Fish-Man Island's Blade

At the Sea Forest training grounds, Bright stood atop the head of a gigantic sea tiger, looking down at the dense crowd below.

Training had ended. Next, the Immigration Bureau would officially begin operations.

Everyone had changed into the newly delivered uniforms and strapped on brand-new weapons.

The uniforms were blue military attire. Fish-Man Island could not produce such things itself, so Neptune had ordered them from human merchants—two sets per person.

Their weapons were daggers and spears. Only a small number were issued firearms, since guns had limited use in the deep sea beyond Fish-Man Island itself.

After more than a month of training, the fish-men had been completely transformed.

Every one of them stood tall and straight, full of energy. Who would have thought they had looked like street punks just over a month ago?

Bright slowly exhaled. He had thought he would have a lot to say at a time like this, but when it was actually time to speak, he realized there was not much to say after all.

In the end, the corners of his mouth lifted. "Starting today, the Immigration Bureau officially begins work."

Everyone looked up at him.

No one spoke, but Bright heard many voices.

"Fish-Man Island's safety is in your hands. Always remember: we are the blade of Fish-Man Island, and we will cut down every enemy who dares invade!"

The training grounds fell silent for an instant.

Then—

"YES!!"

Their unified shout even stirred up a faint breeze overhead. Bright heard it clearly. Along with the cries came countless other voices: pride, anticipation, excitement, love.

They were all very pleasant sounds.

The eleven sea beasts surrounding the training grounds were startled by the sudden roar. But soon, they too puffed out their chests proudly.

Their status here was quite high. Dedicated people cared for them, and their treatment was excellent—vastly different from their former lives hunting for food in the sea.

"The duty roster has already been handed out."

Bright pressed his right hand down in the air, and the warriors immediately fell silent. He continued, "From now on, you will stand watch according to this schedule."

"Yes!"

Another unanimous response.

The Immigration Bureau's task was to manage those entering and leaving Fish-Man Island.

Its goal was to keep potentially dangerous individuals outside Fish-Man Island.

Therefore, patrol work was the top priority. Bright had stationed half the manpower from five divisions outside Fish-Man Island. Their task was to intercept all incoming ships for inspections—or battle.

One division would be stationed at Fish-Man Island's gates, conducting a second round of screening while handling registration.

Four divisions would be deployed within the island, patrolling and providing support. They would keep a close watch on the port area while also screening those preparing to leave.

It might not have been perfect yet, but Bright felt that, for now, it should be enough.

"Report!"

A loud shout rang out.

Bright turned to look. It was Hyouzou.

It still felt a little strange seeing this guy without his usual drunken appearance.

"Speak."

Bright called out.

"If humans refuse inspection, they won't be allowed to land on Fish-Man Island. But what if they want to force their way onto Fish-Man Island?" The smile at the corners of Hyouzou's mouth could no longer be restrained.

Bright said calmly, "Then let them fully experience what it means to face Fish-Man Island's blade!"

"YES!!!"

This time, the response was thunderous.

All Bright heard was anticipation.

Then the warriors set out, moving toward their assigned positions under the leadership of their division commanders.

It was time to take over Fish-Man Island's defense work.

"Let's go take a look at headquarters too."

Bright stretched lazily.

While training had been underway here, Neptune had built a structure in the port area to serve as the Immigration Bureau's office building.

The civilian officials requested from Neptune would also arrive at the same time. With that, the basic framework would be in place.

More buildings, such as dormitories, were already being constructed at speed. Given the construction pace in this world, they should be completed soon.

"So, Bright," Arlong said in astonishment, "are we just going to sit around doing nothing?"

"How can you call it doing nothing?"

Bright said seriously, "Ideological education cannot stop. The warriors' hatred toward humans could easily lead them to do some wrong things."

"I mean, I want to go to the front lines too!" Arlong shouted. "Stop assigning me all this brain-racking work!"

He had had enough of dealing with reports and numbers every day.

"Don't be so impatient, Arlong."

Jinbe walked over with a smile and patted Arlong on the shoulder. "Didn't I say before that I would train you? Now the time has come."

"What?"

Arlong's expression changed drastically. He had nearly forgotten about that.

Bright chuckled softly.

Arlong was still too impulsive. Letting him lead a team was far too risky. Rather than a leader, he was better suited to contributing as a fighting force.

"Then what about me, Brother Bright?" Shark Star asked anxiously.

"You too."

Bright said casually, "Basic training may be complete, but advanced training is about to begin!"

Basic training had only been for discipline and integrity.

Advanced training was meant to strengthen their abilities.

The specific subjects were Fishman Karate and Haki.

Jinbe would serve as the instructor, while Bright would occasionally step in as well. The classes would be taught in small groups.

The division captains would take turns coming to Jinbe for instruction. Once they had attained a certain level of proficiency, they would return and teach their subordinates.

The prevalence of Haki on Fish-Man Island was still far too low. Almost no one knew it. Bright did not ask for much—if even one person awakened it, that would count as a success.

When he had the time, he could visit Amazon Lily. The prevalence of Haki there was astonishingly high; they probably had some secret training method.

"I understand."

Shark Star nodded solemnly.

Brother Bright couldn't be wrong, right?

"Brother Jinbe, I'll have to trouble you again."

Bright felt somewhat apologetic.

Strictly speaking, Jinbe was not an official member of the Immigration Bureau. His actual job was as Captain of the Sun Pirates, and he also bore the title of Shichibukai.

In truth, he was more like a kindhearted older neighbor helping out.

He had just helped far too much.

"It's nothing,"

Jinbe laughed heartily. "It's all for this country!"

"Yeah."

Bright nodded heavily.

The best way to repay Brother Jinbe was to make this country better.

So he had to work harder too, and strive to achieve the small goal of one sea beast per squadron as soon as possible.

That day, the residents of Fish-Man Island discovered in surprise that an army they had never seen before had appeared openly on Fish-Man Island.

They wore uniforms entirely different from the soldiers of Ryugu Palace, their faces all bearing confident smiles as they dispersed into every region of Fish-Man Island.

"Who are they?"

The residents who knew nothing about it discussed it among themselves.

"They seem to be a new department approved by King Neptune, meant to deal with external threats. It was established because of that kidnapping incident last time." Some were well informed.

"Is that so? Then that's wonderful! I've long thought Ryugu Palace's soldiers were useless."

"But I heard their leader is the new Boss of Fish-Man District! Every member comes from Fish-Man District."

"Really? Isn't that dangerous?"

To the residents of Fish-Man Island, Fish-Man District was still an untouchable and dangerous place.

Mermaid Cafe.

"Shyarly! Shyarly! Have you heard?"

The mermaid girls excitedly shared the news they had learned with Shyarly. "The department Brother Bright created officially started operating today! The troops have marched right onto the streets—it looks so impressive!"

"If any bastards come here looking for trouble again, we can just have Brother Bright come arrest them!" The mermaid girls felt that their chance to throw their weight around had arrived.

Shyarly rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay, we know. We won't cause Brother Bright any trouble," the mermaid girls said with giggles. "Still, Brother Bright is really amazing. He got his wish and became someone everyone looks up to."

"Not everyone looks up to him."

Shyarly shook her head.

"What?"

Shyarly turned her head and looked out through the café window at Fish-Man Island's false blue sky and white clouds. "He only hopes we won't have to keep looking up at others."

Ryugu Palace.

"It's finally officially begun!"

Neptune drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out. "Now it's up to you, Bright!"

"But is this really alright?"

Queen Otohime was still somewhat worried. "I can already foresee countless conflicts arising because of this."

Although she had agreed to the plan, she was still deeply concerned about what would happen next.

"Bright is right. Dignity has never come from pleading."

Neptune spoke seriously to his wife. "If we want to grow closer to humans, what we need is not to embrace them without any guard up. First, we must make them realize that we are their equals, beings worthy of their respect."

"And to make them realize that, strong measures are necessary."

"Have faith in Bright," Neptune suddenly said with an easy smile. "I'm starting to feel more and more that it's truly wonderful that he was born into this era."

At the gates of Fish-Man Island, the Immigration Bureau soldiers had already taken control of the area. A sea beast prowled freely through the waters beyond the gates.

Farther out beyond the gates, five sea beasts had spread apart, with five squads dispersing around them as their cores.

After the five large units had each spread out some distance, they further split apart into company-sized groups.

From here on, they would intercept every ship headed for Fish-Man Island.

Hyouzou stood atop the head of a sea beast, one hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

"Come quickly. Don't make me wait too long for the moment the blade leaves its sheath."

"This is truly something to look forward to."

Thanks to Flying Shadow Kongming for the 500-point donation, and thanks to wMillion Lolis Cross the Great Riverw for the 1,500-point donation. Thank you, thank you!