When he was young, King had wandered the seas alone. Even he longed for companions of his own kind, because for Lunarians, there were almost no people in the world they could truly trust.
Only fellow members of their race were relatively trustworthy. Because of the World Government's attitude toward them, Lunarians naturally shared a unified stance.
Alber was quite curious about how Amphitrite had managed to accomplish this, and he wanted to see whether it was something he could learn.
To reach Fish-Man Island from his current location would take quite some time, and with the added need to avoid any possible pursuit, he couldn't move very quickly.
Meanwhile, on Fish-Man Island, Nereus was making the next arrangements. After a long period of work, the population census of Fish-Man Island had finally been completed.
Out of a population of 4.15 million, there were 209 flying fish Fish-Men and Merfolk in total. Excluding those who were too young or too old, there were 57 individuals of suitable age.
Among them were 37 Fish-Men and 20 Merfolk.
Now, all 57 of them had received Nereus's summons and arrived at Ryugu Palace at the same time.
"Did you receive His Majesty Nereus's summons too?"
"Yeah. I wonder what it's about. Is he choosing a new queen?"
"Stop daydreaming. There are so many men here, how could it be something like that… Recruitment seems more likely…"
"Where is His Majesty Nereus? Why haven't we seen him yet?"
The men and women whispered among themselves. Although their appearances differed quite a bit, because they were of the same Fish-Type, they shared many similar physical traits.
Under the arms of the Fish-Men were transparent wing-like membranes.
And on both sides of the Merfolk's fish tails were large transparent fins, giving them an almost fairy-like appearance.
"Congratulations, you guessed correctly. I did summon you here today for recruitment. But don't worry, this isn't mandatory."
After a moment, Nereus finally appeared in the hall. He had been here the whole time, simply observing the condition of these people.
"Your Majesty Nereus!"
"No need to bow. That sort of thing doesn't matter. I just want to have a simple conversation with you. Fish-Man Island is still in a stage of development.
You are still young and the future of Fish-Man Island. Your strength can also play an important role in the future.
I have a question. Among you, who can fly? Even short gliding counts."
Among the 57 people, only two raised their hands.
The others weren't necessarily incapable; most of them had simply never tried anything like it before.
"Flight is a very special power. Even for ordinary humans, who exist in the greatest numbers, they must undergo countless hardships and forge bodies beyond human limits before they can grasp such power.
Even those superhumans can only achieve brief moments of staying in the air.
But you are different. This is a power you are born with, a unique talent. With just a little training, you can master it.
If you accept this recruitment, I will personally train you to master this power. And afterward, your position will be as my royal guard."
After returning to Fish-Man Island, Nereus had not formed any royal guards or similar unit. He didn't need guards to protect him, and Nanamo didn't require them either.
Even if such guards were to appear, their role would be that of ceremonial guards, existing merely for appearances.
However, the king's royal guards held a very high status within the kingdom, and it was a position many people desired.
"The pay will be better than that of the regular Neptune Army. But if you join, I will personally train you. The training will be harsh, and the process won't be easy.
So before giving me your answer, think carefully about whether you can endure such hardship. If you can persist, you will all be proud of the choice you make today."
Forced conscription could certainly be done, but it was meaningless. What Nereus needed was an elite force capable of standing on its own, not cannon fodder meant to exhaust the enemy's firepower and stamina.
If they themselves had no desire to grow stronger, forcibly recruiting them would serve no purpose. Prodigies like Charlotte Linlin were few and far between across the entire sea.
Nereus's reputation on Fish-Man Island had now reached its peak. Working at his side was something that the island's residents would feel proud to talk about.
Under such circumstances, none of the 57 people left. All of them stayed.
"In seven days, you will begin a period of closed training. Go back and inform your families."
At the same time, while Nereus was on Fishman Island preparing to train a new wave of recruits, Barbell had brought some elite members of the Fish-Men Pirates to the Sabaody Archipelago.
"GR 0–9 can be left to those guys as a buffer zone between us and the Marines. From now on, GR 10–19 belong to us."
On the Sabaody Archipelago, Barbell had already begun his "cleansing" work. The Sabaody Archipelago itself already contains vast stretches of lawless areas.
GR 10–19 lay right at the center of the Sabaody Archipelago and connected to the mangrove trees of all surrounding regions, making it one of the most convenient areas.
In fact, the northwestern section of the island, GR 20–29, was also a lawless area. Most pirates who landed here would dock there.
However, since they had only just arrived, they had not yet incorporated that outer region into their sphere of influence.
A senior officer from a top-tier New World pirate crew facing pirates who had just arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago was essentially a dimensional mismatch.
Naturally, the people in the lawless area weren't going to hand over the place just because of a single sentence from Barbell. Aside from pirates merely passing through, there were also some who had long been entrenched there.
Seeing Barbell so openly declare such a challenge, they immediately banded together and launched an attack on him.
"If you leave obediently now, it's still not too late."
Barbell rotated the prayer beads in his hand and didn't attack immediately. Instead, he kept murmuring something under his breath.
But these pirates didn't take his words seriously at all. Seeing him arrogantly standing still without moving, they aimed all kinds of weapons at him.
Boom! Boom!
Bang!
Rat-tat-tat!
"Idiot! Why should we hand this place over to you just because you said so?!"
"What a reckless guy! With a body that big, you're just a sitting target!"
Machine guns, cannons, rocket launchers—the roar of all kinds of firearms drowned out the sound of the waves around the Sabaody Archipelago. But when the smoke cleared, there was only Barbell's contemptuous gaze.
"Vajra Body."
Armament Haki spread outward, forming an invisible armor that blocked every attack. At that moment, Barbell's beard and hair seemed to be burning, rising and falling like flames along with the flow of his Haki.
"I already gave you all a chance. Since you didn't cherish it, I'll just have to send you to the Pure Land. Wrath of the Wisdom King!"
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