Annihilate the Arlong Pirates!

"Arlong is dead?!!"

Nami and Nojiko stared at Arlong's gruesome corpse, weeping as they embraced, a mix of joy and rage washing over them.

The man who murdered their mother was finally dead.

Arlong, who had enslaved Cocoyasi Village for six years, had died just like that.

"Hehe, Your Majesty Wang Shi, Arlong's head is worth 20 million Berries. I wonder..."

Eric rubbed his hands together, his eyes filled with a craving for the bounty.

This was, after all, the 'Great Pirate' with the highest bounty in the East Blue.

It would take Eric a long time to earn 20 million Berries on his own.

If not for Eric's fear of the Fish-Men's threat to warships, and his wariness of Arlong as a Fish-Man posing a threat to a Devil Fruit user like himself...

As a bounty hunter who also enjoyed destroying pirate ships, he would have long since found a way to hunt down this 'strongest pirate' of the East Blue.

Of course, Eric still preferred bullying those rookie pirate crews.

After all, it was easier to squeeze soft persimmons.

"What I do not give, you cannot take..."

As this war of expansion neared its end and the mercenary contract was about to conclude, Wang Shi's attitude toward Eric shifted instantly.

"Your Majesty..."

Eric was startled by the look in Wang Shi's eyes; a jolt of unease surged into his mind.

"This Arlong was a close friend and kin to the Shichibukai, 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbe. You killed him, so life on these seas won't be easy for you from now on."

"I would like to invite Mr. Eric to join the Goa Kingdom's Guard Army. I wonder if you have any interest in that?"

"Once you join the Guard Army, not only will you receive the protection of the Goa Kingdom, but Arlong's bounty will also be yours."

Reaching the final stop of the Conquest of the Four East Blue Nations, Wang Shi finally revealed his 'fox tail.'

He began to use a mix of the carrot and the stick on Eric.

If Eric were still too dense to understand after this, Wang Shi would have no choice but to adjust his flexible moral bottom line and take action against this diligent mercenary.

Jango and the other pirate slaves were the perfect examples for Eric to follow.

"What?"

"Arlong is a brother to a Shichibukai?"

Cold sweat covered Eric's face. As a bounty hunter entrenched in the waters of Reverse Mountain, he knew the terror of the Shichibukai—that group of state-sanctioned pirate plunderers.

Even if that Knight of the Sea Jinbe slaughtered him, the World Government wouldn't lift a finger against Jinbe.

Even Nami and Nojiko, upon hearing that Arlong had such 'backing' and 'background,' couldn't help but feel immense worry for the future of Cocoyasi Village.

"No wonder Arlong was able to get in touch with Captain Nezumi. So that's how it was!!"

Eric felt a touch of fear; he felt as though he had been played by Wang Shi. He had intended to collect his mercenary pay and distance himself from Wang Shi.

In the end, he had still fallen into the trap.

"Well?"

Wang Shi asked again, his tone indifferent.

"Your Majesty has fine methods; I submit."

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Eric's expression flickered between shades of uncertainty. After a long moment of contemplation, he let out a bitter laugh, knelt on one knee before Wang Shi, and helplessly accepted his fate.

From now on, he would have to rely on the prestige of the Goa Kingdom and its affiliated nations to avoid retaliation from the Shichibukai, Jinbe.

"Welcome to the Goa Empire, Eric."

Wang Shi flicked the slave collar in his hand and smiled lightly.

This fellow truly wouldn't shed tears until he saw the coffin.

He would just have to work obediently from now on.

"It is my honor to serve Your Majesty."

Eric's mouth twitched; this King was truly overbearing.

However, the name 'Goa Empire' sounded good. Was the Goa Kingdom about to complete its promotion?

"Van Augur, how about joining my Guard Army and becoming the captain of the sniper unit?"

Wang Shi extended an invitation to Van Augur once more.

"As you command, my King."

Van Augur made no other moves and accepted Wang Shi's invitation directly, for he knew there was no resisting.

"This Golden Sniper Rifle shall be a gift for you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Van Augur took the Golden Sniper Rifle bestowed upon him by Wang Shi and slung it across his back.

He was immensely satisfied with this weapon, as its performance and power were in no way inferior to the Senriku.

Seeing Van Augur receive a reward from Wang Shi, Eric recalled his own potential bounty and immediately unleashed a wind blade, decapitating Arlong.

He wasn't about to let 20 million Berries go to waste.

He planned to purchase a luxury residence in High Town, the most beautiful city in the East Blue, and enjoy the good life.

Perhaps one day, he could even become a high-ranking general of the Goa Empire.

Following the recruitment of Eric and Van Augur into the Guard Army, other mercenaries and bounty hunters clamored to join Wang Shi's ranks.

They were highly optimistic about the development potential of the Goa Empire.

Just like that, these hired bounty hunters were all absorbed into the military strength of the Goa Empire.

Wang Shi appointed Eric as the captain of a special unit under the Guard Army, placing him in temporary command of these bounty hunters.

"Next, clear out these Fish-Men!"

Wang Shi prepared to release all the captured Fish-Men to have them executed.

Do not speak to him of "kind-hearted" Fish-Men among them.

Since these Fish-Men had enjoyed the spoils of enslaving over twenty villages, there were no innocent Fish-Men among them.

To share in the benefits is to share in the guilt.

"Your Majesty, each Fish-Man is worth 1 million Berries."

Eric once again revealed his greedy nature.

He remembered that the Arlong Pirates still had two other wanted members: Kuroobi, with a bounty of 9 million Berries, and Chew, with a bounty of 5.5 million Berries.

"Do I look like I lack that pittance of money!"

"This King does not engage in the immoral business of human trafficking!"

"We are currently in a state of war!"

Wang Shi did not have the time to judge these Fish-Men one by one or distinguish their virtues from their vices.

Eliminating them during this Four-Nation Conquest was the cleanest solution; he couldn't be bothered with the hassle.

Otherwise, he would have to deal with the endless red tape involving the World Government, the Navy, Fish-Man Island, and Jinbe the Knight of the Sea.

"..., Yes!"

Eric shut his mouth, feeling helpless.

This King spoke constantly about how these Fish-Men were connected to Jinbe, one of the Shichibukai.

Yet, in the next breath, he ordered them all to be killed without exception.

Had Wang Shi ever truly feared Jinbe?

Nami and Nojiko, hearing Wang Shi decide the fate of these Fish-Men in just a few sentences, couldn't help but cast a fearful glance at him.

"All units, listen up! This is war—kill them all!!"

Wang Shi waved his hand, and every soldier of the Guard Army raised their weapons; even Eric and Van Augur stood ready.

"Fire!!"

At Wang Shi's command, all the soldiers opened fire in the direction he indicated.

Eric's dense wind blades and Van Augur's sniper rounds poured forth.

Batch after batch of Fish-Men appeared within the concentrated barrage.

"Ah!!"

Continuous screams rang out.

Aside from the dozen or so Fish-Men previously sniped by Van Augur and the three killed by Nami and Nojiko, the remaining eighty or ninety Fish-Men were completely submerged in the gunfire.

Even Hatchan did not escape his fate.

Together with the officers Kuroobi and Chew, he was sent to hell to accompany Arlong.

If Rayleigh the Dark King dared to stand up for Hatchan, Wang Shi would be waiting for him in the East Blue!

In any case, Wang Shi had already finished off Sabo's biological parents; he didn't care about adding one more pirate enemy.

He was a King of a member nation now.

If Rayleigh dared to show his face, Wang Shi would directly petition the World Government to wipe out Shakky and Rayleigh on the Sabaody Archipelago.

As the gunfire subsided, a pile of Fish-Man corpses remained on the ground.

Nami and Nojiko covered each other's eyes, unable to bear looking at the cruel scene.