“Chloe just called me. She said they want to stay outside and play for a few more days, so they won’t be back until later.”
Fishman Island, inside Ryugu Palace, Amphitrite informed Nereus of their situation after receiving Chloe’s call, just as he returned from outside.
“Let them play if they want. Dressrosa isn’t far away, and nothing major has happened recently.”
“Speaking of which, Kaido really is carefree. Has he truly never come to visit his child even once all these years?”
“That’s his approach to education—pure ‘hands-off.’ Since he dumped her on me, he won’t interfere anymore.”
“The conflict between that father and daughter seems quite deep. If Yamato really learns something and defeats Kaido…”
“He’d probably burst out laughing instead. If he lost to his own daughter in terms of raw strength, he wouldn’t complain.”
Nereus understood exactly what kind of person Kaido was. He was physically formidable and mentally sharp. He was not a good man, but he knew how to accept defeat.
The best way to communicate with him was to beat him into submission first. Only when someone stood on equal footing with him in terms of force, or surpassed him, would Kaido be willing to have a proper conversation.
“Your Majesty Nereus! Today’s spoils have been brought back!”
At that moment, a towering figure swam up outside Ryugu Palace. His name was Wadatsumi. He was not some sort of Giant hybrid; he was simply naturally enormous.
Although he was only nine years old, his body was already comparable to that of an adult Giant. At this moment, he was dragging two sunken ships behind him.
They had belonged to pirates who had attempted to violate Fishman Island’s ban and force their way in. After the ships were sunk, they were hauled back to serve as teaching materials. Any intact lumber could also be dismantled and reused.
Logically speaking, Wadatsumi was still only a child and should have been studying like the others his age.
However, his level of intelligence…
Perhaps all his development had gone into his size, because Wadatsumi’s intelligence was only slightly better than Big Pan’s. He could take care of himself and understand basic logic, but there was still a gap between him and an ordinary person.
Combined with the fact that his enormous size made it difficult for him to fit in, Wadatsumi had simply started working. With his brute strength, he could at least support himself.
“Leave the task of taking those to the Sea Forest to the others. Be careful not to damage anything.”
“Yes!”
Even though he was not fully grown yet, Wadatsumi was already nearly as large as an ordinary Sea Beast. Compared with those Sea Beasts, his flexible hands allowed him to do far more.
As for his education, Big Pan was teaching him. The two of them often operated on the same wavelength, and with neither of them being particularly bright, it instead produced a strangely effective result.
“The Vodka Kingdom and the Marines responsible for recruitment in that region back then were both idiots. They saw a promising recruit and immediately tried to force him into the Marines.
Had they actually succeeded, the Marines would have gained another top-tier combatant.”
After Wadatsumi left, Nereus continued talking about Kaido. Among the kings of more than 170 affiliated nations, there truly were not many capable of governing their countries properly.
Quite a few nations that had originally enjoyed stable order had seen everything ruined because their kings suddenly had a bright idea.
“Speaking of which, Kaido recently seems to have recruited a new subordinate named Chameleone. He has some reputation in the New World, and it’s said that he possesses an ability ‘identical’ to Kaido’s.
“I remember you saying that Wobbegong and that man named Queen under Kaido both once worked aboard MADS’s research vessel and studied the Lineage Factor of Devil Fruits.
Could they have overcome some difficulty?”
“No. I know who Chameleone is. He’s the user of the Copy-Copy Fruit. It seems Kaido allowed him to copy his ability.”
“The Copy-Copy Fruit? Looking at his wanted poster, I thought he was a Zoan user.”
Chameleone had a rather unusual appearance, particularly his extremely long tongue.
“Your Majesty Nereus, pardon the interruption. Something has happened in the North Blue and requires your decision.”
A new intelligence was delivered to Ryugu Palace. However, the problem was not with Deul Kingdom’s territory itself, but with something occurring near it.
Deul Kingdom was located in a well-connected region of the North Blue. Although the kingdom itself was situated on an island, crossing a relatively narrow strait would lead to a much larger landmass.
Many nations were located there, including a small country called Flevance.
Though called a country, it was only about the size of a city-state. Because it produced a mineral known as “Amber Lead,” Flevance was also called the White City.
【A severe infectious disease has recently broken out in Flevance. The surrounding nations have imposed a joint blockade, completely sealing off all routes into and out of Flevance.
Although a strait separates it from Deul Kingdom, the kingdom’s citizens remain concerned that the disease may enter their territory.
Should similar measures be adopted by sealing the surrounding straits, while also providing humanitarian assistance within our capabilities…?】
“Should we help? Deul Kingdom doesn’t seem to have a specialized medical team. I can go there if necessary.”
Amphitrite herself was not afraid of infectious diseases. None of the viruses currently known could overcome her antibodies, and with the power of the phoenix, she could simply burn through the entirety of Flevance and essentially eliminate the virus.
“Your Flames of Regeneration are useless against Amber Lead Syndrome. After all, it isn’t a disease caused by viruses or bacteria, but an illness caused by elements accumulating inside the human body.”
As its name implied, Amber Lead Syndrome was caused by Amber Lead.
While the mineral remained buried deep underground, it posed no harm to the human body. But once Amber Lead began to be mined extensively, the seeds of the disease were sown.
As early as when Flevance’s Amber Lead industry was first beginning, roughly a hundred years ago, a geological survey team from the World Government had been ordered to come there and conduct a comprehensive and meticulous exploration of the underground deposits.
It was during that survey that the team discovered the truth about Amber Lead—it was beautiful, practical, and enormously valuable, yet carried a deadly curse.
However, before immense profits, the truth became merely another bargaining chip.
The World Government did not make this discovery public. The royal family of Flevance likewise chose silence.
Both sides tacitly concealed everything, allowing ordinary people who knew nothing of the danger to devote themselves to the Amber Lead industry, mining the beautiful yet dangerous mineral day after day and year after year to increase their wealth and power.
The people of Flevance received generous returns. Wealth brought by Amber Lead poured into the small city like a tide, and per capita income soared. The poverty and backwardness of the past were quickly left behind.
Flevance transformed from an obscure little city into a prosperous nation famous far and wide, its streets filled with an atmosphere of prosperity and hope.
However, the common people of Flevance did not know what had been traded for the wealth they dug out with their own hands.
What was being overdrawn was their very lives.
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