“You mean”
“Their prison sentence is too long, and you don’t need to get involved. Just let them accidentally get the keys.”
Rusalka lived on Fishman Island, and despite some inexplicable rumors, she had her own social circle. Mandrell didn’t want to directly ignore the laws of the Ryugu Kingdom, as it would make things difficult for Rusalka in the future.
But those people being alive bothered him, so he needed the other party to escape.
“Mr. Jinbe, trafficking members of the same race, even among Fish-Men, isn’t that scum-like?”
In the end, Jinbe agreed to the deal. Before he returned to Ryugu Palace and resigned, he utilized his authority for the last time and committed a small mistake. Afterwards, he left Fishman Island with a large amount of weapons, following Arlong and others on the quest to find Tiger.
Mandrell, who received the news, didn’t hesitate. He intercepted them before they could return to the Fish-Man District and completely settled his vendetta.
After escaping Mariejois, most of the slaves went their separate ways, while the Fish-Men stayed by Tiger’s side. They used the sun symbol established by Tiger to conceal the ‘The Hoof of the Soaring Dragon’ mark of the Celestial Dragons, making it impossible for anyone to distinguish whether they had been slaves.
Sun Pirates, composed of Fish-Men, began their adventures on the sea.
During their journey, Fisher Tiger advocated a policy of peace, instructing the crew not to harm humans unnecessarily, even those they fought with.
Although they defeated many Marines and bounty hunters who pursued them, they also defeated many pirates who wanted to gain fame by defeating them.
This was the most effective way for pirates to gain renown: defeating the current most famous individuals.
When the title of Emperor of the Sea first emerged, whether it was Kaido, Whitebeard, or Big Mom, they would occasionally encounter challengers who were ignorant of the vast difference in strength.
They solidified their position using the corpses of the defeated.
However, despite defeating many, Tiger consistently advocated not killing humans because the Sun Pirates symbolized “liberation” and “freedom.”
He often reminded his comrades, “We won’t kill anyone.” If someone else said this, most Fish-Men would just scoff at it.
But Tiger was different; his reputation was too great. Jinbe gradually fell under Tiger’s influence, and even Arlong began to show restraint, though his actions remained heavy-handed.
“Arlong.”
“Boss.”
After another battle, Tiger looked for Arlong. Despite several discussions, the results were unsatisfactory to Tiger.
“Not all humans are bad. You should understand that since Whitebeard’s flag protected Fishman Island. And I heard your relationship with Mandrell is good?”
“Boss, don’t mention that guy. That ba*tard was actually a human pretending to be one of us! I wonder how he got an ability where he is unafraid of water.”
“Don’t be so stubborn, Arlong. Haven’t you noticed your tone has changed?”
Tiger patted Arlong on the shoulder and then walked back to the cabin, checking the sea chart to plan the future course.
Meanwhile, on Fishman Island, after a period of sailing, Tesoro, replacing Kojiro, also arrived at Fishman Island. At the same time, he received a warm welcome from Otohime.
Because he represented Beasts Fruits, even though there was a pirate crew behind Beasts Fruits, it held a completely different meaning.
It is a “legal” company of the World Government, and the employees of the company don’t have to go to Fishman Island and can choose to traverse through Mariejois’ Red Port. The contact between a legitimate company and Fishman Island has a great overlap with her principles.
Currently, the most powerful force on the sea is still the World Government, and the attitude of the World Government is crucial for those who want to live freely.
Although Fish-Men have innate aquatic advantages, there is only one Sunlight Tree Eve, and the only way for Fishman Island to obtain sunlight in the deep sea. This results in the living locations for most Fish-Men and Merfolk being fixed.
If it leads to a rift between the two races, it would be more harmful than beneficial for the Fish-Men. Although Otohime’s ideas may seem naive, her envisioned future is based on the current situation and is the best policy for Fishman Island.
“Mr. Tesoro, Miss Stella, this way, King Neptune and Queen Otohime have been waiting for you.”
Led by the Minister of the Left, the group arrived at the audience hall of Ryugu Kingdom.
Minister of the Right, taking over the position of Poseidon’s military commander after Jinbe’s resignation, was currently inspecting the guards at the prison, an impact caused by the previous jailbreak incident.
Then followed the familiar pleasantries. However, compared to the bickering conversation with those people in Mariejois, it was actually easier to talk here.
Tesoro quickly got to the point and began discussing issues related to the mining company.
“Your Majesty, Your Highness, Kojiro should have already discussed the specific rules with you, right? After such a long time, you should have considered it thoroughly.”
“We’ve considered it. We approve of Kojiro’s proposal. We will assist you in recruiting employees on Fishman Island on behalf of Ryugu Kingdom.”
In the end, they chose this path because the people of Fishman Island were unfamiliar with mining and organizing personnel for mining. To expand cooperation, Otohime and Neptune ultimately chose this approach.
Some details had been discussed by Kojiro earlier, such as bringing Ryugu Kingdom to explore mining locations and the areas where Fish-Men and Merfolk could not reside on land.
Although Otohime could sense that the other party did not harbor malicious intent like human traffickers, they couldn’t blindly trust everything. If so many people were abducted, the conflicts between the two races might become irreconcilable.
Therefore, they chose a model similar to outsourcing. Beasts Fruits Mining Department would hire Ryugu Kingdom, and Ryugu Kingdom would recruit employees to work, aiming to reduce the resistance of their people.
While a small number of Merfolk and Fish-Men chose to work at Kojiro’s department store, many still harbored suspicion towards humans. It wasn’t realistic for them to work directly in a human company now; many things had to be taken one step at a time.
Tiger took away a large number of restless individuals, and those remaining in the Fish-Man District just lacked an opportunity. Now, the opportunity has arrived.
The mining matter was essentially settled, and they had another thing they wanted to do. Besides being the CEO of Beasts Fruits, Tesoro also doubled as a singer and actor for the entertainment company under his name. He brought Stella here to shoot a movie.
The main purpose of the film was to promote some new products and increase Stella’s exposure. It was a semi-public and semi-private matter. In any world, the celebrities required exposure; disappearing for too long would quickly lead to being forgotten by the public.
He hoped to get some support from Ryugu Kingdom, but upon hearing this news, Otohime’s support far exceeded their expectations.
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