Shirahoshi's Determination

"So how did you do that?" Luffy asked with a mouth full of food at the feast King Neptune threw in their honor.

"Mysterious technique." Cherry answered without really answering.

"I see! A mysterious technique!" Luffy accepted as if that explained everything.

"For real, though, how did you survive that?" Usopp inquired, his curiosity not nearly as easily sated as Luffy's.

"Well, I suppose I could tell you…" Cherry said, causing Usopp and others to lean in listening intently. "... but the World Government might torture you to the brink of death over and over again until you reveal the secret. Is that okay with you?"

Usopp suppressed a shiver of fear. "Nevermind, I forgot that I happen to be horribly allergic to mysterious life saving techniques."

"Did anyone get a sample of that drug the New Fishman Pirates were using?" Cherry asked.

"That drug is dangerous, Lady Cherry! Hody and his men are currently suffering greatly after the effects wore off and our doctors don't even know if they'll survive the night. It's best if you don't use such a thing." King Neptune said, slurring slightly from his overconsumption of drink.

"I don't intend to use it. I have a scholarly interest in it, as should our Doctor Chopper. Perhaps it holds the key to a miracle medicine, or perhaps it can be improved to remove the side effects. Chopper is a genius, I'm sure he can find a good use for it." Cherry said.

"Oh, stop it! You stupid bastard!" Chopper said in his cheery tone whilst doing a happy little dance.

"Hm, very well *hic* I will have the pills we confiscated from them handed over to you. Perhaps some good will come of it." King Neptune acquiesced.

"Hey, Cherry~" Nami leaned on her shoulder, clearly deep in her cups as well. "What happened to that pretty jewel you had, hm~? Can I hold it? Pretty please~?"

Cherry rolled her eyes at the obvious attempt of seducing her to get at her treasure. Of course she knew Nami wasn't actually interested in her that way, plus Cherry wasn't really interested in someone as young as Nami either.

Cherry took the pink gemstone out of her robes and let Nami inspect it. Despite its rather ordinary spherical shape, it was perhaps the most beautiful gemstone that Nami had ever witnessed. The shifting light that shone out of it was captivating.

"So pretty. Where did you get it, Cherry-sama?" Shirahoshi asked.

"From the Neo Marine dude. That's an island destroying super weapon right there." Cherry said.

Nami instantly sobered up and dropped the gemstone in a moment of panic. The entire room watched in silent horror as the gemstone fell to the floor and-

*ponk*

-it hit the ground, then nothing else happened. Everyone in the room could suddenly breathe again as they heaved sighs of relief.

"Hehehe, did you guys really think I'd hand it to a drunk woman if it was so unstable that it would explode from a drop of that height?" Cherry chuckled and picked it up. "The outer shell is harder than diamond and not nearly as brittle from my estimations. Not even a cannon ball would set it off."

"If that's the super weapon, what was that bright light we saw came back to the palace?" Prince Fukaboshi asked.

"That was the super weapon too. I just used my devil fruit to stuff all the energy back into a stable form before it finished exploding." Cherry said casually.

There was a brief silence as they digested what they just heard.

"I don't know what you're being so serious about. From what I heard, Princess Shirahoshi here is a whole lot more dangerous than this little ol' thing since she can apparently control sea kings. This gem is just a big bomb, it can't compare to an army of monsters." Cherry said.

Shirahoshi squirmed a bit at that. She knew that it should be true, but she didn't really feel like it was. She'd only called on them once and that was ten years ago and hadn't even been on purpose.

"There's no need to be nervous or embarrassed, princess." Robin reassured her. "You wanted to fulfill your mother's wish and bring Fishman Island to the surface one day, right? Historical precedent would indicate that just having enough power to pose a threat to the other side would give you a tremendous advantage at the negotiating table. Provided you would risk your own safety to reveal such a thing, that is."

"Never! Even if we must stay at the bottom of the ocean forever, I will never place my Shirahoshi in harms' way! Jamon!" King Neptune shouted fervently.

"Otou-sama…" Shirahoshi felt embarrassed at his outburst.

Robin's words echoed in her mind, though. Her father and brothers may not agree, but she is willing to take a risk with herself for the sake of her people.

"Neptune has a point. First, she'd have to master her power, then she would need enough personal strength to protect herself in the absence of others to do so. Only then would it be worth it to reveal it." Cherry said.

Shirahoshi was silent in thought for a moment, then she clenched her fists in front of her and her eyes filled with flames of determination. "Cherry-sama! Please train me to be strong like you!"

"No." Cherry crushed her hopes and dreams without mercy.

"B-but why not?!" The fire in Shirahoshi's eyes was swiftly extinguished by her tears.

"Girl, I'm a pirate! I don't have time to hang around here training a sheltered princess from scratch!" Cherry spoke ruthlessly, but seeing that Shirahoshi might literally flood the room with tears she added "However, I can write up a quick training regimen for you to follow. You can learn to fight from your father and brothers. If you impress me when I come back sometime, then I'll reconsider."

Shirahoshi's tears of sadness turned to tears of joy. King Neptune opened his mouth to say something, but Cherry interrupted him. "Helping Shirahoshi get stronger is also a way of protecting her, you dufus! If I find out you or your sons slowed down her progress, then I swear I'll barbecue you and feed you to Takako!"

King Neptune and the three princes gulped. They felt that they couldn't be certain that Cherry was joking when they looked into her eyes. They did have a question though.

"Who is Takako?" Prince Mamboshi asked.

"Oh right, you haven't met my precious baby~!" Cherry said lightheartedly. "Let me introduce you~!"

The room suddenly became very cramped and Cherry's previous threat weighed on their hearts that much heavier.

After Takako went back inside, King Neptune had some servants bring two books at Cherry;s request along with writing utensils.

Cherry's hands raced quickly enough over the pages as she wrote that a hint of smoke came from the books as she did so. Only a few minutes later she seemed to finish and wrote a title on each book.

The first was titled "Mermaid Training Manual For Pathetic Little Cry Babies", whilst the second was titled "Mermaid Training Manual From Hell".

Prince Fukaboshi looked inside the first training manual and visibly winced at the first page. "This is for little cry babies…?"

In his opinion, this should be the training manual from hell. At least he thought so until he looked at the second book. He went pale and nearly fainted just thinking about doing the things it described.

Shirahoshi was determined, though. She refused to even look at the first book. Perhaps she'd feel differently if she had the experience her brothers and father had with physical training, but she was naive and fell right into the trap Cherry laid for her. King Neptune and the three princes could only sigh and wait for her to give up on it, even thinking she wouldn't be able to stick with the first book let alone the second.

"That's enough work for today, it's time to relax." Cherry said, then sent Robin a look that she knew very well. "Want to go find that fortune teller, my little bird~?"

Robin couldn't help, but smile and nodded. The two of them left the palace hand in hand to find Madame Shyarly. The shark mermaid didn't know it yet, but she was about to have a very memorable night.