Chapter 99: Untargetable
"Is everyone down?"
"Everyone is down!"
"Good, blow up this elevator!"
Not long ago, at the Red Port, the slaves who escaped from Mary Geoise had returned to the Red Port via the bubble elevator.
Prepared coated ships were already waiting to receive them, diving into the deep sea with the newly liberated slaves.
Even though communication was blocked, this was not a place to stay for long.
The bubble elevator was destroyed by explosives, cutting off the path for pursuers from above. Except for a few executives who stayed behind to cover the retreat, everyone else embarked on the evacuation route one after another.
"Why are you still here? Didn't I tell you to hurry up and evacuate?"
When Nereus returned below, he soon found Sebastian and the others still waiting.
"Everyone else has evacuated. Only the few of us are still waiting for you, Big Bro. If the Marines react, we can help you block the enemy's reinforcements."
"They can't stop me."
"It doesn't matter. As long as you can retreat safely, Big Bro, that's good."
"What is this? This is just the first step. Let's go; we're going home!"
For those with sufficient strength, their movement speed far exceeded other means of transport. Soon, they caught up with the ships diving ahead.
At this moment, various complex emotions were intertwining on the ships.
"Freedom... This is the taste of freedom!"
"Still alive... I'm still alive... Hahaha!"
Slap! Slap!
A woman on the side was slapping herself continuously, but the intense pain couldn't cover her smile.
"Great... not a dream, this really isn't a dream..."
The joy of regaining freedom made it hard for the slaves to extricate themselves. Leaving that hell alive was something they had never imagined before today.
The busiest people were the psychologists on the ship.
The devastation brought by life as a slave wasn't just physical. Being able to cry and laugh was considered pretty good, at least somewhat normal.
Some silent people just sat in the corner of the cabin, seemingly indifferent to external affairs. These were the most troublesome ones; they would need sorting out for quite a while.
Whether they could reintegrate into normal society was also a question.
"Big Bro is back!"
"Look, everyone! This is the person who saved you! It was Big Bro Nereus who gave you back your freedom!"
Seeing Nereus return, the Fish-men on the ship were introducing Nereus's identity to the liberated slaves.
"Let them rest. If there's anything, we'll talk later."
Nereus didn't care about a few words of thanks and cheers. Compared to such empty fame, he cared more about practical effects.
But this didn't stop the people on the ship from expressing their feelings. Regardless of what would happen in the future, at this moment, they were sincerely grateful to him.
"Lord Nereus, I'm not a good person. I used to be a pirate too... but please give me a chance! From now on, this life of mine belongs to you!"
"Me too. Whatever the order, just command! If it's against the World Government... dying is nothing!"
Life in Mary Geoise made them feel that death would be better than living. That life where they could neither live nor die filled their hearts with rage against the World Government.
Being able to persist until now wasn't just a desire for life, but also an obsession with revenge.
"Heal your bodies first, then we'll talk."
Nereus usually threw pirates rescued from auction houses who had just been captured as slaves to the Marines in exchange for bounties.
But those filled with hatred for the World Government could be reused. It could be said there were two different handling plans.
The number of slaves in the entire Mary Geoise wasn't small, and the aftermath work was substantial.
Meanwhile, in Mary Geoise, it was a different scene.
The rumors outside about the supreme rulers of the World Government, the highest authority organ, the Five Elders—also known as the five legendary "Pose Kings"—were sitting together in a conference room.
"To proactively come to Mary Geoise to liberate those slaves... his behavior is getting more and more excessive."
The Warrior God of Justice with a huge mustache, Topman Warcury (Mercury), spoke first.
"Extremely foolish behavior. Just a few slaves, what use are they? Does he think this kind of thing can shake the rule of the World Government?"
The Warrior God of Environment with a long white beard, Marcus Mars (Mars), felt Nereus was just doing something pointless.
"Salazar was killed by him. Just as incompetent as his father and grandfather. Letting him become Fleet Admiral might have been a mistake."
Saturn felt the Marines were extremely incompetent. Nusjuro then began arranging the follow-up affairs of the Marines.
"Just as well. Let Kong take over his position. Sengoku, Zephyr, and Garp can be promoted to Admirals simultaneously. The positions of Marine Admirals have been vacant for too long; might as well fill them all at once.
The Marines ultimately take orders from us; we can't let them lose too much face."
In the mouths of the Five Elders, the Marine Fleet Admiral was just like a chess piece. If this one didn't work, swap for a better one. In just a few words, everything seemed decided.
"Compared to this, how should we deal with the Nereus matter?"
The youngest-looking among them, the Warrior God of Agriculture with short blond hair, Shepherd Ju Peter (Jupiter), raised his question.
"Isn't he a pirate? Of course, let the Marines deal with him. Isn't that the Marines' duty? Or do any of you want to personally go to the deep sea to handle this matter?"
Saturn still felt this matter was insignificant, not even worth too much attention. Just follow the established procedures for dealing with pirates as usual.
In summary, aside from raising the bounty, doing nothing.
Neither Joy Boy, nor possessing the Nika ability, nor being Davy (Jones?)—putting these things aside, in the eyes of the Five Elders, everything else was a trivial matter.
Although he burned the Holy Land, took away slaves, and killed the Marine Fleet Admiral.
But he didn't slaughter Celestial Dragons, didn't eat the Nika Fruit, and didn't snatch the offspring of Celestial Dragons, so it wasn't worth them mobilizing. Otherwise, why raise so many Marines?
"That being said, we still have to do something. Otherwise, where will we put our face? Didn't he rule Fish-man Island? Then we..."
Peter still felt they should do something, but the words got stuck in his throat before he could finish.
Fish-man Island was a member nation, true, but in the past hundred years of history, Fish-man Island seemed separated from the world. Even if they wanted to sanction it, they didn't know where to start.
If they simply raised the bounty, it would be no different from what Saturn said earlier.
"This matter can be discussed later. Compared to this, let's deal with the matters at hand first."
Warcury saw Peter's embarrassment and smoothed things over to change the subject.
"True enough. This year's Reverie is about to be held. We must restore Mary Geoise before the conference begins. The World Government cannot lose face in front of these Kings."
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