The Sun Pirates' Reputation

Foolshout Island.

Fisher Tiger led Jinbe group in a deep dive until the naval fleet behind them completely disappeared from sight, then they slowly slowed down.

"Brother Fisher Tiger!"

Arlong glanced back. "Those marines didn't catch up!"

Don't be careless.

Jinbe looked up to check the direction. "The ship should have moved to the eastern reef group already. Let's go that way."

Hachi clutched his shoulder, hissing in pain, "Don't go too far, my injury still hurts."

"Who told you to show off just now!"

Arlong cursed irritably, but then reached out and supported his arm.

"Shut up, save your energy."

After swimming for a while, a large area of hidden reefs appeared ahead.

Fisher Tiger was the first to break through the water.

Splash--

Not far away, a ship flying the Sun Flag was quietly moored behind the reefs.

"Brother Fisher Tiger!"

The crew members who remained behind saw them and quickly ran to the side of the ship.

"You're finally back!"

Jinbe swam to the side of the ship, reached out and grabbed the rope ladder. "Didn't run into the Navy, did we?"

"No! As soon as we heard the fighting on the shore, we immediately brought the boat over, just as we had agreed beforehand!"

"Well done."

Fisher Tiger grabbed the rope ladder and flipped onto the boat, immediately ordering without even drying himself off, "Let's count the number of people first!"

"Yes!"

The crew members climbed onto the deck one by one and took turns counting off.

Once he confirmed that none of them were missing, Fisher Tiger finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Set sail! Let's get out of this area first!"

The Rising Sun Flag unfurled in the sea breeze as the adventure boat slowly sailed out of the reefs and headed out to sea.

But the boat had only been gone a short while when they heard Hachi's cry of pain from behind.

"Ouch! Gently, gently!"

Arlong turned around abruptly and saw Hachi leaning against the railing, the bandage on his shoulder already bleeding.

"Hachi?!"

"It's nothing... I just got slashed by the navy..."

"You call this a cut?"

Arlong's face darkened instantly, and he rushed over in a few steps.

Aladdin quickly grabbed some clean gauze and pressed it against the wound. After treating it, his brow furrowed deeply. "You've lost a lot of blood. We need to find a place to examine it carefully. We don't have enough medicine and equipment on the ship."

Arlong's face darkened further. "Brother Fisher Tiger, you're not going to the human island again, are you?"

"Where else can we go?"

"I just got betrayed by those bastards! Who knows if the people from the next island will report me too!"

Fisher Tiger glanced at Hachi, who was leaning against the railing with a pale face, and his tone turned serious. "Is Hachi more important, or your temper?"

Arlong opened his mouth, but ultimately remained silent.

"Jinbe, find the nearest Port where you can resupply."

"Clear."

Fisher Tiger walked over to Hachi and straightened the bandage that had slipped down. "Hang in there, we'll find Doctor when we get to port."

Hachi nodded and forced a smile, "I still want to eat some hot takoyaki."

"It's good that you have the energy to think about this."

Fisher Tiger smiled too.

Foolshout Island, a temporary naval base.

"Rear Admiral!"

The captain, who had been in grave danger by Arlong's knife attack, immediately tried to get up from his sickbed when he saw Ron.

"Sit down."

Ron reached out and pressed him down, glancing at the thick bandage on his arm.

"It can still move?"

"Able!"

"Hold the shield more carefully next time. If you're even a fraction slower, the Doctor will have to stitch up your stomach."

The captain lowered his head awkwardly. "Yes, sir!"

Ron patted him on the shoulder. "But you didn't abandon your companions and run away when facing the Fish-Man, that's brave. Take good care of your injuries."

The captain paused, then straightened his back even more.

Strawberry walked in with the inventory list in hand.

"Rear Admiral, the statistics are in."

"Explain."

"No one was killed, and a dozen or so were wounded. A few need to be hospitalized for observation, and the rest sustained minor injuries. Some weapons were damaged, but the small boat can be repaired."

Ron nodded. "That's fine. If we don't have enough medicine, we'll get more from the Branch."

Strawberry, however, did not leave.

"But Fisher Tiger escaped."

"I know, that's the third time you've said that today."

I always feel it's a pity.

I didn't say it wasn't a pity.

Ron looked up at the wounded men in the room. "But would it be worth it to chase them into the deep sea and take a few more brothers with us?"

Strawberry fell silent.

He saw clearly that several small boats were almost capsized during the firefight just now.

If they really jumped into the water to chase them, the Fish-Man wouldn't even need to fight head-on; they could wear them down through sheer attrition.

"I will write the battle report truthfully," he finally said.

That's exactly right.

After Strawberry left, Ron sat back down at the table and opened the Sun Pirates's operation files for the past three years.

[Defeat the pirates who are plundering the merchant ship]

[Escort the distressed vessel to a safe Port]

[Sending food and medicine to the shipwrecked islands]

The last column reads: No record of actively plundering merchant ships or massacring civilians was found.

Ron turned two pages and chuckled softly.

"That old Fish-Man... he's actually made a name for himself."

Three years ago in Mary Geoise, he simply didn't want to see Fisher Tiger walk down a path of nothing but hatred.

I never expected that the other party would actually get to where they are today just by sheer willpower.

Ron picked up his pen and began writing down these records, along with details of the arrest, in the official report.

The story of the Sun Pirates's rebellion against the Navy and their wounding of Marines is written without missing a single detail.

Not a single word about their rescue efforts was deleted.

As for withdrawing the arrest warrant?

Ron wasn't naive enough to think that a few escort missions would make the World Government forget about the fire in Mary Geoise.

As evening fell, the Sun Pirates finally approached a small coastal Port.

When the residents on the dock saw the Sun Flag on the ship, they all stopped what they were doing and craned their necks to look in their direction.

Arlong stood on the ship's railing, knife in hand, coldly sweeping his gaze across the dock. "Brother Fisher Tiger, see that? Everyone's staring at us!"

"Let them see."

What if they report us again?

Save Hachi first.

Just as Hachi was helped off the boat, someone suddenly ran over from the dock.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

A middle-aged man carrying a medicine box walked very quickly.

Arlong immediately blocked the way with his sword, his eyes wary. "Get out of my way! What do you want?"

Who is the captain?

"What's it to you?"

The man frowned, his gaze passing over Hachi to his bleeding shoulder. "This wound is still bleeding; it needs to be treated quickly! Delaying it could lead to infection."

Arlong was taken aback. "Who are you?"

"Doctor."

"..."

"Are you going to treat me or not? If not, I'm leaving. There are other patients at the clinic."

"Rule!"

Fisher Tiger strode over and said earnestly, "Thank you for your help."

The man turned and led the way. "No need to thank me, quickly help him over!"

The disinfectant smell was very faint in the small clinic at the Port.

Hachi lay face down on the hospital bed as the Doctor removed the damp bandages and carefully examined the wound.

"The wound was soaked in seawater, and the treatment wasn't thorough enough. Fortunately, your ship's doctor managed to stop most of the bleeding."

Aladdin breathed a sigh of relief, "Conditions on board are limited."

"I know, leave the rest to me."

He instructed his Assistant to prepare the instruments and began cleaning the wound and examining deeper injuries.

Arlong stood by, his eyes fixed on the Doctor's hands, even his breathing became soft.

The Doctor finally couldn't help but look up. "Could you please move over a bit?"

"Why should I?!"

You're blocking the light.

"..."

Jinbe burst out laughing.

Arlong, his face dark, took a half-step to the side, but his hand never left the hilt of the knife.

Fisher Tiger watched the Doctor's busy figure disappear into the distance, then suddenly asked, "Do you know who we are?"

"The Sun Pirates?"

The Doctor didn't even look up. "I've heard of it."

Fisher Tiger was somewhat surprised. "Who told you that?"

"The merchant sailors who travel along the shipping route said they encountered pirates a while ago, and it was a group of Fish-Man flying the Rising Sun Flag who saved them."

The Doctor unwrapped a new roll of gauze. "A medicine merchant once mentioned that there was a small island struggling with a severe sea turmoil that was running out of food and medicine. You delivered the medicine there, and he didn't charge you a single penny."

Fisher Tiger listened quietly.

These were such minor matters, scattered along the route, that even he himself could hardly remember them.

Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, the Doctor looked up and asked, "What? You didn't do it?"

Fisher Tiger finally smiled.

"Yes."

"That'll do."

The Doctor waved his hand. "Raise your arm a little, don't move it."

After holding it in for a while, Arlong finally couldn't help but speak up, "Hey! We're Fish-Man!"

The Doctor glanced at him.

"I can tell."

"Then why..."

"Does this mean Fish-Man don't need treatment when they're injured?"

"..."

Arlong opened his mouth, unable to say anything for a long time.

Hachi lay on the bed, chuckling softly, "Arlong, you can't win an argument with them this time."

"Shut up! The wounded should keep quiet!"

After examining the wound and feeling Hachi's pulse, the Doctor's brows slowly furrowed.

"He lost a lot of blood, and his pulse is a bit fast."

"We'll check your blood type and compatibility later to see if you need a transfusion."

Arlong's expression changed again. "A blood transfusion? Where did you get the blood?"

That's why we need to investigate. We can't just lose by randomly selecting someone.

Aladdin whispered, "We don't have enough blood on board, and we haven't found a suitable donor."

The Doctor pondered for a moment, then turned and beckoned to his Assistant.

"Register those who are willing to donate blood and have their blood tested first."

He rolled up his sleeves.

"Check mine too."

Fisher Tiger's smile suddenly froze.

"... your?"

"Um."

"Are you willing to donate blood to the Fish-Man?"

The Doctor looked at him strangely.

"What's wrong with that? As long as the blood type is compatible, it can be used."

"Etc!"

Arlong suddenly interrupted.

"You mean, you want to give Hachi human blood?!"

The Doctor frowned.

"Otherwise what? Do you have suitable blood donors?"

"I..."

Arlong Long choked on his words.

Fisher Tiger clenched his fist.

He glanced at Hachi on the hospital bed, then at the Doctor's rolled-up sleeves.

A moment of silence.

"First, a blood test."

Arlong suddenly turned his head. "Brother Fisher Tiger?!"

"Saving Hachi is the priority."

Fisher Tiger no further explanation.

The Doctor nodded, then turned and instructed his Assistant to prepare for the examination.

"Let's talk about it after the results are in. Use it only if it's suitable; don't rush to lose."

Fisher Tiger stared at his retreating figure, remaining silent for a long time.

"... Thanks."