One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

...

"Water Seven is truly a beautiful water city, worthy of being the legendary place where the ancient weapon Hades' warship was built eight hundred years ago."

Luo Xia looked up at this world-renowned water city and couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.

The three of them had already exited the station at the bottom and arrived at the trapezoidal staircase leading to the upper city.

As far as the eye can see, there are towering, steep city walls on both sides.

On the towering city walls are giant water inlets marked with serial numbers.

For example, the numbers 2 and 3 are now above the water inlets on their left and right sides, indicating that this is the entrance to docks 2 and 3.

At these water inlets, the surging seawater flows upstream, along the various branch canals of the city, forming a waterway system that connects the entire city.

All the tributary seawater eventually converges at the top of this enormous circular city, forming a powerful fountain that shoots high into the air, transforming into an umbrella-like dome of waves that then cascades back down into the riverbed below.

And so on and on.

It can be said that the entire city of seven waters looks like a giant fountain.

It's just magnified countless times, making it appear incredibly spectacular, majestic, magnificent, and romantic.

The scenery here is in no way inferior to that of the Sabaody Archipelago.

Not only him, but even Luo, who was always aloof, showed admiration at this moment.

The lark happily ran ahead, darting back and forth on the winding, upward-reaching steps like a joyful sprite.

"Moo! Moo!"

Suddenly, a muffled mooing sound of a cow reached their ears from the seawater on their left, startling Luo Xia and the other two.

"Do they raise cattle in the waters of the Water City?"

The lark ran over curiously and leaned on the left-hand railing of the stairs to look outside.

Then the three of them saw three strange creatures that looked a bit like enlarged seahorses, with long necks and carrying wooden boats with seats on their backs. They were raising their long necks and making "moo, moo" sounds.

A bald old man was looking this way with a big smile on his face.

"Are you tourists visiting Water 7? Would you like to ride Blue?"

"Blue?" Lark leaned on the railing, looking at the three strange, silly-looking creatures, and asked curiously, "Grandpa, what is Blue?"

"Haha, it seems this is the first time these guests have visited our Water City."

The old man chuckled and reached out to pat the thick, smooth neck of the strange fish beside him.

"These are Blu, a type of fish that lives in the sea and makes a mooing sound like a cow, hence the name 'cowfish.' How about it? Want to ride a Blu? It's very cheap, a single Blu costs 700 Berries a day, and a double Blu costs 1000 Berries."

Taking a ride on the Bru will take you through the city without getting tired, and you can even go to unfamiliar corners of the city.

And you don't have to worry about getting lost, because Blue has a very good memory.

Also, guests, you don't need to worry about it hurting anyone; the blue dog is a very docile animal.

The old man tirelessly recommended his business to Luo Xia and his group, his face always bearing a friendly smile.

"1000 Berries a day? That's really cheap, Rorschach. The bubble bikes in Sabaody cost 500 Berries a day to rent."

After listening to the old man's explanation, Yun Que's eyes almost sparkled with excitement.

She looked at Luo Xia with a pitiful expression, "Brother Luo Xia, I've never sat here before, and you probably haven't either, right? Shall we... try sitting here?"

Luo Xia's forehead creased with annoyance. "Sit down if you want, aren't you in charge of our money? And next time, make sure you say the whole thing, you idiot! It's easy for people to misunderstand!"

"I wouldn't dare spend money recklessly without your permission."

Yun Que smiled, revealing two small dimples.

She took out a neat stack of Baileys from her pocket, pulled out a thousand-dollar bill, a five-hundred-dollar bill, and two hundred-dollar bills, and handed them to the old man.

"Hey grandpa, we need to rent two Blue boats. One single-seater and one two-seater."

The old man's eyes lit up as he stared at the large stack of Berries in Hibari's hand. He forced a bright, chrysanthemum-like smile onto his face, rubbed his hands together, and chuckled, "Guest, a generous gift of 17,000 Berries."

"Why did the price suddenly increase tenfold?! And your eyes look like Pele's, you damn profiteer old man!"

Chapter 207 Emily

Luo couldn't help but complain.

The bald old man awkwardly scratched his few remaining hairs. "Sorry, I got greedy because I saw the huge stack of peso in the customer's hand."

"You're honest enough..." Luo's lips twitched, speechless.

"Alright! Thank you for renting two Blues. The fee is 1700 Berries. If you wish to disembark anywhere in Water 7, simply pat Blues on the neck three times. If you wish to dock temporarily, pat them twice. Have a pleasant journey."

The old man took the money, watched as Luo Xia and the other two jumped onto the wooden boat on Blue's back, and waved with a smile.

There were two Blues. Rorschach and Lark rode in one, while Rorschach rode in the single-seat one.

"This Blue is really steady, it doesn't wobble at all, I really don't know how it swims."

Lark sat in front of Rorschach, curiously leaning down to look into the water.

Beneath the surface of the water, you can see that Blue has four legs.

At the end of each leg are fan-shaped fins.

It is these four fins that propel its three- to four-meter-long body forward by paddling through the seawater.

The first half of the waterway was rather boring, as it passed through mostly dimly lit, empty passages.

The three of them followed the No. 2 inlet, passed through a gentle upward waterway, and finally the view opened up before them.

"We're out! Look, we've reached the top of the city wall we saw earlier. The upper city should be just ahead, right?"

The lark turned around, looking at the vast blue sea behind her, and then at the towering and magnificent giant fountain of the Water City. The boredom on her face disappeared, and she became excited again.

She turned to Luo Xia, her eyes filled with anticipation, and said, "Brother Luo Xia, do you think we'll be able to eat Shui Shui meat? I really miss the taste of Shui Shui roasted meat. This is the place of origin for Shui Shui meat, so it must taste even better here."

"Watery barbecue?"

Upon hearing this word, a hint of sadness suddenly surfaced deep in Luo Xia's eyes.

He then thought of Old Tommy from Chambord.

The kind uncle who, despite being afraid, still had the courage to stand up and beg Pittman to let them leave.

Lark didn't know that old Tommy was dead; Rorschach hadn't told her.

"Brother Luo Xia? What's wrong?"

The lark was very perceptive and noticed Luo Xia's slight sadness. She looked up at him with concern.

"fine."

Luo Xia reached out and ruffled her hair.

Luo, who was not far away, glanced over here, pulled up the brim of her hat, and said nothing.

Suddenly, Luo Xia's expression froze, and he looked up at the bank of the waterway on his right.

There, he saw a handcart that looked somewhat familiar.

A woman wearing an apron around her waist was busy grilling fragrant, juicy meat with a little girl who was about knee-high, working up a sweat.

"Brother Luo Xia! Look, there's Shui Shui Barbecue over there! It smells so good~, shall we go and buy some to eat? I don't think Luo has tried it before."

Soon, Yun Que also spotted the barbecue stall not far to the right.

Luo Xia nodded, looking at the familiar handcart with a very complicated expression.

Luo's expression froze for a moment, clearly indicating that he had also realized something.

On the shore, a woman who was setting up a barbecue stall clearly noticed the approaching Blue, who was riding with the three of them, and a friendly smile immediately appeared on her face.

She reached out and patted the little girl beside her, then pointed towards Luo Xia and the others.

Then, Luo Xia and the others saw the rather cute little girl with a baby face and black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose at such a young age, running quickly over with her short legs, standing on the edge of the waterway, and saying in her childish voice:

"Honorable guests, would you like to purchase Shui Shui BBQ? We can offer you one skewer to try for free. The first skewer is free, and from the second skewer onwards, each Shui Shui BBQ skewer is only 100 Berries."

The little girl didn't seem afraid because Rorschach and the others were wearing navy uniforms.

Hearing the little girl's voice, which was sweet and childlike but clear and articulate, Yun Que's face showed surprise.

"What an adorable little girl, and she's so smart, Brother Rorschach."

She stood up, lightly touched the edge of the wooden boat with her feet, and her petite body gracefully leaped across three or four meters of water, landing in front of the little girl. She squatted down, smiling as she looked at the little girl wearing glasses.

"Little sister, can you tell me your name?"

The little girl watched the lark's graceful movements, her eyes widening slightly, making her even more adorable.

She wasn't shy at all; like a little adult, she reached out and pushed up her black-rimmed glasses, saying:

“My name is Emily, and I am five years old. This is my mother, Margaret. How about it, esteemed guest? Would you like to try our Water City’s specialty, the delicious Water BBQ? My mother’s BBQ skills are unparalleled, even in the entire Water City.”

"Emily? That's a lovely name. Yes, we came here because of the aroma of the 'Watery Meat'. Hmm~, this smells exactly like the Watery Grilled Meat I had in Chambord. Does all Watery Grilled Meat taste like this?"

Yun Que reached out and touched Emily's bun, then couldn't resist picking up the clever and adorable little girl and walking to the barbecue stall, smiling as she looked at the woman who was busy at work.

At this moment, Luo Xia and Luo also came ashore and arrived in front of the woman's stall.

Upon seeing Luo Xia's tall, slender figure, which towered over the top of the handcart, the woman was somewhat surprised, but her face showed little panic.

Instead, he smiled and nodded amicably to Luo Xia and the other two, gesturing with his hands in front of him as he placed strings of glistening, translucent, specialty watery meat onto the barbecue grill.

Luo Xia was stunned when he saw the woman point to her ears and mouth and then make an apologetic gesture.

This is a deaf-mute person.

The woman was of average appearance; she was just an ordinary commoner.

His skin was slightly dark and rough, and his hands were covered with calluses, clearly indicating years of hard work.

But she always had a friendly smile on her face.

His gaze, which occasionally fell upon his daughter, was filled with tenderness.

"My mother said, 'Honored guests, please wait a moment while she grills three skewers of succulent meat for you to try. The succulent meat is fresh and tender, and it will be ready in no time.'"

Emily said in a childish voice.