The ones who arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago were none other than Rayleigh and Shakuyaku.
Back when the God Valley Incident ended, Shakuyaku had left together with Roger and the others, but she never participated in the later voyages of the Roger Pirates.
Now that Roger's journey had ended and the disbanded Roger Pirates no longer needed the First Mate, Shakuyaku had also left the Kuja Pirates and chosen to head to the outside world with Rayleigh.
Within the Kuja, this was an extremely rare occurrence.
The Kuja Pirates belonged to Amazon Lily, also known as the Island of Women. Everyone living on that island was female, known as a tribe of female warriors. Over countless years, they had established the Kingdom of Amazon Lily upon the island.
Surrounded by the Calm Belt and encircled by the nests of Sea Kings, Amazon Lily likewise possessed an isolated nature.
The tribe on the island had tamed a kind of highly venomous sea serpent called the Yuda. Even Sea Kings would choose to avoid these serpents. Relying on these enormous poisonous serpents, the Kuja's ships were able to freely travel through the Calm Belt.
The closed-off environment made the Kuja's resources scarce, and their single-gender society also prevented them from reproducing naturally. Thus, the Kuja Pirates became the kingdom's official pirate crew.
Their goal was to go out and plunder supplies to bring back to the Kuja. Some of the Kuja warriors who ventured outside would also come into contact with men, eventually returning to the Kuja while carrying children.
That island seemed to possess some mysterious magnetic field—every child born there was female, without exception.
Because they practiced a culture where everyone was a soldier and every citizen a warrior, nearly everyone would go out to sea once they came of age, keeping the island's population relatively stable.
And within this isolated Kuja society, a special illness was born—love sickness.
Because they fell in love with a man yet could not see him again, what seemed to be nothing more than a problem caused by romance was, among the Kuja, a fatal disease.
Not only ordinary Kuja warriors, but even many generations of Kuja empresses had died from this illness.
It was only after Gloriosa violated the Kuja's laws and chose to flee the country that she discovered the cure for this disease, breaking its curse of death.
Shakuyaku had experienced the same thing. As a warrior tribe, the Kuja empress was naturally the strongest person in the nation. The successive departures of Gloriosa and Shakuyaku had a significant impact on the Kuja.
Without the leadership and protection of their strongest warriors, although the Kuja could still rely on the Calm Belt for self-defense, their usable resources became increasingly scarce.
After the God Valley Incident, Gloriosa and Shakuyaku returned to the Kuja and trained the next generation's empress—Tritoma.
Now Gloriosa still remained in the Kuja to assist the new empress. After all, unlike Shakuyaku, she was still alone, while Shakuyaku ultimately chose to come to the Sabaody Archipelago together with Rayleigh.
This place was not far from the Kuja, so they could still lend a hand if necessary. Although it was right under the World Government's nose, the lawless area here was enough for people to settle down.
GR 1-29 were all considered lawless areas, but the central region, GR 10-19, had now become territory belonging to Fish-Man Island. Since Shakuyaku had set her sights on GR 13, she naturally had to come greet the people in charge.
As for Rayleigh, he planned to start a coating business on the island. Since he intended to become a proper coating craftsman, he also needed a permit issued by Fish-Man Island, which was why they had come here.
"We're not traveling. We're planning to settle down here. There's a nice place over on GR 13, and I'd like to reopen my bar there. What procedures do I need to go through?"
Shakuyaku blew out a ring of smoke, extinguished the slender cigarette in her hand, and explained her purpose.
She also recognized the girl before her. Back on Fullalead Island, the girl had been full of hostility toward her, apparently because Shakuyaku's bar had stolen some of her business.
Over the past few years, she had also heard Nanamo's name. Supposedly, her strength was quite impressive.
"The procedures... let me think about what procedures are needed..."
Since Nanamo could take over Barbell's work, she naturally understood the procedures thoroughly. In reality, she barely had to do anything here—the specific tasks were all handled by other clerks.
Whether it was issuing permits or dealing with other matters, everything could be completed quickly. Nanamo's main job was to beat up anyone trying to stir up trouble and provide military protection.
When Barbell held the position, he had essentially done the same type of work.
Over the years, it wasn't as though nobody had settled here. The ten mangrove islands weren't occupied solely by Fish-Man Island's offices—there were hotels, bars, craft shops, restaurants, and all kinds of stores everywhere.
Compared to the outer areas protected by the Marines, this territory controlled by Fish-Man Island was actually even more stable.
If it had been anyone else, simply getting a permit would have been enough.
[And of all times, Uncle Barbell just had to take a vacation this year... Did Dad somehow foresee this situation? Future Vision shouldn't be able to see that far ahead... A fortune teller, maybe?]
Fortune-telling culture held enormous influence on Fish-Man Island. Even though Nereus himself did not believe in such things, he would sometimes use fortune tellers as a pretext for propaganda, further boosting the confidence of both the military and the citizens.
If the person in charge of the Sabaody Archipelago today had still been Barbell, then when encountering Shakuyaku, he might very well have been affected by some mysterious buff. Nanamo still hadn't forgotten how all those famous great pirates back on Fullalead Island had turned into simps.
After thinking for a moment, Nanamo looked back at Shakuyaku.
"You said you want to reopen your bar?"
"That's right."
"That Rip-Off Bar?"
"Fill out the form."
Nanamo pulled out a form from the side and handed it to Shakuyaku, not doing anything particularly special.
This was Fish-Man Island's external office, after all. It needed sufficient credibility. If they said something would be done, then it would definitely be done.
For example...
Anyone placed on the hit list here had never survived.
Yet during their exchange of glances, Shakuyaku saw the look of a "kindred spirit."
Whenever she wanted to fleece someone herself, she would reveal that same look. It seemed she had been targeted.
Attached beside the form was a tax form for operating businesses on these mangrove islands. The amounts were perfectly reasonable. Shakuyaku looked it over several times and still couldn't spot any traps, which instead left her confused.
"What's wrong? You can choose a different mangrove island instead. In the territory we control, you have to follow our rules. That's a perfectly normal contract."
Thud.
A bag of gold coins was suddenly tossed onto the table by Shakuyaku. As someone who had once had admirers filling the seas, Shakuyaku possessed considerable wealth. Running a bar was less about making a living and more about finding something to do.
"Just say it directly. What exactly are you trying to do?"
Being a "succubus" wasn't such an easy role to play. At the very least, dealing with different kinds of people required understanding their psychology.
And when facing someone like Nanamo...
As long as there wasn't any major conflict, throwing money at the problem was the simplest and most effective solution.
TN: Will Release An Extra Chapter For Total 10 Reviews. Review Count- 6/10
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