Chapter 12: The Captain and the Helmsman
"Whoa...did you feel that?" One of the fishman that was moved the large wagon of food asked. The floor shook beneath them.
"I-I don't know...wait...it feels like it's coming from below us, no?" The other asked.
"W-What? No...that's impossible...the throne room is right underneath us. Why would it be causing that?"
"Maybe someone is attacking us?" The two looked at each other for a brief moment and then shrugged the idea off.
"Naaahhh! No way!" They both started to laugh. A barrel suddenly fell from the wagon, spooking the two fishmen.
"AAAAHHHH!" They screamed while hugging each other. They stared at the barrel and let out a deep sigh of relief.
"Ah man, it's just a barrel..."
"Yeah...getting scared about a barrel...we're guards, something like that shouldn't scare us...hahaha..."
"Meaaattt..." Both fishmen had their eyes widened and turned to look over at the barrel. Suddenly, a hand came out of the barrel, scaring the two fishmen.
"AAAAAHHHH MONSTER!" They screamed in complete fright.
The hand was reaching out to look for something, but when it couldn't find what it needed, the rest of the body started to come out of the barrel. The fishmen guards shook in their boots as the individual within the barrel crawled out.
His ponytail black haired head looked up and around, locking them with the two guards. "Huh? Who are you?"
"THAT'S WHAT WE SHOULD BE ASKING!" They both yelled at him.
Luffy blinked before laughing at their reaction. Annoyed by him, one of the guards picked up their spear and pointed it at Luffy. "Identify yourself!"
Luffy blinked at him and grinned. "I'm Mon-" He stopped however when he heard a voice below him. "Shirahoshi?" He muttered.
"Huh? Why do you know the Princess' name!?" The other guard questioned him, aiming his spear at Luffy.
"Sorry...but...I can't stay..." Luffy told them. The two guards gave him questionable looks and before they could say a word, Luffy beat his chest.
The sounds of drums rang within Luffy as his body and hair began turning white. Small bursts of haki exploded from him, causing the two fishmen to get blown back and knocked unconscious. Luffy's smile slowly turned to a familiar smirk and then grin.
Luffy then jumped and started to punch through the floor. "Gomu Gomu no...gatling gun!" He shouted and continuously punched the floor, breaking through it inch by inch. When he started to get deeper, he pulled his hands, grinned and grabbed parts of the floor around the hole and then launched himself through.
He reached back with his fist and then gave one final punch to the ground as it broke and the surrounding infrastructure gave in as well. He reached the throne room with a loud bang, diving faster towards the ground. He looked down and as the smoke dissipated he saw a brief glimpse of what was happening and noticed a person he didn't recognize going at Shirahoshi.
He immediately took this man as the reason why he heard Shirahoshi's voice and landed a fierce and strong punch to the man's face, timing it perfectly. The man felt Luffy's fist force itself into his face, likely leaving both a bruise and small mark. The force of the fist sent the man crashing hard straight into the ground.
Luffy grinned before landing on the ground as well and discovered that with his long hair, he was able to freely bounce with different strands of his hair and started to laugh.
"Hahahahaha!" He felt so giddy int his form and it was such a nostalgic feeling. He loved this form very much, allowing him to be the most free. He looked around as he bounced and his eyes immediately spotted Jinbe, who looked back at him with a stunned look. His chest was filled with warmth at the sight of his dear friend and quickly bounced towards him, smashing two cloaked individuals to the ground on the way, completely uncaring for their presence, and hugged his helmsman.
"JINBEIIIII!"
"L-LUFFY-KUN!" They called each other's name. Jinbe felt tears stream down his face. The warmth of Luffy's body was there, proving to him that he was real. That he was alive. After everything that happened over the last seven years since he thought he died. What occurred today, it was possibly the happiest he felt in such a long time. His Captain, his friend was alive and he once again saved Shirahoshi, saved his people.
"Shi shishishi!" Luffy laughed alongside his tearful friend. Robin and Sanji looked on with warm smiles at the sight of another reunion. A moment that they know will be more of.
"W-What is going? Who is...wait...that can't be...that's..." Naria couldn't finish as hands sprouted around her shoulders and clamped her mouth shut. She tried yelling, but was muffled by the hands as she turned to look at Robin.
"Sorry...but...I can't let you go now that you've seen him..." She told her. Naria tried to respond back through the muffled noises, but Robin sprouted more arms around her body, wrapping them around her and contorting her body to position. "Clutch!" Robin closed her hands and the arms around Naria forced her body to bend back, earning a bone breaking sound from the girl's body. She screamed in agony through her hands and then lost consciousness from the pain.
The third and last assassin was flabbergasted at how easy Naria was taken down. He took one last glance at Luffy and knew he had to report this to the higher ups of Crux. He turned and sped towards the exit.
"You're fast..." The last member of Crux was shocked when he saw Sanji running right next to him, matching his speed. "...but you're not as fast as me." Sanji then got ahead of him before raising his leg. "Tendron!" Sanji delivered a straight kick to the assassin's collar bone, sending him flying towards the other unconscious assassins, landing hard on the ground. Groaning in pain, the man lost consciousness from the strong attack of one of Luffy's wings.
The four former members of the Straw Hat crew gathered together, Robin using her powers to form hands on the floor and bring Naria's body to where the others lay. Luffy finally let go of Jinbe and floated right beside his crew. A smile grew on his face as he looked at the three he reunited with so far. "Shi shishishi! I missed you guys!"
Robin, Sanji and Jinbe looked at each other before smiling and nodding together. "Luffy-kun...how is this possible...how are you alive?" Jinbe asked.
"I don't know." Luffy simply replied as he twirled and floated in the air with his body in a laying position and hands behind his head.
"You don't know!?" Jinbe asked.
"It seems our Captain doesn't recall much of what happened with his battle with Imu. Regardless, to have him back is what matters in the end." Jinbe nodded.
"Yeah, you're right."
"Luffy...sama..." Everyone turned their attention to the Mermaid Princess as she looked down at Luffy with widened eyes. She couldn't believe it. The man who did so much for her was alive and saved her again. She was so overjoyed that her tears just started pouring out of her eyes. "I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE ALIVE, LUFFY-SAMA!" She cried as Luffy laughed.
"Shi shishishi! Shirahoshi! It's good to see you too!" He floated toward her, giving her his iconic grin. "You alright?" He asked, looking at her, the chains around her and the bodies that were laying all around.
"Y-Yes! Thanks to you, Luffy-sama!" She smiled with feeling gratitude and warmth through her body. However, her happiness was short lived when she remembered her father and brother. "Oh no! Otou-sama! Onii-sama!" Everyone suddenly remembered the injured bodies of King Neptune and Fukaboshi. Jinbe quickly went to go check on them and was relieved to see that they were still breathing.
"They're still breathing!" Jinbe announced. "But they need medical attention!"
"How far away is the nearest doctor?" Sanji asked.
"Not too far." Jinbe responded. "I'll head over with you." Jinbe offered, however was stopped by Lady Adrina.
"No, let me. I can help carry the medical staff and bring them here faster." She offered approaching the group. "It's the least I can do to help my family."
"I see. Then please." Jinbe asked of her. Lady Adrina nodded.
"I'll go with her." Sanji offered and the two starting heading out to find doctors.
Meanwhile, Luffy grabbed the chains around Shirahoshi and inflated his head to bite down and destroy them with ease. "Amazing, Luffy-sama." No matter how long she had known him for, he still amazed her.
"Shi shishishi! No problem. I'm glad I made it in time." He told her. "I still have to keep my promise." Shirahoshi's eyes widened as the memory of the promise they made came back to her. She felt tears in her eyes getting ready to burst.
She suddenly grabbed Luffy and hugged him to her cheeks, rubbing his body. "Luffy-sama! You remembered!"
"Of course!" He grinned against her cheek. Jinbe and Robin both looked up the two with warm smiles on their faces.
In the corner of the room, behind a pillar, Jokic looked on with panic. The plan completely failed and now he was stuck in a room with none of his guards available and the exit across the way. However, he would be spotted easy if he tried to book it.
'Shit, shit, shit...I knew I shouldn't have trusted them...now I'm screwed...wait...maybe I can play it off and pretend I didn't have anything to do with it. Yeah, that could work..' Prince Jokic nodded himself, thinking it was the perfect plan. He cleared his throat and prepared himself to lie his way out of this situation.
"Oh thank goodness you are safe, Princess!" Everyone turned their head to Prince Jokic as he approached them. "That was very terrifying, but I'm glad you are all safe."
Jinbe eyed the Prince with every ounce of suspicion he had. There was definitely something off about him and the fact that the death of his guard started everything, he had no reason to trust this man. Even the way he spoke sounded like a facade.
"Prince Jokic of Jokela Kingdom." Robin spoke as everyone looked at her.
"Hmm, you know him, Robin?" Luffy asked as he floated down to them.
"Not personally, but..." Robin paused for a moment. "...I do remember hearing some...interesting stories coming from his kingdom."
"O-Oh...and what kind of stories would those be, hahaha." Jokic smiled nervously.
"Nothing. Just heard a while back about some...illegal activities the kingdom was performing...but that's something you couldn't have been involved with." She smiled at him.
"R-Right..." He laughed nervously. 'How did this woman know about any of that?' He was stunned that someone would even know about anything illegal his kingdom was up to. He was certain they kept their tracks hidden well.
"Illegal?" Jinbe asked. "I see..." He eyed the Prince who jumped slightly from his gaze. "If that is the case, then unfortunately we can not continue this arrangement. We care very much about our Princess and we don't wish to have her marry someone with possible connections to some illegal activities"
"What!?" Jokic yelled. He never felt so insulted in his life. "How dare you!? Do you even know who I am!? I am Prince Jokic of the Jokela Kingdom! You dare reject me! You have no idea who you are messing with! You will pay for saying such things! Who wants to marry a disgusting fishman anyway!? No wonder she can't find a bride! She's nothing but a disgusting merma-" Before he could even finish, he was suddenly punched in the face but an angry Luffy. Shirahoshi eye's widened at the sudden abrupt attack. Jokic was sent flying straight to a pillar, smashing through and straight into a wall.
Everyone looked with stunned expressions as they looked over at Luffy. He suddenly took a deep breath and puffed his chest out released the breath he was holding. "That guy was annoying."
Everyone was silent until Robin couldn't help but let out some giggles at her Captain. "Well done as always, Captain."
He looked over at her and grinned. He bounced around in excitement at the praise as everyone couldn't help but smile and laugh along with the man who brought forth the dawn of the Third World.
~OP~
A man held onto the wall, trying heavily to keep himself on his feet. His face had a fist imprinted on it and blood dripped down his temple and the corner of his mouth. He panted heavily as the injuries he sustained made it a struggle to just keep himself on his feet. He barely was able to remain conscious. He didn't know how, but he managed to sneak away from the throne room. The assassination was a failure. He failed.
"I...I have to report...report to the boss...he's alive..." He muttered under his breath. Just speaking softly hurt his voice. The damage to his face was almost unbearable. The man, who tired to assassinate Shirahoshi, needed to let crux know of the return of the Sun God. He leaned against the wall and reached inside his cloak to take out a den den mushi. He turned it on and dialed the number.
After a few rings, and a 'Kuh-chuck', a voice came out of the snail's mouth. "Speak."
"I...I have a report..." The man began.
"Grayson...I assume your call means Poseidon has been killed." The voice behind the den den mushi spoke. The voice, despite speaking calmly, had a terrifying and threatening tone to it.
"N-No...I..."
"You failed? Consider this your ter-"
"No wait!" Grayson yelled. "There is something you need to know!"
A long pause before the voice spoke again. "...what?"
"We...we were this close to killing her, but we were stopped...he's back sir...Monk-" Before he could get the name out, a fist came out of no where and slammed right into his face. His head slammed directly to the wall, causing it to crack and leave a dent. Grayson groaned before losing consciousness.
"Speak...what happened?" The voice on the other side of the den den mushi asked, still showing a level of calmness in his voice.
The individual who punched him picked up the dial of the den den Mushi and spoke into it. "This is Admiral Koby of the New Marines. Is this the leader of Crux?"
No response came for a bit, making Koby think he scared the man away. "Interesting."
"Hm?" Koby raised an eyebrow at the response.
"Congrats on capturing my subordinate...though...I doubt he would call if it was just because of you Admiral." The voice responded. "It seems something else has happened and you wanted to make sure he did not speak of it."
There was some familiarity with the voice, but he couldn't quite place it. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was the one who stopped them."
"Hahaha..." The voice chuckled in the most monotone voice Koby ever heard. It was almost scary. "You humor me. It seems I have to find out what you're hiding Admiral...and don't worry...we will."
Koby stared down at the dial and clenched it slightly. "We won't let you get away with this."
"Try all you wish...but...we are not afraid to die to bring back our old world...our better world...this will be the last you hear my voice...and admiral...good luck." Before Koby could say anything in response, the snail 'ku-chuck' into silence, ending the call.
"Tch..." Koby placed the dial onto the top of the den den mushi. He looked down at the assassin named Grayson and sighed. He then took out his own den den mushi from within his admiral coat and used it to contact Hibari.
"Admiral Koby-san!" Hibari spoke from the other end.
"Hibari, we need you to bring some officers down here. We have successfully captured members of Crux." Koby asked of her.
"We are on our way!"
"Thanks." He ended the call and looked down at the assassin again. "Shit..."
~OP~
"You can't do this to me! I'm a Prince! You will all lose your jobs after this! My father will show you no mercy!" Marine officers dragged the Prince of Jokela Kingdom away in handcuffs, along with the members of Crux that were defeated by the Straw Hats. Koby, who arrived a few minutes after his conversation on the den den mushi, watched as his officers take away the criminals.
Koby sighed before turning to Robin. "By the way, how did you know about his possible connections to Crux?" Robin giggled.
"Oh, I didn't."
"Huh?"
"I just took a chance and he took the bait. Fufufufu~"
"Hahaha...I see. Well, thank you for that Robin-san." Koby thanked her.
"Otou-sama! Are you okay!?" Shirahoshi called out for her father as he stirred awake.
"Urghhh...my head...what happened?" Neptune asked looking at the worried expression on his daughter's face.
"I'm so glad you're okay..." She cried happily in relief.
"Isn't that great, Shirahoshi, Shi shishishi!" Luffy laughed as he floated near her arm, looking down at her King Neptune as well.
"Yes, Luffy-sama!" The Princess smiled at her savior, a small blush on her cheeks.
"Huh?" King Neptune looked over to the white Nika formed of Luffy and blinked a few times at him. "...A-Am I dead? Is this heaven?"
"No, father. It is not." Neptune turned his head to the other side and saw a bandaged Fukaboshi looked down at his father win one eye, the other covered by a bandage. Lady Adrina clinging to his arm affectionately, feeling relieved her fiancee was going to be okay.
"Ahhh...Fukaboshi...you died too..."
"Father...we're not dead..."
Neptune blinked at his son and then turned back to Luffy who was grinning at him. "Then...why am I seeing..."
Father, Luffy-sama came back! He's alive." Neptune took a bit to process the new information before he let out a loud yell.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?" He quickly jumped in shock at the news and got closer to Luffy to make sure he really wasn't seeing things. "Is it really you, Luffy-kun!?"
"Shi shishishi! Yep, it's me. I'm back!" He laughed at the reaction Neptune gave. Neptune couldn't believe it. Their hero, the man who saved fishmen island not once, but twice was alive and right in front of him.
"This...this is amazing news! We shall celebrate your return with a grand feast!" Neptune declared with a lot of joy.
"Really!? Let's gooo!" Luffy cheered along side him.
"Isn't that wonderful, Luffy-sama!?" Shirahoshi felt happy for Luffy.
"Father sure is filled with so much energy all of a sudden..." Fukaboshi commented in surprise.
"Hehehe, that's a good thing. I always wanted to meet the fabled Straw Hat." Lady Adrina added as she looked up at her fiancee affectionately and then at Luffy.
"Yeah...I guess it is." He smiled as he was in the end glad everyone was safe.
"Let us share the news with the entire island! A grand feast for our hero's return." Neptune declared as Luffy cheered.
"Ahhh, Neptune-sama, please wait!" Koby interrupted them as they looked down to him. "A feast is fine and all, but please don't announce this to anyone."
"Oh, you're that admiral..." Neptune recognized Koby after his heroics in the Great War.
"Yes. My apologies, but if you don't mind just having a private feast for now. We don't want Luffy-san's return to be known yet...at least until we reached Headquarters." Koby told him.
"Ah...I see...well...that's fine...I understand. Such a shame though...this is such a joyous occasion." Neptune didn't quite understand it, but figured there had to be some reason behind it.
"Huh...? So we're not gonna have a party?" Luffy asked, looking between Koby and Neptune.
"Oh no, we will! It'll just take some time to prepare." Neptune reassured him.
"I see. Shi shishishi! Can't wait then!" Neptune turned to his son.
"Let's get the preparations started. We should also let Ryuboshi and Manboshi know we are okay." Fukaboshi nodded.
"Will do. Shirahoshi, take our guests back to your room as they wait for us to finish."
"No, please let me. Both of you are hurt and I-" Shirahoshi tried to reason with her brother and father, but both shook their heads in disagreement.
"It's fine. You should spend time with Luffy-sama and the others." He told her.
"Don't worry, I will watch over them, Shirahoshi-chan." Lady Adrina reassured her future sister-in-law with a smile.
"Ah...hai!" She smiled brightly in return. Neptune looked down and turned to Jinbe.
"Jinbe..."
"Neptune-sama...allow me to apologize for what happened. I didn't think..." Neptune was quick to reassure his loyal friend.
"Don't apologize. This was not your fault. I was just going to tell you to go with them as well. I know you must have missed Luffy-kun this entire time. Go, spend time with your former Captain." Jinbe looked up at the king of his people and couldn't describe the immense respect he had for him. He was glad to consider him as a close friend.
"Thank you...Neptune-sama!" Jinbe lowered his head in respect as Luffy floated down to his former helmsman and grinned at him.
"Isn't that great Jinbe!" He looked over to his Captain and gave him a wide grin.
"Luffy-kun..." He closed his eyes as tears formed in his eyes once again. "Thank you...both of you." He spoke to both Luffy and Neptune.
Everyone stared at Jinbe with warm smiles before either heading to Shirahoshi's room or followed Neptune and Fukaboshi.
~OP~
"I see...so you don't remember anything." Jinbe asked as they sat on Shirahoshi's comfy bed, with the Mermaid Princess laying down on her stomach, elbows on the bed and head on her hands. She listened to the conversation intently, but kept her eyes on Luffy as he ate some small snacks that she had laying around.
"Nope." Luffy nodded.
"That is strange..." Jinbe whispered under his breath,
"Well, if most of his memory returned, its likely the rest would as well." Sanji added as he sat in between Luffy and Jinbe. "Who knows, he might just remember it randomly or see something that could jog his memory."
"That is a possibility." Robin agreed, sitting next to Jinbe on the other side. "Some memory loss can come back by just seeing something that is connected to it."
"Maybe Chopper can help us too when we go see him." Sanji offered.
"Oooohhh! Chopper! I hear he's doing great, Shi shishishi! Works at umm...Sashimi or something." Luffy grinned.
"It's Sakura." Sanji corrected him. Robin only chuckled as Jinbe looked at him with a warm smile. Shirahoshi smiled down at them, feeling a little out of place.
"Oh yeah, Jinbe, I heard you were a di..di...die pillow or something." Luffy struggled to remember the word as the others either chuckled or sweat dropped at their Captain.
"You mean diplomat. Yes." Jinbe corrected him. "For the last several years I've been working on my dream of changing the relationship between humans and Fishmen. We've been trying to find a human Prince to marry Shirahoshi, with her consent of course, to help with those relations."
"Eeeehhh..." Luffy hummed, thought his crew could tell he wasn't necessarily following the conversation.
"He's basically saying he wants humans and fishmen to work together and not hate each other." Robin simplified as much as she could. "That way we don't get another Hody situation or see fishmen wind up like what almost happened to Keimi." Luffy frowned at those memories. Now he was caught up with an understanding of what Jinbe was trying to do.
"As Nico Robin said, that's my job as a diplomat. I thought there was a chance that Prince Jokic would be a good candidate, but...I thought wrong." Jinbe looked up to Shirahoshi. "My apologies, Shirahoshi-sama...If I knew, then..."
"It's alright, Jinbe-sama. You didn't know and I know how important it is for our people." Shirahoshi reassured the smaller fishman. "Hopefully we will find someone that I can fall in love with and marry, to help my people." A warm radiant smile appeared on her face.
"Shirahoshi-sama...thank you..." Jinbe lowered his head at her kindness.
"Ahh...my dear Shirahoshi-chan...if I wasn't already a taken man, I would have been honored to be your Prince Charming." Sanji commented. "Alas, I have someone waiting for me at home."
"Oh, you do!? That's wonderful, Sanji-sama! She must be a wonderful person!" Shirahoshi smiled at him. Sanji bit down on the cigarette in his mouth to avoid going full Love Mode. His restraint was almost fading, but one look over at Robin who gave him a 'warning' smile stopped him from doing so.
"Y-yes, she is. Pudding is my one true love." He proclaimed and his lips turned to a warm smile as he thought about her.
"Hahahaha, that's good news to hear, Sanji. I hope we get invited to the wedding." Jinbe laughed.
"Of course...I wouldn't want you guys to miss it." He told him with a smile.
"Shi shishishi! Sanji getting married is a little weird..." Luffy commented as Sanji gave him a little knock on the head with his leg.
"Shut up! It's not weird!" Luffy just laughed.
Robin watched the interaction with a smile. Then, she got an idea or at least wanted to see how one would respond and looked up to Shirahoshi.
"Shirahoshi-chan?"
"Hm? Yes!?" She turned to looked down at the Straw Hat archaeologist.
"Why not ask Luffy if he could marry you?" Everyone froze and turned silent as they looked at Robin.
"Marry...Luffy-sama..." Shirahoshi repeated and took a glance down at Luffy who was sitting in front of her. Suddenly, her face turned completely red and before she knew it, she felt her entire body get flustered. "EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH!? M-M-M-M-MARRY LUFFY-SAMA!?" She rose up from the bed, causing the bed to shift up and down like waves, putting her hands on the side of her face. "I.I.I.I.I...ME MARRYING LUFFY-SAMA...I...THAT',S...UMMM...I W-W-W-WOULDN'T MIND...BUT...WAIT NO...I...UWAAAHHHH!"
Robin chuckled at her innocent reaction, like a school girl who just had her crush be revealed. Jinbe sweat dropped at what was happening, but when he thought about it, it wasn't a terrible idea. Who else would be perfect to help with the relations with Fishmen and humans. He may not be a Prince per say, heck he was the Pirate King, but they could make an exception. In fact, it might he might be the best choice for Shirahoshi. Both he and Shirahoshi knew Luffy personally so they could trust him. It didn't sound quite far fetched of an idea.
Sanji gritted his teeth at the idea, feeling jealousy boil up in his body, but secretly took out a picture of Pudding to help him calm down. He still had some work to do. Luffy on the other hand had no idea what was going on, but he did hear the word marriage and his name in the same sentence.
"How about, Luffy?" Robin asked as everyone looked over to him in anticipation of his answer. Shirahoshi hid her face with her hands peeked through her fingers at Luffy, her heart beating loudly against her chest. "Would you like to marry, Shirahoshi?"
Luffy looked over at Robin and with a straight face said. "Sorry, I don't want to get married to Shirahoshi." He bluntly said. Everyone let go of the air they were holding. Jinbe felt some of his hope fall, but figured it was going to be a long shot. Sanji was a bit relieved to hear Luffy's response, but he knew he still had to work on his jealousy.
Shirahoshi felt deflated at the rejection, feeling her heart break a bit. She had a tiny sliver of hope that Luffy might have accepted, but she figured, like Jinbe, that he would reject it as well. It did hurt a bit as she did have a crush on him. Something she didn't want anyone to know, but now she knew how Luffy felt, which likely will help her move on from her crush...at least she hoped it did.
Robin simply looked at Luffy and watched him go back to eating, seeing nothing in his response or demeanor that told her he was likely lying. 'So...it's not Shirahoshi...' She knew this might get bothersome to Luffy if she kept at it, but her curiosity got the better of her, after that slight hesitation in his response back on the ship a while back.
"Well, in any case, I'm sure one day we will find someone that can help connect our races together." Jinbe confidently said as everyone gave him a smile at his tenacity for peace between the two races.
"Yes, Jinbe-sama!"
"Shi shishishishi!"
~OP~
"Sugoi! So much food!" Luffy exclaimed loudly as he and the others entered the Grand Hall to see so much food was prepared for Luffy and the others. Neptune approached them, still bandaged up and welcomed his honored guests.
"Welcome! Please enjoy our hospitality to your hearts content! We thank you for you help once again and we like to welcome you back, Luffy-kun!" He told them with a bright smile. Shirahoshi, Fukaboshi and Lady Adrina all went to stand by Neptune's side and lowered their heads in gratitude.
"Thank you for everything!" They all said as the Straw Hats smiled back at them.
"Shi shishishi! Yosh! Let's eat!" Luffy declared as the party began. Koby and Hibari eventually came as well after completing their Marine duties and joined in on the celebration.
At some point during the feast, Shirahoshi's other two brothers arrived from their own journeys to partake in the feast. Of course not before being reassured that their father and siblings were okay and getting the biggest shock of their lives with Luffy's return.
The party went on as Luffy was getting bigger and bigger with all the food that he was consuming as everyone laughed and enjoyed the festivities. As the party was calming down a bit, Luffy looked over at Jinbe and smiled at him.
"Jinbe!" The whale shark fishman turned to his captain, a smile on his face.
"Yes, Luffy-kun?" Luffy chuckled.
"I'm glad you're doing well! Can't wait for us to go out and find the others." Jinbe was stunned by his words and lowered the mug of beer he had in his hands.
"Luffy-kun...I...I don't if..." He hesitated. As much as he wanted to go with them, he also had his duties as a diplomat. It wasn't something he could just up and leave.
"You can't come?" He asked his former helmsman as Sanji and Robin watched along, waiting to see how this turns out.
"I want to Luffy-kun...but...after what happened...I can't just..."
"What are you saying, Jinbe?" It was Neptune who spoke as he approached them. "You are more than welcomed to return to sailing with your crew."
"Huh? But..."
"It's true you have your duties as a diplomat, but as your King, I order you to go on vacation and sail with Luffy-kun and the others." He told him.
"Neptune-sama..." Jinbe looked over at the other members of the royal family and then at his former crew mates. Each one of them giving him a warm smile. Jinbe felt his emotions come out again as tears began coming out.
"Jinbe-sama, please enjoy your vacation!" Shirahoshi smiled warmly which was enough for the tears to stream down. He lowered himself to the ground and touched his forehead to the floor.
"Thank you!" Everyone smiled warmly at him as Luffy was ecstatic that another member of his crew was going to be journeying with him once again.
"Shi shishishi! Let's go on more adventures, Jinbe!"
Jinbe lifted himself and turned to Luffy with the biggest smile he ever had in a long time. "Yes, Captain!"
END