"Arlong is dead?!"
Nami and Nojiko looked at Arlong's mangled corpse, then clung to each other and wept, their hearts filled with both joy and sorrow.
At last, the man who had murdered their mother was dead.
Arlong, who had enslaved Cocoyasi Village for six years, was dead just like that.
"Heh heh, Your Majesty Wang Shi, Arlong's head is worth 20 million Belly. I wonder..."
Eric rubbed his hands together, his eyes full of longing for Belly.
This was the highest-bounty "great pirate" in East Blue.
It would take Eric a long time to earn 20 million Belly.
If Eric hadn't feared the threat Fish-Men posed to warships, and the danger that Arlong, a Fish-Man, posed to a Devil Fruit user like himself...
As a bounty hunter who also liked destroying pirate ships, he would have found a way to hunt down this "strongest pirate" in East Blue long ago.
Of course, Eric preferred picking on rookie pirate crews.
After all, the softer the target, the easier it was to squeeze.
"Whatever I don't give you, you can't take..."
As this war of expansion neared its end and the mercenary contract was about to expire, Wang Shi's attitude toward Eric changed dramatically.
"Your Majesty..."
Eric jumped at the look in Wang Shi's eyes. His heart clenched, and a sense of unease rose within him.
"This Arlong was a close friend of the Shichibukai, Sea Knight Jinbe. You killed him, and you won't have an easy time on these seas from now on."
"I'd like to invite you to join the Guard Army of the Goa Kingdom, Mr. Eric. Would you be interested?"
"Once you join the Guard Army, you'll have the Goa Kingdom's protection, and you can have Arlong's bounty, too."
At the final stop of the Conquest of the Four East Blue Nations, Wang Shi finally revealed his "true colors."
He immediately offered Eric both the carrot and the stick.
If Eric still didn't know what was good for him, Wang Shi would have no choice but to adjust his flexible moral standards and take action against the mercenary who had served him so diligently.
The pirate slaves like Jango were a warning to Eric.
"What?"
"Arlong was a brother of one of the Shichibukai?"
Eric's face was slick with cold sweat. As a bounty hunter operating around Reverse Mountain, he knew how terrifying the Shichibukai, those pirates licensed to plunder, could be.
Even if Sea Knight Jinbe killed him, the World Government wouldn't do a thing.
Even Nami and Nojiko, upon learning Arlong had such powerful "backers" and "connections," couldn't help worrying deeply about Cocoyasi Village's future.
"No wonder Arlong could get in with Captain Nezumi. So that's how it was!"
Eric was frightened. It seemed Wang Shi had set him up. He had planned to collect his wages and then get as far away from Wang Shi as possible.
But he had still fallen into the trap.
"Well?"
Wang Shi asked again, his voice calm.
"Your Majesty, you played this well. I'm impressed."
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"
Eric's expression shifted back and forth. After a long moment of thought, he gave a bitter laugh and dropped to one knee before Wang Shi, reluctantly accepting his fate.
From now on, he could only rely on the power of the Goa Kingdom as an Affiliated Nation to protect himself from retaliation by the Shichibukai Sea Knight Jinbe.
"Welcome to the Goa Empire, Eric."
Wang Shi casually swung the Slave Collar in his hand and smiled.
This fellow really wouldn't give in until he saw the coffin.
He'd better obey and work hard from now on.
"Serving Your Majesty is my honor."
Eric's mouth twitched. This king really was domineering.
Still, the name Goa Empire wasn't bad. Was the Goa Kingdom about to be elevated?
"Van Augur, how about joining my Guard Army and becoming captain of the sniper unit?"
Wang Shi extended another invitation to Van Augur.
"As you command, my king."
Van Augur made no further move and accepted Wang Shi's invitation outright, because he knew he couldn't resist.
"I'll give you this Golden Sniper Rifle."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Van Augur took the Golden Sniper Rifle Wang Shi bestowed upon him and slung it across his back.
He was very pleased with its performance and firepower, which were on par with Senriku.
Seeing Van Augur receive Wang Shi's reward reminded Eric of his own. He immediately sent a Wind Blade slicing through Arlong's head.
There was no reason to turn down 20 million Belly.
He would buy a luxurious home in High Town, the most beautiful kingdom in East Blue, and enjoy life for a while.
Perhaps he could even become a high-ranking officer in the Goa Empire someday.
With Eric and Van Augur joining the Guard Army, the other mercenaries and bounty hunters also rushed to join Wang Shi's ranks.
They were very optimistic about the Goa Empire's potential.
And so, all the bounty hunters hired with money became part of the Goa Empire's forces.
Wang Shi also made Eric captain of a special unit under the Guard Army, placing those bounty hunters under his temporary command.
"Next, we'll take care of these Fish-Men!"
Wang Shi was ready to bring out every Fish-Man and kill them all.
Don't tell him that some of these Fish-Men were good.
These Fish-Men had all profited from enslaving more than twenty villages.
That meant not a single one was innocent.
If they enjoyed the benefits, they were guilty.
"Your Majesty, each Fish-Man is worth one million Belly."
Eric's greedy expression returned.
He remembered that the Arlong Pirates had two other wanted men: Kuroobi, with a bounty of nine million Belly, and Chew, with a bounty of five and a half million Belly.
"Do I look like I need that little bit of money?"
"I won't stoop to the disgraceful business of selling people!"
"We're still in the middle of a war!"
Wang Shi didn't have time to judge each Fish-Man one by one and decide whether they were good or evil.
He would kill them during this war of conquest and be done with it. There was no need to make things complicated.
Otherwise, he would have to deal with the World Government, the Marines, Fish-Man Island, and Sea Knight Jinbe all over again.
"...Yes!"
Eric reluctantly shut his mouth.
This king had kept saying these Fish-Men were connected to Sea Knight Jinbe, one of the Shichibukai.
And now he was turning around and ordering them all killed.
Had Wang Shi ever actually feared Sea Knight Jinbe?
Hearing Wang Shi decide the Fish-Men's fate in just a few words, Nami and Nojiko couldn't help looking at him fearfully.
"Everyone, listen up. This is war. Kill!"
Wang Shi swept his hand forward, and every Guard Army soldier raised a weapon. Eric and Van Augur were ready as well.
"Fire!"
At Wang Shi's command, all the soldiers opened fire in the direction he had indicated.
Eric's dense barrage of Wind Blades and Van Augur's sniper rounds poured out.
One group of Fish-Men after another appeared amid the relentless artillery fire.
"Ah!!"
Scream after scream rang out.
Aside from the dozen or so Fish-Men Van Augur had already sniped and the three killed by the sisters, Nami and Nojiko...
The remaining eighty or ninety Fish-Men were all swallowed by the artillery fire.
Even Hatchan didn't escape.
Along with the officers Kuroobi and Chew, he went to hell to keep Arlong company.
If Dark King Rayleigh dared to stand up for Hatchan, Wang Shi would wait for him in East Blue!
After all, Wang Shi had already killed Sabo's biological parents.
He didn't care about adding another pirate enemy.
He was the king of an Affiliated Nation now.
If Rayleigh dared to show his face, Wang Shi would apply to the World Government directly to take down Shakky and Rayleigh on the Sabaody Archipelago.
When the gunfire finally fell silent, a heap of Fish-Man corpses lay on the ground.
Nami and Nojiko covered each other's eyes, unable to bear the sight of such a brutal scene.