Chapter 370: Chapter 370: Even in the Deep Sea, Fish-men Are No Match for Meiser!

"Speaking of which... shouldn’t these guys know where Luffy and the others are?" Merry pointed at the tied-up Fish-man soldiers.

Hearing this, everyone’s eyes immediately lit up.

"That’s right!!"

Usopp smacked his palm and said, "We can just ask them!"

If they could learn Luffy and Meiser’s location from these guys... they’d find them quickly!

That way... they could leave Fish-Man Island as soon as possible and distance themselves from all these strange happenings.

"Leave it to me!"

Nami gave a thumbs-up to the others, then walked up to a Fish-man soldier and said, "Please tell us, we’re really in a hurry."

"Right, hurry up and tell us where Luffy and the others..."

Before Usopp could finish, Nami continued, "Quickly tell me the location of the treasure vault!"

As she spoke, Nami’s eyes began to sparkle.

Usopp: ???

"Hey, what kind of weird question are you asking?!" Usopp exclaimed in disbelief. "Shut up already, you idiot!"

Is this really the time for something like that?!

Hurry up and ask for Luffy’s location!

"Huh?"

"Why?"

Looking at Nami, who tilted her head at him, Usopp roared with a shark-like mouth, "Stop acting cute over there."

"Get a grip on the situation, you greedy Navigator!"

Even now, she hasn’t forgotten about treasure... just how much does this woman love money?!

Seeing Nami’s sparkling eyes fixed on him, Usopp felt a headache coming on.

"Hara hara hara~"

"That’s so like you, Nami," Perona laughed heartily.

Nami accepted this praise readily.

That’s right, she was a very greedy Navigator!! 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Give up on that idea," the Left Minister said. "We will never tell you!"

"It’s that you don’t know either, right?" Nami suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"How did you know?!" the Left Minister exclaimed in surprise.

But immediately after saying this, he clamped his mouth shut, as if doing so could take back his words.

Seeing this, Nami rolled her eyes. Was this guy an idiot too?!

Shaking her head, Nami turned to her companions and said, "Looks like we’ll have to find them ourselves."

"Such a huge Ryugu Palace... where do we even start looking?" Usopp said, feeling a headache coming on.

Having humans search for two people in a place filled with seawater... isn’t that just making things difficult for them?!

"Yohohohoho~"

Brook chuckled as he took out his guitar and said, "Since we don’t have any other ideas for now, why don’t we sing a song~"

With that, Brook began his performance, leaving Usopp utterly dumbfounded.

"Hey, why are you starting too?!" Usopp exclaimed frantically. "Is now really the time for singing?"

"Yo-hohohoho!"

"Usopp, it’s fine."

Merry floated over to Usopp’s side and whispered reassuringly, "Those two definitely won’t get into trouble."

Looking at Merry, who was blinking her big eyes to comfort him, Usopp immediately felt healed.

Ah, this is simply an angel!

Then, Usopp reached out and ruffled Merry’s little head, saying, "It’s not that I’m worried about their safety. It’s mainly that we need to leave this place quickly."

Otherwise, something unexpected might happen again, so it’s better to hurry up and go.

Hearing this, Merry fell silent for a moment before replying somewhat helplessly, "But we can’t find Luffy and the others either."

These guys clearly aren’t willing to share information with them, so there’s nothing they can do.

"That’s exactly the problem," Usopp sighed.

If they can’t find those two idiots, they can’t easily leave this place.

"You thieves just wait!" the Minister of the Right said angrily, glaring at Usopp and the others. "When Prince Fukaboshi, Prince Manboshi, and Prince Ryuboshi return with the royal army, you’ll definitely regret this!"

"Oh."

Oh?

Looking at Nami, who calmly uttered that word, the Minister of the Right felt choked up. Why aren’t these people afraid at all?

Those are the three powerful princes!

Why aren’t they scared?

For a moment, the Minister of the Right was bewildered.

After glancing at the fish-men glaring at them, Zoro said, "It seems... we really can’t stay on Fish-Man Island any longer."

After thinking for a moment, Zoro turned to his companions and continued, "Where is the Thousand Sunny?"

"We’ll set sail immediately after gathering everyone."

"That won’t work."

Merry floated in front of Zoro and said, "The coating on our ship disappeared when we entered Fish-Man Island, so we can’t sail in the deep sea."

"In other words, we need to find a place to get it coated first," Zoro said with a frown.

"Yes," Merry nodded.

"That really is a problem."

It seems they need to find a coating craftsman on Fish-Man Island first, so the Thousand Sunny can regain its ability to sail in the deep sea.

"It’s not just the coating issue," Nami raised her hand and said. "The Log Pose seems to be malfunctioning too."

"Ever since we arrived on this island, the needle hasn’t stabilized at all. This has never happened before."

Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions immediately changed.

A malfunctioning Log Pose means they can’t find the next island!

This is not good news for them...

"Could it just be that this Log Pose is broken?" Usopp quickly asked.

If it’s only this Log Pose that’s broken, they still have spares.

"I’m not sure."

Nami shook her head, then turned to Merry, signaling her to take out a spare one to check.

Merry didn’t waste any time and immediately pulled a new Log Pose from her Space Pocket.

"Here, Nami, this..."

"Huh?"

Before Merry could finish her sentence, she froze, because she discovered that the Log Pose in her hand was reacting exactly the same as the one in Nami’s hand!

"What’s going on..."

"It seems it’s not that my Log Pose is malfunctioning," Nami said with a furrowed brow. "Rather, something unusual has occurred."

Could it be that this island is special, so it doesn’t have any magnetic field?

That’s not impossible...

Thinking this, Nami’s expression grew somewhat serious.

If that really is the case... how are they supposed to get to the next island?

"Really unbearable," the Left Minister said, looking at Nami with exasperation. "Relying on such a crude Log Pose won’t get you anywhere sailing in the New World!"

What a bunch of ignorant pirates... How did they even make it to Fish-Man Island?

"Crude?"

Nami lowered her head to glance at the Log Pose in her hand, then said in surprise, "Where is it crude?"

Hasn’t it always been like this?

"Does this catfish uncle know something?" Merry approached the Left Minister and said, "Can you tell us?"

"Catfish uncle..."

The Left Minister twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Although I am a catfish fish-man, I’m not some ’catfish uncle.’"

"Then... catfish fish-man uncle?"

Left Minister:

She is indeed a relatively polite child, but the problem is... the way she addresses me is wrong!

However, considering how particularly cute this little girl is, he decided not to make a fuss about it with the kid.

Shaking his head, the Left Minister said, "Untie me first, then I’ll tell you."

As soon as he said this, everyone immediately showed expressions of disdain.

"Tch, and here I thought he actually knew something."

"Turns out he just wanted an excuse to get untied."

"Seems like it’s just the same as before, all nonsense."

"Tch—"

Left Minister: ???

No, this time he really does know something.

But before he could say anything more, the Den Den Mushi beside them suddenly started ringing.

"Buro buro buro~"

"Buro buro buro~"

"Buro buro buro~"

"Hmm?"

"Den Den Mushi?"

Glancing at the ringing Den Den Mushi, Perona’s eyes showed a hint of surprise. "Who would be calling here at a time like this?"

Could it be that so-called third prince?

"It must be Prince Fukaboshi and the others!" the Minister of the Right said excitedly.

Great... this is really great!

Once the three princes return, they’ll definitely make these guys regret ever coming here!

Thinking this, the Minister of the Right’s eyes immediately shone with a light of hope.

Hearing the Minister of the Right’s words, Usopp glanced at his companions and said, "What should we do?"

"Should we answer the call?"

"Better not. What if those guys find out we’re here, they might..."

"Hey, who is this?"

"Eh?!!"

Watching Zoro calmly pick up the Den Den Mushi and answer it, Usopp was completely dumbfounded.

"Hey, why did you just answer it like that!"

Isn’t this basically telling everyone that they’ve taken over Ryugu Palace!

If that’s the case... the bounty of their Straw Hat Pirates is going to increase again!

Meanwhile, Perona instead curled the corner of her mouth and said, "Since it’s already answered, might as well. It’s a good chance to have these guys do something for us."

Although they didn’t actually intend to harm these guys, using their lives to threaten the three princes into finding Chopper and the others shouldn’t be a problem!

"Dammit, how cunning..."

"Perrina!!!"

Perona: ???

"It’s Perona, you curly-haired old man!" Perona roared, opening her shark-like mouth.

If it weren’t for the fact that he was an old father, she would definitely make him pay!

"Damn female pirate, how dare you threaten our king..." The Minister of the Right gritted his teeth, then turned and shouted into the Den Den Mushi: "Prince Fukaboshi, please save us!"

Seeing this, the other Fish-Men joined in the shouting.

"Prince Manboshi!"

"Prince Ryuboshi!"

"Please save us!"

"These voices..."

Hearing the sounds coming from the Den Den Mushi, Fukaboshi’s expression immediately changed.

"Something serious seems to have happened at Ryugu Palace..." Manboshi said with a grim face.

Meanwhile, Ryuboshi nervously gripped the hilt of his sword and asked, "Are Shirahoshi and Father okay?!"

"Not sure..."

Fukaboshi shook his head, then looked up at the communication device in the air and said, "This is Fukaboshi. What exactly is happening there?"

"Please open the Connecting Corridor and let us in."

If they could trick them into lowering the corridor, they could smoothly return to Ryugu Palace.

"What do you plan to do once you’re inside?" Zoro said calmly.

Hearing this, Fukaboshi fell silent.

What would they do?

What else could they do?

Of course, capture all the intruders!

As if understanding what Fukaboshi was thinking, Zoro said calmly, "I can’t let you in."

It would be foolish to let them in knowing full well what they intended to do, so he wouldn’t allow it.

"Hey, Zoro!"

Usopp rushed over, shoving his nose into Zoro’s face, and said, "You’re making things even weirder! Hurry up and explain the situation to them!"

Calmly pushing Usopp’s face aside, Zoro said, "The current situation can’t be resolved with explanations."

Things had already reached this point, and talking alone wouldn’t convince them.

So... he had to use some means.

Usopp was taken aback by this, then said dejectedly, "How could this be..."

He really didn’t want to get involved with the royal family of Fish-Man Island.

"Huh?!"

Seeing Usopp suddenly become so dejected, Merry was stunned, then turned to Perona and said, "Sister Perona, did you do this?"

"Of course not!"

Perona retorted, "This man was already immune to my ability two years ago because of his negativity! How could it be me?"

Just thinking about it made Perona feel speechless.

Who would have thought a man could be so dejected that he’d become immune to her Devil Fruit ability?

"Hey, you’re going to make things spiral out of control!" Pappag said, clutching his hat. "Why don’t you tie up Camie and me too? At least then..."

"At least what?"

Nami pointed at the Fish-Man soldiers they had tied up nearby and said, "What do you think their relationship with us looks like in their eyes?"

Pappag:

After seeing the expressions in the eyes of these Fish-man soldiers, Pappag fell silent.

It seemed... in these people’s eyes, the two of them were also accomplices of the Straw Hat Crew!

Thinking of this, Pappag went completely numb.

Although given their relationship, he didn’t mind sharing this responsibility with them... but... but he still had to make a living on Fish-Man Island in the future!

He was so scared... he wanted to cry.

Listening to the various voices coming from the communicator, Prince Fukaboshi exchanged a glance with his two younger brothers, then said, "You must be one of the Straw Hat Crew."

"Fukaboshi, this guy is the Three-Sword Style Swordsman of the Straw Hat Crew, the Pirate Hunter—Roronoa Zoro!"

"It’s Zoro!"

"That’s Father’s voice!" Prince Manboshi exclaimed excitedly.

"I heard it," Prince Fukaboshi said with a grim expression. "I never expected even Father to be captured..."

How on earth did these guys manage that?

Even if the Straw Hat Crew is strong, it shouldn’t be possible for them to capture his father... What exactly is going on?

"Anyway... you’ve heard what these people said, right?" Zoro said. "Including King Neptune, we have a large number of hostages in our hands!"

"If you want them to stay alive... prepare everything we need to set sail!"

After saying that, Zoro paused briefly before continuing, "First, help us coat the Thousand Sunny!"

Hearing this, Prince Fukaboshi fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Where is the pirate ship?"

"I don’t know where the pirate ship is. You’ll have to find it yourselves," Zoro replied.

"I know," Merry said. "The ship is with Franky, so as long as you find Franky, you’ll find the ship."

Hearing this, Zoro turned to the microphone and said, "You heard that, right?"

"Alright, I understand," Prince Fukaboshi said.

"Mhm."

Zoro nodded, then continued, "Besides that, you also need to help us find the remaining crew members!"

"A quiet woman, a robot—that’s Franky, who I just mentioned—and then... a reindeer and a Pervert Kappa!!"

"Pfft—"

"Yohohohoho!"

"Pervert Kappa—"

"Yohohohoho!"

Listening to Zoro’s words, Brook clutched his stomach and said, "That name really hit my funny bone. It hurts from laughing so much."

"Ah, although I don’t have a stomach that can hurt~"

"Yohohohoho!"

Usopp: ???

Glancing at Brook, who was rolling on the floor laughing, Usopp said helplessly, "Is now really the time to laugh, you idiot?"

Unfortunately, this had no effect on Brook. Instead, it made him laugh even harder.

"Yohohohoho!"

"Hey, Zoro!"

Nami leaned close to Zoro and said seriously, "There’s still one very important condition you haven’t mentioned."

Zoro: ???

Zoro looked at Nami with a confused expression. What other condition did they need?

Meanwhile, Perona, as if she had realized something, immediately showed a surprised expression and said, "Don’t tell me you’re..."

"Zoro, please make sure to add a ransom of one billion Berries!"

Usopp: ???

"Hey!"

"Can you, the greedy navigator, please stop causing trouble!"

It’s already excessive enough to capture these people, and now they actually want money too... Just how greedy is Nami, seriously!

Meanwhile, Zoro had a drop of sweat rolling down his face. Why did this scene feel somewhat familiar to him?

"I understand your conditions," Prince Fukaboshi said. "I will arrange for you to leave Fish-Man Island as soon as possible."

"But..."

"The hostages must be released safely, is that clear?"

"Fine, no problem," Zoro replied calmly, nodding.

They weren’t interested in these people anyway, so letting them go was no big deal.

As for whether these guys would be foolish enough to pursue them into the deep sea...

If they really dared to do that, then Meiser would just take them out in the depths!

And as for whether Meiser could defeat the Fish-Man race in the deep sea?

Don’t be ridiculous. Even in the ocean, the Fish-Man race would be no match for Meiser!

"Brother, you..."

Listening to his two younger brothers, Prince Fukaboshi fell silent for a moment before turning to look at them and saying, "We have no other choice."

"After all... even we can only return to Ryugu Palace through the Connecting Corridor."

The other paths are not only surrounded by countless Bubble Membrane Protective Shields, but some of the bubbles also contain seawater with terrifying sea currents. So... forcing their way in is simply impossible.

"This..."

"Alright."

Understanding what their elder brother meant, Prince Manboshi and Prince Ryuboshi sighed helplessly. They truly had no other options at the moment.

So they could only accept the Straw Hat Pirates’ demands.

Prince Fukaboshi nodded, then looked up at the communicator and said, "Could you say one more thing, Mr. Zoro?"

"Huh?"

Zoro, who was about to hang up, paused in surprise. "What is it?"

Could it be that these guys have already found someone?

"Although I don’t really want to tell you this under these circumstances, I cannot betray Jimbei’s trust."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room was taken aback.

"Jimbei..."

Wasn’t he the former Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea who fought alongside Luffy and Meiser at Marine Headquarters two years ago?

"Now that you mention it... Jimbei really is Luffy’s friend," Usopp said.

Back at Mermaid Coral Bay, Luffy had indeed said that.

"I remember they appeared together in the newspapers," Brook added.

"Yes," Usopp nodded.

After the Summit War, Luffy, Jimbei, and Meiser were all featured in the newspapers together.

"So they’re acquaintances, huh?"

Zoro fell silent for a moment before lowering his head to look at the receiver and saying, "Go ahead, what is it?"

"At the request of the former Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, Knight of the Sea Jimbei," Prince Fukaboshi said, "I am to convey a message to Straw Hat Luffy upon your arrival at Fish-Man Island."

As he spoke, Prince Fukaboshi recalled the look on Jimbei’s face when he had entrusted him with these words, which made his own expression grow complicated. Who could have imagined things would turn out like this?

"Luffy isn’t here right now, but I can relay the message to him. Go ahead," Zoro said.

"Alright."

"First: Do not fight Hody!"

"Second: I will be waiting for you at Sea Forest!"

"Just those two things."

After finishing, Prince Fukaboshi paused for a moment before continuing, "I have conveyed the message and will fulfill your request as soon as possible, so... I hope you will also keep your promise."

"Alright."

Zoro nodded, then decisively ended the call.

"By the way... is this Jimbei very popular here?" Nami asked curiously.

Why did she feel that these people held particular respect for this former Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea?

"Yes, he is."

Camie nodded and said, "Although he is a pirate, he is still deeply loved by everyone."

"Is that so..."

"I heard that the reason Jimbei became a Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea was because he agreed to the condition in order to protect Fish-Man Island and his Fish-Man brethren," Pappag said. "I don’t know if it’s true or not."

"It’s true."

The bound Neptune said with a complicated expression, "If it weren’t for that, Jimbei would never have become a Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea."

This was also why Jimbei was so beloved by the Fish-Man race.

"Speaking of which... I suddenly remember something," Brook raised his head and said. "I recall that in the newspaper photo of Jimbei, there was a sun tattoo on his chest."

Recalling Jimbei’s photo, Usopp nodded and said, "Yes."

Hearing Usopp’s words, Brook pondered for a moment before continuing, "Hachi also has a tattoo like that... Could it be that the two of them belonged to the same pirate crew in the past?"

If he remembered correctly, Mr. Rayleigh had mentioned that Hachi was part of the Sun Pirates.

Did that mean both of them were once members of the Sun Pirates?

"They were indeed both members of the Sun Pirates in the past," Neptune said. "But later, after Jimbei became the captain, the Sun Pirates were renamed the Fish-Man Pirates."

"As for those who originally belonged to the Sun Pirates... some of them split off. The Hachi you mentioned is likely one of them."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of those who had experienced the Arlong incident immediately changed.

If that was the case... then was Arlong the same?

Thinking of this, Usopp turned to look at Nami.

Nami, who was being watched by him, was now clenching her fists, her body trembling slightly.

"Arlong...

If I remember correctly... that bastard Arlong also had a sun tattoo on his body!"

At this thought, veins immediately bulged on Nami’s arms.

"King Neptune!" the Minister of the Right said. "Please do not continue to reveal information to these pirates!"

This group was not their invited friends—they were enemies!

Neptune, reprimanded by the Minister of the Right, snapped back to reality and closed his mouth, saying nothing more.

"Nami?"

Merry looked at Nami with concern. What was wrong with her?

Zoro also noticed something was off. Nami’s current reaction...

"I need to go to the Sea Forest!" Nami suddenly raised her head and said. "I need to see Jimbei!"

She wanted to know what exactly was going on with that bastard Arlong!

"Why are you going to the Sea Forest?" Brook asked, puzzled. "Jimbei is looking for Luffy, isn’t he?"

Perona had the same doubt, but after noticing Nami’s extremely troubled expression, she suppressed her curiosity.

Then, she said, "Although I don’t know what you want to do, I can accompany you."

"Thank you..."

Having reined in her temper, Perona walked over to Nami and said gently, "No need to be so polite with me."

Then, she glanced at Zoro, lifted her head, and said, "Zoro, you can handle things here, right?"

"No problem."

As he spoke, Zoro looked at the tied-up soldiers and continued, "With me here, these guys won’t be able to cause any trouble."

"How dare you!"

Feeling slighted, the Minister of the Right angrily twisted his body.

Then... he just rolled over...

Minister of the Right: —

So infuriating.

"Then we’ll leave this to you." Nami took a deep breath to calm herself down before turning to look at Camie and saying, "Camie, could you take us there?"

"Alright, let’s go."

This time, Camie didn’t say much but agreed straightforwardly.

The Straw Hat Pirates’ friends were willing to risk their lives to challenge the Celestial Dragons for her, so... she couldn’t back down now!

"Camie, you..."

"Pappag, you should stay here with Zoro and the others," Camie said. "We’ll come get you once we’re done."

Pappag opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say for a moment.

After a while, he sighed and said, "Alright, be careful."

Whatever, let it be. At worst, I’ll just become a pirate with the Straw Hats.

"Mm!"

Camie nodded, then turned to look at Nami and said, "Let’s go. First, we’ll get you a Bubble Coating."

"Mm."

"Let Merry go with you too," Zoro interjected. "It’s a long way to the surface, so it’s better to have her along."

Although Camie could use bubbles to swim through the air... there were enemies outside!

If the three princes of Fish-Man Island suddenly attacked Nami and the other two, they’d be at a disadvantage in the air, so it’d be better to bring Merry, who can fly.

Nami didn’t answer immediately, instead voicing her concern: "But Usopp and Brook are both Devil Fruit Ability Users. What if..."

"You two are Devil Fruit Ability Users too," Zoro pointed at Nami and Perona. "If you don’t take Merry, we won’t feel at ease."

After all... this is the deep sea!

"Alright, I understand."

This time, Nami didn’t refuse but nodded in agreement.

Just as Zoro said, they had two Devil Fruit Ability Users on their side, so it was better to bring along someone who wasn’t one.

As for Camie?

She couldn’t be counted as a combat unit—at best, she could serve as a guide—so Zoro didn’t expect much from her.

"Let’s go, first we’ll get the bubbles," Nami said. "Then we’ll lower the Connecting Corridor."

"Okay!"

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Inside the Hard Shell Tower, Luffy and Meiser were happily enjoying Shirahoshi’s lunch.

"The food on Fish-Man Island is really something else," Meiser said, holding a giant shellfish dish. "It tastes amazing."

"It’s really delicious."

Luffy, slurping down a noodle without looking up, said, "But I prefer big chunks of meat. After all, only big chunks of meat are truly satisfying!"

"Shirahoshi is a mermaid, she wouldn’t eat Sea Beast Meat," Meiser said. "So there’s no big chunks of meat for you here... wait, I mean, can you slow down while eating?"

Leaning back to dodge the noodle attack, Meiser complained, "That almost hit me."

"Sorry, sorry!"

After saying that, Luffy continued burying his head in eating.

Seeing this, Meiser shook his head helplessly—it really fit that guy Luffy’s personality.

"You really are good people, aren’t you?"

Hearing this, Meiser smiled wryly and said, "We’re pirates—there’s no such thing as good or bad people here."

"No, Lord Meiser is a hero who saved our Fish-Man Island brethren, so of course you’re a good person!" Shirahoshi said earnestly. "So... please don’t say things like that, Lord Meiser."

As far as they on Fish-Man Island were concerned, Lord Meiser was definitely a good person!

Listening to Shirahoshi’s words, Meiser rubbed his nose—was this him being given a "good person card"?

Clearly... he was just a pirate.

But this time, Meiser didn’t say anything more and simply accepted Shirahoshi’s perspective.

Seeing this, Shirahoshi smiled and then asked, "Lord Meiser, do you often go on adventures?"

"Of course!"

Meiser gave a thumbs-up and said, "As pirates, what we love most is adventure!"

That was exactly what they were doing.

"Then have you seen the sun?"

"At night, do the stars rise into the sky?"

"And all kinds of flowers and animals covered in fur~"

"And also, have you been to a place called a forest? I heard it’s full of green plants!!"

As if imagining certain scenes, the Mermaid Princess’s eyes filled with longing.

"I’ve seen them, all of them," Meiser said with a chuckle. "The things you mentioned are all common sights on the sea."

Forests indeed required finding an island to see, but the sun and stars could be seen every day!

"Is that so~" Shirahoshi laughed.

"How wonderful!"

If only she could go out to the sea too, then she could see all those interesting things.

But unfortunately, she couldn’t, because... Vander Decken hadn’t been captured by her father yet.

Thinking of this, Shirahoshi sighed quietly.

"Hey, Meiser, aren’t you going to eat anymore?" Luffy glanced back at Meiser and said, "There’s still so much left."

"You think I’m like you?" Meiser retorted. "I’m not a bottomless pit."

These shellfish as big as a person... how many could he possibly eat?!

Shaking his head helplessly, Meiser continued, "You finish it all."

"Alright!!"