One Piece:The Lust System

Chapter 144: [143] Van Der Decken



[2300 Words]

Otohime was very confused; she felt as if she had been asleep, asleep for a very long time... The last thing she remembered was the bullet that killed her and the signature box that was in her hand during the last moments of her life. Then she remembered her young children... and Shirahoshi, her daughter...

"So I'm really dead," the spirit that floated before Ren, Nami, and Robin spoke in a confused and sad voice.

"But what's happening here... am I in..."

Otohime was still uncertain about her situation, but she looked around and managed to recognize the place. 'Isn't this Fishman Island?' she thought to herself.

"Lady Otohime, let me explain what's happening here."

Ren deliberately cleared his throat to draw the confused spirit's attention and then began to speak.

It took him five minutes to clear Otohime's confusion, even if only a little.

He asked her to enter a ring that appeared in his hand magically, doing so because spirits summoned with this skill would fade after five minutes and return to the underworld. This was the law of the world; the souls of the dead could not roam the land of the living.

But everything had its anomalies, like the Devil Fruit that Brook ate, which granted him protection and allowed his spirit to wander eternally in the world of the living. He also gained immortality because he found his body remaining only bones without organs and cells that would lead to his death.

Perhaps Brook was the only immortal in this world, or maybe there were others, but they were few and far between.

Returning to Otohime, Ren first introduced himself to make communication easier, then told her what year it was and what had happened in these times. He concluded by telling her that he was the protector of Fishman Island and the person who revived her or summoned her spirit or whatever it was.

He also informed her about the current situation of her daughter Shirahoshi, which made even Nami and Robin look at him in surprise, thinking: 'Poseidon? So this is the captain's primary goal of this journey...'

This was the first time Ren revealed the existence of Shirahoshi to the crew members, although they were only Robin and Nami, but he asked the girls to tell the others and keep the matter a secret.

Of course, the girls knew that such dangerous information about the ancient weapon Poseidon must not leak; otherwise, it would only bring disaster to them!

On Otohime's side, the woman was naturally shocked by all this, especially when she heard that he had brought her back to life with his power. She wondered what kind of Devil Fruit he possessed that had this miraculous effect, but her attention soon shifted to something else.

"Is Shirahoshi in danger?!" Otohime, in her spirit form in the ring, cried out with worry filling her voice.

"Calm down." Ren spoke softly and began to let his observation haki penetrate the ring to see Otohime's spirit, which bore a reluctant and angry expression.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I'm sorry for this... but she is my daughter; I can't remain still while she is in danger... even if I am already dead."

Upon hearing her sorrowful voice, Ren softened his cold expression and replied with a small smile, "There's no need to worry; let me handle the matter of Shirahoshi, but..."

Otohime was overjoyed when she heard that Ren would help Shirahoshi with her crisis, but she paused upon hearing the last part of his words and asked in her usual gentle voice, "But what?"

"You cannot appear before your family right now."

Otohime felt shocked after hearing his response, but she quickly used her mind and thought that what he said was very logical. What would happen if it leaked that the spirit of the dead queen suddenly appeared? The worst would be if this was linked to Ren...

Otohime felt a deep sense of guilt; she knew that Ren had no reason to revive her, but he did. She could never see through this person, not to mention his ridiculous ability that could only be described as miraculous in reviving souls and reuniting loved ones; there was also his knowledge that Shirahoshi was the ancient weapon Poseidon. To her knowledge, only a few people who witnessed what happened years ago when many giant sea kings appeared and linked it to Shirahoshi's scream at that time knew this, right? 'So how did Ren-san know this?' Otohime shook her head even though she didn't have one and stopped thinking about things for which she would not find an answer and no benefit in finding one. She didn't make Ren wait long and then responded after she calmed down, "I agree, Ren-san; I won't appear before them right now... Thank you so much for everything you've done for me."

Of course, what she referred to with everything he had done for her was reviving her and his promise to help Shirahoshi.

He was also a powerful pirate and the protector of Fishman Island, so how could she not be grateful to him?

"No need to thank me, Lady Otohime," he replied with a slight smile on his face, then looked at Nami and Robin, who had been standing in their place since the beginning, listening to their conversation.

"Robin, can I entrust you with the ring that holds Lady Otohime's spirit?"

Upon hearing her lover's request, She did not hesitate and replied, "No problem, Captain~"

Robin began wearing two rings containing the souls of two women-one for her mother and the other for Otohime. It seemed that the two older women were already harmonizing with

each other.

'It's not like I have a way to prevent Neptune and his sons from talking about resurrecting Otohime if I decide to reveal her to them... but I just don't want to bother myself with that

right now.'

Ren was not worried that this would affect his future relationship with Shirahoshi; he could save her by eliminating those who threatened her. After that, he would have to put in some effort to convince Neptune.

As for how he would do that? It depended on future developments.

He also wasn't concerned that Shirahoshi would refuse; he knew how much she loved adventure and her desire to see the real sun.

Ren, Robin, and Nami returned to Ryugu Palace after leaving the Sea Forest, and then they parted ways.

Ren asked Nami to carry out a specific mission, prompting her to nod and vanish like a quick lightning bolt.

Before parting ways with Robin, he advised Otohime not to reveal herself and assured her that this wouldn't last forever, promising that he would let her see her daughter and family again.

As for Ren, he currently stood before a massive door guarded by two fish-men. Strangely, the guards seemed to be under some force that made them ignore his presence.

"Van Der Decken is truly insane." Ren laughed as he observed the cracks, wounds, and scratches on the large door and wall, which looked as if someone had done that using

enormous weapons and axes.

*Creek~!*

Without hesitation, Ren opened the large door to see the scene inside.

"I-is it time for lunch already? I'm not hungry---"A woman's soft voice spread through the

room but quickly stopped when Ren entered.

"Um... W-who are you, S-sir..." The giant mermaid Shirahoshi looked at the small human

standing in front of her, asking in confusion.

Ren gazed at Shirahoshi; her most noticeable feature was her incredible beauty.

Her beauty could be compared to Hancock's.

But who would have thought that such a beautiful girl possessed a terrifying ability capable

of destroying islands?

"I'm Ren, and what's your name?" He smiled kindly at her, deciding to start by getting to

know her.

When Shirahoshi saw that the sudden visitor was kind to her-if not for the fact that he hadn't

shouted at her-her tension eased a little, and she replied stammering, "I-I'm Shirahoshi, R-

ren-sama!"

"No need to be tense--"

Before Ren could finish his sentence, he frowned, causing Shirahoshi to start crying at the

sight of his expression.

Ren ignored her for now and seemed to be waiting for something.

*Whooooosh!*

The sound of rushing wind filled the air, indicating that something was approaching.

Then, after a few seconds, a gigantic double-headed battle axe burst through the room's door, targeting Shirahoshi!

Shirahoshi, who had been crying moments before, stopped and stared at the axe in fear and

horror.

She was about to scream, but her eyes widened in shock when she saw Ren, whom she had met just a few minutes earlier, flying in front of the axe and catching it with one hand.

*Crack~!*

The massive axe collapsed and shattered after Ren used a bit of the Shock Fruit's power.

"Are you alright, Shirahoshi?" He looked at the girl, who had tears welling up in her eyes

again, and asked.

"I-I'm scared! *crying* *sobbing*..." Her pet shark gazed at her sadly, while Ren could only sigh; he knew Shirahoshi's personality from the original work, so he wasn't surprised by her

frequent crying.

"Did you like the gift I sent you, Shirahoshi? Bahohohoho!" Laughed a tall man with beige skin and a skinny, sinister frame.

What set him apart were his four legs, marking him as a fish-man. He had a short, tousled beard, a long, wavy mustache with pointed edges, and long, wavy, pointed black hair.

He showed his sharp teeth as he laughed, with larger webs between his fingers than most fish-men, an extremely thin, pointed nose, and a prominent hump that placed his head at shoulder level.

He wore three golden bands on each of his ankles and a pair of sandals, along with a green suit reaching below his knees, featuring frilled edges and ornate buttons on both belts, over a light green shirt with frilled edges. He also wore a yellow cloak, which also had frilled edges, wrapped around his shoulders, with two large bead necklaces hanging from his chest. "Tsk... Shirahoshi! If you're not mine, you'll belong to no one else! Bahohohoho!" His voice

was laced with hatred.

Ten years ago, on the day the Celestial Dragon incident occurred on Fish-Man Island, he discovered Princess Shirahoshi's ability to summon the Sea Kings and wanted to marry her! But she rejected him, saying, "You're not my type," which drove him mad.

Since that day, he has been sending her various weapons and even people to kill her, all thanks to his Devil Fruit power.

"Bahohohoho! I almost thought I would fulfill the wishes of my ancestors... but these annoying obstacles appeared in my path!" Vander Decken was mad. For hundreds of years, his ancestors had a desire to marry the legendary mermaid princess, and now she has appeared in

his era, yet he can do nothing!

Vander Decken lost his mind long ago; his obsession with Shirahoshi makes him foolish and reckless, acting without thinking.

He never imagined that what he had done before would open the gates of hell upon him...

"Sh-Shirahoshi! What are you doing out here?!" King Neptune looked shocked at his daughter, who was not in her room, and then at Ren, who was beside her. "Don't worry, King Neptune. I met Shirahoshi just a few minutes ago. I didn't expect you to

have a daughter in such a difficult situation... Anyone who dares to attempt to kill the princess of the island under my protection I cannot forgive."

His face was calm, but the words that came out of his mouth made him seem righteous, which affected King Neptune and his sons, along with the left and right ministers... Earlier, Shirahoshi spoke to Ren and told him about her plight. The girl began to cry, prompting Ren to comfort her again and then bring her to the throne room. "F-Father-sama... Ren-sama says he will help me, so..."

She couldn't finish her sentence as she choked up and started crying again, believing that

Neptune was angry with her for shouting.

"Alright, alright, calm down, my daughter. I'm not angry, you see? I'm really not angry."

Neptune knew that his daughter still acted like a child when it came to her mood, or worse.

This was because she had spent ten years in her room, fearing that the mad Vander Decken would kill her. So he tried to soothe her.

But soon he thought about what Shirahoshi and Ren had said earlier, which made him look at the latter with repressed excitement and say, "Mr. Ren, will you really help my daughter Shirahoshi? Jamon~."

King Neptune was incredibly excited at that moment, thinking that with Ren's power, it was

not impossible for him to find Vander Decken and defeat him!

"Of course, I'm serious... you don't need to worry; Shirahoshi will be free." He looked at the mermaid, who had stopped crying and was currently looking at him shyly, a blush on her beautiful face. He smiled at her, ignoring the strange looks from Neptune, the ministers, and

his sons.

"Take good care of Shirahoshi; I will be back soon!" Immediately after he said that, he disappeared from the hall.

"Will this curse finally disappear... Jamon~" Neptune muttered, feeling years older due to all

these events. Then he looked at Shirahoshi and asked with a puzzled expression.

"How did Mr. Ren know about you in the first place? Jamon~"

Upon hearing King Neptune's question, everyone in the hall was at a loss for an answer.

'How are we supposed to know...?'

To be continued....

500PS= Bonus chapter.