Chapter 835: Little Sister Shirahoshi
No one expected that after the image feed switched, the first thing to pop up would be something like this!
Well, calling it a "thing" might not be quite appropriate. Buggy the Clown, after all, was once one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a somewhat famous pirate. Speaking of him like that isn't really fair.
But... damn it, Buggy, do you really need to emphasize your title so pretentiously? That voiceover just now was obviously your underlings deliberately flattering you, and you actually pretended to overhear it and shamelessly acknowledged it. Are you a drama queen or an Oscar winner!?
And that turning-back move of yours—how many times did you rehearse it!?
Not to mention the kings present, Aokiji and Zephyr had already covered their faces, pretending not to see this scene.
As for Dragon, he was utterly speechless at this point. If it weren't for Buggy being an ally introduced by Ian, and if there were such an embarrassing fool in the Revolutionary Army, Dragon would have kicked him into the sea long ago!
Fortunately, despite Buggy's grandstanding, he at least remembered what he was supposed to do. After turning back, Buggy laughed triumphantly, spread his arms wide toward the camera, and shouted loudly: "Wahahaha! Five Elders, and you Celestial Dragons, I, the great Buggy-sama, am the man about to replace Kaido of the Beasts as the new Emperor! Today, let me show you a grand spectacle of hunting the Ancient Weapon Uranus!"
"What!?" Upon hearing this, King Bast and the others were stunned: "Hunting Uranus!?"
Not just them, but the other kings were equally shocked, saying: "Isn't Uranus in the hands of the World Nobles!?"
"Wahahaha, you actually believe such a clumsy lie!?" On the other end of the feed, Buggy seemed to have heard the kings' surprised shouts from the Den Den Mushi and couldn't help laughing loudly: "Uranus has long slipped out of the Celestial Dragons' control! But this damn dragon has already threatened the entire world! So today, I, the great Buggy-sama, will eliminate Uranus right here!"
"Is Uranus really not in the Celestial Dragons' hands anymore!?"
"Really or not!?"
"Nonsense! How is that possible!? Do you actually believe what a pirate says?"
"Damn it, what does it matter if he's a pirate? What if he's telling the truth?"
The kings who had been supporting the Celestial Dragons earlier were now in chaos, unable to help arguing with each other.
The Five Elders, however, were still holding firm, shouting loudly: "Hmph! Arrogant talk! Buggy, do you and your circus pirate crew really think you can eliminate Uranus!?"
Buggy chuckled sinisterly upon hearing this and said: "Arrogant talk? Heh heh, let them see what lies beneath the feet of I, the great Captain Buggy!"
Then, the people in the conference hall saw the image shift, revealing the scene around Buggy.
From the image, they could see Buggy the Clown standing on the deck of a ship. But as the image panned, the shape of the ship gradually came into view. The more they looked, the more a chill ran down everyone's spines!
The ship Buggy was riding was an enormous warship, so massive that even as the image kept shifting, they couldn't see its full scope. They had no idea how big it was. Moreover, the style and design of the ship were not common. The entire vessel gleamed with a golden light, whether it was some special metal or actually made of gold.
But what shocked everyone the most was the cannon standing in the middle of the giant ship!
This cannon was a triple-barreled artillery piece, but it was unimaginably huge! The three dark, gaping barrels had a caliber large enough to fit ten people side by side! Just looking at the cannon's caliber, the kings present could roughly imagine its power!
"Th-that ship... where did it come from!?" King Cobra felt an inexplicable shock upon seeing the ship and couldn't help asking: "That's not something modern technology could build, is it!?"
As for the Five Elders, they were already frozen, a very ominous premonition rising in their hearts.
Sure enough, upon hearing Cobra's question, Buggy laughed loudly, jumped onto the cannon barrel, spread his arms, and said: "As you can see, this is my, the great Buggy-sama's, secret weapon! This massive cannon, paired with my super-super-special Buggy Cannonball, can destroy an entire island with a single shot! People of the world, now is the era of I, Buggy the Clown!!!"
In the conference hall, all the kings watched Buggy's grand speech in terror, their hearts trembling.
A single shot that could destroy an entire island!? Where did Buggy get such a powerful weapon!?
However, before Buggy could finish laughing, a foot suddenly extended from the side of the image and kicked him right in the face, sending him tumbling off the cannon barrel!
A loud crash echoed from the feed as Buggy hit the ground, followed by his furious voice: "Damn it, Ian! Why did you kick me!"
"I let you on camera to talk business, not to brag!" A familiar voice rang out through the conference hall, and then the image shifted again, focusing back on top of the cannon barrel, where a figure appeared.
A sleeveless coat, muscular and sturdy arms, white bandages wrapped around his right hand with a small bell dangling beneath them, two long swords tucked into his waist on either side, a bear-ear hat on his head, a faintly visible black ponytail behind him, and those dark, deep, sparkling eyes—there was only one person in the world who looked like this: the Emperor, Black Dragon Ian!
Yes, the person who appeared in the image and kicked Buggy the Clown off was Ian. The moment his face appeared on screen, the Five Elders' hearts sank!
They realized this was definitely a premeditated operation! The Revolutionary Army had already gained the support of an Emperor...
Sure enough, in the image, Ian crouched on the cannon barrel, patted its metal surface, and said to the camera: "As you can see, this is a warship of immense power. But many of you may not know its name. What I want to say is, this ship is called the Dawn. That name might not ring a bell for many, but everyone must know its other alias... the Ancient Weapon, Pluton!!!"
"Wh-what!?"
The kings in the conference hall were so shocked by Ian's words that they all stood up. They stared wide-eyed at Ian's calm expression on the screen, hoping he would say in the next second: "Just kidding..."
However, Ian didn't say that. Instead, he said coldly: "Don't doubt it. Pluton has been found, and with the help of Dr. Vegapunk, it has been restored! What you're seeing now is the most evil warship in history, which participated in the battles of the Void Century!"
"Dr... Dr. Vegapunk!?" Another shocking piece of news. The kings present were so stunned their minds were going blank.
"Dr. Vegapunk has been rescued by us and has officially broken free from the control of the Marines and the World Government!" Ian continued. "Of course, the World Government has likely kept this information from all of you. They're good at that—just like they covered up the loss of control over Uranus. Now, Uranus is no longer under the control of the Celestial Dragons or the World Government. But this wild beast, Uranus, has already destroyed several countries in the New World, including Elbaf and Wano. Its existence threatens the entire world! That's why we're using Pluton this time—to eliminate Uranus!"
"Of course, a single Pluton warship might not be a match for Uranus. But besides this, we also have another Ancient Weapon, Poseidon of the Sea!" Ian dropped another bombshell.
As he spoke, the image shifted again, this time pointing toward the right side of the Pluton warship. From this angle, they could see a much smaller ship sailing alongside it.
"Th-that's... the Straw Hat Pirates!?" The Five Elders were now drenched in cold sweat, but they still recognized the pirate flag on that ship from the image.
On the lion head of the Straw Hat Pirates' cute Sunny, Luffy was sitting there, waving at the camera. On the Sunny's railing stood Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, Nami, Franky, Mr. 2, Brook, and Jinbe. Meanwhile, Ian, standing on the Pluton's side, made a gesture toward Luffy and the others.
Then, everyone saw Luffy on the ship's bow shout loudly toward the sea: "Hey!! Shirahoshi!!"
With Luffy's shout, waves churned beneath the surface, and then a pink princess bun emerged from the water, followed by the adorable, baby-faced face of Princess Shirahoshi, popping up.
Yes, Luffy and the others had brought Princess Shirahoshi out as promised!
"L-Luffy-san, did you call me?" Shirahoshi asked timidly as she surfaced.
"Yeah!" Luffy nodded, pointing at Ian on the Pluton opposite them: "Ian-aniki asked you to show your face!"
Princess Shirahoshi turned her head, looked at Ian, who had come to the Pluton's railing, and said shyly: "Ian-sama, is... is there something?"
In the image, Ian smiled and extended his arm from the railing. Shirahoshi placed both hands on the railing and leaned her head over, rubbing it against Ian's palm, looking adorably blissful. Her mermaid tail, hidden beneath the surface, even flicked up and splashed a few drops of water happily.
During this time, Ian had gotten to know Shirahoshi well. Although Shirahoshi was very timid, if you treated her kindly, she could feel it. She already trusted Luffy deeply, and hearing Luffy call Ian "aniki," she naturally transferred that goodwill to Ian. Ian also liked this little-sister-like giant mermaid princess and often couldn't help giving her head pats.
A pirate from Buggy's crew holding the Video Den Den Mushi faithfully recorded this scene. In the conference hall, King Neptune of the Ryugu Kingdom of Fish-Man Island, who had been silent throughout the meeting with a soap bubble helmet on his head, was already covering his face upon seeing this.
His precious daughter—why did she look like a well-behaved little puppy now...?
Of course, Neptune knew that Luffy had taken his daughter Shirahoshi away. Luffy had explained the whole situation to him, and with Jinbe's guarantee, Neptune reluctantly let Shirahoshi go, intending to let her see the outside world. But he never imagined that his daughter, under the care of Emperor Black Dragon Ian, would end up like this!
MMP! Ian, you'd better never come to Fish-Man Island in the future, or I'll deal with you! The furious father Neptune gritted his teeth and thought...
After Ian comforted Shirahoshi for a while, he turned back to the camera and said: "Now, let me formally introduce everyone. This princess from Fish-Man Island, Shirahoshi, is the reincarnation of the Ancient Weapon, Poseidon of the Sea!!"
The kings in the conference hall were all dumbfounded, including the Five Elders. They looked at the image, then turned in unison toward Neptune!
Neptune had remained silent earlier, naturally anticipating this situation, so he hadn't drawn any hatred to himself. But now, he had no choice but to speak.
He sighed and said: "That's right! That's my daughter, Shirahoshi, and also Poseidon of the Sea!"
"Th-this..." King Cobra of Alabasta stared at Neptune in shock and asked: "King Neptune, why are you all..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Neptune understood his meaning. Shaking his head, Neptune said: "There's no other way. The World Government and the Celestial Dragons can no longer fulfill the Fish-Man race's dream of reaching the surface. So we Fish-Men have no choice but to place our hopes on others..."