"Awesome!"
With Alucard's permission, Wolf cheered and lunged toward Hachi and the others with one hand. His heart was full of anticipation as he mumbled to himself, "I wonder what a fish-man tastes like..."
In his mind, merfolk and fish-men were no different from Sea Kings.
Though the coating remained on his body, the resin from the Sabaody Archipelago was surprisingly resilient. This level of movement was nothing; even in a full-blown battle, as long as it wasn't overly exaggerated, the membrane wouldn't be damaged in the slightest.
"Hachi! Run!"
The other fish-men screamed, but facing Wolf's giant hand, they were all frozen in place. Though their mouths were shouting, their legs were too weak with fear to move.
Whoosh!
Just then, a dark shadow shot out, pushing Hachi and the others away. They landed just half a meter outside of Wolf's grasp, a truly last-second save.
Alucard's eyes narrowed. "An extremely advanced Observation Haki…" "Who is it?" Hancock frowned slightly.
Hachi and the others saw a long-faced, blonde-haired goldfish mermaid lying on top of them. They cried out in distress, "Otohime! Queen Otohime! Are you alright?"
"Queen Otohime! Queen Otohime!"
Residents who had been hiding in their homes all rushed out, calling her name. It was clear just how much she was loved by her people.
"Wait, wait, I... I..."
Otohime clutched her slender waist, struggling to stand upright. She looked pained as she said, "My... my lower back is broken."
"How fragile!"
The Kuja pirates exclaimed in unison, chattering among themselves. "Did she break her bones just by tackling someone?"
One female pirate, who loved taking notes, quickly pulled out a pen and paper, mumbling to herself as she wrote, "Merfolk are prone to breaking bones..."
"Otohime, are you okay?"
At that moment, Neptune, trident in hand, arrived on a giant whale shark. Behind him were many members of the Sun Pirates, as well as Neptune and Otohime's three sons and Princess Shirahoshi, who was only four years old.
"Aaargh!"
Wolf's throat rumbled with a furious roar as he stomped his feet in frustration. "Damn it! Why does someone always interrupt my mealtime?!"
With that, Wolf swung his hand again, this time aiming for Queen Otohime herself. "Queen Otohime, watch out!"
"Otohime!" "Mother!"
Tiger, the princes, Neptune, and the citizens all cried out in alarm, but they were no match for Wolf's speed.
Four-year-old Shirahoshi, who was nearly four meters tall, saw the giant hand turn toward her mother. Suddenly, a violent power erupted from within her. She cried out, wailing, "Waaaah! Mommy, nooo!"
BOOM!!!
The sea itself trembled with Shirahoshi's cries.
Wolf's outstretched hand stopped short as he instinctively felt a dangerous presence behind him.
He turned to see over a dozen Sea Kings staring at him with menacing eyes. Each one was no smaller than him.
A silence fell over the entire area. Even Elder Nyon and Hancock were speechless, their eyes wide as they looked at the Sea Kings behind them.
"Waaaaah! Waaaaaah!" The only sound that broke the silence was Shirahoshi's sobbing. "Shirahoshi... could it be that you are...?"
Otohime turned to her wailing daughter, remembering a legend she had once heard. She swallowed nervously.
"What the…"
Seeing the menacing Sea Kings behind him, Wolf was reminded of the Sea Kings he had dealt with in the Calm Belt. Anger and killing intent rose in his heart. The Sea Kings felt his hostility and began to let out low roars from their throats. A great battle seemed about to break out!
"This is bad. If monsters like that start fighting on Fish-Man Island, it will definitely be… " Tiger grimaced. Not to mention Alucard, the consequences of a war with these monsters on Fish- Man Island were unimaginable.
Just as Wolf raised his hand to attack, Alucard's voice came from below. "Stop, Wolf."
"Captain, why?! These bastards are interrupting my precious mealtime!" Wolf protested loudly, his voice like muffled thunder.
"Stop."
Alucard's voice was calm but carried an immense power of intimidation. Wolf's expression froze, and he instinctively lowered his raised fist.
"And you, too."
Alucard looked at the dozen-plus Sea Kings confronting Wolf. His expression remained placid, but in the eyes of the Sea Kings, they felt as if they were facing a primal beast. After one last glance at the wailing Princess Shirahoshi, they shrank their bodies and retreated back into the sea.
"Not only did he stop that violent Wolf, but he also made all those Sea Kings withdraw."
Elder Nyon tapped her snake staff on the ground twice, looking at Alucard with lingering fear. "The title of 'Three Monsters' is not an empty one…"
"Ah, as expected of my master. He's so different from other stinky men," Hancock said, her hands cradling her face in a daze. She fell into a state of fantasy, twisting her perfect body in a mesmerizing way.
Tiger let out a sigh of relief. He muttered, "Well, at least we've avoided the worst-case scenario."
At that point, comforted by her older brothers, Shirahoshi gradually stopped crying. After a few sobs, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until she finally fell into a deep sleep.
"What was that, exactly…?" Jinbe broke out in a cold sweat. He first looked at Alucard, then shifted his attention to Shirahoshi, who was being carried into a royal carriage.
Alucard, who had just prevented the conflict between Wolf and the Sea Kings, glanced at the carriage where Shirahoshi was. The corner of his mouth curved up. I've found something very interesting…
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