Finding someone who could replace Buena Festa really was not easy. When it came to holding festivals, Buena Festa also had a long-standing reputation. Although what he had done in the past were all festivals among pirates, the essence was the same.
When working for pirates, one had to be a bit more careful, after all, illegal gatherings of pirates were not entirely a bad thing for the Marines. While they might trigger great chaos, they were also a good opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop.
Without the obstacle of pirate identity, efficiency would actually be a little higher.
But if he was already dead, then there was no point. The only one who could go to the underworld and hold a concert there was probably the special case that was Brook.
Nanamo also could not possibly have Chloe summon the Sea Kings of the entire world just to see whether the other party had been digested. Even if there was no need to conceal the matter of Poseidon, those Sea Kings would not remember such things either.
In order to complete its master’s order, Hermes also issued a “recruitment notice.” Although it was only a Homie, it was also a close attendant of the princess, so its words still carried some weight in Ryugu Kingdom.
Because it was only for holding a concert, there were not many restrictions. Even Sabaody Archipelago could see similar recruitment ads, which naturally attracted the attention of quite a few people.
Sabaody Archipelago, GR 12. This was currently Tesoro’s residence.
During this time, Tesoro’s life had undergone a huge change. Through his efforts, he had successfully won Stella’s heart.
Stella usually worked at Fishman Island’s office on Sabaody Archipelago, while Tesoro’s situation was unstable, basically doing all kinds of odd jobs. Occasionally, he could even be seen busking in Bubble Park.
The two of them earned enough to maintain a normal life. As long as they did not encounter any natural or man-made disasters, food and clothing were not a problem, but Tesoro was not satisfied.
The reason Tesoro had turned over a new leaf and quit all of his bad habits was because of Stella, but it could not be denied that methods such as gambling earned money much faster than working normally.
Although the risks were just as high, people who had earned quick money would always selectively forget those risks.
However, Tesoro did not intend to return to his old trade. He wanted to find a way to rise quickly within reasonable channels, thereby improving their current living conditions.
“Stella, I think… this is an opportunity…”
The “recruitment notice” issued on Hermes’s behalf was currently lying on the table in Tesoro’s room. There were quite a few similar ads, and the odd jobs Tesoro had taken earlier had involved distributing these flyers.
“Preparing Princess Nanamo’s concert, experienced applicants preferred… Have you done something like this before?”
Stella’s eyes were full of doubt. Tesoro could be said to hold nothing back from Stella, to the point that he was only short of reciting his genetic code to her.
In Stella’s memory, Tesoro had never done something like this.
“No, but ever since I was little, I’ve yearned for that kind of grand stage. Sometimes I watched from the distant mountains, and I also secretly slipped backstage before. I know a little about things like the process and the spectacle.”
“So you haven’t done it before?”
“No, but other people don’t know whether I’ve done it or not either. For things like applying for a job… it all depends on how you present yourself. As long as you can produce results, everything else isn’t a problem.”
Having dealt with all kinds of people from every walk of life, Tesoro was also familiar with various procedures. This sea did not have anything like corporate background checks.
As agents of the World Government, CP9 could infiltrate the shipyard of Water 7.
As Buckin’s clone, Stussy could infiltrate Cipher Pol and act as Vegapunk’s spy. As for recruitment, it was basically just a casual question or two. It was very hard to investigate clearly.
If one truly had ability, then after experiencing more things, one would always be able to rise. There were also no shortage of people who simply filled positions without real ability, but once discovered, it was easy to pay some price.
“There’s nothing bad about our current life. If you do this…”
“Dream.”
“What?”
“I said dream. Are you really willing to live out your life in plain mediocrity? I admit that on this sea full of danger, being able to spend your life peacefully is already quite good.
But I still want to realize my dream. Standing on a world-class stage is also my dream. Don’t you also want to become a dancer?”
The idea that only money could be trusted had not yet influenced Tesoro. His conscience and bottom line had not been erased either, and he still had the desire to chase his dreams.
“I don’t want to keep going on in obscurity like this. The opportunity is right in front of me… If I just let it pass, I won’t be satisfied.”
Although it only sounded like a concert, it also depended on who it was being held for. People living within Fishman Island’s jurisdiction all knew very well that Nanamo was the princess of this country.
And under the system of a feudal kingdom, the royal family was undoubtedly the most influential group in a country, especially when the royal family themselves were the country’s highest combat power.
No matter where the Merfolk and Fish-Men were born, as long as they returned to Fishman Island, they naturally became members of this country.
But places like Delta Island, certain areas of Sabaody Archipelago, and certain areas of North Blue were home to large numbers of non-Merfolk and non-Fish-Men races, and quite a few of these people were likewise citizens of Fishman Island.
The fastest path to promotion was still in the military, though not in the Neptune Army, but in another corps. The same logic applied to technical talent as well, but at the moment, Tesoro fit neither category.
Since he hadn’t been corrupted yet and the path he took was not so extreme, the journey of his life was naturally different as well.
After making his decision, Tesoro also began recalling the concerts he had seen back then, and integrated the grand stage of his dreams into them, intending to come up with a perfect proposal.
Whether or not someone had experience was something only the person involved knew, but if one could not even produce a draft proposal, being selected would not be easy.
In a certain sense, it went quite smoothly for Tesoro. According to Nanamo’s instructions, what Hermes was looking for was not merely someone capable of holding a concert. The most ideal situation was for that person to already have ties to Ryugu Kingdom and be able to become a long-term, stable planner.
Under these circumstances, Tesoro advanced fairly smoothly. After a bit of assessment, he soon reached the finals. However, the competitor he faced in the finals made Tesoro somewhat uncomfortable.
His opponent was not a human, nor a Merfolk or Fish-Man, but… a starfish.
At this moment, an orange-red starfish was showing a human-like expression, looking at Tesoro with a suspicious gaze.
“Hey, opponent, why do you keep staring at me? I won’t go easy on you!”
“A starfish… why can it speak human language…”
“Oh, that. When I was born, I always thought I was human. By the time I realized I was actually a starfish, I had already learned human language.”
The starfish Pappag spread his hands, as if he felt all of this was only natural.
“Human, your experience is still lacking. The examiners for the finals are a cloud and a skeleton, so under those circumstances, what’s strange about your opponent being a starfish?”
Pappag’s words left Tesoro with no way to respond. The facts were exactly as Pappag said.
Tesoro had thought he would be able to meet Nanamo during the finals; making a good impression in front of the princess would certainly be beneficial for his future prospects.
But the ones who came to assess them were Brook and Hermes, which meant conventional methods of handling an assessment were completely ineffective.
However, the final result was still pretty good for Tesoro. He and Pappag passed the assessment at the same time, and the two of them would jointly be responsible for organizing the concert.
What Tesoro did not know was that he had nearly lost this competition to a starfish, and the reason was the budget.
At this time, Pappag was not yet some famous designer and was still in a state of having no desires or demands. The compensation he hoped for was an endless supply of clams and Sea Beast meat.
Compared to Tesoro, Pappag’s cost-performance ratio was so high it was hard to describe.
If the one selecting people had not been Hermes and Brook, but Nanamo herself, then perhaps Pappag really would have won all by himself.
Date, venue, costumes—there were still quite a few things to plan. Pappag did not understand the outside world well enough, but when it came to things like clothing and decoration, he instead had quite a few unique insights, and thus began a good cooperation with Tesoro.
At this time, what Tesoro worried about most was no longer the organizing itself. There was no problem with the venue, and the funds were in place. No matter what, they could hold the concert.
Sabaody Archipelago had an enormous flow of tourists. If profit was not the goal, finding an audience was not difficult either. But Tesoro had never heard Nanamo’s singing voice.
“Pappag, have you heard the princess sing before?”
“No. We’re just in charge of organizing the concert. Does whether we’ve heard her or not matter?”
“What if… I mean, what if that princess actually sings terribly and the concert turns out badly, will we be held jointly responsible?”
“My dear human friend, if it’s really that terrible, you actually don’t need to worry. After all, the problem would be obvious. What you should be worried about is what to do if the concert goes badly even though her singing isn’t bad.”
Pappag, who was designing the costumes, turned his body around and stood on the table to look at Tesoro behind him. At this moment, Pappag felt that Tesoro seemed to have changed. Ever since taking on this job, he had instead become somewhat restrained because of the pressure.
“Yohohoho, you two don’t need to worry about that problem. Princess Nanamo’s singing voice has no issues.
Even if the result isn’t great then, it won’t be blamed on you. Just go ahead and do what you want.”
Brook, who had come to coordinate the songs and lighting, happened to hear their conversation and also gave them a dose of reassurance.
Nanamo herself was not overly concerned about this matter. To her, this could not be counted as a dream, only as a hobby.
It wouldn’t be out of the question to have her review it once the preparations were complete. At this time, Nanamo was focusing her energy on her own training.
In order to avoid being dragged into a situation by the training maniacs where she would have Flames of Regeneration activated while being beaten and healed at the same time, Nanamo decided to work hard on her own for a while first.
However, the result did not change much. It only went from having Flames of Regeneration active from the start of the fight to using Flames of Regeneration to heal injuries after the fight.
“Hey, Dad, even if I was the one who asked for this, did you really have to hit me this hard… You’re not actually trying to kill me, are you…”
“What nonsense are you saying? You know it yourself. At this stage, ordinary training doesn’t have much meaning. Only a deathmatch of this level can have any effect.
“The only person who can make you feel like you’re about to be killed without actually delivering a killing blow is me.”
“I mean, that’s true… but it really hurts…”
Rubbing her head, Nanamo signaled to Amphitrite at the side to increase the firepower a little. As a special flame, the Flames of Regeneration could not only heal injuries, but even provide pain relief. It could be considered a special medicine for training.
Leaning against the sofa at the side, Nanamo unconsciously thought of Kaido. After all, there was someone nearby peeking in on this place.
Only, Nanamo did not understand. No matter who came to train someone, the essence of it was the same. What exactly was there for Yamato to envy?
It was all getting beaten. What difference did it make who was doing the beating?
“Dad, tell me, how did that Kaido manage to make his relationship with his daughter so terrible?”
“It’s the result of failing to reason with her. He should have taken things slow and guided her gradually when she was still young; blindly educating with the club won’t produce any good results.”
“That brat Kaido isn’t good at this sort of thing, and believes more in pure force.”
“That’s true.”
Thinking back on her own past experiences, although there had been plenty of harsh training, there were also many wonderful memories.
But if Yamato were asked to recall the past, then there would not be a single good memory, only beatings and scoldings.
Back then, Yamato had also really liked the kanabo Kaido gave her. She even gave the weapon a name, and was saddened because the weapon was damaged.
However, when Kaido saw the saddened Yamato, he only felt that she was weak. Not only did he not comfort her, he even beat her viciously. Similar things kept happening, and over time, this accumulated into the kind of bad impression that was difficult to change.
“Since I promised Kaido, I have to teach her properly. Aside from the most basic club-swinging techniques, Kaido didn’t teach her much. She is still at the stage of tempering her body right now. You should know how to train her, right?”
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’m very familiar with this, but the person she admires is you. Is it appropriate for me to do it?”
“It’s only basic training. What’s inappropriate about it? Or are you saying you deeply feel your own strength is weak, and after learning from the pain, have decided to let me begin uninterrupted devil’s training for you?”
The word “weak” had nothing to do with Nanamo. Looking across the entire sea, she was a powerhouse who ranked among the top, but Nereus just so happened to have the standing to say such a thing.
It was just that if others heard it, they would easily start doubting their lives.
After hearing Nereus’s words, Nanamo said nothing. The Flames of Regeneration had mostly restored her, so she leapt to her feet with a kip-up, and pulling Yamato along, she headed toward another training ground.
“Stop watching. Once you get a little stronger, Dad will personally guide you. Right now, it’s time to build your foundation!”
This kind of basic training was not complicated, and Nanamo did not plan to do it personally either. Nereus had outsourced it to her, so she planned to outsource it to Alber.
In any case, Yamato did not need to learn combat skills like Fish-Man Karate. Although that was something any race could learn, for members who were not Fish-Men or Merfolk, the difficulty was actually very high.
Under the reasonable bait of Nereus personally training her, Yamato appeared very energetic, and even, to a certain extent, just as Nanamo had expected, drove up the overall intensity of the training…
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