Jinbe clenched his fists and walked over to Otohime’s side.
The greatest difference between Otohime and Fisher Tiger was not the slight disparity in their ideals.
Rather, it was the genuine gap in physical capabilities.
Otohime’s constitution was extraordinarily peculiar. It was no longer merely a matter of being “unsuited for training,” but that she was fundamentally incapable of fighting.
It was an unbelievable kind of frailty. Even if driven by anger and attempting to raise her hand to slap someone, she would be the one who ended up injured.
Force acted in both directions. What would happen to the person she struck was uncertain, but Otohime’s hand would definitely fracture.
For Otohime to develop any respectable combat strength, she would first have to find a competent scientist to perform some bio-modifications. Only after her glass-like constitution had changed could she begin making the most basic attempts.
Even the games between Chloe and Yamato were high-risk activities that posed a fatal danger to Otohime.
Therefore, even when stationed abroad, a suitable military officer would always accompany her.
This happened to be the era when Jinbe, Kawamatsu, Namur, and the others were growing rapidly. Furthermore, Jinbe and Otohime had been students in the same class, so they naturally became members of the same team.
Jinbe had never been an overly agreeable man. His personality in the original timeline had been shaped by the many things he experienced, including the voyages of the Sun Pirates and Tiger’s death after refusing a blood transfusion.
Although the current Jinbe was no militant, neither was he a pure pacifist like Otohime.
Since they refused to listen, he would simply beat them into submission first.
“I understand what you mean… I’ll have to trouble you, Jinbe. These are all ordinary people, so please hold back.”
Otohime had likewise changed greatly. She was not the Otohime from the original timeline. Fishman Island in the original timeline had also been unable to find a clear path forward, and Fishman Island in that state lacked sufficient military power.
In the end, it evolved into a “nonviolent” approach, achieving only partial results through persistent speeches advocating peace.
Had Otohime’s ability not awakened Mjosgard’s conscience and caused a dissenting voice to emerge within the families of the Celestial Dragons, there was no telling how many years it would have taken to achieve any results.
The current Otohime also understood that, for the sake of peace, force sometimes had to be used.
The present situation could spiral out of control at any moment. Flevance was already a powder keg on the verge of exploding. Unless they found a way to restrain both sides, a single spark would completely ignite the place.
When that happened, it would no longer be a simple matter of bloodshed, but utter chaos.
“Don’t worry. I can handle a situation like this.”
Jinbe leaped down from the bow of the ship. His wooden getas scraped noisily against the planks of the dock. Unlike Otohime, he did not use a loudspeaker, instead relying solely on the strength of his voice to carry his words into the ears of everyone nearby.
“Everyone, please remain restrained! This illness is not contagious! None of you will die here! We have a better way to resolve all of this!
This is your final warning!”
Jinbe did not expect his words to stop the rioting crowd. Had shouting been effective, Otohime would have resolved everything long ago.
However, Jinbe was not acting as a travelling knight intervening out of righteousness, nor was he behaving willfully as a pirate. He represented an affiliated nation, and issuing a final warning was an indispensable part of the proper procedure.
Seeing that neither side intended to stop, Jinbe planted his feet in a horse stance and assumed a punching posture.
“Fish-Man Karate.”
Jinbe extended his left palm forward and drew his right hand back to his waist, taking the most basic opening stance.
“Arabesque Brick Fist!”
There was no earth-shattering noise or overwhelmingly destructive momentum. It appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary punch, and nothing happened.
Some commanders of the surrounding nations’ armies had also been watching him, but after seeing Jinbe merely throw a punch at empty air, they stopped paying attention.
he next moment, however, those closest to Jinbe sensed something strange. Their bodies began retreating uncontrollably, and several of them had their abdomens caved in, as if they had been swept away by a single swing of a staff.
Arabesque Brick Fist was not the most powerful technique in Fish-Man Karate, but it possessed the characteristic of taking effect after a delay. Because Jinbe had controlled his strength, those people merely began stumbling backward, and the same phenomenon gradually spread through the crowd.
It was as though an invisible hand had thrust itself between the two groups brimming with hostility at the border, forcibly separating them.
Whether it was the armies of the surrounding nations encircling the area or the citizens of Flevance attempting to break through the outer barbed-wire fence, all of them were repelled by Jinbe’s attack.
There was no helping it. As long as the people inside remained on Flevance’s land and did not come out, the armies outside could still exercise restraint.
They still believed it was a contagious disease, and that quarantine fence was their final line. If that balance were broken now, the people outside truly would open fire. Once things reached that point, the situation would become completely uncontrollable.
“Can you listen to us properly now?”
“We’ve brought plenty of food and fresh water! Please wait patiently. The doctors will be here soon!”
After that single punch, both sides had clearly calmed down considerably. The soldiers on the perimeter supported one another as they retreated toward the second blockade line, leaving the area to the personnel from Fishman Island.
Judging by their movements, they appeared to be contacting their respective countries and reporting the situation here.
Before Amber Lead Syndrome had broken out on a massive scale, Flevance’s royal family had already fled in advance with the World Government’s assistance. Everyone left behind had been classified as a “dangerous source of infection,” so even if the surrounding armies truly began a massacre, they would not have many reservations.
The newly intervening Ryugu Kingdom was different. Now that it was a famous major power on the Grand Line, these North Blue nations had to consider the consequences before taking action.
The people of Flevance also calmed down. Jinbe had proven through force that, as long as he was here, even if they all rushed him together, they would not be his match.
Food and fresh water could calm them temporarily, but not for long. Those who could still move had yet to develop symptoms and were among the stronger people of Flevance.
Those with weaker constitutions had long since become unable to move because of the illness. Neither local anesthetics nor painkillers could stop the agony it caused.
Food and fresh water could not bring hope. They could only offer brief comfort.
If Fishman Island could not resolve the illness in the near future, another riot would eventually break out.
However, Judge moved quickly as well. Germa Kingdom was unusual not only in the size of its territory, but also in its composition.
Apart from the Vinsmoke family and its elite scientific personnel, ninety percent of the nation’s citizens were clone soldiers mass-produced by Judge.
They required only five years to mature to the equivalent of twenty-year-olds and were commonly used as expendable troops in Germa’s wars.
Although these clones possessed a certain degree of self-awareness, Judge’s orders still took precedence. Once Judge issued his command as supreme commander, Germa began operating with remarkable efficiency.
While producing the Amber Lead antidote according to the formula, they also advanced toward Flevance.
By dawn the next day, a large number of snail warships had already appeared near Flevance.
“It’s Germa!!!”
“Why are Germa’s people here? Report this to His Majesty at once!”
Germa’s appearance instead threw the nations surrounding Flevance into panic. After all, this was North Blue, and there were currently two stories more popular than any others there.
One was the legend of Liar Noland, which had been passed down for centuries. The other was the terrifying tale of Germa.
Even setting aside the era when Germa’s ancestors had ruled North Blue by force, after Judge returned to Germa, he had beheaded four North Blue kings and reestablished Germa’s standing under the name of the Conquest of Four Nations.
Although Deul Kingdom had likewise been destroyed, the other kingdoms of North Blue believed there was at least a clear cause and effect behind that incident, since Deul Kingdom had been the one to provoke them first.
Moreover, after that, Ryugu Kingdom had never committed any excessive acts in North Blue and had even helped maintain some of the region’s public order.
Compared with Germa Kingdom, the nations of North Blue were far more willing to trust Ryugu Kingdom.
There was an upside, however. After hearing that Germa’s people had come to deliver medicine, the surrounding nations did not obstruct them and readily cleared the way.
After all, the security guards at a company entrance might not recognize the members of the board of directors, but they would certainly recognize the head of security.
……
“This medicine was manufactured according to Wobbegong’s formula. There’s nothing wrong with the formula, but I don’t know whether it will work. Germa had no suitable test subjects.”
After making contact with Ryugu Kingdom’s personnel, Judge immediately explained what he knew. Putting a drug into practical use inevitably required experimentation, and human trials were a difficult step to avoid.
“However, given Flevance’s current situation, there’s no need for volunteers. These dying people have no choice.”
The core members of MADS possessed sufficient scientific expertise. Any one of them would be considered a top scientist in the outside world.
That included Caesar Clown. Although most of what he created was inferior, aside from Caesar Clown, no one else could even produce knockoffs of Vegapunk’s work. Back then, each of them could be said to have their own strengths.
But when it came to morality…
Queen, Caesar, and Judge combined could not muster even one person’s share. It was only because there were no Amber Lead Syndrome patients elsewhere that Judge had not directly captured one to test the medicine’s effects in order to ensure its final success.
It did not matter much now. Just as Judge had said, the patients in Flevance had no opportunity to choose. The local royal family and the World Government had both abandoned them.
This medicine was the only thing that might cure them. Many of them had relatives and friends who had died horribly from the disease. Even if they were told the medicine had a fifty-percent mortality rate, there would still be people willing to gamble on it.
The good news was that the medicine, developed from historical records, proved effective. Patients with better physical capabilities and milder symptoms recovered almost completely after a single injection.
For the others, the required dosage varied greatly depending on their condition. The most severely afflicted patients needed external hemodialysis while receiving the medicine to remove as much of the toxin from their bodies as possible.
As a formerly prosperous nation, Flevance had never lacked hemodialysis equipment.
In the past, however, the Amber Lead toxins had clung stubbornly to the blood and internal organ tissues like a bone-deep affliction, rendering conventional dialysis methods almost useless.
Now that the antidote had successfully broken down and separated the toxins, hemodialysis instead became an extremely effective supplementary treatment, greatly accelerating the toxin removal process.
The injections and subsequent medical care were primarily handled by the medical team brought by Ryugu Kingdom and the surviving doctors and nurses of Flevance.
Judge did not send many of his own people to help. He understood perfectly well that Ryugu Kingdom was making an important “investment in reputation” in Flevance.
Sending his own personnel to assist might have the opposite effect, which would not align with Judge’s objectives. As the ruler of a nation with extensive roots in the Underworld, Judge naturally wanted to establish friendly relations with Nereus as well.
But Judge did not remain completely idle. Instead, he sent several of his children through Flevance wearing temporarily manufactured, child-sized Germa battle suits.
“Mr. Judge, why are you doing this?”
Otohime did not know Judge very well, but from their brief interactions, she had not noticed anything particularly wrong with him.
After all, Judge was also highly skilled at putting on an act. The person Ryugu Kingdom had appointed to oversee North Blue was clearly someone destined to enter the political center.
When dealing with a member of Ryugu Kingdom, Judge naturally displayed impeccable courtesy and grace.
“Governor-General Otohime, do you read “illustrated stories” in your spare time?”
“Ones from the surface? I’ve read a few. I’m particularly fond of Monkey Ball.”
Many illustrated stories were popular across the seas. Much like manga, they were all serialized works.
As a Mermaid deeply interested in the surface world, Otohime had naturally learned about such things whenever she had access to them.
“Then you should also have read the comic Sora, Warrior of the Sea. Its villains were modeled after us, Germa.
And those Marines naturally portrayed themselves as the embodiment of justice, so I want to prove that Germa can also be the heroes.”
Judge cared greatly about things like reputation. After the Conquest of Four Nations, he had kept that portrait hanging in his Royal Palace as something to boast about.
He could not steal Ryugu Kingdom’s reputation, but he could at least change the public’s stereotypical impression of Germa.
Ordinary people had no idea that the villainous Germa truly existed and had always regarded them as fictional villains, but Judge knew the truth.
That serialized comic was updated daily in the World Economy News Paper. To promote the Marines’ justice, it constantly depicted “Germa’s” schemes being foiled in various ways, which greatly irritated Judge, who instinctively placed himself in the villain boss’s position.
However, Judge likewise did not know that compared with the comic’s protagonist, Germa was actually more popular as the villain. Their combat suits of various colors had sparked a unique “power rangers craze” throughout North Blue.
It was said that owning a Germa transformation suit was the dream of many children in North Blue, and even adults were no exception.
When cosplayers dressed in combat suits appeared before them, many people genuinely stopped crying and broke into smiles.
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