Chapter 269: Do You Want to Trigger a Diplomatic Incident?
By the end of Sea Circle Calendar Year 1522, Fisher Tiger's ship finally approached Foolshout Island. Nearly a year and a half after she had been abducted, young Koala was safely returned to the shores of her homeland.
The climate on Foolshout Island was relatively arid, with the landscape dominated by massive, towering cacti and bizarrely shaped rock formations. Koala's hometown was a small, quiet village nestled further inland.
"Alright, we're here," Tiger said gently. "Do you remember where your village is? I'll escort you to the entrance."
"That way!" Koala pointed eagerly.
Tiger lifted Koala and placed her on his broad shoulder, letting her guide the way. Behind them on the ship, the Fish-Man crew waved enthusiastically, bidding the little girl farewell.
"Bye-bye, little one!"
"Be careful from now on! Don't get kidnapped again!"
"When you grow up, come visit Fish-Man Island! Just mention our names at the port!"
Over the past few months of sailing together, the crew had grown genuinely fond of the bright, resilient little girl.
"I'll tell everyone in the village!" Koala yelled back, waving frantically. "I'll tell them there are so many kind and wonderful people among the Fish-Men! Bye-bye!"
In this timeline, Tiger wasn't a wanted criminal. Koala hadn't been sold to the Celestial Dragons. Consequently, the villagers of Koala's hometown were never forced into a horrific, twisted pact with the Marines to surrender Tiger in exchange for Koala's amnesty.
Upon safely delivering Koala to her village, Tiger was met with the tearful, overwhelming gratitude of her family. Although several villagers still cast wary, uneasy glances at his imposing Fish-Man physique, Tiger paid them no mind.
Having traveled the world for years, Tiger had witnessed the vast, complex spectrum of human nature. He had seen people maliciously persecute their own kind just to curry favor with the powerful, and he had seen others willingly risk their lives to help complete strangers simply to uphold their own morals.
Prejudice, equality, cruelty, and compassion—during his tenure in the North Blue, Tiger had seen it all.
In terms of political factions within Fish-Man Island, Tiger was undeniably a dove. Although Nereus's direct intervention had drastically elevated Tiger's personal combat power, he still firmly adhered to his pacifist ideology, staunchly refusing to initiate unprovoked slaughter.
It was precisely this level-headed ideology that made him the perfect candidate for his deployment to the North Blue.
It hadn't been a demotion or an exile. Following the chaotic aftermath in the Doyle Kingdom, Nereus specifically needed someone with Tiger's exact temperament and political acumen to stabilize the region and manage the complex diplomatic fallout.
Many of the older generation across the world harbored deep-rooted, calcified prejudices that were practically impossible to change.
However, allowing young children like Koala to witness the truth with their own eyes could actively shatter the prejudices of the next generation. That was the profound hope currently blooming in Tiger's heart.
Koala was just one seed. As more people like her grew up, the situation between their races would inevitably improve.
"I truly wish I could see that beautiful future arrive sooner," Tiger muttered to himself as he walked back toward the coast. "What a pity... there will always be filthy parasites infesting this world..."
Tiger suddenly stopped in his tracks, his sharp gaze sweeping across the cluster of massive cacti surrounding the dusty path.
"Come out."
Before the words even finished leaving his mouth, Tiger abruptly punched the air toward a towering cactus a short distance away.
BANG!
Cacti naturally stored massive quantities of water within their thick stems. Under the absolute manipulation of Fish-Man Karate, the water inside the plant instantly detonated like a high-explosive bomb.
The violent spray of razor-sharp needles and ruptured plant matter injured several figures hiding behind the flora, forcing them to stumble out into the open.
Tiger merely advocated against unprovoked slaughter. He certainly didn't subscribe to some absurd, non-violent philosophy of standing still and letting himself be attacked.
"Cipher Pol operatives and Marines? Now that's a remarkably rare combination," Tiger noted coldly. "What exactly are you plotting?"
Judging by the black suits, they were undoubtedly agents from one of the CP branches, and the Marines accompanying them didn't appear to be high-ranking officers he recognized. In fact, sweeping over them with his Observation Haki, Tiger felt that every single one of them was exceptionally weak.
This made Tiger even more utterly baffled as to what these people were trying to achieve.
Was a four-year-old child like Koala seriously important enough to warrant a joint black-ops operation between Cipher Pol and the Marines?!
Neither the lead CP agent nor the Marine Rear Admiral leading the detachment answered Tiger's question. Primarily because the current situation was incredibly awkward to explain.
The truth was, they were indeed here because of Koala.
The original destination for that slaver ship had been Mary Geoise. Before Tiger's unit violently sank the vessel, the slavers had managed to transmit a frantic distress signal. And therein lay the problem.
Tiger's squad had utilized their standard underwater ambush tactics. Consequently, the slavers initially assumed they had simply struck a submerged reef that ruptured their hull.
By the time they realized they were actually under attack by elite Fish-Man warriors, it was far too late to send an updated distress signal. Thus, official World Government records listed this specific batch of premium slaves as "lost at sea due to an accident."
Because the slaves aboard that ship had been meticulously hand-picked for the Celestial Dragons, they were considered incredibly high-value merchandise. To ensure maximum profit, the slavers' ledgers had detailed the specific homelands of every captive.
The shadowy underworld backers financing the slaver syndicate were still very much alive. Leveraging massive bribes, they had tasked local Marine branches and CP operatives to periodically sweep these homelands, hoping to spot the "lost merchandise" and scoop them up for a massive payout.
Logically, this was absolutely not something the Marines or Cipher Pol should be doing. But in this corrupt era, such blatant abuses of power were hardly surprising.
However, they hadn't realized until this exact moment that this entire incident involved Fish-Man Island.
They had approached the island from a completely different direction than Tiger, narrowly missing him. They had been trying to quietly evacuate the area when Tiger's sharp senses detected them.
"I've read that Fish-Man's dossier..." the Marine Rear Admiral whispered in sheer panic. "He's Fish-Man Island's highest-ranking administrative official in the North Blue!"
The CP squad leader simply nodded, his face pale and slick with cold sweat, remaining completely silent.
As a seasoned bureaucrat who had survived for years within the labyrinthine politics of the World Government, his combat power might not match a Marine's, but his ability to deflect blame was peerless.
He didn't want to mess with ordinary Fish-Men, let alone this guy! Nereus hadn't slaughtered quite as many CP operatives as Marines, but adjusting for the total personnel ratio, Cipher Pol had suffered equally catastrophic casualties at Nereus's hands.
According to the Marine, this Fish-Man was a highly prominent, senior official of the Ryugu Kingdom! If they provoked him here and triggered a major international diplomatic incident...
If Nereus merely demanded political concessions, that would be one thing. But if Nereus used this as a justified pretext to invade Mary Geoise again... the Five Elders would absolutely execute the idiot who handed Nereus that justification on a silver platter!
"We are merely passing through," the CP leader declared stiffly.
"Passing through?" Tiger raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it.
"Exactly. We received highly classified intelligence that a notorious pirate crew is scheduled to sail past this island shortly. This is a classified joint operation targeting those pirates. It has absolutely nothing to do with you."
In a matter of seconds, the CP leader had fabricated a flawless excuse. Out of the corner of his eye, he coincidentally spotted a tiny, utterly unremarkable fishing boat sailing across the distant horizon.
"There! That's the ship! I can clearly see their pirate flag! After them!"
Without casting another glance at Tiger, the CP leader sprinted toward the opposite coastline with a speed that suggested he was fleeing for his life. The Marine Rear Admiral froze for a split second before frantically ordering his men to follow the operatives, leaving Tiger standing alone on the dusty path, seriously questioning his own sanity.
"I couldn't even make out a flag on that ship..." Tiger muttered, rubbing his chin. "Don't tell me... did I completely underestimate their Observation Haki?"
Tiger felt that something was incredibly wrong, but he had absolutely no proof.
He knew perfectly well that these people weren't terrified of him; they were terrified of Nereus. Whether it was Nereus's apocalyptic martial might or his ironclad treaty with the World Government, it was enough to make any government official tread extremely carefully around Fish-Man Island citizens.
But their frantic, panicked behavior was still bizarrely suspicious.
Pondering for a moment, Tiger turned around and headed back to Koala's village. Finding her family, he handed them a specialized Den Den Mushi.
"I have a feeling something isn't right here. If any trouble ever comes to your village, use this to contact me immediately."
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