In terms of strength, Wang Zhi had never ranked highly on Fullalead Island back in the day, but when it came to scheming and underhandedness, he definitely had a place among the top.
After reaching this agreement, Wang Zhi did not linger there and quickly returned to the surface.
If the situation were not truly dangerous, with the possibility of Nereus coming after him at any moment, Wang Zhi would never have risked personally coming to the deep sea.
No matter how familiar one was with this route, the death rate during descent never changed. This was common knowledge among all pirates, and even Whitebeard and Roger were no exception.
Aside from the Fish-Men and Merfolk, who didn’t fear the deep sea, the ocean treated everyone trying to descend equally, randomly displaying the horrors of the deep sea.
That bubble coating was their only support. Without its protection, the overwhelming majority of people had no ability whatsoever to resist the deep sea.
Wang Zhi came quickly and left quickly as well. What he feared most was suddenly running into Nereus.
Facing Nanamo, he could still ease the conflict under the guise of delivering gifts, but if Nereus stood before him, Wang Zhi truly could have put on a scene of “there were too many people outside just now, but now I’ll kneel for you.” [TN: It seems to be a scene from a chinese movie Mr. Tree which became a meme in the Chinese community.]
After checking whether any tricks had been hidden among the treasures and confirming they were safe, Nanamo accepted everything without hesitation.
There was no reason for her to refuse bribes delivered right to her doorstep.
Moreover, Nanamo had no intention of speaking well of Wang Zhi before Nereus. No matter what Nereus decided, she would not interfere.
This was not some envoy from an affiliated nation. If she took money and failed to do anything, people would criticize her for it.
In Wang Zhi’s case, there were only two possible outcomes. Either Nereus accepted this money-for-life deal and let the matter gradually fade away without further pursuit.
If that happened, then Nanamo taking the money would count as doing the job, perfectly resolving the issue.
The other possibility was that Nereus rejected Wang Zhi’s compromise and stormed Fullalead Island to kill him. In that case, Fullalead Island’s assets would still end up belonging to Fishman Island.
Even if this money were returned now, they would just have to take it back later anyway. Accepting it in advance merely skipped a few steps, nothing more.
After leaving the deep sea, Wang Zhi did not return directly to Fullalead Island. He knew the pirates stationed there were effectively nonexistent in front of Nereus.
If he returned to Fullalead now and Nereus decided to come after him, then all he could do was wait for death.
Even his own subordinates could not be trusted at a time like this. It was true they had been his old subordinates since the Rocks era.
But precisely because they had experienced that era, they understood even better how terrifying Nereus was. Wang Zhi never believed in true loyalty. In his view, so-called loyalty simply meant the price for betrayal was not high enough yet.
When facing Nereus, subordinates were untrustworthy.
The Underworld was equally untrustworthy. Nereus had his hands deeply embedded there. Umit, the Shipping King, was essentially working for Nereus anyway.
Thus, after giving a few instructions to his subordinates, Wang Zhi used “having matters to handle” as an excuse and hid on some island, waiting for news from the outside world.
While Wang Zhi trembled in fear, Nereus also returned to Fishman Island and learned from Nanamo about Wang Zhi coming to deliver gifts.
“What do you think about this?”
“Hmm… I think Wang Zhi just chickened out. He doesn’t seem to care about pride as much as the others on Fullalead Island. He wouldn’t risk his life over something like this.”
“More or less. That guy… rather than a pirate, he’s more like a businessman. For profit, he’d sell anything. Do you remember what happened before the God Valley Incident?”
“That woman Shakuyaku disappeared?”
The moment this matter was brought up, Nanamo immediately recalled the major incident on Fullalead Island that year—Shakuyaku’s disappearance.
Nanamo was actually among those quite happy about Shakuyaku disappearing, because back then Nereus also had a pub on the island.
After Shakuyaku’s Rip-Off Bar opened, the business on Nereus’s side suffered a massive drop in revenue. She had basically come to steal customers.
It was precisely because of this that Nanamo remembered it so clearly.
“Yeah. Marlon died on the island, and Shakuyaku was taken away by the World Government. Although the World Government had that capability, carrying it out without anyone noticing wasn’t easy.
“There was an inside traitor on the island cooperating with them, and there’s a 99% chance it was Wang Zhi.
“That guy is the same type as John. For profit, he’s willing to give up a lot of things.”
“But unlike John, he doesn’t have John’s greed. When his life is on the line, he’ll abandon plenty of things as well.”
What Wang Zhi’s true reason for not going to God Valley was, only Wang Zhi himself knew, but there were not many possibilities.
Fear of being identified and silenced might have been one of them.
However, assuming Wang Zhi really was the mole, Shakuyaku probably did not see him that night either. Otherwise, afterward, Rayleigh and Gloriosa would definitely have gone to settle old scores with Wang Zhi.
“Then this matter…”
“Let it be. As long as that guy stays on Fullalead Island, he can still keep the pirates on the island under control. After this incident, with his personality, he’ll pay even more attention to matters like this.”
Although Nereus looked down on Wang Zhi’s combat strength, to the pirates of the first half of the Grand Line, Wang Zhi was still an insurmountable mountain.
The first time trouble was brought upon him, Wang Zhi had been unprepared. After this, he would definitely start paying attention to such things.
Nereus also did not take the initiative to contact Wang Zhi. In the end, Wang Zhi hid for a while, and only after realizing nothing had happened and that there were no rumors on the seas about Nereus targeting him did he finally return to Fullalead Island.
After returning, Wang Zhi also began establishing new rules for the island. Even if another bunch of hotheaded fools appeared in the future, they could not be allowed to set sail from Fullalead Island.
When the others watching the excitement saw that there was no follow-up, they gradually stopped paying attention to the matter. Not long afterward, an even bigger incident erupted.
Two months later, at the beginning of Sea Circle Calendar Year 1514, in the Edd War Sea, the Flying Pirates’ grand fleet clashed with the Roger Pirates.
Golden Lion chose to extend an invitation to Roger, the man he had always thought highly of.
“Roger! Harald and Nereus and the others are all making deals with the World Government! Those b*stards have already lost their ambition!
“Join hands with me and become my right-hand man! If you and I work together, we can definitely rule this world!”
“Sorry, Shiki! I’m also not interested in your invitation!”
During the fierce naval battle, the sea itself seemed to stand on Roger’s side. A sudden tidal wave destroyed most of Golden Lion’s fleet, and even Golden Lion himself had a ship’s helm lodged into his head, becoming a permanent part of his body.
After the Flying Empire had been severely damaged and collapsed due to Harald’s assault, the grand fleet was also heavily crippled, with over half its forces lost.
Although Golden Lion’s personal combat strength had not suffered serious damage and he still remained one of the New World’s great overlords, in the eyes of the Marines, his threat level had dropped considerably.
After repeatedly failing in his attempts to build an empire, Golden Lion seemed to have become the unluckiest man in pirate circles, and for a time, far fewer people came to join him.
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