"So that's Lord Nereus's daughter? She's adorable~ I heard he and that woman split up long ago... I really want to become her stepmother..."
At the roadside, a female pirate dressed with remarkable boldness spoke openly to the pirate beside her, completely unconcerned with who might hear.
Beehive, being a pirate island, naturally admired strength above all else.
Good looks plus overwhelming power—
that combination alone drew attention.
Add to that the rare bonus that Nereus showed zero interest in Shakky—
and admirers like this were hardly uncommon.
💬🏴☠️
"Keep dreaming. Why would Lord Nereus ever look at someone like you? The mermaids around him are all prettier than you."
"Can't I at least imagine it?!"
"You'd do better thinking about what's happening next. Feels like something big is brewing lately. Rocks's top people have been discussing something."
While they whispered, neither noticed the small mound of earth moving slowly beneath the street—
heading directly in Nanaimo's direction.
As it passed them, a giant head suddenly popped out of the ground.
"She's right. Big brother doesn't like your type. Pushi~ pushishishi~"
After delivering that sentence, the head immediately sank back underground.
The two pirates froze.
"W-Who was that?!"
"No idea... a fish-man?"
"Can fish-men... swim through dirt?"
😳🌍
That scene repeated all along the road.
A huge head occasionally emerged from underground, checked the surroundings, then vanished again—
frightening people repeatedly.
He was not an enemy.
He was Bikupanda, the one Nereus had mentioned earlier—
the one secretly following Nanaimo.
Bikupanda was also a Devil Fruit user.
For most fish-men, Devil Fruits carried severe disadvantages because losing the ability to swim hit them especially hard.
But some fruits fit fish-men unexpectedly well.
The fruit Bikupanda had eaten was the Swim-Swim Fruit—
more precisely:
Paramecia: Swim Fruit.
It had nothing to do with water itself.
Instead, it allowed the user to treat:
groundwallssolid surfaces
as if they were liquid water, moving freely through them.
For ordinary humans, the fruit offered limited improvement.
In the original timeline, it belonged to Señor Pink of the Donquixote Family.
For Señor Pink, it mainly enabled ambush tactics.
Later, Vegapunk even used its lineage factor for Seraphim S-Shark, the Jinbe-based Seraphim.
For fish-men, however—
this fruit became dramatically more powerful.
Because a fish-man could treat earth like ocean.
That meant:
Fish-Man Karate through solid groundFish-Man Jujutsu manipulating terrainpunches that felt like earthquakes
Bikupanda lacked the natural combat talent of the other three top officers.
So when Nereus found this fruit, he gave it to him specifically to strengthen that weakness.
For Bikupanda, even on land—
he remained in home terrain.
He could:
swim undergroundambush freelyeven breathe below earth
🌊🌍🐟
His enormous body moved beneath the ground while Nanaimo soon reached Charlotte Linlin's territory—
the docks on the island's opposite side.
But the atmosphere here was completely different.
Heavy.
Tense.
The other Charlotte children were nothing like Nanaimo's cheerful mood.
Because at the center of the gathering—
Charlotte Brûlée lay injured.
A brutal fresh slash stretched across her entire face.
Blood soaked her clothing.
The wound was clearly recent.
Her short reddish-purple hair clung against her skin.
Sharp teeth showed beneath trembling lips.
Even the stitched scars already present around her mouth looked harsher now.
Beside her stood a furious ten-year-old boy—
eyes full of disbelief and rage.
"What happened?! Who did this?! Why is Brûlée hurt like this?!"
That boy was:
Charlotte Katakuri.
Charlotte Linlin's second son.
Only ten years old—
yet already frighteningly gifted.
His mouth scar was not from battle.
He had torn his own cheeks earlier in life because he ate donuts too forcefully.
Now his face twisted with anger.
🔥🍩
"It's those people you dealt with before. They came back for revenge."
The one answering was Perospero, eldest son.
Katakuri clenched his fists.
"Revenge? Then why attack our sister?! If they wanted revenge, they should've come for me!"
At his age, Katakuri could not understand it.
Why target Brûlée instead of the one responsible?
"Isn't that obvious? They're scared of you, so they targeted Brûlée instead. Was Mama gone? Busy somewhere else?"
Nanaimo arrived just in time to hear his furious question.
She tossed her snacks aside and stepped closer.
Perospero answered again.
"Big sister? Mama got some message earlier and left for a meeting..."
He wasn't surprised Nanaimo had come.
She visited often.
Only the timing felt precise.
Those pirates had chosen their moment well.
Attacking Linlin's children while she was absent was reckless—
but attacking while she was present would simply be suicide.
"I figured as much. You know who did it?"
"Of course... the Fat Bottle Pirates..."
Katakuri nearly bit through the words.
Anyone could feel his fury spilling over.
"Then let's go."
"Go? Do what?"
"Isn't it obvious? Revenge. If they can come hurt Brûlée, we can hit back harder."
"No. They came because of me. I'll handle it myself."
"Idiot. What nonsense are you saying? She's my sister too. And you're my little brother. If this happens, what kind of eldest sister would stay out of it?"
👊💢
Brûlée, despite her injury, tried to stop them.
"Big sister... big brother... I'm fine... it doesn't hurt... don't go after them..."
She feared they would get hurt too.
But the words had no effect.
Nanaimo remained controlled—
Katakuri no longer did.
Without another word, he grabbed a nearby tablecloth, wrapped it around his neck like a scarf to cover his mouth, seized his trident—
and sprinted down the side road.
Nanaimo immediately followed.
"Wait! Princess Nanaimo! And her little brother! I strongly recommend careful planning!
We should first assess enemy strength, then report to Mama or Lord Nereus, and only then act!"
Hermes's warning did nothing.
Both children were already gone.
Seeing this, Hermes rushed after them.
Below ground, Bikupanda immediately changed direction too.
But after flying a short distance, Hermes suddenly remembered something.
Its cloud body stretched backward—
sending its head back toward Perospero.
"Long-tongue little brother—right now! Immediately! Tell Mama! I'm going ahead!"