Chapter 268: A Catalyst Among the Youth, Personnel Transfers
"Even slavers are utilizing submarines now? This trade must be exceptionally lucrative. Their equipment is upgrading faster than the Marines'."
After reading Karma's detailed report, Nereus didn't immediately rush to modify the military curriculum. There was no shortage of brilliant shipwrights on Fish-Man Island, and dismantling ordinary vessels was second nature to the soldiers. But submarines...
While surface ships could serve as temporary resting points during long voyages, submarines were completely and utterly useless to Fish-Men and Merfolk. It wasn't that they knew absolutely nothing about them, but their expertise was admittedly shallow.
Tom in Water 7 was certainly an expert, but he was currently buried in his monumental Sea Train project. It seemed Nereus would have to find time to dispatch a team of engineers to study under him eventually.
"Sebastian, notify all patrol units: moving forward, pay closer attention to the underwater column. For now, authorize the use of absolute brute force to sink them."
There was a very simple reason why the Marines didn't mass-produce submarines: they simply didn't need to.
In an era where wooden sailing ships were still the absolute mainstream, the sheer financial cost required to construct a single, cramped submarine was more than enough to build a massive, heavily armored Marine warship brimming with heavy artillery.
Furthermore, submarines were inherently unsuitable for standard boarding combat. For true powerhouses, fighting inside one was actually a massive handicap. And if they were fighting the forces of Fish-Man Island, a submarine was nothing more than a sealed iron coffin at the bottom of the sea.
Even without the Neptune Army's intervention, the terrifying Sea Beasts prowling the depths posed a massive, constant threat to any submarine.
Shortly after Sebastian left to relay the orders, Amphelite walked in carrying a massive stack of documents. They were the annual reports filed by the administrators of the various sectors.
Through years of relentless expansion, Fish-Man Island was no longer a single, isolated bubble. It had grown into an unfathomably massive, honeycomb-like deep-sea architectural complex.
Every auxiliary island and sector had its own dedicated administrator—high-ranking officials of the Ryugu Kingdom.
The documents contained comprehensive summaries of military training progress, academy enrollment statistics, and general logistical data.
Additionally, there were detailed reports regarding the ongoing development of Delta Island on the surface, the administrative shifts in their North Blue territories, new discoveries from the exploration fleets, and diplomatic correspondence with other World Government affiliated nations.
The mundane, trivial paperwork had already been filtered out by subordinates; these remaining documents required Nereus's personal verification and signature.
"How is that girl, Yamato, doing recently?" Nereus asked, signing a document.
"She's been getting along exceptionally well with Chloe. She's a remarkably energetic child," Amphelite smiled slightly. "However, the conflict between her and Kaido is incredibly severe. According to Chloe, the mere mention of Kaido's name triggers an endless torrent of grievances from her."
"That's not surprising. That brute Kaido has absolutely no concept of reasoning. Or rather, his fists are the only logic he understands."
Nereus had clashed with Kaido plenty of times in the past. Kaido's current respectful attitude toward Nereus stemmed from their old camaraderie and a deep-seated acknowledgment of Nereus's strength—an acknowledgment that Nereus had literally beaten into him.
"Hearing her complain so much, you can tell she actually inherited quite a bit of her father's stubbornness, just not quite as severely," Amphelite noted. "Recently, she's been sparring constantly with that boy, Jack.
"Although Jack's actual combat prowess is still inferior to Yamato's, his recovery rate is genuinely absurd. If we hadn't repeatedly confirmed he hasn't eaten a Devil Fruit, I would seriously suspect he was an Awakened Zoan."
As the current, undisputed "Genius" among the commoner youth of Fish-Man Island, Jack had already begun displaying terrifying talent in certain fields.
Nanamo and Chloe were undeniably powerful, but in the eyes of the citizens, their overwhelming strength was simply a matter of course.
As the direct bloodline of Nereus and Amphelite, they naturally possessed an inherent, legendary halo. In fact, if they had been weak, it would have inevitably sparked scandalous rumors.
Conversely, Jack was an orphan raised entirely within the kingdom's welfare system. His status as a grassroots prodigy made him feel infinitely more relatable and approachable to the common citizens.
"That boy Jack is holding in a lot of pride," Nereus chuckled. "It seems he absolutely refuses to lose to an outsider. All things considered, Yamato's arrival has been quite meaningful."
Healthy competition invariably stimulated others to push themselves harder. As an outsider with monstrous potential, Yamato had inadvertently acted as a powerful catalyst. Even Nanamo had been slightly infected by this intense, try-hard atmosphere, motivating her to train harder.
From their vantage point in the Ryugu Palace, they could look down directly upon one of the massive training grounds below. The field was packed with young, sweating figures relentlessly honing their skills. Although they were still relatively weak now, they possessed a vast, limitless future.
Given enough time, their names would undoubtedly resound across the seas.
A short time later, Karma returned to the Sabaody Archipelago carrying a group of rescued slaves. Among them were the three Gorgon Sisters—Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold—who had been successfully extracted from the destroyed submarine.
Not only were the operatives of the Ryugu Kingdom completely unfazed by this sight, but anyone who had spent a significant amount of time on Sabaody knew exactly what this meant.
A group of lucky victims had been rescued, meaning another slaver syndicate had violently collided with Fish-Man Island's wrath. Based on years of historical precedent, those slavers had undoubtedly been fed to the fishes.
With the combined assistance of Gloriosa and Shakky, the three sisters were safely escorted back to Amazon Lily. However, the exact details of their harrowing experience, and exactly how Gloriosa had managed to persuade Nereus to intervene, remained a closely guarded secret from the outside world.
Simultaneously, in the first half of the Grand Line, a ship proudly flying the flag of the Ryugu Kingdom was steadily navigating the waters.
"Don't be afraid. We aren't bad people. I promise I will take you home."
Fisher Tiger sat cross-legged on the deck, gently comforting a small, disheveled little girl trembling before him.
As the officially appointed Governor of the North Blue, Tiger was theoretically supposed to be permanently stationed in his designated territory. However, the administrative affairs in the North Blue had largely stabilized, and routine diplomatic matters were gradually being transitioned to other civilian officials.
This wasn't some calculated political maneuver to strip him of his power. It was simply because keeping a powerhouse of Tiger's caliber permanently tied to desk duty in a relatively peaceful sea was a massive waste of his combat potential.
Years of administrative experience had matured Tiger significantly, honing his political acumen. He had recently been formally transferred from his post as a regional Governor to become the Ryugu Kingdom's Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He was currently enjoying a brief vacation before returning to Fish-Man Island for the official handover ceremony, though his functional authority remained largely unchanged.
The little girl sitting beside him was named Koala. She was currently four years old and had been personally rescued by Tiger from an intercepted slaver ship.
"To think they would sell a child this young as a slave..." a Fish-Man sailor muttered angrily, clenching his fists. "How can humans be so unspeakably cruel to their own kind?"
"Can you even call scum who only see profit in human lives 'human'?" Tiger replied quietly. "This girl is incredibly lucky she ran into us when she did. Otherwise, there's no telling what kind of hellish future she would have faced."
Compared to her fate in the original timeline—where she was sold to the Celestial Dragons, brutally traumatized into forcing a permanent, terrified smile, and tortured until she believed crying would mean instant death—this experience was infinitely better.
Although she had been stolen from her homeland for several months, she hadn't yet endured any horrific physical torture. After all, slavers needed their "merchandise" to be alive and visually presentable to fetch a high price.
Upon learning that Koala's homeland was Foolshout Island, the entire crew unanimously agreed to alter the destination of their vacation to escort her home.
However, Tiger's ship didn't possess an Eternal Pose for Foolshout Island. Even after adjusting their course, navigating the erratic weather of the Grand Line meant it would still take a considerable amount of time to reach the surrounding waters.
Over the course of their several-month journey together, the young Koala gradually realized a profound truth: although the people on this ship looked distinctly different from humans on the outside, their hearts were overflowing with the exact same warmth and kindness.
The terrifying tales the adults on her island had spun about Fish-Men and Merfolk were nothing more than cruel, ignorant misunderstandings born entirely from prejudice.
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