Not long after, Jinbe finally arrived at the harbor.
Under his arrangements, Oguro followed Neptune into the royal palace for a formal meeting.
"Your Majesty Oguro… are you truly willing to accept Fish-Man Island as an affiliated nation?"
Although Jinbe had already given him the answer, Neptune couldn't help but seek confirmation directly from Oguro.
Oguro completely understood Neptune's current mix of hope and anxiety, and immediately nodded.
"Of course. Fish-Man Island is such a beautiful place. If it were destroyed by pirates or some filthy trash, that would be an enormous loss."
"While the Holy Spirit Empire isn't invincible in this world, protecting a single Fish-Man Island is something I'm confident I can do."
"Ah… you're truly too generous! Fish-Man Island is willing to offer its absolute loyalty to the Holy Spirit Empire!"
Neptune proactively performed the formal salute of a vassal.
With a thigh this thick to cling to, Fish-Man Island could finally stand tall again.
"However!"
Oguro suddenly spoke again, his tone calm.
"Before joining the Holy Spirit Empire, Fish-Man Island needs to deal with some of its own problems."
Neptune froze for a moment, then quickly said,
"Please speak, Your Majesty Oguro! No matter what it is, Fish-Man Island will give its full support!"
The golden thigh was right in front of him. Neptune absolutely couldn't let it slip away.
Oguro nodded, clearly satisfied with Neptune's attitude.
"As far as I know, Fish-Man Island has a place called Fish-Man District. It's filled with fish-men who harbor hatred toward humans, correct?"
The moment the words Fish-Man District were spoken, Neptune's heart sank.
That place was Fish-Man Island's chronic illness.
It was also the greatest internal obstacle to peaceful coexistence with humans.
Exchanging a glance with Jinbe, Neptune asked cautiously,
"Your Majesty… what do you mean?"
"Very simple."
Oguro's expression was calm, but his tone left no room for argument.
"Destroy Fish-Man District. I don't want unstable elements popping up in my affiliated territory every now and then to cause trouble."
Neptune was momentarily stunned.
Was there anything wrong with Oguro's reasoning?
No.
No ruler wanted a ticking time bomb inside their own country.
Even Neptune himself disliked Fish-Man District.
But destroying it was far from easy.
Over the years, it had gathered tens of thousands of extremists who refused to coexist peacefully with humans.
And the fish-man hero Fisher Tiger had come from there.
To Fish-Man Island, that place was practically a forbidden zone.
Oguro knew all of this perfectly well.
And that was precisely why he proposed destroying Fish-Man District.
The longer a tumor like that was allowed to fester, the more dangerous it became.
Hatred was something that spread… and was inherited.
"Jinbe."
Oguro turned to look at the Sea Knight.
"With your strength, working together with the Neptune Army… can you suppress all the rebels inside?"
"Th-that…"
Jinbe hesitated, unable to answer immediately.
Could he?
Of course he could.
Did they really think Jinbe's title as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea had been handed out for nothing?
Even if he couldn't compare to the very top monsters, the rabble in Fish-Man District wasn't remotely qualified to challenge him.
But there were tens of thousands of them.
If they were all killed…
Just thinking about it made Jinbe's heart tremble.
Oguro saw straight through their concerns and laughed inwardly.
He wasn't some bloodthirsty butcher.
Did they really think he intended to slaughter everyone?
"Don't worry."
Oguro continued calmly.
"What I mean is for you to deal with the core instigators and ringleaders."
"Those willing to change their mindset and coexist peacefully with humans can live normal lives."
"The remaining accomplices can be imprisoned and slowly reformed."
Suppress one group.
Win over another.
Split the rest.
That was the most effective way to dismantle any organization.
As for those who stubbornly refused to repent…
Heh.
Fish-men were naturally strong.
They made excellent candidates for hard labor.
"If Fish-Man Island truly wants peaceful coexistence with humans, then Fish-Man District, as a symbol of hatred, must be destroyed."
"Otherwise, that hatred will never truly disappear."
Oguro's stance was unshakable.
Jinbe and Neptune both understood.
They didn't have the right to oppose this.
"Jinbe."
Neptune's voice grew heavy.
"Go to the Neptune Army."
"It's been many years. Fish-Man District… deserves a conclusion."
Jinbe nodded softly.
"Yes."
Oguro was very satisfied with their decision.
"In that case, I'll go with you."
Jinbe was startled and quickly said,
"Your Majesty Oguro! We'll be more than enough! We wouldn't dare trouble you!"
Oguro shook his head.
"To those fish-men, they've always believed fish-men are superior to humans."
"If they don't realize they're wrong, then even if you arrest them, they won't accept it."
In truth, whether it was Arlong or the current leader of Fish-Man District, Hody Jones…
They all knew very well that fish-men weren't superior to humans.
That didn't stop them from using that belief to rally followers.
Oguro intended to make reality unmistakably clear.
To make them understand that without strength, peaceful coexistence with humans was their only real path forward.
...
Fish-Man District.
A massive great white shark fish-man, over three meters tall, sat sprawled on a sofa.
Hody Jones asked the person beside him,
"I heard Neptune went begging humans for help again. How did it go?"
Nearby, New Fish-Man Pirates officer Dosun, a hammerhead shark fish-man, laughed.
"It was the Big Mom Pirates. But something went wrong at the harbor, and they ended up parting on bad terms."
Hody Jones burst into scornful laughter.
"Hahaha! I told you long ago. Lowly humans are unreliable!"
"Fish-men are the true protagonists of this world!"
As he spoke, Hody Jones stroked the capsules inside a nearby metal basin.
"With this treasure, the future of fish-men is about to arrive!"
They were the secret treasure of Fish-Man Island.
Energy Steroids.
Eating one would double a person's strength.
The price… was an enormous loss of lifespan.
But Hody Jones didn't know that.
Instead, he frequently took them to show off his power and indulge in slaughter.
The strength granted by the drugs intoxicated him, making him believe that this unearned power would allow him to rule the world.
"Something's wrong, Brother Jones!"
At that moment, another New Fish-Man Pirates officer, Zeo, came rushing in.
Hody Jones frowned.
"What happened?"
"The Neptune Army! It's the Neptune Army! Jinbe is personally leading them!"
"He's demanding that we leave Fish-Man District and return to normal lives. Fish-Man Island will accept us!"
"And if we refuse…"
Hody Jones' eyes widened.
"If we refuse, then what?"
Zeo swallowed, a trace of gravity flashing in his eyes.
"If we refuse, the Neptune Army will forcibly destroy Fish-Man District."
"All who resist will be arrested and imprisoned."