The Ship

Sig noticed that many Fish-Men carried simple, lightweight luggage, and he could hear people packing all around him. It seemed... departure was much sooner than he had imagined.

The Fish-Man Pirates were probably about to set sail, which was why they were sending him out of Fish-Man District.

"Boss Tiger, this kid isn't human. He should be a Half Fish-Man," Jinbe said steadily.

But the other Fish-Men all looked confused. A Half Fish-Man... looked like that?

Jinbe turned around... and looked down at Sig. Sig understood what he meant and silently activated the power of the Wrathful People.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, scales grew across Sig's body. Compared to a real Fish-Man, they were rather sparse, and his skin was still the flesh tone of a human's.

The area from both sides of his neck to his collarbones began to itch, and then Sig felt that strange sensation again.

Although he wasn't underwater, Sig could feel that his lungs and the gills on his body could both breathe in the air.

Tiger came over and patted Sig on the shoulder. "Who are your parents?"

Clearly, he and Jinbe were thinking along the same lines!

"I don't know. I grew up in an orphanage. I passed out in an accident, and when I woke up, I was already in an auction house on Sabaody Archipelago..." Sig told the truth.

Tiger's gaze softened a little more.

Most of the Fish-Men and Mermaids present were orphans, after all. This was Fish-Man District.

The few who weren't had been rescued from slavery in Mary Geoise. They might still have had parents, but they couldn't stay on Fish-Man Island now.

Although King Neptune had warmly invited them to stay and was prepared to fight to the death, Tiger couldn't ignore the danger to his fellow people.

As for the other followers, most were from Fish-Man District.

Some members of the Ryugu Palace Guard had appeared during Tiger's rescue, but few people had seen them. Tiger also didn't want them to go to sea with him as pirates.

The prejudice against those of mixed heritage and the sympathy for orphans somewhat offset each other.

The Fish-Men of Fish-Man District undoubtedly hated humans the most, because a large number of the Fish-Men and Mermaids captured and sold into slavery came from there.

First, many went to dangerous places in secret because no parents were there to keep an eye on them. Second, some bold slave-trading crews even dared to sneak into Fish-Man District and abduct people!

Only after Tiger united Fish-Man District and became its leader did he begin organizing regular patrols. After Tiger left Fish-Man Island, Jinbe, his successor, continued the practice, and things improved considerably.

That was why Fish-Man District was also a place where humans were forbidden.

But since the tragedy of Tiger's death hadn't happened yet, everyone's hatred of humans still had its limits.

"I see... Maybe the child of a Fish-Man and a human? The offspring of a Mermaid and a human don't seem to turn out this way." Sure enough, Tiger was thinking along the same lines as Jinbe.

Just then, a large ship came sailing along the track-like waterway, which resembled a roller-coaster track.

There was only one waterway in Fish-Man District, and ships rarely came through.

When they saw the ship, everyone stood up. Many of the Fish-Men waiting nearby gathered around as well.

"Time to set sail! Siegfried, right? Since you're one of the Fish-Man Race, come aboard with us!" Tiger looked at Sig.

"Okay... I mean, yes, Captain!" Sig deliberately puffed out his chest, but then his back hurt, and he hunched over again.

"Ha ha ha." Tiger laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

Jinbe was already tall, but he only came up to Tiger's chest. Fortunately, Tiger's arms were long, so he could pat Sig's shoulder without bending down.

Of course, as far as weight went, Sig figured Jinbe could give him a run for his money.

The ship had reached them now, and the figure of the helmsman appeared on deck. He was a rare male Mermaid, wearing a dark hat, with thick-framed glasses perched on his prominent nose. A four-leaf clover pattern was tattooed on both arms. Apart from his thick neck, he had a well-proportioned build.

"Tiger, Jinbe, I'm leaving my precious ship in your hands." The bespectacled older man greeted Jinbe and Tiger familiarly, but didn't seem to be joining them.

"Thanks, Dan... This won't get you into trouble, will it?" Tiger asked with some concern.

"Don't worry. The people who know I built this ship are all trustworthy." Dan bumped fists with Tiger as he came up to him.

He was Fish-Man Island's top shipwright and a scholar, but out at sea, his older brother was more famous: Tom, who had built the Oro Jackson for Pirate King Roger.

The Oro Jackson had been made from Adam Tree. Sea Bass wasn't nearly as luxurious, but it did incorporate a few branches from the Eve Tree.

"Then I won't waste time thanking you. Everyone, aboard!" Tiger, who had grown up as the leader of Fish-Man District, called out with a distinctly streetwise air.

Two or three hundred Fish-Men and Mermaids boarded the ship. Fish-Men made up eighty percent of them, and nearly half of the Mermaids were the rare male kind.

As for the remaining female Mermaids, most were slaves who had been rescued.

Just then, several Fish-Man kids came running over. Their leader, a child wearing a white cap, pushed past those trying to stop him and rushed forward. "Boss Tiger! We want to go to sea with you, too! I'm really strong. I can already throw a hundred-watt punch..."

Tiger patiently crouched down and patted the little leader's head through his hat. "Leave going to sea to us adults. You have a more important task. The future of Fish-Man Island rests on your shoulders!"

"Hody, don't cause trouble. Train hard. When you're stronger, we'll come find you..." Arlong seemed to know the kid.

"Arlong." Tiger glared at him.

If Fish-Man Island's children still had to become pirates out at sea in the future, then it would be a truly depressing future.

"Enough. Those World Government bastards could show up at any time. King Neptune is holding them off, but we should talk as we go."

Dan still needed to give Tiger a brief introduction to the ship. After all, it was carrying Fish-Men who could dive underwater, so naturally it had many features that ships designed for humans didn't.

After the calm sea suddenly surged for no apparent reason, a large ship with a sea bass-shaped figurehead sprang out from beneath the waves and splashed down onto the surface.

"Today, the Sun Pirates set sail! I, Fisher Tiger, as Captain, declare three rules for this ship. First: no matter when, where, or under what circumstances, whether Fish-Man or of any other race, we will never kill. This is our final line. Second: we will devote ourselves to rescuing our people and freeing slaves. We will never abandon our people or our comrades. Third... have this tattooed on every one of us!"