Barbell swung a palm forward, and the flowing Haki spread like flames. The rapidly circulating Haki, through its friction with the air, even generated a scorching heat that resembled burning fire.
"Ah, it's so hot! What's going on? What did this guy do?!"
"I can't see anything, is he a Devil Fruit user?!"
The pirates within the attack's range were directly knocked down by the projected Haki, while those fortunate enough to be outside the attack radius were still scorched by the intense heat produced by the assault, rolling around on the ground in pain.
Among these pirates, however, not all were completely helpless. Pirates with bounties exceeding a certain amount were called Super Rookies, and these pirates were somewhat stronger.
During their resistance, one of them managed to knock off Barbell's wig.
Yes, the flowing hair on his head was actually a wig. As early as two years ago, he was already mockingly referred to as a balding old man by Sebastian.
As everyone knows, a person who deliberately wears a wig usually cares greatly about their hair and appearance.
When that wig gets knocked off, it often leads to something very terrifying happening.
GR 62, currently the Marine base of Sabaody Archipelago.
"These pirates… they're really restless today, actually fighting on this scale in a place like this."
Under normal circumstances, pirates who arrived at Sabaody Archipelago would maintain a certain level of restraint, since this place was right under the Marines' watch.
If both sides ended up badly injured, it wouldn't benefit anyone.
"Report, sir! Our colleagues infiltrating the lawless area have sent back intelligence. It's not a clash between rookie pirates, it's Barbell of the Fish-Men Pirates. He's attacking GR 10–19."
"What 'Fish-Men Pirates'? That can only be considered the Ryugu Kingdom now. Inform the other soldiers not to interfere. Just increase patrols in the other areas."
The base commander of the Sabaody Archipelago base had already received orders from headquarters and had no intention of intervening. More precisely, he didn't have the ability to intervene.
Because Marine Headquarters was nearby, the garrison size at Sabaody Archipelago was essentially more like an outpost. Among the many branches on the Grand Line, it has always been the weakest.
Let alone senior officers from the New World, they couldn't even handle the Super Rookies from the first half of the Grand Line.
The battle in the lawless area didn't last long. Barbell quickly dealt with the enemies, though unfortunately, in his anger, his wig had already disappeared somewhere.
"The quality of that guy's product is questionable… I really need Wobbegong to develop some hair growth medicine…"
After planting the sign reading "Ryugu Kingdom's Sabaody Archipelago Office" at GR 10, Barbell continued muttering about such things.
His mission this time wasn't just to occupy the area; there were other matters to handle as well.
After calming his irritation over the hair situation, Barbell headed toward the location of the coating craftsmen in GR 50–59.
"Hello, we're from the Ryugu Kingdom. We'd like to discuss something with you. Is the boss here?"
This time, they weren't directly seizing territory through force, but negotiating in a friendly manner.
"Hm? Did you run out of resin again?"
"No, it's another matter this time. If your boss agrees, you could become an official partner merchant of the Ryugu Kingdom."
"The Ryugu Kingdom garrison stationed at Sabaody Archipelago will provide protection for you. The condition is that you can only coat ships that possess licenses issued by us."
If it wanted to, Fishman Island could even monopolize the entire coating business.
And the method would be simple: if a ship didn't get coated by someone designated by the Ryugu Kingdom, it wouldn't be allowed to pass through Fishman Island.
However, compared to tolls and trade taxes, the profits from this would be insignificant—hardly worth mentioning—and it would also damage Fishman Island's reputation in the eyes of ordinary craftsmen.
Therefore, there was no real point in doing so. The office and liaison agency on the surface will exist mainly to strengthen communication and to learn in advance about the pirates who might descend to the deep sea.
With the office located at Sabaody Archipelago, those who completed the entry procedures in advance and those who chose to sneak through would naturally face very different treatment.
"So what if… we don't want to cooperate?"
"Then don't cooperate. Nothing will happen. We're just asking."
The Fish-Men who had come to negotiate spread their hands, indicating that cooperation was entirely optional.
Although coating determined whether a ship could safely descend, and pirates coming for coating usually wouldn't trouble the coating craftsmen, there were inevitably some who refused to pay afterward.
Some craftsmen also kept a trick up their sleeves. During the coating process, they would deliberately leave a flaw, one that wouldn't cause problems when the ship first descended, but once it reached the deep sea, the bubble coating would shatter, leading to the ship's destruction and everyone's death.
Only pirates who honestly paid would have this flaw fully repaired.
Those who dared to do this were all veterans. Doing business with pirates meant they weren't exactly kind-hearted people themselves.
Even so, occasionally some pirates would survive and come back for revenge. Having the protection of a legitimate force would indeed make earning money much safer.
But being allowed to coat only ships that had received approval would also mean their volume of business would decrease.
"Can you give us some time to think about it?"
"Of course. We're conducting legitimate business, after all. Look, there's even official approval from the World Government. If you don't believe us, you can go ask at the World Government office."
They were only doing coating work, and since pirates aren't the only ones who need coating, it can't really be considered illegal business; it's not even a gray industry. They have no reason to fear the World Government or the like.
Most of the coating craftsmen said they needed time to consider. This wasn't something they could decide on a whim.
If they agreed, they had no idea what their future income would look like. But if they refused…
If the Ryugu Kingdom made a move, declaring their coating channels illegal and refusing passage to those pirates, then when those pirates returned, the unlucky ones would still be the craftsmen.
Although they weren't certain whether the Ryugu Kingdom would actually do that, the possibility still made them uneasy.
Their own hands weren't exactly clean, and they were worried that Fishman Island might secretly sabotage them underwater.
Unless all the coating craftsmen formed a united front, things might improve somewhat; at least they wouldn't have to worry about being crushed by competitors.
While the coating craftsmen were sounding each other out for information, Barbell had already reported the situation to Nereus. But at this moment, another relatively unfamiliar Fish-Man had arrived at Sabaody Archipelago.
"Ryugu Kingdom's Sabaody Archipelago Office… Since when did Fishman Island become capable of something like this?"
Looking at the sign hanging near the World Government office, Tom, who was returning to Fishman Island by ship, wore an expression of disbelief.
After reading the many reports in the newspaper, Tom had finally made up his mind to return to Fishman Island and see the new king he had never met.
But for a Fish-Man like Tom, who had spent years away and hadn't personally experienced the changes on Fishman Island, the idea that Fishman Island had expanded its sphere of influence beyond its own waters was almost unbelievable.
"It seems this time… I really came back at the right moment."
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