Donald was a merchant, but not one who stayed rooted in a single place and established an industry there.
He was a sea merchant, buying goods cheaply in one place and selling them at high prices somewhere else.
It was an enormously profitable trade on the Blue Sea.
Because transportation was inconvenient, the islands lacked communication with one another. Combined with the uneven distribution of resources, something cheap on one island might be worth a fortune on another.
This gave merchants the opportunity to profit from the price difference.
However, becoming a sea merchant on this Blue Sea was a very risky business.
The sea had always been dangerous, not to mention the countless pirates sailing it now. Merchants being robbed and killed by pirates was nothing unusual.
And Donald was even a merchant who made his living on the Grand Line.
Bizarre weather, unpredictable currents, and pirates far stronger than those of the Four Seas made this place a sea merchant's nightmare.
Yet Donald had done quite well here.
On one hand, he possessed considerable strength. On the other, few people could plunder the route he regularly traveled.
Donald was a merchant who constantly traveled between Fish-Man Island and the Sabaody Archipelago.
He bought daily necessities and household goods in the Sabaody Archipelago, then sold them at high prices on Fish-Man Island. Then he bought coral, pearls, and other things found only beneath the sea on Fish-Man Island, and made another profit selling them back in the Sabaody Archipelago.
It was not outrageously profitable, perhaps, but even after deducting the cost of coating, he still earned quite a lot.
After all, Fish-Man Island was fairly close to the Sabaody Archipelago.
If this route had not been so dangerous, with such a terrifyingly high death rate, Donald could hardly imagine how many competitors he would have had.
Donald did not particularly mind sailing through the deep sea.
Compared to dying, he was more afraid of having no money.
On this day, Donald once again stocked an entire ship full of goods. Once the coating was complete, he headed straight into the deep sea, making his way toward Fish-Man Island.
He had traveled this route countless times. As long as he was not unlucky enough to suddenly encounter an attack by a Sea King, Donald was confident that nothing would go wrong.
And that was indeed the case. This time, he successfully entered the hollow beneath the Red Line and continued onward, soon arriving once more in that region where light still shone despite being deep beneath the sea.
Donald could not help but let out a sigh of relief.
He had survived again.
If he did not love money so much, who would be willing to travel back and forth along such a devilish route?
But soon, Donald noticed that there was another ship ahead of him.
He took out a telescope and looked.
"A pirate ship?"
Donald immediately had the crew slow down.
There was indeed a pirate ship in the distance.
He even recognized its pirate flag from memory.
A pirate with a bounty of thirty-four million—the ship of Giant Axe Cecil!
No matter what, they were unlikely to risk the dangers of the deep sea to launch an attack, but it was better to be safe than sorry, right?
The merchant ship deliberately fell some distance behind, but it was still getting closer and closer to Fish-Man Island.
Then.
"Hm?"
Donald suddenly saw a dark shadow rapidly approaching.
Then his expression changed dramatically.
It was a sea beast!
An adult sea lion over fifty meters long!
One of the ocean's apex predators aside from Sea Kings!
Before fear could fully consume his mind, he saw what surrounded the sea lion's body—
"Fish-men?"
A great many fish-men surrounded the sea lion!
They were all wearing identical uniforms!
Was this some new Fish-Man Pirate crew?
Donald knew that there were pirates among the fish-men as well. They lingered around Fish-Man Island, either robbing passing humans or simply plundering Fish-Man Island's residents.
"Don't make any rash moves!"
Donald loudly stopped the terrified crew members who had picked up their weapons.
They stood no chance against fish-men in the deep sea.
Especially when the other side had brought a sea beast and held an overwhelming advantage in numbers.
Donald tried hard to calm himself.
Fish-men were better than sea beasts, at least. They could communicate.
The sea beast and fish-men stopped not far ahead. Then one fish-man swam over, passed through the coating, and landed directly on the deck.
"Sir fish-man, may I ask what brings you here?"
Donald knew that many fish-men hated humans, so he did his best to show goodwill.
The fish-man glanced at him and said bluntly, "We are a patrol unit under Fish-Man Island's Immigration Bureau, responsible for inspecting all vessels traveling to and from Fish-Man Island. Now, allow us to search your ship to ensure that nothing threatening Fish-Man Island is taking place."
If Bright could have seen this scene, he would surely have been gratified. Just getting these people to calmly say those words to humans had not been easy.
Donald froze for a moment. "The Immigration Bureau? Forgive me, sir fish-man, but I am a merchant who regularly travels to Fish-Man Island. How come I have never heard of this organization?"
Could these really be Fish-Man Pirates preparing to rob them under Fish-Man Island's name?
"We are a newly established organization."
The fish-man frowned slightly, his attitude already growing impatient. "You only need to choose whether to accept or refuse."
Donald cautiously asked, "What if I refuse?"
"If you refuse, you will not be permitted to land on Fish-Man Island. You may return the way you came or proceed directly to the New World," the fish-man said coldly.
Donald breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. He had thought refusing would get him killed.
Then he thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "Then... what if someone refuses inspection but still wants to force their way onto Fish-Man Island?"
Donald watched a smile appear on the fish-man's face.
"In that case, you can see firsthand what the consequences will be."
The fish-man turned and pointed toward the front of the ship.
Donald looked in the direction he indicated.
In the distance, the pirate ship they had spotted earlier was also confronting a sea beast.
The sea beast lunged forward the next instant, smashing through the pirate ship's coating and swiping a massive hole into its hull with one claw.
After that, the sea beast did not even need to do anything else. The coating had shattered, deep-sea water poured in, and under the crushing pressure, everything was destroyed.
Donald instantly fell silent in terror.
So this was the fate of those who tried to force their way through?
"Please, search as you please. The hold only contains ordinary goods."
Donald hurriedly said.
The fish-man nodded and waved a hand. Another group of fish-men landed on the deck, swaggering past the pale-faced crew members and entering the hold to begin their inspection.
Donald took a deep breath.
Fish-Man Island had actually become this hard-line?
The tides in this deep sea were about to change.
The humans who wanted to pass through here would probably soon face a deep-sea disaster.
What would Fish-Man Island become after this?
Donald could not wait to set foot on Fish-Man Island and see for himself.
The fish-men soon finished their inspection. They had indeed found no contraband, but all weapons were confiscated. They said the weapons would be returned when they left Fish-Man Island.
Afterward, the fish-men questioned Donald at length, asking why he had come to Fish-Man Island, the identities of those aboard the ship, and how long they intended to stay.
Once all the questions had been answered, the fish-men gave them a document recording the inspection results.
Donald relaxed. It seemed Fish-Man Island's attitude had become tougher, but it was not blindly rejecting humans.
Then they were stopped again outside Fish-Man Island's gates.
Fish-men dressed in the same uniforms as before wanted to register them.
Donald glanced at the sea beast rolling about in the water behind them and did not refuse.
They had already undergone a thorough inspection. What was the big deal about registering as well?
After handing over the inspection document, everyone had their picture taken. In the end, every person aboard received a pass bearing their photo and a limited period of validity.
The fish-men said that anyone wanting to travel around Fish-Man Island now had to use a pass. Otherwise, they would be regarded as illegal intruders and expelled.
Being expelled from Fish-Man Island in this deep sea—
Donald shuddered and immediately told everyone to keep their passes safe.
Then they could finally disembark properly. Following the sea route, Donald sailed the ship to the familiar harbor.
He had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw many soldiers in blue uniforms patrolling the harbor shore, while a sea beast floated in the sky above.
So it really was a new Fish-Man Island organization.
Donald was greatly surprised.
After telling the crew to prepare for unloading, Donald took two subordinates off the ship, intending to find the Fish-Man Island merchants he knew and sell his goods.
The moment he stepped onto shore and took a breath of Fish-Man Island's sweet air, a commotion sounded in the distance.
There was excitement to watch, so why hesitate?
Donald headed over with his men.
On the other side of the harbor, a circle of people had already gathered.
Donald squeezed his way in with great difficulty and saw two groups fighting.
Soldiers in blue uniforms were besieging a group of humans.
A massive sea beast was rampaging about, and every lunge and swipe was accompanied by a chorus of screams.
Donald held his breath.
"What happened? Why did they suddenly start fighting?"
"I heard those pirates were preparing to set sail, but they refused inspection. That caused a conflict, and then this happened."
"What is Fish-Man Island thinking? Who would still want to come here if this keeps up? This place was only a stop along the way to begin with, wasn't it?"
"They might even anger the pirates. They're going to have serious trouble."
Donald listened to those voices, then slowly withdrew from the crowd.
One of his subordinates said anxiously, "Boss, things on Fish-Man Island are so tense now. It doesn't seem suitable for business anymore."
Donald gave him a surprised look. "What foolish nonsense are you talking about? Isn't this a huge business opportunity?"
"Huh?"
"Hahahaha! The time to get rich has arrived! I'm going to meet Your Excellency the Director first!"
Before you continue