"I am not the Mermaid Princess."
"But I am undoubtedly your king."
Eden addressed the Sea Kings with calm authority.
"But... our grandmother told us that our king would be the soon-to-awaken Mermaid Princess."
One of the Sea Kings responded in protest.
"Bang!"
Eden didn't bother with more words. He raised his massive, sandbag-sized fist and smacked the Sea King hard on the head.
"Ughhh..."
The Sea King, now with a large bump on its head, looked both wronged and pitiful.
It was still just a child, barely 1,500 meters long. It would take another 300 years before it could grow as large as its father—over 5,000 meters long and classed as a super-giant Sea King. For now, it was merely a large one.
"So in the end, I am your king, right?"
Eden pressed firmly.
"That's true."
The Sea King nodded seriously. It felt a primal sense of submission to Eden and could speak directly with him—there was no mistaking it.
"Which means what I say is absolute, yeah?"
Eden kept pushing.
"Indeed."
After a short thought, the Sea King nodded again.
"Good. From today forward, you are a member of the Fairy Tail Guild!"
"No matter what your name was before, from now on... you're Little Black!"
With flair and grandeur, Eden officially drafted the Sea King.
"As you command, my King."
Little Black, although confused about what it meant to join Fairy Tail, knew from ancient Sea King teachings that a king's word was law.
And so...
Boom!
Waves surged as Eden and Natsu rode atop Little Black, sailing freely across the ocean.
Now that Little Black—of the 'top-tier' Sea King species—was with them, the Calm Belt was no longer dangerous. Other Sea Kings would flee at the mere sight of him.
Their traveling speed had skyrocketed—what once took two or three days now only took one.
In fact, Little Black deliberately slowed down to avoid dismantling the Shark Supreme (the ship) by going too fast. Otherwise, they'd be moving even quicker.
"Nami, don't you want to feel what it's like to ride a Sea King?"
"Why not ditch the Shark Supreme and just travel on Little Black from now on?"
Eden, sitting on Little Black's head, felt completely rejuvenated. No nausea, no fatigue—his spirit was soaring!
Natsu felt the same.
"Hehehe~"
Hearing Eden's words, Little Black even turned his head and flashed Nami a creepy, toothy grin full of anticipation.
"I'll pass."
Nami rejected the offer without hesitation.
Riding that monstrous thing across the sea? Too reckless for a normal human like her.
"Come to think of it, Eden and Natsu, don't you get motion sick on Little Black? Aren't you both prone to transportation sickness?"
Nami asked with genuine curiosity.
"What are you talking about, Nami?"
"Little Black is our comrade, not a vehicle."
"We Dragon Slayers only get sick on vehicles—not comrades! Right, Happy?"
Before Eden could answer, Natsu jumped in, turning to Happy for confirmation.
"Exactly!"
"Nami, you cruel woman. Calling a companion a vehicle—I see you in a new light."
Happy nodded sternly and scolded Nami with righteous indignation.
This was the perfect opportunity for Happy to scold someone—and he wasn't going to let it pass.
"Shut up, you rotten cat!"
Nami growled as she grabbed Happy and aggressively rubbed his cheeks.
She no longer found the cat adorable—in fact, she now fully regretted ever thinking so.
"Full speed ahead!"
As the others played on deck, Eden sat on Little Black's head and shouted.
"Aye!!"
Little Black roared and accelerated.
"Ahhh!"
Nami, still off balance on the Shark Supreme, was sent flying backward. Luckily, Juvia acted quickly and used a stream of water to cushion her fall.
"Thanks, Juvia."
Nami nodded to her savior, then stomped toward the front of the ship and kicked Little Black's back.
"Stupid fish!"
Thud!
A soft impact. Nami's foot instantly swelled.
"Oww!"
She clutched her toe in fury.
"Hehehe~ Nami's just as dumb as Lucy~"
From above, Happy flapped his wings and teased Nami as he flew alongside the group.
"You'd better stay in the sky forever, Happy."
Nami didn't know who Lucy was, but based on Happy's tone, she guessed that poor girl had suffered plenty—probably because of this smug cat.
Later…
After Little Black gave Nami a one-meter pearl worth 300 million, she completely forgave him.
They became best friends for life.
Nami: "Pearls are amazing!"
A few hours later.
"So... how much longer until we reach Alabasta?"
Eden looked at the map, totally confused.
"We're not going to Alabasta~"
Nami, the navigator, corrected him.
"Huh?"
Eden looked baffled. "Then where are we going next?"
"If we were taking the usual route over the Red Line and Reverse Mountain into the Grand Line, we'd reach Alabasta first."
"But we're using a shortcut!"
"We left Baratie and headed south, crossed the Calm Belt that no one else can, and entered the Grand Line."
"So our next destination is… Mock Town."
"Alabasta is actually... ahead of us."
Nami studied the map and explained.
"What?!"
Eden fell silent.
"So... the nearest destination for us now is probably the legendary Sky Island! Then comes the South Blue if we continue south through the Calm Belt. Alabasta comes last."
Before Eden could speak again, Nami continued on her own.
"...Right."
Eden had no words.
Meanwhile…
In Mock Town, the so-called pirate paradise teeming with criminals—
"Did everyone get along today?"
A girl with snow-white hair, warm as the sun, radiating beauty from head to toe, looked at the brutish pirates before her with gentle eyes.
"What kind of dumb question is that?!"
"Of course we all got along."
"Respected Big Sis Mirajane."
As soon as she spoke, the bloodthirsty pirates straightened up and, with arrogant voices, said the meekest words.
"What a bunch of good boys~"
Mirajane's smile twisted ever so slightly, her expression darkly sweet.
Any disobedient ones? Fed to the fish.
~# Every 30 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter