Shanks sprayed wine and threw his head back, laughing.
Lucky Roux, Yasopp, and the rest joined in, turning to Kaka and howling.
[ What are they even laughing at? ]
[ Who knows—but Kaka's outfit is killing me. ]
[ She looks like a kid stuffed into dad's clothes. Those shorts are nine-tenths pants now. ]
[ Hahahahaha! ]
With the Red Hair crew cackling and chat piling on, Kaka puffed out her cheeks in mock anger. Even stoic vice-captain Benn Beckman cracked a smile.
"Kaka, what are you doing?" he asked around a cigar.
[ Hahahahaha! ]
She couldn't keep up the act. Defeated, she plopped down among them, grabbed a cup, and took a sip.
It wasn't the bland nothing she'd expected. Fire shot down her throat; her cheeks flushed scarlet in an instant.
"This wine…"
Her coughs were real—and so was the text splashing across stream as her inner monologue.
[ No way. That kick. Is this really a game? ]
The chat went from skeptical to stunned.
[ Wait—this game simulates taste too? ]
[ Sight, sound, smell, touch—Era of Fishermen tops out at four. This one's got all five? ]
[ Wild. I'm downloading it. I have to play this. ]
[ Be honest… does anyone still think this is "just a fishing game"? ]
[ Because it really doesn't feel like one. ]
Silence fell for a beat—then a collective shiver of realization.
—
Meanwhile, over in Little Fisherman's stream—
After hooking a Sea King, he'd lost all desire to fish. That scare had been plenty. He turned to exploration instead, skimming the swells in his skiff until a merchantman loomed ahead.
It wasn't the same ship from Kaka's run-in, but similar. The crew, thinking he'd wrecked, kindly hauled him aboard. A waterlogged cask came up with him.
A sailor grunted the cask toward the hold, chuckling, "The sea's funny like that. Wander long enough and you might just trip over treasure."
Little Fisherman nodded—then the world boomed.
Shells slammed into the water; hot spray lashed the deck. He hit a knee, ears ringing. "Guns? People are fishing with cannons now?"
There was no time for jokes. Panic tore through the crew.
"It's the Alvida Pirates!"
"Five hundred thousand Beli—Captain Alvida!"
They scrambled uselessly. Even the captain, gun in hand, dropped it the moment he saw the skull flag. Against pirates, running was the only "plan"—but it was far too late. Alvida's ship, the Swan, was already alongside.
[ Guys, in Kaka's stream the pirates grabbed her outright. ]
[ If there are "good" and "bad" pirates… Hild's were bad, Red Hair feels decent… so Alvida—good or bad? ]
Little Fisherman swallowed. The hull thumped—boarding hooks bit—and a towering woman thudded onto the deck, iron mace slung over one shoulder. Over two meters tall and heavyset, she hit the planks and the whole ship dipped.
A pink-haired kid planted himself in her path, trying to block her with trembling bravery.
Alvida didn't even look at him. She swung.
The mace whistled—the boy pinwheeled through the air and smashed into the cabin wall, punching a jagged hole clean through.
[ Holy—this is even crazier than Kaka's stream. ]
[ Kaka's pirates didn't start like this. ]
[ Who is this woman? One swing and the force carried through the cabin?! ]
[ Shame. Pink-hair's done for. ]
Except… he wasn't. The kid—Koby—staggered out again, gasping, still trying to stand between Alvida and the crew.
She hammered him a second time. He didn't reappear.
While chat marveled at Alvida's raw strength and Koby's stubbornness, the pirate captain swept a gaze over the deck and introduced herself with radiant confidence.
"Hello. I am Alvida, captain of the Alvida Pirates—the most beautiful woman on the sea!"
Utter silence greeted her. Little Fisherman stared, then glanced at the iron mace and shut his mouth hard.
[ I'm dead—who gave her that kind of confidence? ]
[ "Most beautiful" where? On which sea? In which universe? ]
[ Laughing so hard I'm unclean now. ]
Before the jeers ran too far, a commotion erupted belowdecks.
Koby burst out again—this time with a black-haired boy at his side. Red vest. Blue shorts. Feet in worn sandals. A straw hat tilted down over his eyes.
Ordinary. Forgettable.
Until—
"Gum-Gum…"
Extended thinking
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
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