XX-level Hokage

Neptune was talking to Shirley.

"You mean you want me to use my divination abilities to confirm one last time whether this sorcerer is indeed Princess Shirahoshi's guide?" Shirley interjected after Neptune finished speaking.

“That’s right. Although it’s almost certain, I still want to put my mind at ease. After all, once Shirahoshi’s guide appears, I won’t have to keep Shirahoshi under control like before,” Neptune said with a slight sigh.

“I understand.” Shirley nodded, then took out her crystal ball.

Looking at the crystal ball, Xia Li's gaze began to lengthen, and fragmented images began to surface in her mind.

She saw a boy wearing a straw hat, a boy who would cause Noah, who had been silent for hundreds of years, to rise from the sea again.

Just as Shirley was about to continue watching, suddenly, a pair of pale green eyes with patterns and magatama appeared, and then all the scenes vanished into nothingness.

"Haa haa..."

Shirley removed her hand from the crystal ball, panting. "How are you, Shirley?" Neptune asked.

Shirley remained silent. If what she saw was true, Shirahoshi's guide should be the boy with the straw hat, but she had already made a promise with Mashiro, so...

"That's right, I saw a woman with milky-white eyes leading Princess Shirahoshi to land. If I'm not mistaken, she should be you."

"The sorcerer she just described to me will also be the guide for the new mermaid princess," Shirley said.

Upon hearing this, Neptune was completely relieved. Just then, a guard approached.

"Your Majesty, the sorcerer has arrived."

“Help me welcome her over,” Neptune said with a smile, now completely accepting Mashiro as one of his own. Two minutes later, Mashiro walked into the office.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Mashiro said softly.

“You too, greetings, Sorcerer.” Neptune replied with a smile. “And this is?” Mashiro asked, looking at Shirley beside her.

"Madam Shirley is the foremost diviner on Mermaid Island. She has been gifted since childhood with the ability to briefly foresee the future," Neptune introduced.

"I'm amazed that you have such power. Hello, Mrs. Shirley, my name is Mashiro Izumi, you can call me Mashiro." Mashiro said with a "surprise", and then extended her hand to Shirley.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Mashiro." Shirley avoided Mashiro's gaze and extended her hand.

He clasped his hands together, and his fair fingers gently stroked Xia Li's palms a few times, causing Xia Li's face to inexplicably flush.

Then Mashiro gave Shirley a look, and Shirley nodded very slightly. Seeing this, Mashiro withdrew her hand.

"Mashiro, is there something you need that you came all this way today?" Neptune asked, completely oblivious to their subtle interaction.

“I have a favor to ask. I made a promise with Shirahoshi to take her to see the land. It’s a bit difficult, but I hope you can agree,” Mashiro said softly.

Upon hearing this, Neptune fell silent.

Chapter 116: Artificial Devil Fruits (Part 1)

If Neptune were to follow his usual character, he would absolutely never agree to Mashiro's request.

But after being confirmed by Zixing and Xia Li, he believed that the true Zixing was the one who guided Zixing, so he couldn't refuse.

“If this is a promise between you and Shirahoshi, I can’t say for sure, but given Shirahoshi’s size and appearance, once she sets foot on land, it will inevitably bring a lot of unnecessary trouble,” Neptune said worriedly.

"Your Majesty need not worry about that. Do you only know why the Navy calls me a sorcerer? I have a way to change Shirahoshi's size to that of an ordinary mermaid," Mashiro said with a light laugh.

"How is this possible??"

Neptune was initially puzzled, but remembering that Mashiro was, after all, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and a sorcerer, as well as the guide of the mermaid princess, and might indeed possess magical powers, he continued, "If Lord Mashiro can truly do this, then I think I can be completely at ease."

“Of course, no problem. But I need to prepare some things in advance, which will take about four days. I will come to Ryugu Castle again then and change Shirahoshi’s size back to that of a normal mermaid,” Mashiro said softly.

"Four gates? Then I'll await Lord Mashiro's arrival." Neptune nodded.

“Then I’ll go back and prepare. Goodbye, Your Majesty.” With that, Mashiro turned and left. After Mashiro left, Shirley also said, “Then, Lord Neptune, I’ll also be going back now.”

"Okay, thank you for your help this time, Shirley." Neptune said. "It's nothing." Shirley nodded and left the office.

Arriving outside the Dragon Palace, and crossing a street, Shirley looked around but didn't see that familiar figure, so she breathed a slight sigh of relief. Just then, a hand wrapped around Shirley's slender waist.

"Looking for me?" Mashiro rested her chin on Shirley's shoulder and murmured. Her warm breath brushed against Shirley's earlobe, making her feel inexplicably itchy.

“Yes, Lady Mashiro.” Shirley suppressed the itch in her heart and said calmly.

"Shirley did a great job. Without you, Neptune wouldn't have been so easy to deal with," Mashiro said with a smile.

Hearing this, Shirley hesitated for a moment before asking, "Lord Mashiro clearly possesses such great power that he could easily use force to make Neptune agree, or even forcibly take Princess Shirahoshi away. Why go through all this trouble?"

"Although I am indeed very strong, extremely strong, being strong does not mean acting only in the name of violence. In a sense, I hate the arrogance of force and the meaninglessness of acting by force, don't you think?"

"Of course, the most important reason is that I really like Shiro, and it's better for her to love me than to hate me," Mashiro replied softly.

"Alright, go back and pack your things. We'll meet at the Fishman Port this afternoon." Mashiro chuckled as she patted Shirley's tail, then disappeared from the spot.

Looking in the direction Mashiro disappeared, and at the last pat she gave herself, Shirley recalled Mashiro's caresses from the previous night. "It's nice to do this sometimes," Shirley murmured.

As a mature female mermaid who has never had sex before, especially a shark mermaid, Shirley's inner desires are incredibly strong, and Mashiro makes her long-hidden desires begin to stir.

One o'clock in the afternoon.

With Camie seeing them off, Mashiro and the other three arrived at the Fishman Port. There, Shirley was waiting, carrying a huge bag. "Mrs. Shirley?!"

Upon seeing Xia Li, Kai Lai was instantly speechless, exclaiming in utter astonishment.

"I forgot to tell you, Shirley joined Miya herself, and she'll be working with me from now on," Mashiro said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Nami immediately reached out and pinched Mashiro's waist with some dissatisfaction, while Perona also pouted.

Only when Tenzuki extended his hand to Shirley in a friendly manner did he say: "You are the owner of the Mermaid Cafe, the legendary Mrs. Shirley? You are younger than I imagined."

"Hello." Shirley responded simply to Amatsuki's words. "Alright, let's go."

As Mashiro spoke, he took out a whistle, blew it, and a giant yellow octopus quickly swam to the harbor.

Kraken, a giant sea monster living on the outskirts of Fishman Island, resembles a combination of an octopus and a squid. It is an enormous creature and is a legendary sea monster, described as "a merciless killer who targets ships and roams the ocean," and "the enemy of mankind," who attacks pirate ships that enter the deep sea.

Kraken was coerced by Hody Jones into serving the New Fishman Pirates by using his family as leverage. After Mashiro defeated the New Fishman Pirates, Kraken, persuaded by Shirahoshi, regarded Mashiro as his benefactor.

Two tentacles were seen above Kurakon's head, holding a ship.

"Let's go, it will safely and quickly take us back to land," Mashiro said softly. Then, in the astonishing light, a giant tentacle reached out to the port.

Mashiro led the group to stand on the tentacles. After saying goodbye to Camie, the tentacles quickly retracted and then placed the group into the boat held by two other tentacles.

Then Kurakan began to move rapidly upstream. Sabaody Archipelago, third port.

As one of the ports connecting the Sabaody Archipelago to Fish-Man Island, it has always been a gathering place for many pirates. However, today, the Third Port is quite quiet, with almost no one around except for a few ship repairmen. Therefore, at this moment, a warship is calmly cruising in the Third Port.

Just then, two enormous yellow tentacles suddenly burst out of the sea, and then sank back into the sea. Everything happened incredibly fast, but then another ship appeared on the surface of the sea.

Upon seeing the suddenly appearing ships, the warships quickly approached.

Mashiro used her privileges as a Shichibukai to contact the naval base in the Sabaody Archipelago in advance. "Just like I said before, send the rest of the crew on this ship to Ohara."

"Don't worry about it being too far. I've also contacted Major General Peacock, who is stationed in Ohara. She has already departed from Ohara, and you should be able to meet her on the flight path this afternoon. Then you can bring your men back."

"Yes."

After Mashiro discussed the specifics with the rear admiral on the warship,

The warship escorted the ship carrying Amaterasu and the other two as they set sail. At the same time, Mashiro and Shirley boarded Sakura. The following afternoon, Mashiro and Shirley arrived at Egghead Island.

Unlike when Mashiro first visited Egghead Island decades ago, the island is now much more magnificent, and there is no trace of robots to be seen. However, one thing remains the same: there are still no naval personnel stationed there.

Just as Mashiro and Shirley entered the territory of Egghead Island aboard Sakura, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Long time no see, Lord Izumi." Immediately following was a person wearing a helmet with the number 01 on it, and dressed in clothing with "Vegabank 01" printed on the side and a tally mark on the back.

A man wearing a long hoodie and boots came out.

Chapter 117: Artificial Devil Fruits (Part 2)

Seeing the unfamiliar figure before her, Mashiro asked, "Is he a clone of Garpunk or a cyborg?"

Upon hearing this, Shakya was initially surprised and said, "As expected of Miss Izumi, you saw through my difference at a glance." "It's nothing, just a guess," Mashiro said calmly.

A loaf of bread appeared before Zhenbai. [Name: Shakyamuni]

Gender: Male Age: ?

Affiliation: Commoner; Three-color Haki: None

Devil Fruit Ability: Paramecia-type Brain-Brain Fruit

Height: 184cm Luck Value: ? ? Acceptance Rating: 25

[Paramecia Type: Brain-Brain Fruit: Possesses unlimited brain capacity; his brain can store an unlimited amount of information, but the more data he absorbs, the smaller his brain becomes.]

“My name is Shakya. I am neither a cyborg nor a clone, but one of Vegapunk’s six incarnations. All six of us are identical to the original Vegapunk,” Shakya said.

"That's really amazing. Is this the power of the Brain-Brain Fruit or a new technology?" Mashiro asked curiously.

She had seen similar situations before, such as Pain and his Six Paths of Pain, but Vegapunk's clones were clearly much more advanced, possessing not only personalities but also the ability to think independently.

"Both are true; it's the result of combining artificial human technology with the power of the Brain-Brain Fruit," Shakyamuni replied.

Due to his busy schedule with various research projects, Vegapunk divided his ever-growing brain into six parts and, with the latest artificial human technology, created six clones who called themselves "Vegapunk".

The six clones represent Vegabank's six personalities: Shakya representing "righteousness," Lilith representing "evil," Edison representing "thought," Pythagoras representing "wisdom," Atlas representing "rage," and York representing "desire."

Each of the six clones is an independent individual with its own thoughts and desires.

They will assist Vegapunk's work, while also doing things according to their own personalities.

Vegapunk's six incarnations share one brain, and their experiences and knowledge from each level are synchronized once through the "Vegapunk Records." "I see," Mashiro said softly, "no wonder he's the world's greatest scientist. Alright, can you take me to see Vegapunk?" "Please come with me," Shaka replied without refusing.

Then she turned and walked towards the laboratory not far away. Mashiro followed with Shirley.

Perhaps because she had left Fishman Island, Shirley felt extremely insecure on land, and thus remained incredibly silent, quietly following Mashiro's steps.

“Don’t be so nervous. With me here, you won’t be in any danger.” Gently putting her arm around Shirley’s soft, slender waist, Mashiro said, “Um, Vegapunk, is that the Vegapunk who is hailed as the smartest person in the world?” Shirley asked softly.

“That’s right, Dr. Vegapunk, a genius scientist, inventor, head of the Navy’s Special Science Unit, a Brain-Brain Fruit user, and the man with the world’s number one brain,” Mashiro nodded.

Could it be that the method you mentioned for turning Princess Shirahoshi into the size of a normal mermaid is using Vegapunk's technology? "Shirley seemed to understand something."

“That’s right. As the well-informed Mrs. Shirley, you should know the power of Devil Fruits,” Mashiro said softly. Hearing this, Shirley nodded. During her years living on Fish-Man Island, she had seen many Devil Fruit users.

"Devil Fruits grant their users unique and special powers, but they also cause the user to be rejected by the sea, preventing them from ever regaining their former glory."

Swimming, so generally speaking, mermaids or fish-men would never eat Devil Fruits. "Mashiro continued.

“Indeed, in the past, some fish-men in Fishman Street accidentally obtained Devil Fruits, but they mostly sold them to humans on land or passing pirates,” Shirley nodded and said.

"But if there were a special Devil Fruit that could free the user from the sea's aversion while still allowing them to retain the Devil Fruit's abilities, then even fish-men and mermaids could eat it without worry," Mashiro said with a light laugh.