Chapter 418 - 257

Chapter 258: Luffy and Shirahoshi: The First Step to Breaking Free!"Lord Luffy... are there really so many wonderful places in the world outside?"Shirahoshi leaned forward slightly, her face cupped in her hands, her azure eyes reflecting the incredible sights from Luffy's descriptions."Winter islands where pink snow falls... oceans made of clouds, and islands floating in the sky...""Yeah! Of course there are! And they're a hundred times more interesting than how I describe them!"Luffy nodded vigorously, his smile pure and full of infectious energy.He sat cross-legged on the coral table, looking up at the princess who was massive in size yet as simple-minded as a child."So, is there anywhere you particularly want to go? I'll take you out to see it!"Shirahoshi's eyes lit up instantly, as if sparked by a flame, but that light quickly dimmed, covered by a layer of habitual, heavy concern.Her massive tail swayed uneasily and gently."I... I can't be that selfish. If I just run out, I'll definitely cause... a lot of trouble for Father and everyone in the palace.""You really are—"Seeing her look so longing yet desperately suppressing it, Luffy didn't know what to say for a moment. Finally, he just scratched his hair."If I were locked in a place like this for ten years—never mind ten years, in ten days I'd have smashed the roof off! I'd go crazy from being cooped up!""Because Lord Luffy is strong and free!"Shirahoshi forced a smile, trying to make her words sound lighthearted, but the curve of that smile couldn't hide a long-buried loneliness!!The look in her eyes made Luffy feel a bit uncomfortable.He stood up with a "whoosh," hands on his hips, his tone becoming indisputable:"Alright! Don't think so much! Just say where you want to go, and I'll protect you! I guarantee I'll get you there safely!""B-But...""What's there to 'but' about!"Luffy cut off her hesitation directly, pointing his thumb toward the main gate with great momentum."If that useless... cough, if your father doesn't agree, I'll go talk to him! We'll see if he dares to say no!""Lord Luffy... you... you shouldn't speak about Father like that..."Shirahoshi corrected him in a small voice, but before she could finish, large, crystal-clear teardrops uncontrollably burst from her eyes.They rolled down her smooth cheeks and hit the floor of the bedchamber with soft "patter" sounds.Ten years!!Since her mother, Queen Otohime, was murdered, she had been imprisoned in this hardened sanctuary due to Vander Decken's terrifying threats, which also became her most magnificent cage.Fear, longing, loneliness, and that carefully hidden desire for the world outside... all these emotions burst forth at this moment.She sobbed, her shoulders trembling slightly, her cries growing from suppressed whimpers into loud weeping."L-Lord Luffy... th-thank you..."She spoke intermittently, using her slender fingers to wipe away the tears that wouldn't stop."Actually... I have... I've always had a... a place I've... even dreamed of going...""Sigh..."Looking at Shirahoshi crying like a child who had finally found someone to lean on after suffering so much,Luffy's usually carefree expression softened. He scratched his hair, not knowing how best to comfort her.She really was a... helpless, poor thing.He recalled the princess's past:Because of that perverted stalker named Vander Decken, she couldn't even attend her own mother's funeral;Because of the constant threat, the ten most beautiful years of her youth were spent with only these four walls and loneliness for company.And that bastard Hody Jones, the crimes he committed against Fish-Man Island... a nameless fire quietly ignited in Luffy's chest, and a rare cold sharpness flickered deep in his eyes.These debts... would have to be settled sooner or later... Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump—!!A series of dull, vicious impacts suddenly rang out, frantically pounding against the indestructible outer wall of the Hard-Shell Tower!"Kyaaa—!!!"Shirahoshi was scared out of her wits by the sudden, terrifying sound, and she instinctively let out a short scream.Extreme fear instantly overwhelmed her, and her body reacted instinctively.In her panic, she grabbed Luffy, who was right next to her, clutching him tightly in her palm, and then, as if seeking shelter, she suddenly pressed Luffyagainst her high, soft chest."Whew... whew..."Her eyes were tightly shut, her long eyelashes trembling incessantly. It took several seconds before she panted, still in shock."Th-That scared me to death..."However, in her state of shock, she soon noticed something was wrong.The sensation in her palm...?"Lord Luffy? Lord Luffy, where are you?!"She hurriedly opened her hand, her massive eyes frantically scanning the surroundings, but she couldn't see the small figure."I... I'm over here..."A muffled voice, as if coming through layers of soft clouds, drifted out from between the towering peaks of her chest."Kyaa—!!!"Shirahoshi froze for a second, and then her entire exquisite face turned bright red at a visible speed, the blush spreading from her cheeks to her ears and neck, like ripened coral.She scrambled, yet with extreme gentleness, using her fingertips to carefully "pluck" Luffy—who was almost completely submerged in that soft, white expanse—and held him in both hands before her."L-Lord Luffy! I... I am terribly sorry!"She was so ashamed her voice was trembling, her long pink hair falling down, almost covering her burning face."I was too scared and didn't notice...""It's... It's okay!!"Held in her palm, Luffy could still feel the slight tremor in her fingertips from her embarrassment.He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, even his signature grin a bit stiff.No matter how you looked at it, he was the one who got the better end of the deal, yet the frightened girl was the one apologizing profusely.It made even a straightforward pirate like him feel a strange sense of being in the wrong.He quickly shook off that bit of unease, his gaze suddenly becoming as sharp as a hawk's as he glared coldly at the thick wall where sporadic impacts were still coming from.He raised his hand and pressed down firmly on the straw hat atop his head, the brim casting a shadow over his face."It seems that annoying pest hasn't learned his lesson!!"His voice carried undisguised annoyance and the restlessness of someone about to take action."Let's go, I'm going to go help you completely clear out that persistent piece of trash right now!""Lord Luffy, you shouldn't use bad words..."Shirahoshi reminded him in a small, weak voice.But what clearly made her more uneasy was the second half of Luffy's sentence.A look of struggle and hesitation appeared on her face as she pleaded timidly:"Al-Also, could you... not hurt Vander Decken?""He... he might... not be that bad?""Pfft—!"Luffy almost choked on those words. He stumbled and snapped his head up to look at Shirahoshi, his eyes filled with disbelief and a nearly unfathomable scrutiny.Was her personality soft to the extreme, or was there some kind of incredible "holy light" hidden in her bones?!For anyone else in the world, having been so pervertedly harassed and imprisoned for a full ten years... they'd probably want to tear the other person apart and feed them to sea beasts, even digging up their ancestral graves to vent their anger!"Shirahoshi, you can't think like that!"Luffy tried to reason with her, his expression unusually serious."An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!""Especially with a persistent bastard like this, forgiving him will only make him think you're an easy target, and he'll be even worse next time!""This is the iron law for surviving on the sea!""B-But..."Shirahoshi wrung her fingers helplessly, her voice even lower, carrying a confusion rooted in distant memories."Mother, when she was alive... she always taught us to... learn to forgive, to try to... forget hatred?"For a moment, Luffy felt like his brain had been hit by a Sea King; he couldn't quite wrap his head around it.How did this get into the teachings of the previous generation?The philosophy of that gentle Mermaid Queen and the perverted reality her daughter was currently facing were two completely different things!He looked into Shirahoshi's azure eyes, which were filled with timidity, confusion, and kindness, knowing he wouldn't be able to explain those complex principles to her in a short time.A pirate's way of solving things was often more direct."—I don't care about anything else!"Luffy grit his teeth, his eyes flashing with indisputable determination, as he spoke word by word."This time, listen to me!"Shirahoshi opened her mouth slightly, but in the end, she nodded gently, her voice soft yet carrying a hint of reliance:"...Okay, um."————————Outside the Hard-Shell Tower, in the deep corridor."Quick! Move fast! This is our last chance!""Open the gate, connect the passage between Ryugu Palace and the outside of Fish-Man Island, and we'll be free!"More than ten pirates, drenched and looking wretched, were struggling to get up from the cold floor.Their eyes were filled with panic mixed with wild joy, as if they had grasped the last straw in a desperate situation.They were the pawns and prisoners who had been used as "cannonballs" and accurately "thrown" from across the distant seas via Vander Decken IX's "Mark-Mark Fruit" ability.—Click!The heavy gate of the Hard-Shell Tower was slowly pushed open from the inside, contrary to everyone's expectations.The sound was exceptionally clear in the silent corridor, instantly cutting off all the pirates' movements and whispers.Everyone's gaze, involuntarily and in unison, focused on the doorway.A figure stepped out first.A simple red vest, short black hair, a worn but iconic straw hat, and a pair of the most casual sandals.His posture as he stood there wasn't fierce, yet it carried a mountain-like presence that couldn't be ignored."...'straw hat'... Monkey D. Luffy?!"After a brief dead silence, someone tremblingly uttered that famous name.In an instant, the wild joy faded from the pirates' faces, replaced by a deathly gray despair.Hearts felt as if they were being squeezed by invisible hands, sinking into a cold abyss.How... why would they encounter this legendary figure here?!Why would an Emperor of the New World appear in the deepest forbidden area of Ryugu Palace?!"L-Lord! Spare us!""We were forced! It was that madman Vander Decken who threw us here!""Please, show mercy! I have an elderly mother at home...""We didn't do anything! We really didn't have time to do anything!"The pirates who came to their senses didn't hesitate for a moment; they all knelt down in a row, kowtowing like pounding garlic, their faces etched with the purest fear.In the face of absolute power and such a name, any thought of resistance seemed laughable.At this moment, they only wanted to beg for a chance at life.However, Luffy didn't even lift his eyelids much.He just slightly raised his gaze.Woom—!An invisible, intangible, yet heavy-as-a-collapsing-mountain aura erupted from him as the center!It was an absolute pressure that transcended the level of life itself!The air in the corridor seemed to freeze instantly.The pupils of the kneeling pirates suddenly dilated, and one by one, they silently slumped to the ground, completely losing consciousness.The entire process was terrifyingly silent.Luffy withdrew his gaze expressionlessly, as if he had merely brushed away an insignificant speck of dust from his shoulder.He turned his head and said softly to the person inside the gate:"Let's go, Shirahoshi. Come with me to the hall."His voice was calm, yet it carried an indisputable determination."Y-Yes! Lord Luffy!"Inside the gate, Shirahoshi took a deep breath, swayed her massive pink fish tail, and carefully yet firmly followed the figure under that straw hatahead of her.