Pirate: I'm about to do something big!

"Where are you going?"

Arlong the fishman looked at Alyosha, who was walking forward on his own, and called out to him with a strange expression.

"Fishman Street."

"Then why are you walking in front?"

"Fishman Street, Fishman Island?"

Alyosha's matter-of-fact tone made the fishman Arlong burst out laughing. After following Alyosha for so many days, he finally found a chance to get back at him.

"Who told you that Fishman Street is on Fishman Island? Are you a fishman? How can you be so presumptuous?"

Arlong the fishman seized this hard-won opportunity to mock Alyosha a few times before walking to a nearby shop. When he returned, he tossed a piece of coral to Alyosha and his companion, the Golden Emperor Tesoro.

"Here, this is bubble coral, a tool that allows you humans to move underwater. Come with me."

After Arlong's explanation, Alyosha understood the purpose of the bubble coral. He and Tesoro, who was wearing shackles, obediently followed behind the fishman Arlong. First, he put a bubble on Tesoro's body, and then used Armament Haki to release Iron Body: Dustless Land, which had the same effect as the bubble coral, and they left the pass together.

This was Alyosha's first time on Fishman Island, and the deep-sea pressure test he had just undergone made it clear to him that the current water pressure at 10,000 meters was the perfect training ground for him.

An opportunity to slowly improve one's physical limits is presented to me, so I should train a little longer; even a small step is still a step.

Soon, led by the fishman Arlong, Alyosha also arrived at the fishman town located outside Fishman Island.

Compared to Fishman Island, which is bathed in sunlight from the roots of the Sun Tree Eve, Fishman Town is not located within the main area of ​​Fishman Island, and its lighting is much dimmer.

While it wasn't as dark and gloomy as being in the deep sea, it was generally gloomy, giving one a feeling of listlessness.

Even the buildings aren't as new as those on Fishman Island, which shouldn't be the case.

Fishman Island, serving as a transit point in the first and second halves of the Grand Line and the New World, flourished in trade due to its advantageous geographical location even before the Great Pirate Era began.

It can be said that if it weren't for their own race, given Fishman Island's unique geographical location, the people born on Fishman Island would have no worries about food and drink.

Unfortunately, due to their own racial characteristics, Fish-Man Island has to worry about pirates and slave traders kidnapping its people and selling them as slaves, even in the course of normal trade. Although the current King Neptune and Queen Otohime want to improve Fish-Man Island's problems, they are powerless to do so.

The topic has strayed a bit. At least in Alyosha's view, given its superior geographical location, Fishman Island, which rakes in money every day, should not neglect Fishman Street. Fishman Street should not be as dilapidated as he sees it now, resembling a slum.

In terms of combat power, fish-men, who are naturally amphibious, are far more powerful than mermaids.

Male mermaids, in particular, have fish bodies from birth to death, which means they can never move around on land like fish-men. Only female mermaids choose to split their tails at the age of 30, allowing them to move around on land like humans.

"I remember in this timeline, the king of Fishman Island was named Neptune, right? Is he really that bad at governing Fishman Island? He can't even manage Fishman Town, the foundation of Fishman Island, and he still wants to change the status quo?"

Alyosha was completely baffled; he still vividly remembered the Fish-Man Island arc.

King Neptune was quite beloved by the merfolk and some fishmen of Fishman Island. If he weren't so weak and had to rely on Whitebeard to plant his flag to protect Fishman Island, he might actually have accomplished something.

But now that I look at him, this guy isn't all that great.

Upon arriving at Fishman Street, Alyosha noticed a new development.

In this dimly lit Fishman Street, where most fishmen live, there are also many humans like Tesoro who move around in bubbles.

These humans didn't look like pirates or merchants; judging from their clothing, they looked more like slaves.

Their appearance on the street alongside the fishmen of Fishman Town seemed so out of place.

"Mr. Alon, is this also a specialty of Fishman Street?"

"How am I supposed to answer a question like that?"

Arlong the fishman was equally bewildered. He remembered that things weren't like this before he left Fishman Street with Fisher Tiger.

"Xiao Ba, what happened?"

"Brother A-Long, is that really you? Did the Navy release you? Hey, what's this guy doing here too?"

When a six-armed octopus-like fishman named Hachi heard Arlong call his name, he recognized Arlong and ran over with a joyful expression. He also saw Alyosha, who was moving without using bubble corals, next to Arlong.

He was initially surprised by Alyosha's ability to operate in the deep sea without using bubble corals, having already witnessed Alyosha defeat Tiger in one move on Forsythe Island, but he quickly accepted the reality.

"This guy asked me to bring him here. First, tell me what's going on here. How come there are so many more humans after all this time?"

"Oh? This is because when Brother Tiger was taking us back to Fishman Island, he attacked a slave ship. These were the slaves on board, and Brother Tiger brought them all back to Fishman Island."

"What happened to Tiger?"

Fishman Arlong was puzzled, while Octopus Fishman Hachi shrugged his six arms, indicating that he didn't understand either.

"Mr. Hachi, could you take me to see Mr. Tiger? I think I understand why Mr. Tiger brought them back."

"Don't look at me, he's the one who calls the shots."

Seeing his former underling glancing at him, the fishman Arlong spoke in a muffled voice, which startled the octopus fishman Hachi, causing his hair to stand on end, even though his hair was naturally upright.

"New, Brother Alon actually listens to a human's orders? You're not Brother Alon, who are you?!"

"Speak normally and lead the way."

Ah Long gave Xiao Ba a light tap on the forehead to bring him back to normal, then, despite his reluctance, he moved aside and let Alyosha walk in the middle.

Soon, Alyosha arrived at Tiger's residence in Fishman Street, led by the octopus fishman Hachi.

As the respected leader of every fishman in Fishman Street, Tiger's residence is not luxurious, though it is quite large. However, it is not just Tiger living alone. The human slaves that Alyosha saw in Fishman Street, as well as some members of the Sun Pirates, also live here.

"Mr. Hachi, could I have a serving of takoyaki?"

"They're here."

Just then, a mother and daughter came to the stall set up outside Tiger's residence. Xiao Ba heard the noise and started working at his own stall. A delicious takoyaki was freshly made and handed to the mother and daughter through the bubbles.

The scene appeared so harmonious and natural.

Even Arlong didn't expect to witness such an equal exchange between humans and fishmen in Fishman Street.

Alyosha was delighted to see this, and immediately took out his bubble coral, enveloping himself in the bubble, and went over to order three servings of takoyaki.

One copy was for himself, and the other two were for Fishman Arlong and Golden Emperor Tesoro.

After paying, they entered Tiger's residence.

Captain Fisher Tiger, the sea bream fishman, and his first mate Jinbe were already waiting for them.

"It's been a while since we last met, Mr. Tiger. Congratulations on taking another step forward in the cause of liberating slaves."

"Mr. Alyosha, I didn't expect the day we would meet again would come so soon. In fact, I don't even know if what I did was right."

Hearing Alyosha's praise, the fishman Tiger was a little taken aback, as he had never before brought the rescued slaves back to Fishman Street.

Upon seeing Alyosha's appearance, the fishman Tiger felt reassured.

Alyosha smiled and sat down in front of Tiger, who was puzzled.

Jinbe and Arlong, Tiger's right-hand men, immediately stood guard at the door, leaving only the Golden Emperor Tesoro, an outsider, feeling lost and helpless in the room.

All I could do was stand there and obediently act like a wooden doll.

Alyosha also took out paper and pen from his pocket, adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, and said with a smile:

"Now, let's continue with the topic we didn't finish discussing earlier."