Two hours later.
Hard-Shell Tower.
This was the palace Neptune had built solely for his daughter to ensure she wouldn't be harmed by Vander Decken's ability.
The long corridor was lined with weapons of all kinds stuck into the walls.
Without a doubt, this was Vander Decken's handiwork.
Although that guy was weak, his ability was quite troublesome. He was a user of the Mato Mato no Mi, an ability even the [Knight of the Sea] Jinbei was helpless against. (T/N: Mark-Mark Fruit)
At this moment, he was being held single-handedly by Neptune!
"Jin-sama, this is my daughter's room," Neptune stopped at the end of the path and addressed Jin and his group.
"Thank you, King Neptune. Next, could you let us speak with Princess Shirahoshi alone?" Jin asked with a smile.
"...Of course, no problem," Neptune glanced at the beast in his hand who had prevented his daughter from leaving her room for ten years, and agreed to Jin's slightly ambiguous request without hesitation.
To be honest, even now, a chilling fear still lingered on Neptune's spine.
Two hours ago, Jin had asked him to send someone to summon Hody Jones and his New Fish-Man Pirates gang, who were entrenched in Fish-Man District.
Then, Jin just glanced at them.
Hody Jones and the others became like puppets on strings, their eyes vacant. They answered whatever Jin asked.
They confessed everything clearly: about the Energy Steroids they had stolen and hidden in the secret chamber of the Ryugu Palace, their secret collusion with Vander Decken, their plot to assassinate King Neptune, and their plan to reignite hatred between humans and Fish-Men.
Then, following the clues, they dug out Vander Decken.
When Neptune heard about these things from Hody's mouth, he broke out in a cold sweat.
He never imagined that the New Fish-Man Pirates, right under his nose, had been plotting so much.
If Jin had arrived two or three months later, he might have really been carried up to the execution scaffold by these people.
As for Vander Decken and Hody's gang, they were naturally rounded up. Jin couldn't be bothered to deal with them himself, so he used them all as practice punching bags for the three lolis, with Hancock keeping an eye on things.
Frankly, the strength displayed by these Fish-Man Island characters in the original work was... underwhelming.
Without the buff from the Energy Steroids, Jin suspected they might not even beat Crocodile's Baroque Works agents.
After both groups were dealt with, Jin naturally became the great benefactor of Fish-Man Island.
Not to mention entering Shirahoshi's room, if Shirahoshi agreed, Neptune would have his precious daughter exercise with Jin that very night.
Provided neither minded the... size discrepancy.
...
The large door slowly opened.
A surprising fragrance wafted out from the room first.
As Jin and the others stepped inside, a giant clam shell bed was the first thing that caught their eye.
Under the dim light, the lower half of a long pink fishtail drooped over the foot of the bed.
Looking further up, they saw a stunningly beautiful face, with traces of tears still on both cheeks.
Even though they had developed some resistance to Hancock's peerless beauty after seeing it, when they saw this face, Konan and the others couldn't help but think, 'How can there be someone so beautiful?'
"Ah... Um... May I ask who you are...?" The footsteps woke the Mermaid Princess.
Even though facing 'little ones' more than ten times smaller than herself, she was so frightened she tightly hugged the pet shark beside her.
Her sapphire-like eyes held a mix of fear and curiosity. Her face, which was equally peerless as Hancock's but lacked the Pirate Empress's arrogance, appeared more delicate and innocent.
Konan: "So beautiful..."
Nohara Rin: "So big..."
Kurenai: "So cute..."
Nami: "The rumors about the Mermaid Princess are actually true."
Hancock: "...Tch."
The other four women were amazed by Shirahoshi's beauty.
Only Hancock spat in displeasure.
How confident she was in her own looks could be inferred from her mantra, "No matter what I do, I will be forgiven."
Now, seeing someone whose beauty was not the slightest bit inferior to her own, how could she be happy?
"Hello, Mermaid Princess," Jin was the first to step forward, wearing a gentle smile reminiscent of Aizen's, "My name is Jin. After hearing your longing for your mother, I specifically crossed over from another world to help fulfill your wish."
The trio from another world, Konan and the others, hearing Jin's explanation, immediately showed stunned expressions.
'Huh.'
'That's not what you said before coming!'
They still remembered the phrase 'to kidnap innocent women' clearly.
'When did your purpose for coming to this world become so noble?'
"Who would believe such nonsense..." Hancock muttered under her breath with utmost disdain.
Having spent over half a month together, Hancock and Nami had basically figured out Jin's character.
'Damn it, he was just a lawless, and extremely lecherous, little bastard!'
"Really? Mother heard my voice? How is Mother? Can you tell her for me that I misses her so, so much every day..." Upon hearing Jin's words, the fear in Shirahoshi's eyes instantly turned to joy.
She gripped the foot of the bed, her eyes shining, her pink tail wagging like a golden retriever's. When mentioning her mother, faint glistening tears welled up in her eyes again.
'She actually believed it!?' Hancock looked as if she'd seen a ghost, thinking, 'Could there really be such a foolish woman in this world?'
However, Hancock forgot.
Although Shirahoshi had experienced her mother's death and faced constant attacks from Vander Decken, she had lived in the Hard-Shell Tower since she was eight. She couldn't possibly develop complex thinking even if she wanted to.
"Queen Otohime also misses you dearly, Little Princess. That's why she asked me to come and fulfill your wish," Jin made an inviting gesture towards Shirahoshi, "So, let's go to the Sea Forest. Didn't I say? I'm entrusted by Queen Otohime to fulfill your wish, Little Princess."
"Mm! Mm!" Shirahoshi nodded vigorously like a chick pecking rice, making even Kurenai and Rin stare dumbfounded.
'Sh-she's way too easy to fool, isn't she?'
They mainly overlooked just how great a temptation visiting the Sea Forest to pay respects to her mother was for Shirahoshi.
It was like terminally ill elderly people being easily scammed by charlatans, because they simply had no other options. If they saw even a glimmer of hope, they would gamble everything without hesitation.
...
Sea Forest, also known as the [Ship Graveyard].
Set against the backdrop of fireflies glowing with golden light at their tails, Shirahoshi pressed her palms together, slowly closed her eyes, and assumed a prayer posture before a stone tablet.
It formed a scene of a beauty, but even more so, a sacred image.
No one would be so tactless as to disturb Shirahoshi at such a moment.
Witnessing this scene, Neptune wiped the tears falling from his eyes and whispered to Jin, "Jin-sama, are you planning to attack Totto Land next?"
"Originally, I thought about going alone. But such a fun dungeon... it's a pity to tackle it solo. It's better to let those three girls come along for training. So, I need to find them some 'cheats' first," Jin glanced at the three lolis who were beside Shirahoshi, performing bows towards Otohime's gravestone.
Initially, Jin planned to have just himself and Gyuki take action. But on second thought, since they've come to the One Piece World, shouldn't team battles be more fun?
Besides, he was now their Jonin Instructor. Missing such a great opportunity to gain experience would be a real shame.
However, these three girls clearly weren't strong enough to participate in an Emperor-level battle yet. The quickest and most effective method was to find them cheats.
Although the Soru Soru no Mi was already reserved for Rin, he could also arrange cheats for Konan and Kurenai.
After all, this world had so many cheats, so what was wrong with taking a few more?
To that end, Jin decided to first go meet that most famous fruit vendor in the One Piece World.
Neptune nodded. After a brief silence, he remembered something else. Casting a reluctant look at his daughter, he whispered to Jin, "Might I ask if you are already married, Jin-sama?"
Jin was momentarily stunned, then smiled faintly. "I have one... well, you could say a quasi-fiancée."
Regarding their relationship, Tsunade currently maintained a rather open attitude.
Even after they had engaged in... negative distance behavior, she never asked questions like 'What is our relationship now?'.
It was remarkably straightforward.
"I see..." Neptune seemed thoughtful.
"Father..." At this moment, Shirahoshi finished her mourning for Otohime and returned to Neptune's side.
"Shirahoshi, come here~" Neptune, who is much smaller than his daughter, took Shirahoshi's hand and pushed her towards Jin. Placing a hand on Shirahoshi's front, he said to Jin, "I wish to offer my daughter to you as a mistress… will you accept?"
Shirahoshi's fair cheeks instantly turned apple red.
Nami and Hancock, who had been observing, were stunned.
Although they had known Shirahoshi for less than three hours, the thought of the pure, untainted Shirahoshi being betrothed by her father to Jin, this evil villain who stopped at nothing, made Nami feel that phrases like 'a flower stuck in cow dung' weren't sufficient.
It was more like throwing a flower into a cesspit!
Hancock felt much the same way, 'Was Neptune out of his mind?'
However, judging whether someone is bad depends on the perspective.
Just as Roger was an idol to pirates, but to ordinary civilians, he was a beast they wished they could cut into a thousand pieces-
The same went for Jin.
To Nami and Hancock, he was indeed an out-and-out bastard.
But from Neptune's perspective, he was the perfect son-in-law candidate: he helped eliminate the two scourges, Vander Decken and Hody, preserved his throne, freed his daughter from a decade-long nightmare, and was now preparing to give a large piece of land to the Fish-Men.
Remember, in the original work, Luffy just gave them a flag, but Jin was giving them an entire country!
They were completely different scales!
"Haha~" After a brief silence, Jin couldn't help but laugh out loud and said boldly, "If I cannot take Shirahoshi as my mistress, then I am no true hero!"
…
"Is... is this really alright?" At Mermaid Cove, Shirahoshi sat uneasily, her huge yet delicate, fair-skinned body perched on Gyuki's back.
"Don't worry. Although Gyuki's voice is male, as a Chakra Entity, it's actually genderless," Jin reassured her. He remembered that the Two-Tails and Five-Tails had female voices, but actually, all Nine Tailed Beasts were genderless, just like Legendary Pokémon.
Gyuki had a dark expression, 'Damn it, making me a mount and still having so many demands.'
If it weren't for the fact that life with Jin was indeed much more carefree and enjoyable than being inside a Jinchuriki, it would have run away from home.
...
"Jin-sama, aren't you planning to attack Totto Land? Isn't it a bit... to take Shirahoshi along at such a time?" Neptune asked anxiously.
Although he had now completely entrusted his beloved daughter's future to Jin, he still preferred to wait until Jin had secured Big Mom's territory before letting Shirahoshi move there. Jin wanting to take Shirahoshi along now felt too dangerous.
"No need to be so formal with me, Father-in-law," Jin responded with a chuckle, then said seriously, "Shirahoshi is the girl I cherish most in this world. Not to mention small-time pirates, even if the God's Knights of Mary Geoise dared to covet her, I would not hesitate to kill them all."
Jin wasn't lying. Shirahoshi was indeed the girl he cherished most in 'this' world. Although even the 'toothpick stirring the vat' metaphor might be a bit difficult currently, she was truly wholeheartedly devoted to him.
While Nami and Hancock could be... consumed at any time, at least for now, their hearts weren't turned towards him.
In that aspect alone, Shirahoshi completely surpassed Nami and Hancock.
"Maybe... I should call Jinbei back..." Neptune thought about finding a bodyguard for his daughter, and Jinbei seemed like a good choice.
Since Jin was going to attack Totto Land, Jinbei naturally didn't need to stay there anymore. After all, the reason Jinbei joined the Big Mom Pirates was to use Big Mom's name to protect Fish-Man Island.
"Heh~ That won't be necessary. If you're really worried, I'll bring Shirahoshi back before attacking Totto Land, how about that?" Jin had no interest in having men on his ship.
Moreover, during the Marineford War two years ago, Jinbei had formed a bond with Luffy, so if he saw that Jin had stolen his ship and his navigator, it would be a miracle if Jinbei didn't attack, let alone willingly serve as a bodyguard.
But since the other party had entrusted his daughter to him, he should be somewhat polite.
"Of course I believe Jin-sama... oh no, I believe you, Jin. It's just that there are still too many unknowns in this world, so we must be cautious," Neptune's words weren't wrong.
After all, who could have imagined rubber turning into Nika, or later things like cloned Warlords appearing?
Honestly, if things continued like this, Jin wouldn't be surprised if Zoro and Mihawk someday pulled out a Bankai.
"Don't worry. During my previous fight with the Red Hair Pirates, I wasn't using my full strength." Jin said with a smile.
Neptune's face immediately showed an expression of, 'Are you f***ing kidding me?'
He had sent scouts to check the sea, and saw Sabaody Archipelago had turned into Sabaody Peninsula.
'And that's called 'not using full strength'?'
[Ding! New group member, 'Miyano Akemi', has joined the group!]
[Ding! New group member, 'Portgas D. Rouge', has joined the group!]
[Ding! New group member, 'Gol D. Roger', has joined the group!]
The long-absent group join notification sounds suddenly rang out.
Kazuma, who had been busy admiring the fair-skinned, beautiful mermaids at Coral Hill through the live stream Jin had opened, instantly perked up.
'After months in this group that smelled too strongly of bromance, female members had finally arrived!'
'Akemi? Rouge?'
Even without photos, just hearing the names, he could tell they were female group members!
As for that someone-or-other Roger, Kazuma felt that name sounded male at first listen, so he couldn't be bothered.
However, while he wasn't interested, Ace and Newgate were thunderstruck.
'What the hell!!!'