"The great pirate Vane has officially planted his flag on Sleeping Island, promising to welcome anyone who hasn't committed crimes to settle there. Under the banner of rescuing slaves, Vane guarantees that his island is safer than ninety-nine percent of places in the New World."
Mogan, in his albatross form, stared at the press release Vane had sent him, feeling a headache coming on.
He was the great News King, not some advertising agent.
"President, are we really going to publish this?"
"We've never encountered something like this before… And can Sleeping Island really protect people?"
Among the World Government's affiliated nations in the New World, the number was the smallest. Most regions and kingdoms existed in a state of intermittent stability and chaos.
The deeper one ventured into the Grand Line, the more pronounced this became. It was no wonder so many islands chose to attach themselves to the forces of great pirates—the World Government and the Marines simply couldn't manage those waters.
"Publish it… Nation-Slayer Vane has created so many major headlines for us. Consider it repaying a favor I owe him."
He had never imagined that the newspaper he founded would one day run something akin to an advertisement for someone else… It really tarnished the lofty image of the News King.
"But even so, we still have to ensure the authenticity of the news. I'll need to personally make a trip to Sleeping Island."
Mogan had a hot air balloon-like vehicle—his mobile office. It allowed him to make a quick escape whenever necessary and hop between nearby islands.
"I think the President just wants an excuse to go out and have fun."
"Yeah, Vane dares to offend the Celestial Dragons to the point of no return just to rescue slaves. What authenticity needs verifying?"
…
At the same time, three separate groups were heading toward Sleeping Island.
Mogan was one of them. The other two were Fish-Man Island's Fish-Men and the Big Mom Pirates.
The Fish-Men arrived first. Led by the blue fatty Jinbe, over two hundred Fish-Men and several Merfolk came along. They hadn't even traveled by ship—because they had a far better "means of transportation."
"I have brought everyone from Fish-Man Island who's willing to develop on land."
After confirming that Sleeping Island was Vane's "ground," Vane had immediately notified the Fish-Man Pirates—the only subordinates of his currently operating outside.
He was asking Fish-Man Island for manpower, and at the same time fulfilling his earlier promise. Now that he had secured a stable territory, any Fish-Men who wished to set foot on land could come to him.
When Vane heard Jinbe calling out, he happened to be at the docks.
"That fast? Recruiting that many people requires strength. You didn't even use ships on the way here. Didn't you need to rest?"
The blue fatty grinned widely.
"That's because we found the child you mentioned, Captain Vane."
The calm sea suddenly churned with towering waves. An enormous, somewhat ugly but colossal head emerged from the depths.
A giant Fish-Man—Wadatsumi. As an adult he would reach eighty meters tall. Even now, he already stood at fifty meters.
"Boss Jinbe."
Originally, Wadatsumi had appeared alongside that user of the Mark-Mark Fruit. Vane had mentioned to Tiger that such a figure existed near Fish-Man Island and asked them to keep an eye out.
Unexpectedly, they never found the Mark-Mark Fruit user—but they did find Wadatsumi, this giant Fish-Man.
Jinbe introduced him.
"Wadatsumi, this is Boss's boss."
Vane stared at the bald-headed Wadatsumi, momentarily dazed.
He was way too big… Even the giant Mogan was only about twenty meters tall. This underaged kid was already fifty meters—and would grow to eighty in the future.
That was even larger than the demon Oars. Among humanoid beings, he would probably rank second only to Sanjuan Wolf, who had eaten the Huge-Huge Fruit and stood over a hundred meters tall.
Wadatsumi had a childlike personality and bowed directly in the sea.
"B-Boss's boss, hello!"
"Good, good, good."
Vane waved for the Fish-Men and Wadatsumi to come ashore. For many of the Fish-Men, this was their first time.
On their way to Sleeping Island, they hadn't stopped at any major islands. When they needed rest, they only found reefs to pause upon.
"So this is real land… soil beneath our feet, sunlight, the fragrance of flowers and grass."
"This time, we've definitely come to the right place."
The Fish-Men who dared follow Jinbe here possessed great courage. Aside from a portion of subordinates brought out by Hakuza, they were the first batch.
Fortunately, with Hakuza and his group taking the lead earlier, these Fish-Men had gained confidence.
What Vane hadn't expected was that some Merfolk had come as well. Two of them were ones he had rescued from the Celestial Dragons. For them to set sail again required immense courage.
The arrival of the Fish-Man brothers greatly freed up Vane's coastal defense forces. There was no race more suited to guarding the shoreline than the Fish-Men.
"Though our food consumption just shot up… Those two hundred Fish-Men are manageable, but our big-sized members have increased quite a bit."
Fish Giant Big Pan, the giant Mogan, and now the even larger Wadatsumi.
Jinbe said, "Wadatsumi will live on Sleeping Island from now on. With him guarding the sea, ordinary enemies won't even be able to set foot ashore."
Previously, Fish Giant Big Pan had been patrolling the waters. Now Wadatsumi joined him.
"Also, not all these comrades enjoy fighting. Captain, you can assign them other tasks… How about fishing? That's what we Fish-Men are best at."
Jinbe truly hoped his people would quickly integrate into Sleeping Island. He was already introducing their strengths to Vane. This would be the first step for Fish-Men setting foot on land.
Vane accepted most of Jinbe's suggestions. He was severely short on manpower. Having Fish-Men handle fishing might seem like overkill, but it would indeed solve part of their food supply issue.
And there was no need to worry about everyone getting tired of eating fish. The abundance of food in these seas was beyond ordinary imagination. Aside from fish, there were also sea beasts.
"How has the Fish-Man Pirates' development been lately?"
It had been progressing extremely rapidly. Tiger and Jinbe hadn't roamed recklessly across the seas as in the original story. Instead, they centered their operations around Fish-Man Island, only occasionally venturing to the surface.
In a short time, they had already thwarted several pirate invasions attempting to capture Fish-Men and Merfolk, rescuing multiple compatriots. Their position in Fish-Man Street—and across all of Fish-Man Island—was now firmly established.
"By the way, Captain, word from Sabaody says the lift port on the Red Line is almost repaired. Tiger believes the slave trade there is about to run rampant again."
Gathering intelligence on the slave trade at Sabaody Archipelago had been Vane's secondary mission for them. Their primary mission was to protect Fish-Man Island and strengthen the Fish-Man Pirates.
In truth, Tiger felt somewhat puzzled. He wanted to directly seize the slaves back—but Vane had consistently forbidden it.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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