Chapter 54: I’m Just A Seven Warlords Member Acting On A Whim
Sea Knight, Jinbe.
This man made his decision.
Or rather, under the compensation conditions offered by Elus, this Whale Shark Fish-Man who had devoted his entire life to Fish-Man Island had no room to refuse at all; he accepted the World Government’s invitation to become a Seven Warlord for Fish-Man Island.
Now preparing to abandon the title of Seven Warlord was also for Fish-Man Island.
“Whitebeard Old Man, I am truly extremely sorry······”
Jinbe knelt on the ground, knelt on the deck of the Moby Dick, knelt before Whitebeard, tears gushing out of his eye sockets like a waterfall.
In front of Whitebeard, he promised Elus that after Whitebeard’s death, Fish-Man Island would accept the Black Prince’s protection, doing such an ‘eat inside and crawl outside’ thing; the immeasurable shame was almost crushing Jinbe.
But,
There was no way!
Nowadays, humans are the rulers of this world; for Fish-Man Island to continue existing, it has no choice but to rely on some powerful human force. Whitebeard Old Man’s body has always been Jinbe’s worry; for Whitebeard Old Man’s physical health, Jinbe has been secretly helping the Whitebeard Pirates, continuously repelling those Pirate Supernovas who wanted to challenge Whitebeard.
However, such behavior only treats the symptoms, not the root cause.
How much longer can Whitebeard Old Man’s body hold out?
Once Whitebeard Old Man can no longer hold on, what will happen to Fish-Man Island?
Will it have to rely on other Pirate Emperors again?
These questions have always been troubling him.
Elus’s appearance was like a ray of light piercing through the darkness; a young Overlord not even twenty years old—if he could really continue to maintain peace and tranquility for Fish-Man Island······ impossible to refuse! Even if such behavior is tantamount to betraying Whitebeard Old Man.
He could not, and did not dare, refuse this outstretched olive branch.
After all, this was an excessively young New World Overlord.
“What are you saying? Jinbe, isn’t Fish-Man Island still my territory right now?”
“But, Whitebeard Old Man······”
“An uncertain future has little value to pirates; so-called pirates are all guys living in the present, gura la la la!!!” Whitebeard burst into laughter; he had no intention of blaming Jinbe for his choice.
Fish-Man Island.
Back then, he had only saved it out of chivalry.
Or rather, Whitebeard actually had little desire for so-called territory; the reason he lent out his flag to continuously develop territory was simply because without doing so, he couldn’t meet the survival needs of the increasingly massive Pirate Crew.
Fish-Man Island is still his territory now; as long as he lives one more day, the Whitebeard Pirates’ flag will fly over Fish-Man Island for one more day.
As for,
What happens after his death,
That shouldn’t be his concern.
Why should a dead man worry about the living?
Moreover, Jinbe was never a subordinate of the Whitebeard Pirates, but his friend; from a friend’s standpoint, the choice Jinbe made was indeed quite reasonable.
“Whitebeard Old Man······!!!”
Jinbe choked up.
This man,
Carried too heavy a burden on his shoulders.
What rested on his shoulders was—the rise and fall of his own race; he couldn’t act recklessly following his emotions; his reason always firmly suppressed his feelings. If, if there were no Brother Tiger’s dying wish, if there were no Queen Otohime’s legacy, if the relationship between Fish-Man Island and humans weren’t so tense······
Unfortunately, there are no so many ifs; his life was built bit by bit from these things—without them, there wouldn’t be the current Jinbe.
He was destined to be unable to unload the heavy burden on his shoulders.
“I can abandon the title of Seven Warlord, but······ I also hope that Your Highness the Black Prince doesn’t deceive me.” Wiping away his tears, Jinbe said no more to Whitebeard Old Man.
Anyway. He had already made up his mind.
As long as he waits until Fish-Man Island no longer needs him, then his life, everything he has, will be dedicated to Whitebeard Old Man.
So,
Jinbe looked at Elus, this guy who promised to bring peace and tranquility to Fish-Man Island.
“Also, if I publicly declare abandoning my Seven Warlord identity, it will inevitably provoke dissatisfaction from the World Government and the Navy. Although given the current New World situation, they may not send troops to crusade against a traitor like me, Fish-Man Island could be sanctioned by the World Government.”
Fish-Man Island is the hub connecting the New World and Paradise.
Although the influx of pirates once brought serious damage to Fish-Man Island, it must be admitted that by leveraging the advantage of this strategic location and taxing passing merchant ships, the Ryugu Kingdom has been able to maintain Fish-Man Island’s prosperity and flourishing.
If the World Government sets up heavy barriers in Paradise, in Sabaody Archipelago, to control trade between Paradise and the New World.
Not to mention that the New World is vast enough, with internal circulation alone making the World Government’s restrictions ineffective; but Fish-Man Island, located at the edge of the New World, will inevitably suffer a huge impact. Without exchange with Paradise, aside from slave traders, few people like diving into the deep sea to visit a territory of a different race that doesn’t particularly like humans.
“······Fish-Man Island can’t withstand too much turmoil now; if because I abandon the Seven Warlord identity, it instead brings trouble to Fish-Man Island······”
Jinbe explained very clearly.
The Seven Warlord title on his head, besides the World Government and Navy’s recognition of his strength, had another important reason: to strengthen harmony between races, thereby weakening the hatred and hostility toward humans from various races including the Giant Race.
Sea Knight is a signboard.
A signboard proving that the World Government does not discriminate against races other than humans.
So,
His Seven Warlord title really couldn’t be settled just by saying “I’m done”; the World Government wouldn’t allow the signboard it established to just fall like that.
“I’ll handle the communication with the World Government side.”
Elus said calmly: “Mister Jinbe, please don’t forget, I am not a pirate! Eckmond Kingdom is a World Government Member Nation, not a pirate kingdom like Whole Cake Island, and······ I am recently planning to visit relatives on the Red Line.”
“Mister Jinbe, interested in going to the Red Line for a visit?”
Elus issued an invitation.
“Ah?”
————
After bidding farewell to the Whitebeard Pirates, the fleet flying the Golden Coffee Tree Flag advanced toward the next supply point guided by the Log Pose.
Compared to when they came, there was now one special guest on this fleet.
“Your Highness Elus, I have a question······ thank you!”
The Whale Shark Fish-Man practicing Fish-Man Karate on the deck finished his session; he took the towel handed over by the maid, said “thank you,” then while wiping the sweat from his temples with the towel, looked at Elus who was playing cards with the maids and attendants, and continued the question that had been interrupted.
“I have a question I haven’t figured out; I wonder if Your Highness Elus can clarify it for me?”
He walked to the side of the card table.
“What question?”
Elus held a rotten hand of cards, furrowed his brows, pondering how to play.
This was a very normal card game.
No use of any extraordinary means or abilities; purely a battle of luck and card skills.
These maids and attendants all frequently played cards with Elus, each having honed impressive card skills; after all, during this long sea voyage, they couldn’t just stay in bed every day acting as human pile drivers, right? That would be too disharmonious.
After rounds of screening and trials, playing cards became Elus’s favorite entertainment activity during sea voyages.
Thus,
Not only did Elus’s own card skills improve by leaps and bounds, but the maids and attendants who had long served by his side also became experts in this; moreover, they knew very well that His Highness the Prince hated deliberate tanking in card games the most.
So,
Elus, who had bad luck and drew a rotten hand, had a bit of a headache.
“Why would a figure like Your Excellency be interested in the Seven Warlords? Although now some people hype that the Navy, Four Emperors, and Seven Warlords are the three major forces of the Grand Line, in fact, Your Excellency knows very well, right? Without Mihawk Your Excellency’s joining, the so-called Seven Warlords actually can’t compare to the Navy Headquarters and Four Emperors at all!”
“Even now, half of the Seven Warlords’ reputation is upheld by Mihawk Your Excellency.”
“Such a thing has no use at all for a figure like Your Excellency who can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Four Emperors, right? Why······ go to such lengths to scheme for a Seven Warlord identity?”
Jinbe, having vented the pent-up feelings in his chest in one go, saw the gloomy clouds over his brows dissipate, revealing a very refreshed expression.
Ever since the conversation with Elus on the deck of the Moby Dick ended,
This question had weighed on his mind, leaving him puzzled; today he could no longer endure it and finally asked the question that had been suppressed in his heart for several days.
“Tch! Damn, lost again; three losses in a row today.”
Elus angrily tossed away his rotten hand of cards.
The macarons piled on the table were divided by the winners; the little maid who loved sweet sweets the most grinned from ear to ear—these were the highest-grade macarons specially made by the kitchen for His Highness, with top-tier ingredients and top-tier chefs.
Playing cards!
There has to be some stakes.
But Elus didn’t like putting cash on the table.
For him, playing cards was always just entertainment.
Instead, there were all sorts of quirky little items: maybe delicious sweets, maybe pretty seashells; sometimes the stakes were intangible things like decision-making rights for dinner.
Elus called for a break in the card game; he sat in the chair, holding the strawberry-flavored smoothie brought by Fran, eating it while looking at Jinbe who refused the smoothie, “Right, Jinbe, what did you say earlier······ ah! Why scheme for the Seven Warlord identity, right?”
Jinbe nodded.
Standing on the deck, like a small hill.
“After Your Highness Elus’s battle with BIG·MOM, news of the New World Fifth Overlord has already dominated all newspaper headlines; now even obtaining the Seven Warlord title would at most be icing on the cake for you.”
“Moreover, if the Seven Warlord system is ever overturned, it might even backfire; voices in the World Government and Navy opposing the establishment of the Seven Warlord system have never disappeared.”
Jinbe said word by word.
He couldn’t understand what attraction the Seven Warlord identity held for Elus?
“······Jinbe, has anyone ever said your personality is a bit······ rigid?”
“······Sachi said I am too rule-abiding.”
“Well! Pretty much the same meaning.”
Elus took a bite of the smoothie before continuing: “Jinbe, your way of thinking is very realistic; to put it bluntly, too utilitarian. Humans······ um, representing all humans is a bit much; personally, I don’t always act purely from practicality.”
“Jinbe, do you have dreams?”
“The kind unrelated to Fish-Man Island or the Fish-Man race, just your own little dreams?”
Jinbe blinked his eyes, shook his head in slight bewilderment, then nodded again.
“This shaking and nodding······” Elus rolled his eyes.
“No, I mean······ that······”
Jinbe felt a bit embarrassed.
He took a deep breath, calming his mind disrupted by Elus, regained his composure; looking at Elus who was enjoying the smoothie, for a moment he didn’t know what to say. Dreams······ how long had it been since he heard that word?
“I think I understand what Your Highness Elus means.”
“The Seven Warlords are······ something like dreams; pursuing this identity isn’t from the perspective of interest, but from a completely different angle······”
“It’s interest!”
Elus put down his bowl and spoon, wiped his mouth clean, “Humans or Fish-Men, different individuals have different interests and hobbies; some like suicide, some like collecting sons, some like getting married and having sons, some like people giving them face······ Compared to that, wanting to try what it’s like to be a member of the Seven Warlords shouldn’t be a very strange hobby, right?”
Jinbe blinked his eyes speechlessly.
What kind of ridiculous examples are these!
Beasts, Whitebeard, BIG·MOM······ all using these big shots to scare people.
However,
“Who likes people giving him face? Is it······ Red-Haired?” Associating the identities of the other three in these examples, it wasn’t hard to guess the fourth; just “likes people giving him face—Red-Haired has such a strange hobby?”
Jinbe felt a bit dazed.
It felt like he had learned some incredibly important intelligence!
“I’m just a Seven Warlord driven by interest······ haha! Just kidding!” Elus told an old joke from memory, amusing himself into laughter, completely ignoring Jinbe’s crazy-person look.
