Ryugu Palace, Grand Banquet Hall
It was a feast of absolute luxury.
To entertain two Marine Admirals, King Neptune had mobilized the entire strength of Fish-Man Island to prepare the highest-level reception possible.
Inside the palace hall, coral formed the pillars, and pearls served as lamps.
Gentle music flowed through the chamber like a current in the deep sea, while dozens of the island's most beautiful mermaids, carefully selected from all over, danced gracefully, their radiant tails swaying in shimmering arcs.
It was a dreamlike sight that could never exist in the human world.
And at the seat of honor, on a floating couch, CC No.1, brought from Nap-One and now calmly hovering in midair, Renzo was enjoying the perfect moment of his vacation.
Half-closing his eyes, he lounged lazily on his side.
Beside him, Monet carefully lifted a crystal-clear Deep-Sea Pearl Jelly and gently brought it to his lips.
"Mmm…"
Renzo let out a satisfied hum.
Sweet but not cloying, melting instantly in the mouth, carrying a faint freshness like seawater.
"Sanji," he said lazily without even opening his eyes.
"Y-Yes!"
Not far away, Sanji, who had been examining a bottle of Three-Hundred-Year Sea King Wine presented by the royal chefs with an extremely critical gaze, snapped to attention and bowed ninety degrees.
"This dessert," Renzo said, "is 0.3 percent more refreshing in texture than the strawberry daifuku you made yesterday... Worth learning."
Sanji's eyes immediately sharpened.
"These fish-man chefs truly have unique techniques when handling the freshness of seafood!"
On Renzo's other side, Rehn stood with his round belly protruding, faithfully performing his role as Chief Food Taster.
Using a pure gold spoon, he solemnly scooped up a portion of Sea-King Spinal Pudding. He closed his eyes and savored it for a full ten seconds before opening them excitedly and reporting:
"Lord Renzo! Safe! Delicious! Rich texture, smooth as silk down the throat! This, this masterpiece is worthy of your sacred palate!"
Renzo waved his hand, signaling Monet to bring him that pudding as well.
Kizaru, meanwhile, monopolized a table by himself, sipping bubble cocoa milk while watching the mermaid dance, his eyes glimmering behind his glasses with a clear this vacation is nice satisfaction.
Everything was peaceful, comfortable, perfect.
Renzo felt he might fall asleep amidst the heavenly singing and exquisite cuisine.
But then-
BOOOOM!!!!
An extremely abrupt, painfully harsh metallic collision suddenly erupted from outside the palace dome!
The entire Ryugu Palace shook violently under the tremendous impact.
Clink.
The white porcelain coffee cup Renzo had just lifted tilted from the tremor.
A single drop of warm coffee splashed onto his pristine white silk sleeping robe.
"..."
Time seemed to freeze.
The music in the banquet hall stopped instantly.
The dancing mermaids screamed in terror and scattered to hide.
King Neptune and the three princes' expressions changed drastically as they grabbed their tridents.
"W-What happened?!"
"Enemy attack?!"
"OUTRAGEOUS!!!"
A roar louder than the explosion burst through the hall.
Not from Neptune. Not from the guards.
From Rehn.
The round, fat man leapt onto the banquet table with shocking agility, his face flushed dark red, tiny eyes wide, his entire body trembling with fury.
Pointing toward the ceiling, he shrieked hysterically:
"WHO WAS IT?!"
"Which death-seeking bastard?! Which insect tired of living?!"
"How dare you! How dare you!!"
His voice cracked as he pointed at the tiny coffee stain on Renzo's robe, wailing as if a parent had died:
"You dared disturb my Lord Renzo's sacred, once-in-ten-thousand-years, world-peace-and-cosmic-stability-critical… AFTERNOON TEA TIME!!!!"
"This is blasphemy! The ultimate desecration of 'efficiency' and 'tranquility'!!"
"Guards! Guards!!"
He pointed at the stunned fish-man guards.
"Go drag the noise-making bastard here immediately! I will personally electrocute him into charcoal!"
"..."
Kizaru put down his teacup and looked at the fat man who had entered full fanatic mode, shaking his head helplessly.
"My my… more excited than the person involved~."
The person involved, Renzo, was lowering his head.
He wasn't looking at Rehn.
He wasn't looking at the ceiling.
He was staring expressionlessly at the tiny stain on his robe.
A cold, chilling anger slowly spread from his body.
"Admiral Haiiroyo! Admiral Kizaru!"
At that moment, a guard stumbled in, panicked.
"Deep apologies! Not an enemy attack! Not an attack!"
"Then what is it?!" Neptune demanded, shocked and furious.
An incident happening on his territory in front of two Admirals was utter humiliation.
"It… it's the Hard-Shell Tower!"
The guard trembled.
"Another gigantic axe just struck the Hard-Shell Tower where Princess Shirahoshi resides!"
"Again?!!"
Neptune slammed his fist onto the ground, teeth clenched.
"An axe?"
Kizaru looked interested. "Maa~ nowadays, someone still attacks a royal palace with such a retro weapon?"
"My lords… I sincerely apologize!"
Neptune turned and bowed deeply to Renzo and Kizaru, his face filled with shame and helplessness.
"This… is a disgraceful matter of our kingdom…"
"A disgrace?" Rehn jumped down from the table, still furious.
"What kind of disgrace makes this much noise?! Your Majesty Neptune, your management negligence has seriously affected Lord Renzo's vacation quality! This is extremely inefficient!"
"Y-Yes… yes…" Neptune wiped sweat, not daring to argue with the self-proclaimed Renzo spokesman.
He sighed heavily and began explaining.
"It all began ten years ago…"
"A fish-man named Vander Decken IX, claiming to be the descendant of a legendary ghost captain, ate the Mato Mato no Mi. Anything he touches becomes a target he can strike no matter how far away…"
"Ten years ago, he sent a… marriage proposal to my daughter Shirahoshi… who was only six."
Crack!
Sanji crushed his wine glass into powder, his eyes instantly turning icy.
"Proposing to a six-year-old? Trash."
"I rejected him, of course!" Neptune said bitterly.
"But since that day, that madman has continuously thrown weapons at her from all over the world, letters written in blood, swords, knives, even gigantic battle-axes!"
"To protect her, we had no choice but to confine her in the steel-reinforced Hard-Shell Tower…"
His voice grew hoarse.
"For ten years… my daughter has not left that tower… not seen real sunlight…"
"And that lunatic persisted for ten years. Every day weapons rain upon the tower like a curse."
"The loud noise just now, he somehow threw an abandoned warship anchor again…"
Silence fell across the hall.
Kizaru lost his smile.
Sanji's face darkened.
Even Monet looked sympathetic.
A princess imprisoned for ten years… worse than a prison sentence.
"Ten years…" Rehn muttered, stunned.
"One madman harassed you for ten years?"
"And you just let him keep throwing things for ten years?!"
"We had no choice!" Prince Manboshi cried.
"We can't find him! With that Devil Fruit he can attack from anywhere in the world!"
"Quiet."
A lazy yet icy voice cut everyone off.
Renzo finally raised his head.
His gray eyes swept across the grieving Neptune.
"So," Renzo said calmly, "this 'noise' has lasted ten years."
"Y-Yes…" Neptune lowered his head.
"And unless this Decken dies, it will continue forever."
"…Most likely."
Renzo suddenly chuckled.
He slowly stood up and stepped down from the floating sofa.
"A ten-year nuisance…"
"A little insect that dares disturb my afternoon tea…"
He extended his hand; Monet immediately handed him a clean towel.
Renzo methodically wiped the tiny coffee stain from his robe.
"Neptune."
"Y-Yes, Lord Renzo!"
"You said that madman is attacking your daughter?"
"Y-Yes!"
"I don't care about curses or his broken fruit ability."
Renzo tossed the towel back onto the tray and spoke in a tone like a final verdict:
"Bring your daughter Shirahoshi here."
"WHAT?!" Neptune's face filled with shock.
"My lord, that is impossible!"
Prince Fukaboshi hurried forward.
"She is the target! If she leaves the tower, the axes and weapons will fly directly toward her!"
"Too noisy," Renzo interrupted impatiently.
Rehn immediately stepped forward, blocking the princes and looking at them as if they were idiots.
"Do you not understand the situation?!"
"With Lord Renzo here!"
"Forget a few axes, even a Yonko's blade or a Celestial Dragon's cannons-"
He pointed at Renzo, voice full of fanatic devotion:
"If my lord says 'you are troublesome,' they won't even qualify to approach within a thousand meters!"
"What you need to do," Rehn declared proudly, "is respectfully bring the princess here… and open your eyes to witness a miracle solve the 'little problem' you couldn't fix for ten years!"
Neptune and the princes stood stunned, minds blank.
And for once, Renzo did not refute Rehn's exaggeration.
He simply adjusted his robe and looked toward the Hard-Shell Tower.
"Go."
"I also want to see…"
A faint curve lifted the corner of his mouth, and a trace of curiosity flashed in his gray eyes.
"…the famous mermaid princess."
"Mm. I'm… a little curious."
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu