Chapter 80
"Shirahoshi." Arthur looked helplessly at the crying Shirahoshi, watching as her huge tears kept falling.
He couldn't stand seeing a woman cry, especially when this one seemed unable to stop, her loud sobs echoing through the air. Down below, a commotion was already starting to brew.
"Huh?" Shirahoshi heard Arthur's voice, paused her crying, and turned around, still sniffling. "Lord Arthur?"
"Please don't cry; the people below think I've kidnapped you," Arthur said, trying to figure out how to encourage Shirahoshi to be braver and stop crying so much.
Just like in the original story, after Luffy's time on Fish-Man Island, Shirahoshi became braver and stopped crying.
For Arthur, Shirahoshi's stunning beauty was definitely tempting, but after all, she was only an eleven or twelve-year-old girl, and it was too early to think about such things.
The most important thing, though, was that Shirahoshi was Poseidon!
One reason Arthur had worked so hard to form an alliance with Fish-Man Island was because he knew how powerful the fish-men were, being ten times stronger than humans and able to move freely in the sea.
But the main reason for Arthur's visit was this pink-haired, adorable girl, Poseidon—the Sea King who appears only once every few hundred years.
Even the small amount of power Shirahoshi showed in the original story proved how important she was.
The strongest Sea Kings probably aren't afraid of even the most powerful humans. Of course, this was just Arthur's guess. Even if the top Sea Kings aren't as strong as the strongest humans, they are still incredibly powerful.
Take Noah, for example, that enormous ship. A few Sea Kings easily pulled it away. And how many of these Sea Kings exist in the world? No one knows, because even Oda hasn't said.
Besides the top Sea Kings, there are countless other giant Sea Kings.
Just in the Calm Belt, there are probably millions of them. These forces could easily shake the world.
If he didn't prepare now, after Luffy—the chosen one—appeared, this power could end up helping Luffy or those connected to him.
So, after discussing the alliance with Neptune, Arthur requested to take Shirahoshi out to remove any hidden dangers for her. On one hand, it was to show sincerity and strengthen the alliance between them.
On the other hand, even though Neptune and Shirahoshi didn't realize it, Arthur knew Shirahoshi's true identity! He wanted to make a good impression on her early on, leaving a lasting mark in her heart.
With one of the three Ancient Weapons on his side, even if the world descended into chaos in the future, Arthur would still be in a position of power!
That's why Arthur was acting this way now.
If the leader of a non-nuclear country met a nuclear weapon expert with no ties, wouldn't they be eager to impress and please them?
So, Arthur was willing to go above and beyond.
When Shirahoshi heard Arthur's words, she was stunned and nervously said, "Lord Arthur didn't kidnap me, what should I do…?"
"It's okay. Let's lower ourselves and explain it to them," Arthur said, stomping twice on the ground and giving a command to Shirahoshi's pet shark. "Descend to one hundred meters above the ground!"
Terrified of Arthur, Megalo immediately began lowering their altitude, not daring to hesitate.
The people below saw Megalo descending, and one by one, they gasped, then grew excited. Everyone was shouting, their anger rising.
At the height Arthur had set, Megalo stopped.
Shirahoshi leaned out, looking down at the people below. She waved nervously and said, "Everyone, please don't be scared! Lord Arthur is not a bad person! He didn't kidnap me!"
While Shirahoshi was explaining to the people below, Arthur suddenly turned his head and looked toward the only port on Fish-Man Island. "So, you've arrived..."
At the port, a large ship being dragged by a giant sea creature began to dock. The creature resembled a human and was being guided by the power of the sea.
Stepping off the ship was an ugly fish-man with four legs, a small top hat, spiked hair, and a beard.
"Let me see... has my Princess Shirahoshi really left Ryugu Palace?" Vander Decken IX exclaimed as he arrived, pulling out a note and tossing it into the air.
When he noticed that the note wasn't flying toward Ryugu Palace, Vander Decken IX's face lit up with surprise. "Oh ho ho ho ho~ Wonderful! My dear Shirahoshi, I've come to propose to you in person! Ho ho ho ho ho~"
Vander Decken IX had been waiting for this day for a long time. As soon as he learned that Shirahoshi had left Ryugu Palace, he rushed over immediately.
When he got closer, he pushed a huge piece of coral forward and tapped it lightly with his right hand. The coral floated up on its own and flew toward Shirahoshi's current position.
Vander Decken IX then jumped onto the coral, and under the watchful eyes of the crowd at the port, he let out an arrogant laugh as he flew away.
Meanwhile, Shirahoshi had already cleared up the misunderstandings with the people below, but they were still very worried. Everyone knew that Princess Shirahoshi was being relentlessly pursued by Vander Decken IX, the captain of the Flying Dutchman.
Because of this, Vander Decken IX sent giant weapons toward her every day in his attempts to force her to marry him. Seeing Shirahoshi out in the open made the people both happy to see their princess and anxious for her safety.
Their fears were soon justified when they heard a strange laugh, "Ho ho ho ho~," coming from a distance.
In no time, the ugly Vander Decken IX appeared.
The coral that had been flying toward Shirahoshi stopped, and Vander Decken IX jumped down from it. He pulled out a bouquet of roses from who-knows-where, knelt down on one knee, and declared, "My dear Princess Shirahoshi, you've finally come out of Ryugu Palace. Please accept my marriage proposal~!"
"No!" The terrified Shirahoshi timidly refused, hiding behind Arthur.
"Huh?" Vander Decken IX suddenly noticed the handsome human standing in front of Shirahoshi. His jealousy flared up, and he radiated a terrifying killing intent. "Is it because of this human? Damn it, I'll kill you!"
"No," Shirahoshi shook her head from behind Arthur, still trembling, "It's because, Lord Decken, you're not my type."
"What!?" Vander Decken IX was stunned, as if struck by lightning. After a long silence, his face darkened. "If I can't have you, then no one else can. I'll have to kill you."
Arthur, who had been silent up until now, calmly said, "But you're the one who's going to die today."
"Huh? What?" Vander Decken IX sneered at Arthur, not taking him seriously. "Who do you think you are to—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a massive bolt of lightning appeared.
"200 million volts, Scorching Thunder!"
The terrifyingly hot lightning vaporized Vander Decken IX before he could react.
"300 million volts, God's Judgment!"
Then, a flash of lightning erupted behind Arthur, and his elemental wings disappeared.
At the port of Fish-Man Island, the guards watched in horror as the entire group of Vander Decken IX's pirates were wiped out. A huge, bald sea monster had just entered the area.
"This is... the Sea God! What in the world...?"
As they exclaimed, a blinding light burst from the sky, and a beam of light shot down from above.
Boom!
A scorched black hole appeared in the head of the Sea God, who had only half its body in the port. It was completely dead, with electric sparks occasionally flickering from its body.
Afterward, traces of lightning spread from the Sea God's body, condensing in the air and forming wings wrapped in thunder and lightning.
Immediately, the thunderous wings unleashed hundreds of powerful bolts of lightning. In that instant, everyone who had just arrived at the port—all of Vander Decken IX's men—were obliterated.
The Vander Decken IX Pirates were completely destroyed! There was no trace left of them, not even a scream.
The reason Arthur had remained silent earlier was that he didn't want to waste words. He waited for the bald sea monster to fully enter Fish-Man Island before destroying them all in one fell swoop.
Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief as they looked at the spot where Vander Decken IX had stood.
Now, all that remained was a pile of black ashes. The man who had tormented Princess Shirahoshi for four or five years was completely gone.
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