Hearing the convoluted words, Luffy immediately felt a little muddled and subconsciously reached out to scratch his head.
His messy hair became even more disheveled from the scratching.
Then, he quickly turned to look at Orochimaru, his clear, large eyes full of a plea for help.
Orochimaru, however, remained expressionless, his gaze fixed on Jinbe, and he spoke indifferently:
"Oh... he means he's willing to join, but he wants to go to the Whitebeard Pirates first to see Ace and the old man Whitebeard."
After saying that, Orochimaru glanced at Jinbe, then casually tossed a transponder snail in Jinbe's direction, a hint of impatience in his tone.
"Alright, don't waste time. You can go now; just contact me with the transponder snail when the time comes."
His demeanor suggested that the matter was already settled, and his face was full of impatience.
Originally, Orochimaru had planned to just call Whitebeard and demand Jinbe, but thinking of the pirates' inexplicable sense of honor, he decided against it.
Besides... taking Jinbe to fight Doffy? Doffy would be too miserable, after all, Jinbe is a strong counter to Devil Fruit Users... Jinbe had just clumsily caught the transponder snail and hadn't even had time to put it away properly.
He looked up and met Orochimaru's gaze, which was full of disdain.
Orochimaru's face clearly showed the impatience of "I can't do anything about this fathead fish, but what can I do, Luffy likes him."
The expression was as if Jinbe had done something particularly displeasing to him.
At this moment, Chopper, who knows where he pulled out a cotton candy from, stuffed it into his mouth while looking up, adding in a childish voice:
Ψ ( ◉ ཅ ◉ ) Ψ "Ah... Orochimaru looks so unwilling."
His cute and sincere appearance made Orochimaru's face darken as he snatched Chopper's cotton candy.
"Cotton candy, confiscated."
Zoro and the others couldn't help but burst into laughter at these words, and Zoro coughed.
"Gomen gomen! Usopp, don't tell jokes at such a serious time."
Usopp:?????
The originally somewhat serious atmosphere instantly became much more relaxed because of Zoro's words.
Orochimaru remained expressionless, his cold gaze like two sharp blades piercing directly at Jinbe.
"What are you looking at? Why aren't you leaving yet? Haven't things been made clear?"
As for Luffy, he completely ignored Orochimaru's impatient attitude, rushing over to hug Jinbe's neck, leaning onto Jinbe's back, and said with a grin:
"No rush, Jinbe, there's a banquet to attend together later. We can't miss such a lively party."
As he spoke, he swayed Jinbe's body, his excitement as if he could already see the table full of delicacies and the lively scene of everyone celebrating at the banquet.
Staring... ( ㅍ _ ㅍ )
Jinbe was intensely stared at by Orochimaru's unfriendly gaze, feeling as if all his pores were exuding cold air, making him uncomfortable. Had he done something? It seemed not.
Robin understood what was happening, chuckled, and pushed his shoulder towards Neptune's army.
"Alright, alright, don't be jealous. Aren't you still going to help Princess Shirahoshi revive Queen Otohime?
Also, I found a poneglyph in the Sea Forest. After the banquet, do you want to go retrieve it together? Don't you love collecting those stones?"
Robin's voice was soft and somewhat enticing, trying to divert Orochimaru's attention from Jinbe.
Although Orochimaru was pushed by Robin towards Neptune's army, his steps were incredibly reluctant, and he mumbled, putting on a stubborn front.
"I'm not jealous, what do I have to be jealous of? He's just a fathead fish, how could I be jealous? Don't talk nonsense."
Robin looked at Orochimaru's contradictory and stubbornly denying expression, the smile never leaving her face.
She teased, "Alright, alright... no jealousy. After all, Luffy 'likes' little brother Orochimaru the most."
Orochimaru held firm, though he was quite pleased by Robin's words in his heart, his tsundere nature wouldn't let him show it on his face, and he continued to maintain an expressionless look.
Only the tail hidden behind him uncontrollably swayed from side to side, revealing his true joy and happiness deep down.
Seeing Orochimaru like this, Robin found him incredibly cute. She bit her lip, trying hard to suppress her laughter.
She was really curious now what had happened in the two years in between, and who had raised Orochimaru to be like this.
Orochimaru had really changed... he was more popular now.
Princess Shirahoshi was excitedly telling King Neptune something, her bright, large eyes full of thrilling light.
Her peripheral vision quickly caught sight of Orochimaru walking over. The smile on her face deepened, and she happily lowered her head, extending her large hands to carefully cup Orochimaru and Robin in her palms, saying in a clear and loud voice:
"Father, this is Lord Orochimaru. It was Lord Orochimaru and Lord Luffy who saved me and Fish-Man Island before.
This is Lady Robin; she was the one who unlocked your handcuffs, Father."
Shirahoshi's watery eyes were full of little stars, staring unblinkingly at Orochimaru, her face filled with admiration. She looked up slightly at Neptune, the reverence and gratitude in her gaze almost overflowing.
Neptune sincerely bowed his head, his gaze falling on Orochimaru and Robin, who were cupped in Princess Shirahoshi's palms, his voice full of heartfelt gratitude.
"Thank you very much, pirate girls. If it weren't for your help, we Fish-Man Island would not know what kind of misfortune we would have suffered."
However, no sooner had he spoken than Princess Shirahoshi's eyes widened, a hint of embarrassment flashed across her face, and she quickly reached out to push Neptune, saying anxiously:
"Father... you are too rude! Although Lord Orochimaru is indeed very beautiful, Lord Orochimaru is a man!"
As Princess Shirahoshi spoke, she secretly glanced at Orochimaru's expression, afraid that Orochimaru would be unhappy because of this misunderstanding.
Hearing Shirahoshi's words, Neptune's face showed a hint of embarrassment, and he quickly waved his hands repeatedly, apologizing sincerely: "Sorry... sorry, that was truly rude."
Robin chuckled, "It's alright, Orochimaru usually doesn't mind such things."
Seeing this, Shirahoshi finally relaxed, letting out a soft sigh. But after a moment, she seemed to suddenly remember the most important matter that had been weighing on her heart.
Her eyes instantly became tense, yet also full of anticipation. Her gaze was fixed on Orochimaru, her lips trembled slightly, and her voice became cautious as she softly asked: "Lord Orochimaru... are you here to revive my mother?"
The great knight King Neptune heard Shirahoshi's words and felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His pupils suddenly contracted, his eyes filled with shock.
His eye sockets instantly turned red, with tears faintly welling up, and his voice trembled uncontrollably, carrying a hint of disbelief that he himself couldn't accept. He even began to wonder if he had misheard. He opened his mouth, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a few words with difficulty:
"Is... is this true? Can my wife really be revived?"
Orochimaru nodded, then extended his hand towards King Neptune.
"Give me that model of Queen Otohime. I asked the Fishman owner at the Orange Supply Store before.
He said that many years ago, to prevent you from missing Queen Otohime too much, he gave you a model. I need that as a medium."
Of course, that model was a proper model. Queen Otohime was deeply loved and respected by everyone on Fish-Man Island during her lifetime.
And no one would use someone else's deceased wife to do such things.
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