Luffy, how can you become the Pirate King if you don't work hard!

A voice came from below, followed by a shout.

Luffy paused slightly, and the speed at which the energy ball spun in his palm slowed down.

He looked down and saw a huge figure swimming rapidly from the direction of Fishman Island.

It's White Star.

The mermaid princess swung her huge fish tail and nimbly darted through the seawater, quickly arriving near Luffy.

Bai Xing gasped for breath, "That's enough."

Is that enough?

Luffy paused for a moment, then slowly dispersed the energy ball in his hand.

The domineering black and red aura gradually subsided, the Hades form was dispelled, and he returned to his normal Gear 5 form.

Then, he looked up at Noah's head.

Suddenly, several enormous shadows appeared around Noah. These shadows emerged from all directions of the deep sea, gradually revealing their true forms.

"Is it a Sea King?" Luffy was taken aback.

And these aren't ordinary sea kings; they're super-giant sea kings, comparable in size to islands!

They come in all sorts of forms:

Some resemble giant dragons with horns, some resemble giant crabs covered in shells, and some resemble octopuses with countless tentacles... Each one is over several thousand meters long, and the undercurrents they create when they swim are enough to stir up an underwater storm.

These sea monsters swam around Noah, opened their huge mouths, and bit the massive iron chains fixed to Noah's ship.

Noah's descent slowed significantly, then stopped completely, and finally began to rise slowly under the pull of these sea kings.

A colossal sea monster resembling a sea turtle spoke up, "That was dangerous! Noah was almost destroyed by this human."

Another sea king, resembling an eel, swayed its long body: "That kind of fluctuation is undoubtedly terrifying. If it were to hit Noah, I wonder what would happen."

"This is all thanks to our master, Princess Shirahoshi."

A group of sea kings were talking amongst themselves, completely ignoring Luffy.

However, their voices did indeed carry a sense of relief.

The terrifying aura Luffy had just emitted had indeed instilled an instinctive fear in them.

As deep-sea predators that have lived for hundreds or even thousands of years, their perception of danger far surpasses that of ordinary creatures.

If they had arrived a moment later, Noah might have truly been destroyed.

But what excited them even more was Shirahoshi. The mermaid princess had just summoned them, which meant that her power was awakening and she was gradually taking over the authority of the Sea King.

These sea kings have been waiting for this day for a long time.

However, they soon noticed the powerful human floating beneath Noah.

Why is it looking at us like that?

"I have a feeling that it's listening to our conversation?"

"How could that be? But many years ago, there really was a human who gave me this feeling. Do you remember? The human who was later known as the Pirate King."

The Sea Kings started talking, making no attempt to hide Luffy's presence.

In their view, how could humans possibly understand their language?

This is like how humans don't care about communication between ants.

Unless it's that exception.

But Luffy is the exception.

"You mean Gol D. Roger?" Luffy suddenly asked.

"Yes, that's the man wearing the straw hat."

A sea king's instinctive response.

Then all the sea kings fell silent at the same time.

The several colossal sea monsters looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Why can this human understand their language?!

"Can you understand us?"

A sea king asked tentatively.

"certainly,"

Luffy said, "What's so strange about that?"

His animal communication skills are practically maxed out.

The sea kings fell silent again, then began to communicate at an even faster pace, their voices filled with excitement:

"It can understand, it really can understand!"

"This human seems different from Roger; he understands our language directly!"

"Could it be...?"

"You're this generation's Joy Boy?!"

Joy Boy?

Luffy tilted his head.

He had heard the name a few times, but he never quite understood its specific meaning.

"Although I don't quite know what this name means, quite a few people do call me by this name," Luffy said.

When he was time-traveling with Tenzuki Toki, in Mary Geoise and Valley of the Gods, the Five Elders all called him Joy Boy.

The sea kings were utterly excited.

"We've been waiting for you! Joy Boy!"

"Eight hundred years! We've waited for you for eight hundred years!"

"The prophecy is true! Joy Boy will reappear and lead the fish-men back to the land!"

Poseidon, the current Sea King and master of the Sea Kings, has awakened. Unexpectedly, Joy Boy has arrived. It seems everything is fate's arrangement.

"Joyboy, we have a request. May our master, Princess Shirahoshi, accompany you on your voyage?" These sea kings made this request after discussing it.

Because they felt that the Joy Boy in front of them was slightly different from the Joy Boy they were supposed to be waiting for in legend.

However, now that Joy Boy has appeared, it is safest to have Shirahoshi, who has just awakened her powers, by his side. Otherwise, the World Government would not ignore the existence of the Fish-Men, and because of today's events, the World Government might even take action against Shirahoshi.

Luffy was stunned.

"Let me take care of that crybaby?"

Luffy's lips twitched slightly. "Our ship can't fit such a big guy."

Upon hearing this, Shirahoshi, who had just flown here, nearly turned to stone.

Big, huge?

Lord Luffy actually called her a big guy!

Bai Xing looked down at her own body, which was over ten meters tall, and then imagined the size of an ordinary human ship. A strange sense of grievance welled up in her heart.

Is she trying to lose weight?

But a mermaid's body shape is something she's born with, and there's no way to change that.

Hearing this, Shirahoshi almost dropped her little pearl.

“Joey Boy, we see a ship spirit on your ship. She should have a way.”

"Yes! That ship spirit is very special."

"Can you grant us this request, Joy Boy?"

The sea kings spoke in a pleading tone.

Shirahoshi didn't know why the Sea Kings would make this request, but as she looked at Luffy, her eyes began to sparkle.

During these two years of spending time with Lady Bonney, Shirahoshi learned a lot about the outside world and also longed for it!

Ten years of imprisonment in the hard-shell tower instilled in her an extraordinary longing for freedom.

That would be wonderful if I could sail with Luffy!

“Merry? We could ask her,”

Luffy stroked his chin. "But we should at least ask for his opinion on this matter."

Bai Xing nodded vigorously, her huge fish tail swaying merrily in the seawater, creating ripples.

Her eyes were full of anticipation.

Well, I don't seem to have much of an opinion.

"At least we should ask what Shirahoshi's father thinks," Luffy said.

She is, after all, a princess of a country; she cannot be abducted at will.

If it were any other crew member, Luffy might indeed have just taken her with him, regardless of whether she was a princess or not.

Just like he did to Vivi back then.

But Luffy didn't have a strong urge to bring this crybaby mermaid princess onto his ship.

Or perhaps we should also consider Nami and the others' feelings.

Yes, Luffy has indeed matured a lot.

“King Neptune will agree.”

“That’s right, this is Fishman Island’s chance to return to the mainland.”

"King Neptune dedicated his life to fulfilling Queen Otohime's dying wish: to allow fish-men and mermaids to live equally on land. Now, with Joy Boy's appearance and the awakening of the Sea King, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Seahorse added, "Furthermore, Princess Shirahoshi's power has awakened. If she continues to stay on Fish-Man Island, the World Government will soon notice the anomaly. At that time, Fish-Man Island will face annihilation. Letting her follow Joy Boy is actually the best protection for Fish-Man Island."

"Wait, who is Shirahoshi?"