The calm surface of the sea bulged, then blew apart as a huge bubble burst out of it.
A Marine warship punched up through the water, its coating popping and shattering as it met open air. The sea roared for a moment, then slowly smoothed out again.
"Finally! Back up here!" Donquixote Mjosgard sucked in the salty air like he'd been suffocating. With no bubble helmet, this was the best he could do.
"That damned Fishman Island," he muttered, scrunching his nose. "Smelled like fish the whole time. I'm never going back."
Jin and the Marines said nothing, though in their heads the same quiet thought floated by.
You didn't go 'visit'. You shipwrecked and got washed there, you clown…
"Set course for the Holy Land," Jin ordered.
"Understood." Kuro headed below to relay it to the helm.
"Bring my slaves up," Mjosgard added lazily.
"Yes, Lord Mjosgard." The two CP9 agents hurried off. A few minutes later, they were dragging a chain of fish-men onto the deck—Hody Jones, Hyouzou, Daruma, Dosun, and the rest of the officers.
"Hehehe…" Mjosgard walked along the line until he stood in front of a battered hammerhead fishman. "You. You're the one who hit me back there, aren't you?"
Hody and the others spat and cursed.
"Damn Marines!" Hody roared. "Damn Celestial Dragon! If you've got any guts, kill us clean, one-on-one!"
"Shut up," Mjosgard snapped, and kicked one of them—Hyouzou? Dosun?—full in the face.
Teeth and blood splattered across the deck. The fishman choked and coughed, eyes rolling.
"I told you already," Mjosgard said, voice going thin and cruel. "You won't die quickly. I'll take my time. Bit by bit… until you die screaming."
"Cowards!" Hody howled. "Marines! Kill me! Don't leave me to this pig!"
Jin exhaled a smoke ring. "Sorry," he said mildly. "You've already been bought by Lord Mjosgard. You're not ours anymore.
"Not my department."
"You'll die for this, Marine!" Hody spat, eyes burning. "You demon! You won't—"
"Line starts behind a lot of people," Jin cut him off.
"Silence." Mjosgard drew his gold pistol and aimed at another fishman—Liar.
Bang.
The shot punched into the thick muscle at the top of Liar's thigh. The fishman screamed so loud half the deck flinched.
"Damn you, Celestial Dragon!" one of the officers roared, eyes going red.
"I said slow," Mjosgard replied, smiling.
Tokikake couldn't stand to watch. He turned away, jaw tight.
Kuro and Jin stayed where they were, watching with cold, detached eyes.
"So this is how Celestial Dragons 'train' their slaves," Jin murmured. "Huh. I always heard stories, but seeing it up close has a different flavour."
"Before I followed you," Kuro said quietly, "I was just playing at being strong. Now I feel like I'm finally learning how this world actually works."
Jin looked sideways at him. "Regretting it?"
Kuro smiled, thin and sharp. "Not even a little. You gave me the power to survive in a world that eats people. I'd regret not running into you sooner."
Jin barked a laugh. "Then keep getting stronger. This ocean's fun as hell. Tons of 'interesting things' we haven't even bumped into yet."
"Interesting things, huh…" Kuro laughed too.
Down below, Tokikake could be heard muttering, "Two lunatics."
An hour later, the warship neared the Red Line.
The towering red cliff of the Holy Land rose in front of them. At the base, a landing dock was already crowded with CP agents and nobles in bubble helmets.
Mjosgard squinted toward the shore. His face darkened. "Damn. Why is Charlos here? That idiot must've come just to laugh at me…"
Jin glanced over the rail.
On the dock, a pudgy eleven- or twelve-year-old in a space suit and glass bubble was perched on the shoulders of a two-meter-tall human slave, swinging his legs, gun dangling from one hand.
Just looking at him was annoying.
"Then don't give him anything to laugh at," Jin said. "You didn't shipwreck. You went 'inspecting Fishman Island'. You found a new pirate group there and crushed them on a whim."
Mjosgard blinked.
He looked at the chained fish-men, then back at Jin… and slowly, a smug grin spread across his face.
"Yes. Yes! I was on inspection," he said, nodding to himself. "I discovered a band of fish-men forming a pirate crew… and I crushed them. Hahaha!"
Everyone else stared at Jin like he'd grown a second head.
He just shrugged. "What? Money's not in my hands yet."
"Oh," Tokikake muttered. That made sense.
The ship docked. The gangplank fell with a heavy thud.
"Hey, Mjosgard!" Charlos shouted as soon as he saw him. "I heard you got into a shipwreck and drifted to Fishman Island! You embarrassed us, you know! Hahaha!"
Mjosgard's smile vanished. "Shut up, Charlos! Who told you I was in a shipwreck?"
He gave the chain of fish-men a jerk and stepped aside proudly. "Look closely. I was on official inspection, and I found fish-men forming a pirate crew. I took them down myself."
"These are…?" Charlos peered at the chained fish-men.
"Fishman pirate slaves," Mjosgard said, puffing out his chest. "Much better than your half-dead commoners, don't you think?"
Charlos looked down at the slave he was sitting on—skinny, sHaking, barely still breathing. Then at the fish-men—huge, muscular, feral.
"Wow… Mjosgard, you really went to Fishman Island?" he asked, eyes shining. "And you caught these all by yourself?"
"Of course I did," Mjosgard said loftily. "Oh, and…"
He snapped his fingers. A butler-like attendant hurried forward with three heavy cases and set them in front of Jin.
"Here, Marine," Mjosgard said. "Your fee. Three hundred million berries. Hard work deserves proper payment."
"What's that?" Charlos demanded.
"Idiot," Mjosgard said scornfully. "These Marines helped me round up the pirates. This is their reward."
"Oh…" Charlos looked at the fish-men slaves again, then at his own pathetic mount. Jealousy twisted his face.
"Marine!" he barked. "I order you to catch me slaves like this too! I want strong ones!"
Jin hefted one of the cases, satisfied with the weight. "Of course, Lord Charlos. Next time I run into suitable pirates, I'll capture them and contact you."
"Good, good." Charlos pointed at his butler. "Give him a Den Den Mushi."
The butler produced a small white snail and handed it over. Jin tucked that one away with the others.
"In that case," he said, bowing slightly, "I'll go report back to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, my lords."
"Go, go," Mjosgard said, delighted. "If you're ever in the Holy Land, do come pay me a visit."
The warship pulled away from the dock. They weren't even out of earshot when a gunshot cracked.
Jin glanced back in time to see the slave under Charlos crumple in a heap of blood, while both Celestial Dragons laughed loudly.
He looked away.
"This is how things are," he said quietly. "If I don't eat people, people eat me."
He flipped one of the cases open and pulled out a handful of stacks. "One hundred million," he said, handing the whole case to a nearby squad leader. "Split it among the men. And when we get back, keep their mouths shut."
The lieutenant hesitated. "Sir, this is…"
Jin gave him a lazy look. "Take it. Spread it around. Then make sure no one talks out of turn."
The man glanced at Tokikake.
Tokikake sighed and nodded. "Do as the admiral says."
"Yes, sir." The lieutenant saluted. "We'll distribute it and make sure everyone understands."
Jin turned to Tokikake and Kuro, holding up the other two cases. "I'm fair. Out of these two hundred million, I'm taking fifty. You two split the rest—seventy-five each."
"No complaints," Kuro said.
"I'll take it," Tokikake added immediately. "Before Sengoku decides he 'confiscates' it."
Down on deck, cheers erupted.
"Long live Rear Admiral 'White Ghost' Jin!"
"Shut up!" the squad leader barked. "Be quiet! And when we get back, all of you keep this to yourselves!"
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/StrawHatStudios