Chapter 252: Untitled
Inside a dim, rundown tavern.
Jiang Qize was seated at one of the tables.
Across from him sat Tiger.
Around them, fish-men were eyeing him one by one, most of them wearing unfriendly expressions.
"Eight, bring us something to eat," Tiger called out toward the kitchen.
"Coming right up."
A fish-man with an octopus head and eight arms emerged from inside. It was clear from his face that he was frowning.
"Little Eight?" Jiang Qize raised an eyebrow.
Back when he watched One Piece, the fish-man who left the deepest impression on him was Little Eight—a simple-minded goofball.
"Brother Tiger."
At that moment, a younger version of Little Eight walked out from the kitchen.
"Uh…" Jiang Qize froze for a moment.
Do fish-men all look this similar?
"Hahaha, Little Eight, not going out to play?" Tiger laughed loudly when he saw him.
"No, I want to become as strong as you, Tiger!"
"Then you'll have to work hard."
"I will, Brother Tiger!"
Little Eight shouted loudly.
Then he turned his gaze toward Jiang Qize at the side, looking at him with curiosity.
Just then, a fish-man wearing scale armor and holding a trident walked in from outside.
"Summoner, His Majesty the King requests your presence at the palace."
The fish-man soldier said to Jiang Qize.
"You're a summoner?"
Tiger jumped to his feet in shock, staring wide-eyed.
"Boss, is he very strong?" The surrounding fish-men asked curiously.
"When I was adventuring at sea, I heard that name. He's one of the world's most powerful pirates, with a bounty reaching tens of billions."
Tiger said with a trace of awe.
"Tens of billions… is that high?"
"Of course it's high! The humans who usually come to Fish-Man Island—rumor has it their bounties are only tens or hundreds of millions."
"This human is that strong? But he looks so small…"
Everyone around began examining Jiang Qize closely.
"We'll drink another time."
Jiang Qize stood up and said to Tiger.
"Alright." Tiger nodded repeatedly.
Although he could be considered the strongest on Fish-Man Island, the person before him was a great pirate who roamed the seas of the world.
After that, Jiang Qize followed the fish-man soldier toward the royal palace.
…
At the gates of the enormous and magnificent Fish-Man Palace.
Two figures were standing there. One of them was twelve meters tall, with an extremely massive upper body, a merman whose appearance was somewhat unpleasant to look at.
The other had a round head, yellow hair, wore a white outfit, and had a ribbon-like sash flowing behind him like a divine scarf. This was a goldfish merman.
At the bottom of the steps below, the fish-man soldier led Jiang Qize up.
"Summoner, welcome to Fish-Man Island."
Neptune stepped forward, looking down at Jiang Qize with a smile.
"Welcome, Summoner." Otohime also smiled at him, though a trace of surprise flashed through her eyes.
Jiang Qize glanced at the two of them, then focused his gaze on Otohime.
Otohime was very short—only about 1.45 meters tall—so he had to lower his head to look at her.
The reason he paid special attention to Otohime was mainly because of her innate Observation Haki. It could hear others' inner thoughts and even influence their minds.
At its strongest, it could even erase or alter memories—an extremely terrifying ability.
This was not something that could be obtained through training.
"Princess Otohime, do you know what I'm thinking right now?" Jiang Qize asked her with a smile.
"Summoner, you jest. How could Otohime know what you are thinking?"
Otohime shook her head gently.
In truth, she was deeply shocked.
Because her ability had failed for the first time.
She couldn't hear what Jiang Qize was thinking at all—her Observation Haki was completely blocked outside his body.