"So in your view, the weak should naturally submit to the strong, and resistance is completely meaningless?"
Rowan looked calmly at Arlong as he spoke. He felt no anger toward a fish-man with such beliefs.
Nor would he vent his memories of Cocoyasi Village onto someone who had not yet committed those crimes. After all, none of that had happened yet.
From Queen Otohime's memories, the orphans of Fish-Man District, including Arlong, had longed for the human world on the surface ever since they were children. They had even acted on that dream.
A group of fish-man children had swum all the way from the deep sea to the surface, where they first laid eyes on the Sabaody Archipelago. To them it had seemed like a dream.
In Rowan's memories, Arlong Park in Cocoyasi Village had itself been modeled after the Sabaody Archipelago.
That alone revealed much about how everything had begun. As for Arlong's hatred of humans, his childhood journey to the surface had brought him not only wonder but also pain.
Later, after following Tiger and joining the Sun Pirates, the betrayal of Koala's hometown caused Tiger to lose too much blood and ultimately die.
Before his death Tiger also revealed the suffering he had endured as a slave in Mary Geoise. All of that was the pain inflicted upon fish-men through discrimination.
While Cocoyasi Village represented the pain suffered by ordinary humans.
Arlong looked at Rowan with unconcealed disdain. "Humans who are born weaker than fish-men, what right do they have to resist?"
At that moment Jinbe, who had always been dissatisfied with Arlong and even calling him an idiot from time to time, stepped up beside him.
At the same time the fish-men throughout the plaza gathered together, surrounding the four of them.
"Boss Tiger! Teach that human a lesson! Show him how strong fish-men are!"
"Arlong! Kill him!"
"Big Brother Jinbe! Slaughter that human! Avenge all our captured brothers!"
"Boss Tiger from Fish-Man District is back! Humans are nothing!"
"But I think I just saw that masked human came here with Big Brother Tiger..."
Because of Tiger, Jinbe, and Arlong, Gyoncorde Plaza had become packed with fish-men. Every one of them glared at Rowan with hostility.
Some female fish-men quietly covered their children's eyes, not wanting them to witness the bloody scene they believed was about to unfold.
The constant cries demanding the human's death only made Arlong grow even more pleased with himself.
Jinbe frowned. He disliked humans as well, but he had no desire to kill one.
"Kill him! Avenge our people! Evil human!"
"Boss Tiger! That human isn't really with you, right?"
Amid the deafening clamor Tiger felt his head beginning to pound. He had always known that his fellow fish-men held little goodwill toward humans.
But he had never imagined things would escalate to this extent. It seemed that over the past several years far more fish-men had been captured by humans than just those enslaved in Mary Geoise.
Even so Mr. Rowan seemed to be deliberately allowing the situation to develop. From the very beginning he had stopped Tiger from stepping in.
Just as Tiger was wondering what Rowan intended, Arlong, now thoroughly emboldened by stirring up everyone's resentment toward humanity, stepped forward while cracking his knuckles.
"Human. You never should have come here. Your kind enslaves our people without mercy. So now we'll teach you what pain feels like."
Rowan looked directly at him.
"You still haven't answered my question. Do you truly believe that the law of the jungle is absolute? That whoever is stronger makes all resistance by the weak meaningless? That building your own happiness upon the suffering of the weak is something you accept?"
As he spoke Rowan slowly swept his gaze across every fish-man surrounding them. "Is that what all of you believe as well?"
For a moment the fanatical expressions froze upon their faces. Just as Rowan had told Queen Otohime in Ryugu Palace, every race possessed both good and evil.
But much of what people considered good or evil was shaped by their experiences and by the beliefs they had been taught.
Among the fish-men gathered there, the more compassionate female fish-men were the first to reveal expressions of hesitation.
They wanted to say something, yet hesitated, unable to find the words.
"Don't let him deceive you! For our fallen brothers, kill this human!"
One voice rang out. Soon, others echoed it. Once people were given a reason, especially one born from hatred, the pain buried deep within their hearts would naturally be magnified without limit.
That hatred would overwhelm the sympathy they had just begun to feel.
Arlong sneered.
"Human. Are you trying to beg for mercy? What a pity. Your little scheme has failed."
The webbing between his fingers spread open.
"Next, I'll tear your body full of holes, and let you die screaming in agony!"
Beneath Rowan's feet, a black Flying Thunder God marker silently slipped across the ground, before attaching itself to Arlong's neck, and disappearing without a trace. The very next instant, Rowan vanished.
He appeared directly behind Arlong. At the same time, one hand rested gently on the back of his neck.
"So, does this mean that I can now take your life whenever I please?"
In that instant, the touch against his neck caused Arlong's entire body to freeze. His eyes remained fixed on the spot where Rowan had just been standing.
How? How is that possible? There had been no movement. No warning.
The man had simply disappeared, and appeared behind him. How could anyone move this fast? A human, how could a human possess such speed?
"Water Shot!"
Several compressed water bullets instantly shot toward Rowan. Standing beside Arlong, Jinbe's expression became incomparably serious.
Smack! Rowan casually waved one hand. There wasn't even a trace of Armament Haki coating it. Without making direct contact, the incoming water bullets shattered one after another.
Jinbe stood stunned. He hadn't been able to perceive Rowan's movement just now either.
He had already guessed this human might be powerful. But to deal with his attack so effortlessly was something else entirely.
Pat. Pat. Rowan casually patted the back of Arlong's neck twice.
Then withdrew his hand. He calmly walked back, standing opposite Arlong and Jinbe once more. His gaze slowly swept across everyone present.
"So, can any of you answer me now? I possess the power to kill every single one of you."
"From the standpoint of the stronger party, does that give me the right to slaughter you at will?"
As his words fell, the fish-men, who were still shocked by what they had just witnessed, finally came back to their senses. They exchanged glances. Then,
"He's fast, but we've already surrounded him!"
"No matter what, we can't let a human bully us on Fish-Man Island!"
"Everyone attack together! With Boss Tiger here, we'll definitely kill him!"
"Arrogant human! We're not cowards! Kill him!"
Cries like these erupted from every direction. Then, boom! An overwhelming aura exploded outward. Crimson-black lightning crackled through the air.
At that moment, every fish-man present felt as though they were standing before an unimaginably terrifying monster. Even the pounding of their own hearts became deafeningly clear.
The pressure vanished almost as soon as it appeared. Behind the mask, Rowan's gaze remained as calm as ever.
"So now, you should believe me. I truly possess the strength to massacre every one of you."
"Then, according to your own logic, does that mean I now have the right to decide whether each of you lives or dies?"
"Shadow"
One after another, the fish-men collapsed onto the ground. They gasped for breath. Just moments ago, they had truly felt the terror of imminent death.
Fisher Tiger looked at Rowan in astonishment. But soon his surprise gave way to understanding.
A man who possessed the will to change the entire world, wasn't it only natural that he would possess the qualities of a Conqueror?
Beside him, Jinbe was breathing heavily as well. He had yet to experience the countless trials that would shape him in the future.
"Human, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Jinbe glanced at Arlong, who was still sitting limply on the ground.
"You didn't kill him. And that burst of Haki didn't knock everyone unconscious. What was your purpose?"
Rowan spread his hands.
"I was merely passing through here, wasn't I? But you, and him, stopped me."
"You placed all the suffering fish-men have endured at the hands of humans onto my shoulders. And then you intended to kill me here in revenge."
As he spoke, Rowan looked around at everyone gathered.
"I already asked you about your logic. So now, it's obvious that I'm stronger than every one of you."
"Doesn't that mean your lives now belong to me?"
Silence fell. The fish-men who had been swept up by the atmosphere moments ago no longer shouted. Some still glared at Rowan with hatred.
But many more had begun to think about his words.
"The truth is"
Rowan paused briefly.
"I understand your hatred. After all, in the past, many of your fellow fish-men, even members of your own families, were captured by humans and sold into slavery."
"You've lived your entire lives beneath the sea. As intelligent beings, you long for the sunlight, the blue sky, the trees, and the flowers growing on land."
"Those are sights that many of you have never seen since the day you were born."
"But the ones who captured your families weren't me."
Arlong forced himself upright.
"They're all humans, just like you!"
Rowan turned back toward him.
"But among those captured as slaves, there are humans as well. Among those murdered by the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise, humans are there too."
"The people who hate the slave traders because their loved ones were taken aren't just fish-men. There are countless ordinary humans who feel exactly the same."
"So tell me, do you believe that every human is exactly the same?"
Jinbe frowned. He instinctively looked toward Tiger. By now, Tiger understood Rowan's intention. He was using this unexpected incident to explain that good and evil existed within every race.
"Fish-Man Island has produced terrible criminals before. The human race has as well. Those who capture slaves do not represent all humanity."
Tiger looked toward his fellow fish-men.
"During the years I traveled through the human world, I could feel that ordinary humans feared me. But that fear mostly came from not knowing us."
"On the Grand Line, I also met humans who understood fish-men and treated me no differently than anyone else."
"Of course, because of money, there were also human trafficking organizations that tried to capture me. But isn't that simply the reality of every race?"
"There is both good and evil. Our own people are no different."
Rowan stepped forward. He grabbed Arlong by the arm and pulled him to his feet. Then he lightly patted him on the shoulder.
"If the strong truly had the right to kill the weak whenever they pleased, then this world would drown in blood."
"And even Fish-Man Island, hidden ten thousand meters beneath the sea, would never escape becoming prey."
"I remember, Fish-Man Island is currently protected by the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates. That pirate, known as the World's Strongest Man, is also a human. And a pirate at that."
"Yet because he sympathized with your suffering, he lent you his flag."
"So tell me, should the Whitebeard Pirates also bear responsibility for the crimes committed by slave traders? There is no such logic."
Arlong clenched both fists tightly. But after experiencing Rowan's Conqueror's Haki, he could no longer summon the courage to throw a punch.
His stubborn nature refused to accept Rowan's argument.
Yet the small amount of reason he still possessed kept telling him that Rowan was right. There really was no such logic.
The first to truly accept Tiger's words was Jinbe. He immediately bowed deeply toward Rowan.
"I sincerely apologize for my hostility toward you."
"What you, and Boss Tiger, have just said has made me realize that there are kind people among humans as well."
"Just like us, every race contains both good and evil."
"So I'm not begging for my life because you're stronger than me. I'm apologizing for my own recklessness just now."
Very few people could admit they were wrong and apologize immediately after being persuaded. Arlong couldn't.
Neither could most of the fish-men gathered around them. Their pride simply wouldn't allow it. Especially when the apology had to be made to a human.
Rowan smiled. Looking toward Tiger, he said,
"Among your younger brothers, you've found a promising one. Being able to face your own heart is the first step toward forging an unshakable will."
"In the future, his strength probably won't be inferior to yours."
Without paying any further attention to the fish-men still trapped in awkward silence, Rowan patted Jinbe on the shoulder. Then he continued walking with Tiger, heading toward Fish-Man District.
Behind them, Jinbe's expression was complicated. After glancing at Arlong, he quietly followed after them.
He felt that this human possessed a kind of wisdom he had never understood before. He wanted to follow him. Perhaps he would come to understand even more.
The fish-men who had formed the encirclement gradually dispersed. Tiger and Rowan continued toward Fish-Man District, with Jinbe following close behind.
After standing frozen for a long while, Arlong also broke into a run and chased after them. Only the remaining fish-men stayed behind, still silently reflecting on Rowan's words.
Ten minutes earlier, at the entrance to Fish-Man Island, a massive pirate ship, its prow resembling the open jaws of a whale, slowly descended through the water.
The vessel, protected by its coating bubble, flew the flag bearing Whitebeard's famous white mustache.
On deck, a group of younger pirates leaned eagerly over the railings, trying to catch their first glimpse of Fish-Man Island.
"So this is Fish-Man Island? It's incredible! It's beautiful!"
"Are there really mermaids here? Can anyone see one? Where?!"
"Where are the mermaids?"
The newcomers were overflowing with curiosity. Nearby, the veterans watched them with amused smiles.
Back then, they hadn't been much different themselves. Now they were seasoned sailors. Naturally, they wouldn't make such a fuss anymore.
King Neptune, Queen Otohime, and the princes who had only just been born during their last visit were all merfolk.
Though the beautiful mermaids working at the Mermaid Café really were as stunning as the rumors claimed. After all, it wasn't easy to come to Fish-Man Island. No matter what, they absolutely had to drink at least one cup of coffee there.
"Haruta, be careful. Don't fall overboard."
Marco reminded the younger crew members.
Jozu laughed.
"When you came here for the first time, you weren't any better than they are now. If I remember correctly, someone nearly fainted after exchanging only two sentences with a beautiful young mermaid."
Marco scratched his pineapple-shaped hair helplessly.
"I was just reminding them to be careful, Commander. Besides, Dad warned them too."
At that moment, a fish-man with shark fins stood gazing toward Fish-Man Island. Then he suddenly dropped to his knees. His eyes overflowed with tears.
Seeing that, Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, who had been quietly sitting nearby, cast a glance toward Marco. Understanding immediately, Marco stepped forward.
As was customary in the Whitebeard Pirates, the veterans looked after the newcomers. He began comforting the emotional fish-man. Although he had nearly been sold into slavery, he had now safely returned home.
Before long, the Whitebeard Pirates officially entered Fish-Man Island through the proper channel. They were greeted personally by King Neptune and Queen Otohime.
Whitebeard slowly rose to his feet.
"My sons! Celebrate Namur's return to his homeland!"
In an instant, every member of the Whitebeard Pirates erupted into cheers. Some of the older crew members even hoisted Namur high into the air.
----------
Advance Chapters: patreon .com/OneFic