Fish-Man Island, Port Town.
Coral Hill, Mermaid Cafe.
Holding a bouquet of red roses, Sephiroth strolled into the cafe at a leisurely pace.
The bustling mermaids and soothing music immediately greeted him.
The mermaid waitresses enthusiastically greeted him, and he responded to each of them.
Soon, he passed booth after booth and reached the cafe's counter. Sharley sat behind it, reviewing accounts while smoking a pipe.
Sephiroth handed her the bouquet of red roses.
Sharley set down her pipe, took the bouquet, and couldn't help but tease him, a hint of dissatisfaction in her tone.
"Oh my! Look who it is! A missing person, is it?
You've been gone for half a month. What brings you back all of a sudden?"
Sephiroth's gaze flickered, and he said guiltily, "Ahem! I've been busy with work."
"Oh~! So busy you couldn't even show your face?
Or are you just tired of me and don't want to see me..." Sharley's tone held a hint of resentment.
Sephiroth chuckled awkwardly, walked behind the counter, gently put his arms around Sharley's slender waist, and whispered softly in her ear, "Ahem!... This... Let's go home and talk!
It's not convenient here..."
"What's not convenient...?" Sharley glared at him and huffed proudly.
"Some things really can only be said in private. Let's go home first!"
Sephiroth had no choice. He patiently coaxed Sharley in his arms, hoping she would stop being difficult.
What could he do?
He was in trouble!
Ever since he returned in sea calendar 1512, he had been running around and working hard, continuously coaxing women, all because he had too many.
If it weren't for his infinite stamina and super regeneration, Sephiroth felt his kidneys would be ruined!
It had taken him five days to finish coaxing the other women before he could rush to Sharley. No wonder she was angry—a full half a month without seeing him.
Therefore, Sephiroth had to prove with actions that he wasn't abandoning the old for the new...
So, while saying sweet nothings, he took Sharley back to her residence and closed the door.
As soon as they entered the room, Sharley placed the bouquet on the dressing table and pushed him onto the bed.
She pressed her hands on his chest and said in a fierce tone, "Hmph hmph! Your sweet words are useless!
If you don't satisfy me today, don't even think about coming back!"
"Hehehe! Don't worry!
Little Sephiroth guarantees he will satisfy you..."
With that, he flipped, reversing roles, pinning Sharley beneath him, and lowered his head to kiss her soft lips, painted with red lipstick...
Two hours later.
Sharley lay lazily in Sephiroth's arms. She raised her left hand, looked at the silver ring on her ring finger, and said with a slightly puzzled tone, "Can this thing called pure gold really make people live forever?"
Sephiroth gently stroked her smooth back and explained with a smile, "Yes! From the moment you put it on, your physical age will freeze. Whether it's ten years or a hundred years, you will never grow old!"
"If this thing were known to the world, people would definitely cause all sorts of bloody conflicts to fight over it!" Sharley said with a strange sigh. She used her right hand to prop herself up from the bed, extended her left hand, and picked up the bubble coral on the bedside table.
She first squeezed out the bubbles inside to make a bubble necklace on her fish tail, then she swayed her fish tail, floated off the bed, and prepared to go into the bathroom to take a shower and wash away the dirt on her body.
However...
As Sharley passed the clam shell containing the prediction crystal, she inadvertently glanced at the crystal ball, and a scene instantly appeared in her mind, causing her to freeze in place.
Lying on the bed with his hands behind his head, Sephiroth looked at the mermaid's motionless figure and couldn't help but ask with some confusion, "What's wrong?"
"No!... Nothing... It's just... Later, I want you to go shopping with me, okay?"
"Hmm! No problem."
Through Observation Haki, Sephiroth instantly judged that Sharley was lying, but he didn't press further. Instead, he readily agreed.
Recalling her previous actions, the young man already had a guess in his heart.
He estimated that Sharley had seen something bad in the future through prophecy and divination again, which is why she lied to him.
Although he was curious about the content of the prophecy, since Sharley didn't want to say it, he wouldn't force her...
After a while, after they finished washing up, they walked out of the house and strolled around Port Town.
Since most Fishmen were hostile towards humans, after the two left Coral Hill, the area where the Mermaid Cafe was located, they deliberately maintained a slight distance and didn't stay close together.
Sephiroth himself didn't care much about the opinions of the surrounding Fishmen, but he had to consider Sharley. She usually lived on Fish-Man Island, and if she continued to maintain overly intimate behavior with him after leaving Coral Hill where the Mermaid Cafe was located, it would definitely attract the attention of the Fishmen.
Especially the Fishmen from Fish-Man Street. Those guys had a strong sense of hostility and animosity towards humans, and he didn't want those guys to take their anger out on Sharley because of him.
It wasn't that Sephiroth hadn't told Sharley to move to Sky Island.
But...
Sharley refused. She liked living with her own kind and didn't want to go to a strange place without them.
Sephiroth didn't force her and respected her choice.
Unconsciously, the two walked onto Gyoncorde Plaza.
Amidst the bustling crowd, on a circular platform, Queen Otohime, dressed in a goose-yellow palace dress, was passionately giving a speech, appealing for Fishmen to migrate to the land. Below the stage stood four members of the Ryugu Kingdom royal family: Shirahoshi, Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, and Manboshi, and even the Shichibukai Jinbe was there...
"Everyone! The words of the World Nobles hold great weight at the World Conference. Some time ago, I went to Holy Land Mary Geoise and obtained a signed letter from the World Noble, the head of the Donquixote Family. He agreed that the Fishman race should establish friendly relations with humans and approved of the Fishman race signing the petition to move to the land! In other words, when our Ryugu Kingdom proposes the application to migrate to the land at the World Conference, this letter will become a powerful aid! Therefore, as long as we collect enough signatures, I believe the Fishman race will be able to obtain the qualification to live on the land at the World Conference two years from now..."
Beside the platform, there were three large bamboo baskets containing migration petition forms.
The number of signed forms was many times more than two years ago!
The promise of the World Nobles was still very authoritative for ordinary people...
In addition, Queen Otohime had been advocating for peaceful coexistence with humans for so many years, causing many mermaids and Fishmen to believe in her ideals, which is why they all signed the migration petition.
Below the circular platform, in the crowd, Sharley held a pipe in her right hand and said with a strange tone:
"Do you think... humans and Fishmen, these two races can really coexist peacefully?"
Sephiroth looked at Queen Otohime speaking on the platform. He was silent for a moment before speaking:
"I think it should be possible, provided that the hostility and hatred between both sides are eliminated..."
"Really? It's great that you can think that way!"
Hearing this, a strange smile appeared on Sharley's face.
Suddenly!
Beside the circular platform, in the three large bamboo baskets used to hold the signed petitions, a raging fire suddenly erupted, causing the petition forms inside to quickly burn up.
Seeing this scene, Queen Otohime was instantly shocked and exclaimed:
"Quick, put out the fire! Those are everyone's petitions..."
Hearing this, the Neptune King's guards standing around immediately took action, preparing to put out the fire and rescue the petitions inside.
However...
Bang!
Accompanied by a sudden gunshot, a burst of blood instantly exploded from the left side of Queen Otohime's chest as she stood on the platform...