Finally, the next day arrived. The three humans and one cat—four heads in total—huddled together, curiously staring at the front-page headline of the latest newspaper:
"Sun Pirates Captain, "Sea Hero" Jinbei, Invited to Join the Shichibukai!"
"So it's about this. Must have been proposed a while ago and only just finalized," Zhang Da Ye said, reshaping Tom's squashed head back into a round shape.
Tom's head had a fantastic texture—squash it, roll it, or mold it into a donkey head—it was better than clay.
Tom pushed Zhang Da Ye's meddling hands away in disgust, patting himself to restore his shape.
"Does this Jinbei have anything to do with that Vice Admiral?" Rui Meng Meng asked.
Zhang Da Ye explained: "Oh, you weren't here then. That Vice Admiral said his subordinates died trying to attack this pirate crew, but the original criminals became 'legitimate' pirates, which was hard to accept."
"Sounds pretty unfair."
"But the Vice Admiral was following orders to rescue slaves. It wasn't exactly fair—he and his subordinates were basically trapped by the World Nobles and the World Government," Zhang Da Ye added.
"So in that incident, the pirates weren't entirely wrong, and the navy wasn't entirely right. Complicated relationships," Rui Meng Meng noted.
"Pretty much. The news says that after Jinbei becomes a Shichibukai, all Sun Pirates members can choose to return to civilian life, and the previously captured members will be released. These past few days, Vice Admiral Kadarou and his team have probably been busy with that. For him, it must be quite a headache."
Zhang Da Ye remembered how Arlong had been released in a similar situation. He considered finding out the handover location to take care of him along the way, but realized Arlong was now innocent. Killing him before starting his own crew would make Zhang Da Ye a criminal—truly disgusting.
"Let's set that aside. The people trying to harm us haven't been caught yet. Today, we continue the fishing plan."
It had been five days since dealing with the organ traffickers, and still no sign of them. Surely they hadn't given up.
Defiant as always, Zhang Da Ye took Tom out alone, with Artoria secretly following.
Unfortunately, from morning to noon, nobody showed up.
During lunch, the headline naturally became the hot topic.
Some believed the Shichibukai were forces under the World Government that could reduce pirates. Others thought adding a "legal pirate" wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Even Uncle Goodman, who surprisingly visited Zhang Da Ye's tavern, joined the discussion:
"Kid, did you see today's news?"
"The Shichibukai one? Yeah." Zhang Da Ye first placed two plates of cold dishes in front of him, watched him eat a little, then poured a bottle of low-alcohol, tasty wine.
Last time, Mrs. Molly secretly instructed him to look after Goodman if he came for a drink—such a heartwarming trust.
Goodman downed his wine in one gulp: "Sigh, another pirate allowed to legally plunder. I wonder how the island will handle it."
Zhang Da Ye said, "Whether he becomes a Shichibukai doesn't affect us ordinary people much, right?"
"Yeah, but he's a fishman. You know how fishmen are treated here. He might take the chance for revenge."
If it were someone like Arlong becoming a Shichibukai, he might seek revenge, like destroying Sabaody Park. But Jinbei wouldn't do that.
That chubby blue guy spent his life protecting Fishman Island. He wouldn't do things that would worsen humans' hatred of fishmen.
Zhang Da Ye asked, "Uncle, do you dislike fishmen too?"
Goodman looked at him strangely: "Of course not. I'm a shipwright."
"What does that have to do with being a shipwright?"
"The world's best shipwright, Tom, is a fishman. How could I dislike fishmen?"
"Meow?" Tom peeked in, hearing his name.
"Not you," Zhang Da Ye pushed him back.
Goodman continued: "Kid, don't hold prejudices. Just like humans, fishmen can be good or bad. Some are like Tom, others like vicious pirate fishmen. But most stories you hear are about the violent ones, which is why people think they're brutal."
Zhang Da Ye nodded. Uncle Goodman understood things. Kind fishmen mostly live quietly on Fishman Island. Even if they come out like Camieto see the world, they sneak around. Only fishmen who become pirates to plunder are naturally troublemakers.
"Uncle, if—just hypothetically—we meet violent fishman pirates, call me. Our tavern's guards are insanely strong. One can fight dozens."
"Haha, don't worry about me. Our dockworkers aren't pushovers either. Back when I was young, one of us could handle dozens easily."
Goodman thought, even if a den-den mushi call for help was needed, it would be to the navy, or maybe Zhang Da Ye, to be ready for evacuation.
Seeing he wasn't paying attention, Zhang Da Ye grew a bit anxious. Arlong's crew claimed ten times human strength… but these dockworkers didn't seem ordinary either. Their strength probably rivaled fishmen.
If Arlong's gang caused trouble there, even some of their officers might be defeated.
Better exercise at the seaside these two days anyway. Feels like Uncle Goodman is setting a flag. Zhang Da Ye decided, also creating more opportunities for whoever wanted to harm him.
"Uncle, you've had enough."
"It's just a little wine. You're getting as naggy as Molly," Goodman joked.
"I'll tell her exactly that."
"Better not…"
Two days later, in the morning, Tom lay half-reclined on a beach chair with a fishing rod, yawning. The warm sun made him feel lazy.
But the crackling noise nearby kept him from sleeping—it was Zhang Da Ye and Rui Meng Meng sparring with bamboo swords.
Snap! Rui Meng Meng's bamboo sword broke in half; the two paused.
"Broken again. Want to switch to real swords?" Zhang Da Ye sighed.
Their strength had increased recently. Bamboo swords could only be used to practice moves; full-force sparring often broke them. Previously, they seemed quite resilient.
Using real swords against each other was risky, reducing training effectiveness.
Tom, frustrated, tapped the armrest with his fingers.
Because the flying broken swords kept hitting him, no matter where he moved, it seemed like they targeted him specifically.
His eyes rolled up, staring at the "Himalaya" dent above his head, feeling like crying.
Brrr brrr brrr…Kacha.
Zhang Da Ye pulled out a den-den mushi and answered. Inside was Kemi's voice:
"Brother Da Ye, it's Camie! I snuck out again. Can I come find you?"