Help Fish-Man Island?
Maude hadn't expected this. The mermaid girl before him, someone he had some history with, was now making such a desperate request under these circumstances.
It was as if… a drowning person had finally found a straw to grasp.
It didn't matter whether that straw would actually help her stay afloat—she had seen it, and so she clung to it with all her might.
Maude fell silent.
His silence caught the attention of Lafitte, who stood beside him, his eyes flickering with intrigue.
Compared to turning back for Fish-Man Island, their top priority was undoubtedly heading to Dressrosa to eliminate the remnants of the Donquixote Family.
So, in Lafitte's view, Maude's natural response to such a baseless request should have been an outright refusal, not silence.
This puzzled him.
At that moment, tears welled up in the mermaid girl's eyes as she looked at the man before her with desperate hope.
Meanwhile, Maude lowered his gaze, pinching his chin in contemplation.
Since the war at Marineford ended, countless events had strayed from the original timeline.
Fire Fist Ace survived.
Blackbeard never acquired the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and his crew had been severely crippled.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku had not retired, and the three Admirals remained unchanged.
Jinbe, having lost his Warlord status, was still imprisoned in Impel Down.
Without Jinbe to mediate, Fish-Man Island was suffering.
So many things had diverged from what should have been.
Even as a transmigrant, Maude had lost control over the future's trajectory.
But he still held an advantage no one else in this world possessed—the knowledge of certain hidden truths.
For example…
Mermaid Princess Shirahoshi was Poseidon, one of the Ancient Weapons.
So when this mermaid girl pleaded for his help, his mind instantly connected the dots to the yet-to-be-discovered Ancient Weapon who had not yet encountered the Straw Hat Pirates.
That was why he didn't immediately refuse her request.
He was weighing the pros and cons.
Perhaps now was the perfect opportunity to gain the favor of Fish-Man Island's royal family—and by extension, Princess Shirahoshi.
It wasn't necessary to control Poseidon directly, but fostering a good relationship with Shirahoshi could only be beneficial.
And right now, Fish-Man Island was suffering, in dire need of a savior.
Inside the prison cell, another mermaid girl who had been feigning death, as well as the heavily wounded fish-man in the adjacent cell, both pricked up their ears.
"Fish-Man Island, huh…"
Maude lifted his gaze slightly and said in a calm tone, "I've never been there before. I suppose I could take a look at the scenery."
"D-Does that mean… you'll help?!"
The mermaid girl's eyes widened with excitement as she looked at Maude, whose expression remained indifferent.
"Think whatever you like."
Turning away, Maude left behind a single instruction: "Lafitte, unchain them. They can stay or leave as they wish."
"Including the merfolk next door?"
"Yes."
"Hoho, understood."
As the prisoners looked on in astonishment, Maude strode out of the ship's cabin.
He had no intention of leaving behind the valuable loot and supplies on these three pirate ships.
But that would take some time to plunder, and he had no patience to linger here any longer than necessary.
From the far end of the prison chamber, the other mermaid girl and the severely wounded fish-man watched Maude's retreating figure with disbelief.
Only the red-haired mermaid girl covered her mouth, shedding silent tears—both of disappointment and exhilaration.
Lafitte watched Maude leave before methodically unlocking the prisoners' chains.
Once he was done, he left without so much as a glance at whether the merfolk and humans would get along, instead heading off to assist Maude in gathering spoils.
With Maude and Lafitte's departure, the human slaves hesitantly stepped out of their cells.
They exchanged complicated glances with the merfolk before silently supporting one another and making their way toward the exit.
In a matter of minutes, the humans had vacated the cabin entirely.
"Luna, that human just now… That was Bacardi Maude, wasn't it? But isn't he a pirate? Why did he set us free so easily? Could there be good humans? Will he really help Fish-Man Island?"
In the prison at the far end, a mermaid girl with long, ocean-blue hair, no longer pretending to be dead, sat up and bombarded her fellow mermaid with questions.
"I don't know either, Windsor…"
Luna wiped her tears and silently looked toward the exit.
Windsor opened her mouth as if to say something, but upon seeing Luna's expression, she held back.
Clang.
A towering figure appeared at the cell door—it was the injured fish-man from the adjacent cell.
He stood at the threshold, looking at Luna and Windsor with a deep, steady voice.
"Get out of here quickly. For us, true freedom only exists in the ocean."
Luna and Windsor exchanged glances before nodding.
"Let's go."
Ignoring the searing pain from his wounds, the fish-man took the lead, heading toward the exit.
Luna and Windsor followed closely behind him.
They ascended the wooden steps, emerging onto a corridor leading to the deck.
Suddenly, the fish-man at the front stopped in his tracks.
Luna and Windsor nearly bumped into him.
"Why did you stop?" Windsor asked.
The fish-man didn't answer. His eyes gleamed with menace as he stared at the three men blocking their path ahead.
From their faces alone, he could see greed—undisguised and malevolent.
"So this… is the true face of humanity."
The fish-man's gaze turned fierce, his sharp teeth bared in hostility.
Luna and Windsor also noticed the unmistakable greed in the eyes of the three human men blocking their way.
Mere minutes ago, these men had been prisoners, just like them.
Yet now, in the blink of an eye, they had switched roles—from captives to slavers.
And they didn't care what their 'prey' thought.
To them, Luna and Windsor were nothing more than stacks of cash.
"Not sure why that big-shot pirate wasn't interested in you two, but you're worth a fortune."
"A single mermaid can go for at least 50 million berries. These two beauties might fetch even more."
"Heh, that's over 100 million! We've hit the jackpot!"
The three men, envisioning their future riches, started breathing heavily.
Luna and Windsor instinctively took a step back, their faces filled with fear.
The fish-man, however, strode forward, baring his razor-sharp teeth.
One of the men raised a rusty sword he had scavenged from the ship and sneered.
"Injured like that, and you still want to play hero? Guess the rumors are true—fish-men have muscles for brains."
"Quit talking and finish him off. Who knows if that big-shot pirate will come back?"
"Tch."
The swordsman scoffed and stepped forward to meet the fish-man head-on.
"Only one of them has a blade…"
The fish-man locked eyes on his three adversaries.
So long as they didn't have firearms, even in this cramped space, he could take them all down—even while injured.
With a powerful push, he lunged forward—only for the swordsman to suddenly retreat.
And from behind him, the other two men swiftly pulled out concealed crossbows.
"!!!"
The Fish-Man was startled, but his forward lunge remained unaffected.
The two men hesitated not for a moment and immediately pulled the triggers on their hand crossbows.
Twang! Twang!
The faint sound of bowstrings echoed through the corridor.
Two poison-tipped bolts sliced through the air, flying straight toward the Fish-Man's face.
The narrow corridor and short distance gave the Fish-Man no room to dodge. Anticipating the attack, he instinctively raised one arm to shield his face while using the other to guard his chest.
Thud!
The two bolts embedded themselves in the Fish-Man's raised arm.
He grunted in pain, his assault slowing slightly.
Seizing the moment, the swordsman, despite his exhaustion and hunger, mustered every ounce of his strength and slashed at the Fish-Man.
Slash!
Blood sprayed through the air.
The Fish-Man's body shuddered but did not fall. Gritting his teeth, he ignored his injuries and suddenly thrust out his wounded arm.
The swordsman, eyes widening in horror, could only watch as the webbed hand clamped around his throat before tightening mercilessly.
Crack!
The swordsman collapsed lifelessly.
With one down, the Fish-Man lunged toward the two remaining men who were desperately reloading their crossbows.
Crack! Crack!
In mere moments, he snapped their necks as well.
Having slain the three humans despite his grievous wounds, the Fish-Man staggered back, slumping against the wall before slowly sliding to the floor.
"Altair!!"
Luna and Windsor gasped, rushing to Altair's side.
"Are you okay, Altair?"
Their eyes filled with worry as they watched his breathing grow weaker.
Altair glanced at the two crossbow bolts lodged in his arm. The rapid deterioration of his body confirmed his suspicion—the bolts were laced with some unknown poison. Coupled with his severe wounds, he knew there was no hope for him.
"You two... don't worry about me... just... get to... the sea..."
His voice was weak and fragmented.
"But what about you?"
"..."
Only silence answered Luna and Windsor.
They noticed that not only had Altair's chest ceased to rise and fall, but his breathing had also vanished entirely.
"Altair? Altair?!"
"Luna, Altair is... gone. We have to get to the sea now. Humans are nothing but—"
Windsor's sorrow twisted into anger, but she abruptly bit her tongue. She recalled that it was Maude who had freed them, forcing her to swallow her words.
She grabbed Luna's hand and pulled her toward the exit.
Luna turned back, staring blankly at Altair's lifeless body.
Why...
Her gaze shifted slightly, fixing on the three dead men.
Without looking back, Windsor dragged Luna out of the cabin. Ignoring their surroundings, they leaped over the nearest railing into the sea, disappearing beneath the waves in an instant.
Half an hour later.
Having finished plundering the spoils, Maude arrived at the ship's corridor, silently observing the three human corpses and the fallen Fish-Man.
A mere glance at the scattered weapons beside the human corpses was enough for him to deduce what had transpired.
The ugliest side of humanity was on full display.
Lafitte stepped up beside Maude and stated solemnly, "Those ruled by 'desire' are utterly devoid of humanity. Still, I do not believe their actions were wrong. They simply lacked the strength to see them through. In the end, strength is all that matters."
"..."
Maude did not refute Lafitte's words.
People live for something—be it power, wealth, or survival.
Exploiting others for personal gain is commonplace in this world.
Let alone between different races.
To those three men, Fish-Men and Merfolk were no different from the livestock they ate.
"Take the loot. We're heading back to Thriller Bark."
Without another thought, Maude withdrew his gaze and left the cabin.
Moments later.
Under the watchful eyes of those on the merchant ship's deck, Maude and his crew took to the skies, laden with supplies.
"Bacardi Maude..."
"Were all the rumors lies?"
The onlookers wore complex expressions as they watched Maude's figure disappear into the distance.
...
Above the clouds.
Thriller Bark.
With an ample haul, Maude and his crew returned to their floating fortress.
"Good work."
Gaya glanced at the bundles of food, a small smile forming at her lips.
Despite her rigorous daily training, she found that skipping even a single day of cooking left her restless.
Maude nodded at Gaya before heading to his quarters.
That night.
During the feast.
Maude suddenly announced, "Tomorrow morning, we set sail for Fish-Man Island."
"Huh?!"
The entire crew was taken aback.
Only Lafitte remained composed, having already anticipated this move.
However, even he found Maude's decision puzzling.
Could it really be because of a promise made to a Merfolk girl he barely knew?
To Lafitte, such a flimsy reason was hard to believe.
"Boss, didn't we already reach the New World? Why go back to Fish-Man Island?"
Urouge set down his roasted meat, looking at Maude in confusion.
The others also stared at him, equally perplexed.
Resting his chin on the back of his hand, Maude nonchalantly replied, "I suddenly decided I want my own territory. Fish-Man Island seems like a good place to start."
Naturally, he had no intention of revealing the secret of Princess Shirahoshi, so he offered a casual excuse instead.
"!!!"
Everyone was dumbfounded by his reasoning.
Law twitched at the corner of his mouth before sighing, "If it's territory you want, you could just seize one here in the New World. And wasn't your plan to establish a stronghold in the sky? Wouldn't it make more sense to claim Skypiea rather than backtrack to Fish-Man Island?"
"Hmm, that makes sense. However..."
Maude smiled at Law and replied seriously, "Why settle for just one? Whether it's Skypiea in the sky or Fish-Man Island beneath the sea—I'll take them both."
"..."
Law was speechless. Having unintentionally taken on the role of the crew's rational thinker, he simply turned away with an exasperated expression.
Hawkins drew a card.
As he studied it, a faint glimmer crossed his eyes.
"The right choice?"
He silently pondered the meaning.
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