Captain Nezumi, Long-Established Power

"Captain, th-there's an enormous warship heading toward Cocoyasi Village."

In the room, Captain Nezumi looked at his subordinate and rebuked him, "Don't you know to knock before entering to report?"

"S-sorry, Captain, but that warship is just too huge. Judging by its class, it l-looks like an admiral-class warship!"

Hearing his subordinate unable to speak properly, Captain Nezumi said, "It's only an admiral-class warship. Is that really worth making such a fuss over..."

At that point, Captain Nezumi came to his senses. He shot up from his seat and asked his subordinate for confirmation, "Y-you're sure it's an admiral-class warship?"

"I-I don't know, but that warship is enormous. I've never seen such a huge warship before!"

"I understand. Y-you may leave!"

Captain Nezumi, who had just mocked someone else for not being able to speak properly, was stammering a little himself now.

The room fell silent again. A very tall fish-man with a long, sharp, serrated nose stepped out from the back.

"Nezumi, why did an admiral-class warship suddenly come here? Don't tell me you tipped them off?"

"Why are you asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? How would I know why those admirals aren't staying in Marineford and came all the way to East Blue? And why would I tip anyone off? What would I gain from that?"

Captain Nezumi replied irritably to Arlong beside him.

"No matter why he came, I gave you the money, and you took it. We're in the same boat now. If I'm exposed, you won't get off easy either!"

With that, Arlong jumped out through the room's window.

Relying on his powerful fish-man physique, he vanished into the forest after just a few leaps.

To be safe, he planned to have the other fish-men withdraw from Arlong Park first.

After all, he was no frog in a well. He knew exactly how terrifying an admiral could be.

Back in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, Kizaru, who had quelled the rebellion, had already been promoted to admiral.

That kind of terrifying strength was something he would never dare imagine.

After seeing Arlong leave, Captain Nezumi immediately headed to the harbor to personally welcome Roya.

The reception was exceptionally grand.

It even made people think that Captain Nezumi had a very close relationship with this man.

That was Captain Nezumi's scheme: make the villagers scare themselves into cooperating with his act.

So they would not dare expose his crimes to Roya!

The warship slowly docked at the harbor, and Roya and Kalifa disembarked.

[ Ding, check-in successful. Obtained: Noah's Ark! Noah's Ark is the Ark of Promise. According to Neptune in the original work, Noah was part of an agreement between humanity and the Mermaid Princess of that time during the Void Century. However, the agreement was never fulfilled, so it sank into the deep sea. ]

[ This is the New Noah's Ark. Accepting Noah's Ark is equivalent to accepting the agreement with the Mermaid Princess. Under specific conditions, the system will issue special missions. ]

[ Special missions are extremely difficult, but they also come with lavish rewards. Please confirm, Host: do you accept the New Noah's Ark? ]

"Accept."

Roya agreed without the slightest hesitation.

If he did not even have this much courage, how would he face the powerful enemies of the future?

[ Ding, reception successful. Noah's Ark has been stored in the system space. The Host may release it at any time. ]

By the time Roya arrived before Captain Nezumi, the system's electronic voice had gradually faded away.

Captain Nezumi gave Roya a military salute and said, "Welcome to Cocoyasi for your inspection, Admiral White Dove!"

"I'm not here to inspect anything. I only came to replenish supplies."

Captain Nezumi reacted quickly and immediately said to the soldiers beside him, "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and move the supplies! Are you expecting Admiral White Dove to carry them himself?"

After speaking, Captain Nezumi turned to Roya again. "Admiral White Dove, would you like to sit in my office? They probably won't finish anytime soon."

At that moment, Kalifa said to Roya beside her, "Roya, since we've already come to Cocoyasi, let's look around. I've never visited an island in East Blue before."

"Sure, as you wish."

Seeing this, Captain Nezumi bowed and said, "Admiral White Dove, I know Cocoyasi Village well. Allow me to show you around!"

Roya nodded without saying anything further.

What surprised him, however, was that Captain Nezumi was openly willing to take him sightseeing. Was he really not afraid at all?

Or had Captain Nezumi already hidden everything else so well that he had nothing to fear from Roya's arrival?

Thinking of this, Roya thought, Interesting~

--

A gentle breeze swept across the island.

Captain Nezumi walked at the front, introducing Cocoyasi Village to Roya and Kalifa.

From his description, Cocoyasi Village seemed like a paradise hidden away from the world.

Under his protection and management, it had never suffered any harassment from pirates.

It was practically a place of paradise.

But when they reached the market in Cocoyasi Village,

Kalifa noticed that there was not the slightest smile on any villager's face.

Instead, whenever they saw the group, they went out of their way to avoid them.

She could even see deep hatred on every face.

Listening to Captain Nezumi continue boasting about his achievements, Kalifa interrupted, "Is it really as you say? Why haven't I seen even the slightest hint of a smile on these villagers' faces?"

Hearing Kalifa's words, Captain Nezumi cursed inwardly, Damn woman, why are you so troublesome!

Naturally, Captain Nezumi only dared think it.

He gave Kalifa an enthusiastic smile. "That's just how they are. If you don't believe me, you can ask them directly. Surely they wouldn't lie to you, would they?"

As Captain Nezumi spoke, when Roya and Kalifa were not paying attention, he fiercely glared at the people around them!

The surrounding villagers were so frightened that they quickly lowered their gazes.

In their hearts, Captain Nezumi and the fish-man Arlong were both insurmountable mountains.

Besides, seeing Roya's expressionless face, he was probably the same kind of person as Captain Nezumi!

How could they possibly dare expose Captain Nezumi in front of him?

It could only be said that Captain Nezumi had ruled through fear for far too long!

But living in East Blue, they had no idea what status the uniform Roya wore truly represented.

Kalifa walked over to an elderly woman selling vegetables and asked, "Ma'am, do you think public security has been good lately? Or is there anything in your daily life that makes you uncomfortable?"

The elderly woman secretly glanced at Captain Nezumi, then hurriedly shook her head. "Very good, very good. I live very well here. Especially since Captain Nezumi came to Cocoyasi Village, he has always been so considerate of us..."