The First Battle to Make a Name!

"Is that so?"

Li merely gave a soft snort at the handlebar-mustached colonel's words, then looked at Shanks and nodded slightly. Shanks understood, pressing down the straw hat on his head. Benn Beckman and the Hancock sisters were somewhat nervous as well, but they were already in the same boat as Li, so none of them spoke. From the moment they acknowledged Li as their captain, their lives had been bound to his—sharing glory and ruin alike!

What Li was doing now was not entirely for the sake of protecting Fish-Man Island. Li was neither a kind man nor a great hero. His purpose was simply to rapidly spread the name of the Immortal Pirates. Ever since the beginning, because they were a newly established pirate crew, even a mere Marine colonel and the captain of some insignificant pirate crew had dared to look down on Li and the others. This directly pushed Li toward an extreme approach: using battle to make the Immortal Pirates' name known. He believed that once this battle ended, the Immortal Pirates' name would resound throughout the entire Grand Line. At the very least, the small fry would no longer dare provoke them.

"Everyone, you should hurry and run! There are at least twenty thousand humans on this island capturing fish-men and mermaids right now. Your words just now have probably enraged every pirate and Marine here. If you don't leave, they'll surround and attack you soon. Although we're grateful that you stood up for Fish-Man Island, we don't want to get you killed because of us!"

The six mermaids whom Shanks and the others had saved earlier could not bear to see Li and his companions suffer for standing up for them, and hurriedly tried to persuade them.

"Hehe, don't worry. Our captain never