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chapter sixty-five
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xii. fishman island arc 


After finding out that Caribou nearly ran off with their gold, Nami was quick to beat him to a pulp. She was unsurprisingly aggressive.

Shoto was stuffed too. He enjoyed his time eating large portions of soba that he thinks he won't be able to get himself to eat another meal for the next 10 days.

"Luffy! Don't pick up the--"

To no avail, the rubbery man picked the phone up even though it wasn't intended for him. Shoto wasn't shocked by his action, in fact, he expected for Luffy to do it sooner. Was he disappointed in Luffy? Not really. What can a harmless phone call do?

"Luffy! You angered one of the yonko's of the sea!"

Never mind then. Shoto should have really froze Luffy's hands on the spot. Now, as they were still entering the new world-- they'll already be dealt with problems. Just their luck.

"I can't. My legs won't move." Usopp collapsed on the ground. "He's an idiot." He cried, literally.

And the heterochromatic couldn't blame him. They were just preparing to enter dangerous territory but they already got themselves some enemies. A powerful and influential one at that.

"It may not be that bad, right?"

"I'm taking fishman island under my wing! You can take your flag and go. And about the sweets, I ate it. Dry." Luffy boldly said in the phone. And they all can tell that the yonko on the other line of the phone was pissed.

"Strawhat Luffy, huh? I'll be waiting for you in the new world." Big Mom darkly said in the phone before Luffy hung up.

He was confused why she mentioned his grandpa earlier but it seems like it won't matter anymore. He identifies as Luffy, not his grandpal's grandson.

"You crazy buffoon!" Nami slammed her fist over Luffy's rubber head. And even though the boy can't feel pain, he can for sure feel that one.

It made even Shoto wince and he was just watching.

"Strawhat, I really do admire your courage." King Neptune started. "But you're picking a fight with a yonko here, they're not the average enemies you've faced up until now."

"We're gonna face them either way on the long run, it won't make a difference now." He had a point but at the same time-- he didn't. Mainly only because it came from him, someone who defies all logic.

"I'm gonna trust you on this one, Captain." Shoto emphasized, reminding him of his role. They should all be more careful, running into a yonko now would be the worst case scenario. Mainly because they still weren't prepared for such a whole new level of strength. "Let's go for a steady pace, there's no rush in ending our journey, right?"

Rayleigh did tell them to not rush like they did. Shoto's gonna keep Rayleigh's wise words from now on, surely, he'll get tips for handling Luffy since he had previous experience with the pirate king-- someone who was in a way similar to their rubber Captain.

"I'll prepare the sails." Shoto begun before Nami placed an arm out in front of him, stopping him.

"There's no need, Shoto, you'll get stuck like last time." She said grimly, sounding as if him getting stuck again was going to be a sad tale. "You, green buffoon, set up the sails." And she said it with such sorrow too. Shoto wasn't going to be able to take her seriously this way.

Zoro reluctantly did set the sails.

"Does anyone want snacks?" Sanji scratched his chin. He feels like his title as a the crew's chef was getting useless, seeing as they just ate a whole banquet without his help. The least he can do is to make their stomach even fuller.

"I'll pass." Shoto rubbed his tummy. He was definitely too full that the mere idea of food was enough to make him feel a series of unpleasant things.

"Let's get going! Off to the new world!"

"Off to getting closer to the end our lifespan as well." Shoto enthusiastically chimed as he hopped on board. The crew stared at him. "What?" He blinked.

"Don't mind them, Shoto. I love the energy." Robin smiled.

"Uh, yes. . . Love the energy." The crew forced a smile as soon as they detected the atmosphere.

Shoto then turned to Jimbe who still stood on the ground. He had his arms crossed against his chest and the unreadable look on his face remained the same.

"Jimbe-san?" He tilted his head to the side, looking in question at the blue fishman.

"I'll be joining you guys in another time." He said in content, bowing his head slightly. Luffy already seems informed about this, they might have had a talk earlier.

Shoto was a little disappointed that Jimbe won't be able to come, but he respects his decision and need to be there for his home place.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I still have things I need to do. But I'll join you guys soon."

Watching the exchange between his crewmembers, Shoto then settled himself on the round bench that surrounded a tree. He looked as everyone started hopping on board, ready to set sail.

"I hope you didn't anger the female yonko too much." Shoto voiced out to Luffy. He didn't know anything about her but he was sure she was strong and that she has a pirate crew that consists of her children. (They were plenty.)

"I think he did to a certain extent. She was rather amused of Luffy's claim of being the pirate king."

"Then, the new world would be tough." Shoto had a faint smile. And they could only stare in confusion. They thought he was concerned? But it turns out, he was actually up for the chaos.

As they entered the sea, they were immediately plunged in. The current was easily absorbing them, and the flow was aimlessly guiding. It was definitely not what they expected.

But it was the storm before the calm.

Soon enough, Brook was waving at whales and exclaiming constant calls of 'Laboon!' Despite the crew telling him it wasn't the same whale. It only got worse when Brook saw one that looked exactly like Laboon.

"Brook. . ." Shoto was a little saddened though, he can see just how much his skeleton friend misses the whale.

The next thing, they were riding weird and wild waves, it was circular and spun out of control. They still got out safely though.

After everyone finally calmed down as they floated in a steady sea that was too overwhelming to be considered normal-- Shoto was quick to take a look around before a smile graced his features.

"Well, I guess we made it." After those words left his mouth, it was soon followed by a chorus of cheers.

They were genuinely happy to have made it this far.

"It's one step closer to being pirate king!" Luffy exclaimed happily. His happiness was easily contagious as everyone smiled as well.

"Nami, do you have the latest compass?" Shoto turned to their navigator, willing to help out as Aokiji did give him his own pair of log pose for the new world.

"Yes, I do." Nami nodded. She got it from Shirahoshi and Luffy who were messing around that time.

"Ah, I see. . ." Shoto glanced at the log pose attached to his wrist.

"Where are we heading first--?" Luffy eagerly asked, peering at Nami who pushed his face away. "Where? Where? Where?"

"It says that way. . ." Nami pointed, reading the log pose with little difficulty.

"You'll need to be more specific with that, Nami." Usopp scratched his head, holding the helm of the ship with such confusion.

"I got it, I got it." Nami replaced his place and started steering and maneuvering the wheel.

Shoto simply sat on grass, patiently waiting for the arrival of their destination. Everyone was doing their same thing as usual, and it was as if the time away from each other never happened at all.

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