One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks

After Enel left, Shyarly decided to perform another divination.

She wanted to see the future of Fish-Man Island.

The result?

She saw a vast beach under a starry night sky, where many merfolk and humans were happily gathered around a bonfire.

Under the flickering orange flames, several silhouettes caught her attention.

There were three men and a small woman sitting on a large creature's back. Due to the blurry image, she couldn't tell what kind of creature it was.

However, among the three men, Shyarly could easily recognize the tallest one.

Enel's thunder drums made him stand out.

As for the other two men, one was tall and thin while the other was a bit shorter and more muscular. She couldn't identify them clearly.

But even without clear identification, Shyarly could make a guess—since Enel was there, the other two were most likely Takumi and Kaku.

As for the large creature and the woman sitting on its back, they were probably future members of Takumi's crew.

Coming out of her vision, Shyarly took her smoking pipe, her expression complicated as she took a long drag, exhaling a practiced smoke ring.

"The starry sky..." she murmured to herself, her gaze drifting to the door where Enel had disappeared moments before. "At the very least, they will pose no threat to Fish-Man Island."

---

After leaving Shyarly's room, Enel returned to the Mermaid Cafe.

Cathy stood at the entrance, holding two bags, each containing two cups of coffee.

Seeing Enel return, Cathy immediately called out, "Over here, Enel!"

With a look of indifference, Enel strode over to her.

Cathy smiled, "The coffee is ready to go. I bought a cup for Camie, Takumi, and Mr. Kaku as well. Since it's getting late, how about coming with me to pick up some groceries?"

"No." Enel rejected her flatly.

Cathy had initially intended to persuade Enel to help her carry things, but after thinking it over, she gave up, sighing, "If you really don't want to go, I won't force you. But I do have a lot to carry, and I might not manage alone. How about this—you take the coffee for me, and head back to find Takumi. We'll meet later at the Fish Bus stop, alright?"

"Fine." This time, Enel agreed readily, casually taking the coffee from Cathy.

---

Meanwhile.

After splitting up with Enel, Takumi wandered around Coral Hill.

The goods being sold here weren't that different from what was found in towns on islands above the sea. All the usual shops were there.

And since Fish-Man Island was still under Whitebeard's protection, plenty of humans visited, but no one dared to cause trouble.

While many merfolk still held prejudices against humans, outwardly, everyone seemed to get along harmoniously.

"Young human, interested in buying clothes?"

Takumi passed by a shop that sold casual wear. The shopkeeper, a male merfolk dressed in a light blue loose-fitting shirt, smiled warmly at him.

Takumi ignored him and walked past the store.

The merfolk owner, undeterred, picked up two pairs of slippers made from some kind of seaweed, then chased after Takumi. "Young human, how about taking a look at our new slippers? They're woven from special seaweed—much more durable than those human-made leather shoes. You can soak them in water for ages without any wear, and they're also fire-resistant. No ordinary flame can burn them. You look like a decent guy, so I'll sell them to you at half-price, how about that?"

Takumi, who initially wasn't interested, glanced at the slippers—one blue, one red, both in a simple large size.

Seeing that Takumi seemed intrigued, the shopkeeper quickly added enthusiastically, "I promise you won't find these slippers in any human store. If you buy them, I'll give them to you for just 500 Beli a pair. And if you buy five pairs, I'll knock another 50 Beli off each!"

Takumi remained silent.

Seeing no immediate reaction, the merfolk shopkeeper quickly put down the blue pair for Takumi to try on. "You can try them first. If they don't feel comfortable, you don't have to buy them."

Seeing the owner's polite attitude, Takumi decided to indulge him. He took off his own shoes, slipped on the blue pair, and walked a few steps. They were slightly large, but overall felt comfortable, with a soft yet sturdy sole.

"Alright." Takumi put his own shoes back on and asked, "How many slippers do you have?"

The shopkeeper smiled broadly. "I have twenty pairs on the rack, and another sixty in the warehouse. What color and size do you want? I'll get them right away."

"I'll take them all." Takumi said decisively.

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. "All eighty pairs? Please wait a moment, I'll get the rest."

Takumi nodded slightly.

The merfolk shopkeeper quickly ran back into the store, and within a few minutes, had packed all eighty pairs of slippers. He pulled out a calculator and started adding up.

"Young man, since you're taking them all, I'll give you a deal—400 Beli per pair, which comes to 32,000 in total. But since you're a first-time customer, let's make it an even 30,000."

Takumi didn't even bother haggling. He handed over 30,000 Beli, took the large bag of slippers, and left.

He intended to find a quiet spot to store the slippers in his dimensional storage. But before he could do that, two human men, talking and laughing, walked toward him.

One of them, a man with a scruffy beard, glanced at Takumi, and recognized him immediately. "Isn't that the guy with the 1.5 billion bounty from the World Government?"

"Huh? Really?" his companion asked in surprise.

The scruffy man nodded. "Yeah, I've seen his bounty poster—it's definitely him!"

"1.5 billion? That's insane. Is this guy really that dangerous?"

"He killed a Celestial Dragon. You know what they're like. Honestly, I could kill one too if I dared. This guy just had the guts to do it."

"Oh, I see. I didn't even know about that..."

"That's what happens when you don't read the news. But what could he be doing on Fish-Man Island?"

The two chatted as they walked.

Takumi didn't pay them any mind, calmly walking past them.

The two men gave him another look. When they saw the large bag Takumi was carrying, full of slippers, they exchanged a surprised glance. The scruffy man suddenly burst into laughter.

His companion was puzzled. "What's so funny?"

The scruffy man laughed even harder. "Haha! I get it now. This guy came to Fish-Man Island to hide from the World Government. To survive, he's selling slippers for a living!"