Shyarly's life on Fish-Man Island wasn't solely about relying on Arlong.
In fact, Arlong had been abandoned by his parents as a child and grew up on Fish-Man District, which shaped his aggressive and combative personality.
Shyarly, on the other hand, was sent to Fish-Man District only when Arlong was nearly fifteen.
The two only lived together for a short period.
To say they shared a deep sibling bond would be an exaggeration.
Their personalities were also quite different.
Unlike Arlong, who harbored hostility toward humans and believed in fish-man supremacy, Shyarly's stance had always remained neutral.
She didn't agree with the oppression of fish-n and rfolk by humans, nor did she support blind hatred toward humans.
For fish-n and rfolk to survive in this world, they couldn't classify every human on land as an enemy.
When interacting with young fish-n and rfolk, Shyarly would encourage them to see for themselves that not all humans were despicable.
When Shyarly was young, she once encountered Roger and his crew, and it was then that her prophetic talent first manifested.
Roger left a deep impression on her.
Because of this, after Roger turned himself in and Naruto first arrived at Fish-Man Island, she secretly observed this apprentice of the Roger Pirates alongside Jinbe and the others.
"I see-"
Hearing Shyarly's words, Naruto didn't seem inclined to continue the topic.
His gaze drifted to the side, where he noticed the shattered crystal ball on the floor.
"By the way, did you trip and fall earlier?"
By now, Shyarly's wound had mostly healed, and the surrounding rmaids watched this miraculous thod with amazent.
But since the seas were full of all kinds of bizarre Devil Fruit Users, their curiosity was only fleeting.
"Yes, I just saw a prophecy about the future… you can all leave now, I'm fine."
The latter part was directed at the rmaid waitresses in the room.
Soon, only Shyarly and Naruto remained inside.
Without hesitation, Shyarly recounted the 'future' she had seen to Naruto.
anwhile, under Shyarly's slightly odd gaze, Naruto picked up the fragnts of the crystal ball and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing loudly.
She didn't really care about a crystal ball… especially one that was already broken.
But she wondered if Naruto, after all this ti apart, had evolved to the point of eating anything.
Soon, she realized she was mistaken.
After swallowing the shattered crystal ball, Naruto activated his ability, and a brand-new crystal ball slowly 'erged' from his palm.
In truth, users of the Baku Baku no Mi didn't necessarily need their mouths to 'spit out' the recombined and remade products.
Just like how, after consuming a cannon, their arms could transform into cannons.
People like Wapol were just indulging in their own twisted preferences.
"Here, this crystal ball won't break so easily now."
Inside the crystal ball, Naruto had not only incorporated more durable materials but also innovatively infused it with a trace of Chakra… aning this crystal ball was likely the first 'ninja tool' in the One Piece World.
...and it was even capable of moving on its own.
Unfortunately, Shyarly didn't possess Chakra, but an intact crystal ball was more than enough for her.
"Prophecies are just sothing to glance at… the future changes every mont."
Naruto's perspective on prophecies differed from Shyarly's.
Shyarly, of course, understood that Naruto was just trying to comfort her, so she simply smiled without any intention of arguing.
Since they were old acquaintances, the two continued catching up before Naruto excused himself, citing that he still needed to visit the Neptune Family.
"Truly, you haven't changed at all, Naruto-sama."
Shyarly glanced at her palm… here wasn't even a scar left, only the lingering warmth of Naruto's touch.
At that mont, the crystal ball, untouched by anyone, began displaying images on its own.
But Shyarly didn't notice at all.
…
After leaving the rmaid Cafe, Naruto didn't waste any ti and headed straight for the Ryugu Palace, the royal palace of Fish-Man Island, following the path from his mory.
The guards of the Ryugu Palace didn't hold Naruto back for long.
In fact, the mont Naruto gave his na, they imdiately rushed to report to King Neptune.
Before long, Neptune, the rman king, whose towering fra dwarfed even Naruto's, erged with his three sons to greet him.
This wasn't the proper etiquette for a king, but it was the way of friends.
"Ooooh!! Naruto! You've finally co to visit us at Ryugu Palace!"
Neptune held imnse goodwill toward Naruto, his wife's dear friend.
Not only because Queen Otohi had personally said, 'Naruto is a friend worthy of trust', but also because, in their subsequent interactions, Naruto had truly treated them as friends-
Not as a king with value to exploit, nor as a different species.
But as genuine, equal friends.
"Hahaha! Neptune! Long ti no see!"
Naruto, without any pretense of formality, strode forward and embraced the king in a friendly hug.
-Compared to Neptune, who stood over ten ters tall, Naruto's three-ter fra seed almost 'petite'.
After exchanging greetings, Naruto turned his attention to the three princes.
"Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, and Manboshi! You've all grown up so well! Otohi-nee would've been overjoyed to see this."
Without hesitation, Naruto reached out and patted each of their shoulders.
"Uncle Naruto!"
Though there was still a height difference, the three princes treated Naruto with the respect befitting an uncle, even lowering themselves slightly.
Naruto was only about a decade older than them, and during his stay at Ryugu Palace, he had often played around with these three troublemakers.
Rather than an uncle, he was more like a 'big brother'.
After Shirahoshi was born, Naruto had secretly returned to Fish-Man Island to visit her and Queen Otohi.
Fukaboshi, as the eldest prince, wasn't as openly excitable as his younger brothers, but the excitent in his eyes was unmistakable.
"It's great that you're finally here, Uncle. Now Shirahoshi can-"
"Fukaboshi!"
Neptune suddenly spoke, interrupting Fukaboshi's words.
Fukaboshi also realized his slip of the tongue and quickly shut his mouth.
Naruto, having caught the exchange, knew right away that the father and sons were hiding sothing from him.
"Speaking of which, where's Shirahoshi? Why don't I see her?"
At this question, Neptune's expression briefly flickered with a mix of awkwardness and worry before he schooled it back.
But Naruto had already noticed.
"Seems like you're still keeping things from , Neptune. Are you not treating as a friend anymore?"
On the contrary, it was precisely because Neptune considered Naruto a friend that he didn't want to trouble him.
After all, Naruto's identity is special, so he is embarrassed to drag him into their problems under the watchful eyes of the World Governnt and the Marines.
But now that the secret was out, Neptune hesitated before finally explaining the situation with Shirahoshi and Vander Decken.
It was a very simple story.
On the day Queen Otohi was assassinated, Shirahoshi awakened her ability to control the massive Sea Kings… a scene witnessed by Vander Decken IX, the eighth descendant of the original Vander Decken.
Thus, seeking to exploit both Shirahoshi's power and the royal family's influence, Vander Decken directly proposed marriage to Neptune.
Keep in mind… Shirahoshi was only six years old at the ti!
Naturally, Neptune refused.
With the protection of the Ryugu Palace, Vander Decken, being alone, couldn't simply storm in.
But the problem was… he was a user of the Mato Mato no Mi, allowing him to launch any object he touched toward a previously marked 'target'. (T/N: Target-Target Fruit)
And unfortunately, Shirahoshi had once been touched by him.
For the next ten years, Vander Decken would periodically hurl weapons at Shirahoshi as harassnt.
He declared that unless Shirahoshi married him, these attacks would never stop.
It was also because of this that Shirahoshi had been confined to the palace for the past decade, unable to go outside like her brothers.
After hearing the whole story, Naruto's temples twitched with barely suppressed anger.
"It's fine if you don't ask for help, but didn't Whitebeard promise to protect-"
Naruto stopped talking before he could finish his words.
'Right. That old man had specifically instructed Namur and the others not to interfere in Fish-Man Island's internal affairs.
'Although this bastard Vander Decken is a criminal, he was still a fish-man.'
'At its core, this was an internal affair.'
Naruto sighed internally at Whitebeard's inflexible principles, 'Next ti we et, I'm throwing this in his face.'
'Oh, and there was Ace's matter too.'
''Justice', 'honor'… damn it, old man! One day, you'll get yourself killed over these ideals!'
"Naruto-"
Neptune rarely saw Naruto this furious and tried to say sothing, but Naruto cut him off.
"Neptune, you really didn't treat as a friend here."
Before Naruto could continue, a massive axe suddenly ca soaring through the sky.
Speak of the devil.
It was Vander Decken's routine harassnt.
'Perfect timing.'
Naruto leaped into the air and caught the giant axe mid-flight.
On the ground, Fukaboshi exchanged glances with his brothers before shouting up at Naruto:
"Uncle Naruto, Vander Decken's been lurking in the deep sea around here! You won't find him easily."
The man lived aboard the moving warship [Flying Dutchman], which was why Neptune had never been able to capture him.
"Don't worry, Uncle is really angry this ti," Naruto looked down at them, his voice chillingly calm.
"I'll settle this first. Then we'll catch up properly."
With that, he kicked off the air and shot toward the distance at blinding speed.
Reviews
All reviews (0)