61 Fishmen island I

Having arrived on Fishmen island, Mero and the others began to show them around. The first place they visited was called the mermaid cafe. It was apparently Mero's previous work place, before she had been captured that is. Now when she entered the cafe again, she was surrounded by her friends, who were crying loudly.

The crew took a seat, as Mero was reconnecting with her friends.

"We were so worried, Mero-chan!"

"Where were you? We looked everywhere for you. When we couldn't find you, we assumed the worst."

The girls were her friends who worked together with her and hung out with her at the mermaid cove.

"That's right! Sora-chan was even more worried, as she was the last one to see you. She had been crying for days."

Sora, a blonde mermaid, looked aggrieved at one of her friends. She had indeed been crying a lot, even recently. That didn't mean she was the only one to cry.

"Ishilly and Fillonce had been crying a sea of tears as well. Ishilly even fainted from dehydration. Dehydration, in the sea. That just shows how much we care about you Mero-chan."

Mero chuckled in delight, hugging her friends tightly to show how much she cared.

"Luckily madam Shyarly mentioned your return, which abated our worries, even if it was only a little bit."

Ishilly said, smiling brightly now that the sad mood had dispersed a bit.

"But how did you return, Mero-chan? Can you tell us what happened?"

Fillonce said, lounging back on one of the chairs, cupping her chin in her hands and she stared at Mero.

"Well, this is what happened..."

Mero began to speak about how she had been captured, to how she was valiantly saved by Shinobu, ending with the fact that she had joined a pirate crew.

"But why become a pirate, Mero-chan? Don't you like it here?"

Fillonce followed up, after hearing the whole story.

"I-It's just... I've become enraptured by Shinobu-san's finesse and abilities. I want to become as strong as her so that I won't be captured again! Besides, there might be a cutie out there that is just my type! Staying here won't bring me such a romantic hubby~"

Mero squeeled, cupping her cheeks as a healthy blush colored her cheeks.

"Wow~!"

"Good for you Mero!"

"Come visit us a lot! We can't wait to see your future hubby~"

The mermaids didn't seem to care at all, cheering Mero on for her dreams.

The rest of the Demon Fox pirates looked on as Mero shared her story. Asher and Duke had long ago left, departing to their own homes to let their current wellbeing be known.

Lafitte had once again disappeared as well, as he seemed interested in the pirate ship they had seen when they arrived.

That left only Akane, Ban and Shinobu to experience this scene, Shinobu having a wide smile on her face after hearing Mero's ambitions. No doubt wanting to teach her how to use her crafts, poisons, swordsmanship and medical knowledge as well.

Akane doubted if Mero could learn swordmanship, but wielding a trident shouldn't be that hard, as it had a much longer range than a sword and required less strength to use.

"Ara~ Why don't you become my student, Mero-chan?~ I can teach you lots of fun things. I'm sure you will enjoy it."

Shinobu said, tempting the ignorant mermaid with her devilish offer.

"You will?! Thank you Shinobu-sensei!"

Mero immediately changed the way she addressed Shinobu, letting the latter know how much Mero respected her.

"It won't be easy. Be prepared for some hardships~"

"Yes!"

The conversation was thus followed up by a lecture on different kinds of poisons, which generally put off a lot of the other mermaids, as they couldn't quite stomach the thought of hurting another.

The other mermaids soon joined Akane and Ban, leaving Shinobu and Mero to converse for as long as they wanted to.

"Right... Where do you want to go to next? I heard they make some delicious candy in these parts~"

Ban said, making sure not to look at the two master desciple pair. One was already bad, now there was another one in the making.

"Hoh! That sounds delicious. But we'll do that later. I've heard there is a forest here as well. Then we also have to see the fishmen-karate dojo. From word on the street, it seems to be fairly popular. Then, let's visit the mermaids beach and lastly go have a look at the fishmen district. According to Asher, the place is like the slums. Or that is what I surmissed after he explained how it works over there."

Akane excitedly shared, completely immersed in the few things she wanted to try out while they were staying here.

"Sure~ We aren't staying that long here though..."

Ban replied, grabbing a mug of sake. He wasn't quite into the taste, but at least it was drinkable.

"I know, but at least we can try going about."

Not even commenting on it any further, they continued to chat with the mermaids until Mero was done catching up.

***

Meanwhile, Lafitte had found the owner of the whale like ship. When he saw who it was, he was surprised, yet not. He had a faint suspicion that it might have been him.

Looking from one of the houses, Lafitte observed the Yonkou called Whitebeard. The Jolly Roger of Whitebeard had been hung in front at the entrance of fishmen island, so it wasn't strange to see this yonkou here.

Whitebeard chuckled at something, sharing a glass of liquor with a really big merfolk man with a crown. 'That must be Neptune.'

Taking a relaxed posture, Lafitte continued to watch around, spotting a few of the famous commanders of the Whitebeard pirates. Phoenix Marco, Diamond Jozu, Vista of the flower swords and a few others as well.

The crew truly lived up to their reputation. Lafitte could feel their presence all the way from where he was sitting. Which was pretty far, as he was a few miles away to say the least.

Having seen enough, Lafitte departed to regroup with Akane, not knowing his figure had caught the attention of one the crew he had just been observing. It would have been fine if he hadn't moved, but the moment Lafitte had moved, his location had been compromised.