Chapter 248: The Hero Charade
As Jinbe spoke, the crew learned about the civil war incident. At the same time, the Merry gradually left the darkness, and a light began to appear ahead.
Thanks to the giant tree [Sun Tree Eve] growing near Fish-Man Island, which could transmit sunlight to the deep sea, Fish-Man Island, located in the deep sea, also had day and night cycles.
The crew stood up, marveling at the magnificent and splendid sight of Fish-Man Island, enveloped in a massive bubble, floating in the deep sea.
"That's a double-layered bubble. There's a layer of air in the middle."
Jinbe took the initiative to step forward and explain to them, "If you try to force your way in, the ship's coating will be peeled off and merged with the outer bubble, and then you'll fall from the sky. As for the entrance, it should be heavily guarded now."
"So we still have to fight our way in?" Zoro said lightly, holding the hilt of his sword and looking at Fish-Man Island.
"No, I will go and negotiate first."
Jinbe stared into the distance. A few fish-men had already noticed their ship and were riding sea beasts over. He replied:
"I still have some prestige. Before our hostile relationship is confirmed, they won't dare to attack me."
"Please wait here, everyone. At least before the war starts, I hope to talk to Hody and the others face to face."
"In that case, be careful, Jinbe," Luffy said, nodding at him.
"Mm."
With that, Jinbe jumped out of the ship's coating and swam towards the others, kicking his legs.
Just as Jinbe had said, as the guardian of Fish-Man Island, both fish-men and merfolk respected him greatly.
Reiner saw that as soon as he got close, the few fish-men riding sea beasts nodded at him respectfully, then stopped there and started talking.
He couldn't hear their voices, but he noticed a leading fish-man in a black suit and a black top hat glancing over from time to time, his gloomy eyes full of hostility.
"It seems the conversation won't go too well," Sanji also noticed, exhaling a puff of smoke and saying in a low voice, "We need to be prepared. Fighting fish-men underwater puts us at a complete disadvantage."
"You all take these."
Reiner tossed a few bubble corals to the group, blew a life-saving bubble to demonstrate how to use it, and said lightly:
"This way, you can fight in the seawater. Although it probably won't be needed, it's just in case."
Reiner knew that Jinbe's attempt at peace had little hope, but he wasn't too worried.
The strength of Hody's crew...
Reiner's assessment was that, without taking the Energy Steroids, they weren't necessarily much stronger than Arlong's crew.
The battle plan: break into the island, annihilate the enemy. Easy.
"—Whoa! Let me try!"
Luffy's voice came from the side. Reiner and the others subconsciously looked over.
They saw him blow a bubble to envelop himself, like a child with a new toy, and eagerly jump off the Merry to play.
"So cool, hahaha!"
"..."
"Forget it. Let's ignore that idiot for now."
Nami sighed helplessly, then turned to Reiner and Sanji and asked, "Just in case, should we sneak into Fish-Man Island to check the situation? After all, they have hostages."
"As expected of Miss Nami, so thoughtful."
Sanji had a fawning expression, waving his hands like a seaweed swaying in the wind. "Leave this mission to me."
Reiner thought for a moment and said, "Let's split into two groups. One group will fight head-on to attract attention, while the other group takes the opportunity to sneak in and rescue the hostages."
"I choose to sneak in," Usopp said, raising his hand.
"No," Zoro said, directly grabbing him by the collar and pulling the teary-eyed Usopp over. "Let's see if you've been slacking off these two years."
Before long, it seemed the negotiations on Jinbe's side had reached a bad conclusion. He swam back with a serious face.
"What's the word, Jinbe?"
"They are only willing to let me meet with Hody. They refuse to let you enter."
There was some disappointment in Jinbe's eyes. He hadn't expected the Fish-Man District to have been brainwashed by Hody to this extent. He paused, then added:
"However, they promised not to start a war with you before the negotiation results are out. I've decided to go in alone first."
"Mm, it's fine. We already have a plan."
Reiner said with a serious face, "As for you, if the negotiations break down, I suggest you don't make a move."
"Why? Are you worried I'm no match for them?"
Jinbe thought Reiner was worried about him. He had already learned from Hatchan that Hody possessed Energy Steroids that could enhance his strength.
To be honest, he didn't really know what level of strength the other could display now, and he would be deep in enemy territory, fighting one against many.
To be on the safe side, it would indeed be better to come out and regroup with everyone before making a plan.
But he heard Reiner shake his head and change the subject.
"You chose to negotiate because you hope to minimize bloodshed. More importantly, you also said the cause of the civil war has been accumulating for a long time. It's a racial issue, right?"
Seeing Jinbe nod, Reiner continued, "This might not be a bad opportunity. You can even pretend to be defeated and captured, to create an atmosphere for the citizens that no one can stop Hody's madness."
"This..."
"Why would I do that?" Jinbe became more and more confused.
"Well, it's that old charade, you know? The country is in crisis, and then a hero appears, blah, blah, blah," Reiner said, scratching his head.
"This is a good opportunity to make more fish-men change their views on humans. Deep-rooted concepts are hard to change, but ignorant children will look up to heroes."
"Changing mindsets is not something that can be accomplished in one or two generations. I'm sure you understand this better than I do."
"..."
Jinbe fell silent, just looking at Reiner. He understood the meaning behind his words.
His mind flashed back to the scene of his big brother Tiger's death.
"It's ridiculous, isn't it, Jinbe?"
That man had clutched his heart, his eyes full of tears as he let out a mournful cry, "I can no longer love humans."
Tiger did not die because humans refused to give him a blood transfusion, as the outside world rumored, but because the hatred in his heart made him unable to accept human blood.
A man who had dedicated his life to racial peace had ended up dying in the hatred of his own heart.
His last words before his death...
...were for them to hide this matter, to not let his hatred spread to the next generation.
"I understand what you mean," Jinbe said, closing his eyes. He released his tightly clenched fists, lowered his head, and said in a low voice, "Thank you."
"What's there to thank? It's an insignificant matter. Even if it succeeds, so what? Can you change everyone in the world?"
Reiner was unconcerned. Racial peace... even the ideology of his era couldn't achieve such a thing.
Even if all the fish-men let go of their racial hatred, what about the humans outside?
"This road is too long. Who knows what use the little things we're doing now will have in the future," Reiner said, shaking his head.
Eliminating racial discrimination throughout the world was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
No, countries had ascended to heaven hundreds of times, but racial discrimination had not disappeared.
"Yes..."
"This road is too long, but..."
Jinbe turned his head and slowly walked towards the edge of the ship. Without looking back, he said, "Queen Otohime said that waiting will not yield results. Someone from both sides must take this step."
"...Why can't it be us?"
I may not live to see that day.
But that day must come.
(End of chapter)
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