Heart

"Anyone would be sick of staying in the same place for ten years without anything to do. If you are scared of that man, I'll kill him for you, I'll protect you, and I'll be with you at all times until you're safe." Imai said.

"B-but it's still too sudden. Leaving this place after ten years…I need some time to sort out my feelings." Shirahoshi replied.

Imai sighed. "If you want to go to the world filled with things you've never seen before, now is your best chance. But I'll let you think about it, just don't take too long. When I come back, your mind better be made up."

Imai sighed once again and walked out of the gate. Being in the same place with the indecisive princess was making her head hurt. Though she felt the need to help her, was it because she's a princess or was it because she was stuck in a room for ten years? Imai shook her head to get rid of the unnecessary thoughts.

There were faint sounds of blades clashing against each other. Imai's ears could recognize the sound immediately, the joy of battle filled her heart. She needed to release the adrenaline that was filling up her veins.

When Imai made it onto the scene, she saw Nami, Usopp, Brook, and Zoro fighting against the guards that were surrounding them. She glanced at the big seahorse with a crown on his head.

'That must be Shirahoshi's father, King Neptune, and the one who kept her locked up for ten years.'

"Sovereign's Cleave."

Imai applied haki to her feet giving her an additional burst of speed as she dashed towards one of the guards. With precise accuracy, Imai pierced their stomach, and cleaved through the internal organs causing their guts to spill out.

This shocked everybody, none of them saw her coming except for a streak of purple sparks. This caused everyone to stop fighting and solely focus on her.

Imai slashed at the air to remove all of the blood that was on the blade and looked around.

"Now then, if you want to live, drop to the ground, and beg me to stay alive." Imai said as she pointed her blade to the king. "You are not an exception, you should be looking down at me. That was an order and my orders are absolute."

Imai stared into the king's eyes and flared her Conqueror's Haki causing the king to drop to the ground and numerous guards to pass out.

The king glanced up at Imai, her unique dull dark crimson eyes were unforgettable. He had met her once on a battlefield, she was the literal definition of a one man army. He could never forget the fear he felt that day when he saw her abilities.

"You're back Imai, after three years, it seems you haven't changed much except being much stronger." Neptune said.

"So you recognize me, that's surprising since I didn't know news from the surface could reach down here." Imai said as she told the others to tie the guards up.

"No, three years ago, I saw you on a battlefield." Neptune said. "The fifth emperor, Empress of the Blade, truly a fitting name."

"I'm glad you know of me, then that should make everything easier." Imai said as she turned to Zoro. "Oi, chain him up."

"Why me?!"

"Cause you're doing nothing at the moment, so go chain him up."

Zoro didn't reply and did as he was told. After seeing Imai's abilities, Zoro grew a sense of respect for Imai, and a little bit of admiration.

"No matter how I Look at it, this is overkill." Nami said as she finished everything up. "How did we get to this? I just wanted to enjoy some shopping."

"It's fine, what's done is done." Imai said. "Also, I need to be somewhere right now. So you guys can deal with everything that comes after. Bye!"

With that being said, Imai took off.

"Oi, oi, oi. There's no way she did all that dirty work and left us to clean everything up." Usopp said in disbelief.

"That's what she just did." Nami said. "And we're going to be the ones dealing with the consequences. Wait, where's Zoro?"

"Don't tell me he ran away too!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Hoo! I saw Zoro heading the other way!"

The three were left in disbelief as they were left here to watch over the chained up king and deal with the aftermath.

Imai opened the gate and to her surprise, Luffy was also there. The room was filled with silence except for the sound of Luffy's chewing.

"Luffy! You're here!" Imai called out, causing the latter to be surprised.

"Oi! Imai! It's good to see you again!" Luffy exclaimed. "Do you have any idea where the others are?"

"Yeah, they're in the main room. But they're probably gone by now since there was something to deal with." Imai replied. "So why are you here?"

"So that's how it is. I was starving after escaping from several guards and I caught the scent of food with my nose and followed it here. Surprisingly, there's a mermaid princess here."

"Yeah, she's Shirahoshi. I met earlier before." Imai said as turned to Shirahoshi. "So, did you make up your mind?"

"Y-yes, but if I leave, I'm causing a lot of trouble for the people here-" Imai cut Shirahoshi off before she could finish her sentence. "Forget about other people, be selfish. Tell me what you want and I'll guarantee it."

"Eh? What are the two of you talking about?" Luffy asked.

Imai grinned. "We're going to kidnap her."

""Eh?!""

"Not like that, but we're going to break her out of this place." Imai said. "Now tell me where do you want to go, Shirahoshi."

With a blushing face, Shirahoshi replied, "The Sea Forest."

Imai smiled and turned to Luffy. "Alright Luffy, that's our next stop. Let's meet up with everyone and go to the Sea Forest."

Shirahoshi felt her heart flutter for the first time, she couldn't calm her flushed face down since no one has treated her this kindly before, and with such determination. She placed her hand over her heart and felt the rapid beating.

Shirahoshi met Imai's eyes, the dull crimson red eyes that entranced her.

"Now then, let's get going."