"My… relative?"
Amphitrite, who was sparring with Nereus in Ryugu Palace to hone her martial arts skills, heard Nereus answer a phone call and then say something that sounded rather strange to her.
"That's what Rachel reported. She found someone underwater with wings, swimming while holding his breath. He's probably a Lunarian too.
His destination also seems to be Fishman Island. Do you want to go take a look?
Oh, and Rachel said the one who came is a 'leather-jacket kid.'"
"…"
Just like Amphitrite being called "Miss Mummy," this was a joking nickname mainly caused by their attire. After all, Lunarians were used to covering their entire bodies to reduce exposure.
From that nickname, Amphitrite could roughly guess what the suspected member of her race was dressed like.
"Let's go take a look. If it really is someone from my race…"
"Do whatever you want. You're already living here with me, one more or two more makes no difference."
Just as Nereus and Amphitrite set out, Alber had already entered Fishman Island.
After seeing the news in the newspaper, he immediately started heading toward Fishman Island. Since he spent most of the journey avoiding people, even when he reached the vicinity of the Red Line, Alber didn't choose to board a ship.
Just like Amphitrite had once done, he took a deep breath and dove straight toward the deep sea.
Back then, Amphitrite at least had a general idea of how long the dive would take, and she had Fish-Men and Merfolk familiar with the route guiding her. Alber's actions were even more reckless than Amphitrite's.
He was simply lucky to find Fishman Island smoothly. If it had taken too long, he might have suffocated and been carried off somewhere unknown by the sea currents.
However, after arriving on Fishman Island, Alber instead found himself unsure of what to do.
Back then, he had decided to come to Fishman Island because he saw someone in the newspaper who seemed to be of the same race as him. He had never actually thought about how he would find that person after arriving.
Was he supposed to randomly stop a passerby and ask whether they had seen someone dressed like a mummy with wings on their back?
After all, the newspaper hadn't said what relationship that person had with Nereus, so Alber had no idea how to proceed.
"Hey… look at that guy. He's covered up so tightly… and he even has wings on his back. Could he be a Lunarian?"
While Alber was hesitating at the entry checkpoint, several smugglers nearby began whispering among themselves.
Although the environment on Fishman Island had improved a lot under Nereus's rule, the nature of the people passing through hadn't really changed.
They feared Nereus's strength and behaved obediently while on Fishman Island, but once they left, they would reveal their true colors again.
Alber's appearance naturally made them suspicious.
"Should we try reporting it? If it's real, that's a hundred million Berries…"
"This is Fishman Island…"
"But that guy isn't a Fish-Man either."
After discussing it for a while, and thinking there was no real cost even if their report turned out to be wrong, they made a call to the World Government.
As the Den Den Mushi transmitted the signal, an agent answered the call at the temporary Cipher Pol office in Mariejois.
As for why it was a temporary office…
Naturally, it was because the original office had been destroyed by Nereus and hadn't been rebuilt yet.
"You're saying… you discovered a Lunarian?"
"Suspected. That person is covered up tightly, so we can't see his skin color or hair, but he has a pair of wings on his back…"
"That's fine. We can go verify it. As long as it's confirmed to be a Lunarian, you'll still receive the reward.
Now where are you? We'll send people over immediately."
After hearing the news, nearby agents gathered around. For them, capturing a member of the Lunarian race was still considered a major achievement.
They had already begun preparing to contact Cipher Pol agents in other areas, and if the distance was close enough, they were even ready to depart immediately.
But soon, the name of the place came through the Den Den Mushi—one they absolutely did not want to hear.
"On Fishman Island…"
"Get lost!"
Before the caller could finish speaking, the operator angrily hung up the phone.
"Are these idiots not reading the newspapers?! The World Government has repeatedly emphasized that woman is not a Lunarian! Why are these people still reporting it?!"
Because of face-saving concerns, the World Government couldn't openly say, 'We can't deal with that monster Nereus, so we can't touch this Lunarian.'
But they had already expressed their stance in a sufficiently tactful way.
Agents who directly took orders from the World Government understood the real situation better than ordinary people. At this point, anyone who went to participate in capturing Amphitrite would simply be seeking death, and the World Government would probably even add a charge of disobedience to their record afterward.
"Um… when they reported it, they said he, right? Since it's a man, it shouldn't be the one the government mentioned."
"Then let me ask you something. Suppose he's not a Lunarian, would it be meaningful for us to go there?"
"No."
"Then let me ask you another thing. If he is a Lunarian, could he have some kind of connection with that woman?"
"Well… that's possible."
"Since it's possible, that means the monster down in the sea won't ignore him. If we go, we'd still be looking for death, and the World Government won't care about such a trivial matter.
Since we gain nothing whether it's true or not, why should we go? Now do you understand why I'm the vice-captain and you're just a regular member?!"
If the World Government issued an order, Cipher Pol agents would still carry it out. Even if it was a suicide mission, there were plenty of loyal agents willing to try.
But now the World Government had already made its stance clear. Under these circumstances, going to die would just be asking for trouble.
Even if the wording of the report differed slightly, in the eyes of this Cipher Pol squad's vice-captain, it made no difference. The reason was exactly as he had said.
"You became vice-captain… isn't it just because your dad is a chief in CP7?"
"…You'll be a squad member for the rest of your life."
"You mean I can stay in this position for the rest of my life?"
"Then you get lost too!"
The quarrel within Cipher Pol was unknown to the people of Fishman Island. What they did know was that whether it was the Marines or the World Government, as soon as they heard the name "Fishman Island," they all hung up the phone.
And before hanging up, they very consistently cursed at the caller a few times.
In the past, the World Government didn't bother with Fishman Island simply because they couldn't be bothered.
The cost and effort required for underwater operations simply didn't match the returns.
Now, they dared not interfere.
As long as Nereus behaved himself a bit and didn't pull off another stunt like attacking Mariejois, they could choose to ignore everything else.
As for small conflicts, they could just let them fight it out.
"What is even happening…"
"A situation we can't afford to mess with. Even affiliated nations usually don't get this kind of treatment… The tides have truly turned here on Fishman Island…"
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