Fishman Island relied on Whitebeard's pirate flag to avoid many troubles, and the World Government was aware of this. However, deep under ten thousand meters of sea, they weren't bothered about it, but it was a different matter on land.
This is the territory the World Government allocated to Fishman Island. If a pirate flag was flown on this island, it would be something the World Government could not accept.
Therefore, according to the treaty, if they displayed any flag other than the Sun Pirates', the island would automatically lose its status as a member state.
The Dragon Palace Kingdom needs this status because, with it, those having designs on the fishmen and mermaids are only slave capture teams and pirates; at least no one would do such things blatantly.
The World Government remains the most powerful force on The Sea. Without its protection, they might face more troubles, and even if a kingdom's military came to plunder here, it would be legal.
In such circumstances, they had no choice but to agree to those treaties. They couldn't display flags publicly, but there were ways to handle things privately.
As for Navy protection, theoretically, this island is also eligible for Navy protection. But in practice, the World Government has no desire to include it within the Navy's protection range, and Fishman Island hasn't brought up the matter.
Unless the Navy is stationed directly on the island, there's simply not enough time, but even Otohime wouldn't agree to such a thing.
Fishman Island has to rely on the World Government, but whether it's Otohime or Neptune, they have little faith in the Navy. This distrust comes from their living environment; in the past few hundred years, Fishman Island has never been under Navy jurisdiction.
Currently, the island is still under construction and has only encountered scattered minor issues. With the Sun Pirates, they can still manage, but such an environment doesn't allow the common citizen to settle in.
This is also one of the goals of the World Government: they hope Fishman Island can help share more of the pressure from pirates, while also capturing some slaves amid the chaos.
Although Mjosgard is a Heavenly Celestial Dragon, he cannot represent the entire group, and he's not the only one interested in fishman slaves.
To change the situation here, looking at the forces Otohime and Neptune trust, the Hundred Beasts Fruit became their only choice.
Legal, powerful, accepting of the Fishman Race, and it also fulfills Otohime's wish for the two races to coexist peacefully.
Speeches don't bring peace; only scaring them can bring stability.
Hundred Beasts also have their own goals, which include the fishmen themselves. This race is more suited for underwater combat compared to humans. To prepare for future wars, the expansion and recruitment by Hundred Beasts have never stopped, and recruiting more fishmen is part of their plan.
Otohime originally communicated with Tesoro on this matter, but Tesoro reported it upwards, leading to Mandfeish leading a team here. They won't show themselves, but it's more convenient for handling some matters.
During this time, a team of fishmen quietly arrived on this island.
...
"Brother Tai? Long time no see, how have you been recently?"
Jinbe, who was responsible for defense on the island, was delighted. He hadn't seen his boss in a long time.
"Not too bad, you seem to have grown quite a bit."
Patting Jinbe on the shoulder, Tiger surveyed the still-developing island.
This island is a major event for the Fishman Race. Naturally, Tiger rushed over upon receiving the news, and he brought along someone special—Tom.
As the top shipwright of the Fishman Race, he can build more than just ships. In this Great Pirate Era, any ship capable of navigating The Sea carries some counterattack capability.
When building the Sea Train, Tom created some large weapons to repel Sea Beasts. Without deep waters as a shield, they had much to consider when constructing the city, so Tiger brought Tom along to lend a hand.
"This is quite a massive construction; it's my first time building an island from scratch."
Tom verbally complained about the vast amount of work but was already drafting blueprints. This is a significant event for the Fishman Race, and as a member, he wanted to contribute.
"Uncle Tom, I'll leave this to you. I'll go check over there first."
"Don't worry, I'll design it well."
"Wait, Master Tom, if you're going to design it, please modify it according to this plan. This is agreed upon by Princess and them."
Having just arrived, Tom was unfamiliar with the situation. A Fishman who was already working on the construction handed Tom a rough layout plan.
"Is this... an underground labyrinth? Are they planning to use a labyrinth to defend against enemies?"
It was a general design. The island seemed to be a barren rocky island, but there were many underground rivers. The current plan was to break through the ground, exposing the underground space, then transform the central area.
The outer underground rivers would serve as natural defensive barriers, and the complex labyrinth paths would trap invaders.
The overall structure was similar to Wano Kuni—easy to defend and hard to attack—though Wano Kuni is above sea level, and this plan is below sea level.
Currently, it mainly accommodates the Fishman Race and Mermaid Race, who aren't threatened by water, and they can also use Bubble Film technology.
This is also one of the reasons limiting their site selection. Mermaids live with the need for bubbles, which can only be produced and maintained at large quantities near the Shampodi Islands.
This area still falls within Shampoo's influence, allowing for extensive use of bubbles. Bubble Film will prevent seawater from flooding while sealing the upper entrance, triggering an alert for illegal entry.
To enter, one must use the underwater formal channels, quite similar to Fishman Island. However, the water depth here is only a few dozen meters, not as deep as the original Fishman Island.
Then there's the labyrinth; after passing through it, one can reach the residential area, which even has an escape passage leading to the deep sea.
"Though a bit odd, the idea is fine, but... how can this labyrinth be built? This structure can't use large amounts of explosives, and who knows how many years it would take manually? Moreover, what if traps accidentally harm ordinary people?"
This idea seemed fine to Tom, but practically implementing it was challenging, especially altering the underground cave.
"We don't know either; those people told us not to worry, as they would handle it."
"Those people?"
At this moment, on Mandfeish's ship, along with the pirates, there was a large group of brown creatures. Their enormous heads seemed disproportionate to their bodies, looking more like turtles, but they were actually Trapinch, ant-lion Pokemon.