The reason they were dispatching several warships was also to deal with the other pirates.
Pirates who reached the Sabaody Archipelago would either continue toward Fishman Island or turn back.
If any pirates truly offended Nereus during the concert, going beneath the sea would be tantamount to seeking death, while turning back would lead them straight into a Marine encirclement. In that respect, this was also beneficial to the Marines.
Fishman Island’s geographical location meant that no matter what happened here, the Marines could never simply ignore it.
Regardless of why these pirates are intercepted by Nereus, as long as they sank into the sea, it would alleviate a considerable amount of pressure on the Marines.
While the Marines studied the possible effects the concert might cause, the people involved in the concert were concerned with something else.
“Hermes, how are ticket sales?”
“Reporting to Princess Nanamo, all the tickets have sold out~ This is the ticket revenue from the concert.”
The tickets were not expensive, so it was hardly strange for tourists to go and experience something novel.
However, what attracted them might not necessarily have been the concert itself, but rather its venue. After all, this concert was being held on Laboon’s back.
Brook was providing the accompaniment, and Laboon was more than happy to participate. Since they were near the Sabaody Archipelago, even the seats had been modified into floating bubble versions.
The quality of the music aside, it would certainly be novel enough.
…..
“Hey, my dear Tesoro, what are you so nervous about? You have to believe in your own skills. This is a concert we planned together. It won’t fail!”
As the concert was about to begin, Tesoro, one of its planners, was naturally present at the venue. However, compared to Pappag’s confidence, Tesoro appeared restless and uneasy.
To him, this concert seemed more like a trial.
“You’re a starfish. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Hmph, do you think I’m one of those unintelligent starfish? You’re simply worried that the concert will be a disaster and affect your future. What else could you possibly be worried about?”
“…”
Pappag’s unusual appearance always made it easy for Tesoro to forget that this seemingly starfish-like creature possessed intelligence no less than a human’s and also enjoyed acting like his senior.
“Take a word of advice from Monsieur Pappag. True gold will always shine. You have talent, and Fishman Island has opportunities. Put your energy elsewhere, and sooner or later, you’ll succeed.”
Pappag was not merely comforting Tesoro. He genuinely believed it.
After realizing that he was actually a starfish, Pappag had not become discouraged. Instead, he believed himself to be a once-in-a-thousand-years genius of the starfish family.
After all, there were so many starfish in the sea, yet he was the only one this intelligent.
During the time he had worked with Tesoro, Pappag had likewise felt that Tesoro was extremely talented, always coming up with striking ideas when planning the finer details.
However, compared to the Tesoro of the original timeline, who had “lost everything,” the current Tesoro was somewhat lacking in decisiveness and was always worrying about the future.
His past life had been filled with failure. Now that Tesoro had finally obtained something precious, he feared that failure would continue to loom over him.
Tesoro did not even know when the concert began. It was Pappag’s cheers of success that finally brought him back to his senses.
Only after the concert ended and Hermes came to deliver a message saying Nanamo wished to see them did the weight in Tesoro’s heart finally lift.
Even in the worst-case scenario, he could use this experience on his résumé to find a stable, high-paying job in the Ryugu Kingdom and put an end to his days of working odd jobs.
“I heard you were responsible for selling the tickets and merchandise for this concert?”
“Yes, Princess Nanamo. Was there anything you were dissatisfied with?”
“No, I’m very satisfied. I have a small business venture here. Do you have the courage to give it a try? If you can make it work, the compensation will be generous.”
As she spoke, Nanamo placed an insurance policy in front of Tesoro. It was not personal accident insurance for employees, but an insurance service offered to the outside world by the Ryugu Kingdom.
Although Tesoro was also quite capable when it came to planning concerts, with this experience as a foundation, Pappag should theoretically be able to plan such events on his own in the future.
Judging from the results, Nanamo felt that Tesoro might be even more talented at making money.
“Thank you for placing your trust in me. I’ll produce a result that satisfies you.”
This concert had also allowed Tesoro to gain something very important—confidence.
With newfound confidence, he became noticeably more decisive in his actions, and Nanamo’s intuition in this regard was not wrong either.
Compared to combat, Tesoro possessed far greater talent when it came to making money. The Gol-Gol Fruit could not create gold out of thin air; it could only control gold that its user had touched.
The fact that Tesoro in the original timeline had managed to earn so many Berries showed that he truly was capable.
After deducting the initial investment costs, they had still earned some Berries.
If there was any problem, it was Brook.
For some reason, Nanamo felt that her accompanist possessed a perfect ability to steal the spotlight. He even seemed more popular than she was. It appeared she would have to use a different team for her next concert.
Alternatively, using Brook to make money would also be a good choice.
His official position was Nereus’s guard, but Nereus did not need guarding at all. On average, Brook only needed to work seriously for seven days every four years, so finding him a side job seemed like a good idea.
The concert’s popularity did not last very long. Nanamo had not yet reached the level of a universally beloved idol, and had merely left an impression on a small number of people.
The newspaper also devoted a small section to what had happened there. Major incidents did not occur every day, and this sort of entertainment news was also part of the World Economy News Paper.
Normally, news like this would not attract much attention, but in certain special places, it still caused rather serious consequences.
On Whole Cake Island, Big Mom was in an extremely foul mood today. Several of her children suffered completely undeserved calamity, getting viciously scolded over the most trivial matters.
The sisters Charlotte Praline and Charlotte Prim in particular seemed to have suffered more than just a scolding. It was more as though they had been subjected to some kind of intimidation.
“Brother Katakuri, why… is Mama targeting us so much…?”
Katakuri was now the true head of this enormous family. Whenever his younger siblings felt hurt, they were more inclined to seek comfort from him. Yet Katakuri was also helpless regarding this matter.
He knew the reason. The two sisters were half-mermaids. Despite having similar bloodlines, the disparity in their talents was immense. Even if she never said it aloud, Big Mom would instinctively compare them to Nanamo.
Most importantly, Perospero, who had checked the newspaper that day, had failed to notice the small article about Nanamo on one of the inner pages, ultimately setting off a chain reaction…
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