Ultimate Fruit

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Chapter 68: Fishman Island

“...You know Roger?”

Shyarly nodded at Lucas’ question.

“He came by to Fishman island once or twice when I was a kid. Back then, he would give me all sorts of candies too.”

“...”

Roger...why the hell are you acting like some shady uncle about to kidnap a kid!?

Lucas sighed.

At this time, Shyarly already turned around and didn’t bother answering more questions.

“If you can stand, get up and do your job.”

“...How long do I have to stay here? I’m kinda in a hurry…”

“Hm...when you’re no longer needed.”

“...”

Like I said, when the hell is that!?

Lucas wanted to ask but Shyarly already left the room, leaving Lucas alone once again.

Seeing that he didn’t have any voice on the matter, he sighed and got up.

He needed to think of a plan to get out of here as soon as possible...but he can’t just leave now that Roger seemed to be involved…

For better or for worse, Roger was still his captain at some point. He has to give him the minimum level of respect at the very least even though he’s already long dead.

Plus, even if he does leave, he still didn’t know if Luffy and the rest are already in Sabaody or if they are on the way here already. He might even pass them by without knowing it.

Thinking about it, his best option was to stay put and wait for them here. That way, he can be sure that he will meet them soon.

With that in mind, Lucas gave up and temporarily lived in the Mermaid Cafe as its guard.

He was well accepted by the mermaids but he felt uncomfortable with all the stares he’s being given. When he told Shyarly about wanting to wear a mask to hide his identity, Shyarly agreed and tossed him a full set of armor.

“...What’s this?”

“Armor. To protect you from harm.”

“...”

Why does this line sound familiar?

Oh yeah, Luffy said it before...just before we reached Jaya. When he found some rusted armor from the ship that fell from the sky, he wore a set of armor and said those lines...just before Nami destroyed it to bits…

Remembering that scene, Lucas can’t help but feel a bit afraid wearing the armor.

Is this really supposed to protect me? Rather...do I even need it!?

Shyarly continued to speak.

“Uncle Roger gave it to me before and said those lines. But...these are for a male shark fishman to wear and not something I can use. You can have it for now.”

“...”

That damn captain…

Lucas sighed but still wore it. It was better if he wore the whole thing as it will disguise his identity into that of a shark fishman instead.

At least it will remove any suspicions for now…

Having worn the whole thing, the atmosphere around Lucas seemed to have changed. Even Shyarly fell into a trance when she saw him but quickly shook it off.

The other mermaids were all squealing and gossiping amongst themselves.

Since then, those that visited the Mermaid Cafe would see Lucas in full armor standing tall beside the door.

Troublemakers were forced to keep their hands to themselves when Lucas gave them a passing glance.

Sometimes, some rough fishmen would arrive to cause a scene but they were all thrown out by Lucas.

One day, a familiar fishman arrived in the shop.

“Wahaha! It’s been a while since I last saw you, Shyarly!”

“Ah? Is it you, Jinbei-san?”

Shyarly recognized the voice and turned to look.

It was indeed Jinbei. Lucas also recognized him as they had fought side by side all those years ago in the Marineford War and in Impel Down.

“What brings you all the way here, Jinbei-san?

“Just visiting an old friend. After that stunt we pulled 2 years ago, I can’t be seen staying in Fishman Island too much.”

At this moment, Jinbei turned and saw Lucas in full armor. He can’t help but ask Shyarly.

“Who’s this guy? You have guards now?”

“This is Luke, our new guard. It can’t be helped. Hody and his gang seem to be up to something and their group seemed to be getting rowdier by the day. A little protection seems necessary.”

Hearing what Shyarly said, Lucas nodded in his mind.

Hm, so the cause is that Hody guy? Well, that’s good. After Luffy and the rest thrashes them, I can also leave…

Lucas didn’t have any thoughts of interfering too much. For one, he wanted to know how much stronger the crew had become. On the other hand, the situation in Fishman island is quite complicated.

At the moment, the residents of Fishman island are divided into two categories.

Those who hate humans, and those who don’t.

If a human were to beat Hody Jones just like this, the fishmen will only think that humans are an arrogant species that thinks they are superior enough to stick their nose in their fishman business.

If a fishman beats Hody Jones, then the fishmen will think that they don’t need the help of humans and will develop into a superior mentality against humans.

It’s a complicated scenario that won’t be solved simply by beating Hody.

As such, he cannot just rashly intervene.

Jinbei nodded and looked back at Lucas. Suddenly, he charged forward and launched a palm attack!

Lucas already knew this thanks to his Observation Haki despite the suddenness of the attack. He calmly looked at Jinbei and stretched his arm, meeting Jinbei’s palm with his own.

“Hm-!?”

*Boom*

As soon as they clashed, Jinbei’s eyes widened.

The next moment, he was repelled and was forced back a few steps!

Lucas chuckled when he saw the confusion in Jinbei’s eyes.

He seemed to be confused how he, a former Shichibukai, was actually forced back by a...guard! A cafe guard at that!

“What’s wrong, Jinbei? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Lucas grinned as he removed his helmet, showing his face to Jinbei.

Seeing Lucas’ appearance, Jinbei thought that he looked familiar. When he finally remembered who he was...his jaw dropped to the ground and his eyes opened wider!

He had the same expression as when Enel discovered that his lightning was not affecting Luffy!

Lucas took a quick picture before acting normal.

Yep, it’s now saved in my gallery!

Shyarly looked at the two with a raised brow.

“You two know each other?”

“Un...I was the guy who broke him out of Impel Down.”

Shyarly looked surprised.

“If that was you...then…”

“Yep. Told you. Dangerous pirate.”

Lucas smiled wryly. It seems Shyarly finally figured out who he was.

Jibei finally snapped out of it and immediately grabbed onto Lucas’ shoulders.

“Lucas! You’re alive!? What...what are you doing here!? Don’t you know what Luffy is going through!?”

Jinbei shouted as he shook Lucas back and forth, making him feel a bit dizzy.

“C-calm down, Jinbei! It wasn’t like I didn’t want to show myself earlier...it’s a long story!”

When he heard this, Jinbei finally calmed down a bit and asked.

“Explain!”

“Err...it’s a bit unbelievable...but before reaching Fishman island, I was in a place where I couldn’t leave for a...few years…”

“...”

“Believe me Jinbei. I wanted to return as soon as I could...but I couldn’t. When I finally arrived here, 2 years had already passed. I didn’t know where the others were but I figured if they are going to the New World, they will still have to pass through here. So here I am, waiting.”

Lucas explained his situation very briefly. He didn’t know if it would be okay to tell Jinbei about the time travel part...or rather, it felt like it would only get complicated if he told him about it so he just summed it up like so.

Jinbei fell silent for a moment before asking once again.

“And what if they already passed here?”

“I asked Shyarly if she’s met a man wearing a straw hat. I refuse to believe Luffy would not have caused a racket here so if he did come here already, Shyarly would’ve known about it.”

“What if they decided to stop searching for One Piece? What if they decided that they were too weak and no longer continue their journey? What if...the death of their friend made them give up in traveling the seas?”

Hearing this, Lucas smiled.

“Luffy? Give up One Piece? You must be thinking of another Luffy then. I refuse to believe that they are so weak-willed that they will give up just like that. I’ll wait here for as long as I need to...until they arrive and continue our journey. Together.”

Jinbei looked into Lucas’ eyes for a few seconds before finally sighing.

He shook his head and chuckled.

“You know them well.”

Lucas laughed at that.

Suddenly, he remembered something.

“Oh yeah, didn’t you say before that you'd teach me Fishman Karate?”

“Ah?...You’re right, I did say that back then. Haha, very well. Meet me in the Sea Forest when you can. I’m usually just resting there.”

“Will do.”

Unfortunately, he was only able to look for Jinbei a few days later when Shyarly finally agreed for him to take the day off.

The Mermaid Cafe was also closed as the mermaids rested and went shopping.

Lucas quickly left and found Jinbei sitting on a rock beside a tomb in the Sea Forest.

This must be the grave of Shirahoshi’s mother, Otohime…

Yet another character who had died early in the story...dammit, did Shanks fail?

Lucas sighed but didn’t blame Shanks. Back then, he was just a kid when he handed him the paper telling him to save the people in the list. Otohime was one of them.

But looking at the grave in front of him...it was enough to tell that he had failed in saving her.

Lucas was about to call out to Jinbei when a group approached him. The fishmen parted and revealed a slim mermaid and a buff merman in the middle.

“...Huh?”

Isn’t that...Fukaboshi and...Otohime!?

As if to confirm his thoughts, Jinbei laughed and greeted the two.

“Your highness, Queen Otohime and Prince Fukaboshi! It’s good to see you both alive and well!”

Lucas saw them chat happily and felt weird.

Am I in an alternate reality now? But...Shyarly and Jinbei still seemed to recognize me from the previous timeline.

Assuming that I was already in a time loop before, then it means that I was already in the timeline where Otohime was alive?

But then, what about the others I told Shanks to save?

...Is Olvia still…

Lucas sighed as he continued to keep thinking about these things.

Jinbei noticed Lucas was nearby and waved at him.

“Lucas! You’re here! Come over!”

Lucas walked over to them and looked at Otohime curiously.

Jinbei thought that he didn’t know who she was so he introduced her.

“This is her highness, Queen Otohime. Beside her is her son, Prince Fukaboshi. Everyone, this is Lucas. He once saved my life.”

Otohime smiled and bowed slightly. She seemed to give off the same feeling as Toki regarding their temperament.

On the other hand, Fukaboshi seemed slightly excited when he saw Lucas. Maybe it’s because he wore this cool armor...

“A pleasure to meet you, Lucas-san.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Lucas!”

“Ah...it’s a pleasure to meet you both as well.”

Otohime smiled and suddenly said.

“Shanks-sama had mentioned you to us a lot in the past. He said that you would one day visit this place and that it was thanks to you that I was saved in the past.”

When Lucas continued to ask, he finally understood the current situation.

With her alive, the situation in Fishman island wasn’t as worse than it was in the original, but there is still friction within it.

The petition to integrate with the humans that she had asked the people to sign was also forbidden by Neptune as he was afraid that Otohime might fall in danger once again.

Because of that, there wasn’t much impact on the timeline that Lucas knows. Similar events will still continue to unfold but would happen a bit differently than what he remembers.

There is also the World Noble that Otohime had protected, Mjosgard.

It seems that after the incident, Mjosgard had turned over a new leaf and was no longer an arrogant World Noble. In fact, he’s been helping the fishmen behind the scenes by buying as many fishmen he could on the surface so he can send them back.

The rescued fishmen then turned into loyal soldiers of the royal army while the mermaids became loyal maids in the palace.

As for the grave here...well, it isn’t actually a grave. It was just a simple monument placed here for some reason…

Shirahoshi is still locked in her room though. Vander Decken still found out about her and is busy sending weapons over to her using his Mark Devil Fruit.

The difference now was that she isn’t so sad anymore as her mother would visit her every night.

Hearing about these, Lucas felt confused.

Are the effects of saving Otohime really...this minimal?

Lucas felt like he’s not seeing something…however, no matter how hard he thought, he wasn’t able to grasp what it is that he’s not seeing.

After chatting for a few minutes, Jinbei and Lucas finally moved on to training.

Using the Fishman Karate that Jinbei taught him, Lucas was able to make more use of his water ability.

The piercing power had improved as well as the control and overall power as well.

The secret of Fish-Man Karate is mastery of the water in the user's direct vicinity, using its power to send powerful waves impacting the water within the opponent's body. Because every creature has a high percentage of water in their body, the users of Fish-Man Karate are able to battle opponents that are usually highly resistant, if not immune, against blows and punches.

It is a bit different from Lucas’ water control but the main idea was the same. All Lucas had to do was use it a bit differently.

When Jinbei saw how fast Lucas mastered Fishman Karate, his face twitched uncontrollably.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Jinbei?”

“...Nothing…”

This damn monster!

Jinbei sighed in defeat while Fukaboshi seemed to be watching Lucas with glittering eyes.

With his mother still alive, he wasn’t so stern and serious all the time anymore and would even act like a kid sometimes.

After the training, Otohime invited Lucas and Jinbei over to the palace to have a meal. Jinbei declined and Lucas was also about to decline but Otohime and Fukaboshi insisted.

Jinbei also convinced him saying that it should be fine since the world thinks he’s dead.

Since all of them were insisting, Lucas gave in and followed them to the palace.

Anyway, I also wanted to see what the Ryugu Palace looked like in person.

Watching it in the anime was already enough to let Lucas know that it was an amazing sight. Seeing it firsthand must be quite breathtaking as well.

Ryugu Palace.

Lucas arrived at the front gate and indeed...the scenery was simply...amazing!

Lucas was at a loss for words actually, it was hard to describe how amazing the scene was.

Otohime chuckled when she saw Lucas’ expression while Fukaboshi grinned with pride.

Inside, Lucas met with King Neptune and the other two brothers Ryuboshi and Manboshi. Beside them was another regular-sized mermaid with similar looks to Shirahoshi but had golden blonde hair like Otohime’s...huh?

Otohime didn’t care about his expression and simply introduced them to him.

“Lucas, this is my husband, King Neptune. Beside him are my sons, Ryuboshi and Manboshi. And this is my youngest daughter, Kiirahoshi.”

“...Hah?”