Formation and Training

Fish-Man District was lively today.

Brother Bright's speech in front of the breakfast shop that morning quickly spread throughout Fish-Man District. Naturally, it immediately caused a huge uproar.

"Mining? Are there minerals under the sea too?"

"Brother Bright said there are plenty, and they'd be worth a lot if sold to humans."

"Trading with humans? Is that really okay?"

"What's wrong with making money off humans? Digging up undersea minerals should be easy for us, right?"

"I think it's great too. If we can really earn more money, the pressure on our families will be much lighter."

"Yeah, I've got five kids at home."

Most Fish-Man District residents had a positive attitude toward mining.

Fish-Man District was poor, and its residents were poor. They had almost no ways to make money.

Being able to earn more and ease their families' burdens was nothing but a good thing for the vast majority of them.

As for those restless troublemakers, Bright's other requirement made them even more excited.

"Just as expected of Brother Bright! He started things off this fiercely!"

"This should have happened long ago! How many years have humans run wild on Fish-Man Island?"

"Fish-Man Island belongs to fish-men and merfolk. Humans should have behaved themselves from the start!"

"I'm going to sign up! I'm joining the army Brother Bright is putting together!"

"An army? I heard it's called the Immigration Bureau."

"Same thing, same thing. I heard it has the same status as Ryugu Palace's army, and the pay is even better!"

"But Brother Bright only wants ten thousand people! The competition should be fierce, right?"

"Hahaha! That's how it should be—the strong come first! Weaklings should obediently get lost!"

It was lively. It could only be called lively.

The entirety of Fish-Man District was in an uproar.

"So, Bright is going to take on the responsibility of protecting Fish-Man Island from now on?"

That evening, at the fish-man café.

The mermaid girls gathered around Bright in astonishment.

"More or less."

Bright nodded lightly. "Fish-Man Island should make some changes. Someone has to step forward, right?"

"So cool!"

The mermaid girls nearly screamed. "And he makes us feel so safe!!"

"How nice, Shyarly, having a childhood friend like him."

They winked and nudged at Shyarly.

Shyarly rolled her eyes. "Instead of wasting time on this, hurry up and finish cleaning so you can get off work."

"No way, Brother Bright is going to be a major figure on Fish-Man Island after this! We need to curry favor with him properly."

The mermaid girls openly talked about clinging to his coattails.

"...Brother?"

Shyarly's brows furrowed tightly.

"Or rather—"

The mermaid girls drifted over and surrounded Shyarly, eagerly massaging her and kneading her shoulders. "To win over Brother Bright, shouldn't we be currying favor with Shyarly instead? Put in a good word for us!"

"That hurts, idiots! Don't use the strength you use to scrub tables!" Shyarly shouted, blushing.

Their attempt at currying favor had failed.

Bright could not help but smile.

"Brother Bright is going to protect Fish-Man Island? That's amazing!"

Little Nana sniffled and looked up at Bright with a face full of admiration. "When I grow up, I want to be like Brother Bright too! I'll protect Mother, protect my big sisters, and protect Fish-Man Island!"

Bright smiled and rubbed her little head. "Then Nana will have to work hard and become even stronger."

"Mm!"

The little girl nodded heavily. "I'll eat properly every day and grow up quickly!"

That was what it was all for.

So that family and friends, so that children like Nana, could live safely and happily.

That was why he had made this decision, wasn't it?

Bright turned his head. Through the laughing mermaid girls, his gaze met Shyarly's.

Shyarly smiled softly at him.

Bright grinned.

There was nothing to fear. Shyarly had said that they would head toward a wonderful future.

Recruitment took three days.

It was not delayed because too few people had signed up.

On the contrary, far too many fish-men and merfolk wanted to join the Immigration Bureau, greatly exceeding Bright's limit of ten thousand.

The Ryugu Kingdom's economic strength was only so-so. A force of ten thousand had already placed an enormous burden on its finances. Any further expansion would have to wait until the mineral business was on track.

So they could only screen carefully and select those who were the most obedient and best at fighting.

Of those, obedience was the foremost requirement.

What Bright wanted was an armed force capable of defending Fish-Man Island, not a group of Fish-Man Pirates.

Fortunately, the various big and small bosses helped out. They were very familiar with these fish-men and merfolk, so screening them was not too difficult.

Even so, it took three days.

The selected fish-men were overjoyed, while those who failed were deeply dejected. Some even caused trouble out of dissatisfaction.

But they were ultimately suppressed.

Thus, on the day after the personnel had been finalized, everyone gathered at Sea Forest.

Bright had arrived early.

However, he did not show himself immediately. He stood some distance away, quietly observing.

It was a noisy mess, crooked and disorderly, without the slightest semblance of formation.

"Shahahaha! A full ten thousand people!"

Arlong, who had come with Bright, laughed loudly. "What an astonishing force!"

"It is still far from enough."

Jinbe beside him said, "Right now, they are still just a bunch of street punks. They need strict training."

Bright nodded lightly. "That's right."

Improving their combat strength could come later. The most important thing now was improving their discipline and obedience.

"I'll have to leave that to you, Brother Jinbe!" Bright said solemnly.

Though he was a pirate now, Brother Jinbe had once been the leader of the army.

"Leave it to me."

Jinbe nodded as though it were only natural.

Who else could handle it?

"Let's go over."

Bright leaped into the air. In the next instant, he crashed down before the formation like a cannonball.

The fish-men froze for a moment, then immediately erupted into thunderous cheers.

"Brother Bright!!"

"Quiet!"

Bright's voice boomed like thunder. "My first requirement of you is obedience to orders!"

Having subdued Fish-Man District through strength, Bright's reputation was indeed quite high now. Everyone immediately fell silent.

Bright nodded in satisfaction.

The start was not bad.

"I believe you already know why you have been gathered here."

Bright spoke loudly. "From today onward, you are warriors who fight for Fish-Man Island."

"We already know that, but Boss Bright, the pay really is high, right?" a voice came from the crowd.

Bright looked toward the speaker and was a little surprised. "Hyouzou? You came too?"

The octopus fish-man Hyouzou, who had fought Bright before, grinned. "Hehehe, why can't I come if there's money to be made?"

"Then you'd better behave yourself from now on."

Bright said coldly, "My second requirement of you is proper conduct."

"The loose habits Fish-Man District has picked up are no longer needed. What I need is a group of warriors worthy of trust!"

"Ohoho, strict indeed."

Hyouzou's smile did not fade. "Understood. As long as there's money to be made, I'll do whatever you want."

As long as he did not cause trouble, Bright could not be bothered to make trouble for him.

After all, among the lesser options, Hyouzou truly counted as one of the better fighters on Fish-Man Island.

"My final requirement—"

Bright said seriously, "I hope you love Fish-Man Island."

"Never forget that we fight for our Fish-Man Island, our country, and our race!"

A brief silence followed.

Then—

"Yes! Brother Bright!!"

Cheers rose like a tsunami.

It was no exaggeration to say that Fish-Man District's residents might not like Ryugu Palace, but they absolutely loved their own people.

Because they had suffered, their racial consciousness was especially strong.

Bright smiled faintly. "Then, are you ready for the training ahead?"

Jinbe strode over. "It's too late to regret it now. I'll make you qualified warriors as quickly as possible!"

Before training began, Jinbe first divided everyone into ten battalions of one thousand, with each battalion having a commander and deputy commander.

Each battalion was divided into ten companies of one hundred, likewise with a captain and vice-captain.

And so on, with ten-man squads beneath the companies.

A clear and straightforward organizational structure.

The battalion commanders reported directly to Bright. Every one of them was a carefully selected expert. It could not be helped—such was the nature of this world. In armed organizations, the strong naturally held high positions. Hyouzou was among them as well.

Once the formations had been divided, training began.

The initial goal was mainly to cultivate obedience and teamwork.

The fish-men who resembled street punks had to become a unified whole that obeyed orders without question.

And so the busy training began.

However, Bright was not entirely a hands-off boss. There were things he could do as well.

Thanks to Big Boss 'Wuxin Zhengfeng' for the one hundred-point donation, and thanks to Big Boss 'The Game' for the five hundred-point donation. Thank you, thank you!