This was a moment of celebration for the fish-men and merfolk. After Doflamingo's stirring speech, their resolve to fight had been greatly strengthened.
Doflamingo was, of course, delighted to see this. The more chaotic Fish-Man Island became, the better it was for him. Only then would he have the opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
"Doflamingo, do you think we really have a chance of success?" Jinbe asked hesitantly. Though his heart was swayed, he was still full of apprehension.
"Everything has two sides, doesn't it?" Doflamingo's words were like a clap of thunder, opening up a new path for Jinbe. "Before you've even started to fight, you're already thinking about failure. If you don't fail, who will? You should be thinking about how not to fail, how to increase your chances of success."
Jinbe was in a daze. He seemed to grasp Doflamingo's meaning, but he didn't dare to take that first step. He understood that once he did, there would be no turning back. He would have to see it through to the end, and the stakes were too high. He didn't dare to gamble.
"Mr. Doflamingo, your words have truly opened our eyes!" Arlong declared with fervent admiration.
"Fuffuffu... Arlong, and all of your brothers here," Doflamingo began, "I know you all hate humans. You think they're arrogant, that they look down on you, oppress you, sell you, and treat you like the lowest of creatures."
The cheerful atmosphere instantly froze at his words. All eyes turned to Doflamingo and the other humans, their expressions hostile.
"Heh, yes. That's right, Mr. Doflamingo," Arlong said with a self-deprecating laugh. "While I respect you, I only respect you. Other humans... they are the enemies of us fish-men."
"Arlong, your view is too narrow," Doflamingo said, ignoring the dark looks from the crowd.
"Narrow?" Arlong looked at him, confused.
"Isn't it? Enel and Diamante already told you the truth, but you refuse to admit it," Doflamingo retorted. "If you had the strength of Whitebeard or any of the other great pirates, would you be unable to protect your own people? Would you still be standing here talking about hating humans? Does hating humans protect your kin?"
"Well..."
The fish-men in the crowd fell into a contemplative silence. They had to admit, Doflamingo wasn't wrong. He was speaking the plain truth.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" Doflamingo pressed on. "Does spewing hatred for humans and harboring animosity save you from your miserable fate? Aren't a large number of fish-men and merfolk still disappearing every year? You blame humans for your own weakness. Oh, perhaps you'll say that if we humans just left you alone, none of this would happen."
"If you really think that, then I can only say you're all a bunch of idiots! Where there are people, there is conflict. This has been true since ancient times. If you had the status that humans have now, would you not encroach upon their territory? Don't think of yourselves as so noble, and don't think of others as so benevolent."
Doflamingo's merciless words left the fish-men and merfolk dejected, their heads bowed. In the end, only strength could determine one's destiny. But unfortunately, for Fish-Man Island, that was too difficult to achieve. Or perhaps not. If the Ancient Weapon Poseidon were to awaken and her power could be controlled, she could determine the fate of the island.
"Only with strength can you speak of equality with humans. Only then can you truly live under the same sky. Otherwise, it's all just empty talk! Well? Am I wrong?" Doflamingo's voice boomed, questioning the downcast fish-men.
"Ah! No, no! You're absolutely right, Mr. Doflamingo! You see things far more clearly than we do."
"Yes, yes! No one has ever explained it to us so profoundly."
"Hearing your words, I finally realize my own ignorance. My hatred and hostility toward humans were all just a delusion."
"Mr. Doflamingo, you've spoken so well. We've been too one-sided, just piling all our hatred onto humans while ignoring the root of the problem."
One by one, the fish-men and merfolk began to sing Doflamingo's praises. Even Hody Jones, whose hatred for humans was deeply ingrained, found himself agreeing with his words.
"Jinbe, do you think what I've said makes sense?" Doflamingo suddenly turned his attention to him.
All eyes in the room swiveled to Jinbe.
"Mr. Doflamingo," Jinbe began, making a respectful gesture, "thank you for your heartfelt words. In all my life, no one has ever spoken to me like this. Perhaps others have thought it, but maybe they held animosity toward us, or simply didn't want to help us, so they never told us the truth."
"It's enough that you understand it for yourselves," Doflamingo said. "Don't be so naive as to think that humans and fish-men can truly understand each other. Humans can't even understand each other, let alone you."
"Mr. Doflamingo is right!" Arlong's voice boomed, seizing the moment to display his leadership. "Humans can't even understand themselves, how could they possibly understand us? There is only one way to solve our crisis, and that is for us to become strong! Only then can we protect our people from being bullied!"
"Yes, only by becoming strong can we stand up," Jinbe agreed, surprisingly not refuting Arlong's words this time. Though they were at odds, they had reached a consensus on this point. What they would do about it, however, was another matter.
"But... how many of our people will have to die for that?" Shyarly couldn't help but ask.
"Womanly sentimentality! There is no war without death!" Arlong shot back, his face grim. "Would you rather they become slaves? It is better to contribute to the struggle of Fish-Man Island! Or is it, Shyarly, that you don't want to contribute at all?"
"That's right! It's better to fight for freedom and for our island than to live a life worse than death as a slave!"
"Madam Shyarly, are you trying to cause trouble? Or do you simply not care about our island?"
Influenced by Doflamingo and Arlong, and with both Arlong and Jinbe—two major figures—in agreement, the crowd turned on Shyarly, scoffing at her concerns. She had thought her words were for their own good, but they had only added fuel to the fire, further igniting the fish-men's fighting spirit.
"I..." Shyarly was speechless, unable to argue against the crowd. Flora and Ishilly tried to comfort her. In truth, they too had been moved by Doflamingo's words, but out of loyalty to their friend, they said nothing.
Doflamingo watched the performance with great interest. Although he had pointed them down a certain path, if they truly chose to walk it, they would face immense challenges. The perceptive Queen Otohime would be their first and greatest obstacle. She would never agree to let Fish-Man Island go down such a path, and if she didn't agree, neither would Neptune.
So, the best solution would be to have her... die.
Now that things had reached this point, Doflamingo didn't need to worry about the rest. He had said what needed to be said; it was up to them to decide their own future.
"So, Jinbe, what is your choice? Will you join me?" Arlong asked, ignoring the sentimental Shyarly and extending an olive branch to Jinbe.
"Me?" Jinbe was surprised by the offer. After a moment of thought, he refused. "Mr. Doflamingo's words are correct, but the future of Fish-Man Island does not lie with you," he said bluntly, clearly having no faith in Arlong.
"Jinbe, do you know what you're saying?" Hody Jones said insolently. He had thought an alliance between Jinbe and Arlong was a foregone conclusion, but Jinbe still looked down on them.
"I know exactly what I'm saying. You cannot save Fish-Man Island, because you are too weak," Jinbe sneered, not mincing his words.
"Shahahaha! Jinbe, don't think that just because you've become a Warlord, you're superior to us! Aren't you just a loyal lapdog of the World Government?" Arlong shot back, not holding back either. Since Jinbe looked down on him, he had no reason to be courteous.
"Arlong, I became a Warlord for the sake of Fish-Man Island," Jinbe said, his voice low.
"And you think we're grateful? Ask anyone here if they're grateful! As far as we're concerned, you've just become the government's dog," Arlong said rudely.
"You!" Jinbe was clearly angered by his words, his face turning red.
"Well? Am I wrong?" Arlong said casually.
"Yeah! What damn Warlord? He's just the government's lapdog!"
"He says he's protecting us, but what about all our people who disappear every year?"
"I bet the government gave him a good offer, so he forgot who he is!"
Kicking a man when he's down—it was a skill that both humans and fish-men had perfected.
Doflamingo was a little surprised. How had a rousing rally turned into a denunciation session for Jinbe? The tone had certainly taken an unexpected turn.
Shyarly wanted to say something, but seeing the incensed crowd, she swallowed her words.
"I will save Fish-Man Island in my own way, not with the help of clowns like you," Jinbe said, taking a deep breath and speaking his mind. Their paths were too different. Although they both wanted to save the island, they had no respect for each other's methods.
"Then we'll just have to wait and see. The one who saves Fish-Man Island will be me, Arlong! Remember that," Arlong declared.
"The weak have no right to say such things. You should take a good look at yourself, Arlong," Jinbe said with contempt.
"Hmph! Weak? You'll see what true strength is soon enough," Arlong retorted. He had gotten some "goodies" from Hody Jones. With them, he was confident he would be a match for any of the stronger humans. Even if he couldn't win, he could at least protect his home.
If Doflamingo had known that Arlong's confidence came from the Energy Steroids, he would have only had one thing to say: My friend, you are truly overestimating yourself. You have no idea what you're up against. You're dreaming.