"Same rules as always. Go up and interrogate them. If it's a slave-transport ship, kill them all. If it's just a few people tempted by profit, only kill those who know the truth."
If these people were pirates rather than a smuggling group, Nereus wouldn't even bother sending anyone to investigate. He would have wiped out the entire pirate crew outright.
It wasn't just because pirates and smuggling groups differed in nature, but more importantly because Fishman Island flew a flag that belonged to Nereus.
As a two-way passage, pirates from Paradise would enter the New World, and pirates from the New World would also return to Paradise for various reasons.
Perhaps pirates from Paradise didn't know Nereus's name, but that flag alone was enough to restrain the ambitions of quite a few New World pirates.
Of course, only some of them.
When the profits are high enough, even death ceases to be a deterrent. Faced with enormous profits, there will always be people willing to take the risk.
When an island flies someone's flag, it means the island is under that person's protection—this is an unspoken rule of the seas.
If other pirates still dared to cause trouble under such circumstances, it could be regarded as a declaration of war. No matter the reason, even if only to uphold one's own dignity and reputation, the harshest retaliation was mandatory.
Anyone capable of long-distance smuggling these days wouldn't have clean hands either, but they were still very different from pirates. If there truly were people completely ignorant of the situation, it wasn't impossible to show them some leniency.
Fishman Island didn't need the reputation of indiscriminate slaughter; it would bring no benefits to its future development.
As for how to interrogate them—using the deterrence of force to make the remaining people accuse one another might have some margin of error, but it would still be accurate enough.
"Mr. Nereus, isn't this… a bit too brutal?"
The Neptune Army soldiers nearby didn't try to stop Nereus. Given Nereus's fame, even newborn children had heard his name to some extent.
And the soldiers stationed at the Neptune Army checkpoint naturally knew what he looked like.
"Brutal? They treat your kin as merchandise and ignore this island's rules. Do you want to sit down and talk it out with them?"
"No, that's not what I meant, but… you know Fishman Island's situation. Although your flag can intimidate many people, it can't solve the problem at its root.
And when you're not here… there are some pirates we simply can't deal with… and the higher-ups also want to reduce conflicts…"
"Tch, incompetent royalty is always like this. Since pirates won't storm Ryugu Palace anyway, you just reasonably sacrifice some citizens to live out your days in peace?"
At this time, the king of Fishman Island was not Neptune, but his father. If Neptune was merely lacking in ability yet still harbored thoughts of change, then his father was a pure deadbeat.
He didn't even possess the desire to change—he only wanted to hide in the deep sea as a weakling.
But when dealing with lawless villains like pirates, the more cowardly one appeared, the more excessive they became.
"Mr. Nereus, that's…"
"It's nothing. You can report these words if you like. Even in front of the royal family, I can say it again. Having such incompetent royalty, Fishman Island is truly unfortunate."
With Fishman Island's current military strength, it indeed couldn't withstand becoming the enemy of the entire world, but it wasn't heading in that direction either.
Relying on racial advantages and the defensive barrier provided by the deep sea, self-preservation was still possible.
However, this top-down 'cowardice' kept lowering the cost paid by slave traders, turning what should be a high-risk endeavour into a low-risk one.
When the variable known as Nereus appeared, Fishman Island had in fact gained an extra umbrella of protection. Those strong enough usually also had sufficient perspective, and most were unwilling to clash with Nereus over such trivial matters.
Even so, Fishman Island's situation didn't improve much. The ruling class bore an inescapable responsibility.
Afterward, Nereus waved his hand and left first, without saying much more to the Neptune Army. Instead, he bought a piece of coral from a shop in the nearby plaza for Amphy.
"What's this?"
"Bubbly Coral. It stores a large amount of air and lets land-dwelling races move underwater. We still need to make a trip to the Fish-Man District. There's a big difference between it and Fishman Island."
Although both bore the name "Fish-Man," the Fish-Man District was not inside Fishman Island's enormous bubble membrane, but in the deep sea outside the island.
Aside from a few areas enclosed in bubble membranes due to special circumstances, the place was entirely submerged.
Even Lunarians, who could hold their breath for hours like whales, still needed to take breath.
Using Bubbly Coral was very simple. Before entering the Fish-Man District, a light press was all it took, and a bubble enveloped Amphy, floating along with her as she moved.
"Don't worry, this bubble is pretty sturdy. Low-intensity combat won't break it. That said, I'd personally recommend extinguishing the flames on your back. High temperatures can still cause this bubble to burst."
"Is there… no sunlight here?"
Compared to Fishman Island, the environment of the Fish-Man District was much dimmer. While it wasn't so dark as to make it nearly impossible to see, like the deep sea, it also lacked the bright feeling of Fishman Island.
"Yeah. This place is basically Fishman Island's slum. It was originally meant to be an orphanage, but the royal family didn't really do anything about it. Over time, it turned into this."
Fishman Island had its own real estate prices as well. The more abundant and brighter the light in an area, the more expensive it was, while darker areas were considerably cheaper.
When the group appeared in the Fish-Man District, with one person clearly covered by a bubble membrane on the outside—obviously not a Fish-Man—it quickly drew the attention of the local residents.
"Boss Nereus?!"
"Boss Nereus is back!!"
Compared to the island where the slaves had been resettled earlier, the residents of the Fish-Man District were far more enthusiastic. As soon as the first person shouted it out, the news rapidly spread throughout the entire district.
The once-empty streets quickly became crowded, and the noise grew even louder.
"Boss, how many days are you staying this time?"
"Lord Nereus, is the outside world interesting?"
Nereus answered the questions nearby as best he could, and the situation only eased when another tall figure arrived.
"Boss Tai is here!"
"Make way! Boss Tai is here!"
From the back of the crowd, a Fish-Man with light red skin, medium-length black hair, and a simple white tank top walked forward.
His full name was Fisher Tiger—the Fish-Man who, in the original timeline, climbed the Red Line with his bare hands and freed all the slaves.
He was only twenty-two this year, still very young, and already the current boss of the Fish-Man District.
This was due to the nature of the Fish-Man District itself. It was essentially Fishman Island's lawless zone, where strength ruled above all.
And since Nereus's main sphere of development wasn't underwater, most of his capable subordinates were taken outside with him to grow. After all, if they stayed here, their rate of improvement would be far too slow.
As a result, new bosses naturally emerged in the Fish-Man District. However, as soon as Nereus returned, his status and reputation would instantly surpass that of the current boss.
Even so, this didn't lead to any bloodshed. The Fish-Man District was a place that revered strength, and the attitude of others toward 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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