Chapter 81: "Absentee Monarchy" Is Only a Matter of Time
For a long time in the past, Fish-man Island had been stuck in a vicious cycle.
People who stayed on Fish-man Island found it hard to become strong. Those who went out to adventure faced danger, but some strong individuals would more or less emerge.
However, the strong individuals who ventured out basically had no intention of returning to Fish-man Island, and no one had the ability to unite those scattered people.
But now, such a person had appeared.
Nereus's own martial power filled a huge void in Fish-man Island, and he gathered those scattered kinsmen together.
Nereus couldn't find a clue on how to cultivate a civil official, but he knew exactly how to train a batch of combat-ready soldiers.
He didn't even need to rack his brain over training methods. Fish-man Island was a country with a long history, and one of the few countries with a systematic, unique combat style suitable for the entire race.
It wasn't a unique racial talent like the flames of the Lunarian Tribe or the Sulong (Moon Lion) form of the Mink Tribe, but a power that everyone could cultivate, like the "Spear of Elbaf" of the Giant Kingdom.
These ordinary soldiers didn't need to be trained too strongly; Nereus didn't intend to train them all to the level of Marine officers.
With a little training, reaching a level worth a bounty of ten or twenty million Berries, combined with some large Sea Beasts, would be enough to handle underwater patrol missions.
"Me!"
"Big Bro! Me!"
"And me!"
After Nereus stated his purpose, the response was very good. Many people showed eagerness to try, wanting to follow him to do something big.
The most ambitious and adventurous group had mostly traveled overseas one after another after hearing Nereus's name, joining Nereus's command.
Of the remaining people, some were too young and were sent back by Nereus.
Some didn't want to leave Fish-man Island to wander outside all day.
Now that Nereus had returned to Fish-man Island and was recruiting for the Neptune Army operating within the Fish-man Island area, this gave more people the idea of participating.
"Quiet down! Let me finish! The new Neptune Army is different from the army in your perception. After joining, you will need to undergo rigorous training, and life will be hard.
Think carefully about whether you have this resolve! Tiger, these are the specific recruitment standards. Work hard for a few days and promote this well in the Fish-man District. Those who intend to sign up will gather at the Sea Forest in three days for the initial review."
The specific standards were handed over to Tiger by Nereus. The literacy level of the Fish-man District was the worst in the entire Fish-man Island; literacy rates were hard to evaluate, and some things had to be read out by others.
"Eligible personnel aged 18-35..."
"Training content includes Fish-man Karate and Fish-man Jujutsu... Those with outstanding performance will be personally taught Haki by His Majesty Nereus..."
"This salary... is three times that of the past Neptune Army..."
Nereus didn't expect a group of people to join recklessly just by shouting slogans for the country and the race.
Although past Fish-man Island could still exist in the deep sea, the sense of national and ethnic belonging wasn't very high. This needed to be re-cultivated, something perhaps only the next generation of young soldiers would possess.
Rather than a series of empty slogans, it was better to improve the treatment of the Neptune Army first. Instead of letting those treasures lie in the treasury, better to let them play a bigger role.
Anyway, given Fish-man Island's location, there were plenty of ways to make money.
After finishing his trip to the Fish-man District, Nereus returned to Ryugu Palace and arranged for personnel to transport the people brought out from the Sabaody Archipelago, who had already been investigated, to Delta Island.
However, before this ship departed, Nereus had to ask a few people about their thoughts.
"You guys, do you want to live on Delta Island or stay here on Fish-man Island?"
"Kuma-chi and I discussed it. We still want to see that island on the surface."
"That's fine too. You and Kuma should go to school first when you get there. The schools there will teach you what you should learn."
Nereus himself traveled back and forth frequently. He had just taken over Fish-man Island recently, but once a stable operating model was established, he wouldn't stay on Fish-man Island all the time.
He had no interest in things like a constitutional monarchy right now, but an "absentee monarchy" model was inevitable.
It was reasonable for Ginny and Kuma to choose an island on the surface.
And Nereus would have to go there soon too; he wanted to find a few ready-made teachers from the schools there to bring over.
Compared to Fish-man Island, Nereus had been managing Delta Island longer, and there were many ready-made human resources to mobilize.
Brook and Luna chose to stay on Fish-man Island, or accurately speaking, to follow Nereus's actions.
"I will train you two together when the time comes. Life won't be easy, so be prepared."
Even for the Mink Tribe, Nereus had training methods. Taijutsu and such were common. As for discharging electricity, he happened to have an Electric Ray Mermaid under his command—Rachel from the patrol team earlier.
There were commonalities between the two. The only thing Luna could only rely on herself for was the Mink Tribe's Sulong form.
As for Brook...
Nereus really wasn't sure how to train the Revive-Revive Fruit, so he could only provide a general idea.
"My people will go to the first half of the Grand Line recently. It's very close to the Twin Capes, so you can go with them."
"Mr. Nereus, may I ask... are there ships sailing in the New World?"
"Of course there are, but why do you ask?"
"Actually, our agreement back then... was to visit Laboon again after circumnavigating the Grand Line. This is also what my partners wanted to see.
Compared to going back now, I want to fulfill this agreement properly. This is also what my partners would want to see."
"That works too, but you'll have to wait a while longer."
After roughly arranging the actions of different people, Nereus went to the treasury again. Nanamo and Hermes remembered Nereus's reminder, and no one touched the Tamatebako.
However, Nanamo looked as if she intended to sleep right there tonight. Nereus didn't mind her; he just emptied the water inside Ryugu Palace.
Because of the bubble coating, Ryugu Palace could already switch freely between aquatic and non-aquatic environments.
Nereus himself was an ability user, plus non-underwater races like Amphelite and Luna were living with him in Ryugu Palace, so the environment naturally needed significant changes.
Three days passed quickly. Preliminary preparations in the Fish-man District were completed, and many young adults were heading to the Sea Forest in an orderly manner under Tiger's leadership.
However, Nereus arrived even earlier. He only brought Nanamo, a few old subordinates, and the previously tamed Sea Beasts and Fighting Fish.
At this moment, Nereus was looking thoughtfully at the two Poneglyphs in front of him.
"Papa, what's written on these?"
"The red one is a Road Poneglyph. The other one is Joy Boy's letter of apology to the Mermaid Princess and Fish-man Island. Speaking of which, these two stones... might make good weapons."
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