Chapter 365: Chapter 365 Meiser’s Surprise, Just How Much Does Galette’s Family Love Sweets...

"This operation on Fish-Man Island is even more dangerous than I imagined," Nami said with a headache.

If it weren’t for Meiser, they might have all drowned in the sea current.

Hearing Nami’s words, Merry laughed, "But it’s also exciting, isn’t it!"

An adventure like this is truly interesting. "That may be true, but..." Nami rubbed her temples and said, "I wish there could be a little less of this kind of excitement."

If it happened too often, she was afraid her heart wouldn’t be able to take it.

"That’s difficult~" Franky spread his hands and said, "After all, our captain is Luffy."

With that guy around, having a peaceful adventure is basically impossible.

After all... that guy loves unknown adventures the most!

Nami: —

Listening to Franky’s words, an image of a certain adventure-loving idiot immediately popped into Nami’s mind, and she silently sighed.

Yes, with a captain like that... it’s impossible for them to have any peace.

Shaking her head, Nami stood up from the rock and said, "I’m planning to go into town to look around and buy some things. Who wants to come with me?"

They finally made it to Fish-Man Island; they couldn’t just stay by the ship the whole time.

So... time to go shopping!

"Me!" Merry raised her hand.

She looked as obedient as a little schoolgirl.

"Alright."

After reaching out to ruffle Little Merry’s hair, Nami looked at Nico Robin and Franky and asked, "What about you two?"

"I won’t go," Franky shook his head and said. "I need to clean up the Thousand Sunny first."

They might need their pirate ship at any time, so before that, he needed to get the ship ready.

This was also his duty as the shipwright.

"Then the Thousand Sunny is in your hands."

"Leave it to super me!" Franky said, giving a thumbs-up.

With his abilities, he could definitely get the Thousand Sunny ready in just a few hours!

Nami nodded, then turned her gaze to Nico Robin and asked, "What about you?"

"I’m going to look around elsewhere," Nico Robin said with a profound look in her eyes. "Perhaps there are things on this island that I want to know."

According to Uncle Rayleigh, there are things on this island that record history, so... she wanted to go see.

Hearing this, Nami was momentarily stunned, then nodded and said, "Alright, then be careful."

"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine on my own," Nico Robin said with a smile.

As someone who lived alone in the dark world for twenty years, protecting herself was absolutely no problem.

"That’s true," Nami smiled, then turned to Merry and said, "Merry, let’s go. We’re going to town to buy some nice clothes."

"Okay!"

Little Merry immediately raised her small hand and said, "Then I want to buy a pretty little dress!"

"No problem."

Watching the two leave with smiles on their faces, Nico Robin also smiled, then turned to Franky and said, "I’m heading out too, Franky. See you later."

"Alright!"

Franky, holding a toolbox, waved without looking up, then got down to work with his butt in the air, focusing on his job.

Nico Robin didn’t mind, nodded, and turned to leave.

"I wonder how Zoro and the others are doing," Merry, floating beside Nami, said. "Will they be with Meiser?"

"Not sure," Nami shook her head. "I passed out at the time, so I don’t know if Zoro was with Meiser."

After a pause, she continued, "But... as long as someone is with Zoro, he won’t get lost."

"Perona, then."

Recalling the last scene she saw, Merry nodded and said, "If Perona is with Zoro, he probably won’t get lost."

After all, it was with Perona’s help that Zoro made it to the Sabaody Archipelago.

Nami agreed.

"Let’s go, we’ll explore first and look for them later."

"Alright!"

Then, the two walked off smiling toward the distant streets.

Meanwhile, Zoro, whom they were thinking of, was walking through a special coral forest on the island.

"Damn it, where is this place?!" Zoro said, rubbing his temples.

Not only did all the paths look identical, but the area was also huge... How was he supposed to find his way out?

After thinking for a moment, Zoro gripped the hilt of his sword and said, "Maybe I should just cut a path through."

As if he thought this was a brilliant idea, Zoro’s eyes lit up.

With his skills, cutting a path would be no problem at all!

But before he could act, he heard a woman’s voice.

"So, what exactly are you doing?"

Zoro: !!!

Hearing that familiar voice from above, Zoro’s expression stiffened, and he casually released his grip on the sword hilt, saying, "Just taking a walk."

"Taking a walk?"

Perona, floating down from the air, poked Zoro’s forehead with a finger. "Do you think I’m an idiot?"

"What kind of walk has you circling the same 50-meter area for ten minutes?"

If he’s lost, he’s lost... calling it a walk—how could he even say that?

Zoro: ...

Seeing Perona’s slightly disdainful expression, Zoro fell silent.

After a moment, Zoro said, "So, you’ve been here for a while?"

"Yeah, about ten minutes," Perona glanced at her watch. "And I’ve been watching you wander around for ten minutes."

If she hadn’t wanted to waste any more time, she would’ve loved to see how long this idiot would keep circling, maybe even spending the whole day stuck in this few-hundred-meter coral forest.

Hearing Perona’s words, Zoro’s face immediately flushed red.

But he didn’t say anything more, just turned his head away from Perona, looking as if he was sulking.

"You still have the nerve to sulk with me?" Perona grabbed Zoro’s face and said, "Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through to find you?"

She had only been distracted by the scenery of Fish-Man Island for a moment, but when she looked back, Zoro was gone.

She was dumbfounded—how ridiculous!

After that, she spent over two hours searching for this jerk! 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Over two hours!!!

Just thinking about it made Perona even angrier.

"I wouldn’t get lost."

Zoro, his face still pinched, grumbled unhappily, "I was just taking a walk. I would’ve gone back eventually."

Seriously, did she really think he was that directionally challenged?

"Is this what you call ’going back eventually’?" Perona pointed to the nearby coral forest and said, "If I hadn’t come, would you have wandered around here all day?"

Zoro—

Why was his mouth still so sharp?

Darn it!

"Hmph, from now on, you’re not allowed to leave my side, got it?" Perona released Zoro’s face and glared at him. "Otherwise, if you get lost, I’ll have to go looking for you again."

With that, she summoned several Negative Spirits, making her threat all the more intimidating.

"Fine, you’re so naggy."

That simple sentence made Perona fume with anger.

"You jerk!"

"Hmm?"

Just as Perona was about to teach Zoro a lesson, his expression suddenly turned serious, and he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Seeing this, Perona paused for a moment before floating behind Zoro and asking, "What’s wrong?"

Why did this idiot suddenly become so serious? Could someone be coming?

"Someone’s coming," Zoro said, narrowing his eyes. "And there are quite a few of them."

As if to confirm Zoro’s words, a large group of Fish-Man soldiers rushed out the next moment, surrounding the two with weapons in hand.

"So many?" Perona exclaimed in surprise. "Are they here to capture us?"

Could these guys be after their heads?

Even though her head wasn’t worth much, this idiot Zoro’s head was worth a fortune!

"Maybe," Zoro replied.

These guys might be here to capture them because they didn’t enter through the main gate, just like... back on Sky Island!

"You’re the Straw Hat Crew’s Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro, right?" the lead Fish-man said, looking at Zoro.

After speaking, the lead Fish-man curiously glanced at Perona, who was hiding behind Zoro.

’This person doesn’t have a Wanted Poster... Is she a new member?’

There was no other explanation.

Thinking this, the Fish-man nodded to himself before turning his attention back to Zoro’s face.

At that moment, Zoro calmly replied, "What if I am?"

"Good, that makes things easier."

"Are we fighting?" Perona asked.

As she spoke, the ghosts floating beside her rose into the air, as if ready for battle.

She herself remained behind Zoro.

"What the heck are those things?"

"Ghosts?!"

Seeing the ghosts around Perona, the Fish-Man soldiers immediately took several steps back in fear, their eyes wide with terror.

"Hara hara hara!"

Perona, who had taken in the other party’s reaction, immediately laughed, then floated out from behind Zoro, placing one hand on her hip as she said, "That’s right, this is my Hollow Power!"

"Hara hara hara!"

"Gulp..."

Hearing Perona’s words, the lead Fish-man instinctively swallowed and then said, "Don’t misunderstand, you two. We’re not here to capture you."

"Huh?"

"Not here to fight?"

Perona, who had been laughing, suddenly froze. If they weren’t here to fight, why did they come with such an aggressive stance?

"Of course we’re not here to fight," the lead Fish-man said somewhat helplessly. "Even out of respect for the Blood-Eyed Ninja, we wouldn’t capture you just for illegal entry."

Besides, they probably couldn’t win anyway.

"Then what are you here for?" Zoro frowned.

"You must have saved a shark earlier, right?" the lead Fish-man said.

"That did happen."

"Then that’s it." The lead Fish-man waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to lower their weapons, then continued, "That was our Princess Shirahoshi’s pet, Megalo. Because you saved it, and considering what your companion, the Blood-Eyed Ninja, has done... our King wishes to invite you to a feast."

Perona: ???

"So you’re here to invite us to a banquet?"

"Yes," the lead Fish-man nodded. "And others from the Straw Hat Pirates are also being invited."

Perona was left speechless. If they were here to invite them to a banquet, why bring so many people? It looked like they were trying to capture them...

"Is there good alcohol?" Zoro asked with an interested expression.

If there was good alcohol, he wouldn’t mind going with these guys.

As for whether they were lying to him?

Zoro, with absolute confidence in his own strength, wasn’t afraid of such a thing.

"Of course," the lead Fish-man grinned. "Our King has brought out some long-cherished fine alcohol to treat you all."

Recalling what the King had said not long ago, he nodded again in confirmation.

"Then lead the way!"

Seeing Zoro agree so easily, Perona was stunned. "Zoro, aren’t you afraid they’re tricking us?"

What if these guys have bad intentions?

"What’s there to fear?" Zoro said calmly. "If they dare trick me, I’ll cut them down!"

Perona: ...

That really fits your personality.

But once she thought about Zoro’s current strength, Perona calmed down. With this man around, there really was nothing to worry about.

Thinking this, Perona also nodded to the lead Fish-man and said, "Lead the way!"

"Alright!"

Seeing both of them accept the invitation, the lead Fish-man breathed a sigh of relief. His mission was accomplished.

Then, he smiled and said, "Please follow me. We’re going to Ryugu Palace."

"Alright!"

Meanwhile, on the other side.

After walking for a while, Meiser and the others successfully arrived at the Mermaid Cafe.

At the entrance, they spotted Brook.

"Brook?"

Looking at the guy standing at the door, Usopp laughed. "So you’re the person the fortune teller mentioned."

I never expected the first one they’d find would be Brook.

"Huh?"

"It’s you guys."

Upon seeing Meiser and the others, Brook immediately showed a delighted expression, then laughed, "It seems everyone made it safely ashore."

"Naturally," Meiser said.

With his Clone around, there was no way anyone could drown in the sea.

Brook nodded, then looked at Camie and said, "Miss Camie, it’s been such a long time."

"It really has, Bone-kun!" Camie laughed.

"Yohohohoho!"

"Miss Camie is still so captivating!"

"Now then..."

After adjusting his collar, Brook approached Camie and said, "Miss Camie, could you let me see your pant..."

"Shut up, you!" Pappag kicked Brook in the face and said, "Besides, she’s Merfolk! How could she possibly wear something like that!"

"Yohohohoho!"

Brook, who had been kicked, didn’t get angry but instead laughed even more happily.

Pappag shook his head helplessly, then turned to Meiser with an excited expression and said, "Brook told me that you... you..."

"Ah, it’s me," Meiser smiled. "I’m still alive."

"That’s wonderful!"

Upon receiving the confirmation, Pappag immediately teared up and threw himself at Meiser, saying, "I really thought you had died."

When he saw that newspaper two years ago, he was heartbroken.

"But I’m still alive, aren’t I?" Meiser laughed.

"Mhm."

After confirming that Meiser was truly alive, Pappag gradually calmed down.

Then, he turned around and greeted Luffy and Usopp.

After that, Pappag said, "Come on, let’s go to my place first."

Brook had already told him about Meiser, so there were some things he wanted to discuss with Meiser after they got back.

"To your place?" Usopp was taken aback, then pointed at the Mermaid Cafe in front of them and said, "But we’re already here. Shouldn’t we go in and take a look?"

This was the Mermaid Cafe, after all.

"It’s not like you’re leaving today, so what’s the rush?" Pappag laughed. "Once everyone else arrives, we can all come here together."

"Come on, let’s go to my place first. I’ll treat you all to some delicious Sea Beast Meat!"

Since Meiser and the others had come all this way, he naturally wanted to be a good host!

"Oh, Sea Beast Meat!"

As soon as he heard about Sea Beast Meat, Luffy’s attention was immediately diverted.

"You eat Sea Beast Meat too?" Usopp looked at Pappag in surprise.

He thought this guy only ate clams.

"How could a wild starfish like me be satisfied with just seaweed and shellfish~" Pappag said, raising his head proudly.

He loved Sea Beast Meat too. "I see."

It seemed the diet of starfish creatures was quite varied.

Meanwhile, Camie, as if remembering something, immediately took out some clams and said, "Ah, clams!"

"Pappag, here, these are the clams I brought for you~"

"Wow, delicious clams!"

Watching Pappag happily munching on the shellfish, Usopp couldn’t help but comment, "So you still love shellfish after all."

Some wild starfish he was—

"By the way, Brook, why were you with Pappag?" Luffy asked curiously.

"I met him after I was rescued and brought ashore," Brook replied.

After Meiser’s clone had brought him to the shore, it gave him some instructions and then disappeared on its own.

So he headed toward the town and encountered Pappag, who was looking for inspiration by the seaside.

That’s how he ended up telling Pappag about what had happened to the Straw Hat Pirates, as well as the fact that Meiser was still alive.

After that... the two of them came to the Fish-Man Café together.

"I see."

"Let’s go, we’re heading out!" Pappag glanced back at the group and said, "We’re going to eat some sea beast meat!"

"Alright!"

After saying goodbye to the beautiful merfolk ladies, Brook followed Luffy and the others as they left the place.

"By the way, do you really have sea beast meat here?" Meiser asked curiously. "I remember merfolk don’t eat fish, right?"

He clearly remembered Camie saying that merfolk don’t eat meat.

"Merfolk indeed don’t eat fish," Pappag nodded. "But fish-men don’t have such concerns—they eat both fish and meat, so there are still ingredients available on this island."

This time, Meiser just nodded and didn’t say anything more.

Just then, Brook noticed the wanted poster hanging on the wall nearby.

"Huh?!"

"Isn’t this Vander Decken?!" Brook exclaimed in surprise. "Why would a ghost be wanted?"

Issuing a bounty for a ghost who’s been dead for hundreds of years?

Does that make any sense?

Hearing this, Meiser also curiously moved closer and then stroked his chin, saying, "The owner of that ghost ship we encountered before we arrived here, right?"

"Did you see what this guy looked like?" Usopp asked curiously, glancing at Meiser.

In that kind of environment, only Meiser’s vision would have been sharp enough to make out someone’s appearance.

"No."

Meiser shook his head. "No one came out of that ship at the time, so I don’t know if Vander Decken actually looks like this."

Usopp was a bit surprised to hear this. If he didn’t come out... how did this guy named Vander Decken sail the ship?

"You encountered this person?" Pappag asked curiously.

"Probably."

Usopp nodded. "When we were around 7,000 meters underwater, we encountered someone who claimed to be Vander Decken. I’m not sure if it’s the same person."

"Then it must be him," Pappag nodded.

No one else would go by that name except that guy.

Then, he furrowed his brows and said, "No wonder the royal palace couldn’t find them—they went to a place like that."

"The royal family of this country is looking for him?"

"Yes."

Pappag nodded. "This person is a notorious undersea pirate, so the royal family has been searching for him."

"Is it just because he’s an undersea pirate that they’re looking for him?" Usopp asked curiously.

"Of course not."

Pappag shook his head, then glanced at the taxi floating over from a distance and said, "Let’s go, the taxi is here."

After waving over the fish with the word "Taxi" written on it, Pappag continued, "We can talk about anything else once we’re in the car."

"Taxi..."

Looking at the fish with the strange device on its body, Meiser twitched the corner of his mouth slightly and said, "The things on Fish-Man Island are really quite unique."

"Well, this is Fish-Man Island after all~" Pappag laughed.

Then, he beckoned everyone to board the so-called taxi.

Once seated, Pappag took out a clam and took a bite, his expression turning relaxed and content.

Then he said, "If that guy named Vander Decken were just a pirate, the royal family wouldn’t care about him."

"But the problem is... he’s targeting the Mermaid Princess!"

"The Mermaid Princess?!"

"Yes, the Mermaid Princess."

Pappag said while eating clam meat, "I heard that after he saw the Mermaid Princess, he fell in love with her at first sight."

"After that... this bastard sends a love letter to the Mermaid Princess every week."

"When he got no response, he switched the love letters to small packages or other things."

"And now... it’s even turned into threatening letters!!"

"Then he really is scum," Usopp said with a look of disgust.

"Yes, this guy is indeed scum," Pappag nodded and said, "So..."

Before Pappag could finish, Camie spoke up, "So the Mermaid Princess’s father was furious and ordered this guy to be captured."

"The three princes we saw earlier often lead troops searching for Vander Decken everywhere, but unfortunately, they haven’t found him..."

At the end, Camie sighed helplessly.

Who would have thought that despicable guy would hide in the sea?

"Camie..."

Pappag, standing on his seat, said dejectedly, "I was just about to explain this topic to them..."

Seeing the dejected Pappag, Meiser shook his head helplessly—these two were still the same as ever.

Then, Meiser said curiously, "The Mermaid Princess... I wonder what she’s like."

"She must be very beautiful."

Usopp said, "Otherwise, that guy named Vander Decken wouldn’t take such a big risk to do this."

Risking being hunted by the entire country just to pursue the Mermaid Princess...

Who knows how stunning she must be.

"The Mermaid Princess is indeed very beautiful," Camie laughed. "At least, that’s what I’ve heard."

"You haven’t seen her?"

"No."

Camie shook her head and said, "How could someone like me ever see the Mermaid Princess?"

She was just an ordinary merfolk in this country, with no chance of seeing Her Highness the Princess.

Taking in Camie’s reaction, Meiser fell silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "There will be chances in the future."

"Hmm"

This time, Camie didn’t argue but nodded.

"More than that, I’m more concerned about Vander Decken," Brook said. "Isn’t he the cursed pirate from hundreds of years ago? Why..."

"The person you’re talking about did exist hundreds of years ago," Pappag, back to normal, laughed. "That person came to Fish-Man Island hundreds of years ago and then died here."

"And the person you encountered earlier... is his descendant, Vander Decken IX!"

"So it’s a descendant," Brook laughed. "I thought I’d really met a ghost."

"Really, it almost scared the soul out of me."

It’s good that it wasn’t a ghost—yohohohoho. Meanwhile, Luffy showed a disappointed expression and said, "What? It’s not a ghost?"

"What are you disappointed about?!"

Usopp chopped Luffy on the head and said, "It’s a good thing it’s not a ghost, you idiot!"

Although they had a Ghost Princess on their ship... he really didn’t want to encounter an actual ghost!

"Ahahahaha!"

"Ghosts sound pretty interesting, don’t they?"

"Absolutely not!" Usopp roared, his mouth wide like a shark’s.

Unfortunately, such words had no effect whatsoever on Luffy.

Seeing Luffy staring back at him while picking his nose, Usopp immediately deflated like a balloon and sighed helplessly.

This idiot...

"Hold on tight, we’re about to enter the Express Current," Pappag said.

Meiser: ???

"Enter the Express Current?" Meiser asked in surprise. "The Fish-Carts here can go on an Express Current?"

Was this some kind of strange black technology again?

"Of course," Pappag replied. "Fish-Man Island is so large. If there were no Express Currents, it would be hard to tour the whole place in a single day."

"Ah, we’re here."

Glancing at the water pipeline below, Pappag smiled. "This is the Express Current!"

Looking at the special water flow made from Bubbles below, Meiser was rendered speechless.

So this is the so-called Express Current?

Well, that’s...

At that moment, Usopp pointed at the Pirate Flag on the distant Confectionery Factory and said, "Hey, that pattern looks familiar."

"Ah, that’s the Confectionery Factory..."

"No, I’m talking about that Pirate Flag," Usopp said. "I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before..."

"A Pirate Flag, huh."

Pappag looked in the direction Usopp was pointing and then said, "It’s not strange that you recognize it. That’s the flag of one of the Four Emperors of the New World."

"Four Emperors?!"

Hearing it was one of the Four Emperors, Usopp’s expression immediately changed.

"It’s the BIG MOM Pirates, right?" Meiser spoke up.

After saying that, Meiser glanced at Usopp and added, "You probably saw the flag’s pattern at Shakky’s place."

"Oh, right!"

Remembering, Usopp smacked his palm. "I did see it at Shakky’s."

Meiser nodded upon hearing this, then turned to Pappag and asked, "Fish-Man Island is currently under the protection of the BIG MOM Pirates, correct? What kind of price do you have to pay?"

He had only heard before that receiving protection from a Four Emperor required payment, but he wasn’t clear on what exactly that payment entailed.

"We have to supply Totto Land with a large quantity of sweets every month," Pappag explained. "That’s the price we pay."

"That factory we just saw was also built for this purpose."

"Just sweets?" Meiser asked, astonished.

He thought the Four Emperors would be like the World Government, demanding that Fish-Man Island supply vast amounts of treasure. But it was just sweets?

Seriously, just how much does Galette’s family love sweets...

"At least, that’s what I know," Pappag said. "As for whether Ryugu Palace has made any other agreements with the Four Emperors, I don’t know."

He was just an ordinary, number-one fashion designer on Fish-Man Island. He couldn’t possibly know such secrets.

"Four Emperors..." Luffy said with some emotion. "I wonder if I’ll get to see Shanks."

"You’ll definitely meet him once we reach the New World," Meiser said with a smile.

"Yeah!"

Hearing Meiser’s words, Luffy nodded happily.

By that time, he would definitely be a very famous great pirate!

Hahahaha.

"Alright, Celebrity Street is just ahead," Pappag said with a smile. "My home is right here."

"Where? Where?"

"That one."

Camie pointed at the largest building at the front of Celebrity Street in the distance. "That’s Pappag’s home."

"What?"

Seeing the enormous building, the group was stunned.

"You live there?" Usopp exclaimed in surprise.

Wasn’t this building a bit too big?

"Correct!" Pappag grinned. "As Fish-Man Island’s top fashion designer, it’s only reasonable for me to live there, right?"

"Hahahaha~"

As a famous designer on Fish-Man Island, he had plenty of money!

So... living in this huge building was no problem at all!

Watching Pappag proudly raise his head, Meiser remarked with a sigh, "You’re even more impressive than I imagined."

Being able to live in the largest house in the most prosperous part of an island... this guy must be incredibly wealthy!

It seemed Pappag had been humble earlier.

Hearing Meiser’s praise, Pappag laughed even more happily.

"It’s not that impressive, just average," Pappag chuckled.

Then, with a grand gesture, he said, "Well then!"

"Come with me to my home as guests!"

"Yeah!!"