One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 202 seems to be even more serious.

"Um, Miss Navy, I..."

After visiting the historical text, Roman returned to the room that King Neptune had arranged for her.

It seems to have been upgraded.

Because he was suspected of being Joy Boy.

Roman was at a loss about this. He had repeatedly emphasized that he was not Joy Boy and could not understand the Poneglyphs, but the king seemed to have already made up his mind, and Roman's words were no longer important.

Faced with this situation, Roman could only pray that Luffy would grow up quickly so that his appearance would overturn Neptune's previous conjecture.

However, the mermaid maid who took care of her always seemed to want to say something but held back.

When he realized for the third time that she seemed to want to say something, Roman kindly said, "Just say what you want to say, don't hold back."

The mermaid in front of me is named Fini. She is a blue mermaid with long brown hair, which is styled into an elegant updo with a pearl chain, making her look soft and gentle.

When faced with such a beautiful woman, Roman's voice softened, and he encouraged her to speak up directly.

"Well, it's because of something that I find very strange, but I don't know if it's just my imagination."

Fini began to recount her experiences.

Since Roman took away some fish-men and mermaids, the residents here are no longer so hostile to humans. Under Roman's tutelage, they have come to understand that ordinary pirates are also vicious and ruthless. Therefore, it is necessary to set up relevant personnel in the border area to deter them.

But by sheer coincidence, Fini spotted a ship without any markings at the border.

There were no skulls, no seagulls, and no World Government symbol.

It was just an ordinary ship, and it looked dilapidated; it didn't resemble a merchant ship at all.

This made Fini a little uneasy at the time.

Her first thought was whether any humans were injured and whether she should immediately contact soldiers for assistance.

But she soon realized something.

Although the ship looked dilapidated, it hadn't suffered any major damage; even the membrane was intact, so it didn't seem like it had been in a shipwreck.

But I haven't heard of anyone logging onto Mermaid Island.

If such a thing were to happen, Queen Otohime would have rushed out immediately.

Could they be human traffickers who came secretly?

Thinking of this, Fini's forehead began to break out in a cold sweat.

If that's really the case, should I...?

But she discovered something shocking.

The fish-man soldier Haku actually boarded that ship.

But he did it secretly, as if he didn't want anyone to find out.

Could it really be collusion between insiders and outsiders?

As a palace maid, Fini naturally understood that there were human accomplices among her own kind, and it was through this inside-outside cooperation that the kidnapping went so smoothly.

But what if I've misunderstood?

Finney was torn. What if she told others and it turned out that she had wronged Haku?

But his behavior is really suspicious.

This sneaky attitude can only mean they're doing something shady.

And so, Fini found herself in a dilemma.

Fortunately, she had not heard of any fellow countrymen going missing.

However, she also kept a close eye on Haku's whereabouts.

Haku does indeed frequently play the "disappearance" trick.

If he wasn't an accomplice of human traffickers, then what was Haku doing?

Fini was completely baffled.

So Haku might really have a problem, but Finney doesn't dare to act rashly.

And so, she waited for Roman.

……

"Is that the whole story?" Roman asked again, confirming.

“Yes, Miss Navy, I’ve been really struggling with this. I don’t want to suspect Mr. Haku, but I can’t bring myself to ignore his suspicious behavior. Can you help me? Even the Queen and the King can’t solve this problem, but you can. Could you help me investigate Haku? Because Haku is one of the best in the Royal Guard, and most people probably can’t track him, but you, who can easily defeat Arlong, definitely won’t have any problems. Um, I won’t let you work for nothing. I can use my jewels as payment, is that alright?”

As if she had been prepared, Fini immediately took out a small bag from her person.

The ordinary items were fine, but there were actually large pink and black pearls inside.

Things are valued for their rarity. White pearls are considered affordable jewelry, but if you change their color, their value increases more than tenfold.

I've also marked this information in the "Treasure Compendium," a required course for mermaids.

Even among pearls, those with rarer colors are the most valuable. If it's impossible to collect them all, prioritize those with better quality and higher value.

I never expected the mermaids here to be so savvy. Could they have secretly learned it too?

"If that's not enough, I'll pay with Baileys. I'm so sorry to trouble you with my matter, but..." Before she could finish speaking, tears fell from her eyes.

It has to be said that her tearful appearance is so endearing.

"I understand. I'll investigate and give you an answer then." This wasn't difficult, and there was even a reasonable reward. Roman felt that his next reason was sufficient.

"Really?" Fini asked with delight.

However, even though he agreed, Roman still had to think about the reasons behind it.

They acted stealthily and frequently disappeared, but none of their compatriots vanished.

In other words, it wasn't collusion with any fishmongers.

That's for other reasons.

But you can't do anything secretly, and it happens all the time. No matter what it is, it's definitely suspicious.

Come to think of it, this name does sound familiar.

It seems that there really was such a character in the original work.

Wait, Haku.

"Is the Haku you're talking about a yellow-skinned, blue-haired fishman?" Roman seemed to recall something and asked Finney for confirmation.

“Yes, that’s right.” Fini nodded in confirmation.

That's it then.

Having received confirmation from Finney, Roman was almost certain that Haku was the character from the original story who appeared at the Dressrosa Colosseum.

If that's the case, then the people he came into contact with weren't pirates or human traffickers at all.

Instead, they became the "infamous" revolutionary army.

Is this good news or bad news?

Roman was also at a loss for words.

Why does it seem like the revolutionaries suffered more serious consequences in terms of the outcome?

But if we say that, does that mean the dragon has really started to take action?

To think it's right under our noses, what a huge responsibility!

So what should I do?

Should we turn a blind eye, or take action?