Pirate: I'm about to do something big!

Ten thousand meters underwater, outside Fishman Island, in Fishman Town, the residence of Fisher Tiger, captain of the Sun Pirates.

Seeing Alyosha take out paper and pen, Tiger quickly took out bubble coral and put it on himself.

Although fish-men and mermaids can live freely in the deep sea, they still face many inconveniences in their daily lives; otherwise, Fish-Man Island wouldn't be covered by a giant bubble.

Although we haven't gotten any super-large bubble corals yet in the Fishman Street area, we're not lacking in these bubble corals.

"Mr. Tiger, can you tell me why you brought these slaves you rescued back to Fishman Street?"

Faced with Alyosha's question, which was also of curiosity to the Sun Pirates and the residents of Fishman Street, Tiger scratched his head before giving his answer.

"Mr. Alyosha, since our conversation on Forsythe Island, I've realized that my previous methods of rescuing slaves were too brutal. As you mentioned, the rescued slaves should be handled with care from beginning to end, and their opinions should be sought, rather than simply sending them back to their hometowns. That would be irresponsible."

Why?

This question wasn't asked by Alyosha, nor by Arlong the Fishman, nor by Jinbe, but by the only outsider in the room, Gild Tesoro, the Golden Emperor who had once been a slave of the Celestial Dragons.

Hearing Tesoro's question, Alyosha smiled. The fact that he could ask why meant that this guy could still be saved.

"His name is Gild Tesoro. Like Mr. Tiger, he was once a slave of the Celestial Dragons. I think he was one of the many slaves you rescued in Mary Geoise that year, but he became a slave trader and was captured by me in the North Blue."

"You actually became a slave trader, the very thing you hate most?!"

Upon hearing Alyosha's explanation, Tiger was filled with rage, but seeing that Alyosha remained unmoved, he could only suppress his anger for the time being and answer Tesoro's question for Alyosha.

"Why? You, a slave who became a slave trader, don't you understand why the slaves you sell became slaves in the first place?!"

Faced with Tiger's questioning, which he was barely containing his anger, Tesoro was speechless.

He truly didn't understand why slaves were slaves; he simply wanted to accumulate wealth quickly and become the richest man in the world. Perhaps only in this way could he escape those tragedies.

"Let me tell you, it's because they have no choice! Citizens of non-member states cannot survive in their own countries. To survive, they either have to become pirates or sell themselves into slavery. Only in this way can they live a little longer. Even if I send them back, it won't change the fact that they can't survive. They can only continue to live as slaves or die as pirates at sea! That's why!"

Alyosha, standing nearby, added, following Tiger's words: "In fact, even the citizens of the member states are not much better off. In order to please the World Government and to consolidate their rule, many royal families of the member states have their own ulterior motives regarding the 'Heavenly Gold' that they pay to the World Government every year. There is no uniform fixed tax rate for 'Heavenly Gold'. It is determined by each member state based on its resources and national strength."

However, for most royal families of member states, the lack of a fixed tax rate means they can use the pretext of "celestial gold" to levy more taxes on their citizens. What if the citizens can't pay their taxes? They can confiscate their houses, sell them as slaves, and then put on an act of "I have no choice, it's not my fault, the World Government made me do it this way. If I don't do this, I will lose the protection of the World Government and the Navy. It's better for a portion of you to be slaves than for our entire country to be slaves." They then blame all the problems on the World Government, the Celestial Dragons, and our Navy.

Of course, I'm not saying this to imply that the Navy is innocent. I just want to tell you that if you want to hate, please hate your country's royal family as well, because they are also one of the culprits who caused you to become a slave of the Celestial Dragons.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Celestial Dragons and the royal families of affiliated countries, there is actually no difference between citizens of non-affiliated countries and citizens of affiliated countries; the former are seen as born slaves, and the latter as slaves at any time.

Alyosha and Tiger sang in unison, their words striking a chord with the Golden Emperor Tesoro.

Ignoring Tesoro's sudden breakdown, Alyosha returned to the main topic.

"So, Mr. Tiger, you took them back to Fishman Street."

"They have to be given a place to live. At least in the Fishman Street I manage, I can provide them with a job so they don't have to live like slaves anymore. But..."

When talking about his management of Fishman Street, Tiger's face showed a proud expression, which was indeed his skill.

The fact that they managed to keep Fishman Street, which was considered a slum by the people of Fishman Island, in order, even though it was still dilapidated, at least gave it a sense of life.

Besides Tiger's own management skills, there is also his solid strength in Fishman Street and his personal charm of choosing to hold up an umbrella for others after experiencing their suffering.

However, when it came to what would happen next, Tiger's proud expression turned into one of unease.

"But Fishman Street is too small. If you, Mr. Tiger, want to continue rescuing slaves, it will be impossible to bring all the rescued slaves back to Fishman Street. They are, after all, human beings and cannot live in the dark seabed like you."

"Yes, Mr. Alyosha, I considered your suggestion carefully on my way back. We do need a base, a base that can accommodate a large number of slaves."

"To be precise, it's an island, an island that can't be found except by the Perpetual Pose, and it also needs to be rich. Besides, there's another problem: as a member of the Sun Pirates, you're too conspicuous."

Tiger nodded vigorously. He had remembered everything Alyosha had told him on Forsythe Island and was trying to put it into practice little by little. But as soon as he started, Tiger realized that it was not as simple as Alyosha had said.

Money, territory, people, and even oneself—these are all major problems.

"That's why we need to do research, but before we do, I think we need to solve the problems we have right now."

"What's the problem right now?"

"The problem of Fishman Street and Fishman Island."

what?

Tiger looked bewildered; he had no idea what problems existed between the Fishman Street and Fishman Island that he managed.

Seeing Tiger's state, Alyosha got up, went to the window, opened it, and let Tiger come over.

Outside the window, the outline of Fishman Island, bathed in sunlight transmitted by the Sun Tree Eve, is clearly visible in the distance.

"Mr. Tiger, which do you prefer, Fishman Island or Fishman Street?"

"Fishman Island is definitely better."

Why is Fishman Island so good?

"Because Fishman Island has sunshine, huh?!"

Tiger then realized what Fishman Street was missing: sunlight.

Tiger, having grown up in Fishman Street, had overlooked this routine he had become accustomed to.

"Yes, sunshine, Mr. Tiger. You, me, and other races all live under the same sky, bathed in sunlight. Fishman Street is where you grew up. If even the residents of Fishman Street cannot bask in the sunlight, how can we let the freed slaves live carefree in the sunlight?"

"But Fishman Street has never seen sunlight."

"Is it right to always be this way? If so, then why do you still go out to sea on adventures?"