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"Mr. Ikki, can you... change the future?" Shyarly asked, resting her chin in her hands and intently studying Ikki's eyes.
"Change the future? Why do you ask?" Ikki was momentarily surprised, but then, realizing Shyarly's unique ability, he felt a bit relieved. It seemed Shyarly had seen something through her crystal ball.
Interesting, I wonder how a transmigrator like me appears in Shyarly's divination, Ikki mused.
"I just performed a divination on you, Mr. Ikki. Perhaps you don't know this, but I possess certain divinatory abilities. Everything I've ever divined in the past has always come true. And there's never been a person or event I couldn't divine. B-But..." Shyarly paused, her eyes filled with clear curiosity as she looked at Ikki.
"But what? Did you divine my future?" Ikki chuckled.
"That's right," Shyarly nodded slightly. "I genuinely wanted to observe your future, Mr. Ikki. This incident has made me quite curious about you. It's a pity, though, that I couldn't see your future through my crystal ball."
"It seems to be shrouded in a thick layer of black fog, as if some mysterious force is preventing me from seeing it. Mr. Ikki, do you... possess some power that prevents me from investigating your future? I apologize if my curiosity offends you; I'm truly sorry." Shyarly bowed slightly, her demeanor quite respectful.
"No need to apologize, you didn't even see my future, did you?" Ikki waved his hand. "As for why you couldn't find out my future, I have a rough idea. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the reason. Please understand."
Shyarly's inability to see his future confirmed Ikki's speculation that it was due to his nature as a transmigrator. In the pirate world, there's no predetermined future for those who traverse time; their very existence constantly disrupts the original timeline. Shyarly couldn't see it clearly, but Ikki understood perfectly.
In fact, if Shyarly could see his future clearly, Ikki would find it a bit unsettling. If someone knew what he was going to do, or even knew it before him, Ikki felt he'd have to find a way to eliminate that possibility – not by harming Shyarly, of course, but by making it impossible for her to divine him. A better approach might be to invite her onto his ship, either tactfully or persuasively.
"Yes, I understand," Shyarly said, a hint of pity in her voice, but she knew she had no right to force Ikki to explain. For a moment, she fell into thought.
"If you have nothing else to do, Mrs. Shyarly," Ikki said with a smile, "please feel free to leave. You must have a lot to do at your cafe, right? With such a big incident happening on Fish-Man Island, many residents might want a hot cup of coffee to warm their hearts."
"Coffee..." Shyarly's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on her face. "Speaking of which, I haven't properly thanked you, Mr. Ikki. How about I make you a cup of coffee? I happen to have special coffee ingredients from the Mermaid Cafe."
Without waiting for Ikki's reply, Shyarly stood up and went to the nearby counter, picking up the coffee-making equipment on the Adventurer.
Watching Shyarly's movements, Ikki raised an eyebrow but didn't say much. Instead, he rested his hands behind his neck and watched her make coffee with interest. Looking at her this way, she's quite a beautiful woman, he thought.
I remember in the original story, Shyarly's standard height was about 5 meters. I wonder if she'll maintain that height when her fishtail turns into legs at thirty years old. A 5-meter-tall beauty would make great painting material. Hmm... Shyarly in her mermaid form is also good material. Lost in thought, Ikki couldn't help but pull out his drawing board and begin sketching Shyarly.
A few minutes later, Shyarly approached Ikki with a steaming cup of coffee. Ikki had just finished his portrait of her.
"Mr. Ikki, please taste... are you painting me?" Shyarly placed the coffee in front of him, then noticed the figure on his drawing board.
"How is it? Not bad, right?" Ikki handed the drawing board to Shyarly, then picked up the coffee and took a sip. "Wow! This coffee is the best I've ever had!" he exclaimed. Although many on the Explorer could make delicious coffee, like Nico Robin, Shyarly's brew was simply superior.
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Ikki," Shyarly replied. "Your painting talent is also the best I've ever seen. If you weren't an Bounty hunter, you could definitely become a superb painter. Mr. Ikki, would you like to keep this painting for me?" she chuckled.
"Of course, I can give this painting to you. But I have a condition."
"What condition?"
"That you allow me to paint you again, Mrs. Shyarly. It's rare to meet a mermaid with such a mature style as yours. I want to capture and preserve it first." On Fish-Man Island, almost all mermaids were seen as 'cute,' even Princess Shirahoshi. While many appeared mature in body shape, Shyarly was unique for her mature personality, appearance, and figure.
"If that's all you ask, of course I can agree," Shyarly laughed. "And if you can agree to my next request, you can have me as your model anytime you wish."
"Oh? Tell me," Ikki prompted.
"Mr. Ikki, would you allow me to join your ship and go to sea with you?"
"Huh? Did I hear that correctly? You want to go to sea with me?" Ikki was genuinely surprised.
"Are you unwilling, Mr. Ikki? Please rest assured, I would never do anything bad because of Arlong."
"No, you misunderstood. I'm not worried about Arlong. I just want to understand why you want to go to sea with me. Should I take this as you wanting to be my partner?"
"As I said, I'm very curious about you, Mr. Ikki. In fact, the main reason I want to go to sea with you is to observe you closely with my own eyes."
"You want to go to sea with me just because you're curious? Going to sea with me is a very dangerous endeavor."
"I understand! However, I've already made up my mind," Shyarly said, her expression growing serious. "Actually, besides divining your future, Mr. Ikki, I also performed a divination related to the future of Fish-Man Island. I saw that Fish-Man Island would be destroyed by a pirate wearing a straw hat, and Hody Jones would be involved."
"But now that Hody Jones is dead, the future has clearly changed. You could say that you, Mr. Ikki, saved this country. This is why I believe you can change the future. I actually hate future divinations; they always foretell bad things."
"And now, Mr. Ikki, you're trying to break those bad futures. For a fortune teller, knowing someone who can alter future predictions should be a good enough reason to go to sea."
Hearing this, Ikki propped his chin with one hand, observing Shyarly thoughtfully. After a long silence, during which Shyarly began to show signs of nervousness, Ikki finally spoke.
"Alright, I agree, Mrs. Shyarly. You can become a member of my expedition. But it's easy to board the ship, and not so easy to get off. Let me make sure first, have you truly thought this through?"
Shyarly smiled. "I was mentally prepared on my way here. And Mr. Ikki, you're the benefactor of Fish-Man Island; you just saved us."
"To be honest, I truly want to help you. Although my power might seem insignificant to you, when everyone is tired, I can still serve you and the crew twice the delicious coffee, Mr. Ikki."
Ikki stood from his seat and extended his hand to Shyarly. As she shook his hand, Ikki said, "You don't have to worry about issues related to strength. I have good experience in improving the strength of my partners."
"As long as you become a member of the Explorer, I'm confident you'll become stronger. Everyone on my ship came here this way."
Just as Ikki finished speaking, Nojiko's mind was made up. "Ikki, I can prove it," she interjected. "I'm glad you're joining us, Mrs. Shyarly... No, I should call you Shyarly now." Nojiko extended her hand and shook Shyarly's. Nojiko was also delighted that a mermaid like Shyarly had joined, as the beauty of mermaids appealed to both men and women.
"Nojiko, go and call everyone to the Sword Enlightenment Room. Now that Shyarly has joined, my Hyōrinmaru has finally found its owner. I'll take Shyarly to the Sword Enlightenment Room first and explain the situation to her, lest she accidentally tell Hina and the others about what's going on here."
With that, Ikki waved to Shyarly and led her towards the Sword Enlightenment Room. Along the way, he slowly revealed the true identities of Robin and Kalifa, as well as his unique relationship with the Marine.
"I see, Ikki, so you and the Marine have such a relationship," Shyarly mused in the Sword Enlightenment Room. "And you're willing to hide a bounty prisoner just for beauty. Captain Ikki, why did you agree to my joining because of my status as a mermaid? Speaking of it, should I be worried about you taking action against me?"
Ikki chuckled. "Take action? Sorry, I won't have that idea before your tail turns into legs. You can stay here with peace of mind."
"Legs? I'm 28 now... wait. I'll have legs by the time I'm 30. Should I be worried then?" Shyarly teased.
"Haha, yes, you should indeed be worried," Ikki responded casually to her jest, then glanced at Nami, Nojiko, Robin, and the others entering the Sword Enlightenment Room. He then retrieved his Zanpakutō, Hyōrinmaru, from his personal space. Seeing this, Nami and the others immediately showed expectant expressions.
Nami exclaimed, "It's great! We get to see a grand demonstration again!"
Vivi added, "Ikki said this is also a blade that controls ice. I don't know how it compares to my Sode no Shirayuki."
Kalifa observed, "Zanpakutō Hyōrinmaru... finally someone can use this sword."
Shyarly glanced curiously at the talking crewmates. Before she could ask, Ikki activated Hyōrinmaru's demonstration permission. In an instant, everyone, including Shyarly, found themselves in a desolate, otherworldly landscape.
"What is this place?" Shyarly looked around in amazement, her eyes quickly fixing on a white-haired child hundreds of meters away.
"This is where the capabilities of this blade are demonstrated," Ikki explained. "It's also to familiarize you with its powers and prepare you for future practice. Speaking of which, perhaps it's fate; your voice is very similar to that of your sword's original owner, Hitsugaya Tōshirō."
Ikki smiled and sent Hyōrinmaru flying from his hand. The Zanpakutō flew several hundred meters, as if alive, directly into Hitsugaya Tōshirō's hand.
The next moment, ten colossal Menos Grande appeared beside Hitsugaya Tōshirō and launched an attack. "This is... be careful!" Shyarly instinctively cried out, wanting to warn Tōshirō. But she watched him step through the air, leaping multiple times to position himself above the Menos Grandes, effortlessly dodging their attacks.
"Sit upon the frosty heavens, Hyōrinmaru!" With a sharp shout, a long iron chain extended from the hilt of the Hyōrinmaru in Tōshirō's hand. The immense Reiatsu emanating from the blade constructed a gigantic ice dragon. For a moment, the sky and earth seemed to be dyed with a layer of frost.