Chapter 330 The Enthusiastic Little Mermaids
Brett stood beside the two girls. He could clearly see the joyful smiles on both children's faces and feel even more clearly the happiness in their hearts.
Brett's lips curved upward slightly.
He understood this feeling very well.
When he was very small and first went to the surface with Arlong to see the human world, he'd felt much the same way.
For children who'd always lived in the deep sea and never seen the surface, naturally they'd feel excited when first seeing the world's true appearance.
"It's so beautiful! The ocean!"
Nana looked around excitedly.
Though she'd always lived in the deep sea, she'd never clearly seen what this ocean looked like.
"Hey! Brett-niisan!"
Nana turned to look at Brett. Her eyes sparkled brilliantly. "Can we live on the sea in the future?!"
"That's Fish-Man Island's wish for generations."
Brett gazed toward the ocean's distant horizon, speaking calmly. "And it's precisely the goal we've always been striving toward."
"Alright!"
Nana suddenly placed both hands on her hips and laughed. "Then let me help too!"
"You?"
Brett couldn't help smiling.
"Don't look down on me, Brett-niisan!"
Nana raised her small fist indignantly. Haki already coiled around it. "I'm pretty strong now!"
"Okay, okay. Then I'll look forward to seeing Nana's active performance."
Brett said with a smile.
Lively children were beloved wherever they went.
"Hmph! You just wait and see!"
Nana brimmed with confidence.
"Brett-niisan, where are we going next?"
Princess Shirahoshi looked toward Brett, asking with some curiosity and anticipation.
"I'm taking you to see what this world looks like."
Brett said.
"What this world looks like?"
Nana tilted her head.
This journey had only one purpose—making Princess Shirahoshi understand that simple mutual understanding couldn't accomplish anything.
Though it might be somewhat cruel, this was necessary growth for a ruler.
Alexander lurked below the surface, swimming forward rapidly.
"Don't forget to guide my direction, friend!"
The warrior shrimp laughed heartily.
"Just keep going forward."
Brett smiled.
Not far ahead lay a country.
He'd take the children there first.
The shrimp-type Sea King raced forward across the ocean. Below him in deeper waters, numerous Sea Kings followed like shadows.
"Wow, this is amazing!"
Nana sat on Alexander's back, leaning backward with both hands supporting herself. "Brett-niisan, are we going to a human country next?!"
"Won't that be dangerous?" Nana said. "Even I know humans treat us badly."
Though Fish-Man Island was now the world's most prosperous nation with human merchants coming and going like flowing water, safety education had never stopped.
The Immigration Bureau and Ryugu Palace government still continuously conveyed the same message to Fish-Man Island's citizens.
Humans are dangerous.
Even if some humans held goodwill toward Fish-Man Island, they couldn't lower their guard because of it.
Nana was a child raised under this educational philosophy.
"But Mama says it's all because humans don't understand Fish-Man Island."
Princess Shirahoshi said softly. "If everyone could understand each other, then surely things wouldn't be this way."
"Eh? Really?"
Nana blinked. "I don't really get it, but if Queen Otohime says so, she must have her reasons, right?"
"Right, Brett-niisan?" She turned to look at Brett.
"Words alone are meaningless."
Brett said leisurely. "Next, you'll see for yourselves."
"This journey probably won't be too short. You'll have plenty of time."
Enough time to understand this world.
"Okay."
Princess Shirahoshi nodded heavily.
The night before, her mother had told her many things.
Including what Brett was doing. Including the difficulties Fish-Man Island faced.
Queen Otohime had told her to experience this journey seriously, then decide what she wanted to do.
The little princess was still young and didn't quite understand what her mother meant. But at least she understood—Mama said this journey was very important.
Then she'd experience it seriously!
Nana didn't think nearly as much as Shirahoshi. This child was always carefree. Though several years older than Shirahoshi, their mental ages were probably quite close.
She raised both arms and cheered. "That means there's lots of beautiful scenery ahead waiting for us, right?! Yay!"
Brett smiled.
This kid might get along really well with Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates.
However, Nana—what awaits us ahead isn't just beautiful scenery.
The warrior shrimp continued forward.
Suddenly, Shirahoshi's expression changed slightly. She turned to look at Brett. "Brett-niisan, it seems like there's a situation ahead!"
Oh?
Brett raised an eyebrow. He'd been maintaining Observation Haki to monitor their surroundings constantly, yet he hadn't detected anything.
Did the Sea Kings tell her?
With Shirahoshi's Observation alone, she absolutely couldn't discover something on the sea surface that Brett himself hadn't noticed.
The only possibility was—the Sea Kings scouting ahead had sent her a message.
This was Poseidon's terrifying aspect.
Not only could she command Sea Kings, but even across incredibly vast distances, she could issue orders in real-time.
She could even receive messages from Sea Kings—in large-scale warfare, this was practically an invincible ability.
The only weakness was probably Princess Shirahoshi's own weak strength.
Though that could be remedied. Shirahoshi had awakened Observation at only nine years old. Her combat talent probably wasn't weak either.
"Then let's take a look."
Brett smiled. "Alexander, dive."
"Sure thing!"
His good friend responded with a laugh, then brought Brett's trio beneath the surface.
Approaching directly would be far too conspicuous.
The warrior shrimp rapidly advanced. It didn't take long to reach the waters where Shirahoshi said a situation was occurring.
Two ships were engaged in fierce battle in this sea area.
"There really is something!"
Nana's eyes widened. She looked at Shirahoshi incredulously. "Amazing, Shirahoshi! Your Observation Haki is really incredible!"
"...N-no, it's not..."
The little princess's face turned bright red. She squirmed uncomfortably.
Her parents and Brett had warned her not to reveal her ability to others.
But lying was also very difficult for her. Shirahoshi felt somewhat at a loss.
Fortunately, Nana paid no attention to this matter. She just excitedly watched the two ships exchanging fire on the surface.
"Brett-niisan! This is a sea battle! I saw one in a movie!"
She meant the film Tesoro had made previously.
"Pirates are attacking a merchant ship." Brett observed the battlefield carefully.
Such situations were far too common in the New World.
"Pirates?"
Nana called out loudly. "Then they're bad guys, right?! Brett-niisan, let's go help quickly!"
The little princess also nodded repeatedly.
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