you?" A short-haired mermaid greeted him from inside. Cifer recognized her at once as Camie, the future friend of King Luffy.

"A cup of coffee, please. And I'd like to see Madame Shyarly." Cifer naturally found a seat and sat down, giving orders like he owned the place.

"Huh?" Camie had never seen a human come to Mermaid Café and specifically ask for Madame Shyarly. His appearance was a bit strange, but he didn't seem like a bad person.

Still, whether Madame Shyarly would see him wasn't her decision to make. She could only head to the back to ask.

Cifer picked up the coffee another mermaid server brought him, watching Camie leave.

"A strange-looking human wants to see me?" Madame Shyarly took the pipe from her mouth and exhaled a puff of fragrant smoke.

Was he aware of her ability and wanted her to divine his future? The future was better left unknown. Boring humans.

"Camie, tell him I haven't been around lately..."

"No need. I'm already here." Before Madame Shyarly could finish, Cifer—over three meters tall—stood behind Camie. Even Madame Shyarly hadn't seen how he entered.

"Ah!" Camie turned at the sound and found Cifer, twice her height with a cold expression, standing right in front of her. Startled, she ducked behind Madame Shyarly.

"What a rude human. So, what business do you have with me?" Shyarly remained calm, asking Cifer's purpose instead.

"What a beautiful mermaid lady. Interested in becoming my companion?" Cifer thought for a moment, then extended his right hand, imitating Whitebeard. "I'm not a pirate—just a traveler following my whims."

Madame Shyarly, forcing composure, took a steady drag from her pipe and slowly exhaled. "A traveler? Regrettably, I have no plans to set sail."

Failed on the first recruitment! Watching One Piece in his past life, he always thought Luffy made it look easy—and even got an SSR character on his first try. Never expected his own first attempt to be shot down so coldly.

"What a pity. But my real reason for coming is something else. I've heard Madame Shyarly can divine the future. Please, tell me what lies ahead for the Whitebeard Pirates."

Cifer had no interest in his own future. Life—if you could see the end at a glance, where was the fun? The unknown was the best! Many people lamented not seeing the road ahead, but only when you saw the end would you truly despair. The unknown was the finest medicine for living with vitality and hope!

Still, the Whitebeard Pirates were the first crew he'd encountered since crossing over, and a warm one at that. He wanted to see if his earlier warning had made any difference.

"The Whitebeard Pirates? Are you a member?" Madame Shyarly couldn't stay calm this time. After all, Fish-Man Island still flew the Whitebeard Pirates' flag.

"We're friends," Cifer answered simply.

Madame Shyarly stared at him, her gaze deep and heavy. After a moment, she took out her Divination Crystal and gazed into it silently, trying to glimpse the Whitebeard Pirates' future.

Suddenly, as if she'd seen something, her brows furrowed tightly. She clutched her head and let out a pained groan. "How is this possible? That's the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"Madame Shyarly!" Camie quickly supported her to keep her from collapsing.

Clearly, the divination's result was unbelievable to Shyarly—and would be a heavy blow to Fish-Man Island.

"Seems like it's not a bright future. I think I already know the answer. Farewell, Madame Shyarly." Cifer moved to leave through the back door of Mermaid Café.

Without waiting for Shyarly to speak the result, Cifer already knew: nothing had changed. His single warning had no effect on the Whitebeard Pirates' future course.

Thinking about it, even if Whitebeard himself was more cautious, Blackbeard only needed to act before Thatch told Whitebeard. What a hassle. Thatch's life was in danger.

Cifer was a wanderer; he couldn't stay on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship as their babysitter forever. Everything was up to them.

"Stop right there~"

Just as Cifer opened the back door and was about to step out, five voices spoke in unison. He looked over—wasn't that Camie's friends, the quintuplet Hogback Sisters? Five adorable little mermaids, like little angels.

"Ichijo, Nijo, Sanjo, Yonjo, Yonjo II—what are you doing here?" Camie, still supporting Madame Shyarly, looked at them in surprise.

The five tiny mermaids puffed out their cheeks, pointing at Cifer in unison. "We saw it! This guy drank his coffee and didn't pay!"

The air went still. In their brief interaction, Madame Shyarly could sense the terrifying aura around Cifer. She'd been eager for him to leave, and now he'd been called out. She scrambled for words to smooth things over.

Cifer, for his part, seemed frozen in place—and actually was. Awkwardness struck him hard. His feet had already cracked the floor of Shyarly's room.

How could he forget? He'd crossed over—he didn't have any One Piece world currency! The past few days on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, he'd eaten, drunk, and lived without spending a thing. Watching the anime, money scenes were rare too. He'd completely overlooked it and ordered a coffee like it was nothing!

"Look! He even broke Madame Shyarly's floor!" Sanjo pointed at the cracked ground beneath Cifer's feet and shouted.

A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead. In that moment, the Hogback Sisters looked like demons to him. He couldn't stay a second longer.

"I'll compensate you, Madame Shyarly. But not now." Forcing out the words through his embarrassment, Cifer strode quickly out of Mermaid Café. In a Sound Step, he vanished from their sight.

"Was that..." The five sisters stared at Cifer's disappearance, then after a moment of silence, swam over to Camie and tugged at her. "It's a dine-and-dash, Camie!"

Meanwhile, Cifer had teleported near Ryugu Palace. He'd already figured out a way to make money. Stealing or robbing was beneath him; working was out of the question—never in this life. That left only earning some pocket change from Neptune and his crew to get by.

"Who are you? This is Ryugu Palace! No unauthorized persons or fish may approach!" The palace guards spotted Cifer and moved to shoo him away.

"Please inform your King Neptune. My name is Ulquiorra Cifer. I'm a friend of Whitebeard, and I've come to help resolve Princess Shirahoshi's matter."

The mermaid guards heard this and immediately sent a colleague to report to King Neptune, apologizing to Cifer and asking him to wait patiently.

What polite people. If only there weren't a few bad apples, Cifer thought, recalling Arlong's crew and Hody's crew.

Both were just experience packs for King Luffy. That Hody—if he wanted to enslave human pirates, so be it. Cifer already held most pirates in contempt. Let Luffy deal with him in two years.

"Mr. Cifer! King Neptune requests your presence!" The mermaid guards were efficient; in the time it took him to zone out, the message had been delivered.

"Thank you for your trouble."

Cifer followed the guards closely, beginning his visit to Ryugu Palace.