Among the Four Emperors, Kaido was the only one who showed no real interest in the matter.
He glanced at the news once, then turned back to drinking.
In that guy's eyes, only the Kozuki clan's prophecy and Joy Boy mattered.
The ones who reacted the most violently were, without question, the nobles of various countries.
For these indulgent, pleasure-soaked parasites, owning a mermaid slave was a huge status symbol.
Otherwise, mermaids wouldn't have been priced so outrageously in the first place.
And as everyone knew, the nobles of the One Piece world were basically all a little unhinged.
Oguro had just announced that no one was allowed to harm fish-men or merfolk… and almost immediately, some nobles contacted Water 7.
"Hahaha! Your country's King Oguro is truly impressive. Taking Fish-Man Island, such a blessed land, without a sound. Congratulations indeed!"
This came from an old noble of some unknown small country.
He asked excitedly, "I want to buy a young mermaid as a slave. The one I used to keep at home is already old, so I threw her away. What's your price?"
"Don't worry! I know the rules. I won't tell anyone I bought her from you!"
Iceburg received no fewer than twenty such calls.
There were even quite a few people who wanted fish-men to serve as gladiators to make money for them.
In the eyes of these nobles, fish-men and merfolk were nothing but livestock, things they could dispose of however they pleased.
In their view, Oguro annexing Fish-Man Island was simply to fully monopolize this particular "slave commodity."
The news quickly reached Oguro.
He was so angry he actually laughed.
Human discrimination against fish-men and merfolk was deeply ingrained.
Even with him standing firmly behind them, plenty of people still didn't take it seriously.
Oguro spoke coldly to Iceburg.
"Write down the names of everyone who contacted you and send the list to Lucci. Have him visit them personally and teach those nobles what 'proper conduct' means."
"Especially that bastard who admitted to keeping a mermaid slave. I didn't go after these people myself, which already counts as mercy!"
"Since he refuses to take my words seriously and insists on charging straight into the gun barrel, then we'll use him as an example to warn the rest!"
Over the next few days, a string of noble attacks occurred across the first half of the Grand Line.
On Oguro's orders, those responsible didn't hide their identities at all. They openly declared that this was a warning from the Holy Sacred Spirit Empire.
The old noble who had openly bragged about killing a mermaid slave was found dead in his study.
His corpse was kneeling on the floor, facing the direction of Fish-Man Island.
On his desk lay a confession written in his own handwriting.
Judging from the crooked, distorted script, it was almost certainly not written willingly.
The Holy Sacred Spirit Empire's actions struck everyone like a club to the head.
Only then did they realize that Oguro wasn't just talking. He really would kill.
In just a few days, more than half of the slave-hunting crews lurking around Fish-Man Island disappeared.
After all, the strength of the Holy Sacred Spirit Empire was common knowledge.
They weren't something a bunch of small-time nobodies could afford to provoke.
However, this also caused the prices of fish-men and merfolk in the slave market to skyrocket, increasing more than tenfold.
Money moved people's hearts.
There would always be those unafraid of death, eager to gamble on this once-in-a-lifetime fortune.
Oguro never expected that a single declaration and a few executions would completely wipe out the slavers.
All he could do was kill them the moment they were caught… and keep killing until fear was carved into their bones.
The Holy Sacred Spirit Empire's actions enraged many nations.
They jointly appealed to the World Government, demanding retaliation on their behalf.
Unfortunately, the World Government put on a good show verbally, issuing a severe condemnation of the Holy Sacred Spirit Empire and threatening harsher measures if Oguro did not apologize.
Oguro, of course, ignored them entirely.
He wasn't a member nation of the World Government. What right did they have to control him?
Oguro ignored them, and the World Government pretended not to notice, falling completely silent.
After a few rounds of protest, those countries were secretly informed that if they wanted the World Government to take action, next year's Heavenly Tribute would be doubled.
This wasn't a pirate suppression operation… it was a war between nations.
One thing worth mentioning—
After Oguro's rampage at Marineford, his bounty had been sealed.
Yes, sealed.
Not canceled.
Canceling it would amount to openly admitting that the Marines or the World Government feared Oguro.
The Five Elders would never allow such humiliation, so they chose a compromise and sealed the bounty instead.
Oguro's evaluation at the time was just four words.
Self-deception.
The moment those kings heard the Heavenly Tribute would double, they immediately backed down.
A joke, really.
The Heavenly Tribute was already terrifyingly high.
Double it, and how was their country supposed to survive?
Besides, only a few useless old nobles had died.
Good riddance.
Their lands and accumulated wealth could be reclaimed by the state.
Two birds with one stone.
The outside world gradually quieted down.
Meanwhile, Fish-Man Island's relocation project progressed steadily.
Oguro set up an interdimensional gate on Fish-Man Island.
However, to avoid attracting the World Government's attention, only a handful of people knew of its existence.
Those fish-men and merfolk who wished to live on the surface still traveled by ship to Water 7.
As expected, they were secretly tailed more than ten times along the way.
All of them were slave-hunting crews hoping to gamble on easy riches.
Unfortunately for them, Oguro had already ordered Soi Fon to escort the Fish-Man Island residents.
Anyone encountered along the route with malicious intent was executed on the spot.
Soi Fon carried out Oguro's orders with absolute loyalty.
"Run! The 'One-Instant Thousand-Kill' is here!"
A slave-hunting crew screamed in terror, abandoning their ship and jumping straight into the sea.
Before their bodies even touched the water, a white figure flashed through the air.
Their heads tilted, and they dropped limply toward the ocean.
Before hitting the water, they were already corpses.
Soi Fon hovered in midair, coldly surveying the now lifeless slave ship.
In a single instant, she had eliminated everyone aboard.
"One-Instant Thousand-Kill" was the nickname those slavers had given her in their fear.
Soi Fon was actually quite satisfied with it.
It even sounded like it paired nicely with Yoruichi's "Flash Goddess."
All one could say was that the bond between that former master and servant was truly something else.
With a casual flick of her hand, Soi Fon fired Hado #33: Sōkatsui.
Boom!
The slave ship was completely swallowed by flames and sank beneath the sea.
When Soi Fon returned to the ship, she was met with the reverent gazes of the Fish-Man Island residents.
"Lady Soi Fon… can we become as strong as you someday?"
A rather tall fish-man asked respectfully, his eyes full of anticipation.
He was a new recruit of the Fish-Man Legion personally selected by Neptune and handed over to Oguro for training.
"Work hard," Soi Fon replied. "I'd actually like to see a few of you grow into warriors on my level."