After disembarking Whitebeard walked alongside Neptune. He explained that this visit to Fish-Man Island was mainly to return a fish-man whom they had rescued from slave traders.
However that fish-man had clearly been influenced by the atmosphere aboard the Whitebeard Pirates. Without much hesitation he knelt on the spot and called Whitebeard "Dad."
As a result Whitebeard gained another son and Marco gained another newcomer to look after.
So this trip could be considered returning Namur to his homeland. Or simply bringing him home for one last visit before taking him back to the New World as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Inside Ryugu Palace the giant bubble flounder transportation fish carried everyone toward the banquet hall.
The younger pirates couldn't stop shouting in amazement. But the moment they arrived outside the hall, Whitebeard's Observation Haki sensed the burst of Conqueror's Haki that had flashed across Fish-Man Island only moments before.
"King Neptune." Whitebeard laughed loudly. "It seems a pretty formidable fellow arrived on Fish-Man Island today. Gu-ra-ra-ra! Interesting. Doesn't he know this is my territory?"
Whitebeard assumed it was some pirate who had come to target the mermaids. He was just about to take his sons and deal with the intruder when Neptune hurriedly explained,
"That gentleman is also a guest of Fish-Man Island. He also rescued three of our people. The Haki just now was probably the result of some misunderstanding."
"Is that so?" Whitebeard relaxed. "That kind of Conqueror's Haki, I haven't encountered it in quite a while. King Neptune, do you know the name of this guest?"
Neptune shook his head slightly. "I only know him as 'Mr. Mask.' He always wears a mask. I believe you've heard of him. The man whose bounty was recently raised again to 3.2 billion Berries."
"The Revolutionary Army's Cloaked Man?"
What was that man doing on Fish-Man Island? The Whitebeard Pirates had never really dealt with the Revolutionary Army. Most of what Whitebeard knew about them came from newspapers.
In truth Newgate had never cared much about Laugh Tale. In his life the only things truly worth cherishing were his family.
However Fish-Man Island was now the homeland of one of his sons. If the Revolutionary Army intended to do something here he felt it was better to understand the situation first.
"Jozu. Vista. Izo." As soon as he spoke three men stepped out from among his sons.
"Dad." Whitebeard said, "The three of you, go to where that burst of Haki came from. As representatives of the Whitebeard Pirates, arrange a meeting with that Revolutionary."
Jozu looked puzzled. "Dad, if you want to meet him, why don't we just bring him here?"
Vista answered before Whitebeard could.
"The Revolutionary Army isn't some insignificant crew, Jozu. They've kept a low profile for years, but the Cloaked Man's bounty has risen again and again and the World Government has never explained why. There's far more going on beneath the surface."
Standing nearby Izo, who had remained with the Whitebeard Pirates ever since parting ways with Oden and never returned to Wano, also nodded in agreement.
The Whitebeard Pirates believed they were the strongest. But that didn't make the Revolutionary Army insignificant. If they simply went to bring the man by force it could easily create unnecessary conflict.
"Gu-ra-ra-ra. Vista's right. The Revolutionary Army isn't some rookie crew that just entered the New World." Whitebeard smiled approvingly. Then he looked at Jozu. "Of course, you boys carry my name. That means you're no insignificant figures either. Go. Invite him in my name."
The giant bubble flounder turned around once more, carrying the three commanders back toward Fish-Man Island. Neptune made no attempt to stop them.
Fish-Man Island was under Whitebeard's protection. He had already explained that Rowan was an honored guest. Since Whitebeard still wished to meet him Neptune trusted there was a reason.
Meanwhile inside the Mermaid Cafe, Rowan and Tiger sat together at a table. Tiger was in an unusually good mood.
Ever since they had left the plaza he had enthusiastically introduced Fish-Man Island's landmarks and recounted stories from the past. Only after they were seated did he finally ask, "Mr. Rowan, you did that on purpose just now, didn't you?"
Rowan glanced at the two imposing figures standing behind Tiger like bodyguards. Jinbe and Arlong. He removed his mask. A puff of smoke appeared.
When it dispersed his appearance changed into that of a fairly handsome human man.
"It just happened by chance. So I thought I'd use the opportunity to explain these things to your fellow fish-men."
"After all, not every fish-man has experienced suffering alongside humans the way you have."
Sometimes, because of the memories from his previous life, Rowan would lend a helping hand to people like Sanji or Rouge.
He would entrust the Op-Op Fruit to Trafalgar Law because of the boy's potential, while also warning him about its hidden dangers.
But the unwavering resolve to change this world had also ensured that Rowan would never vent the anger from his previous life's memories upon innocent people.
Just like Arlong before him. Or Jinbe, who had attacked him earlier.
If he truly wanted to reshape the world into the one he envisioned, force was indispensable. But force alone could never accomplish it.
Certainly, he could have flown into a rage and slaughtered every fish-man who had surrounded him. Or crippled them. Even if he dumped them at the gates of Ryugu Palace, Neptune would have been powerless to stop him.
But if he did that, everything he had stood for all this time would become nothing more than a joke.
Fish-men hated humans. Ordinary humans feared fish-men.
Slave traders hunted fish-men. Viewed through the values of this era, the lines between good and evil were far less simple than they appeared.
Rowan glanced at Tiger's two self-appointed bodyguards standing behind him.
"You don't have to keep staring at me. Although this face is almost as handsome as my real one, it definitely isn't my true appearance."
Arlong snorted.
"Cowardly human."
Smack! The next instant, a loud slap landed squarely on the back of his head. It sent him stumbling forward.
"Who?! You bastard!"
Clutching the back of his head, Arlong spun around in confusion. The mermaids throughout the café had long since moved far away from their table. All of them stared at him blankly.
Rowan, who had flashed back to his seat in an instant, looked at the fool with an amused smile.
"Although all life is equal, as a guest of Ryugu Palace, and also a guest much stronger than you, I think you should learn some respect."
Jinbe covered his face, as though he couldn't bear to look at the rival he had grown up with in Fish-Man District. He muttered under his breath,
"Idiot."
On the way here, Tiger had already told them Rowan's public identity. A man with a 3.2 billion Berry bounty, what kind of courage did Arlong possess to speak to someone like that?
Although Jinbe's voice was low, Arlong clearly heard him. He immediately rolled up his sleeves.
"What did you just say, you bastard?! You looking for a fight?!"
"Arlong."
Tiger had remained silent until now. But with a single word, he immediately suppressed Arlong's rising anger. Looking directly at him, Tiger spoke in a stern voice.
"Show Mr. Rowan the respect he deserves. He saved my life. And he may determine the future of Fish-Man Island."
"You hate those humans at the Sabaody Archipelago who look down on others from above. But now you've become exactly like them. You look down on those weaker than yourself."
"So tell me, haven't you become the very thing you once hated?"
Arlong's expression darkened. But he couldn't find a single word to argue back.
Fish-Man District had once been an orphanage for abandoned fish-man children.
Later, for various reasons, it gradually became the lawless district of Fish-Man Island. In that kind of environment, orphans who wanted to survive had no choice but to fight.
Even Jinbe, who would one day become famous for his sense of honor and principles, had earned his fierce reputation by fighting his way through Fish-Man District.
"Um, M-Mr. Human, your coffee."
The young mermaid waitress sounded nervous. Rowan simply smiled and nodded.
"Thank you."
He accepted the coffee. Hmm, very beautiful. It seemed there simply weren't any young mermaids who weren't beautiful. As for older ones, well, one only had to think of the elderly mermaid from Water 7.
Rowan took a sip of his coffee. Then he looked at Arlong.
"You and your younger sister have completely opposite personalities."
"This Mermaid Café on Coral Hill has mermaids working as waitresses. But most of the physically demanding work in the kitchen is done by fish-men. And they're all quite young."
Rowan looked at Arlong.
"Your sister should only be fourteen this year, right?"
"Compared to her, other than constantly competing to prove you're stronger than everyone else, it doesn't seem you've done anything truly meaningful."
"Hmph."
Arlong still refused to admit defeat.
The mermaid waitress carrying the tray looked flustered. She recognized the café owner's older brother. She also recognized Jinbe, and Boss Tiger.
"It's alright. And if your manager comes back, could you let her know I'd like to meet her?"
The waitress glanced at Tiger before hurriedly nodding.
"Of course, Mr. Human."
After leaving, she quickly disappeared into the kitchen. It was obvious she hadn't brought the coffee over without a reason.
Now she was going back to report what had happened. After all, humans had not appeared on Fish-Man Island for a very long time. Much less one accompanied by Tiger, the acknowledged leader of Fish-Man District.
The casual conversation returned to its main topic. Rowan took another sip of the café's specialty coffee. It was decent. Though still nowhere near as appealing as the mermaid girls serving it.
"The unknown breeds fear. The seas are divided by the Red Line, and the Calm Belts. Most ordinary humans have never even seen a fish-man."
"Without any contact, it's only natural that they would mistake you for monsters. The slave traders at Sabaody hunt fish-men. Ordinary humans fear you. And under those circumstances, hostility naturally takes root."
Rowan looked toward Tiger.
"But after traveling the world for several years, you should also understand that there are humans whose lives are even more tragic than those of Fish-Man Island."
"Fish-Man Island has a population of just over five million. But across the world, the number of people who die every single year, for one reason or another, likely exceeds that number."
The coffee before Tiger remained untouched. The red-skinned fish-man sat there with tightly furrowed brows, his fists clenched.
Before being taken to Mary Geoise, he really had traveled the seas. And he had seen many things.
Pirates plundering human towns. Old people dragged away, simply because they couldn't afford the Heavenly Tribute.
Although he had grown up in Fish-Man District, unlike Arlong, he had never abandoned his sense of compassion.
He had fought before, saving villages attacked by small pirate crews. Some young villagers feared his appearance. Yet elderly people had knelt before him, thanking him for saving their lives.
He had also been betrayed. Someone later reported him to the Marines. A corrupt Marine, driven by money, then informed the slave traders.
He had also experienced genuine gratitude. Villagers shared the little food they had with him. When they learned slave traders were searching for him, they secretly guided him through the mountain path behind the village.
An old man had even been beaten to the ground by the slave traders trying to catch him.
It was precisely because of those experiences that after arriving in Mary Geoise, he could empathize with the human slaves who suffered beside him.
And had Rowan never appeared, Tiger would still have eventually resolved to climb the ten-thousand-meter Red Line himself, and free every slave imprisoned there.
Not everyone possessed that kind of courage. Especially after experiencing enslavement beneath the Celestial Dragons, the terror of being utterly powerless burrowed deep into one's very soul.
Even the future Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, would tremble uncontrollably whenever the Hoof of the Flying Dragon brand on her back was exposed.
"Mr. Rowan, so good and evil have nothing to do with race, don't they?"
"Or perhaps good and evil should never be divided by race in the first place."
Tiger's words caused Jinbe's eyes to brighten.
Rowan looked at all three of them.
"Arlong. I've never said that avenging your enslaved brothers is wrong."
"But they weren't enslaved by humanity. They were enslaved by specific people."
"At Sabaody, I've already slaughtered batch after batch of slave traders. Do you think I'm one of them too?"
"The foundation of distinguishing right from wrong lies within your own values."
"Blind rage, born from being unable to defeat the people who truly hurt you, only to vent your anger upon innocent weaker people, while comforting yourself with the excuse, 'They're all humans anyway.'"
"But you know perfectly well that those same criminals also enslave humans. Aren't they?"
"We're all lives oppressed by the same people. If instead of joining together to resist them, we continue hurting one another, who do you think benefits the most?"
Silence. For the first time, the stubborn look of disdain disappeared from Arlong's face. He was genuinely thinking about Rowan's words.
Sometimes strength didn't have to be used to kill. It could also force those with deeply entrenched beliefs to calm down, and truly listen.
If the one standing here had been the future Nami from Cocoyasi Village, trying to reason with the future Arlong, she would have received nothing but ridicule, and a brutal beating.
But after witnessing Rowan's overwhelming power in the plaza, both Arlong and Jinbe were now able to sit quietly and actually consider what he was saying. That was another purpose of strength.
Rowan's words left all three fish-men deep in thought. As for Fish-Man Island's military power, other than the one-year-old Shirahoshi, whose true strength had yet to awaken, Neptune's Royal Guard was the island's primary fighting force.
However, compared to them, the fish-men who had grown up in the harsh environment of Fish-Man District would become the backbone of two generations of fish-man pirate crews. Of course, not Arlong's future crew from Cocoyasi Village.
But the Sun Pirates, first led by Fisher Tiger, and later by Jinbe, who would become famous throughout the New World.
"Mr. Rowan"
Jinbe hesitated. Then his gaze gradually became firm.
"I think all those who are oppressed, regardless of race, whether human or fish-man, should unite."
"Only by uniting can we gain the strength to resist."
Hearing those words, Rowan smiled. Of everything he had gained from this trip to Fish-Man Island, this answer was the most gratifying of all.
At this very moment, even little Shirahoshi couldn't compare to the lovable whale shark fish-man standing before him.
"Very good."
Rowan stood up. He pulled out a chair beside the round table.
"Sit. What you just said is exactly what the Revolutionary Army has always been fighting for."
"To unite every oppressed race. And overthrow every oppressor who stands upon our backs, bleeding us dry."
The whale shark fish-man blushed awkwardly. But before he could refuse, Rowan simply pressed him down into the chair.
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