Chapter 198 It Still Has to Be You"Cough, cough, cough…" Keimi slowly woke up, seeing Meruem holding her in a pot to be boiled. This feeling was simply… worse than being digested directly by a sea rabbit.━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━(ó﹏ò｡)"C-Can you… can you knock me out before you cook me…" Keimi first looked incredulous, then started to cry, her voice filled with despair.Meruem paused when he heard this, scratched his chin, and replied casually, "…It's not impossible, then…" Before he could finish his sentence, a roundhouse kick landed on his face. Truly, what goes around comes around. He had just flicked Luffy's face, and now he was experiencing the same treatment.Sanji adjusted his tie, looked at Keimi's face, and his blood pressure rose by 50%. Then he looked at her lightly clothed upper body and the soft, ample bosom, and his blood pressure rose by 100%. Looking further down, a fish tail?! His blood pressure shot up by 1000%!Keimi looked at Sanji's face, which was flushed with excitement, and fearfully tried to back away, but the pot was only so big. Where could she go? She stammered, "Y-You… you should just eat me…"…Which kind of eating? Are you sure your line is okay? Meruem covered his face and pushed himself up from the ground. He casually picked up a starfish, looking at its features… a starfish that couldn't even play dead properly. Its tightly closed eyes trembled non-stop, as if it thought Meruem was an idiot. Just then, a dark shadow flashed before Meruem's eyes… Brook was kneeling on one knee in front of the pot, speaking earnestly, "Beautiful Miss Mermaid, may I see your panties?"Meruem heard this and casually added, "Mermaids… don't wear panties, do they?"Don't wear… panties… Don't wear panties!Sanji felt like his entire body was on fire; his blood pressure had exploded… Brook also looked as if his heart had been struck. The two of them surrounded Keimi, and this scene… started to feel a bit off."Bang! Bang!"Sanji and Brook were directly knocked to the ground. Nami, wiping her hair, looked at Keimi with a complex expression, muttering, "A mermaid… it's the first time I've seen one…"Luffy, with a bruised face, squatted in front of Sanjiand patted his face, saying discontentedly, "Hey… Sanji, don't sleep, get up and cook." Then he turned to look at Keimi: "Don't worry, we won't eat you."Keimi breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this, then lowered her head and said, "Thank you for saving my life. I'm Keimi, the waitress at Hachi's Takoyaki. That starfish is my pet and also my master, Pappagu~"Pet? Master? Is there something wrong with this dual identity… And isn't Hachi a Fishman octopus? That guy sells takoyaki? The plot holes were too dense; he didn't even know where to begin complaining. Meruem felt the Pappagu in his hand trembling like a Nokia phone. He casually threw it to Keimi and said, "You…"Before he could finish his sentence, Luffy, that impolite fellow, directly interrupted, "Takoyaki… I love it the most!"Keimi, being naturally naive, unhesitatingly replied to Luffy, "Really? Then it's 500 Berries per person!"Good heavens… This takoyaki buffet was equivalent to ten Choppers. But if Luffy were to go to a buffet, the buffet owner would probably have a heart attack on the spot.Pappagu, having left Meruem's hand, immediately jumped up and slapped Keimi on the head when he heard her words: "Are you here to do business?!"━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━"Ah?! I got it wrong!" Keimi's expression was also one of disbelief. She really felt like she was a good fit for the Straw Hat Crew… seemingly quite unreliable.(♡⌂♡)"Mermaid… mermaid~ mermaid!" Sanji climbed up from the ground, looking somewhat frantic. His eyes were glued to Keimi, and he shouted excitedly, "I finally saw a mermaid!"Usopp picked his nose and casually said, "Hmm? Isn't Kokoro a mermaid? We already saw one in the City of Seven Waters."͟͟͞͞(꒪⌓꒪*)Sanji was struck by lightning, collapsing to his knees, his voice sounding so helpless: "Is Thriller Bark terrifying? No… not terrifying at all… Do you know… what I fear most… cough, cough, cough…"The after-effects of his blood pressure exploding came. Sanji coughed up blood, looking as if his life was fleeting.Usopp immediately did a 360° backflip and slid to his knees in front of Sanji, apologizing sincerely, "I'm sorry, Sanji… I take back what I said…"Nami looked at this scene with disdain: "You guys are so rude… By the way, why are you so admiring of mermaids?""Hmm… maybe because they don't wear panties?" Meruem casually interjected, only to be slapped onto the deck by Nami… But speaking of rudeness, Luffy took the cake. Luffy looked at Keimi very seriously, then asked earnestly, "By the way, do you poop?"(･᷄ὢ･᷅) Huh?Is that a question a person would ask?…But it did make one curious.Keimi paused at Luffy's question, and before she could speak, she was interrupted by Sanji's roar of anger."What kind of idiotic question is that?! No!" Sanji's eyes almost popped out, his voice sounding utterly distraught.Luffy didn't care, pushing away the distraught Sanjiand saying, "Alright… where's the takoyaki? I want to eat takoyaki. Nami, pay up!""No rush, you can pay after eating. I'll ask the manager where he is." Saying this, Keimi pulled out a Den Den Mushi from… who knows where she stuffed it, tapped it, and after connecting, said, "Manager Hachi, where are you? I'll come find you right away, I have a few customers here.""Oh? Isn't that Keimi's voice? Muhahaha, do you know who I am?!""Eh?! You're not Manager Hachi?!""I'm Macro! Your regular troublemaking Macro Pirates! Eh… why did I say I'm troublemaking…""How did Manager Hachi's Den Den Mushi end up with you?!""Of course, I took him out!""You're lying, you're no match for Manager Hachi!""True, normally I can't beat him, but this time we teamed up with the Flying Fish Riders!""Click…" Noisy sounds came from the Den Den Mushi… Then Hachi's voice rang out, "Keimi, are you alright? That's great, hurry back to Fish-Man Island. I'll be back once I'm done here.""Bang bang bang."It changed back to the arrogant voice from before, "He can't go back! If you want to save him, come to the human trafficking Flying Fish Riders' base, 5000 meters east of Sabaody Archipelago's 44th island!""Click…" The Den Den Mushi hung up, and Nami's expression became a bit complex.
Chapter 199 Saving Takoyaki"Yes, you're right, it's that guy. Back then, only Arlong was killed; the others should have been taken away by the Marine. I don't know why Hachi escaped. I also encountered him on that nameless island before," Meruem said casually as he walked over to Nami.Nami's expression was somewhat unpredictable, with a flurry of chaotic thoughts flashing through her mind. After a long while, she let out a sigh and said, "Hachi treated me quite well before. Compared to the other guys, I don't hold as much anger towards him. The culprit of Cocoyasi Village was Arlong, and since he is already dead, this matter ends here."Meruem shrugged, noncommittal about this statement. After all, he understood that one shouldn't preach kindness if they haven't experienced another's suffering.Luffy hadn't heard Meruem and Nami's conversation… he hadn't even paid attention to the Den Den Mushi's recent conversation. He frowned and said, "When exactly can I eat takoyaki?"Sanji kicked Luffy in the face and roared, "A lady is in trouble, and all you can think about is eating!"Keimi, however, said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Luffy, my boss has been captured, so we'll have to eat takoyaki another time… I need to go save him now."You? Save him? Meruem looked at Keimi with a strange gaze. This guy probably couldn't even beat Nami in a fight… Nami continued Keimi's words, "Keimi, if you want to save someone, we can help you." Then Nami paused and corrected herself, "Ah, no, I misspoke. They can help you. But there are conditions~"Meruem squinted at Nami, his urge to complain growing.Keimi, however, seemed very happy upon hearing this. Perhaps she knew that going to save someone herself was no different from going to her doom. She immediately said, "Really? Sister Nami, what are the conditions… I don't have much money…"Nami shook her head. She had long seen through Keimi's poor nature. Asking Keimi for money was less effective than sending Meruem out for a stroll.Meruem:???"Just tell us how to get to Fish-Man Island, plus treat us to one free takoyaki meal, and that's it~" Nami was truly stingy, unwilling to pay even 500 Berries per person.Keimi nodded quickly, then looked at Luffy: "Brother Luffy, if I do that, will you help me save Boss Hachi?""Why save him?" Luffy still hadn't eaten, looking a bit unhappy.Keimi continued, "He's the owner of Hachi's Takoyaki, where I work as a waitress! His takoyaki is the best in the world!"━ Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━Luffy's expression changed, and he shouted, "Prepare to set off! This is a big deal! Everyone, we must risk our lives to save the takoyaki!""Oh!" Sanji, Usopp, Brook, and Franky responded in unison. Heaven knows why Franky blended in. Luffyand Usopp were driven by appetite, Sanji and Brookby… other desires, and Franky… he was purely joining the fun.Anyway, these guys combined probably couldn't form a single brain right now."Yes, yes, let's go. Keimi, do you know the way?" Nami responded casually, then asked."Mhm mhm mhm, the fish know. I'll have them lead the way." Keimi flapped over to the ship's rail, making incomprehensible sounds.Then the sea surface seemed to boil, with dense schools of fish poking their heads out to converse with Keimi.|ू•ૅω•́)ᵎᵎᵎLuffy saw this scene and was so excited that… his drool began to drip. He looked at the fish, then at Keimi, wiped his mouth, "Keimi, do you want to be my crewmate? With you, I'll have fish to eat every day!"Keimi's expression was a bit awkward, as the large group below were, after all, her friends.Sanji's foot appeared on Luffy's face again. It felt like Sanji had kicked Luffy more times today since meeting the mermaid than all previous times combined."If you can't speak properly, shut up… You've ruined such a romantic moment!" Sanji stepped on Luffy as he approached Keimi, covering his mouth and muttering with teary eyes, "This… this is the mermaid of my dreams…"…Isn't your dream All Blue? Meruem looked at Sanji's foolishness, suddenly feeling a small figure jump towards him, landing steadily on his head.(✧∇✧)"Wow~ So many fish!" As she spoke, Merry's hands spread a magic circle, and ice crystals flew out, landing on the sea surface, immediately bringing the boiling water to a halt.=͟͟͞͞(꒪⌓꒪*)Keimi stared dumbfounded as all her friends turned into ice. She looked at Merry, then at the fish, then at the fish, then at Merry again, and then she leaned over the ship's rail and started crying.=͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪ ‧̣̥̇)臥━=͟͟͞͞(Ŏ◊Ŏ ‧̣̥̇)━擦!!!!"Undo it! Quickly undo it! Those aren't food!" Meruem held Merry in his hand, shaking her, feeling Sanji's unfriendly gaze on him.The chivalrous Sanji, who never kicked ladies, would surely not let Meruem off… After a flurry of chaos, the Sunny headed towards the Flying Fish Riders' base. Land was already visible in the distance, and Hachi was tightly bound in a Birdcage."Huh? Isn't this that idiot from the Arlong Pirates? We're going to save him?" Zoro glanced, then frowned, looking at Nami.Sanji lit a cigarette, also looking silently at Nami.Luffy frowned and thought for a long time, finally remembering who Hachi was, then angrily shouted, "So it's you! I don't want to save you!" Then Luffypaused, and continued to shout, "Is the takoyaki you make really that delicious?"(ᇂ_ᇂ|||)…Don't waver between appetite and reason. Meruem was speechless looking at Luffy. This guy's thought process was truly beyond what ordinary people could imagine."Huh? You know each other? Is Boss Hachi your friend?" Keimi asked excitedly."He's an enemy…" Zoro's voice carried killing intent, and his face was grim.o(╥﹏╥)oKeimi was startled. Meruem had saved them before, so how had it come to this? She murmured softly, "Ho-how could this be…" Then she became resolute, shouting, "I'll go save him myself! Master Pappagu, let's go!"As soon as she finished speaking, Keimi jumped off the Sunny, right… into the hands of Macro's group, and was immediately captured.(･᷄ὢ･᷅) Hmm?…Your capture is absolutely natural; not being captured would be an affront to justice. Meruemcovered his forehead. Aside from being incredibly weak, Keimi truly fit in well with the Straw Hat Crew.Sanji's foot moved, but then he stopped, saying with some difficulty, "Miss Nami, Miss Keimi is innocent. I'll go save her."