At that moment, Jinbe and the other Sun Pirates were already waiting by the port.
Upon seeing Arlong and the other fish-men, those fish-men all revealed happy smiles, continuously waving at Arlong and his group.
"Arlong, Arlong!! Are you guys alright? Long time no see... long time no see! We've come to take you home!!"
Contrary to their expectations, however, Arlong and the others showed little reaction to their greetings, merely glancing at them indifferently without saying a word.
For a moment, those fish-men were all stunned; Arlong's attitude left them somewhat confused.
What was going on?
Was it because they had been imprisoned in Impel Down for so long that they felt estranged?
That couldn't be it, right?! They had once shared a bond stronger than death; there was no reason for a few years apart to make them this distant, was there?
It seemed they would have to wait until they were on the ship to ask what the situation was.
Since Jinbe currently held the title of Warlord of the Sea, they didn't even need to go through formalities; they could simply take custody of the prisoners. So, Arlong quickly returned to the Sun Pirates' ship.
Looking at this familiar vessel, Arlong suddenly felt a sense of disorientation; several years had made even this ship feel a bit foreign to him.
He recalled the laughter and joy he had once shared here. Back then, the Sun Pirates consisted not only of those present now but also included his most revered elder brother — Fisher Tiger!!
After a brief handover, Jinbe also came aboard. Seeing Arlong's demeanor, he didn't immediately say anything.
The internal affairs of their crew were not suitable for discussion here at Marine Headquarters.
Before long, the ship slowly departed, heading towards the distant seas.
At the highest point of Marineford's structures, Kyle sat there, munching on an apple, his gaze calm as he watched the departing Sun Pirates' ship.
After taking the final bite, leaving only the core, Kyle's palm crackled with lightning as the core was instantly annihilated by the violent lightning energy.
The next moment, with a flash of lightning, Kyle's figure vanished from the spot.
——
On the other side, aboard the Sun Pirates' ship.
Jinbe glanced at Arlong and slowly walked towards him. Just as he was about to speak, Arlong spoke first:
"You're going to become a lackey for humans, is that it?"
Jinbe fell silent. After a long moment, he spoke: "I'm only doing what I believe is right! I want to protect fish-men, want to make amends for the harm done to Queen Otohime's ideals. Becoming a Warlord..."
"I asked if you want to be a human's lackey!!!"
Arlong suddenly spun around, roaring at Jinbe, his pupils burning crimson.
The surrounding fish-men were all startled by this scene. One fish-man couldn't help but speak up:
"Arlong, Jinbe boss, he..."
However, he was cut off mid-sentence as Arlong turned and viciously silenced him.
"Shut up! No one asked for your opinion!!"
He then turned his gaze back to Jinbe.
"Jinbe, have you forgotten how our elder brother died?!"
"When our elder brother was alive, we followed a policy of peace, not harming humans without cause. But what was the result?!"
"Tell me, what WAS the result?!"
"Our elder brother kindly helped those filthy humans, escorting that human slave girl back home. What did he get in return?"
"Betrayal!!!"
"If they hadn't betrayed our elder brother, how could he have died? How could he have lost hope in humanity?"
"We fish-men were born to be mortal enemies of humans! What we must do is strive to rule this world and make all those damn humans our slaves!"
"Fish-men are born a noble race!"
Jinbe remained silent, but his gaze towards Arlong grew increasingly cold.
It was no secret that he and Arlong held incompatible ideals; their conflicts had been escalating for years due to their differing beliefs.
"Fish-men? A noble race?!"
"How many of us fish-men are there? And how many humans are there?"
"Or, to put it more plainly, how many strong warriors do we fish-men have, compared to the number of strong humans?!"
"Don't you realize that the Navy only needs to dispatch a single Admiral to annihilate our entire fish-man race!"
"Arlong, stop living in a dream! If we want to protect the fish-man race, if we want a chance to live openly and legitimately in this world, the ONLY thing we can do is coexist peacefully with humans!"
By the end, Jinbe was also roaring.
"Coexist peacefully?"
"Hah! What a laughable term!"
"No matter how hard you try, human discrimination against us fish-men will NEVER disappear!"
"But judging by your attitude, I can see reasoning with you is pointless. So you go ahead and cling to your peaceful coexistence, slowly getting along with humans. I'm done!"
"I've already made up my mind. I will become the deepest embodiment of the fish-men's rage! I'm going to the East Blue, one of the Four Seas, and there, I will establish an empire for us fish-men!!"
Arlong declared, spreading his arms wide.
"Have you lost your mind?! You've only just been released; do you want to get thrown right back in?!"
Jinbe's eyes widened in shock as he roared at Arlong, instinctively grabbing his arm.
Arlong shook him off forcefully.
"What I do is none of your business!!"
Finished speaking, he turned to look at the fish-men on the ship and announced:
"Now, anyone willing to follow me, step forward! We will go together to build an empire for us fish-men!"
"I will make humans live in nightmares! I will make them witness the full force of our fish-men's fury!!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the fish-men dressed in prison uniforms, one by one, all stepped forward and lined up behind Arlong.
They had been arrested precisely because they followed Arlong before. Even after spending such a long time in Impel Down, they were still willing to follow him.
Among them were mostly familiar faces from the later Arlong Pirates as seen in the original story, including its three most prominent officers.
The octopus fish-man Hatchan, the manta ray fish-man Kuroobi, and the kissing fish-man Chew.
As for the fish-men not wearing prison uniforms, not a single one stepped forward. They all stood behind Jinbe, watching Arlong and his former comrades prepare to part ways with them, their hearts filled with immense pain.
They had thought this was a reunion, but it turned out to herald an even longer separation.
But there was no help for it; their ideals differed. These fish-men had followed Jinbe for so long, sharing his beliefs, and they also deeply understood human strength. They knew that standing against humanity would bring no benefit.
So, despite their reluctance, they said nothing. Besides, Arlong and his group were in no mood to listen to them anyway.
Jinbe gave Arlong a long, hard look. After a considerable pause, he asked in a deep voice:
"So you're absolutely determined to do this, are you?!"
Arlong stared back at Jinbe, equally unyielding, enunciating every word:
"Never have I been more certain!"
Jinbe fell silent once more, this time for a very long while. Finally, he turned his body away, letting his silence serve as his answer.
Seeing this, Arlong had nothing more to say. He waved his hand, signaling to lead those fish-men away...
---
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