"300 years ago? That's a bit too long, isn't it? Is it really still there?"
Amphitrite, standing to the side, was somewhat doubtful that shipwreck could still be found. After all, three hundred years was long enough for even a giant to live out an entire lifetime.
"No idea. Sometimes we come up empty-handed, sometimes we get a pleasant surprise. You haven't been with us very long yet, but this is actually our main source of income."
Nereus and his group didn't live by plundering in their daily lives. Defeating enemies and seizing spoils was another matter, but unless it was something they absolutely had to obtain, their objectives were rarely money and goods.
The main economic source of the Fish-Men Pirates was the deep sea.
"Lunarians should have records of the previous world, right?"
"We used to, but by my generation they're already gone. I've only heard people say that a very long time ago, when our race was still at its peak, there was far more land than there is now."
Amphitrite sat by the window, looking at the massive roots of Eve that spread across the sky above Fishman Island—the 'sun' of Fishman Island itself.
The light above was gradually dimming; it seemed the outside sky was growing dark as well.
"More or less. It's said that there was once a single supercontinent in the world. What is now the Red Line was merely a part of that continent, and the scattered islands across the seas are just fragments of it.
But in the 'Great War' hundreds of years ago, those lands were shattered beyond recognition. Countless kingdoms perished in the deep sea.
Their wealth, technology, and countless other things were likewise buried beneath the ocean.
For humans to excavate these things would require enormous effort, but for us, as long as we can pinpoint the location, retrieving them is nothing more than a matter of convenience."
It wasn't just relics from history. Even outside the Grand Line, in the waters of the Four Seas, shipwrecks were far from rare.
And when it came to deep-sea salvage, no one was more adept than the Fish-Men. Some people would even, after a ship sank, contact Nereus through Underworld channels and ask him to send people to recover their belongings.
Although such salvage operations were extremely expensive, at least they could reduce losses and prevent total ruin.
It could be said that everything that had sunk over the past few hundred years was an untapped treasure trove for the Fish-Men, something they could excavate little by little, like opening mystery boxes.
Sometimes they even unearthed unexpected surprises, such as ancient technology.
After all, on this sea, the most powerful weapons were the legendary Ancient Weapons. Poseidon was a bloodline inheritance that appeared at random on Fishman Island every so often.
The exact form of Uranus was still unclear, while Pluton was widely believed to be a terrifying ancient battleship capable of destroying an island with a single shot, along with the self-aware robot Emet.
These were all creations of people from hundreds of years ago. Compared to forging a path through unknown territory in search of new technology, archaeology was actually the simpler path.
Just like Protoss—dig around in ancient ruins, and powerful weapons would naturally fall into your hands.
"Putting it that way, doesn't that mean you're actually not short on money at all?"
Amphitrite's gaze shifted to Nanamo. The way Nanamo valued money made Amphitrite feel like the child was always strapped for cash, but according to Nereus, the Fish-Men's earning power was actually quite strong.
"For daily life, we're certainly not lacking, but there are also huge expenses. Even if we really dig up some antiques, it's not like you can just use it the moment it's unearthed. Getting it operational again costs a great deal as well.
The world's technological development has serious gaps; many things from the past have already been lost."
Just looking at the treasures taken from God Valley alone, it was already an astronomical sum. If that money were only for personal use, one could spend a lifetime and still not exhaust it.
But once it was invested into certain large-scale projects, the rate at which it was consumed was no different from burning money.
After a brief rest, Nereus set sail again with a small number of people. After entering Paradise, they headed south, preparing to cross the Calm Belt and enter the South Blue.
However, just as they were about to enter the Calm Belt, a massive paddle steamer appeared ahead of them.
Unlike traditional wind-powered sailing ships, this vessel not only had enormous external paddle wheels, but also massive chimneys on its hull belching black smoke, as if it were driven by an internal combustion engine.
The letters "MADS" were engraved on the hull, and the flag it flew bore the word "PACIFIST."
"Pacifist… Dad! It's a MADS ship! Are we going to see Uncle Wobbegong?"
On the lookout tower, Nanamo used the telescope in her hands to observe the situation on the sea ahead and shouted to Nereus beside her.
"Hermes, send a 'flag signal' to the other ship. Sebastian, get in touch with Wobbegong. We can deliver the things to them while we're at it and save ourselves another trip."
Nereus glanced into the distance and issued his orders. Upon receiving the command, Hermes immediately floated up into the air, twisting its body and transforming into a series of special symbols.
On the MADS ship ahead, the navigator also noticed this scene, but hesitated over whether to stop the ship. After all, in common perception, the vessel ahead was likewise a pirate ship.
At this moment, everyone on board with any degree of authority was inside the laboratory researching various things. Only one person came over—a figure covered head to toe in black-and-white stripes, like a zebra, making his features impossible to discern.
From behind, one could also see a shark's dorsal fin on his back.
"Stop the ship. They're people I know, no need to worry."
"Yes, Mr. Wobbegong."
Wobbegong was Nereus's fellow Fishman from the Fish-Man District, a founding member who had left the district together with Nereus back in the day.
However, compared to Sunbell and Barbell, Wobbegong's combat strength could only be described as meager. Forget senior officers, even ordinary combatants were more than he could easily handle.
And what he liked wasn't fighting, but research.
A year and a half ago, the Loan Shark King of the Underworld, Du Feld, invested in establishing a research lab for peace called MADS to boost his own reputation, recruiting the genius scientist Vegapunk.
It was at that time that Nereus sent Wobbegong over, making him a member of MADS to participate in various research projects. Staying by Vegapunk's side also helped him better absorb knowledge.
On this sea, individual martial prowess was indeed important, but technology could also bring about qualitative change. Ancient Weapons were likewise a part of science, and the Lineage Factor of Devil Fruits could exert remarkable effects in many fields.
Nereus needed someone among his trusted subordinates who could grasp this kind of power, and Wobbegong happened to fit the bill.
At present, in addition to Lineage Factor research, Wobbegong's work also extended to botany. For example, cultivation techniques for the Sunlight Tree Eve and enhancement processes for Yarukiman Mangrove resin. These were all essential technologies that Fishman Island would need in the future.
TN: Hey guys, I will be releasing extra chapters for every 20 power stones. (5-7 chapters.)
Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 25 chapters on my pa*reon.