Chapter 293: Approaching
Smack!
“10, Q, K!”
“Haha! My hand is ‘3, 3, 4’—a pair!”
Fish-Man Island’s west side, the remote spot where Beasts Pirates landed.
Two hands were flung to the ground one after the other. Brother Burufaruto, sitting cross-legged, had a face full of regret for losing money, while the pirate sitting across from him grinned and pocketed several Belly notes.
Surrounding them was a large circle of Beasts Pirates crew members watching the fun, and now quite a few sighed in pity:
“Aw! So close!”
“Brother Burufaruto’s luck with this hand was a bit off~”
“Yeah, just missing a ‘J’, otherwise it would’ve been a straight!”
Hearing the crowd’s chatter, Burufaruto slapped his thigh and stood up.
“Alright, alright, no more playing!”
“Today’s just unlucky—haven’t won a single hand yet~”
“You guys play!”
With that, he gathered the few remaining bills of his capital from the ground, stuffed them back in his pocket, patted his butt, and gave up his spot.
“Huh? Quitting already? Boss Burufaruto?”
“Yeah, that’s it for today. That brat Aoxi said it well—’small bets are fun, big bets hurt the body’.”
“With my luck today, I don’t know if it’ll stay fun if I keep going, but it’ll definitely hurt the body.”
“Just losing those tens of thousands of Belly earlier was heartbreaking!”
Unscrewing his thermos, he sipped some ginseng tea. With his face scrunched up like a chrysanthemum, Burufaruto resolutely left the gambling table, walked a few steps, and arrived in front of his Minotaur.
“Hey~ Master, how much longer until my ship gets its coating?”
“At least two more hours~ sir.”
The reply came from a catfish Fish-Man, who was now busy with his two young apprentices on the Minotaur, applying a layer of bubble coating to it.
“Hm~”
Getting this answer, Burufaruto nodded.
The other’s speed was decent, nothing standout among Fish-Man coaters, but the work was meticulous and not sloppy.
After all, coating was a life-or-death matter for those on the ship. You’d rather have the master take it slow and careful than rush and do a shoddy job.
Do you get the value of near-zero bad reviews in this whole industry? .jpg
Of course, compared to human coaters, this was godlike speed!
Even the best human coating master would need three or four days to properly coat a medium-sized ship, and for a large warship like the Minotaur, it’d take several people a whole week.
“But having to get coating every round trip is really such a hassle…”
“Haha! If you’re not afraid of the effort, you could always swim it yourself~ We Fish-Men aren’t fazed by this water pressure.”
The old coating master teased.
“Nah, I’ll pass~ This body of mine isn’t what it used to be in my younger days, can’t handle that kind of torment~”
“Huh?! But you look pretty young to me, sir~”
“Your ship too—its age shouldn’t be that old. It’s just been damaged and repaired too many times, so it looks a bit worn.”
A young Fish-Man apprentice following behind the old coating master piped up.
“Haha~ Me and her are both old actually~ I’m thinking of retiring here in a few years to live out my days~”
Rubbing his lower back, feeling how he’d grown more powerless in battles these past years, Burufaruto was set on fully stepping back once Aoxi and the others came of age.
Then he’d return to Fish-Man Island, or settle directly in that Wano Country, teaching those kids Fish-Man Karate every day.
Maybe later, once Kaido and Ember had kids, he could help look after them…
『Speaking of which, Aoxi will be of age in a few years too—wonder what kind of person that kid will end up with~』
With Aoxi’s looks, there was no worry about her being unwanted, but her tomboyish daily style worried Burufaruto greatly.
When the kid was little she didn’t think much of it, but now at girl age, Aoxi still rocked tank top, long pants, and short boots magnetic field outfit, plus that eternal “bro” self-reference. Without seeing her face or hearing her voice, she was no different from the young guys in the crew.
The conservative middle-aged Fish-Man was deeply concerned about this apparent gender cognition issue…
『What if that girl tells me someday she actually likes women—what then?』
Starting with wild thoughts in his mind, all sorts of weird images popped up uncontrollably. Feeling restless, Burufaruto shook his fish head and decided to head out for a walk to clear his mind.
“Huh? Boss, where you going?”
“Out for a stroll—staying cooped up here is too boring.”
“But that old man said not to wander around—said there are Navy on the island.”
“I’m not wandering, just heading back to Fish-Man District for a turn.”
“But…”
“Relax, those pampered Navy young masters won’t stoop to going in there.”
Waving it off, Burufaruto ignored the crew’s dissuasion, head down as if deep in thought, and headed toward Fish-Man District.
The pirates looked at each other, and in the end, no one stepped up to stop him.
This was Fish-Man Island after all, and Fish-Man District was basically Brother Burufaruto’s hometown—nothing should go wrong.
……
Meanwhile, on the plaza in front of Ryugu Palace, nearly all soldiers of Fish-Man Island, including the elite Sea God Army, had been summoned and lined up there.
“Hey, boss, you know what big thing happened?”
“Why’s even the Sea God Army mobilized?”
In the corner of the formation, a Fish-Man quietly asked the old Fish-Man beside him.
Their patrol team was basic troops, and normally there was no overlap with the Sea God Army responsible for royalty security.
“Dunno—see what King Neptune says.”
The old Fish-Man shook his head; as just a squad leader in the patrol team, he wasn’t high-ranking enough to know the mission details early.
But seeing the mysterious human in a suit beside Neptune, plus the ranks of straight-standing Navy soldiers behind him, the old Fish-Man guessed this sudden assembly was related to them.
Sure enough, before Neptune spoke, the suit guy stepped forward first, speaking in a cold and arrogant tone:
“Not long ago, during a visit to the lower realm, a great and noble Celestial Dragon accidentally lost a thing. Our intel says it’s now hidden on Fish-Man Island.”
“I need you to find it within one day.”
Splash~
Hearing the Celestial Dragons’ name, the Fish-Men and mermaids below stirred up.
Even the most disciplined Sea God Army couldn’t help whispering.
After all, compared to them—Fish-Men who faced constant discrimination at the very bottom of the pecking order—those Celestial Dragons representing the world’s pinnacle with the noblest status were utterly unattainable.
Just mentioning their name was enough to provoke a big reaction.
Neptune, hearing the man’s words, was startled.
“Huh! Wasn’t it three days—”
“No three days, King Neptune.”
Before Neptune finished, the man cut him off. The suit-wearing man coldly threatened the towering Dragon Palace Kingdom king:
“Just got word—that Celestial Dragon lord is returning to the upper realm the day after tomorrow.”
“We must deliver the lost item to that lord before then, or else—whether me, you, or this island—we’ll all face the wrath of the gods.”
“…”
Seeing the other fall silent, the suit man turned back and waved his hand.
At this, a team of Navy soldiers stepped out, each holding a stack of photographs, and distributed them to all the Fish-Men and mermaids present.
“I don’t care what methods or means you use—tomorrow at this time, I want the person in these photos standing before me.”
With that, the man led the Navy away directly, leaving a grim-faced King Neptune and the still-bewildered Fish-Man and mermaid soldiers below.
