Chapter 43: Ancient Weapon, Poseidon
While the banquet roared with laughter and celebration, Robin had quietly slipped away. She sent word through Fukaboshi, requesting a private audience with King Neptune outside the banquet hall.
She found the king in a corridor lined with coral and pearl, a massive wine jug clutched in his bandaged hands. Despite his injuries from the recent battle, Neptune had clearly been drinking heavily—his cheeks flushed, his eyes slightly unfocused.
"Pirate Girl," he rumbled, blinking at her approach. "You wished to speak with me?"
"I apologize for the sudden request." Robin stood with her characteristic poise, head tilted slightly. "I felt this was the only opportunity to speak with you alone."
King Neptune's blush deepened unexpectedly.
"Ah—ah! Although my beloved wife has passed, the only one I love is Princess Otohime! Pirate Girl, I cannot—"
"Joy Boy," Robin interrupted smoothly. "Who is he?"
The wine jug slipped from Neptune's grasp, clattering against the floor.
"You... you read the Poneglyph in the Sea Forest."
It wasn't a question.
"Yes." Robin's eyes held that familiar intensity—the hunger for knowledge that had defined her entire life. "I am a survivor of Ohara."
She paused, giving him space.
"Of course, if you prefer not to speak of it, I understand completely."
King Neptune was silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, he lowered himself to sit against the corridor wall, his massive form somehow conveying both age and weariness.
"If it's you... I'll tell you everything I know."
He stared into the middle distance, seeing something eight centuries gone.
"Joy Boy was a person who lived during the Void Century. A real person, not a legend."
Robin's breath caught. "Eight hundred years ago..."
"Yes. That Poneglyph in the Sea Forest is an apology—written by Joy Boy to the mermaid princess of that era."
"The details of their agreement have been lost to time. But the essence remains: someday, someone would come to fulfill what Joy Boy could not. Someone would complete the promise."
He turned to face her fully.
"This is the legend passed down through my family for generations. That is why we have guarded Noah for eight hundred years. Waiting for the day when Joy Boy's successor would appear and use Noah to fulfill the ancient vow."
"However..." Robin's voice was gentle. "Noah has been cut in half. Itachi's slash—"
"It can be repaired." King Neptune waved a massive hand. "Both he and Luffy were protecting Fishman Island. We understand this."
His eyes grew distant again.
"Noah can be rebuilt. But it requires the power of a certain family."
"A certain family?" Robin leaned forward. "What does that mean?"
King Neptune shook his head slowly.
"That is all I know. The rest is lost."
Robin filed this away, then pressed further.
"I heard from Itachi that the Sea Kings ultimately took Noah's wreckage to the Sea Forest."
She studied his expression carefully.
"Which raises a question: did Joy Boy possess the power to command the Sea Kings?"
"No." King Neptune's answer was immediate. His eyes had grown complicated—heavy with knowledge he wished he didn't possess.
"The one who controls the Sea Kings... is the mermaid princess."
Robin nodded slowly, confirmation of what she'd suspected since the Sea Kings appeared.
"Then Shirahoshi—the current mermaid princess—"
"Yes."
King Neptune's voice was barely a whisper.
"And I fear she fully awakened that power today."
His massive hands clenched.
"This brings me no joy. No joy at all."
Robin watched him with understanding. "Two years ago, I read a Poneglyph on Skypiea. It spoke of ancient weapons—and indicated that one of them was located here, in this very sea."
She paused, letting the weight of her words settle.
"The mermaid princess who lived in Joy Boy's era... she would have been called by a specific name."
King Neptune met her eyes.
"Shirahoshi has inherited that name."
He spoke the words like a death sentence.
"The Ancient Weapon—Poseidon."
The name hung in the air between them, heavy with implication.
Robin's expression grew troubled.
"If this information spreads..."
"Then every power in the world will seek to claim her." King Neptune's voice was hollow. "The Marines. The Emperors. The Warlords. Every pirate with ambition and every government with resources."
"Shirahoshi would become a target. A tool. A weapon to be used."
Neither of them noticed the lump of mud that had crept along the corridor's edge, stretching a single ear to catch their every word.
Deep within that mud, a face formed—a wide grin splitting features that belonged to a man with seaweed-like hair and murder in his eyes.
The power to destroy the world, the voice in the mud whispered. That mermaid princess?
The face grinned wider.
I escaped when those fish-men caught me trying to steal the treasury. But this... THIS is better than any treasure!
The mud slowly withdrew, carrying its terrible secret into the shadows.
Inside the banquet hall, the celebration continued unabated.
Luffy had constructed a small mountain of bones beside him—and an equally impressive mountain of empty pastry plates. His belly had expanded to comical proportions, yet his hand never stopped reaching for more.
"Ahaha! So delicious!"
He shoved the last pastry on his plate into his mouth, chewing happily.
The pastry chef who'd delivered the tray went pale.
"That... that was the last of the pastries! There are no more!"
His voice rose in panic.
"If you'd like something else, we can prepare it! But the sweets are completely—"
Luffy's face fell for exactly half a second, then brightened again.
"Ah! Please do!"
Nearby, Nami had managed to secure a small plate of assorted pastries—no small feat with Luffy in the vicinity. She presented them to Itachi and Chopper with a flourish.
"It's not easy rescuing snacks from that bottomless stomach."
Chopper's eyes went wide at the sight of the soft, glistening cakes.
"Thank you, Nami!"
"Wait, Chopper." Nami held the plate just out of reach. "Let Itachi choose first."
She offered the plate to the shinobi with a warm smile.
Itachi looked at the pastries, then at Chopper's eager but patiently waiting face. He smiled and gently pulled the reindeer closer.
"Thank you, Nami. Chopper and I will share."
Luffy's hand shot toward the plate instinctively—only to have Nami's foot come down on his extended arm.
"THESE ARE FOR ITACHI! You've eaten enough for ten men!"
Luffy withdrew, pouting. "Fine..."
Seeing his crestfallen expression, Itachi quietly selected two small cakes for himself and Chopper, then slid the remaining pastries toward Luffy.
Luffy's face immediately rebrightened.
"Thanks, Tear-trough Itachi!"
In the distance, Jinbe finished his conversation with Fukaboshi and the Neptune soldiers, then made his way toward the Straw Hats' corner. He poured himself a massive bowl of sake and settled among them.
"Speaking of which..." Jinbe's expression grew serious. "How much do you know about the current world situation?"
Luffy, mid-bite into a pastry he'd just acquired, blinked. "Why ask that all of a sudden?"
Jinbe sighed, watching Luffy's complete lack of concern.
"Looking at you like this... you know nothing, do you?"
He shook his head.
"Your crew's intelligence-gathering ability remains... troubling."
"Really?" Luffy genuinely seemed not to understand the problem.
Before Jinbe could elaborate, a mermaid approached with a large tray piled high with grilled skewers. Steam rose from the perfectly cooked meat, the aroma cutting through the banquet hall's various scents.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" the mermaid chirped, setting the tray before them.
Luffy's eyes went wide. His hand shot out, dragging the entire tray closer, and he immediately began demolishing skewers with mechanical efficiency.
Itachi looked down at the four or five small plates he and Chopper had shared together. Then at the mountain of dishes surrounding Luffy.
He blinked.
"Is Luffy's appetite always this... remarkable?"
Chopper nodded sagely, chewing a small cake.
"You'll get used to it, Brother Itachi. Just wait until we're on the ship—one time Luffy opened his mouth to sweep the whole table and almost sucked me in with the food!"
Itachi's expression flickered—something between disbelief and amused acceptance.
Jinbe cleared his throat, drawing their attention.
"Perhaps we should find somewhere quieter to talk." He glanced meaningfully at Itachi. "This concerns all of us."
He looked around—Zoro was half-asleep against his pillar, Sanji and Brook were still orbiting the dancing mermaids, Nami was chatting with Keimi, Usopp was telling increasingly exaggerated stories to fascinated fishmen, Franky was showing off his latest modifications to amazed onlookers, and Robin was... nowhere to be seen.
"Excellent timing," Jinbe observed. "Everyone's occupied."
Luffy, despite clearly not wanting to leave the food, grabbed several more meat skewers as he stood.
"Alright! Let's talk while I eat!"
Jinbe frowned but said nothing, leading them to a slightly quieter corner of the hall.
As they approached, Itachi noticed Jinbe heading toward them and inclined his head slightly.
"Jinbe."
"Ah, Itachi-san." Jinbe returned the greeting with noticeable respect. Though he was decades older than the shinobi, the battle at Gyoncorde Plaza had forever altered his perception. This man—this shinobi—had earned his deference.
In Shirahoshi's bedroom within Ryugu Palace's Hard Shell Tower, the mermaid princess lay sprawled across her enormous bed. A pleasant warmth suffused her cheeks—the result of more wine than she was accustomed to drinking.
"I haven't celebrated like this in years," she murmured to herself, a happy smile on her face. "I suppose I overdid it a little."
She rolled over, preparing to rest her eyes for just a moment—
A drop of mud fell from the ceiling.
It landed on her pillow, inches from her face.
Shirahoshi's eyes snapped open.
Above her, the ceiling had somehow developed a muddy patch—and within that mud, a face was forming. Wide eyes. A grinning mouth. Seaweed-like hair.
"Hello there, Princess~"
(End of Chapter)
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