Chapter 288: Two Factions
“Pfft~ Pfft~ Bah!”
“You brat!”
That numbing bitterness that even made his tongue go numb only slowly emerged after the old Fish-Man swallowed the tea. Helpless against the bitterness, he could only uselessly stick out his tongue.
Having lived his whole life at the seabed, today he finally experienced what the taste of a ‘mountain delicacy’ was like.
“Hey hey hey! Don’t throw it away!”
Seeing that the other was about to toss away the health tea in his hand—bottle and all—Burufaruto hurriedly stepped forward to stop him.
“Do you know how expensive it is to brew just one cup of this stuff, old man! That one sip you just took is worth a whole bottle of liquor I’ve given you before!”
“…”
Sure enough, upon hearing this, the old Fish-Man’s movements instantly stopped… Having been thrifty his whole life, he couldn’t stand seeing money wasted.
Frowning, he glanced again at the pale yellow tea steaming with heat, and the old Fish-Man shook his head with both heartache and pity:
“Tch~”
“What a sin~ You brat, isn’t brewing this stuff just wasting money~”
“Wouldn’t liquor be better?”
Carefully screwing the lid back on, the old Fish-Man hung the thermos on his waist… Since he now knew how precious this stuff was, forget bitter—even if it tasted like urine, he’d drink every last drop.
“Who says it isn’t~”
Watching the other’s actions, Burufaruto smiled in his heart, but on his lips he still said:
“But I have no choice… You know, there’s a little girl in the pirate crew watching all day and night~”
“Even if I lie just a tiny bit, she can smell it…”
After speaking, Burufaruto pretended to shake his head helplessly.
“Tch~ You brat, just be happy in secret!”
“In your line of work, reaching this age without sinking to the seabed, and still having someone thinking of you every moment… Probably because you had some relative with the Sea God in your last life.”
“Alright, back to business. What does the person you’re looking for look like? I’ll go inquire for you.”
The old Fish-Man waved his hand, interrupting the other’s boasting, and began asking about the person they were looking for.
After all, though Fish-Man Island wasn’t huge, with just Burufaruto’s ship of a few dozen people, quickly finding one Fish-Man here would be quite difficult… Mainly because this wasn’t their territory, so they couldn’t make too much of a commotion.
“Ahem~”
“His name is Lahel, a grouper Fish-Man. Golden hair, very tall, about uh… a head taller than me?”
Burufaruto gestured with his hand, saying uncertainly.
After all, it had been over a decade since they’d last met, so he wasn’t too sure what the other looked like now.
“Grouper Fish-Man, taller than you, hmm…”
The old Fish-Man noted these features in his mind and began recalling if he’d recently encountered any Fish-Man matching this description.
“One more thing, he seems to have just returned to Fish-Man Island recently, so he’s probably somewhere in the Fish-Man District.”
“Oh? That’s an important clue.”
A newly arrived stranger—this feature could quickly narrow the scope.
“That’s all?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright then, I’ll keep an eye out for you. If he’s really on Fish-Man Island, I can probably find him for you in a day or two.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you, old man.”
“Heh~ No problem.”
The old Fish-Man waved his hand, about to leave to inform the others in the patrol team, but then remembered something and spoke up to remind him:
“Right, during this time, you and your people shouldn’t move around freely. Just stay quietly in this area.”
“Or go back to the sea surface first and come down again in a couple days.”
“Oh? Did something happen?”
Facing this request, Burufaruto—who was planning to head to a mermaid massage parlor on the island to enjoy himself—couldn’t help but feel curious.
“Nothing~ Just bad timing. Navy people are also on the island right now, seems like they have business with King Neptune.”
“You’re a Fish-Man, but after all, you’re also a pirate. If you clash with them on the island, it won’t be good for anyone.”
Though Fish-Man Island was nominally Whitebeard’s territory, due to his special relationship with King Neptune and the island’s unique geography, Whitebeard himself basically didn’t interfere in the island’s affairs.
The Whitebeard Pirates simply guaranteed the island’s safety; Fish-Man Island’s internal politics and diplomacy were almost entirely autonomous, no different from a typical independent kingdom—even the annual protection fees Whitebeard had declined.
And so, as residents of Fish-Man Island, they too would try their best to maintain the island’s peace and not cause trouble for the Whitebeard Pirates.
Hearing this news, Burufaruto also rubbed his chin. As a Fish-Man himself, naturally he didn’t want to cause chaos on Fish-Man Island either.
“Roar~ The Navy actually coming here, that’s really rare~”
“Yeah.”
“And it’s not just the Navy. I glimpsed from afar that there seemed to be some other people on the warship. Those guys weren’t wearing Navy uniforms, looked all secretive.”
The old Fish-Man added, though in his heart he actually didn’t like those humans in white clothes setting foot on Fish-Man Island.
“Not in uniform… Navy higher-ups or World Government people?”
Burufaruto murmured softly.
“I’m not sure either, but from their status, they don’t seem simple. At least King Neptune is treating them very cautiously…”
“Yeah, got it.”
“Then, we’ll wait here for your good news.”
No longer dwelling on the Navy matter, Burufaruto turned his head and shouted toward the ship:
“Jinbe, have you packed your things? Any plans?”
“All packed, Brother Burufaruto.”
Thud!
With that, a round, plump figure jumped down from the deck, with an even bigger and rounder bundle strapped to his back.
“Brother Burufaruto, I want to head back to the Fish-Man District first for now, and plan the rest later.”
“Then we’ll part ways here for now.”
“Alright, be careful on the rest of your journey.”
Burufaruto wasn’t sentimental and nodded decisively in farewell.
“Yeah, I know. Thanks, everyone.”
Jinbe nodded too, then looked at the old Fish-Man who was already staring in stunned silence nearby.
“Long time no see, old man.”
“Eh! Jin-Jin-Ji… Jinbe?!”
The old Fish-Man clearly hadn’t recognized Jinbe at first glance. After all, he’d only met Jinbe a few times, and back then the other was just a child of a few years old.
His impression of Jinbe was still from a few years ago, when he’d seen the still young Jinbe looking so pitifully hungry that he gave him two pieces of bread.
But after taking the bread, unlike the other Fish-Man District kids who would snatch and run or wolf it down on the spot… he solemnly thanked him first and promised to repay this favor someday before leaving with the bread.
To be honest, it was the first time the old Fish-Man had seen the word “gratitude” in a child from the Fish-Man District, and it made him remember the other’s name—Jinbe.
Looking at the Jinbe before him, now towering over him, blue and fat and burly, the old Fish-Man nodded happily.
It seemed Burufaruto really hadn’t lied to him; these orphans he’d taken away had indeed been well cared for.
“You’ve grown so big already!”
“Good, good!”
The old Fish-Man patted the other’s sturdy arm, his eyes full of smiles.
“After all, I’ve been well taken care of under Brother Burufaruto all these years. But you seem much thinner than back then.”
Jinbe said with concern. He hadn’t forgotten this old man who’d given him a meal’s worth of kindness.
“Haha, that’s just how it is when you get old.”
“Didn’t expect after all these years, you still remember an old man like me.”
“Of course I remember! The two pieces of bread you gave me back then not only saved my life, but also my companion’s. I won’t forget this favor even in my next life!”
…
Compared to this heartwarming reunion here, the atmosphere in Fish-Man Island’s royal city—Ryugu Palace—was far less harmonious.
In the ornate and spacious royal palace hall, there were only four people present. For some reason, the usual maids and guards had all been kept outside, and even Queen Otohime had been told to stay in her chambers.
“King Neptune, that Fish-Man is a slave who escaped from the Holy Land Celestial Dragons. You should understand what that means.”
Standing in the center of the hall, a voice devoid of emotion said coldly.
“Mm…”
Looking at the man in a white suit wearing a strange mask in front of him, and the two Navy officers in justice coats standing behind him, King Neptune didn’t reply.
As the former Great Knight and current king of the Dragon Palace Kingdom, he merely furrowed his brows deeply.
“…”
“What… do you want?”
After a long silence, King Neptune on the throne finally spoke with difficulty.
The other represented the World Government’s top echelon—the Celestial Dragons. Fish-Man Island had to handle this cautiously.
Even though his friend had promised protection for the island, that didn’t mean King Neptune could ignore the faces of other factions… especially the World Government.
Grateful as he was for his friend’s goodwill, he also didn’t want to cause trouble for him.
So even if these people took his subjects as slaves, or brazenly demanded things from him… he still couldn’t show any dissatisfaction or hostility.
“I need Fish-Man Island to fully cooperate in hunting down that escaped Fish-Man slave. You must catch him within three days.”
“…”
“Sigh… I understand.”
