One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks

"And you dare say I'm the one bragging?" Kaku chuckled, "You've only been with the captain for about half a year longer than me. What are you bragging about? Don't forget, we've been to Sabaody twice. Returning to Skypiea isn't impossible either!"

"Hmph! Ignorance." Enel turned to Takumi and asked directly, "Captain, are we ever going back to Skypiea?"

Takumi silently glanced at Enel, then unexpectedly raised his hands and cracked his knuckles, making a few popping sounds.

Enel, thinking Takumi was about to hit him, reflexively flinched backward.

Then, Takumi simply put his hands down, his tone flat, "Why are you flinching?"

Enel's face twitched, "Aren't you going to hit me?"

Takumi smiled, "Hit you? Why would I?"

Enel, bewildered, asked, "Then why did you crack your knuckles like that?"

Takumi responded calmly, "My hands were tired, that's all."

Enel: "..."

Tired hands... that's all?

Kaku couldn't hold back his laughter, "Hahaha! You're such a fool, this is too funny!"

Enel glared at Kaku, seething, "You bastard…"

As they started bickering again, Cathy sighed softly in exasperation.

Camie, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it, eagerly waiting for Enel and Kaku to fight, though she knew that fighting inside the bubble could lead to disastrous consequences.

"You can argue all you want, but don't actually fight, okay?" Camie said cheerfully, "If you break the bubble, it's you who'll be in trouble."

"Do I need you to tell me such basic things?" Enel huffed, glaring at Camie.

Camie shrugged with a mischievous grin, "Yes, yes, the Thunder God is correct. My mistake. Haha! We're almost at our place."

Just as Camie finished speaking, the turtle elevator arrived at the first level of the Coral Apartments, located at the bottom of the sea.

With Cathy's and Camie's help, Takumi and the others managed to enter the residential area of the first level of the Coral Apartments.

As Cathy had mentioned earlier, their place was indeed quite basic. The floor was covered in ankle-deep seawater, but half of the room was above the water level, with a dry, raised wooden platform.

While entering, the short walk through the shallow water didn't cause any major inconvenience for Enel and Kaku, both Devil Fruit users. Still, they could feel that faint drain of energy.

"Camie, take care of them for now. We're out of food, so I'll go buy some ingredients," Cathy said as she left the building.

Camie was quite enthusiastic and offered them each a bowl of seaweed soup, "Here, have some soup while you wait for dinner."

Takumi and his crew looked at the bowl of clear, oil-free seaweed soup and none of them seemed interested in drinking it.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Camie asked, puzzled by their lack of enthusiasm. "Don't you like seaweed soup?"

All three answered bluntly, "No."

"Wow! You guys are so straightforward!" Camie was taken aback.

"Do you have anything else to drink?" Kaku asked, trying to be polite.

Camie thought for a moment, "We also have cold kelp soup and seaweed broth. Which one do you want?"

After she said this, the three fell silent.

Camie was shocked, "Don't tell me you don't like any of these either?!"

Seeing them nod, Camie awkwardly asked, "Then what do you like? I can see if we have it."

Takumi responded immediately, "Sake."

Enel followed, "Juice."

Kaku added with a smile, "Tea."

Camie laughed awkwardly, "Well, I guess water it is then. Haha, hahaha..."

"You can't be serious," Enel said, dissatisfied, "You don't have even one of those three? Are you really this poor?"

Camie scratched her head, "Cathy and I aren't well off. Fruits and tea are luxuries here on Fish-Man Island. Since there's more water than land, and the soil here isn't as fertile as the outside world, the yield of fruits and tea is really limited. Only the well-off people in the fancy areas can afford them. As for alcohol, I have half a bag of cooking wine left. If you don't mind…"

Before she could finish, Takumi already interrupted, "We mind."

"Wow! At least let me finish first!" Camie said, torn between laughter and frustration.

Enel, suspicious, asked, "If you're this poor, does that mean we'll be eating just plants for dinner?"

"Of course not," Camie assured. "We also have clams and scallops."

"Meat! I want meat," Enel demanded.

Camie tilted her head, confused, "Aren't clams and scallops meat?"

Enel was about to argue, but Kaku stopped him, "Let's not make things harder for them. I can eat anything, but the captain and I are still growing, so we can't have too simple a meal. Still, this is Cathy's kind gesture—maybe her cooking is really good?"

"Good? Hah!" Enel scoffed. "Unless she can make seaweed taste like steak."

Just as they were talking, a mermaid with long brown hair suddenly rushed over. She paused upon seeing the humans, "Huh? Humans?"

Camie recognized her neighbor and smiled, "Molly, what brings you here?"

Molly, having regained her composure, spoke anxiously, "I just saw Cathy being taken by a group of thugs from Fish-Man District."

"What?!" Camie was shocked and immediately asked, "Where did they take her? Cathy's so nice, why would they take her?!"

"Calm down," Molly tried to reassure her. "I already informed the King's guards, and they should be on their way to rescue her. I don't know why they targeted Cathy, but it seemed premeditated. They grabbed her the moment they saw she was alone."

Camie frowned deeply, then her face darkened, "I think I know why! Damn it! I can't just stay here and do nothing. Molly, where did they take her?!"

"It seemed like they were heading towards Fish-Man District," Molly replied, worried, "Camie, you shouldn't go. The King's guards will make sure Cathy is safe."

"I know the King's guards are reliable, but—"

Before Camie could finish, Takumi, who had been sitting silently, suddenly stood up and said in a calm voice, "Show me the direction to Fish-Man District."

Camie and Molly both stared at him, surprised.

Enel sneered, "Captain, when did you get so altruistic? Don't tell me you're interested in that mermaid, Cathy?"

Without hesitation, Takumi smacked Enel on the head, leaving a big bump.

Kaku stretched a little, smiling, "Perfect. We could use some exercise before dinner."

____________________________

Support me 

at ko-fi. com/gered or patreon.com/Emik01 

to read up to chapter 350+!

___________________________

Don't forget to give Power Stone if you like this story!