"Shirahoshi, why would you suddenly want to get a tattoo on your shoulder?"
Neptune looked at his daughter with concern, his eyes filled with confusion.
Leno and the others had already left Fish-Man Island several days ago. During that time, Shirahoshi's mood had been noticeably low, and she had barely gone outside.
Yet today, she suddenly came to him with such a strange request.
Considering that she shouldn't have been around any suspicious blond guys lately, what on earth was this about…?
Meeting Neptune's worried gaze, Shirahoshi stepped forward, hugged his arm, and gently shook it as she said coquettishly,
"Father, you haven't even asked what design I want yet."
"…Then what design are you planning to get?"
Neptune was covered in black lines. He hadn't even agreed to let her get a tattoo yet.
But seeing his daughter's adorable expression, his heart softened again!
Forget it. As long as his daughter liked it, a tattoo was fine. It wasn't that big a deal anyway.
Hearing her father relent, Shirahoshi immediately broke into a smile and handed over a note she had prepared long ago.
"Father, please take a look~"
"So mysterious…" Neptune shot his daughter an indulgent glance as he took the note. The moment he opened it, his expression froze.
Then, even his speech became excited and slightly stuttered. "Th-this… this isn't—"
"The Adventurer's emblem!" Shirahoshi happily finished for him. Then, with a look of longing, she added, "Lord Leno has already agreed to let me join the Adventurers~"
"So that's how it is." Neptune suddenly understood and then asked, "Did Lord Leno request this tattoo?"
"Well… um…" Shirahoshi hesitated, looking a little embarrassed. After a long pause, she finally said haltingly,
"…It was my own idea… That lord from the Whitebeard Pirates had his crew's emblem tattooed on his back, so I thought…"
"Hahahaha…" Neptune stroked his beard and laughed heartily. Looking at his daughter, who was too shy to lift her head, he said, "Alright, Father agrees!"
After only a brief moment of consideration, he readily approved her request.
After all, the biggest benefit of this was that Shirahoshi's safety would be guaranteed in the future.
Even if her identity were exposed, those people would hesitate to act out of fear of Leno.
He even suspected that Leno might have already known Shirahoshi's identity and had deliberately taken special care of her.
"Really? Thank you, Father!"
Her voice brimmed with joy as Shirahoshi suddenly lifted her head, her eyes sparkling brightly. Even her fish tail behind her swayed uncontrollably.
Watching his daughter cheer so happily, Neptune's face was full of relief.
All of this was thanks to Lord Leno!
...
The New World, a sea region shrouded in dark clouds.
The sky was gloomy, lightning flashing from time to time, while torrential rain lashed down like whips, carried by violent winds.
On the pitch-black sea, waves churned violently, massive swells rolling as if they were about to devour heaven and earth.
At that moment, a coated ship suddenly burst out of the sea, sending up towering sprays of water.
"We finally made it out~"
"The New World~"
"We're here!"
"..."
The instant the coating shattered, everyone on board couldn't help but cheer.
Breaking free from that oppressive undersea environment felt like seeing daylight again.
However, before they could celebrate for long, the brutal weather caught them completely off guard.
Even though the Gale could float in the air, the fierce winds still made the ship sway violently.
"I'd heard about it before, but this New World really exceeds expectations~"
Vivi ignored the fact that she was soaked through, gripping the railing tightly with both hands to steady herself as she endured the rain's whipping, cursing hoarsely,
"This weather is absolutely terrible!"
"I-I can't imagine how such awful weather… is everywhere in the New World…"
Nearby, Mikita and Kaya, who were also entering the New World for the first time, both looked pale.
The power of nature was truly awe-inspiring. Thankfully, they weren't on the sea surface right now, or the consequences would have been…
The others had more or less experienced New World weather before and were far calmer than these newcomers.
Some of them even looked excited.
"Haha… this torrential rain, this fierce wind—this is amazing!" Yamato held the railing with one hand and shielded her eyes with the other, her expression brimming with excitement.
"This place is filled with the scent of adventure everywhere! Yoho~"
"This is the final stretch of the Grand Line!" Nami first glanced around, then looked at the pointer on her wrist.
"You idiot, turn left fifteen degrees and sail straight ahead!"
"Roger~"
A flash of lightning streaked past as Leno's figure instantly appeared in the cockpit, adjusting their course according to Nami's instructions.
This time, they had truly and properly entered the New World.
Once they conquered this sea, all of their dreams would come true!
"Everyone, there's a ship silhouette ahead~"
Chopper on the lookout lowered the telescope in his hands and shouted to everyone.
He hadn't expected to encounter another ship so soon, and he didn't dare let his guard down.
"Is it pirates?" Yamato had somehow already hoisted her kanabo onto her shoulder, lifting her head to look into the distance, her voice full of anticipation.
"Will they attack us? I'm really looking forward to it!"
"It can't be the Marines, right?" Looking at the dense mass of black shadows in the distance, Carmen wiped the rain off her face and spoke weakly.
On the deck, Kuina, Nojiko, and the others also tightened their grips on their weapons, standing ready.
As the shadows drew closer, everyone's expressions gradually became strange.
Carmen was especially dumbfounded, starting to suspect that she really had jinxed it.
"Those are all Marines?"
"Everyone be careful—front, back, left, right… they're everywhere…"
Mikita's voice trembled as her eyes darted around. She realized that at some point, they had already been surrounded.
How could there be so many warships?
After surveying the surroundings, Robin calmly analyzed, "Judging by this formation, the Marines clearly know our movements. They set up an ambush in advance!"
"If we're surrounded, then there's nothing to be done~"
As Kuina spoke, Sakura Veil was already drawn, ready for a major battle.
Being surrounded alone wasn't a big problem. They had fought their way out even against Marine Headquarters—this was nothing more than a small skirmish.
What was unclear was why the Marines' attitude had suddenly changed so drastically.
They had clearly turned a blind eye to them before. Could it still be because of the previous Celestial Dragon incident?
Seeing Kuina prepare for battle, the others also revealed their weapons.
At that moment, Leno's reassuring voice rang out.
"Everyone, don't be nervous. These are all fake!"
"That's right~ these are all mirages formed in this sea region~"
After experiencing the current weather, Nami picked up the conversation. However, her expression didn't relax at all—if anything, it grew even more serious.
Hearing the words of the two big shots on board, Chopper, Mikita, and the others finally let out a sigh of relief.
They had almost been scared to death just now!
But before they could celebrate for long, Nami's solemn warning followed immediately.
"Everyone, don't let your guard down. If my guess is correct…"
…
…