Dragon Palace Feast: Sea King Shirahoshi

"Hehehe, are you really three brothers?"

On the fish boat, Luffy chatted casually with the three princes of Fish-Man Island.

"But you don't look alike at all. Are you sworn brothers?"

"No, we are brothers."

The eldest prince, Hoshigaki, who is serious, responsible, and quite calm, replied that compared to his two brothers with... peculiar appearances, the majestic and resolute Hoshigaki is the mermaid whose appearance is closest to that of a human, and he is usually responsible for communication.

Luffy,

Roman, who was standing nearby, joined the conversation.

"When Fish-Man and mermaids intermarry, their children have four possible outcomes: boy, girl, Fish-Man, or mermaid."

"Because Fish-Man and mermaids share the same ancestral Life Factor, the fish species they belong to at birth depends on the genes of their ancestral fish species from multiple generations ago, and is not necessarily related to the fish species of their parents. Therefore, it is normal for different species of mermaids to appear among brothers."

After speaking, Roman nodded to the tall Dragon Palace's eldest prince Fish-Man Hoshigaki.

"My captain meant no harm, please don't take it to heart."

"Won't,"

Despite being a 'shark Fish-Man ', he was surprisingly calm and composed, displaying a regal demeanor, befitting the eldest prince.

"In fact, apart from the inhabitants of Fish-Man Island, few humans understand our lives so clearly. — You are truly learned."

"I am not learned at all,"

Just as Roman was habitually denying it, Nami's voice rang out from the side.

"I only know what I know. —Right?"

?

"Excessive humility is arrogance. Roman, that's what you said."

When did I say that... etc.?

Let me think carefully, have I said anything like that in the past two years?

Seeing Roman engrossed in his memories with a serious expression, Nami shrugged at the tall mermaid prince Hoshigaki beside her, giving him a 'don't take Roman seriously' look, which made him nod knowingly.

"Can we really go together?"

Unlike the carefree Straw Hat crew, Keimi looked around nervously.

After all, she was just an ordinary Fish-Man renting a sunless, low-rise apartment. Going to the palace for a banquet was like something out of a Cinderella story.

"It's okay. They said 'you can bring friends,' so it's fine."

Usopp smiled and comforted Keimi. Unbeknownst to them, the "braggart" of the small village in the East Blue had grown to the point where he could talk and laugh with the king without batting an eye.

"The Dragon Palace?"

Zoro crossed his arms.

"I hope to have some good wine to taste."

"It would be great if we had a collection of books,"

Robin also looked on with anticipation.

Unlike the others who were in high spirits, Sanji knelt on the deck with a dejected look on his face.

"I'm sorry, I can't go on living."

"If there is an afterlife, I hope to be a striped raccoon dog..."

"This·····"

Chopper, who was comforting him, was speechless for a moment, prompting Brook, who was standing next to him, to look down and ask curiously.

"What kind of creature is a striped raccoon dog? Chopper, do you know?"

"Damn it, I'm a reindeer!"

"Why should I know what a striped raccoon is?!"

Chopper, already suffering from 'tanuki rage syndrome,' instinctively retorted. After realizing what he'd done:

"Sorry, I got excited."

"The striped raccoon is a type of raccoon dog with four black stripes along its back... most importantly:"

Having been with the Straw Hat crew for so long, Chopper is no longer the innocent little reindeer he once was.

"The Shiratani can last for eight hours at a time!"

It is a miracle of the biological world.

?!

Ah, this...

"Increase the dosage!"

Roman calmly gave Chopper some instructions.

"Giggle~~!!"

Beside the ship where the crew was, there was a shark of varying sizes, dressed in clothes. Large in comparison to the Straw Hat crew, this shark, over twenty meters long, was considered 'huge'; small in comparison to the giant ribbonfish boat beneath their feet, and the Sea King they had encountered along the way...

This shark, named 'Mekaro,' is the pet of the Fish-Man Island princess. Luffy and his crew rescued it while defeating the North Sea Kraken. —This is also why the three princes invited the Straw Hat crew to the Ryugu Palace.

Of course, Roman saw it as just a superficial 'excuse'.

A mere pet requires a prince to express his gratitude? Are princes really that leisurely? The truth is:

Who are the Straw Hat crew?

Great Pirates crew with a total bounty of over 900 million!

(After Impel Down and Marineford, Luffy's price has increased to 400 million.)

In this world, bounty is almost always equivalent to combat power. And with such terrifying combat power, destroying cities and annihilating nations is a piece of cake!

In reality, if the Straw Hat crew wanted to, wiping out Fish-Man Island would be as easy as stretching their muscles. It's like when America's carrier group passed through Southeast Asia in their past life; wouldn't those small countries be extremely nervous?

Fortunately—

"Straw Hat Luffy, Jinbe asked me to deliver two messages to you."

The two sides are not without history.

"The first rule is 'Don't fight Hody.'"

"Secondly, I'll be waiting for you at 'Sea Forest'."

·····

"Jinbe mean by this?"

Luffy stroked his chin. "And who is this guy called 'Hody'? Have we met him before, Roman?"

When in doubt, consult Roman.

"Just a nobody, don't worry about him."

Roman waved his hand dismissively, replying, "The Fish-Man Island arc is Jinbe Luffy onto the stage of 'hero.' Otherwise, with Jinbe's strength, how much effort would it have taken for him to single-handedly wipe out that bunch of weak pirates? He was just coasting along, taking on grunts the whole time..."

"Hehehe, then I'll go find Jinbe in the 'Sea Forest' now."

Luffy stood up and prepared to set off.

"I also want to see Jinbe soon; he helped me so much at Marineford!"

At the same time, it was Jinbe who reminded Luffy, who was in despair, of what he should cherish.

······

"Luffy, do you know the way to the 'Sea Forest'?"

!?

Luffy was taken aback when faced with Roman's question.

"Roman, lead the way!"

Indecisiveness when faced with a problem...

"Hey, we're on our way to the Dragon Palace. You just accepted someone's invitation. There's no reason for you to run away halfway there!"

"That's true,"

Luffy, who had sat down Pang Lei again, chuckled.

"Banquet~~Banquet~~Meat~~~Meat!!"

Luffy looked on with a beaming smile, a stark contrast to Roman's serious expression.

Roman wasn't interested in the banquet, nor was he interested in the upcoming "easy kill" battle. If there was anything about Fish-Man Island that Roman cared about, it was only this:

Neptune.

The Mermaid Princess Shirahoshi—

A giant Sea King has been summoned!

Compared to the fleeting existence of humans, barely exceeding a century, the lifespans of those giant Sea King, often hundreds or even thousands of years, are true 'living history'! Furthermore, unlike ordinary, low-intelligence Sea King that are merely Sea Beast, the ones summoned by Shirahoshi are clearly intelligent, high-level Sea King capable of thought. In other words:

These Sea King might be the creatures in the world that know the 'truth of history' the most.

The thought of this problem stirred a long-lost excitement in Roman. Unfortunately:

He's not Luffy; he doesn't possess Observation Haki, the ability to "Voice of All Things." He can't eavesdrop on the Sea King's thoughts, otherwise he might have been able to learn some details about that person.

Imu...

"Phew~ Roman, you're at it again!"

Nami, standing beside him, tapped Roman's forehead with her finger in displeasure. "So, who's your opponent this time?"

"Shichibukai? Could it be one of the Four Emperors?"

Oh, I gave you "The Art of the Thief," not "The Book of Destiny"...

"No, I was just thinking about some... life philosophies."

Roman waved his hand. What powerful enemies could Fish-Man Island have? Just small fry. But they do have a few good things: the Energy Steroids E·S, which is said to double your strength with one pill and quadruple it with two!

During the duration of the drug's effects, the user's eyes will turn red with white pupils, but at the cost of shortened lifespan. Overdosing on the Energy Steroids can cause bodily mutations, intense pain, and ultimately, accelerated aging.

Despite its numerous drawbacks, it's undeniably a valuable tool for desperate measures—for example, training suicide squads who then use Energy Steroids to defeat powerful enemies...

Of course, Roman wouldn't do such a small-scale thing now, but that doesn't stop him from being interested in the drug.

And the other one is:

The Fish-Man Island Dragon Palace Tamatebako, known as the 'Royal-level Bomb'!

The so-called 'Tamatebako' is National Treasure of the Ryugu Palace Kingdom Fish-Man Island, but it is actually a box containing Energy Steroids. Later, because the Energy Steroids was stolen by Hody Jones, the Right Minister of Ryugu somehow obtained a bunch of high explosives and put them in the box, intending to teach the thief a lesson.

But the power of that explosive...

All I can say is that the Dragon Palace on Fish-Man Island was really lucky, otherwise it would have been blown up by its own people long ago.

"Open the connection channel!"

The Ryugu Palace is a separate area located in the sea off Fish-Man Island, accessible only through a special passage. As the Straw Hat crew, encased in a giant bubble, were led into the spacious hall, a...

"Hehehehe~~"

With a distinctive laugh, a merman wearing a crown, more robust than the average mermaid, sporting thick, bushy orange-red hair and a beard, flame-like tattoos on his arms, and dense body hair, wielding a finely carved trident— Fish-Man several meters tall—spreads his arms wide.

"Welcome to Fish-Man Island, Straw Hat Pirates!"

"Oh, thank you for inviting us to visit, Uncle with the Hairy Beard."

Faced with Luffy's overly familiar 'offense,' the guards glared angrily! On the contrary, the Fish-Man King simply waved his hand magnanimously.

"This is my castle, feel free to tour it!"

Although the building is located in the sea, many parts of it are dry. After all, whether they are Fish-Man or mermaids, they are no longer simply 'fish'. Food and clothing would corrode if soaked in water for a long time.

"Meat!! I want to eat meat!!"

"Hehehe~~ I'll have the chef prepare it right away..."

However, given Luffy's temperament, how could he possibly wait patiently for the chef to cook?

While Roman and the others were exchanging pleasantries with the Fish-Man King, Luffy had already activated his Sense of Smell Haki, disappearing silently from the hall, leaving Roman, the only one who noticed, rubbing his temples.

No matter when or where, Luffy can act as naturally as if he were at home; he truly feels at home.

"Is this the 'White Knight'...?"

King Neptune of Fish-Man Island blinked hard and hesitated before asking, "Your Excellency... do you have any brothers or other relatives?"

"No,"

Roman shook his head. "However, many people say that my face is too common and hard to distinguish."

??!!

Please apologize to 'Volkswagen'.

"Yeah····"

While giving perfunctory "uh-huhs, "Roman had already seen Luffy brazenly slip into the Mermaid Princess's boudoir: a 'Hard-Shell Tower' with various weapons covering its outer walls.

Food~~

Luffy straight toward the food, only to step on two soft, round peaks.

"Whoa! Who's there!"

Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder Luffy wanted to develop Fourth Gear. He's going to be driving a big vehicle...

Is Fifth Gear the Titan form?

The complaining dove tilted its head and looked into the distance. A giant axe was slowly spinning and flying straight toward them! The speed wasn't fast, and logically, the kinetic energy on it should have been exhausted long ago, but the axe continued to fly against common sense.

Targ Targ Fruit, Vander Decken IX.

It's also a very overpowered Devil Fruit—even with Vander Decken IX's strength, he was able to propel the super-giant ship 'Noah,' which was half the size of Fish-Man Island, using this fruit. Unfortunately:

This guy's not going to live much longer either.

Never mind,

The white dove shook its head, letting the axe fly past it, and then flew in through the cracked door!

Clang!

"What is that?"

Let alone Luffy, none of the Straw Hat crew members right now could possibly be injured by such an attack. It's completely useless in high-level combat—actually, the true use of this fruit is for transportation: a simple touch can automatically send goods to other parts of the world. If it were used for express delivery...

Wow, they must have made a fortune long ago!

Look at Wapol! He made a comeback with Wapol Metal, married Miss World, and buying an island to establish a country is a piece of cake for him! He's miles ahead of these pathetic guys who only use their Devil Fruit ability to fight and end up killing each other.

Plop plop~~

The white dove spread its wings and flew away because:

"Princess?!"

"It's the direction of the Hard-Shell Tower— "

The guards of the Dragon Palace have arrived.