Invitation

Jinbe's guess about Sig was that he was the product of an aquatic furry fetishist and a Fish-Man—after all, as everyone knew, human fetishes were diverse, and it wouldn't be surprising if a freak popped up among Fish-Men too... Arlong found himself at a loss for words at that.

Instances of Fish-Man and human unions were rare. "Mermaids" were the aesthetic overlap between Fish-Men and the vast majority of humans, especially since once mermaids reached adulthood, their tails could transform into legs, making them indistinguishable from humans on land. By contrast, Fish-Men and humans found each other repulsive in terms of appearance. Of course, this referred to "most" Fish-Men and humans.

"And watch your language—Tiger-sama won't be happy hearing that." Jinbe stared sternly at Arlong, displeased with his talk of "filthy half-breeds." Sig could tell that Jinbe himself wasn't exactly fond of humans at this point; his stern reminder to Arlong was mainly because "Tiger-sama would be upset."

"So are we still sending him out of the Fish-Man District?" Hachi asked then. Jinbe frowned at this, then looked at Sig to confirm: "Have you been to Fish-Man Island before?"

"No, this is my first time." Sig shook his head. This didn't surprise Jinbe either. After a moment's thought, Jinbe asked, "You... does the Celestial Dragons know you can turn into a human?"

"No. I only discovered that about two years ago. Before that Fish-Man hero showed up and I escaped from the Celestial Dragons' clutches, I never showed it in public and barely fought anyone." Sig put on an honest demeanor. Jinbe seemed relieved at this and nodded. "If that's the case, it was chaos back then—no one would have paid you much attention. Even if they saw you turn back into a Fish-Man, they probably didn't notice you could become human."

It was clear that while Jinbe had some reservations about humans, he inwardly regarded Sig as a kindred spirit, constantly speaking of "turning into a human" and "turning back into a Fish-Man." In contrast, Arlong kept glaring at him, obviously unfriendly and quite displeased with his "half-breed" origins.

"Since you're a fellow brother, I'll speak plainly..." Jinbe cleared his throat. By Fish-Man lifespan standards, Jinbe was at most a young adult, but as the second "boss" of the Fish-Man District after Tiger, he always spoke with an air of aged authority, throwing around "this humble one" and "this old man."

"This time, Tiger-sama raised a ruckus at Mary Geoise and rescued many of our brothers. The World Government will definitely have its eyes on us... Even though the renowned Whitebeard has hung his flag over Fish-Man Island, we, as the main culprits, absolutely cannot stay long on Fish-Man Island, or the Ryugu Kingdom will suffer for it too."

Jinbe had charged in recklessly on his own, but he didn't shirk responsibility, firmly tying himself to the rescued brothers. It gave Sig a sense of reliability.

"So Tiger-sama's idea is that we'll set sail as a pirate crew and leave Fish-Man Island. Of course, if you're unwilling, you can drop off at some island along the way..." Jinbe brought up the main topic. Fish-Men and mermaids who had charged in later to rescue Tiger without showing their faces much could stay, but those like Tiger and Jinbe who had been recognized, as well as slaves bearing the "Celestial Dragon Hoof Mark," had to leave Fish-Man Island. The World Government would definitely come knocking...

Whitebeard was intimidating, but he couldn't make the World Government abandon the Celestial Dragons' pride—though, given Whitebeard's flag, the Ryugu Kingdom's nominal membership as a sovereign state, and most importantly... the damnable geographical location of Fish-Man Island, if they allowed a search, the World Government wouldn't easily start a war of annihilation.

"I'm willing!" Sig agreed immediately, then paused before adding, "Actually, ever since I escaped, I've wanted to become a pirate!"

Though it happened by chance, Sig felt the Fish-Man Pirates—or rather, the "Sun Pirates"—perfectly suited his needs. The crew could dive ten thousand meters, swim freely in the sea, and their stealth and mobility went without saying. Moreover, it wasn't short on experts: Tiger and Jinbe were both top-tier fighters in the first half of the Grand Line. There were several small-time leaders like Arlong, and even the most ordinary crew members had the racial talents of Fish-Men, meaning as combatants, they wouldn't suffer major losses against any pirate crew in the first half of the Grand Line. Most importantly, the Sun Pirates had strong cohesion and a sense of belonging, and Tiger's character was trustworthy. In short—safety was guaranteed!

Of course, there were downsides too. Externally, the World Government would keep a close eye on the Sun Pirates for wounding the Celestial Dragons' pride. Internally, Sig could feel Arlong's unfriendly gaze. And Fish-Men who disliked half-breeds weren't rare—among the Donquixote Family's officers, there was an orphan abandoned for being a Half Fish-Man half-breed. But recalling Tiger's back as he blocked cannonballs at the port and faced off against a Vice Admiral on the warship, Sig didn't weigh pros and cons too much before agreeing.

Sig could tell that his frankness earned him a bit more appreciation in Jinbe's eyes, further easing some of the wariness and distance.

"Can you stand?" Jinbe extended a hand slightly toward Sig. Given their height difference, Jinbe only needed to raise his hand a little to hoist Sig up.

"No problem!" The wound on Sig's waist was still bandaged, but the bleeding had stopped. "That recovery... pretty good even among Fish-Men." Jinbe glanced at Sig's wound. It had only been two days since Sig was rescued.

"Come on, let me introduce you to your future crewmates!" Jinbe called out, helping Sig out of the hut. The hut was quite crude—though the Fish-Man District wasn't yet the lawless no-man's-land it would become over a decade later, it wasn't exactly a proper place either, mostly self-governed by orphans led by Jinbe.

Outside, a group of Fish-Men and mermaids sat around Tiger on a rock, listening to Tiger-sama tell stories of his adventures. When they saw Jinbe bringing Sig out, many Fish-Men sneered—mostly directed at Hachi.

"So this is the kid Hachi mistook for one of us?"

"Haha, did Eight-Arms get dizzy from waving all those arms around?"

Quite a few Fish-Men started mocking Hachi. Among the "wild boys" of the Fish-Man District, Fish-Men made up the vast majority, since the Fish-Man race had far more male Fish-Men than male mermaids, while the ratio was reversed among females.

"Jinbe." Tiger looked at Jinbe with confusion, unsure why he was bringing Sig over.

Dongdong: Recommending a veteran author's new eclectic book, Welcome to the Demonic City.