"What is this thing?"
"'Holy Light: Michael' merch pillow."
"And this… what's this?"
"'Holy Light: Michael' merch poster."
Michael was pacing back and forth on this pain ship, his expression downright mournful…
Who on earth is buying this stuff? And who's even selling it?
Ginny looked curiously at Michael's face and asked,
"You mean… you really don't know about 'Holy Light: Michael'?"
"Uh… am I supposed to know?"
"This is a super popular manga that's been serialized in the World Economic Journal for years now… Seriously, how long has it been since you last read the World Economic Journal?"
"It's been years… Most of the intel in the World Economic Journal comes from me in the first place. Why would I need to read it?"
Michael sighed.
Drawing manga with him as the main character was one thing… but producing all kinds of merch too?
These merchants sure know how to make money.
"Where do they even sell this stuff?"
"You don't even know?" Ginny looked at Michael, utterly shocked. "This is one of the hottest items on Fishman Island!"
Fishman Island!?
Michael's face slowly froze.
"…Am I supposed to know?"
"Isn't Fishman Island under both the Navy's and Whitebeard Pirates' protection? When they share profits with you guys, do they never give you a single business report?"
"…Of course they do." Michael thought about it and instantly got a headache. "But do you have any idea how massive the flow of goods on Fishman Island is? One quarterly report can pile up half my height in front of me… You think I've got that much free time to read through it all?"
"You're even too lazy to care about money-making!"
Ginny rolled her eyes.
These things might seem trivial, but once they pile up on a single person, it's enough to drive anyone nuts.
Especially since Michael had somehow become an idol for a whole bunch of people out of nowhere.
And that merch… Tsk, tsk, tsk, some of it was really indecent.
Especially the replaceable pillow covers… Ginny had blushed when she saw a few versions herself.
So the two of them quietly backed out of the cabin onto the deck.
At that moment, a slightly frantic female voice came from outside the ship.
"Hey! You guys! Who told you you could board someone else's ship without permission?!"
Hearing the voice, Michael and Ginny turned around and saw a girl dressed in something close to a Navy uniform rushing toward them.
The girl had gradient-colored hair—from white at the top to green in the middle to blue at the tips.
On her head grew a pair of fiery red demon horns.
"My, my, Michael, looks like this is one of your fans." Ginny laughed lightly and patted Michael's shoulder. "And she's a pretty girl too."
Yamato was already over two and a half meters tall at this point, but both her face and her aura clearly marked her as a young, beautiful minor.
Her figure… was another matter altogether.
But Michael wasn't pleased at all about her being a pretty girl. He pointed at Yamato from afar and shouted,
"What kind of fan shows up carrying such a massive spiked canabo to meet their idol?!"
"She didn't recognize you at first, okay? Facing suspicious people on her own ship, drawing her weapon isn't overreacting."
Michael sighed, about to say something, when Yamato—well-fed and energetic—suddenly raised her spiked canabo, and leapt straight toward Michael and Ginny.
"Wow, what a powerful entrance… Michael, you deal with the mess you made yourself."
Ginny slipped aside naturally to watch the show.
Michael gave her an international friendly gesture, then raised his head, brows carrying a hint of solemnity.
To be fair, Yamato, as Kaido's biological daughter, had clearly inherited her father's terrifying talent.
This kind of blow, back when he only had substitute Admiral-level strength, might've been hard to block.
But now…
Michael sighed.
The Holy Light at his waist didn't leave its sheath.
Against someone of Yamato's level, he didn't need to draw his Supreme Grade sword yet.
"Thunder… Bagua!"
Yamato shouted, her canabo crackling with lightning and Armament Haki as it came crashing down toward Michael.
This was her father Kaido's signature move.
She hated her father's identity, but to defeat him, she had studied his every move diligently.
Father and daughter didn't get along… but she had inherited Kaido's techniques completely.
Their battles were both fierce and… strangely tender.
Michael watched the massive canabo whistle toward him and simply raised his right hand, stopping the "Thunder Bagua" in its tracks.
Yamato saw her attack blocked by just one hand and was about to attack again when Michael raised his head, his platinum hair parting to reveal his true face.
In an instant, Yamato froze. The canabo even slipped from her grasp.
"You… you—you! You're Michael!"
Yamato's voice trembled with excitement.
"Sigh… Yes, I'm Vice Admiral, Chief Inspector Michael." Michael sighed and continued, "And you, calling yourself 'Maria D. Yamato'… I don't recall having a daughter like you."
Yamato instantly stiffened in embarrassment.
To take your idol's surname as your own… and get caught by the idol himself? That was peak social death.
"Yamato! Slow down already! You think anyone's stupid enough to steal this pain ship? Who would even want it?!"
"Stop hitting Yamato where it hurts!"
"Huh? That hit a sore spot? But I'm just telling the truth."
"Sigh… Fine, whatever."
Two brats came running from the same direction Yamato had arrived from.
Michael glanced at their horns and immediately understood who they were.
Kaido's adopted son and daughter—two of the original "Tobiroppo."
Michael looked at Yamato, whose face was still red with embarrassment, and said with a complicated expression,
"Seriously? You come chasing your idol… and bring the whole family along?"
---
read +200 chapters on Patreon tambeerg