Chapter 813: Chapter 812: The Suitor
Nereus described the previous battle and mentioned that she had used surfing to wash those people away.
"Surfing?! Aunt Nereus, we want to go surfing too!"
"Don’t cause trouble, let Ludicolo accompany you. Daddy and Aunt Nereus have to meet Lord Arceus later."
With a child in each hand, Zeraora pulled his children off Nereus’ shoulders and instructed Ludicolo to take care of them for a while, then went off to take care of business.
This time, there weren’t as many Pokemon involved. Besides mythical beasts like Zeraora and Shaymin, there were tribe leaders like Ampharos, Altaria, Tsareena, Vespiquen, Corviknight, and Tinkaton representing their species.
The figures of Pokemon like Bisharp and Farfetch’d were also among them, while Tauros and Miltank were discussing something on their way together.
Their status was comparable to Nereus, considered leaders of their groups.
For the rarer ones, they chose a representative for the region, like the representative of the mines was Gigalith, known as the "first beauty of the mines" among Rock-type Pokemon.
This was the annual meeting of Pokemon, and Arceus was naturally the one they reported to.
Manaphy, working offshore, also sent back a Swampert. It was slowly walking forward with a Toxapex on its back. Except for Manaphy itself and Darkrai, whose whereabouts were unknown, all the Pokemon created by Arceus had gathered.
Audino and Blissey, even though they were experiencing professional habits flaring up, wanted to give them a check-up, it wasn’t until Arceus arrived that they calmed down.
"Master"
"....!"
Amidst the various languages of the Pokemon, they all reported on their past lives and their assignments from Arceus, but none brought good news.
"It’s okay, don’t be discouraged, there’s still plenty of time, we can find it little by little."
Looking at the somewhat disappointed Heracross, Arceus comforted it a bit. Nereus initially intended to report on past events, but Zeraora told her that those were trivial matters that didn’t need to bother Arceus.
So she dismissed the matter from her mind. She didn’t know where the people had ended up or whether they were dead or alive, but she knew they weren’t in Wano Kuni.
As for Ace, whom she hadn’t paid much attention to, after drifting for a while, he met a kind-hearted person.
...
White sheets, an unfamiliar ceiling, it was an all too familiar scenario, except he was still on this vast sea.
"Ace? You’re finally awake?"
"Where is this... how long has it been?"
"I don’t know either, but thanks to you and Wores, everyone got saved despite some injuries..."
In a tsunami of that scale, it was difficult for ordinary humans to survive, but the Black Spade Pirates were unique. Among them was a unique member - Wores, a very curious lionfish merman.
Nereus’s final Flamethrower was blocked by Ace’s body. As a Flame-Flame Fruit user, he had a certain immunity to flames, so the Flamethrower didn’t cause much harm.
After finishing her pilgrimage, Nereus sent a wave of surfing and left. Gyarados do not have a habit of eating people. They kill their enemies but aren’t interested in corpses.
Nereus didn’t look back, and the Gyarados following her didn’t pursue further.
With the strength of the Fishman Race, Wores desperately connected the entire crew with a rope and swam out of the dangerous waters. Many were injured, and their assets and ships were completely gone, but at least their lives were saved.
Apart from Wores, everyone else in the tsunami was knocked unconscious. Only Wores held on until they encountered another pirate ship. They were lucky because the captain of this ship was a kind person.
"Are you awake too? So, young man, since I saved you, would you marry me?"
Still unclear about the situation, Ace was directly proposed to and turned his head to see a pink-haired woman staring at him from the doorway.
"Um... sorry, I’m not interested in that. Can I ask where my companions are?"
"Rejected! Sister Lola was rejected again!"
"That’s the 419th time! Every man on this ship has turned her down!"
The surrounding pirates’ exclamations echoed, leaving Ace thoroughly puzzled, his brain cells already overworked.
"Dues, what on earth is going on here?"
"Um... it’s a bit complicated. Actually, I’m not entirely sure, but it should be like this..."
Dues briefly summarized what had happened.
Because Ace was a Devil Fruit user, he sank as soon as the ship capsized. Wores put in a lot of effort to save him.
Just as Wores was about to exhaust himself, they came across the Rolling Pirates and were rescued. It’s as simple as that.
The reason the Rolling Pirates were there was due to Lola’s arrangement. After escaping from marriage, Lola didn’t immediately leave the New World. She thought, considering Charlotte Linlin’s temperament, she would certainly fly into a rage and send people to bring her back.
Her ship couldn’t outrun those Homies ships. Those ships were the special fleet of the BIG MOM Pirates, but she didn’t dare to use them. If there were Homies involved, it would be even easier for Charlotte Linlin to catch up to her.
So, she chose the technique of hiding under the lamp, staying on an island not far from Charlotte Linlin’s territory for a while, during which she refortified her ship and gathered some crew.
Thanks to her cheerful personality, she indeed found quite a few crew members.
As for the four hundred or so marriage proposals during this time, it was simply because she didn’t want Charlotte Linlin to control her life. She wanted to pursue her own love. Loki had a strong backing and genuinely loved her, but she didn’t want to choose him.
That’s why whenever she met a "suitable" man, she would propose. Almost all the male members of the Black Spade Pirates went through this, and this time it was Ace’s turn.
Upon hearing she was rejected again, Lola wasn’t discouraged, maintaining her cheerful mood instead.
...
"Um... where are we?"
Upon reuniting with his crew, Ace began planning for the future again.
"Here? Not far from Fishman Island, we will arrive soon."
Born in the New World, Lola knew its dangers. She could no longer rely on the BIG MOM Pirates, and it wasn’t easy to survive with her own strength.
So, after hiding for so long, she decided to take her men to Paradise to embark on a new voyage.
"Fish... Fishman Island?!"
Hearing this place name, the members of the Black Spade Pirates were all shocked. It meant that all their sailing efforts during this time had been wasted. Nereus had directly sent them back to the "midway checkpoint".
