Chapter 51: Fisher Tiger
"Old rules: interrogate them. If it's a slave ship, kill them all. If individuals were just tempted by profit, only kill those who knew about it."
If these people were pirates instead of a smuggling merchant group, Nereus wouldn't even send anyone to investigate; he would simply wipe out the entire pirate crew.
Not only because there was a fundamental difference between pirates and smuggling groups, but mostly because a flag belonging to Nereus was planted here on Fish-man Island.
As a two-way passage, pirates from Paradise entered the New World, and pirates from the New World returned to Paradise for various reasons.
Perhaps pirates from Paradise didn't know Nereus's name, but this flag was enough to curb the thoughts of many New World pirates.
Of course, only a portion of them.
In the face of sufficient profit, death couldn't even serve as a threat. Before immense profits, there were always those willing to take risks.
A flag planted on an island meant that the island was under that person's protection. This was the default rule of the sea.
If other pirates dared to cause trouble under such circumstances, it could be regarded as a declaration of war. Regardless of the reason, even if only to maintain one's own face and dignity, the harshest blow must be dealt.
These days, those capable of engaging in ocean-going smuggling didn't have clean hands either, but there was still a big difference compared to pirates. If someone genuinely knew nothing about it, it wasn't impossible to show leniency.
Fish-man Island didn't need the reputation of slaughtering the innocent; that would be detrimental to future development.
As for how to interrogate? Under the deterrence of force, making the remaining people identify each other might have some margin of error, but the result would be pretty close to the truth.
"Mr. Nereus, isn't this... a bit too bloody?"
The nearby Neptune Army soldiers didn't stop Nereus. With Nereus's reputation, even newborn children had heard of him to some extent.
And the soldiers at the checkpoint naturally knew what he looked like.
"Bloody? They treat your compatriots as commodities, ignoring the rules of this island, and you still want to have a nice chat with them?"
"No, that's not what I mean. But... you know the situation of Fish-man Island. Although your flag deters many people, it ultimately can't cure the root cause.
And when you're not here... there are some pirates we can't handle... plus the higher-ups want to reduce conflicts..."
"Tch. Incompetent royalty is always like this. Since pirates won't break into Ryugu Palace anyway, is it reasonable to sacrifice some citizens just to live peacefully?"
At this time, the King of Fish-man Island wasn't Neptune yet, but his father. If Neptune was incapable but had thoughts of changing things, then his father was a pure slacker.
He didn't even have the thought of changing; he just wanted to hide in the deep sea as a weakling.
But facing lawless villains like pirates, the more cowardly you acted, the more excessive they became.
"Mr. Nereus, these words..."
"It's nothing. Feel free to report these words. Even in front of the royal family, I can say it again: having such incompetent royalty is truly unfortunate for Fish-man Island."
Given Fish-man Island's current military strength, making enemies of the whole world would indeed be unbearable, but Fish-man Island wasn't heading in that direction either.
Relying on racial talents and the defense line provided by the deep sea, self-preservation was still achievable.
But this top-down "cowardice" made the price paid by slave hunting teams smaller and smaller, turning a high-risk project into a low-risk one.
When Nereus, this variable, appeared, Fish-man Island actually gained an extra umbrella of protection. People with sufficient strength generally had enough vision; most were unwilling to clash with Nereus over such trivial matters.
Under these circumstances, the situation on Fish-man Island hadn't alleviated much, and the ruling class bore inescapable responsibility.
Then, Nereus waved his hand and left the scene first. He didn't say much more to these Neptune Army soldiers but bought a piece of coral for Amphelite at a shop in the nearby plaza.
"What is this?"
"Bubble Coral. It stores a large amount of air inside and is a tool that allows land-dwelling races to move underwater. We still have to go to the Fish-man District; that place is quite different from Fish-man Island proper."
Although both were named after Fish-men, the Fish-man District wasn't inside the giant bubble film of Fish-man Island but in the deep sea outside it.
Except for a small area wrapped in bubble film due to special circumstances, the rest was submerged in water.
Even if a Lunarian could hold their breath for hours like a whale, they still needed to breathe eventually.
Using the Bubble Coral was simple. Before entering the Fish-man District, with a simple press, a bubble enveloped Amphelite, floating along with her movements.
"Don't worry, this bubble is quite sturdy. Low-intensity combat won't break it. However, I personally suggest you extinguish the flames on your back; high temperatures will pop this kind of bubble."
"Is there... no sunlight here?"
Compared to Fish-man Island, the environment of the Fish-man District was dimmer. Although it wasn't pitch-black like the deep sea where visibility was almost zero, it didn't have the bright feeling of Fish-man Island either.
"Yeah. This place is considered the slums of Fish-man Island. Originally, it was used as an orphanage, but the royal family didn't do much, so over time, it became like this."
Fish-man Island had its own property prices too. Places with ample, bright light were more expensive, while dark places were much cheaper.
The group appeared in the Fish-man District. Among them was someone covered in a bubble film, clearly not a member of the Fish-man race. This quickly attracted the attention of the Fish-man District residents.
"Big Bro Nereus?!"
"Big Bro Nereus is back!!"
Compared to the island where the slaves were settled earlier, the residents of the Fish-man District appeared even more enthusiastic. When the first person who spotted Nereus shouted this out, the news spread throughout the entire Fish-man District very quickly.
The empty streets became crowded, and the noise grew louder.
"Big Bro, how many days are you staying this time?"
"Lord Nereus, is the outside world interesting?"
Nereus answered these questions as they came. This situation continued until another tall figure arrived, providing some relief.
"Big Bro Tiger is here!"
"Make way! Big Bro Tiger is here!"
From behind the crowd, a Fish-man with light red skin, medium-length black hair, wearing a simple white tank top, walked over.
His full name was Fisher Tiger. In the original timeline, he was the Fish-man who climbed the Red Line bare-handed and liberated all the slaves.
He was only 22 years old this year, still very young, and currently the boss of the Fish-man District.
This was due to the nature of the current Fish-man District. It could be considered a lawless zone of Fish-man Island, where fists did the talking.
And Nereus's main development wasn't underwater. He took capable subordinates outside to develop, as staying here would slow down their growth significantly.
Therefore, new "Big Bros" would naturally emerge in the Fish-man District. However, as long as Nereus returned, his status and prestige would instantly surpass the current boss of the Fish-man District.
But this didn't lead to any bloody conflict. The Fish-man District was a place that admired strength. The attitude of others towards Nereus was usually...
"Mr. Nereus, my name is Fisher Tiger. My dream is to become an adventurer who travels the world. Please let me join you!"
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