On the shore of the secluded bay outside Coral Hill, two figures moved rapidly, exchanging blows.
"Fish-Man Karate: One Thousand Tile True Punch!"
"Fish-Man Karate: One Thousand Tile True Punch!"
"Hah!"
"Hey!"
Sami and Tiger stood facing each other.
Since this was purely a contest of technique, Sami deliberately suppressed his strength to a level comparable to Tiger's, using only the power and skill of the One Thousand Tile True Punch.
Even so, after only a few exchanges, Tiger gradually began to lose ground.
Sami's punches were more refined, and his grasp of timing far surpassed that of the still-inexperienced young fish-man.
Bang!
After another clash of fists, Tiger was knocked back several steps before landing heavily on the damp sand.
"How is this possible..."
Steadying himself, Tiger's already red face flushed an even deeper crimson from frustration as he glared at Sami.
"I actually lost to a little runt like you!"
"Hey, watch your manners."
Sami relaxed his stance and brushed off imaginary dust from his hands before raising an eyebrow.
"I'm over ten years older than you. Calling me 'Mr. Sami' or even 'Big Brother Sami' wouldn't kill you, would it?"
"Tch."
Tiger curled his lip disdainfully.
"You're only eleven years older than me! Once I turn twenty-six, I'll definitely be stronger than you!"
"What kind of ridiculous math is that?"
Sami laughed.
"When you're twenty-six, I'll already be thirty-seven. I'll obviously still be stronger than you then!"
"You...!"
Tiger was left speechless, unable to find any comeback.
All he could do was glare at Sami with puffed cheeks.
"Hahaha!"
Neptune's hearty laughter echoed nearby as his enormous body approached, casting a long shadow over the beach.
"Tiger, I never expected you to learn Fish-Man Karate so quickly."
"You really are a genius."
He paused before bending down to look at the red-skinned teenager sitting on the sand.
His expression turned serious.
"Well?"
"Would you be interested in joining the Ryugu Kingdom Guard once you're older?"
"R-Really?!"
Tiger's voice shot up an octave, his eyes sparkling.
"Of course."
Neptune straightened up with a grin.
"Once you've reached adulthood, that is."
"Hahaha!"
Fisher Tiger—the future liberator who would one day shake the world.
Although he was already recognized as the leader of Fish-Man District, he had never had the opportunity to receive formal instruction in either Fish-Man Karate or Fish-Man Jujutsu.
That was simply because he had grown up in Fish-Man District—a place unlike any other on Fish-Man Island.
Officially, it was an orphanage.
In reality, it was a district where countless abandoned fish-man children struggled simply to survive.
There, older children raised newly abandoned infants.
Generation after generation, the cycle repeated itself, forming a unique society at the very bottom of Fish-Man Island.
Growing up in such an environment, Tiger's fighting style had been forged through endless street fights and his own natural charisma rather than structured training.
This time, he had benefited from Sami's presence and gained the chance to listen in as Prince Neptune taught.
Even as nothing more than an observer, his astonishing rate of learning was enough to make anyone take notice.
To Sami, however, sparring with Tiger was merely another small episode in their daily training.
The true focus remained the lessons between himself and Prince Neptune.
With Tiger joining them, the only real difference was that their sparring sessions had gone from two participants to three.
And during their conversations, they had gained one particularly attentive young listener.
After another day's training came to an end, the three sat together by the shore, enjoying the rare tranquility that followed combat.
In the distance, the radiance of Fish-Man Island filtered through the seawater, bathing the secluded bay in a dreamlike glow.
"...This really is nice."
Neptune gazed at the scenery before him and sighed softly.
"If only life on Fish-Man Island could remain this peaceful forever."
Sami chuckled.
"You're a prince."
"Is that really all you ask for?"
"You don't understand."
Neptune shook his head, his orange-red curls seeming unusually heavy beneath the soft light.
"During the time we've been training here alone, several serious incidents have already occurred elsewhere on the island."
"Mermaids disappearing."
"Patrols clashing with slaver crews."
"For us..."
"...this is practically a weekly occurrence."
"Why?"
Tiger, who had remained quietly listening until now, suddenly spoke.
His voice carried both confusion and anger.
"Is it just because we're mermaids and fish-men?"
"Why do they always come to capture us?"
Sami turned toward him.
"The fundamental reason..."
"...is profit."
"Tiger."
"Do you know how much a healthy young mermaid sells for at the auction houses in Sabaody Archipelago?"
Tiger shook his head.
He had never had any real concept of a mermaid's market value.
"At the very least..."
"...fifty million Beli."
Sami spoke a number that caused the boy's pupils to contract.
"And that's only the starting price."
"If her scale color is rare or she belongs to an unusual race, the price can easily multiply several times over—or even tenfold."
"F... fifty million?"
Tiger stared blankly as he repeated the number.
Of course he knew what Beli was.
Back in Fish-Man District, a few hundred Beli could feed a child for an entire month.
He tried to comprehend what fifty million meant.
But the number lay completely beyond the limits of his everyday experience.
It was so vast that it left him dizzy.
"To put things into perspective..."
Sami continued patiently,
"...an ordinary human slave usually sells for somewhere between a hundred thousand and several hundred thousand Beli."
"And giving a large sailing ship like the Flaming Fang the highest-grade coating costs around fifty million Beli."
"For slaver crews sailing medium or small ships..."
"...whose coating expenses might only amount to a few million..."
Neptune picked up where Sami left off.
"Catching a single mermaid is enough to cover the entire cost of their expedition..."
"...and still earn several times that amount in profit."
"Catch two..."
"...and you've made enough money to completely change your life."
"For an ordinary human slave hunter..."
"...that's wealth beyond anything they could normally dream of."
"So..."
"...it's just because of money?"
Tiger's voice trembled with both confusion and fury.
"Just because of those pieces of paper..."
"...they're willing to kidnap us and sell us like merchandise?"
"Why?!"
"Greed moves people's hearts, Tiger."
Sami looked at the boy, whose skin had turned an even deeper shade of red with anger.
"You may not fully understand that temptation."
"Imagine that capturing just one mermaid could buy you everything you've ever wanted."
"The finest food."
"The grandest home."
"Or even..."
"...power and status."
Neptune let out a deep sigh before speaking in a heavy voice.
"That's why..."
"...especially for mermaids..."
"...the outside world is an extremely dangerous place."
"Then..."
"...doesn't the law protect us?"
Tiger's voice still held one final trace of youthful hope.
At those words, a faintly mocking smile appeared on Sami's face.
"The law?"
"The law can't even fully protect humans themselves..."
"...let alone mermaids."
"After all..."
"...to those slaver crews—and to a great many humans besides—mermaids and fish-men aren't even considered people."
"They're classified as—"
"Sami!"
Neptune's sharp shout cut him off.
He frowned deeply and gave Sami the slightest shake of his head.
Seeing that, Sami swallowed the rest of his sentence and merely shrugged.
Turning back to Tiger, Neptune's voice regained its usual gentleness.
"Let's stop today's training here."
"Tomorrow..."
"...we'll meet here again."
Tiger looked from the serious-faced Neptune to the indifferent Sami.
Though he sensed the heavy atmosphere and realized something important had been left unsaid, he chose not to press further.
"...Alright."
"I'll head back first, Your Highness."
The young fish-man turned and walked away.
His tall red figure, still carrying unanswered questions, gradually disappeared into the coral shadows leading toward Fish-Man District.
Only after Tiger's figure had completely vanished did Sami turn to Neptune.
"Neptune."
"Why didn't you let me finish?"
Neptune continued staring in the direction Tiger had left.
After a long silence, he finally answered.
"What he heard today was already enough."
"He's still too young."
"What you were about to say..."
"...would have been too great a shock."
"I don't want him to be completely swallowed by that darkness so early in life."
"Hahaha..."
Sami laughed.
But there was no warmth in it.
"Neptune."
"As a future king, compassion is certainly a virtue."
"But excessive protection isn't necessarily a good thing."
"If you ask me..."
"...it's better to lay the truth out in the open."
"Bloody facts are still facts."
"Hiding them only allows people to continue clinging to unrealistic fantasies about the world above."
He paused before looking Neptune straight in the eye, his tone becoming noticeably sharper.
"Do you want to become a merciful king?"
"Or do you want to become the kind of king who lets his people see reality..."
"...so they can truly learn to protect themselves?"
Neptune fell silent.
The soft light beneath the sea illuminated his youthful face while casting deep shadows across it.
After a long while, he slowly let out a weary sigh.
"...I've never really thought about it."
He looked away toward Fish-Man Island's eternal, dreamlike glow.
"Come on."
"I'll take you back to Coral Hill first."
"As for these questions..."
"...I need some time to think about them."
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