Fish-Man Rebellion

After Imu disappeared, the entire Pirate World entered a period of peace. However, Vegapunk's search for this final boss never stopped.

Under the sea, Fish-Man Island.

A group of beautiful mermaids stood at the entrance to the entire Fish-Man Island, holding extremely rare flowers from the ocean, forming a welcoming procession.

King Neptune of the Ryugu Castle, the Great Knight of the Sea, also stood at the entrance of Fish-Man Island, looking towards the port of Fish-Man Island with a somewhat uneasy expression on his face.

A moment later, a giant black submarine emerged from the port. Then the submarine's door opened, and Vegapunk stepped out with a curious expression on his face.

This is actually Vegapunk's first time visiting Fish-Man Island. In other parts of the deep sea, however, Vegapunk has sent out many underwater mining machines to collect minerals.

There are reasons why he was unwilling to come to Fish-Man Island. Initially, Vegapunk was extremely resistant to the dangerous way of traveling to Ryugu Island through coating - it was no different from gambling with his life!

Although Vegapunk had already developed deep-sea mining machines by then, it would have been easy for him to build a submarine capable of diving to depths of tens of thousands of meters and defending against attacks from Sea Kings.

However, before Vegapunk went to the Ninja World, he was under the surveillance of the World Government. At that time, in order not to expose these deep-sea machines, even if he invented submarines, it was impossible for him to travel to Ryugu Castle in a submarine.

However, Vegapunk had read some books about Fish-Man Island before, which described it as a beautiful paradise on earth. At least, apart from Fish-Man Island Fish-Man District, the rest of the island was magnificent and dreamlike.

But now...

Vegapunk raised his head slightly. Although some repairs had been made, Vegapunk could tell that the entire Fish-Man Island looked like it had experienced a huge earthquake, and now it had only repaired the shell.

Furthermore, the roots of the Sunlight Tree Eve, which had originally shone brightly in the sky, were now dim and lifeless, flickering with a faint red light, like smoldering charcoal, casting a somber, dark red glow over the entire Ryugu Castle and Fish-Man Island.

With a quick thought, Vegapunk realized what was going on. Fish-Man Island probably hadn't just experienced a massive earthquake; it had actually been struck by a real, devastating earthquake.

As for the origin of the earthquake, it clearly came from the Red Line above, which is the result of Hancock's Shinra Tensei.

The entire Red Line was dug into a semi-circular crater. It can be said that within the range of Shinra Tensei's attack, nothing was left except for a small foundation. The New World and the first half of the Grand Line could even be directly connected.

Fish-Man Island, located directly beneath the Red Line, was naturally also greatly affected. To be honest, the fact that the Red Line didn't collapse and crush the entire Fish-Man Island to dust, but only caused a violent earthquake, was already considered lucky for the Fish-Man and mermaids.

Similarly, the dimming of the Sunlight Tree Eve's light was clearly due to Hancock. Regardless of whether the Shinra Tensei had affected the Sunlight Tree Eve, the haze created by Shinra Tensei alone had turned the sky above the Red Line into a dark red, almost gloomy.

Even the Sunlight Tree Eve herself cannot absorb sunlight, so naturally no sunlight can be transmitted to its roots. This is why the once beautiful Fish-Man Island now looks so eerie.

"Welcome, welcome, Dr. Vegapunk to our Fish-Man Island!"

Neptune rushed forward immediately, his face beaming with a smile, even bordering on obsequious, which was completely incongruous with his status as the King of Fish-Man Island.

At the same time, the mermaids standing on both sides of the road began to scatter flower petals, a welcome that was probably the first of its kind on the entire Fish-Man Island.

Even Celestial Dragons wouldn't have received this level of welcome if they came to Fish-Man Island in the past—of course, given the dangerous environment of Fish-Man Island, even Celestial Dragons with a screw loose wouldn't usually go there.

Vegapunk didn't think he was more noble than the Celestial Dragons in the eyes of these Fish-Man —mainly because he wasn't as brutal as Celestial Dragons. In this Pirate World where people fear power but not virtue, it was precisely because of their brutality that no one dared to offend the Celestial Dragons.

So, the fact that Fish-Man Island is making such a big show of things probably means they have something to ask of them.

After welcoming Vegapunk, Neptune led Vegapunk and his entourage to the Ryugu Castle, where a grand banquet was held.

However, during the banquet, the king of Fish-Man Island was always awkward and stared at Vegapunk with a longing look, making Vegapunk very uncomfortable.

Just as the king was looking at Vegapunk for the 23rd time, Hancock, who was sitting next to Vegapunk, finally couldn't take it anymore. The Pirate Empress gave the tall Neptune a cold look, which made Neptune shrink back in fear.

Who on the high seas doesn't know the legendary power of this Pirate Empress? Even if someone doesn't know her, if they go to the surface of the sea and look at the dark red clouds in the sky, and the Red Line that has been directly breached, they should understand the strength of this Pirate Empress.

Even though Fish-Man Island's current losses and predicaments are largely caused by Hancock, he still doesn't dare to offend this ancestor!

"Hey you big, idiotic Fish-Man over there, what are you trying to do, peeking around like that, my dear?"

"Does your Fish-Man Island have some kind of conspiracy? If you want to die, I can send you on your way!"

"No, no, no, no! There's no, no, no, no conspiracy at all!"

After hearing Hancock's words, Neptune shook his head in fright. If this ancestor was dissatisfied with Fish-Man Island and came here just like he did on the Red Line, then all the Fish-Man would probably be history today.

"Miss Hancock, perhaps my king is a little nervous because he is surprised by your and Dr. Vegapunk's beauty. Please forgive him!"

At this moment, standing next to Neptune, the Whale Shark Fish-Man, who was huge but not fierce, and looked rather kind, spoke up neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"You're Knight of the Sea Jinbe? A former member of the Sun Pirates?"

Hancock glanced at the Fish-Man, a hint of interest in her eyes. In fact, Hancock had a good impression of Fish-Man, thanks to Fisher Tiger, the captain of the Sun Pirates, for his heroic act of causing chaos in Mary Geoise and rescuing a large number of slaves.

Although Hancock was rescued by Vegapunk earlier this time, Fisher Tiger's feat still left a deep impression on Hancock, and her attitude towards Fish-Man, especially the members of the Sun Pirates, became slightly better.

Otherwise, Hancock would probably be resorting to sarcastic and sarcastic remarks by now.

"Yes, Miss Hancock, I did indeed follow Brother Fisher Tiger."

"I see, humph! Then forget it! After all, she's just a mermaid; it's perfectly normal for her to be overwhelmed by the beauty of me and my darling!"

Hearing this, Neptune wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief. However, the thought that he still needed Vegapunk's help made his face turn bitter again.

However, at that moment, a series of noisy sounds suddenly came from the outskirts of the Ryugu Castle.

Then, Neptune's two very distinctive sons rushed in.

"Hoshi, Manboshi, what are you two doing here?"

Standing next to Neptune, Fukaboshi, the eldest son, looked at his two younger brothers, frowned, and asked.

Of Neptune's three sons, the eldest, Fukaboshi, was calm and aloof, completely different from his two younger brothers who looked somewhat like oddballs. So he was the one who accompanied him at the banquet, while Hoshi and Manboshi were on guard around the perimeter.

"It's terrible, elder brother, father! The Fish-Man outside have rebelled!"

The exclamation from the Manboshi, filled with terror, immediately silenced the atmosphere in the Ryugu Castle Palace.

Rebellion, huh? Vegapunk took a sip of the special drink made by Ryugu Castle, and didn't seem surprised at all.

While Neptune wasn't exactly a great king, in the cutthroat Pirate World, he was already quite good. Logically, under his rule, Fish-Man Island, if not peaceful and prosperous, shouldn't have seen a large-scale rebellion.

However, although the ocean is vast and boundless, Fish-Man Island is far too small! And even Sea Race like Fish-Man and mermaids cannot live in the deep sea without sunlight for long.

So despite the fact that Fish-Man Island has millions of people, very few are willing to leave. And the small living environment means that most of the mermaids and Fish-Man on the island can only barely survive, and certainly not very well.

Another point is racial discrimination, not only against humans but also against Fish-Man and mermaids. In fact, even among mermaids, there is some implicit discrimination against Fish-Man.

Although it's not very obvious, if you observe carefully, you'll find that in impoverished places like Fish-Man District, most of the inhabitants are Fish-Man, while Mermaids mostly live in places Fish-Man Island where there is more sunshine and more abundant resources.

Furthermore, although Fish-Man and mermaids have sometimes interbred, the one who rules Ryugu Castle has always been of pure Fish-Man blood.

This is precisely why the rebellions on Ryugu Island were mostly instigated by Fish-Man.

In the original story, when Fish-Man rebelled, they always raised the banner of anti-humanity. However, due to the price difference, most of those who were captured by humans and enslaved were actually merfolk, and there were relatively few Fish-Man as victims.

That's because opposing humans is just a side effect; these Fish-Man simply want to change their living environment.

The thought flashed through his mind, Vegapunk looked at Neptune with a grin, wanting to know what kind of method the king of Ryugu Castle had.

"How could this be? Why would those Fish-Man rebel?!"

Neptune's expression changed drastically, and he couldn't help but ask. His two sons exchanged glances, looking hesitant.

"Tell me! What is the reason?"

Even if Neptune had the mild temperament, he couldn't hold back at this moment. Normally he would be fine, but now that he was starting a rebellion, it was no joke.

If they angered these ancestors in front of them, the entire Fish-Man Island would be in danger of being destroyed!

Hearing Neptune's angry shout, the two princes exchanged glances, and finally spoke in hushed tones:

"Those Fish-Man said that it was because you, Father, hosted the culprit who made Fish-Man Island look like this that they started the rebellion. They want to take revenge on the murderer who destroyed Fish-Man Island!"

Upon hearing this, Neptune's face turned deathly pale, and he clutched his chest, nearly suffocating.

Alright, I'm groveling here, afraid of offending these ancestors, trying my best to get Vegapunk to help us improve the environment of Fish-Man Island. But you Fish-Man are just afraid that Fish-Man Island won't be destroyed!

For a moment, even Neptune, with his mild-mannered nature, had the thought that it would be better to destroy the entire Fish-Man District.

However, this thought only flashed through his mind. The most important issue now is to quickly calm down Vegapunk and Hancock, those old fogies!

As Neptune pondered this, he turned to look at Vegapunk and the others, only to see Vegapunk's expression a half-smile, looking at him indifferently.

"Um... Lord Vegapunk, it was just a small accident!"

"Unexpected? Let's hope so!"

Vegapunk shrugged, gave one of his men a look that stopped their restless thoughts, and then looked up at Neptune:

"I originally came here because I hoped that Fish-Man Island could help me with something, but now it seems that I came at the wrong time."

"Alright, let's hope King Neptune can suppress the rebellion quickly. We'll leave now!"

After Vegapunk finished speaking, he prepared to leave with his men. Neptune opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Although he wanted to ask Vegapunk for help to improve the environment of Fish-Man Island, he was actually quite afraid of Vegapunk and his group. It was an instinctive fear of facing a power gap that was too great and that they could easily destroy his race's forces.

Especially now, those Fish-Man are filled with malice towards Vegapunk, and if they were to meet, who knows what terrible consequences it would cause.

In fact, Neptune knew that the current situation on Fish-Man Island was caused by the aftermath of Hancock's battle, and he naturally harbored some resentment about it.

But as a ruler, he was well aware that the prevailing rule on this sea was the law of the jungle!

Without sufficient strength, the so-called principles of right and wrong are utterly meaningless.

In Neptune's opinion, Vegapunk and his group were actually quite good. Although they couldn't be called good people, in this world where everyone was worse than the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, they were far better.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of asking Vegapunk for help... But that doesn't mean Vegapunk and the others wouldn't take action in the face of provocation.