"Hahaha!" Mjosgard cackled. "Excellent! My fellow nobles will be green with envy. You're right—strong slaves are best.
"These ten—twenty million berries each!"
He waved grandly. "I'll have them broken in properly. They'll make fine slaves."
"Tokikake, Kuro, you heard that?" Jin called, lounging on the gangplank. "Twenty million apiece. Normally we get nothing extra for all the pirates we put down.
"Time to earn your bonus."
He had no intention of getting up. For this level of opponent, Tokikake alone was enough. Kuro could treat it as warm-up.
"Roger that!" Kuro grinned as his form warped, limbs elongating, carapace forming.
Half-beast form: demon mantis.
Pale green wings unfolded behind him. Both forearms were lined with countless razor-thin blades.
Tokikake cracked his knuckles.
Boom.
"Then let this genius shine," he said. "If I don't swing my fists once in a while, why'd I even come?"
He blurred forward in a burst of Soru.
Kuro's wings hummed; he darted into the air, diving toward the crowd.
"What's this? Just two of you?" Hody sneered. "You think you can handle us with two men?"
"If you're underestimating us," another fishman jeered, "you'll die for it!"
"Then die for Arlong!"
Hody chopped his hand. "Kill them!"
The mob roared and surged forward in a chaotic wave.
"Come on, then!" Tokikake laughed, hurling himself into their midst. His fist caught the first charging fishman and drove him straight into the ground, bowling several more over like pins.
Kuro said nothing. His wings flickered, and he became a blur weaving through bodies. Wherever he passed, fish-men collapsed, clutching slashed limbs or ribs, groaning but alive.
Otohime watched her people dropping one after another and couldn't take it anymore. She hurried toward the fight.
"Queen!" Neptune and the ministers rushed to stop her.
"White-san, please stop!" she begged.
Jin smiled. "I haven't killed anyone, and neither have they. Jinbe can tell."
Jinbe could tell. That was why he held his tongue. He was too busy replaying Jin's accusations in his mind.
Why don't you train your own people? Why rely on others?
The words gnawed at him.
Otohime's Observation could read hearts, but she'd never trained it for battle. All she saw were bodies falling.
She saw a "monster" Marine slicing through the crowd with bladed arms and a scruffy pervert punching through ranks and leaving craters in the coral floor.
"Queen, King," Jinbe said quickly, "they're not killing. Just incapacitating. It looks brutal, but… they're holding back."
Both royals sagged in relief.
"Jinbe," Jin called without looking at him, "you're a Warlord, aren't you? Don't you want in?
"They just called themselves pirates."
Jinbe folded his arms. "My duty is to protect the King and Queen. I won't move from their side."
Jin grinned. "You're guarding me, not them."
Jinbe stayed silent.
"Look closely, Queen," Jin said, nodding toward the fray. "Without strength, you can't do anything.
"Peace only exists because someone, somewhere, is strong enough to make everyone else afraid of war.
"Why do so many countries obey the World Government? Because the Government's fists are the biggest."
"But—" Otohime tried to interject.
He cut her off.
"Don't be too naive," Jin said. "Since I was a kid, I understood this much: this world eats people.
"If you don't get strong, you're what gets eaten.
"Think about what I said. Arm yourselves. Train your people. Make others understand: friends who come in peace get wine. Enemies…"
His gaze swept the battlefield.
"…get artillery."
"I'll think about it carefully, White-san," Otohime said at last, bowing slightly.
Jin stepped aside. "Good. I haven't fought in a while. Jinbe, you sure you don't want a round?"
"I'll pass," Jinbe said quickly. "You defeated Golden Lion. I'd rather not test how wide that gap is today."
"Thought so."
Out in front, Hody grit his teeth as more and more of his men fell.
"Fish-Man Karate: Water Shot!" he roared. He thrust his palm forward, spraying a barrage of water bullets at Tokikake.
"Mm." Tokikake's fist met the water, shattering the barrage with raw shockwaves.
"Looks like you're done watching," Tokikake called. "Good. Let's wrap this up."
Kuro paused, letting the last few fish-men slump to the ground. Blood dripped from his bladed arms onto the stone.
"End it, then," he said calmly. "These ones, we take alive."
"Stop underestimating us, human!" one of Hody's officers shouted. "fish-men are born stronger than you!"
"Then come find out," Kuro replied.
Most of the small fry had lost their nerve. More than a few were pretending to be unconscious already.
Seeing that, Hody clenched his jaw. "Liar, Ikaros, Daruma! With me!"
They charged together.
Tokikake leaped, fist cocked back. "Down you go!"
His punch met Hody's charge with a thunderous crack. Hody cratered into the coral, eyes spinning.
"Hody!" his officers shouted.
"Don't worry," Kuro said, suddenly in their midst. "You're next."
He retracted his blades and fought bare-handed, moving like a ghost between them. Each blow landed precisely, turning knees to jelly, knocking air from lungs. In a few breaths, every officer was facedown in the sand.
"Alright. Haul them aboard," Jin said, waving a hand.
"Yes, sir!"
Marines rushed to bind the downed officers. Hody was dragged up with the others, trussed like a hog.
Seeing the expressions on Otohime's and Neptune's faces, Jin sighed.
"Relax. I'm only taking the ringleaders. The rest are yours to deal with."
They exhaled in relief.
"Let them go!" one of the still-conscious grunts screamed. "Let Hody-sama go!"
Jin lifted his head.
His eyes went dark.
Black lightning flickered faintly around his body as his will surged outward.
"Conqueror's Haki…" Jinbe whispered, stunned.
The world hummed.
A wave of pressure slammed into the crowd.
fish-men went down like wheat in a storm—eyes rolling back, foam at their lips, hitting the floor in heavy thumps.
Everyone still standing stared.
"C–Conqueror's Haki…" Neptune stammered. "That's—"
"King…" Otohime clutched his arm, shocked.
Jinbe swallowed. "Only one in millions awakens that power, Your Majesty. I only saw it before from Pops—Whitebeard. Now him too…"
"Che," Tokikake clicked his tongue. "Using Conqueror's to clear the trash is so damn convenient. I'm jealous."
"It's not just for that," Jin said.
He raised his fist. Black lightning crawled over his knuckles, mingling with Armament.
Conqueror's coating.
Jinbe's shoulders sagged. Any lingering thought of challenging Jin vanished completely.
"Yeah, no thanks," Tokikake said, backing away. "Last time you tested that on me, I saw my ancestors."
"Let's head back," Jin said.
The warship began to pull away.
"White-san!" Otohime suddenly called. "If you ever have time… please visit Fishman Island again."
"Queen!" Neptune blurted. "He's dangerous. The less we see of him, the better."
Everyone looked just as confused.
Otohime smiled sadly. "Before today, I believed that if we just let go of our hatred, humans would accept us.
"But he… taught me something."
She looked at her fallen countrymen.
"If we don't have strength, we can't achieve anything."
"…I see," Neptune murmured.
"We have to change," Otohime went on. "He's right. If Fishman Island were strong, people wouldn't dare act however they like in our home.
"Jinbe. From today on, you'll be in charge of combat training."
"Yes, my Queen. I'll do my utmost," Jinbe said, bowing.
"Left Minister, Right Minister—find someone to purchase weapons from."
No one objected. Neptune listened to Otohime more than anyone.
"You still haven't told me why you invited that Marine," Neptune said quietly.
Otohime sighed. "White-san isn't a bad person. He just prefers… blunt methods.
"I can feel it. There's kindness in his heart."
Him? everyone thought at once. That guy?
"I can also feel," Otohime added softly, "that we'll cooperate with him someday."
"…If you say so," Neptune said. He knew his own nature—soft, indecisive. When it came to their people's future, his wife's will was stronger.
"Jinbe," Otohime said, turning, "have the injured treated."
"Yes, my Queen." Jinbe barked orders, sending medics rushing out.
Otohime watched them go, Jin's words echoing in her mind.
Do you really understand your people's lives? You sit in a palace with light and space. They live in the darkest corners of the island.
She took a breath.
Then she walked down into the wounded crowd herself.
"Queen!" Neptune and the ministers hurried after her.
"Get away from us!" an injured fishman snapped. "We don't need your fake charity!"
Otohime just smiled and began bandaging his wounds with her own hands.
Little by little, the curses died down. A few fish-men started to shake. One of them suddenly burst into tears.
"We're all the same people," Otohime said softly. "There's no need to be like this.
"In the past, I neglected your feelings. From now on, I'll try to make up for it. Together, we'll make Fishman Island better."
"Queen…" the ministers sniffled behind her.
Most of the fish-men still looked stubborn, faces twisted with pride and shame.
But no one cursed anymore.
It's a start, Otohime thought, smiling gently.
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