If Fishman Tom can hoist an entire ship with one hand, lifting the divine relic Ship of Promise should be a breeze, right?
Brook turned to King Mars of Fishman Island, standing beside him. Recruiting some promising talents here shouldn't ruffle any feathers, right?
It'd be a win-win: fresh blood for the Hell Pirates and a boost to Fishman Island's strength and reputation!
Brook planned to scout young fishmen with raw, superhuman power—freaks of nature even among their kin. Surely he'd find a few diamonds in the rough!
He recalled the originals: Whitebeard's Eighth Division Captain, shark fishman Namur; Beasts Pirates' All-Star, grouper fishman Drought Jack; and Big Mom's top Sweet Commander, Katakuri, rumored to have moray eel fishman roots…
Then there's the Red Scabbards' pufferfish fishman Kawamatsu, World Pirates's scorpionfish fish-giant Sebastian, and the Revolutionary Army's red snapper fishman Hack…
Come to think of it, fishmen aren't exactly short on top-tier fighters! If Jack, Namur, Jinbe, Tiger, Tom, and others teamed up, wouldn't they outshine a Warlord of the Sea?
If a charismatic fishman leader united these powerhouses, would Fishman Island still be in such a sorry state?
Brook realized the island had its own issues. The gap between Fishman Street and Ryugu Palace was like heaven and hell.
King Mars claimed he didn't care for treasure, but he wasn't exactly funneling gold into fixing Fishman Street's squalor.
As the old saying goes: "I'm not into money," but they'll still seize every chance to make a buck, never sharing a dime or slashing prices on their online shops.
Virtual stores can't run without cash—it all gets siphoned by the platforms!
Capitalists and nobles love to say,
"Don't let everyone eat their fill, or no one'll work."
Keep the lower class just shy of starving—that's the trick!
If everyone could chill with full bellies and less work, where'd the elites get their superiority fix? Who'd serve them? Fairness and equality? Fat chance.
Even on an oppressed island like Fishman Island, the rule holds: 80% of fishmen toil under human threats to prop up Ryugu Palace's upper crust.
...
At King Mars' request, the strength-testing machine wasn't set up in Fishman Street, where the downtrodden could've had a shot. Instead, it landed in Gyoncorde Plaza, open to all fishmen—though Mars clearly wanted his elite pals to snag the spots.
Brook saw through the facade. Fishman Island wasn't the united front he'd imagined. Internal rifts mirrored other kingdoms: a chasm between nobles and commoners, royals and riffraff.
These deep-rooted systems weren't something Brook could fix overnight. The One Piece world was still half-slave, half-feudal. To commoners, royals and nobles were gods worth dying for!
...
Redfield returned on the golden airship, hauling two Poneglyphs. Brook ordered Tom and the crew to coat the Golden Ark for departure, not wanting to keep Golden Lion Shiki waiting.
While the coating was underway, Brook and King Mars visited the island's depths to see the Ship of Promise Noah, slumbering in the abyss.
It was… big. That's it. Just a giant wooden ship, scaled up to absurd proportions. No fancy weapons, no bells and whistles. To Brook, it seemed kinda useless.
He glanced around, half-expecting a massive Sea King or some mythical vibe, but nada. His Observation Haki didn't pick up any "voice of all things" either—just silence.
Back at Gyoncorde Plaza, Brook reminded Mars to protect Ariel, the strength tester, and the Poneglyph hunt.
With Mars' assurances, Brook was satisfied. He quietly pulled Ariel aside, warning her not to fall for Prince Neptune's sweet talk.
"Focus on training that special Observation Haki right here on Fishman Island."
Brook had Redfield coach Ariel for half a day before the Golden Ark finally set sail.
Den and Ariel waved goodbye as the ship departed. Neptune gazed at Ariel, smitten, clearly head-over-heels.
But Ariel wasn't feeling the chubby, ten-meter-tall prince. At barely two meters herself, the size gap was a dealbreaker!
Besides, she had a mission from Brook: travel Fishman Island, give speeches, feel the crowd's emotions, and hone her unique Observation Haki!
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+280 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg