After saving Tiger's life, Jack and Mandfeish's mission had ended. Mandfeish still had his own guard duty, but Jack was different, so he returned to Wano Kuni alone with the supply ship.
Even Fishmen don't swim in the sea all the time. They are an amphibious sub-human species; swimming is the same concept as walking or running for them. If they can take a ship, they won't choose to move with their legs.
"Lord Jack, a strange bird has landed on the ship."
"I see it. It's definitely a new life created by Lord Arceus. Don't disturb it."
If unidentified life appears near Wano Kuni, there's a 99% chance it's created by Arceus. Most members of Hundred Beasts are already used to it. Cows with three tails or sheep that emit electricity are the most ordinary creatures. Even stones can turn into new life in Arceus's hands.
Jack also had a method to 100% determine whether it was a strange bird or a Pokemon. It was whether Alcremie could understand the other's words. As long as it could communicate normally with Alcremie, it was definitely a new Pokemon.
Currently, his Alcremie was not only conversing with the Swablu but also giving it cream. It seemed Alcremie quite liked this little bird, which led to Jack having a good first impression of it as well.
With the resting Swablu, Jack followed the merchant ship from Hidden Port to Wano Kuni. However, just after leaving Hidden Port, the Swablu flew back to Sky Island. Although he couldn't understand the precise meaning of Alcremie's words, Jack could feel that they seemed to have made some agreement.
This is the friendship between Pokemon. Sometimes, making friends only requires a glance. Besides naturally hostile species, most Pokemon are very easy to get along with.
However, individual differences always exist. Even gentle Chansey can give birth to some violent individuals.
"Lord Kaidou, Lord Arceus, I'm back. Fisher Tiger's mission is complete. He should be with Brother Mandfeish now."
The mission summary had already been sent up by Mandfeish. Jack was just repeating some details.
"Well done, Jack. Next, let me confirm some things. Just don't break the wall, okay?"
Suddenly, there was a feeling of impending death on Jack's forehead. Instinct drove him to transform his abilities and cross his hands in front of him. The next moment, Kaidou's Hassaikai swung at him.
His large physique didn't mean much. Although he exerted effort to stabilize his form, Jack still stepped back steadily. His distance to the wall drew closer and closer, but in the end, he stopped.
He didn't crash into the wall, but two deep grooves were left on the floor. Jack was also drenched in sweat. Although Kaidou didn't use full force and it was a sudden attack, forcibly taking that strike had exhausted quite a bit of his strength.
"Guhahaha, very good, Jack. You've passed. You have the ability to handle things independently. This is for you."
With a wave of the hand, two Devil Fruits were thrown in front of Jack.
"Lord Kaidou, this is..."
"Eleph-Eleph Fruit, regular and Mammoth Form. Don't you like elephants? The allocation rights of these two fruits are given to you. They're for your future subordinates. Go select two of your own cadres later."
"Thank you for your trust, Lord Kaidou."
That strike just now was Jack's graduation test. Aside from the two Devil Fruits, there was also a newspaper wrapped up, which was a message sent back to Ghost Island long ago featuring the new Wanted Posters for Jack and Mandfeish.
Kaidou II Mandfeish, 360 million Belly
The Bronze Giant Jack, 99 million Belly
"Only 99 million..."
Looking at his Wanted Poster, Jack seemed a bit disappointed. He wasn't very satisfied with this bounty.
The subordinates of the Sea Emperor never worry about being wanted. They only worry their bounties might be too low, thus despised by their own people.
"Don't be discouraged, Jack. 99 million is already quite a lot. When I was first wanted, it was only 70 million."
The time difference was too long, Kaidou's 70 million and Jack's 99 million are certainly not the same. But this is also a comprehensive judgment by the Navy. The initial bounty is the Navy and World Government's assessment of a pirate's threat level. Very few people reach over 100 million on their initial bounty.
Yamato was directly wanted at 170 million, not just because her opponent was Germa's commander Judge, but also due to the status bonus, as she is a person Queen calls Miss.
Jack was different. His opponent was Strawberry, and according to battlefield reports, Strawberry's injuries were related to Jinbe's assistance.
Aside from that, Jack didn't have any outstanding performances. He was just bullying with size. Due to the lack of extremely strong combat performances, the 99 million was also with the Hundred Beasts' endorsement.
Mandfeish was the same. Although he had fought Borsalino, he couldn't cause any effective harm. Ultimately, he opted for escape, so his bounty increase wasn't substantial.
"As for subordinates...can I choose now?"
"Yes, do you have anyone in mind?"
"Page One and Ulti."
Ulti was incidental. His main target was Page One, but Ulti wouldn't let her brother go under someone else's command. Although Page One often found this sister quite noisy, he respected her opinion.
To successfully place Page One under his command, Jack chose to include Ulti.
"They can't. The two of them are candidates for future cadres, not suitable to be allocated under your command right now. Here's the list of eligible candidates. You can pick from here. Someone will come find you soon, and you can tell them what kind of ship you want."
"Yes, I understand."
Verbally acknowledging, distributing direct subordinates, and allocating an exclusive ship means Jack is now an independent member.
Actually, Yamato had long reached this level, but Kaidou never expanded her authority further. Although he gave her subordinates, she never got a ship.
This is because Kaidou has higher expectations for her. Now she can already accompany other cadres on missions, but to get an exclusive ship, she still has to make considerable efforts.
Not being able to get Page One under his command made Jack slightly disappointed but didn't affect his subsequent actions. According to the list Kaidou gave him, he planned to go to the Monastery to see if there were suitable subordinates for him.
He wasn't like Yamato; Kaidou naturally wouldn't specifically design internal competition to select people for him. The rest is all up to him.