The royal family was bound to receive information faster than ordinary people, so Mandrell’s news naturally caught the attention of the royal family. Unlike Rusalka, who is oblivious to the outside world, Neptune, as the king of the Ryugu Kingdom, was well aware of the situation at sea.
He is friends with Whitebeard, and since Whitebeard has many Fish-Men under his command, he lent his flag to Fishman Island.
However, Mandrell is an officer of the Beasts Pirates, and not an ordinary pirate.
But this is not the reason why the Ryugu Kingdom’s royal family was here. Not to mention Mandrell didn’t do anything, and even if he did something, Neptune could not do anything about it.
At that time, the conflict would escalate between the Beasts Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates. Given the strength of the Ryugu Kingdom, their only option would be to await the result.
Otohime is the one who came here, and she was not here for official business, but rather to see for herself what the relationship between that human and Mermaid was like.
Because only a few people on Fishman Island agree with her views, seeing a human and a Mermaid together will give her more hope.
At this time, Mandrell was discussing a matter with Rusalka.
“Rusalka, come with me.”
“Come with you?”
“You saw what happened today with the reckless fools from Paradise and those trash from the Fish-Man District. The island I oversee is close to Fishman Island. Come live there with me. I can better protect you there.”
Even if the Beasts Pirates plan to establish a mining subsidiary on Fishman Island, Mandrell is not comfortable leaving Rusalka alone here. If he is not around when such an incident happens again, he doesn’t know what he will do.
It’s different on another island. Although they may occasionally encounter enemies, there won’t be internal problems, and the safety level is definitely higher than on Fishman Island.
“…..let’s talk about it next year.”
“Next year? Why wait until next year?”
“Next year, I’ll be thirty.”
Thirty is a special age for female Merfolk. It’s not because of reaching the age of thirty or concerns about aging, but because female Merfolk gain a new ability after turning thirty—the power to transform their fish tails into legs.
At that age, Merfolk won’t have to rely on Bubbly Coral to move in a waterless environment.
Water 7’s Kokoro is an example. Although Luffy called her Monster Granny*, she was a great beauty in her youth. [TN: This nickname is used in chinese dub of the anime, I think?]
Mandrell was aware of the fact that Merfolk at thirty can transform their fish tails into legs.
Otohime, outside the door, wanted to see what these two were like but stopped in her tracks at the last moment.
“What’s wrong, Your Majesty? Didn’t you want to meet them?”
“No need; it’s better not to disturb them.”
Her innate Observation Haki had sensed the joyful auras of the two, so she had no intention of disturbing them at the moment.
“And it seems we have guests.”
Not far away, Kojiro appeared together with Pierman, having sold everything that he had brought.
At this moment, his business sense was telling him that Fishman Island is an excellent market.
The deep-sea environment makes communication with the outside world rare. Both Fish-Men and Merfolk, including the Ryugu Kingdom, lack the ability to make large-scale purchases on land.
Most pirates don’t carry goods, and occasional merchants passing by demand high prices due to the high risk involved.
Kojiro quickly sold out everything at market prices, indicating the purchasing power here. So, he wanted to talk to the true ruler of Fishman Island.
Originally, he came to discuss something with Mandrell but didn’t expect to run into Otohime. With a testing attitude, he intended to stop her, but didn’t expect Otohime to stop on her own.
“Wait! Don’t come any closer!”
Seeing Kojiro approaching, the surrounding soldiers became nervous. They were aware of Otohime’s fragile body, and a human carrying weapon was a great danger to her.
“It’s fine, no need to be nervous. I didn’t sense any malice from him. So, human friend, what do you want to say?”
“It’s nothing major. I just want to open a department store on Fishman Island. Besides, there are some major business opportunities related to the entire Fish-Men race. I wonder if Your Majesty is interested?”
Otohime was, of course, interested in this matter. Although Whitebeard protects the island, he only provides protection. His own earnings goes into the development of his homeland, leaving no extra money for the development of Fishman Island in the deep sea.
Furthermore, the Whitebeard Pirates lack the channels and technology to do so. So a human seeking to engage in trade with Fishman Island is exactly what Otohime desires. Therefore, upon Otohime’s invitation, Kojiro followed them to Ryugu Palace.
While Kojiro was heading to the Ryugu Palace, a red Fish-Man appeared near Fishman Island. He is Fisher Tiger, the Fish-Man that those people wanted to capture.
Although he is an adventurer, he was captured and enslaved three years ago. The World Government’s people acted too quickly, even faster than Fisher Tiger himself.
Finally back in his hometown, Fisher Tiger’s face finally showed joy as he swam towards the Fish-Man District.
At the same time, in the World Government’s Intelligence Analysis Branch, the chief was angrily reprimanding a few subordinates.
“Why didn’t you find information on this creature earlier?!”
Several documents were thrown at their faces. These are analysis reports from biologists about Gyarados. It took them several days to discover some similarities.
“Chief, according to rules, in order to prevent information leaks, the sub-department of the Intelligence Branch are not allowed to exchange information without the permission of their department heads.”
“So what?”
“So… we are responsible for pirates. Sea creatures are not within our research scope.”
“Then why report it today?!”
“Because the leader of the Sea Creature Branch found commonalities during information exchange. After a second analysis, they sent the information.”
Listening to the subordinate’s explanation about the branch rules, the chief of the Pirate Intelligence Branch’s forehead was already throbbing with veins.
“Don’t you know that you need to collect all relevant information when investigating something? Learn to be flexible. Why didn’t you ask me? How could trash like you join the Intelligence Branch? Give it to me.”
As he was about to start another round of scolding, his confidant suddenly pulled him aside.
“Chief, these people were arranged by Spandine.”
“You go and take a good rest for a few days. I’ll arrange a more relaxed job for you.”
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