Former Wife

With Nereus's arrival, the conflict in the tavern was declared over. The others seemed used to it by now; after dividing up the gambling money, they went back to drinking as usual.

Kaido seemed to have a double-layered headache. On one hand, there were the aftereffects of being physically sobered up; on the other, he was wondering how he was supposed to repair this place.

Nereus sat off to the side by himself and glanced at the calendar on the wall. The year 1503 stood out conspicuously.

(Note: The SBS timeline gives an exact year. Luffy was currently sailing in 1541 and set out to sea in 1539. This book follows the new data, making it 38 years earlier.)

"Thirty-two years..."

After leaving the orphanage and running into a truck by chance, Nereus had come to this world. That year was Sea Circle Calendar 1471.

He had been born in the Fish-Man District, which had originally been a place on Fish-Man Island for housing orphans. In a sense, he had returned to his "place of origin."

However, due to chaotic management, the Fish-Man District had soon become a gathering place for criminal groups on Fish-Man Island.

Of course, its original function had not been abandoned. Nereus himself had struggled and grown up there, and he had chosen his current name at that time as well, symbolizing a new beginning.

Several residents of the Fish-Man District had also helped him greatly during his formative years.

Before long, he had realized what kind of world this was.

He knew a little about what would happen in the world of pirates, though his knowledge of the plot only went as far as the Egghead arc. Beyond that, he only had scattered bits of information and remembered the broad outline.

To survive better in this dangerous world, he began learning combat techniques. Several years later, he left Fish-Man Island with a few companions from the Fish-Man District and began making his way in the outside world.

He wanted to change this situation, and change it at the root: overthrow the current World Government and end the rule of the Celestial Dragons. That required strength.

Slave trading was not uncommon on these seas. Even before Roger ushered in the Great Pirate Era, Fish-Man Island had been one of the hardest-hit areas of the slave trade, while Mermaids were considered premium goods in the eyes of slave traders.

After destroying a World Government slave ship, Nereus had ended up on the Marines' bounty posters.

By now, his bounty had risen who knew how many times over from that first one, and slave traders would get terrible headaches just from hearing his name.

"Brother Nereus, I saw your Little Princess heading toward town. Want me to go check on her for you?"

As Nereus considered his next move, a tall, heavily muscled Fish-Man with mostly light-blue skin and bright green markings pushed open the door and walked in.

He was Sebastian, a member of the World Pirates in the original timeline, a hybrid of the Fishman Race and the Giant Race. Yet now, he was one of Nereus's men.

This was due to Nereus's race. Since he had come here as a Fish-Man, Fish-Men and Mermaids found it easier to trust him, and most of Nereus's subordinates were Fish-Men and Mermaids.

Sebastian was one of his Top Executives.

"No need. Big Pan is with her, and she's going to see her mother."

Nereus seemed quite at ease about it. Big Pan was also a Fish-Man-Giant hybrid, a member Nereus had recruited in the outer seas after leaving Fish-Man Island.

In the original timeline, he had merely been one of Foxy the Silver Fox's subordinates. But now, under Nereus's personal training, his strength had improved enormously, and he could hold his own even in the New World.

What reassured Nereus even more, however, was Nanamo's mother: his former wife, Charlotte Linlin—the future Four Emperor, the only woman among the Four Emperors, Big Mom.

If anything major happened, Charlotte Linlin would handle it. If it was only a minor matter, Big Pan could deal with it himself.

The Charlotte Linlin of this age was not the deranged old woman wielding violence in the story's later years, nor was she an ignorant child who did not understand strength.

Young and beautiful, she was still a bold, righteous heroine with far more rational judgment about many matters.

Their relationship was not complicated. Because of Charlotte Linlin's views toward other races, after meeting a powerful and handsome Fish-Man, the two had entered into that kind of relationship before long.

Nanamo was her first child, the true eldest daughter of the Charlotte Family, born even before Perospero.

However, their relationship had not lasted long. Later, their incompatible values quickly led to major disagreements, and even now they still disputed custody of their daughter.

After the two separated, Charlotte Linlin continued as she always had and had since borne quite a few more children.

Aside from delaying Perospero's birth somewhat, Nanamo's appearance had indirectly caused Charlotte Compote, who should have been the eldest daughter, not to be born. Other than that, little had changed on Charlotte Linlin's side.

Their love had fallen apart, but they had still parted on good terms. There had been no bizarre situation like dividing half their property in a divorce.

Moreover, Charlotte Linlin herself valued this daughter greatly. After all, among her current children, Nanamo was the only one who had inherited her Steel Balloon talent.

What dissatisfied Charlotte Linlin most was that Nanamo was closer to Nereus and normally lived with him.

Given Nereus's own strength, Charlotte Linlin's usual method of getting rid of the father while keeping the child did not work here.

She therefore hoped to change Nanamo's mind through Katakuri and the other children who were Nanamo's maternal half-siblings, so that she would become a more thoroughly devoted member of the Charlotte Family.

"Do you have something else to report?"

"Nothing major. The underwater outpost sent word that a group we have a grudge against is approaching Beehive Island..."

Before Sebastian could finish, Kaido, who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor nearby, suddenly stood up.

"I'll find someone to come help you repair this place later. I have something to take care of, so I'm leaving first."

Tearing down buildings was Kaido's specialty. Even though he was not yet a Devil Fruit user, demolishing this place was no trouble for him. Repairing it, however, was another matter.

But Beehive Island's nature meant conflicts broke out here frequently, so there really was a group dedicated to repair work. After all, they did not want to sleep among ruins every day.

Before Nereus could answer, Kaido had already rushed out. Nereus did not stop him.

The real issue was not whether Kaido would pay compensation, but that he had violated the rules Nereus had set by fighting here. A beating had been enough, and besides, Kaido was not the sort to act shamelessly over something like this.

After he left, Nereus turned to ask Sebastian about something else.

"How have those Sea Beasts been doing lately?"

"Pretty well. They aren't as obedient as those Fighting Fish, but they're more or less trained now."

"Take them out for a trial. Test their combat ability."

"Yes."

Both Fighting Fish and Sea Beasts were species unique to these seas. To ordinary human crews, these fierce marine creatures were disasters encountered during voyages.

But to the Fishman Race, who lived in the ocean, they were trainable fighting forces, much like hunting dogs.

Fishman Race traditional culture even had specialized methods for taming Sea Beasts.

The Sea Beasts Nereus mentioned were a batch they had captured and begun training some time ago. Now was the perfect time to test how capable they were.