CHAPTER 92

"Strange background?"

Artoria tilted her head slightly, puzzled. She hadn't yet grasped the true extent of Princess Shirahoshi's identity. The last time Artoria stood in Gyoncorde Plaza, she had thought everything happening was merely a coincidence—certainly not something intricately tied to the princess herself.

"It's nothing, you'll understand soon enough."

Rin's voice was evasive. He didn't want Artoria to uncover the deeper truth about Shirahoshi too early. If she accidentally let it slip in front of the princess, it could trigger unnecessary emotional turmoil.

"I need to find a way to make Shirahoshi's body the size of an ordinary person."

Artoria had long since begun treating Princess Shirahoshi like her younger sister. She couldn't bear the thought of the girl being trapped in solitude simply because of her size. Artoria dreamed of Shirahoshi walking freely through the world, unburdened and ordinary at least in that one regard.

"Before we leave, I have one last thing to do for her something for your sake too."

Rin noticed how much Artoria cared for the princess. As her partner, and now self-styled "brother-in-law" to Shirahoshi, he felt he should act as well. With that, he turned and departed Ryugu Palace in search of a particular target.

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Fish-Man Island – Streets

The thoroughfares of Fish-Man Island remained lively despite recent chaos. After the Sea Kings' rampage, parts of Coral Hill and other districts had suffered significant structural damage. Yet, reconstruction was already underway workers repaired shattered coral buildings, and engineers renovated roads with care. Even so, the atmosphere remained tense, and foot traffic was lighter than usual.

"Excuse me, miss have you seen this man?"

Rin approached a middle-aged female fish-woman, flashing a weathered wanted poster bearing the face of a notorious pirate.

"Sorry, haven't seen him," she answered quickly before disappearing into the crowd.

"Hmph… unreliable."

Rin muttered, brushing it off and moving to the next bystander.

After several unsuccessful attempts, he finally presented the poster to another passerby.

"Have you seen this man?"

"No... I haven't seen him," the fish-man replied, but Rin noticed something a flash in his eyes, a twitch of the pupils when he saw the face on the poster. The reaction was too fast, too instinctive.

"Thanks anyway."

Rin offered a smile, but his instincts were on high alert.

As the fish-man turned and walked away briskly, Rin followed at a discreet distance. He studied the man's muscular frame clearly a fish-man, likely a merman species. His bearing reminded Rin of the infamous Arlong crew, but this one was unfamiliar. Still, something was definitely off.

"He's hiding something."

Sure enough, the man took several turns through narrow alleyways, eventually arriving at a secluded corner of Coral Hill. There, tucked discreetly between coral formations, stood a dimly lit building bearing a rusted sign: "Champagne Bar."

"Heh. Let's see what's hiding in there."

Rin leapt gracefully to the rooftop and peered in through a clouded skylight. Inside, the atmosphere was starkly different dry air instead of water, thick with smoke and low chatter. It wasn't made for fish-men it catered to humans. A known haven for shady dealings and pirate sympathizers.

"Captain, I just ran into a suspicious guy."

The fish-man entered and addressed another figure seated at the bar.

Rin focused his gaze. The man behind the counter was unmistakable Van der Decken IX, the infamous captain of the Flying Dutchman Pirates. The same man on the wanted poster in Rin's pocket.

The bar was poorly lit, but Rin saw everything. Van der Decken's sharp, eerie features, the long face and tentacle-like beard he matched the bounty exactly.

"What's wrong? You look shaken," Van der Decken IX asked, sipping from a rusted goblet, his tone flippant.

"There was a man out there he had your wanted poster. He was asking people if they'd seen you."

The subordinate's voice was uneasy. He had seen the poster's image clear as day and recognized the threat it implied.

"Hmm? Someone looking for me?"

Van der Decken raised an eyebrow. "But aside from you, no one should know I'm still on Fish-Man Island."

It was true. Though officially outlawed, Van der Decken IX had kept a low profile, hiding among sympathetic pirates and fish-men in isolated districts. His face had become a ghost in Fish-Man lore.

"I'm not sure who he is… but I think I saw him at Gyoncorde Plaza a few days ago," the subordinate added, still unsure if Rin had been real or one of his mysterious shadow clones.

"Someone tied to Ryugu Palace, then. How interesting."

Van der Decken's mouth curled into a grin. He remembered the plaza incident well Otohime's speech, the Sea Kings' sudden appearance, and Shirahoshi's brief emergence from her tower. The girl he had been obsessed with for ten years. Everything was beginning to repeat itself.

"So… he was watching."

Rin narrowed his eyes, his position above the skylight undetected. He knew this scene far too well. In the One Piece manga, Van der Decken IX was notorious for his twisted obsession with Shirahoshi. Ten years ago, when she was just six years old, he discovered that she was Poseidon the mermaid princess prophesied to control the Sea Kings. Driven by greed and delusion, he proposed marriage, believing her power could be his through union.

After touching Shirahoshi once, he vowed never to wash his right hand again. What began as infatuation quickly devolved into madness he sent love letters weekly, which escalated into parcels, and eventually transformed into threatening marriage proposals. His obsessive pursuit terrified Shirahoshi and infuriated King Neptune, who dispatched his three sons to hunt him down.

Even as a wanted man, Van der Decken persisted launching weapons at the hard-shell tower where Shirahoshi lived, and later forming an alliance with the New Fish-Man Pirates led by Hody Jones. His goal: destroy the Ryugu Kingdom, force Shirahoshi to be his bride, and take her power. Even after being defeated by Luffy, Van der Decken never gave up.

Now, here he was again plotting from the shadows of Fish-Man Island.

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