Ideological Education, and the Concept of Taming Sea Beasts

The training ground was located in Sea Forest. Brother Bright led the fish-men in ruthlessly flattening a coral forest, artificially creating a level training field.

The fish-men underwent Brother Jinbe's strict training here.

Though it was called strict training, it was really just basic formations and physical conditioning.

Every army's initial training for soldiers was about grinding away individuality and strengthening discipline.

Brother Jinbe was very good at that.

He showed no hesitation in violently punishing anyone who broke discipline, making everyone understand the importance of discipline and obedience.

"This is seriously boring."

Below the field, Arlong watched the fish-men neatly lining up under Brother Jinbe's commands, turning left and right over and over, and said listlessly, "What's the point of this? I don't believe doing this every day will make them stronger."

Nearby, Brother Bright was also training hard. With his eyes closed, he tried his best to sense the presence of the outside world.

Observation Haki was clearly just one step away, yet he still could not awaken it.

It was really irritating.

He just needed a little more stimulation.

As he kept up the painstaking effort, Brother Bright answered Arlong's question.

"The purpose of the training right now isn't to make them stronger. It's to turn them into a real team."

Arlong curled his lips, clearly not taking it seriously.

The gap in individual strength in this world was enormous. This was not a situation where everyone had roughly the same physical limits, leaving only tactics and training to determine the outcome.

In his view, instead of doing this kind of meaningless training, they might as well start serious strength training sooner and make these guys stronger.

What Brother Bright did not say was that he hoped these guys would behave themselves.

To put it bluntly, the people gathered here were the toughest and most vicious bunch in Fish-Man District. Ninety percent of them were street punks.

If they were not properly trained beforehand, who knew what kind of trouble they would cause later?

He wanted these people to help him solve problems, not create more of them.

After the morning training ended, it was time for lunch.

Feeding ten thousand people was no simple matter.

But with Neptune's help, it became very easy.

A kitchen unit formed from chefs urgently transferred over provided the warriors in training with abundant food.

This was one of the moments the warriors looked forward to most each day.

In Fish-Man District, they rarely had the chance to eat their fill like this.

Brother Bright joined them as well, carrying his lunchbox as he squeezed into the warriors' ranks.

Watching his back, Arlong muttered, "There he goes again."

"Hahahaha, I think it's quite useful."

Brother Jinbe laughed heartily. "Brother Bright is doing something very meaningful."

Brother Bright sat down on the ground, surrounded by fish-men and merfolk.

Many of them were old acquaintances, people he had known since childhood in Fish-Man District.

Although they now had a superior-subordinate relationship, they still chatted happily together.

"Brother Bright, when are we going to get revenge on the humans?" someone asked with a grin.

Brother Bright smiled. "Naturally, when Brother Jinbe acknowledges that you are qualified warriors."

"How much longer will that take?"

The man pulled a long face. "Brother Bright, can't you ask Brother Jinbe to lower his standards a little?"

"Of course not."

Brother Bright's expression turned serious. "We are no longer street punks from Fish-Man District. We are the Immigration Bureau, the first and strongest line of defense protecting Fish-Man Island!"

He stood up, looked around at the fish-men and merfolk, and said solemnly, "Behind us are our homeland, our friends, our parents, our wives and children. Ask yourselves this: if it were you, would you be willing to entrust the things most important to you to your current selves for protection?"

"Do you have faith in who you are right now?"

Both the fish-men and merfolk fell silent for a moment.

Of course, they knew better than anyone what they were like.

If they truly encountered danger, they would probably choose to run away at the first opportunity.

"Fish-Man Island is about to face an unprecedentedly dangerous time!"

Brother Bright shouted.

If the mineral trade truly began, human greed would be impossible to avoid.

Slaves were merely entertainment for human nobles, not a necessity.

But minerals were different. Even the World Government would probably be tempted.

"If Fish-Man Island doesn't have a powerful force guarding it, then I'm afraid the chaos from when the Great Pirate Era began will happen all over again!"

"Haven't you already forgotten what it was like back then?"

Bright thought back. He had only been a few years old at the time.

"Humans rampaged across Fish-Man Island, burning, killing, and looting as they pleased. I remember that Fish-Man District wasn't nearly as chaotic as it is now. Everyone lived in constant fear—just hearing the word 'human' was enough to make them jump like frightened birds."

For a moment, everyone's expressions darkened.

Even the youngest among them was not much younger than Bright. Almost all of them had lived through that period themselves.

It was a memory they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Mad pirates, weeping people, Fish-Man Island ablaze.

"How could we ever forget!"

Someone stood up, practically gritting his teeth. Tears had already blurred his face. "Father and Mother's faces have never faded, not even for a moment! I'll never forget that day! Those damned humans destroyed everything I had!"

Someone else said angrily, "We had a happy family—Dad, Mom, my older brother, my little sister—but in just one night, everything was gone! I was the only one left!"

More and more people shared their stories, some sorrowful, some furious.

Everyone else unconsciously fell silent. Even fish-men and merfolk farther away were drawn over, forming a large circle around them.

In that intangible atmosphere, everyone's mood grew heavy.

"I was even captured and turned into a slave!" someone said, nearly breaking down, yet still gritting his teeth as he spoke of what he had endured. "If not for Brother Fisher Tiger, I might still be suffering at the hands of the Celestial Dragons! Humans are demons!! I will never, never forgive them!!"

Bright felt weighed down.

The sand of an era, falling upon a person, became a mountain.

The pirate riot on Fish-Man Island, meant to flaunt the power of the Whitebeard Pirates, had in truth brought countless wounds to this island.

For a time, nearly everyone was immersed in a grief they could all understand.

Bright shouted, "So none of us want to see something like that happen again, right?"

"We don't want humans coming to Fish-Man Island and running wild again! We don't want to face a situation like that again, helpless and able to do nothing but beg our friends for help, right!!"

"Right!!!"

For the first time, the response was perfectly unified, shaking the heavens.

Bright looked around. Everyone was roaring themselves hoarse.

"Good! That's exactly it!!"

Bright roared as well. "We didn't gather here for no reason! We're here to protect our country, protect our people, protect our families and friends! We are the first barrier standing in the way of danger!"

"So grow stronger, my brethren!!"

"Oh!!"

The roar nearly pierced the sky.

At the edge of the field, Jinbe, who had already finished eating, patted Arlong on the shoulder. "See? This is what Bright wanted to see."

Arlong stood there in a daze.

He had never seen the punks of Fish-Man District like this before.

Bright, you bastard!

"Alright, break time is over!"

Jinbe roared as he strode onto the field. "You idiots, get ready for the afternoon training!! Don't expect me to go easy on you!"

Bright smiled at that, then shouted, "Tell Brother Jinbe—do you have the confidence to satisfy him?"

"Yes!!"

Their roar was filled with conviction and determination.

"Is that so?"

Jinbe smiled.

Now they finally looked the part.

The day's training ended. After saying goodbye to Bright and Jinbe, the fish-men dispersed in groups with their arms around one another's shoulders, heading back across Fish-Man Island.

Since there were no unified dormitories, they could only return to their own homes once training was over.

Bright was in no hurry to go home. He went with Jinbe and Arlong to a restaurant for dinner.

As they ate, they discussed the training.

"At this pace, in two weeks at most, they'll barely be able to serve some purpose," Jinbe said.

Under the sea, fish-men and merfolk did not lack strength, at least not as soldiers.

The main thing was training their discipline.

For now, the progress looked very encouraging.

"Thanks for your hard work, Brother Jinbe!"

Bright raised his glass and clinked it against Jinbe's.

"Hahaha, your work is important too. I've never seen the thugs of Fish-Man District show such enthusiasm!" Jinbe said with a laugh. "Bright, you made them understand the meaning of their fight."

"But there are still problems."

Bright said, "Their hatred for humans will probably deepen because of this."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Brother Arlong said coldly, "Everything we're doing is meant to deal with humans!"

Bright and Jinbe exchanged a glance, then shook their heads at the same time.

Taking on humans was still far too distant a goal for Fish-Man Island.

"Before the training ends, I think there's one more thing we can do."

Bright changed the subject and looked at Brother Arlong. "Brother Arlong, help me out."

"What is it?"

Brother Arlong immediately grew excited.

During the recent training, he had practically had nothing to do. Unwilling to join the ranks and be ordered around by Jinbe, he could only watch the training from the sidelines.

"We can tame some sea beasts."

Bright said, "In underwater combat, they might be even more useful than soldiers."

Taming sea beasts was also a tradition of Fish-Man Island.

After all, sea beasts were different from Sea Kings. Fish-men and merfolk could communicate with them.

"Good idea!"

Brother Arlong nodded repeatedly. "We can form a Sea Beast Knights! Then no one will be able to contend with us in the sea!"

"Go ahead and do it. Leave the training here to me," Jinbe said.

The three exchanged smiles.

Thanks to Ean Yunmu for the hundred-point donation, thank you!