Chapter 310: Daily Life - Picky Eaters Aren't Cool

Fish-Man Island, located 10,000 meters below the sea between Sabaody and Mary Geoise, is also known as the "Undersea Paradise." It's a place many dream of visiting.

Mostly because of the allure of mermaids...

The residents of Fish-Man Island mainly consist of the fish-men and mermaids. Mermaids belong to the mammalian category and are known to be the fastest swimmers in the world. They treat fish as their companions and can communicate freely with ordinary marine life.

Fish-men, on the other hand, possess features that are half-human, half-fish. They breathe through lungs on land and use gills underwater. Fish-men naturally have a stronger physique compared to humans, but they have long suffered from human prejudice.

For years, both fish-men and mermaids were classified by humans as mere 'fish,' often treated with disdain. It wasn't until 200 years ago, when the Ryugu Kingdom became an official ally of the World Government, that a more cordial relationship began, allowing Fish-Man Island's king to attend the World Summit. However, human prejudice still lingers, especially among the more aggressive factions of the fish-men population.

The advent of the 'Great Age of Pirates' exacerbated the situation. Marines and pirates passing by Fish-Man Island began abducting its inhabitants on a large scale. Young female mermaids, fetching high prices in human trafficking markets, were frequently kidnapped.

This continued until Edward Newgate, known as "Whitebeard," one of the Four Emperors, declared Fish-Man Island his territory. After that, the marines and pirates were wary of causing trouble.

So, nowadays, Fish-Man Island is relatively safe under Whitebeard's protection. However, many of its residents still harbor animosity towards humans, especially the fish-men.

Moreover, Fish-Man Island lies 10,000 meters deep, surrounded by massive Sea Kings. In their domain, these Sea Kings are incredibly formidable, often preventing travelers from reaching the island. Many perish before they even set foot on the island, mostly due to attacks from Sea Kings or large deep-sea predators.

Hence, reaching Fish-Man Island requires a certain amount of risk.

As soon as Takumi mentioned Fish-Man Island, Kaku hadn't even managed to react before Enel, who had just picked himself up from the deck, appeared before Takumi in a flash, asking excitedly, "Fish-Man Island? Sounds pretty interesting. Are the people there half-human, half-fish? Like a fish's head with human legs? Or maybe a human head with a fish's body?"

Takumi: "..."

Kaku chuckled, "This is why I've always told you to read more books and newspapers, but you never listen. Now look at you, completely clueless."

"You idiot!" Enel snapped, "If you know so much, then just tell me! Stop showing off."

Kaku wouldn't give in, "Oh, I'm showing off because I'm cultured, what are you gonna do about it? You want to know? Well, I'm not telling you."

"You're asking for it!" Enel lunged at him.

Kaku dodged instantly.

And so began another of their familiar skirmishes.

Takumi ignored them, walking past them into the ship's interior.

The first thing he saw upon entering was the spacious kitchen and dining area. Stairs leading up to the second floor were on either side of the dining room.

Their rooms were all on the second floor.

Without much thought, Takumi went up the stairs and entered his room. Just like Kaku had said, the room was larger than before, with new, cyberpunk-style furniture. The room had a consistent blue theme with some light purple accents. Most notably, there was a small bookshelf and a large liquor cabinet.

The liquor cabinet, however, was empty.

There was also a small round table by the window, obviously meant for Takumi to sit at and read.

"Not bad." Takumi nodded approvingly. With a thought, he summoned the alcohol he had stored in his system space.

Staring at the mere dozen or so bottles left, Takumi fell into deep thought.

It seemed that ever since Kaku boarded the ship, he hadn't really restocked his supplies...

He'd need to find an opportunity to fix that.

Thanks to the upgraded power system of the new ship, what normally would take over two months to reach Sabaody now took only three days to cover half the distance.

While Akainu and his fleet had reached North Blue from Marineford in just over a week, they did so without rest, using maximum speed. Meanwhile, Takumi's crew traveled leisurely, stopping each night for rest.

Around noon that day...

Takumi and Enel stared at the table full of fish dishes, setting down their chopsticks almost in unison, both wearing similarly displeased expressions.

"What's with those faces?" Kaku laughed helplessly, "Picky eating isn't good for you. Just eat."

"Hey, Long Nose, what's the deal here?" Enel complained, "We've been eating fish since yesterday afternoon. Are we out of supplies on the ship or what?"

"That's right, we're out." Kaku shrugged, "I was hoping we'd hold out until we got to Sabaody to resupply. At our current speed, we should get there in a few more days... I never thought you two would get tired of fish so quickly... You two are too picky. Be glad there's something to eat. Now hurry up and eat, or don't come complaining to me when you're hungry later."

Enel: "..."

Takumi turned to Enel and asked, "How far to the nearest island?"

Though Takumi could use his Observation Haki to check, Enel's coverage range was much larger, making him better suited for scouting.

Enel quickly scanned the area, then replied, "Pretty close. At our speed, we'd get there in twenty minutes tops."

"Alright," Takumi nodded. "We'll head to that island, have a proper meal, and stock up on supplies."

"Sounds good." Enel, eager to get to shore, immediately used his powers to steer the ship towards the nearby island.

Takumi and Enel stood up simultaneously, leaving right in front of Kaku...

"Hey, really?" Kaku sighed, looking at the meal he'd worked hard to prepare. "This is such a waste... These two are getting harder to please... Ah well, if they won't eat, I'll eat it myself!"

Picking up a piece of fish, Kaku took a bite, only to set his chopsticks down moments later, muttering, "Okay, maybe eating fish for four meals straight is a bit much..."

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