Yuba, a small port town.
Unlike Oilflower, a bustling port city famous for its perfumes, Yuba was just an unremarkable seaside town. Calling it a village wouldn't be an exaggeration, with a permanent population of only a little over a hundred people.
Few outsiders visited here. Most of the residents made their living by fishing, and their lives were peaceful and stable.
But on this morning, the people preparing to go out to sea to fish suddenly noticed something strange on the water.
Through their telescopes, they saw a broken-down, medium-sized sailboat heading towards their harbor.
"Hey, hey, hey, why would a big ship come here?"
"Is it a pirate ship?"
"Doesn't look like it, there's no skull and crossbones flag."
"The Marines?"
"Don't be silly, that ship looks like it's about to sink, one of the masts is broken!"
"Could it be a refugee ship?"
"Maybe, as long as it's not pirates, it's easy to deal with. Let's go rescue them!"
"..."
The people of Alabasta have always been kind and welcoming, and the fishermen of Yuba were no exception.
They quickly moved their small boats away from the dock, making room for the medium-sized sailboat.
Then, two experienced fishermen, holding flags, waved signals at the medium-sized sailboat to help the people on board dock.
Guided by the fishermen, the damaged, medium-sized sailboat came to a smooth stop.
A wooden plank was lowered from the deck and placed on the dock.
A group of about a dozen people, looking tired and strangely dressed, came off the ship.
Adding those who stayed on the ship, there were about thirty people in total.
Even though they had come from the sea, they were all wearing long robes, wrapping themselves up tightly, like travelers walking in the desert.
And those robes were clearly not proper clothes; they were torn and tattered.
At the same time, there was something else that the fishermen found concerning.
Among these people, some had normal builds, but others were excessively tall, their bulky figures intentionally hidden under the robes.
The townspeople were curious and gathered around.
The town head of Yuba was a respected old man with a long beard.
The old man approached and bowed slightly to the robe-wearing man at the front.
"Young travelers, welcome to Yuba in Alabasta. May I ask if you have encountered any trouble?"
The robe-wearing man took off his hood, revealing a tired and thin face.
"Hello, old sir, we didn't mean to intrude."
"My crew and I were attacked by pirates. Our ship is about to sink, and all our supplies were stolen."
"We need supplies and materials to repair the ship - we will pay for them. Please allow us to stay here for a short time."
Hearing this, the town head breathed a sigh of relief.
This young man was polite and clearly not a vicious pirate.
And judging by their appearances, they had obviously been adrift at sea for a long time and had suffered a lot.
The old man nodded repeatedly, "Of course, child, you can stay here as long as you need. Have your crew come down, I'll arrange lodging and food for you."
However, the young man shook his head repeatedly.
"No, it's best not to cause you any trouble, we'll just stay on the ship."
"This… alright then."
Seeing the young man insist, the town head didn't press the issue.
Then, he began to discuss the need for supplies and ship repair materials with the young man.
After all, Yuba was just a small town, and the liveliest place was the only tavern, so many of the supplies and ship repair materials needed to be purchased from the neighboring city.
…
Over here, the young man and the town head were talking.
On the other side, the townspeople were curious about the strange guests who had come from the sea.
A little girl secretly walked over and stood beside a tall, strange person.
The little girl was too small, and the tall, strange person was nervous, with his attention focused entirely on the young man and the town head, so he didn't notice her presence.
Curiously, she lifted a corner of the tall, strange person's robe and suddenly saw something.
"Wow!"
The little girl cried out in surprise, calling to her mother beside her, "Mommy, this uncle's skin is so weird, it's blue!"
Swish!
Hearing this, the atmosphere at the dock suddenly changed.
The tall, strange person quickly grabbed his robe, trying to run back to the ship.
The little girl wasn't paying attention and was knocked over by the robe, falling to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Ouch... that hurts..."
The tall, strange person turned around, seeming to want to help the little girl up.
The little girl's mother took a step forward and hugged her daughter.
Looking up, she also saw the tall, strange person's blue skin hidden under the robe, and also the face hidden under the hood.
The mother's eyes widened, and she cried out.
"Fish... Fish-Man! It's a Fish-Man!"
Instantly, the atmosphere on the dock became tense. The men immediately picked up fish spears, protecting their families and children behind them.
Whoosh…
The sea breeze blew, and the tattered robes were lifted by the wind, revealing the true faces hidden under the robes.
It was a team composed of both humans and Fish-Men.
There were fewer humans, only a few. There were many more Fish-Men.
Their faces were all tired and weary, and their expressions became confused and helpless due to the reactions of those around them.
Among them, the tall Fish-Man who wanted to help the little girl up, due to the reaction of the little girl's mother, took several steps back, ready to jump into the sea at any moment.
Seeing this, the young man who was talking with the town head immediately reached out to stop them.
"Please, please stop!"
He stood in front of the Fish-Men, and the other humans did the same.
"We mean no harm, please don't do this!"
"Enough!"
The tall Fish-Man shook his head, putting his arm on the young human's shoulder, "We don't belong here, let's go..."
Hearing this, the young man bit his lip, intending to turn around and leave.
The rest of the townspeople still had tense expressions, but also a hint of confusion.
From a young age, they had heard that Fish-Men were a savage and violent race, very dangerous, but the way they looked now was actually a little… pitiful?
And these Fish-Men were actually on the same ship as humans. Where did they come from?
The town head waved his hand, signaling the townspeople to put down their weapons, and then said to the young man:
"Don't go. Your ship can't take you to the next island. Fish-Men aside, you'll die at sea."
The young man put his robe back on, slowly saying, "Thank you for your kindness, old man, but we made a vow not to leave our friends alone."
Friends…
Humans and Fish-Men, are friends?
The residents of Yuba couldn't understand, and neither could the town head.
But the old man was very clear that the essence of these people before him was "life".
He couldn't let those lives, the same as the townspeople, die.
So the old man waved his hand, ignoring the surprised looks of the townspeople, and said: "Stay. You can temporarily stay in the town's tavern, but don't bother the residents of the town."
The young man turned back and nodded with a forced smile.
…
A group of Fish-Men and humans came down from the ship.
They went straight to the tavern arranged by the town head.
At the same time, the old man also said to the big guy in charge of the town's safety: "Tell everyone to try not to get close to that side, and then report this matter to His Majesty the King immediately."
The big guy nodded and contacted the nearest King's army base with a Den Den Mushi.
…
And so, the report fell into the hands of Cobra and Rowan.
Cobra stroked his chin.
"Ancestor, the people from the World Government haven't arrived yet. Should we be more cautious now? After all, the Fish-Man issue is delicate."
Rowan shook his head and then stood up.
"No, I want to see it for myself."
On a nearby table was a newspaper from a few days ago, with the headline at the time –
Fish-Man Fisher Tiger Single-Handedly Climbs the Holy Land Mary Geoise, Triggering the Mary Geoise Riot.