One Piece: Investing In Whitebeard At The Start.

"Sea monster, what happened?"

After Vane entered Fish-Man Island, a pirate ship floated quietly in the dark sea just outside its borders.

On the bow of the ship stood the same sea monster whose forehead bone had been smashed by Vane earlier.

This was the ship of the Flying Pirates.

Vander Decken IX stood at the front, frowning as he stared at the sea monster. The creature's forehead was clearly dented.

"Was it… beaten?"

The sea monster rubbed his forehead, grimacing in pain. "Boss, it really hurts! I saw a sleek, brand-new ship trying to enter Fish-Man Island. I wanted to go rob it, but then this human kid stepped out. The look in his eyes was terrifying! And his punches—unbelievable! He shattered my forehead bone. Boss… do you think I have a concussion? Am I gonna get dumber?"

"You are dumb, you useless creature!" Vander Decken IX roared. After venting, he paused and asked, "Did you say it was a human? A pirate?"

"I think so. Looked human for sure," the sea monster muttered, rolling his eyes. "Not sure if he's a pirate though. His ship looked incredible. Strong, too. But no pirate flag."

"Boss, you gotta avenge me! My head's killing me!"

Every pirate crew flies a flag—except for Vane. He'd never bothered with one. He preferred to let things unfold naturally. But in this world, even something pure white could be painted black.

"Stop whining, sea monster," Vander Decken snapped. "A powerful human, huh?"

He frowned deeply. "No matter how strong he is, he'd better not lay a finger on Princess Shirahoshi. She's mine! If he does, I'll kill him myself and feed his corpse to the fish!"

Ever since discovering that Shirahoshi was Poseidon—one of the three Ancient Weapons and the ruler of all Sea Kings—Vander Decken IX had been obsessed with her. Her beauty was secondary. What he really wanted was her power: the ability to command the Sea Kings. With that, he could rule the world.

Of course, that was just his delusion.

His Target-Target Fruit ability had been fixated on Shirahoshi for years, allowing him to terrorize the Kingdom. He was waiting for King Neptune to give in and marry her off to him.

"Looks like I'll need to take a little trip to Fish-Man Island myself," he muttered.

"Hehe… I think I'll throw another knife at Shirahoshi just to rattle her—and her useless father Neptune and the rest of those clowns."

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Meanwhile, inside Fish-Man Island—

After undergoing the island's strict inspection, Vane and his group were allowed entry. Had they tried to force their way in, the Kingdom's guards would've arrested them. While Vane wasn't worried about that, he hadn't come here to pick a fight either.

Along the way, they passed many mermaids. Most of them were quite attractive, but as a human, Vane wasn't particularly interested.

"What a cute little brother!"

"Are they pirates from the surface? I love surface pirates! They always seem so daring."

"They don't seem like bad guys either!"

A group of giggling mermaids watched Vane pass by. Kalifa walked behind him, unfazed. She knew him well—he had no interest in ogling mermaids.

Still, Kalifa had to admit, the mermaids here were stunning. She'd already seen dozens on the way, and not a single one was even remotely plain.

"No wonder mermaids fetch such insane prices at Sabaody's auctions," she muttered.

Yes—colorful, alluring, and rare. Mermaids were highly sought after. At the Human Auctioning Houses in the Sabaody Archipelago, their prices were astronomical. They were favorites among the Celestial Dragons. One mermaid could make someone unimaginably wealthy.

However, after Whitebeard declared Fish-Man Island part of his territory, fewer pirates or traffickers dared to touch it.

And as for the Navy? Not all of them were righteous either. That was just the reality of this world.

Soon, Vane spotted a stylish café in front of him—the Mermaid Café, owned by the island's famed fortune teller, Madam Shyarly.

Fish-Man Island wasn't isolated. Many pirate crews passed through here. They didn't come to cause trouble—they came to enjoy themselves.

At that moment, there were quite a few humans in the Mermaid Café, most of them pirates from the surface.

As Vane entered, he saw over a dozen of them.

Business was booming.

Vane and Kalifa took a seat. But the moment they walked in, most of the pirates turned to look—specifically at Vane.

"Hey… isn't that the Fire Sword Vane?"

"Yeah, that's him! The one who defeated Admiral Akainu! And he's so young…"

"I can't believe a monster like that even exists. It's insane!"

"Should we try to kill him? Imagine the fame…"

"Are you out of your mind? I won't even pick up your corpse!"

"He's got a bounty of 1.5 billion Berries. We're nothing compared to that. I don't even have a 100 million bounty!"

"He's a dual Devil Fruit user! Even if I reincarnated, I wouldn't be a match for him!"

As Vane and Kalifa settled in and ordered coffee and snacks, the other pirates murmured nervously among themselves. Every so often, one would steal a glance, but as soon as Vane looked their way, they'd go silent.

Most of the pirates who made it to Fish-Man Island from the first half of the Grand Line were already part of the lucky 20% who survived the journey.

To them, Vane wasn't just strong—he was on another level entirely. Even a 300 million Berry bounty made someone a "Super Rookie." A 1.5 billion Berry pirate? That was legendary.

While Vane was browsing the menu, a mermaid entered a lavish office deeper inside the café.

Sitting inside was another mermaid, regal and poised, with a shimmering blue tail and elegant attire.

This was Madam Shyarly—proprietor of the Mermaid Café and the most famous fortune teller on Fish-Man Island.

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