LW: Hi everybody, now we have more Fishman Island antics, yeah! Also for anime watchers, Gear 5th has finally arrived, who's happy? Super Saiyan Bugs Bunny has finally been unleashed in the form he was made for.
Rubber King & Mirror Master: New World Chaos - The Production of Neptune's Best Mistake
"So Jinbe wants to meet us at Sea Forest, wherever that is? Thanks, saves us the trip to the Fishman district" Luffy grins as Fukuboshi relays the message from Jinbe
"Happy to help, now if you'll excuse me we do have several other errands to run today, running into you was a happy accident" the bluenette merman adds
"Oh come on man, can't we have some fun with the ladies, they're right there and shakin," the youngest prince whines, but is ignored as the ship begins to turn away once again
"They seemed nice" Luffy hums, waving loosely at the ship
"So, what do we do until Sanji wakes up, we can't just leave him here to cook all the fish," Ussop asks
"I think I know a place" Camie suggests "She's got no issues with humans, so at least giving your friend somewhere to come to should be no problem"
"Thanks Camie, we'll try not to be any trouble" Kaos winks
"Hey Luffy, one moment please, I want to check that cut on your arm," Chopper asks, drawing attention from the others as they hadn't even noticed Luffy had been cut.
"Sure, probably nothing though" Luffy responds with a shrug, though sits down so Chopper can examine and check the wound, the reindeer grimacing as the sample turns his concoction a deep blue.
"As I thought, it's poisoned" he sighs
"Really? I feel fine though" Luffy shrugs
"You must have developed some kind of immunity or at least antibodies to deal with poisons of this level. Do you have any idea what could have caused it?" Chopper asks curiously.
Luffy clicks his tongue as he lets his mind wander "Yeah, when I was in Impel Down, I was nearly killed with poison. That must have been the reason" he laughs with a clap.
"Magellan, holder of the Doku Doku no mi, yeah him dosing you and then Iva healing you probably did the job" Kaos groans while Chopper and Ussop panic "Now, what was Camie saying about somewhere to put the steamed pervert?"
A short walk later
"This is the home of the owner of this place, Madam Shyarly" Camie explains, the current Straw hats entering with the unconscious Sanji on their shoulders, Kaos at the back….. Which was lucky as a crystal ball was tossed at high speed at his head, just barely avoiding doing too much damage, though the projectile did graze his cheek before shattering against the doorframe.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" Luffy shouts at the large mermaid sitting before them, her eyes boring into the elder Straw Hat
"That attack had intent, it had anger, not the flat bigoted crap from the weaklings outside, this was targeted, direct, personal. Why do you hate me so much? Who did I kill?"
"So, Arlong huh? What makes him so special?" Kaos asks, eyes curious, hands in the pockets of his waistcoat.
"You killed Arlong you human scumbag, and I'm going to send you there myself if I have to!"
"He was my brother. He was a bastard, but that doesn't mean I can just let you walk around like it was nothing like HE was nothing" Shyarly scowls, fists clenching hard enough her nails broke the skin of her palms.
"You're Arlong's sister? But you don't have a nose like he did" Luffy asks with a yelp, then drops off to confusion.
"I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm not sorry for what I did, Miss Shyarly. You already know your brother was a bad person, and I'd have beat him black and blue for that, but, he tried to kill my little brother, this rubber dumbass over there" he hicks his thumb toward Luffy who waves dumbly before setting Sanji down on a bed "So I killed the man who tried to rip my brother in half, and I don't regret ensuring his continued existence" Kaos sighs, noticing the mermaid's visible eye twitch, as she could sense no deceit in his voice, body language, or even his haki.
"I, really hate how much I understand that motive, and how likely those actions are" Shyarly sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose "There's honestly no real point doing anything else, I'd at least prefer to never see you again, especially as it's clear your own clairvoyance is close to, even if it's still beneath my own, so actually taking you out would be difficult, even discounting your Devil Fruits and inherited durability" she continues
"That, was surprisingly nice of you, given Kaos killed your brother and all" Ussop squeaks
"Madame Shyarly is a kind woman at her core, and her anger is usually short-lived, even if it burns hot" Camie explains
"Such as trying to smash Kaos' head in with a glass ball?" Luffy asks
"Exactly!" Camie cheers
"Speaking of, Camie, you get to have the rest of the day off, if you take your friends with you. You work so hard, and with the current dry spell of human customers, we can handle one missing staff member for the day" Shyarly assures her "Plus the girls from the reef should be back within the hour, then we'll have more hands than a starfish"
"More hands…." Camie repeats, her voice drifting off before shooting up in a panicked yell of "Oh CRAP I forgot about Papagu! I bet he's getting so impatient waiting for my arrival" she frets
"Not really, he's upstairs in the cafe, an old friend apparently stopped by and they're reminiscing" Shyarly corrects her softly
"Wait, Papagu is here?!" Camie shouts
"That was easy" Luffy hums "Onward to the starfish! Buy shark lady" he waves as Luffy has Camie lead them to the cafe, Chopper staying behind in case Sanji's condition drops
"I think I know who Starfish is meeting with" Kaos smirks as they approach the cafe, mostly tuning out Luffy's complaints about them not serving meat down here, even if as a carnivorous Zoan he does agree with most of his brother's arguments
"How, you don't know who Papagu is friends with, or who would even be down here?" Ussop asks
"It probably means they're a Devil fruit user" Luffy guesses, stopping his complaining as he was also curious
Kaos didn't need to answer, as the door opens and the 'old friend' came out with a mermaid on each arm and Papagu on his shoulder
"Time to give these dogfish a bone" Brook jokes as the 2 mermaids fawn over him, most of his facial bones covered in lipstick marks
"BROOK!" Luffy and Ussop shout
"SKELETON!" Camie screams "Oh wait, he was on your crew 2 years ago, oopsies"
"Luffy, Kaos, Ussop, oh and Camie too, oh you're grown so much, any chance I can get…. Your bra size?" Brook asks, before getting a kick to the jaw from Papagu
"At least he remembered Mermaids don't wear panties" Ussop deadpans while Luffy giggles
"Hey guys remember me?" Papagu shouts from Brook's shoulder
"Honestly I try to block you from my brain, you're an annoying little invertebrate" Kaos admits, watching the starfish fall into a depressive spiral
"Please be nice, this little creature fished us out of the water when he could have continued to nap" Brook defends
"Fair eno….we?" Ussop repeats
"Brook, you're in the way again" Carue huffs, her feather ruffling in anger
"Carue! You're ok!" Luffy cheers before hugging the duck zoan "Now. Onward to the cafe!"
"Not so fast!" Papagu shouts, even though the brothers had already stepped over him, forcing him to run in front of them "The cafe's not going anywhere, plus it's an experience best done with the whole crew. I was just talking to Bone Daddy and Ducky over here and invited them back to my place for a while. I bet you all would love some heaping helpings of seaking meat"
"Meat? Sure, I want meat!" Luffy bounces giddily
"That was easy, but should have been expected" Kaos hums, but his hunger was leading him to agree with Luffy and follow the starfish to wherever they're going
"Honestly, only the mermaids are meat-free, fishmen eat it all the time so it's still an option, just less common, especially in merfolk-majority areas like here" Papagu explains "Anyway, we'll get to my place once the taxi gets here"
"Fair enough….. Hello there" Kaos tilts his head curiously
"He's gotten distracted again" Luffy mutters, getting a light slap to the head from Ussop and Carue, like he's one to talk
"Vander Decken. Seems he's not so ghostly after all" Kaos grins as he rips the bounty poster off the wall
"You guys saw him?" Papagu asks, just as the taxi arrives
"Yes, on the way here, he tried to attack us, but the Kraken and an undersea volcano kind of interrupted the event" Brook replies "Why?"
"Our people have been looking for him for years, he's a notorious thief and pirate. I'll explain everything on the way to my place, so get in so we can get moving"
"No need to tell me twice! Here comes the meat" Luffy cheers as he scrambles onto the fish taxi, the others not that far behind him
"So the story goes, Vander was head over heels in love with the Mermaid princess. He was so desperate he sent love letters daily, and when that didn't work, he moved on to gifts, then threats, and finally actual weaponry. As you might have guessed, that made him enemy number one of the Ryugu Kingdom" Papagu explains.
"Plus, her father King Neptune sent the 3 princes we met earlier on hunts for Vander Dekcen, but as you might have guessed, they were unsuccessful. Plus, Neptune is the Ruler of the Sea, and King of our great nation, but not only that he's a single father of 4, isn't that stressful? You met his 3 sons, but the mermaid princess is the youngest, so most likely would have had 3 overprotective brothers even if she didn't have a crazy stalker after her" Camie continues with a giggle.
"Ok, that all makes sense, but I have a question about Decken. How is he still alive, he should either be a ghost or several centuries old" Brook questions
"Simple really, if you believe the rumours. You see, Vander Decken vanished not long after he made it to our country, but if the ship you saw really IS the Flying Dutchman, then it wasn't the original Vander Decken, but his descendent…."
"He's Vander Decken the 9th" Camie interrupts
"Ah, so he's not a ghost, that's comforting" Brook sighs
"And he ate a Devil fruit, which is odd for a fishman" Kaos muses
"You don't know it was him… do you?" Ussop wonders
"No, but it had to be someone important on Vander's crew, though we'll need to run into him again to be sure" the researcher shrugs
"Hey Papagu, what's over there?" Luffy points out the side of the bubble
"Nothing, just a candy factory" the starfish replies briskly, which given their experience at Sabaody, means the guy was hiding something
"Ok…. but why does it have a pirate flag on the wall?" Luffy continues
"Because it's a sign our kingdom has Yonko protection" Camie answers "We used to be protected by Whitebeard, but after Marineford….. Well, he survived, even won, but he's clearly not at his peak, so when Charlotte Linlin came a knocking, he didn't fight her for it" the mermaid continues
"We have to pay her in candy for the protection, but on the other hand, we're protected from external threats by the power of the BigMom pirates" Papgu adds "Sure it was better with Whitebeard, but if all she's asking for is a tonne of Undersea sweets, I doubt anyone would be too upset about it, especially given what could have happened to this place if she hadn't agreed."
"I mean sure she's not running a charity, but she's still protecting you guys so she's probably not a really bad person. I wonder if we'll ever meet her" Luffy wonders
"We're already halfway through the list, just need to meet her and Kaido and we've got the lot" Kaos chuckles, after all, they knew Shanks when they were kids, and met Whitebeard during/after Marineford
"And now we've reached our destination, the place where all the important fishfolk live: Fishberry Hills!" Papagu announces
Elsewhere
While her omens of darkness had put a dampener on her enthusiasm for her visions, Shyarly couldn't help but admit that the newcomers, and the impact they'd already had on this world, made her curious to take a peek at the future, see just what the world Straw Hat sought would look like. Taking her crystal ball she focused her haki through it, letting her mind resonate with the cosmos, and then as she opened her eyes the vision was clear within the orb, for a moment before energy pulsed through the crystal ball and knocked the mermaid back, eyes glazed over and a pained cry tore from her lips, pain and destruction not seen in centuries, the World itself aflame, and as her vision darkens, she peers, into the Eyes of God
SMASH
"Miss Shyarly are you ok, we heard screaming and an energy surge unlike anything felt in this region before?" Fukaboshi asks as she moves past the Amonknights that broke down the door
"The visions, they were insanely powerful. Please, find the Straw Hats and get them out of our kingdom" Shyarly pleads, before swinging her arm and sending the crystal ball into the wall where it shatters "Or Fishman Island will be DESTROYED!"
"This shit is weird man" Manboshi shouts, which in his defence, there were runes and marks burned into the INSIDE of the broken fragments of the orb.
"Manboshi behayayayayve" Ryuboshi sing-scolds "Not every skill is a top billing, you can't just call things weird to their faces"
"This is, unfortunate given what we've been here to do, but this new information, especially given the accuracy of your visions, as well as the missing mermaids, means no matter their guilt, we must at least locate and take the Straw Hat pirates into custody," Fukuboshi thinks aloud, giving a weary sigh
In the Richie Rich district
"Home sweet home, shall we head inside?" Papagu asks smugly.
"Why do you even need a house this big for something so small?" Kaos wonders aloud.
"Welcome Home Master. Can we get you anything?" Chorused the starfish's many staff/maids.
"Hey look, another massive building, it looks cool" Luffy shouts, getting distracted as usual.
"Yep, and the 1st floor is a Criminal brand store, which Papagu is the lead designer of" Camie adds.
"Neat, let's check it out" the captain grins and bounces away, the others following, while Papagu pouts at being ignored.
"I'm sorry Miss but I can't accommodate you like that, a discount that high would get me in a lot of trouble….." the group hears the clerk plead as they reach the building.
"Sounds like someone's causing a commotion" Camie hums.
"Great, just what we need, more trouble" Ussop groans.
"Did you not hear me, I don't care how cute these clothes are, they're way too expensive" the customer complains, alerting the pirates and mermaid as to who was causing said commotion.
"Nami!" Luffy bellows as he rushes over, seeing not only his navigator, but…
"Kaya!" Ussop squeaks, getting chuckles from Kaos, Brook and Carue as the syrup girl had been trying to hide due to embarrassment from Nami's frugal ways.
"Glad to see you're all ok. Oh hey Camie, happy to see you too" Nami grins, hugging the mermaid who laughs as she hugs back.
"Great to see you too Nami-chin" Camie squeals.
"Alright, what seems to be the problem here everyone?" Papagu asks as he waddles into the store.
"Oh thank goodness you're here Mister Papagu, this woman is demanding half off for her purchases, much like her current wardrobe" the clerk complains.
"Eh, I'd say ¼ off in that case, she's wearing shoes and jeans, it's just the bikini top that's revealing" Kaos mutters, but Nami had bigger things to worry about that her crewmate's comments on her outfit (for now at least), as she grabs the starfish by the cheek and lifts him to eye level.
"So, you're the one in charge of this scheme ay? You lower your prices, or I lower you" Nami threatens, and while the clerk was already stressed, things seem to just be getting worse and worse.
"You see, that's not how things work hon, the price comes from the brand, people want items made by me, and pay a lot of money for said branding" Papagu explains, but like most Straw Hats…. Nami don't give a fuck.
"You weren't listening. Lower. Your. Prices." Nami states directly, as the starfish squirms and finally leaps out of her grip.
"Ok, ok. Listen, we'll all friends right?".
"No, pretty sure Kaos and Artemis would have cooked you up and eaten you if Sanji said anything went well with Starfish" Luffy admits, derailing whatever Papagu was about to say for a moment.
"Anyway… I'm sure we could work things out amicably, as thanks for saving mine and Camie's lives 2 years ago. So for one day only, take all you can carry, it's all free" Papagu announces.
"Really?" Nami asks, her eyes flickering to beri symbols for a second, before as the starfish nods, she turns to the researcher "You think you can take the whole store?" she asks, partially a joke, but also a challenge.
"I can try" he cackles, before unleashing his upgraded power, everything in the store was consumed in a silver tidal wave, before the material was reabsorbed into the depths of his cloak "You can sort through this crap later, but either way it's all gone".
"Don't worry, I'm sure something in this store was your size" Nami teases with a wink.
"Wow, talk about a sale, or maybe a steal's more appropriate Nami-chin" Camie giggles as Papagu regrets his life choices.
"You don't know how good Miss Nami is at saving money" Brook laughs then pauses "Can anyone else hear an odd racket?" the skeleton asks, prompting the others to look outside.
"I think it's coming from that whale" Luffy points.
"Jamon, Jamon, Jamon…." is heard on repeat as the animal slowly floats down to the level of the residents, revealing the whale had a rider, a massive merman with a thick bushy orange beard, deep blue scales, a bright red nose….. And a huge golden crown.
"What, is he doing here?" Papagu squeaks, as everyone but the straw hats stop and stare in awe, the pirates merely staring in confusion.
"So….. who's the old guy?" Luffy asks bluntly.
"Best guess, mostly due to the crown…. He's King Neptune of Ryugu kingdom, aka Fishman Island" Kaos responds while the others facepalm at their captain's inability to understand obvious cues.
"You are correct, I am indeed King Neptune" the massive mountain of a Merman booms, then turns his head "Are these the travellers you met earlier Melagos?" he asks, a familiar shark popping up from behind him, barking happily and nodding its head.
"Hey, don't we know that shark from somewhere?" Ussop asks "Seems familiar".
"I think it's the one that came out of the Kraken when Luffy punched it" Nami answers "After all, how many sharks do you see wearing Crimin brand merch?"
"So that's where he went after we saved him. This is his home" Luffy grins.
"Hear my words Straw Hat and friends" Neptune intones "The reason I am here… is to invite you all, to the RYUGU PALACE!" he actually sings like he's in an opera at that last part.
"Well, this should be fun" Kaos grins while Camie and Papagu freak out in the background, so are Kaya and Ussop, but he kind of expected as such, this kind of crap hadn't happened in a while, they had lost their immunity to Straw Hat related weirdness.
"Is that a big deal or something?" Luffy asks.
"When a royal personally invites you to the palace, yes it is Luffy" Carue explains, the captain at least nodding in agreement given if anyone would know this, it would be Vivi's oldest friend and species-divided sister.
"Neat, not sure the locals are too happy about it though" Luffy notes.
"To be fair, if a crew of random fishmen or merfolk showed up in Alabasta and Vivi let them in, don't you think the locals would find that weird too?" Nami asks.
"If they were friends of ours, no. Oh, maybe it's 'cause we're friends with Jinbe!" Luffy suggests.
"Hey old guy, this palace place, does it have food? I followed Papaju all the way here just for food, so I hope to eat sometime today" Luffy asks, thankfully without his stomach rumbling.
"But of course, no offence, but only the best for the royal family of the Ryugu Kingdom, and we've already planned to have a banquet in your honour young man".
"Yay, Food! I hope there's meat up there too" Luffy starts to drool.
"Thank you, King Neptune, for this great honour," Kaos says with a half bow, mostly because he's not quite sure of the customs here.
'So, that's him huh. I hope you're right Newgate, and that the papers were lying about his, predilections' Neptune thinks, then turns to the shark "I trust you can get them to the palace safe and comfortably Megalo?" he asks, the shark yips and nods, before floating down so they could climb around, though not before playfully bumping it's snout into Luffy and Kaos, and getting a taloned hand scratching just behind his gills in response.
"He's so sweet, not anything like you'd expect a shark to be" Kaya hums as the gang start to climb onto the shark, then stops when she notices Camie and Papagu just standing there, staring "Um, are you ok? Do you need help getting on the shark?".
"We're not allowed to go" Camie replies.
"It's forbidden" Papagu adds.
"Don't care, get on the damn shark before I get hungry!" Luffy whines.
"While more blunt than I'd like, Luffy has a point. Our friends can come along right, Gramps?" Nami calls up, Neptune's shoulders shake in what they assume to be quiet chuckles before agreeing "See, Gramps says you can come, so get on the shark".
The 2 are soon helped on alongside the Straw Hats, Papagu's argument that Nami 'should treat the king with respect' being tuned out in a matter of seconds.
A little later
"Try not to fall, young man, we're quite high up" Neptune lightly scolds as Luffy just grins and walks around on Megalo's back, while the rest of them sit like normal people.
"So, what's Jamon, sounds kind of dumb to me" Luffy muses, Kaos grabbing Papagu before he could freak out, not throwing him overboard because the others like him though.
"My daughter loves that shark, it's her favourite pet …" Neptune begins, ignoring Luffy's question on his verbal tic "... when he disappeared, losing Megalo would have broken my little girl's heart. I had no idea he'd been attacked by the Kraken of all things, you have my eternal gratitude for rescuing him from such grave danger".
"I can't take all the credit, as I didn't know he was there when I punched Surume, but I'm happy it all worked out ay buddy" Luffy grins, knocking on Megalo's head and getting a bark-like noise in response.
"So the mermaid princess has a pet shark, good to know" Papagu nods with a grin.
"Oh, me thinks the starfish just tipped his hand. You're not actually a close personal friend with the princess are you?" Brook asks, getting chuckles from Kaos and Carue due to proximity "Joking aside, I do feel bad for Sanji, he's missing out on the chance to meet the Princess and he was probably the most eager to see her out of all of us" the skeleton continues.
"Yeah, dude's not been having the best week" Ussop hums 'If the princess has a pet shark, she's probably someone intense and scary, maybe even a battle maniac like Luffy, Kaos, Zoro, or Alvida' he thinks, imagining what would basically be a Kuja with a shark's lower half, and a sharp-toothed grin.
"Should I even be here, mermaids aren't supposed to just go to the Ryugu palace" Camie frets until Kaya squeezes her shoulder.
"It's ok Camie, we were told we could bring our friends, so why wouldn't we bring you along for the ride?" she asks with a soft smile.
"By the way I sent my sons to locate you, but then I got bored waiting in the palace so just decided to come down here myself" Neptune admits with a chuckle.
"Huh, could have told us that, they just passed on a message from Jinbe, then went about their business" Luffy hums.
"Really, I'm sure I told them to bring you back to the Palace" Neptune hums, brushing his thick beard "Oh well, I'm sure they'll find your friends and we'll all meet up at the Palace" the king hums with a shrug "I hope they get back soon, we're having a banquet you see, and I'd hate to hold off much longer".
"You and I think alike old man, we're gonna be best buds" Luffy agrees, both of them starting to drool, to Nami's annoyance.
"Oh right, one more thing, we already found one of your friends and brought them to the palace. He was very rude, and immediately started drinking without even waiting for the other guests to arrive. Don't remember his name though".
"Zoro" all the Straw Hats immediately supply "Has to be him".
"Probably, either way, no matter what happens my soldiers will locate and transport your crew to the palace post haste" Neptune assures them.
"Speaking of…. Where did everyone else go Nami?" Luffy asks curiously "Or did you wash up all by yourself?".
"Honestly, the rest of us all ended up in the same place, partially due to something Artemis did, but Franky managed to grab hold of me and Robin with no trouble. Speaking of, he's kind of on a personal errand at the moment, Val ad Victor went along as they were also heading to the Fishman district for one reason or another, Robin went off with Vivi, Artemis, and Medusa for, whatever she normally does when she disappears, Kaya went with me, and I have no idea where Alvida went, besides on her own" Nami explains.
"Besides looking for something to eat, yeah I got nothing either" Kaya admits with an embarrassed laugh.
"Makes sense, everyone has their own stuff they need doing, hopefully, they won't get into an incident without us," Kaos says with a lazy grin.
"That's Luffy's job, so they're probably fine" Ussop shrugs, getting a nod from Luffy, knowing his luck by now.
"Hey Fishking, I have a question, how is it so bright down here 10,000m below the surface of the water?" Nami asks.
Neptune gives a rumbling laugh before he answers "I'm sure that's the same question our ancestors had when they found this place, because yes this is the one place in the deep sea where the light reaches. It is a glowing beacon for all of Fishman and Merkind, has been for as long as anyone can remember and the records claim. We owe the light to the mighty Sun Tree Eve, whose roots reach all the way down to these depths, carrying the light from the world above down to us here in the Ryugu kingdom".
"Sun Tree Eve?" Nami repeats.
"Huh, seems Artemis was right about Light Roots, on a technical level at least if not the correct name" Brook notes.
"The Great Tree not only brings sunlight from the heavens, but its respiration supplies our island with the oxygen even we fish folk require to live. Our very existence is due to that tree".
"Interesting, does this have anything to do with the Mangroves in Sabaody?" Ussop wonders aloud
"Bored now, hey old guy, are we almost there?" Luffy whines
"Of course, young one, Ryugu Palace is right ahead of us" Neptune declares just before they reach the next bubble, then whale and shark fly to the proper entrance, unlike the last time the Straw Hats did something like this.
Boop
"Yeah?" the gate guard relays
"Neptune"
"Oh shit, sorry Sir, I'll open the gate right away" the Fishman panics
"Oh, one more thing before we go in, you'll need these" Neptune says, pulling a handful of pinkish corals from his bushy beard
"And these are?" Nami asks before the others could, examining her own piece
"Bubbly coral, it lets you make a personal bubble whenever you want" Camie explains
"Something the Devil fruit users in our group will need most of all" Ussop notes
"We don't get land dwellers often so most of the palace is submerged in water. We don't want anyone drowning, so please use the corals before we proceed" Neptune explains and requests
Nami and Ussop nod, depressing the end of the coral and forming a bubble large enough for the whole crew, only then did Neptune command Hapo and Megalos to swim through the gateway
"Jamon, we're here" Neptune announces, the visiting group stunned speechless by the wonder of the palace, as well as the abundance of wildlife
"Awesome, all these dragons look so cool" Luffy cheers
"Indeed, the opulence of this place makes Papagu's house look like a simple shack" Brook adds in agreement
"Buy me one of these, Luffy" Nami begs
"Nope, unless your name's are Vivi or Alvida I don't have to buy you expensive gifts" the straw boy shrugs
"Damn it, well, at least he's loyal" Nami sighs "Oh Ka…."
"No"
"Oh come on!"
"You're not the 2nd or most beautiful woman in the sea, you're maybe the third"
Once they entered the palace, the group disembarked from Megalos, though luckily they were able to take the bubble with them, probably why it was called a 'personal' bubble.
"Make yourselves at home Straw Hat humans, you are my honoured guests" Neptune declares with an unseen smile
"Not again! And you brought guests too!" who the straw hats assume to be one of Neptune's advisors bellows "I've told you not to leave the palace on your own, but do you listen? No! If you don't bring guards, or even inform the staff you can't leave the palace"
"Shame on your Sire" another scolds
"Apologies, Jamon. It won't happen again"
"Honestly, I was expecting something more like Iceberg than this" Kaos hums
"You mean something like "I'm the king, I can do what I want" that kind of response?" Ussop asks
"In a nutshell, yes"
"Weird, shouldn't his wife be doing that?" Luffy thinks aloud, only to get chopped in the head by Papagu, then get distracted by the smell of food, not that the former mattered due to his devil fruit.
"If you two would stop scolding me for 10 seconds you'd see I've brought back some very important guests, they're the pirates who saved Megelo from the Kraken, and at least 2 of them are friends of Jinbe" Neptune attempts to defend himself, pointing behind him at the Straw Hats "Well some of them. Now, let's welcome them properly so I can at least attempt to regain some dignity after that tongue lashing" he pauses, looking confused "Where is Shirahoshi, the princess should be here for this, especially… well I suppose I don't have to address it so long as I pretend I haven't noticed" the King mutters the last part to himself, but his large size meant his advisors and the pirates all heard him
"Your Highness"
"We had another… incident"
"AND SHE FOUND OUT! Don't give her another thing to worry about, she's a very delicate girl you know that!" Neptune scowls
"Don't you try to pin this on us! Do you know what would also stop her worrying? You staying in the palace where it's safe rather than running off on your own without guards or even leaving a note!"
"This is going to be a recurring problem won't it?" Carue asks with sweat drops
"It's a bit of a problem you collected the guests yourself, there have been some, troubling developments while you were out" One of the advisors admit
"Indeed, Prince Fukuboshi called and informed us of something quite worrying. Maybe it would be best if it was explained in private" the other minister suggests
"Just say it, I trust these people to behave and keep the secrets" Neptune states bluntly, a hint of pride welling up in the Straw Hats at the statement
"So, should we be worried about whatever that is?" Brook wonders
"Knowing our luck, probably" Nami sighs "Hey wait a minute, where'd Luffy go?" she asks, turning around to see both brothers had vanished "Oh come on!"
"It's going to be one of those days" Ussop mutters as he facepalms
"This is the royal palace, you can't just wander around on your own" Papagu shouts
"I'm actually more impressed Luffy-chin and Kaos-chin were able to wander off with all these guards standing around, and nobody said anything" Camie giggles, setting Brook, Carue and Kaya off in the process
Meanwhile, Luffy and Kaos were travelling around the water-filled palace in a separate bubble, oohing and awing at the correct times
"Still no food" Lufy sighs as his bubble bounces "But it's down here somewhere"
"Still an idiot" Kaos pants, even with the bubble the water was making him tired, and irritable "That will never change"
"If it helps, there's a dry zone just ahead of us" Luffy announces, about 5 seconds before he passes through the barrier and his bubble pops "Tada!"
"Ok, that is a lot better. But do you really think there's food down this random corridor?" Kaos asks
"Yup!"
"I figured that would be the response" he mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose before continuing on
"Now, we just have to get through those doors and we have all the food we want" Luffy grins as he points to the huge doors the ammoknight just exited from
"Should we be at least a little concerned at all the weapons sticking out of the walls? Because if nothing else it's kind of weird" Kaos thinks aloud
"Maybe a little, the door's kind of intimidating, like something out of Impel Down rather than a Palace. But oh well, the most fortified place is where they keep the food!" Luffy cheers
"Only on the Sunny" Kaos argues, and he knows Luffy agrees, as both he and Alvida would eat the Sunny empty if given the chance.
"Just shut up and help me open the door!" Luffy huffs, getting an eye roll as both pirates grab and heave against one of the fortified doors and slowly pull it open "It's dark in here, why would it be dark? There's supposed to be a banquet in here right now" Luffy wonders, but keeps walking "Never mind stopped caring, have food to eat"
"At least try to show some restraint Luffy, other people need to eat too, including the King" Kaos sighs deeply, but follows him in slowly
"Nah, I'm eating it all" Luffy grins before Rocketing into the gloom "Hm, is this a table, it's squishy. Weird" he hums before face-planting into something even bouncier and squisher "Damn it" he huffs, reaching for something to pull himself up "Ok, this feels like coral but why is it in a banquet hall?"
"It's underwater, they probably make everything with the materials on hand" Kaos answers, at least able to locate solid ground easier than Luffy had
"Hm, this part's squishy too, and really familiar" Luffy mumbles as he takes a big handful and squeezes, to which a soft gasp is heard "Is someone else here? Can you turn on the lights!" he shouts, before scrambling up the squishy wall with some degree of success "Please, it's really weird and creepy standing here in an empty room. Actually, this part is kind of fun" he giggles as the floor starts to behave more like a trampoline "Yahoo!"
"Idiot" Kaos groans, before flaring his haki, and stopping dead
"Hello, who's there?" a voice cries out
Click "Let there be light!" the same voice cries fearfully
"Ah! Bright light…. Kind of asked for that didn't I" Luffy winced as pitch black to shining lights was not a pleasant transition, nor was the floor becoming the wall as he slides off and bounces down to where he began "Holy titty bags!"
"What a horrible thing to do, to bounce upon a defenceless girl like myself" What used to be the floor was now revealed to be a giantess mermaid squeaks "Are you here to kill me too, because I'll have you know I'm not afraid of you…. Wait a minute" she pauses, as all three of their eyes adjust "You're… EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" the mermaid squeals, though this time it was potentially in joy rather than fear
"Well, I'm officially confused, and deaf" Luffy shouts, only to get punched in the head "Ow"
"That's for bouncing on the Mermaid princess's breasts" Kaos growls
"Yeah I deserve that one, should have waited for Vivi and Alvida shishishi"
"I will hit you again" the researcher hisses, as both wait for the princess to calm down
TBC
Well, the Straw hats have arrived at the palace, and Luffy & Kaos have met Shirahoshi…. Though the reaction is much different than it was in canon. Wonder why's that hmm?
Oh well, that's for next time. Hope you had fun, bye-bye.