To celebrate Ace joining the Whitebeard Pirates, I took him to Fishmen Island the next day.

The coated boat nimbly weaved through the currents,

Avoiding the sea beasts,

And successfully reached Fishmen Island in the deep sea.

As soon as the boat with the White Beard flag landed,

It was warmly welcomed by the fishmen and mermaids.

"Miss Leah!"

"Big Sis Leah!"

"We missed you so much, Big Sis Leah!"

As soon as I stepped out of the cabin,

I was entangled by a dozen or so fishmen and mermaid children.

Some hugged my neck, some hugged my waist, some hugged my thighs, and the cutest of them all was the little butterfly-fish mermaid wrapped around my neck, sweetly whining.

"Leah, Leah,

You haven't been here for a long time. "

"Can't help it, the adults are always very busy.

Come come come,

I'll give you all kisses,

Forgive big sis ~ "I picked up a few kids and kissed them one by one.

Then I pulled out a big bag from my breast pocket, "Here, this is what I promised, postcards of the sea scenery, and sweet candy!"

"Awesome!"

The kids cheered, and hugged me again, kissing me a few more times before they dispersed to divide the postcards and candy.

I smiled as I half-squatted, hands on my knees as I watched them bicker and bicker.

After a while, I felt someone press down on my head.

"You've become the king of the kids,

Leah. "

Ace stood behind me,

He looked at the scene in front of him with some amusement.

"Because they're super cute,

No matter if they're mermaids or fishmen, they're all … Hey,

You two over there, don't fight! "

I held up a small trumpet with both hands, shouting at the two kids who were fighting, but how could the kids who were fighting listen to anyone else?

Ace shook his head and smiled. He walked over and easily separated the two boys who were tangled together.

"Alright, friends shouldn't fight over such a small matter."

Ace pinned down the little ghosts with one hand and rubbed their heads forcefully, obtaining two big furballs. "Now is the time for a real man to use a real man's method to determine the winner."

"A manly way?"

"Deciding the victor?"

The two imps asked one after the other.

Ace put on a big smile and patted their backs.

"That's right, it's rock-paper-scissors. A real man must accept his loss. Only with this kind of bearing can one be considered a real man among men!"

"Oh!"

The eyes of the two brats shone brightly as they began to play rock-paper-scissors on the spot. Two out of three rounds, the winner would be decided. The loser did not seem to be unconvinced. Soon, they put their arms around each other's shoulders as if they were brothers again. They even began to look at postcards and distribute candies together.

Ace watched with a grin. When he turned around, he saw my smiling face with one hand supporting my cheek.

"You're the one who became the king of the children, right?"

"Aiya, I can't help it."

Ace raised his hand to press down on his cowboy hat and smiled helplessly. "After all, I've been with Luffy all these years. Taking care of the little ghosts has become a habit."

"… Then, it must have been hard on you."

I couldn't help but laugh. I extended my hand to grab his wrist and shook it. "Alright, let them play. I'll bring you to see the super beautiful mermaid sister!"

Ace's arm stiffened. I dragged him and ran a few steps forward. Then, I suddenly realized that it wasn't very appropriate to drag a boy while running. I subconsciously wanted to let go of his hand.

However, the moment I let go of his hand, he seemed to have made up his mind about something. He secretly turned his hand around and held mine.

"Alright, where are we going next, Leah?"

Ace asked with a smile as if nothing had happened.

… It might have been more convincing if you didn't hold your hands and feet together.

I scratched my cheek and lifted my finger to point at the coral path in the distance.

"There!"

Passing through the beautiful coral forest, Ace looked curiously at the strangely shaped buildings on Fishmen Island.

"Hey, hey. That's a unique style, Leah."

He tugged my hand and pointed at a coral house that looked like dozens of lingzhi mushrooms stacked together.

His action attracted the attention of the surrounding fishmen. When they saw the emblem of The Whitebeard Pirates on his back, they immediately surrounded him enthusiastically.

"Long time no see, Miss Leah.

Is this a new member? "It was the lady boss of the kitchen utensils shop that I was familiar with.

"Holding hands. Holding hands. Is this yours, Sis Leah?" It was a fishman brat with snot running down his nose. "What's your name?

Where are you from? Do you have a girlfriend? How many years have you been out at sea? What do you like to eat? Do you like girls like our Leah? "It was a mermaid auntie from the Pioneers of Gossip.

Being surrounded by so many people, I immediately decided that of the thirty-six stratagems, the best course of action was to run.

I pushed Ace forward and used his height to block myself as I whispered an apology.

"He's Portcas D. Ace. He just joined The Whitebeard Pirates yesterday. He's my childhood friend. If you have any questions, you can ask him!

I still have an appointment with Madam Shirley, so I'll be leaving first. Goodbye!

Ace, I'll see you at the coffee shop later! "

After leaving that, I immediately slipped away.

I threw Ace's "Leah, you bastard — —" to the back of my head.

I'm sorry!

Ace!

But I believe in you!

You're a man who can conquer all 48 of White Beard's pirate groups in the future!

These few enthusiastic people definitely won't be a problem for you!

Just like that, Ace received an unprecedented welcome on the island. The mermaids who recognized me all warmly greeted him, making the journey that could have been completed in twenty minutes take almost an hour.

When we finally escaped to the coffee shop, even Ace couldn't help but wipe his sweat.

He pushed open the door of the café and walked towards me, who was drinking milk tea in the mermaid's arms. He strangled my neck and punched my temple.

"Leah, you — — you actually left me there alone and ran away!"

"Ouch ouch — —" I struggled to break free from Ace's hand. I clasped my hands together and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry Ace, you know I'm not good at dealing with that kind of situation …"

I can't help it. I can deal with a few kids, but dealing with so many unfamiliar adults at the same time, I feel like my CPU will burn, even though I don't have a CPU.

I stuck out my tongue.

Then I got hit on the head by Ace.

Although it looked like he used a lot of strength, he subconsciously slowed down when he hit me, so it didn't hurt that much.

As I held my head and pretended to cry, I secretly opened one eye to observe Ace's reaction. After he caught me peeking, he was so angry that he raised his right hand again. I closed my eyes in fear, but I didn't feel the pain of being hit for a long time.

"… Really, I can't do anything about you."

Ace's tone softened helplessly. He pressed one hand on my head and pushed it back gently. I opened my eyes carefully and saw the black-haired young man breaking into a wide grin.

"Forget it, I forgive you."

… My heart skipped a beat.

When the mermaid ladies in the cafe saw this, they immediately smiled knowingly.

"This is Ace, right?"

Madam Shirley put down her hookah and supported her cheek with one hand. She smiled with interest, "Leah, the one you always talk about."

"I don't talk about her all the time!"

I instantly blushed and shook Madam Shirley. "I've only mentioned her about seven or eight times … er … less than thirty times … How, how … often …"

My voice disappeared under Madam Shirley's smiling gaze. The older blue shark beauty only let out a long "Oh?", but the other mermaids wouldn't let me off so easily.

"Aiya, aiya. It's rare to see Miss Leah blush."

The mermaid Ashley, who was a rock snapper, supported her cheek with one hand and smiled ambiguously.

The mermaid Flounder, who was touching up her makeup, put down her lipstick and looked at me with interest.

"What a cute boy. No wonder you care so much about him, Leah. You get excited for days every time you see news about him."

"I don't!" I struggled and tried to resist.

However, my resistance was quickly suppressed by Miss Merlot who jumped on my shoulder. Wearing flowers?

The mermaid smiled and pressed her face against mine, using her fingers to rub my face shyly.

"Little Leah is good at everything, except that she's a little too shy."

"But that's the cutest thing about Miss Leah, right?"

Ashley hugged me from the other side and poked my cheeks with a smile. She hugged my head to her chest playfully and rubbed my ears.

"Alright, alright!

I'm not going to talk to you anymore!

You guys are all bad! "

I struggled to break free from the mermaid ladies' teasing and ran to Ace's seat with a red face. I hugged him from behind and pressed my chin on his head. I pulled down my eyelids and stuck my tongue out at the mermaid ladies, but all I got in return was a wave of friendly laughter.

After the commotion, I didn't want to be awkward anymore, so I raised my arms and hugged Ace's neck. I put all my weight on his head and announced to the mermaid ladies with puffed cheeks.

"Anyway!

Ace is my good friend. You're not allowed to bully him! "

"Alright, alright."

Merlot and Beulah laughed and nodded as though they were coaxing a child.

Ashley even stretched out her pinky and made a pinky promise gesture. Her tone was soft.

"Mm, mm, I won't bully him. I won't bully him."

She couldn't hold it in and laughed until she bent over. "No, Miss Leah, you're too cute."

I instantly blushed even harder.

Just then, Ace lifted his hand and knocked on my arm. I looked down and saw him blushing and smiling awkwardly.

"Erm … Leah … this position is a little …"

"Mm …?"

Looking at Ace's increasingly red face, I looked away. "What's … wrong … Yiyiyi?!!!!"

The moment I saw what position I was lying on top of his head …

BOOM！！！

I let go of his hand as though I was struck by lightning. Steam rose from my body and I instantly covered my face with both hands and squatted down.

Ahhhh, I actually … Wahhhh, this isn't real. That wasn't me!!!

The mermaid ladies laughed so hard that they were about to cry.

Amidst their cute laughter, Ace blushed and froze in his seat. Everyone was speechless for a moment.

"That's why …" Ashley smiled and wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes. "Miss Leah is really cute."

I hugged my head even tighter.