At once, the enthusiasm of all the fishmen was ignited.
"I… I want to join!"
"Me too!"
"I'm not good at fighting, but I can handle patrol duty!"
Just then, that irritating voice rang out again.
"Tiger-san, you still haven't answered my question. Are you avoiding it?"
Tiger was clearly annoyed this time, but he still replied.
"Avoiding it? Why would I? No matter who it is, if they dare cause trouble on Fish-Man Island, I'll teach them a lesson with these iron fists."
"But what if someone is even stronger than you, Tiger-san? And besides, you're a pirate now. The navigator of a human pirate crew. Sooner or later, you'll leave Fish-Man Island and head to the New World. When you're gone, what are ordinary people like us supposed to do?"
The one who answered was not Tiger, but another voice.
"Then leave it to me!"
The voice was not loud.
Yet in that instant, it seemed to echo in everyone's ears. The entire Fish-Man Island heard it clearly.
"Who was that?"
"Who's talking?"
Startled, everyone looked around, searching for the source.
Then someone suddenly shouted in surprise.
"Look! There's someone on the screen!"
All eyes immediately turned upward. On the upper edge of the massive screen, two imposing human figures had appeared.
One was a human man with hair as red as flames, two long swords hanging at his waist. He sat there casually, one hand propping up his chin as he looked down at the crowd.
Beside him stood another human man with golden hair, holding a golden staff in his hand.
At that moment, the hooded man instantly recognized them. The moment he felt their gaze fall on him, he instinctively tried to slip away.
"Who are those two humans?"
"Idiot, they're Tiger-san's companions. Yemu, captain of the Sky Pirates, and his vice-captain, Enel."
"Are they really that strong?"
"Of course! They're monsters who even dared to kill a Celestial Dragon. Not even the Marines or the World Government could do anything about them."
…
On the massive screen, Yemu sat on the edge, a dangerous smile playing at his lips as he looked down at the hooded man.
"If someone truly exists who's stronger than my navigator, then leave them to me."
"Are you satisfied with that answer?"
"Or do you think I'm not qualified to say it?"
His voice echoed once more in everyone's ears.
He was clearly just an ordinary human. Yet in that moment, across the entire plaza and throughout Fish-Man Island, no fishman could find the strength to refute his words.
The hooded man trembled all over, then turned and fled in panic.
Enel, standing beside Yemu, simply raised a finger. A bolt of thunder crashed down from the sky.
In a flash of lightning, the hooded man was instantly reduced to a charred corpse, his human body exposed.
The scene left every fishman and merfolk present stunned.
"S-So strong!!!"
Seeing this, Tiger immediately summoned the Kingdom Army to take the body away.
Only then did Yemu withdraw his contemptuous gaze and look out over the entirety of Fish-Man Island.
In that instant, everyone on the island felt as if their hearts had been gripped by the man before them.
And yet, instead of fear, what welled up inside them was excitement.
"So strong…"
"Even if he's a human pirate, if he's Tiger-san's partner, then…"
"With a human pirate that powerful protecting us, we won't have to fear fishman traffickers or pirates ever again!"
While the crowd of fishmen buzzed with excitement, Yemu's cold voice cut in.
"You've got the wrong idea."
"Huh?!"
All the fishmen froze, confused. Then Yemu's low voice rang out across Fish-Man Island.
"My name is Yemu, captain of the Sky Pirates!"
"Fisher Tiger, the hero of Fish-Man Island, is my navigator!"
Everyone's eyes immediately turned back to Tiger, not understanding where Yemu was going with this.
"So."
"At Tiger's request, I agreed to protect Fish-Man Island."
Gratitude filled the looks they gave Tiger.
"But how long do you think I can protect you? How long do you think Tiger can protect you?"
"We're pirates. One day, we'll leave Fish-Man Island."
"When that day comes, what will you do?"
In an instant, the people of Fish-Man Island understood.
Right. Once Tiger-san and his friends left, those traffickers and pirates would come right back. Then everything would return to the way it was, as if nothing had ever changed.
The excitement quickly drained away. The fishmen's expressions turned complicated as they fell silent.
What disappointed Yemu was that even now, he could barely see any will to resist in their eyes.
Why? Had they been forced into weakness for so long that they no longer knew how to fight back?
Fine, then. He would be blunt.
Yemu let out a sigh without bothering to hide his disappointment. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he stood and spoke slowly.
"How pathetic. You have bodies this strong, and yet your hearts are so weak you might as well be children."
His contemptuous gaze swept across the fishmen. They should have been furious, but just like back in the tavern, they only lowered their heads.
"But since I'm merciful…"
"I'll lend you the courage to resist."
"Starting today, I'm lending the name of the Sky Pirates to Fish-Man Island."
"No matter who it is, if they dare run wild on Fish-Man Island, I allow you to warn them in the name of the Sky Pirates."
"If they still dare to ignore it, then I'll take it as a provocation."
"A provocation against me, and against the Sky Pirates."
"As for the consequences, there will be no end until one side is dead."
...
More than ten days had passed since what happened in the square.
Yemu kept his promise. For at least the past half month, there hadn't been a single case of a fishman going missing anywhere on Fish-Man Island.
After Yemu's declaration that day, the pirates and traffickers lurking around the island also went quiet.
Whatever they truly thought of his words, one thing was clear. As long as the Sky Pirates hadn't left Fish-Man Island, those people didn't dare act rashly.
For this entire half month, blood continued to run at the execution platform.
Humans, and fishmen too.
But after the first day, the numbers dropped sharply.
And because of Yemu's declaration, the fishmen of Fish-Man Island, though they still held prejudice against humans, treated the Sky Pirates with genuine warmth.
Especially Erik, Flare, and the few who went out with the fishmen enforcing the law.
As for Yemu, he followed Tiger to another place…