"Nereus, I forgot about her."
Slapping his forehead, Mandrell realized the root of the problem. Aside from Jack, there was also Nereus, that violent brute.
Out on the sea, her logic was the same as Jack's—once it was confirmed someone was an enemy, striking them down first was never wrong.
It wasn't just her being short-tempered; one could say the entire Gyarados race was a group of short-tempered guys.
As long as you don't provoke them, things could stay peaceful, but once a Gyarados was enraged, it wouldn't be so easy to leave.
Mandrell's territory was not far from the entrance to the New World, and it is also in a location that forms a pincer-like position with the New Fishman Island, allowing for timely support in case of special situations.
This excellent geographical location made many Beasts Pirates members stop by here often. Nereus had also spent quite some time here. Right after she ate the Onyudo fruit, she had stayed here for a while, learning human customs.
But after Maylo was born, Nereus appeared here far less often. She was the queen of the Gyarados race, appointed by Arceus. In the Grand Line, the Four Seas, and many other seas, she could be seen, even leaving behind some legends of sea giants.
She only came here once or twice a year, so Mandrell hadn't thought of her.
"Maylo, what did you do with Nereus when you last met her?"
"Mm, we ran into some pirates who wanted to capture Merfolk, and Aunt Nereus blasted them all away."
With Nereus's appearance, the island's artillery also ceased fire. These coastal defense cannons couldn't hurt Nereus anyway. With her armored scales and the boost from her Mythical Zoan fruit, her defense was no small matter; even taking the shells head-on wouldn't faze her.
But firing on an ally would always leave a bad impression, and on the sea, Nereus was a far more terrifying existence than a battery of heavy artillery. Even without her clan accompanying her, she alone could overturn an entire sea region.
Humans were, after all, land-dwelling creatures. Except for a few individuals, most people at sea found it extremely difficult to deal with Nereus.
With her around, the remaining enemies weren't anything to worry about.
And that was indeed the case. Nereus's appearance shattered the rookie pirates' morale.
"Captain! A monster! It's the same kind of monster we saw at the Reverse Mountain!"
"No, it's even bigger than that one!"
"Shut up! I can see it!"
On the small boat, a one-eyed pirate gripped his twin blades tightly, fear flickering in his gaze as he looked at Nereus.
He had lost this eye at Reverse Mountain after his pirate ship was capsized by a nearby Gyarados in retaliation for him shelling a school of Magikarp that were blocking the way.
Though he had survived by sheer luck, a shattered plank pierced one of his eyes.
Gyarados would capsize ships but not eat people, so quite a few pirates had escaped.
On the Grand Line, this captain had re-gathered his crew and made his way to the New World.
When they tried to replenish supplies through plundering, the island's coastal defense cannons taught them a harsh lesson. And now, of all times, they had run into another Gyarados.
"I'm not the same man I was before! Today I'll show you monsters my strength!"
Stepping onto the ship's railing, the captain leapt into the air with both blades drawn, as if he wanted to wash away his past disgrace. But before he could launch his attack, Nereus had already raised a tsunami.
The turbid seawater blocked his line of sight. Just as he was about to swing his blades to cut through the tsunami in front of him, a large hand covered in red scales had already broken through the sea wave first and smacked him straight into the water.
On the other side, Maylo was gesturing wildly with both hands, trying to make Mandrell understand what she meant. In truth, even if Maylo said nothing, Mandrell could easily imagine the battle scene.
He himself was an Ability User of Gyarados, and was very familiar with its powers. Back in those days, he had even sparred with Nereus, so he knew her combat style well.
Gyarados's base stats lean toward physical offense, giving it tremendous close-combat ability, but Nereus usually cleared out enemies with ranged attacks first before finally moving into melee.
"So… it was Nereus who taught you?"
"No, but I also want to take down all those slave traders. Mom hates slave traders the most. I can't breathe fire, can't throw leaves, and can't make tsunamis or fire off light beams, so I can only rely on outside power."
Breathing fire, making tsunamis, firing light beams—these were all things Nereus could do. But throwing leaves made Mandrell feel something was off. From what he remembered, Maylo didn't seem to be familiar with any Grass-type Ability User.
"Who's the one that throws leaves?"
"Meowna! She's got a seed ball in her hand that she can toss around like a yo-yo. Both of them are super amazing."
"They're older than you, and that's power bestowed by Lord Arceus. Don't worry, Daddy's prepared something for you too."
Ruffling Maylo's hair, Mandrell revealed a bit of his plan.
Thinking back, all he'd wanted was to retire. For better retirement conditions, he started competing harder.
He had almost saved up enough when he fell in love, and so he began building up a household, seeking higher status. Eventually, he became a senior officer stationed outside, thus achieving his goal.
But instead of drawing closer to retirement, he had only gotten farther from it. Now that his own affairs were settled, Mandrell was accumulating wealth and contributions for his daughter, planning to exchange them for an ability so that she would have more means of protecting herself.
As one of the few officers with a family, he had more concerns than most.
He now had some idea of why his daughter admired heavy firepower. As long as she wasn't picking up bad habits from some weirdo, it was fine.
"Daddy, when are we going back to Wano Country? I want to play with Meowna and the others."
She did have playmates here, but they always held back around her.
Her father was the highest-ranking officer on the island. Even if the children themselves didn't mind, their parents did, and that always influenced things. Only children like Meowna and Wolff, who were themselves offspring of senior officers, didn't care about such matters.
To Maylo, Meowna and Wolff, who had spent less time with her, actually felt much closer.
"We'll be going back soon, once I finish my current work. But there really are a lot of people here today."
Besides Nereus, Mandrell also noticed a Viking ship drawing near. Its sheer size already revealed the identity of those aboard - Giants.
On board were Hajrudin and his companions. After being intercepted by Yamato earlier, they had become mercenary subordinates of the Beasts Pirates, carrying out mercenary missions in the New World. This time, they had only come here to resupply.
When they saw someone trying to attack the island earlier, they had thought about lending a hand, but Nereus had acted faster.
"Hajrudin? Hajrudin! What's wrong with you?"
"Gerd, I think I'm seeing things. I just saw a Giant Devil Fruit user who can swim."
Removing his helmet, Hajrudin rubbed his eyes repeatedly, his voice carrying a trace of doubt.
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