One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 160 Seeing through people's hearts is my skill

The news that the outsiders were going to duel with the fishmen of Fishman Street spread like wildfire, like water boiling in a frying pan.

Ordinary people are extremely enthusiastic about this matter.

It's human nature to enjoy watching a spectacle, and even fish-men are no exception.

Although ordinary fishmen have some opinions about the two groups they belong to, a free duel is a temptation that no one can resist.

So when the two groups gathered together, they were surprised to find that the area was already packed with people, and they had to send fishman soldiers to maintain order.

In the end, even Queen Otohime and King Neptune came.

Neptune had already received the most complete account of the events from Otohime's mouth.

In reality, it was a gambling match.

However, in Neptune's view, this was not an ordinary gamble; this decision could even influence the future course of the Merfolk's history.

Contact with humans is undoubtedly a risk.

This is the main reason why Neptune, despite being the king of a member state of the World Government, never attended the World Conference. Their understanding of humanity is far too limited; the humans they encounter are either ruthless pirates or human traffickers plotting to kidnap their race.

Under such circumstances, even if he wanted to support Princess Otohime's position, he was powerless to do so.

However, hesitating indefinitely is definitely not a solution.

Instead of getting caught up in the pain, it's better to muster up some courage.

Otohime traveled back and forth with her frail body for the future of the fish-men and so that the next generation could appear in a wider world.

Then all I can do is try my best to support her.

If, as Otohime says, the child named Roman has no ill intentions, is exceptionally talented, and is willing to lead the Fish-Men to contact humans, and even help the Fish-Men and humans live in harmony, then that would be a good thing.

However, at this juncture, Roman did not go with his subordinates to the already packed meeting place, but went elsewhere.

Because Melissa was looking for her.

The pink mermaid was a bit naive, and Roman was somewhat surprised when he saw her again.

Because she was able to find herself.

Upon seeing Roman, Melissa excitedly hugged him, holding him tightly in her arms and squeezing him repeatedly.

I'll accept it since you're a beautiful woman.

While experiencing the suffocating pain and marveling at Melissa's strength, Roman finally began to struggle.

"You're already back, why don't you go and reunite with your family? I have other things to do now." Roman refrained from saying the other sentence, "Your enthusiasm is really overwhelming," for fear of hurting the beautiful woman's feelings.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Lord Roman, I forgot, it was Shirley who wanted to see you."

"Shirley?"

Arlong's half-sister? One of the few people in One Piece who can predict the future?

"Are you talking about Shirley, the great blue shark mermaid who likes to add rose jam to her black tea?" Roman began to confirm.

"Lord Roman is amazing, he even knows this." Melissa's eyes were already sparkling.

Did she foresee some future?

However, Shirley's divination was flawed; she did not divine definitive facts, but rather made inferences based on the future images that appeared.

That's why she later misunderstood Luffy as the one who destroyed Fishman Island.

At the same time, because the things she divined could not be changed, she was in pain, so she gave up divination.

But if it concerns me, then I should still make the trip.

"Can you lead the way?"

"of course."

……

In the original work, Shirley's size was much larger than that of ordinary fish-men and humans. Even before she was an adult, she was twice the size of Roman.

She had short black hair that covered her right cheek. She had cold, beautiful blue eyes, pale skin, and an extremely melancholic air about her, making her a completely different person from her headstrong brother.

At this moment, she was holding a round little ball in her hand, sitting gracefully on the sofa. Although she was not old, she had a good presence.

"You're Shirley?"

Seeing that the person who called her over didn't seem to be speaking up, Roman took the initiative.

"You're hiding something from everyone. What is it?" Instead of answering the question, Shirley delivered a heavy blow to Roman.

"Is this really that important? Besides, aren't you a fortune teller, someone who can foresee the future? Then you shouldn't be asking me; you should find the answer yourself. You're coming to me because of something in the future, aren't you?"

Although caught off guard by Shirley's question, Roman's expression remained unchanged.

“You brought Melissa back. I don’t think you’re a bad person, so as Melissa wished, I did a divination on you. I originally thought it would be a difficult thing, after all, I usually predict major events and unfortunate events, but I found out that you were involved.” Shirley’s tone became anxious.

"It does sound bad, but I'm a navy officer. The places I'm deployed to aren't some beautiful utopia. Aren't blood and corpses normal?"

The risks for the navy here are no less than those for the anti-drug police in my previous life; it's impossible for them to retire in some idyllic place.

The Great Pirate Era itself signifies extreme risk, and the casualty rate of the Navy working in this era is definitely no lower than that of any other special period.

Moreover, as time goes by, the situation at sea will only become more and more complicated, and Roman will inevitably get involved. Therefore, it is not hard to understand why Shirley foresaw that her future would be full of devastation.

"However, I'm a little curious, what exactly did you foresee?"

"It's actually very vague. Even I can only barely confirm that you were involved, that you clashed with others, and that you caused enormous damage."

"what?"

That's not hard to understand, but it's too vague.

"To put it simply, it means I got into a fight with someone, which caused unimaginable damage, essentially an unfortunate or major event. Am I right to understand it that way?"

No, how much damage can a standoff between two people cause?

I clearly don't have the ability to destroy the world.

Moreover, as a member of the navy, I'll inevitably have to fight with others in the future.

Although Roman wanted to ask further, she suddenly realized that based on Shirley's divination, the destruction of the scene shouldn't be too serious.

and so……

"That's why you came to find me."

Roman was not intimidated by Shirley.

This prophecy is actually quite ordinary; let's tell her when the world is destroyed.

She must be enjoying life to the fullest.

"Why are you so calm and collected? The future I foresee is almost always something that will happen 100% of the time. Aren't you worried about your own future at all? This is something that is closely related to you."

"So, can we be frank? Shirley, did you really come to me because of Melissa's request? For someone like you who can foresee the future, there should be more than one future you've seen. Is it possible that you saw something about me and Fishman Island? Otherwise, you wouldn't be in such a hurry, right? Also, it seems you haven't been completely honest with me!" Roman said with a smile, uttering words that made Shirley's face turn pale.

"How did you know?" Shirley asked eagerly.

She had originally sought out Sylvie Roman because she saw a future fraught with uncertainty. However, he had found her weakness.

"Foreseeing the future is your skill, but seeing through people's hearts is my skill."