Jin snorted. "They're already rampaging in your own home, and you still want your people to 'let go of their hatred'? That line only works on people who've never suffered."
Kuro finished hauling the little mermaid out of the slavers' hands and Moonwalked back up onto the giant flatfish.
Mjosgard watched all of this, but said nothing. In the past, he would've ordered the mermaid taken to the Holy Land on the spot. For some reason, he felt… unimpressed now.
He kept hearing that Marine's words in his head. Compared to these fragile little creatures, he suddenly felt they weren't worth the effort.
"But… but…" Queen Otohime clenched her hands. "If we don't let go of our hatred, how will humans ever accept us?"
Looking at this frail, gentle queen, Jin honestly felt an urge to slap sense into her.
"Peace between two races," he said, "isn't as simple as one side unilaterally forgiving the other.
"If Fishman Island's fists were hard enough, what do you think would happen?"
He answered himself.
"If your fists are big enough, mean enough, other people will have to talk to you properly," Jin said. "They won't dare act like this in your own home."
During their back-and-forth, the group arrived at the port and dismounted from the flatfish.
Mjosgard boarded the warship under CP escort. Otohime opened her mouth to say more—
—and a crowd surged out from every direction.
fish-men. Hundreds. Then thousands.
In all of Fishman Island, Jin thought, smiling slightly as he watched them gather, only one here really catches my eye.
Jinbe felt his stomach drop. "Hody Jones. What are you doing?" he demanded.
"Hehehe…" The voice that answered was young, but full of venom. "What am I doing? Jinbe, the man who killed Brother Arlong is standing right there. What do you think I'm doing?"
One of the Sun Pirates stepped forward, eyes bloodshot. "Move, Jinbe. We're avenging Arlong today."
"Everyone else can leave," Hody said, leveling a trident at the warship. "That human stays."
He pointed straight at Jin.
Jin smiled and sat down on the gangplank, watching like it was a show.
Tokikake and Kuro stayed silent. From their Observation, only a handful of these fish-men were worth noting.
The rest were just meat.
"Stop this! He's a Marine—you can't touch him!" Jinbe barked. He knew all too well how Jin reacted when annoyed.
"Jinbe, you traitor," one fishman spat. "You betrayed Brother Tiger and joined the World Government. You don't get to stop us."
"Everyone, please!" Otohime hurried forward. "Please don't deepen the hatred any further!"
"You see?" Jin sighed. "That's why I don't like talking to her. Look at the timing. Look at the situation. And she still comes out with this."
Tokikake covered his face. "She's defending you, idiot. You didn't hear them? They want to kill you, and she's the one standing in front of them. Maybe don't roast her while she's doing it?"
"Move, King! Move, Jinbe! Move, Queen!" a fishman snarled. "That man dies here today!"
Otohime's Observation spread like a warm tide, washing over the fish-men.
Emotions softened. Shoulders loosened. The bay grew quieter.
Hody Jones bit his tongue hard, the metallic taste of blood snapping him back to clarity.
"Enough!" he roared. "Queen Otohime! King Neptune! Get out of the way!"
His shout snapped others awake as well, and anger flared again.
"And you, Jinbe," another fishman shouted, "you traitor have no right to lecture us!"
Jin watched, and his eyes gleamed.
"This," he said quietly, "is why I like that kid."
Everyone glanced at him.
"He uses every tool he has," Jin went on. "He borrows the banner of 'avenging Arlong' to gather three thousand fish-men under him.
"He's cruel to others, and even crueler to himself. That kind of man? I appreciate him."
"Hey, Marine!" Mjosgard snapped. "Why aren't you killing these vulgar fish-men yet?"
"Relax, Lord Mjosgard," Jin said. "This is still a member nation. If I strike without a proper excuse, Sengoku'll have a stroke."
"My orders aren't enough of an excuse?" Mjosgard nearly exploded.
"They'll give us a reason soon," Jin assured him, smiling. "Just watch."
"Move, Jinbe!" Hody bellowed again. "This is our business now—the New Fishman Pirates' business. You traitors don't get to meddle!"
Jin spread his hands. "See? There it is. Self-proclaimed pirates. Marine justice. Everything's nice and legal."
"Unbelievable," Tokikake muttered. "He sounds like he's reading off a bounty poster."
"Everyone! Please, stop," Otohime tried again, desperately. "We can still sit down and—"
fish-men shoved her aside, rough hands pushing at Jinbe and Neptune. The prince and guards scrambled to shield her without striking back.
Jinbe wanted to stand firm, but one wrong move and someone would hurt the queen. He could only grit his teeth and guard her flanks.
Over three thousand fish-men advanced until they were about twenty meters from the warship and stopped in a rough line.
Hody planted his trident in front of him and pointed again at Jin. "Stay and die, Marine. We'll spare the others."
A roar went up behind him.
"Kill the human!"
"Blood for Arlong!"
Jin tilted his head. "You've got a decent aura, Hody," he called. "Want a job under me?"
"Stop screwing with me!" Hody snarled. "You humans are filth. We fish-men are born ten times stronger than you. You think you're worth my loyalty?"
Tokikake burst out laughing. "Pff—"
Jin's smile sharpened. He glanced over as Jinbe, Otohime, and Neptune hurried closer.
"White-san," Otohime said, eyes already wet, "please… can't you let them go?"
Jin didn't even look at her.
"Jinbe, you know why I don't respect you?" he asked instead, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Jinbe blinked. "What?"
The fish-men quieted, waiting.
"Look at this," Jin said, sweeping an arm toward the crowd. "Fishman Island has so many bodies. So much potential combat power.
"And what did you do? Instead of training them, you went crawling to someone else to protect you."
He pointed up at the massive skull-and-crossbones flag flying over the island—Whitebeard's emblem.
"You went and licked someone else's boots," Jin said. "Called another man 'old man' and hung his flag over your home.
"Busoshoku, Fishman Karate—you don't share any of it? You don't train them up? You just ignore all this potential… and then go kneel to someone else?"
Jinbe's jaw clenched.
"If your adopted old man could crawl out of his grave and hear you," Jin added, "I wonder if he'd smack you back into the womb."
He turned back to Otohime.
"Don't get me wrong, Queen," Jin said. "I don't oppose humans and fish-men living together.
"But before you talk about peace, you need fists big enough to back it up.
"Don't pin your hopes on someone else's mercy. That kind of hope is paper-thin."
He looked past them, at Hody and his gathered mob.
"So," he said lightly, "I think I heard something about a 'New Fishman Pirates' just now?"
"That's right!" Hody roared. "The New Fishman Pirates were born for revenge!"
"Nice momentum," Jin said approvingly.
"Nobody asked you!" Hody screamed. He flung his trident with all his strength.
"Kill that Marine!" the mob howled.
Kuro tensed, ready to intercept.
Jin just raised his hand and flicked his middle finger like he was knocking someone's forehead.
"This guy's joking, right?" a fishman scoffed.
There was a crisp pop in the water.
The trident exploded into glittering shards.
"Don't embarrass yourself with cheap tricks, Hody," Jin said, smiling.
"Kill them all?" Kuro asked, stepping forward and unclasping his seastone cuffs.
They clattered into a waiting seaman's hands.
"You've been wearing ninety percent pure seastone all this time?" Tokikake took one and nearly dropped it, feeling the oppressive weight.
Kuro rolled his shoulders and inhaled deeply. "Feels good to breathe again."
"Looks like you two are itching for a workout," Jin said. "But this is Fishman Island. Don't go overboard."
He jerked his chin at the crowd. "Heads stay. Bodies can be broken.
"Too many corpses and Sengoku'll roast us."
"Fine," Tokikake said. "We'll just knock them out. Take the key ones."
Jin looked at Mjosgard. "Lord Mjosgard, want some slaves?"
The entire Marine side went silent.
"…We're Marines, not slavers," Tokikake said through gritted teeth.
"Look at them," Jin said, pointing. "Strong, durable, born to work. You drag these brutes home and show them off, what do you think your fellow nobles will say?"
Mjosgard considered the distant fish-men, muscles bunching under scaled skin.
"True," he mused. "Those commoner slaves die too easily. These pirates look much sturdier. Very good. You have a keen eye, Marine."
At first, the other Marines had been gloomy listening to talk of slaves.
When they realized Jin was specifically targeting pirates, their expressions shifted. Pirates were hauling themselves into chains. Hard to pity them.
Jin pointed at Hody and his core officers. "Those ten at the front. Ten million berries apiece. Think of it as a… mission bonus."
Tokikake stared at him.
Kuro just sighed. "...Of course."
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