Within Nereus's sphere of influence, he held absolute authority. Part of it was his style of handling matters, but most importantly, Nereus himself possessed overwhelming strength.
When gathering this group of people, it wasn't simply a matter of a few words convincing them to join. According to the traditions of the Fish-Men, or more precisely, the Fish-Man District, these things were still decided by fists.
Everyone here knew just how hard Nereus's fists were.
If they kept bickering now, Nereus would demonstrate exactly what it means to "dislike fighting, but love ending fights."
It is a well-known fact that a person who tries to break up a fight can perfectly end the dispute as long as they are stronger than all those involved in the fight.
"Barbell, take those sea beasts out and let me see your training results."
"Don't worry, boss, I guarantee you won't be disappointed."
Barbell waved his hand, leading two others as they took conch shells and swam toward a nearby bay. Nereus, meanwhile, took the telescope that Sunbell handed over and looked toward the distant sea.
"Identity?"
"Tribar Treasure Hunting Crew, led by Tribar Brucci, bounty of one hundred million Berries."
As the common currency on the seas, the Berry was steadily devaluing, and after the start of the Great Pirate Era, this would become even more pronounced.
To judge its value, you could look at the price of a newspaper. In a sense, the World Economy News Paper could be considered a kind of special "universal equivalent."
When Luffy was first given a bounty in the story's timeline, a newspaper cost 100 Berries per issue, but currently it's just 50 Berries per issue. That means a hundred million Berries now is worth more than it will be in the future.
"Treasure hunting crew?"
"They're bounty hunters. Three months ago, we freed a batch of slaves, and those slave ships belonged to this group. Because of us, they couldn't 'supply goods' on time, angering some people in the World Government, and they ended up being given a bounty."
Sunbell read off the intelligence he had. Although there wasn't concrete evidence about what these people had come for, it was clear they weren't visiting as guests, so treating them as enemies wasn't a problem.
And that was indeed the case. After being given a bounty, these people didn't dare seek revenge on the World Government and instead targeted Nereus, whom they saw as the "main culprit."
After all, in most people's eyes, no pirate force, no matter how strong, could compare to the World Government, that colossal entity that had ruled the world for centuries.
"I've seen plenty of people who don't care about their lives, but it's rare to see ones so eager to die."
After thinking for a moment, Nereus recalled that operation; he hadn't even made a move himself, and just one of his squads had completed the mission. The enemy's strength wasn't much.
But Nereus wasn't surprised they'd come for revenge. On these seas, reckless people like this were everywhere, one of the sea's special products.
"Boss, you don't need to do it yourself. I'll handle them. Trash like this… five minutes is enough."
Seeing Nereus rolling his wrists as if he was about to act, Sebastian stepped forward first. Nereus only nodded, agreeing to his suggestion.
Situations like this were not uncommon—slave traders out for revenge, Marines belonging to the World Government, other pirates hoping to make a name for themselves—enemies like these showed up around here all the time.
Not every enemy was worth Nereus taking action personally. At this moment, Sebastian had already become a white streak across the water, charging toward the approaching enemy ship.
Meanwhile, in a nearby deepwater port, as the sound of a conch shell blown by Barbell echoed out, three massive shadows beneath the waves began to move slowly…
At the same time, on the ship of the Tribar Treasure Hunting Crew, a man with a face full of knife scars, thin but tall, his eyes burning with fury, stared fixedly in the direction of Fullalead Island.
He was Tribar Brucci, leader of the so-called Treasure Hunting Crew, but in truth, all he did was slave trading.
Because he served the World Government and had a bit of strength himself, life had been comfortable for a while, until he ran into Nereus's subordinates.
"Full speed ahead! That b*stard is on that island. Kill them all, get all the goods back, and then we might have a chance to remove our bounty!"
"But… but, Captain, that's 'Fullalead'... On that island… maybe we should just go back…"
A few people behind him looked scared; even though they had already reached the vicinity of Fullalead Island, they still seemed nervous and hesitant.
Fullalead Island was now a gathering place for pirates; this was no secret. And it was full of famous big-name pirates.
The only reason they were still following Tribar Brucci was because the World Government's bounty was on their entire crew. With Tribar's strength, he could at least handle Marines and bounty hunters.
If they escaped from here, they might quickly be captured by other slave traders to fill the gap left behind.
As slave traders themselves, they knew exactly what kind of treatment slaves received.
That's why, even after Tribar Brucci made such a crazy decision, they kept following him. But that didn't stop them from trying to persuade him.
If Tribar chose to find a place to hide, to lay low in some remote part of the Four Seas and live incognito, maybe, like some bandit king, they could act like tyrants in a small area.
"Shut up! I'm not living my life on the run! Those pirates are just gathered on that island. Don't count on them helping them; if they don't stab them in the back, it'll be already good!
Last time was only because I wasn't around; otherwise, how could those b*stards have succeeded so easily? Merfolk slaves are the most valuable merchandise, and they'll come in handy this time!"
To this day, Tribar Brucci still believed that Nereus's people had only managed to rescue those slaves because he hadn't personally been on the ship that day.
This kind of blind self-confidence in one's own strength is common on the seas; whether in the present or the future, it never changes.
Even a high bounty didn't deter these people; after all, a bounty wasn't determined by strength alone. Heinous acts and things that disgusted the World Government would increase the bounty amount.
Many people believed those with big names just set sail earlier, and that they themselves had already surpassed them; it was just that they hadn't had the chance to show it yet.
This kind of "product" was often called a reckless greenhorn, and they popped up frequently among rookies at sea.
In the original timeline, Super Rookies challenging the Yonkō was a straightforward example of this. Believing themselves invincible, they lacked an understanding of true strength, and were usually brought crashing back to reality very quickly.
Boom!
Tribar was about to issue another order, but suddenly the ship was rocked by a violent tremor, and the swaying deck flung two people straight off.
"What's going on?!"
Grabbing the side of the ship to steady himself, Tribar looked around, but the others, thrown off balance by the violent shaking, had no time to answer his question. Instead, the ship beneath his feet gave him the answer with stark clarity.
The deck creaked, and the hull let out a deafening cracking noise.
The sturdy keel was snapped in half, and the hull, like a giant tree eaten away by insects, split into two sections under the tearing of monstrous strength.
Wood splinters flew from the crack, seawater flooded violently into the cabin, and the massive ship began to tilt and sink slowly, with crew members sliding into the sea one after another.
The ones left, clutching anything they could on the deck, didn't fall immediately, but it made little difference.
Though the size of the ship kept it from sinking at once, it was only a matter of time before it went down.
"You guys are really arrogant. Didn't you even know how we fight? I haven't seen anyone so unprepared for an underwater attack in ages."
Sebastian leaped out of the water, his massive body further accelerating the ship's sinking. If the ship hadn't been so big, it would never have withstood such rough treatment from Sebastian for even this long.
Now Sebastian stood atop the slowly sinking hull, his eyes full of mockery as he looked at the enemy before him.
"Two minutes left. But for you lot, that's more than enough."
Sebastian checked his pocket watch and put it away, his gaze icy as he stared down Tribar Brucci…