Recently, a slave of a certain Celestial Dragon escaped while he was away, and that escaped slave happened to be Fisher Tiger.
The Celestial Dragon in question was not Mjosgard. Although he likes Fish-Men slaves, he was not the only one who possessed them. Fish-Men have a stronger physique than ordinary humans, which means that they can carry more weight. For Celestial Dragons, this means that their seats are more steady when they go out.
For an ordinary slave, escaping from the clutches of a Celestial Dragon was nearly impossible; the destructive power of the Bomb Collars is not something those slaves can endure.
However, Fisher Tiger deliberately overturned the Celestial Dragon on his back, taking a few bullets in the process to deceive others into approaching. Then, seizing the opportunity, he stole the key while they were off guard.
They underestimated the vitality of a Fish-Men and overestimated the marksmanship of the Celestial Dragon. Several pistol bullets couldn’t kill Tiger.
What followed was a classic case of economics.
For the Celestial Dragon, allowing a slave to escape was a disgraceful matter. If word got out, they would become a laughingstock among the Celestial Dragon community.
Moreover, too many people witnessed Tiger’s escape, including the kings of allied nations and officials of the World Government. Silencing them all was not possible.
So, he offered a trusted subordinate 500 million Berries to capture Tiger, and if they could capture some new slaves in the process, even better.
Since Whitebeard began protecting Fishman Island, there had been some impact. The most direct effect was a decrease in the number of Fish-Men and Merfolk slaves, leading to higher prices.
Although 500 million has already exceeded the value of a single Fish-Man, compared to restoring his reputation, it was a small price to pay.
Then, the subordinate took out 300 million Berries from it, bribed a World Government official, and tasked him with handling the matter.
The World Government official then offered two hundred million Berries, arranging for his own subordinates to deal with this matter.
While the Fish-Men and Merfolk on the island were once classified as “fish” by humans, facing widespread discrimination, the relationship between both sides has somewhat improved since Ryugu Kingdom joined the World Government two hundred years ago, and Fishman Island’s king was even allowed to attend the Levely.
This made it difficult for the World Government’s people to openly engage in such activities, especially in the dangerous depths of the sea.
Since the slave-catcher teams had poor capabilities for deep-sea operations, they spent 120 million Berries to bribe a group of capable pirates to do the job, while they waited above to reap the benefits.
As for any extra Fish-Men or Merfolk, Celestial Dragons were willing to spend extra if the quality was good enough.
It had been two days since Mandrell returned to Fishman Island.
The ship of this group of pirates has long been coated, and after preparations, they have already arrived underwater. They took out 60 million Berries and once again bribed some thugs from the Fish-Man District.
They weren’t sure if their target had returned to Fishman Island, but since this was where all Fish-Men resided, they sent someone to check. Capturing other slaves was just to deliver something if they couldn’t find Tiger.
As for their target, it was simply a red Fish-Man who had just recently arrived on Fishman Island. As for the name, there isn’t one; Celestial Dragons wouldn’t bother remembering a slave’s name, and others were no different—the number on the collar represents the tragic life of a slave.
If they mention that their target is Tiger, no one in the Fish-Man District would take on this job. Fisher Tiger’s status in the Fish-Man District is equivalent to Hyogoro’s status in the Flower Capital.
Although holding an official position, his immense reputation carries significant influence. However, Tiger has been away for a long time, and no one has seen him return recently. So, tempted by the money, they took on this shady job.
Fish-Man District in Tiger’s absence has various factions.
But walls have ears, and their secret discussions were overheard by Hachi.
“Nyuuuuu? A red Fish-Man who just returned?!”
He temporarily left the takoyaki machine with a friend on Fishman Island. This time, he came back with the intention of catching some octopuses as materials, but unexpectedly heard such an outrageous piece of news.
He tossed the octopus cage to the ground and then quickly left the place.
“Nyuuuuu! Boss Arlong! It’s bad, Nyuuuuu! Those ba*tards from the north block have teamed up with humans to attack Brother Mandrell!”
Arlong and his gang were drinking the juice of a certain underwater plant. It was something very similar to alcohol, but with a slightly higher density than water, enough to meet their needs even in the water-filled Fish-Man District.
“Don’t worry, Hachi. How could those guys be Mandrell’s match? You underestimate him. Want to take a seat and have a drink together? It’s freshly made.”
Arlong didn’t pay much attention to this matter. In his view, mere humans wouldn’t be a match for Mandrell, after all, he himself wasn’t a match for Mandrell.
However, Hachi wasn’t as confident. Seeing that Arlong didn’t intend to get involved, he went to Fishman Island to inform Mandrell.
Meanwhile, on Fishman Island, Mandrell and Rusalka were strolling in the Mermaid Cove. Few days ago, he had successfully found Hack and handed Jack over to him.
Based on their past friendship, Hack agreed to teach Jack Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu. He also allowed Jack to stay at his house. Fish-Men residences were generally more spacious than Merfolk’s, and his house wasn’t too far from Rusalka’s, making it convenient for Mandrell to travel between them.
The reward was a large packet of pancake rolls. Although a Fish-Man, Hack had a particular fondness for this food.
“The red Fish-Man should be him, right?”
“Isn’t he the only Fish-Man who recently came here? Plus, he’s getting close to that woman Rusalka, and in the Fish-Man District, he snatched a lot of our territory. Now someone wants him, isn’t this just perfect?”
Mandrell had gained some reputation in the Fish-Man District, and when they heard the description from human pirates, they actually shared the same thought as Hachi.
“But can we beat him?”
“We may not be able to defeat him, but those humans can. Isn’t that guy this year’s so-called Super Rookie? He should be able to handle him. I have a plan—use that Mermaid as bait, lure this guy to the surface, and then those humans will naturally find a way to deal with him.”
Although Fish-Men can live on land, they are ultimately not as good on land as they are underwater. If a Fish-Man is placed on a ship or on land, their strength will naturally be greatly reduced.
“Good idea. So, how do you plan to separate them?”
The entire premise of this plan is that Mandrell and Rusalka are separated. In the current situation, there is simply no possibility of them being apart. However, just when they were in a dilemma, Mandrell’s Den Den Mushi rang.
The coating on Kojiro’s ship had been finished and was waiting for him at the entrance. Since the crew on the ship were humans, he told Rusalka to wait here for a while.
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