With Nereus' arrival, the conflict in the pub came to an end. The others seemed completely used by this, and after dividing up their gambling winnings, they went right back to drinking as usual.
Kaido seemed to be experiencing a headache in more ways than one: partly due to the aftereffects of being physically sobered up, and partly because he was wondering how to repair the place.
Nereus, on the other hand, simply sat by himself and glanced at the calendar on the wall. The characters for the year 1503 were particularly striking.
(Note: The SBS timeline provides an exact year; Luffy's current journey is in 1541, he set sail in 1539. Using the new data; the timeline of this story is set 38 years prior.)
"Thirty-two years…"
Because he had happened to encounter a massive dumper truck after leaving the orphanage, Nereus ended up in this world, in the 1471 ASC (Age of the Sea Circle).
He was born in the Fish-Man District, which originally served as a place for Fishman Island to house orphans. In a sense, he returned to the "starting point."
However, due to chaotic management, it wasn't long before the Fish-Man District became a gathering ground for Fishman Island's criminal organizations.
Of course, its original function was never entirely abandoned; Nereus himself grew up struggling and fighting there, and it was at that time that he took on a new name, representing a fresh start.
During those years, several residents of the Fish-Man District helped him a lot.
It wasn't long before he realized exactly what kind of world he was in.
He had some knowledge of what would happen in the One Piece world, though his understanding of the plot only went as far as the Egghead arc. Beyond that, he possessed only scattered bits of information and remembered just a general impression of the overall story.
To survive better in such a dangerous world, he began to learn combat skills. Several years later, he left Fishman Island with some companions from the Fish-Man District and started venturing out into the world.
He wanted to change this situation, and he wanted to do it at the root, which would require strength.
Slave trading was common in these seas, even though the Great Pirate Era had not yet been started by Roger. Fishman Island was already a disaster zone affected by slave trading; Merfolk were considered top-tier goods in the eyes of slave traders.
After destroying a World Government slave transport ship, Nereus ended up with a Marine bounty on his head.
Nowadays, his bounty had increased by many times compared to the initial amount, and slave traders would get splitting headaches just hearing his name.
"Boss Nereus, I saw your little princess heading toward town. Want me to go check on her for you?"
Just as Nereus was pondering his next move, a tall, muscular Fish-Man with mostly light blue skin and bright green patches pushed open the door and walked in.
He was Sebastian, a member of the World Pirates in the original timeline—a hybrid of Fish-Man and Giant, and now one of Nereus' subordinates.
This was a result of Nereus' race; since he was a Fish-Man in this world, Fish-Men and Merfolk found it easier to trust him, so most of his subordinates were Fish-Men and Merfolk.
Sebastian was one of his top officers.
"No need, Big Pan is with her, and she's just going to see her mother."
Nereus appeared very much at ease with this. Big Pan, also a Fish-Man/Giant hybrid, was a member he had recruited after leaving Fishman Island.
In the original timeline, he was just one of Foxy the Silver Fox's men, but now, under Nereus' training, his strength had improved drastically, enough to have a place even in the New World.
What reassured him even more, though, was actually Nanamo's mother—Nereus' ex-wife, Charlotte Linlin, the future Yonko, the only female among the Yonko, Big Mom.
If something big happens, Charlotte Linlin will take care of it; if it's something minor, Big Pan can handle it on his own.
At this age, Charlotte Linlin is neither the violently unhinged old woman she becomes later in the story, nor the naive child who knew nothing of her own strength.
Youthful and beautiful, she is currently a forthright and reasonable woman capable of a more rational view on many things.
The relationship between the two isn't complicated. Because of Charlotte Linlin's own views on other races, when she met a strong and handsome Fish-Man, it wasn't long before they became involved.
Nanamo is her first child, the true eldest daughter of the Charlotte family, born even before Perospero.
However, their relationship didn't last long. Later, due to a clash of values, the two quickly developed major differences, and even now, there's still dispute over custody of their daughter.
After they separated, Charlotte Linlin went right back to her old ways, and now she has even more children.
Nanamo's appearance, besides delaying Perospero's birth a bit, also indirectly meant that the original eldest daughter, Charlotte Compote, was never born. Other than that, not much else has changed for Charlotte Linlin.
Though their relationship broke down, the split was fairly amicable; there was no messy situation like dividing the family assets in half.
And as for this daughter, Charlotte Linlin herself values her greatly; after all, Nanamo is currently the only one of her children who inherited her "Iron Balloon" talent.
But what dissatisfied Charlotte Linlin most was that Nanamo was closer to Nereus, and usually lives with him.
Given Nereus' own strength, Charlotte Linlin's usual tactic of "keeping the child and ditching the father" doesn't really work here.
As a result, she was more inclined to use Katakuri and the other half-siblings Nanamo plays with to influence Nanamo's thinking, and make her into a more genuine member of the Charlotte family.
"Do you have any other business?"
"Nothing major. News just came in from the outpost at sea. A group we've got a grudge with is heading toward Fullalead Island…"
Sebastian hadn't finished speaking when Kaido, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, suddenly stood up.
"I'll send someone over to help with repairs later. I've got something to take care of, so I'm heading out first."
Demolishing buildings was Kaido's specialty. Even though he wasn't a Devil Fruit user yet, demolishing this place wasn't hard for him, but fixing it up was another story.
However, given the nature of Fullalead Island, conflicts often broke out here, so there really was a group of people who specialized in repairs; after all, nobody wanted to spend every night in ruins.
Before Nereus could answer, Kaido had already dashed off, and Nereus didn't try to stop him.
The real issue wasn't about compensation, but that starting a fight here broke the rules Nereus himself had established. Teaching a lesson is enough; besides, Kaido wouldn't go so far as to act shamelessly over something like this.
After Kaido left, Nereus turned to Sebastian with another question.
"How are those sea beasts doing lately?"
"Not bad. They aren't as obedient as the Fighting Fish, but their training is just about done."
"Take them out and test them. Let's see how they do in combat."
"Yes."
Whether it's Fighting Fish or sea beasts, these are unique creatures of these seas. To ordinary human sailors, such fierce sea creatures are disasters on a voyage.
But to the Fish-Men who live in the ocean, they're like hunting dogs: a tameable force.
The Fish-Men's traditional culture even has special methods for taming sea beasts.
The sea beasts Nereus referred to were a batch recently captured and now in training. Now was the perfect opportunity to test their combat capabilities.