One Piece: The Living Devil

"We've arrived. You two stay on the ship, I'll go with Otohime," Rosse chuckled lightly, his gaze turning to Otohime. Of course, he knew they were almost there, these words were just to notify Otohime to prepare herself.

Although Otohime had a special ability to sense emotions, as long as she stayed by his side, if he used Conqueror's Haki to interfere, her ability would be suppressed to the minimum, and she wouldn't be able to sense anyone.

Speaking of which, he had also obtained Otohime's consent for this.

According to him, if one wants to understand their own heart, they need to turn off special abilities and experience things by following their true feelings.

He said that from the bottom of his heart, and Otohime agreed wholeheartedly.

Looking at the island that had appeared in the distance, Otohime felt a little nervous. But seeing Rosse beside her, she instinctively calmed down again.

She knew that the test Rosse set would definitely be difficult.

And surely, he would take this opportunity to make her truly comprehend her own heart.

But it seemed like, as long as Rosse was there, she didn't need to worry about anything or fear anything, she just needed to be brave and take action.

She really liked that feeling.

That was also what made Rosse different. It was as if he could do anything, knew everything, and had everything arranged for her.

No pros and cons to analyze, no concern over success or failure, as long as you take action, I'll have your back.

This was a kind of security Otohime had never experienced before, and also the feeling that brought her the most peace of mind.

"Let's go," Rosse stood up, smiling as he extended a hand toward Otohime.

Today he was dressed very plainly, with not a single symbol of the World Government. He even wore a mask that covered his face.

"Do we really have to do it this way…", Looking at Rosse's extended hand, Otohime's face showed a trace of awkwardness.

Last time when boarding the ship, it was Rosse who carried her, and her face had been filled with resistance the entire way.

But fortunately, Rosse was a gentleman and didn't do anything inappropriate.

"If I use my ability, it's the same as wrapping your entire body, there would be even more physical contact," Rosse spread his hands, speaking with sincerity.

It was simply the truth. Using Devil Fruit powers to transport someone by wrapping them up wasn't much different from holding them close from every angle.

"Ugh… I'll trouble Rosse to go first then," Otohime's face instantly turned red. How could she not know what Rosse meant?

If it weren't for knowing that, she wouldn't have let Rosse carry her in the first place.

After a moment of hesitation, Otohime still placed her hand into Rosse's palm.

Rosse chuckled lightly, smoothly pulling Otohime into his embrace. With her surprised exclamation, he rose into the air and flew toward the Sabaody Archipelago.

———

And after Rosse and Otohime had left, Moa couldn't help but mutter, "This merfolk princess is really silly. Can't she just wait for the ship to dock and then walk down herself?"

"Then let me ask you, is it possible," Stella glanced at her and calmly said, "that this is Otohime's first time on a ship, and she doesn't even know ships can dock?"

"Huh? She doesn't even know that kind of common knowledge? How did she come to the Holy Land to host a World Conference?", Moa exclaimed.

"Fish-Man Island is very close to the Bubbly coral elevator. Once it floats up, you can ride the elevator. There's no need to take a ship at all," Stella said with a smile.

"No wonder. Lack of experience is a real disadvantage," Moa sighed.

"Indeed," Stella showed a slight smile.

'Miss Moa, that goes for you too."

'Sometimes when you're talking to the Revolutionary Army on the Den Den Mushi, the whole ship can hear you.'

'Even Otohime knows you're a spy now.'

'If we hadn't held her back, she'd have long advised you to go straight already.'

———

[Sabaody Archipelago, Island #1]

Rosse brought Otohime down to a deserted corner.

By the time they came out, their appearances had completely changed.

Otohime's long golden hair was let down, cascading like a waterfall to her waist. Under the sunlight, it shimmered with golden light.

She also wore rather ordinary clothes, covered from head to toe, with only a tiny portion of her goldfish tail showing.

From her appearance, she looked completely like an ordinary female merfolk. No one would associate her with Princess Otohime.

Rosse's outfit was also simple, not much different from the average person around.

Anyone who saw them would probably just assume they were an ordinary cross-species couple.

"This feeling… I'm not used to it," Faced with the greedy gazes of the surrounding people, Otohime uneasily shrank toward Rosse and instinctively reached out to hold his arm.

It seemed like only this way could bring her a sense of security.

She had done similar things many times on the ship already.

So after landing, she didn't find it strange at all.

Love between merfolk was more akin to Platonic love.

After all, given the height and size difference between her and Neptune, it was really more like a little bird relying on a big man, not two people mutually embracing.

If she got too close, Otohime wouldn't even be able to see Neptune's face clearly.

On the contrary, being with Rosse, since she had always been so close to him, made her stop caring about physical distance.

All the way, Otohime's tail gently swayed across the ground, the bottom supported by seawater generated by Rosse, allowing her to easily keep up with Rosse's pace without exerting any effort.

"I remember you said you wanted merfolks and fishmen to come ashore. If you actually do that, this is the kind of attention you'll receive," Rosse said softly.

Otohime was a 70 million bounty. If she didn't attract malicious attention, that would be strange, "It's terrifying, like they want to eat me alive."

Otohime lightly bit her shell-like teeth. Even though her special ability was sealed, she could still sense the malice around her.

Aside from the Holy Land, this was her first time appearing in a human area, and the first time she experienced such blazing, undisguised hostility.

"A merfolk worth 70 million, who wouldn't want to eat you?", Rosse chuckled, "Don't forget your goal today. You want to do this too, don't you?"

"I remember!", Otohime nodded firmly, repeating seriously, "One billion Berries. On this island, I'll purchase at least 100 merfolk and Fish-Man slaves."

"And the help I'm providing?", Rosse asked again.

"Besides the one billion Berries, I have unlimited chances to call for your help. As long as I report a threat or a target I want to kill, you'll help me take them out," Otohime answered earnestly.

This was related to her growth, and also their wager, so of course she had to remember the details clearly.

In her view, this mission was far too simple.

Whether with money or force, there seemed to be no reason it couldn't be done.

"Then let's begin. I won't give you any extra help."

Seeing Otohime so serious, Rosse didn't say another word and let her take action.

The first lesson he wanted to teach Otohime wasn't complicated.

He wanted her to realize for herself: goodwill in this world isn't that cheap.

No matter where she was, only he would give her the greatest kindness.

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