Pirate: I'm about to do something big!

Fishman Street, the base of the Sun Pirates.

After Alyosha casually solved a common case of mermaid trafficking on Fishman Island, he returned to Fishman Town with Tiger, Jinbe, and Arlong, who had made their decision.

But along with Alyosha and his companions back to Fishman Town, besides Tesoro, the companion Alyosha wanted to recruit, there were two other people Alyosha hadn't anticipated.

King Neptune and Queen Otohime of Fishman Island.

Alyosha was quite surprised that the couple would appear in Fishman Street with Tiger and the others.

In his mind, the king and queen, who wanted to improve Fishman Island's relationship with the World Government and the relationship between Fishman and humans, shouldn't accept his ideas so quickly.

But they were already waiting for Alyosha at the Sun Pirates' residence in Fishman Street.

"You are the first commodore to step in and protect the residents of Fishman Island. Also, I have faith in Otohime's abilities."

Faced with Alyosha's doubts, King Neptune gave a single answer.

"Now I know why the people of Fishman Island love you so much, Your Majesty, Queen Otohime, thank you for your trust in me."

"Also, Mr. Tezzolo, I am very grateful that you did not leave."

"Don't get me wrong, Marine. This is Fishman Island, 10,000 meters underwater. Even if I ate a Devil Fruit, where could I possibly go? But you, are you really comfortable letting me become your companion?"

Tesoro, who had also followed Alyosha back to Fishman Street, sat to the side, legs crossed and arms clasped in front of his chest, speaking in a mocking tone.

Alyosha laughed heartily and replied, "I will prove it with my actions."

At this time, the Sun Pirates' base in Fishman City had been emptied, and only King Neptune, Queen Otohime, Tiger, Jinbe, Arlong, and Tesoro were sitting in the room.

Alyosha had simply furnished the room like a classroom, and a large title was written on the blackboard behind him—

"On the Feasibility of Improving Fishman Island's Status (Part 1): Internal Security Must Be Secured Before External Resistance!"

Having lived in the world of One Piece for twenty-seven years, Alyosha had long since learned how to translate the official language commonly used in the world of One Piece into the content he wanted to express.

It's strange, really. The One Piece world has been in chaos for so many years, yet the literacy rate in the One Piece world is actually higher than in the old society before Alyosha's time travel.

Alyosha thought about this question for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, it's a good thing.

At least for the few people sitting below, especially King Neptune, Queen Otohime, and Tiger, who were all part of Fishman Island, they could understand what Alyosha was trying to say.

"To repel external aggression, one must first pacify internal strife." In the world before Alyosha, this phrase was basically one of the famous memes used to mock a certain island nation.

But as the instructor said, one has no right to speak without investigation.

For Fishman Island today, this statement truly represents a summary of improving relations between the Fishman race and humans, and enhancing Fishman Island's status.

"King Neptune, Queen Otohime, as the rulers of Fishman Island, could you tell Mr. Tiger and the others why Fishman Street was originally established on Fishman Island?"

"Fishman Street was originally established by our royal family to adopt orphans."

When questioned by Alyosha, King Neptune seemed somewhat guilty in his answer.

"Then why would an orphanage exist on a wealthy fish-man island?"

Alyosha's question was rather pointed, and even Queen Otohime, the kind-hearted woman of Fishman Island, looked troubled by it. Tiger and the other fishmen born in Fishman Town frowned even more.

Because this is a legacy issue from history.

They all know the reason.

It was simply because Fishman Island had long been treated unfairly by the World Government, coupled with the high prices of fishmen and mermaids in the slave market, in an era when Fishman Island was not protected.

Fishman Island did put up resistance.

Fishman Island is a relatively large island. Although fishmen and mermaids are a race that is naturally good at fighting in the sea, their population size is such that they are simply unable to cope with the human pirates who make up the majority of the pirate world.

In addition, the World Government's indifference led to the existence of orphans over time.

Not every king of Fishman Island was as accomplished as King Neptune.

The huge protective measures established by Fishman Street to adopt orphans gradually turned it into a lawless area where marginalized people of Fishman Island gathered.

The fishmen living in Fishman Street all harbor some degree of hatred towards humans.

That is, Tiger is now the boss of Fishman Street, which is why the slaves who were temporarily brought to Fishman Street by Tiger are not ostracized by the residents of Fishman Street.

Although it was Alyosha's first time visiting Fishman Island, it didn't mean he was unfamiliar with the social situation there.

Seeing that Tiger and the others were all too embarrassed to answer, Alyosha stepped down from the podium and said loudly, "Alright everyone, this isn't a difficult question to ask, but rather a problem we need to solve right now. And it's not unsolvable, is it? We've already taken the first step."

"first step?"

"That's right. King Neptune is deeply loved by the people of Fishman Island, Queen Otohime is beloved by the children of Fishman Island, and Mr. Tiger is a respected elder brother in Fishman Town. So why don't we work together to improve Fishman Town? We can do it."

"Are you trying to make these guys from Fishman Street put aside their hatred for humans, Alyosha? Are you even aware of this?"

Tesoro, who was listening in, directly mocked Alyosha's naivety. Even he could see the hatred that Tiger and the others felt when they heard that he was a slave trader, let alone the residents of Fishman Street who had suffered so much at the hands of humans.

Their hatred for humans is far more intense than that of the people in the main area of ​​Fishman Island.

"I am perfectly clear-headed, Mr. Tesoro, but I am not asking the residents of Fishman Island to immediately abandon their hatred for humans, but rather to protect Fishman Island as a force under Mr. Tiger's leadership. What do you think of my proposal, Mr. Arlong?"

Of the people in the room, the fishman Arlong was probably the one with the greatest prejudice against humans.

He hadn't expected Alyosha to throw this question at him. Aron was taken aback at first, then he realized what was going on.

"You're planning to let me go?"

"That's right!"

"How are you going to explain this to the Navy Headquarters? You're a commodore there."

"That's my business. I just want to know if Mr. Alon wants to protect his hometown and Fishman Island."

"Don't play dumb, Alyosha Ran! What do you think I'm doing following Tiger for?!"

"So now you're free, Mr. Aron."

Ah Long's voice echoed in the room, leaving everyone else completely confused.

Weren't we discussing how to improve the status of Fishman Island and the relationship between humans? How did the conversation turn to Arlong?

Alyosha turned around with a smile and spread his hands in front of the others.

"Look, now Fishman Street has become an army of Fishman Island, hasn't it?"

what?

Everyone was completely bewildered, not understanding Alyosha's actions.

But Alyosha wasn't making things up.

Fishman Street, as a lawless zone on Fishman Island, follows only one principle: might makes right.

The key reason why Tiger is respected by the residents of Fishman Street is that he is good at fighting. As Tiger's brother, Arlong is a representative of the supremacy of fishmen. And it hasn't gone to an extreme yet. Arlong takes good care of his fellow fishmen.

With Arlong working with Tiger, the violent elements of Fishman Street can be united in the shortest time. In terms of combat power, the fishmen born in Fishman Street are much stronger than the Sea King's soldiers in the Dragon Palace.

Alyosha returned to the podium and wrote another key word on the blackboard to enhance the status of Fishman Island: geographical location.

As mentioned before, Fishman Island, due to its unique geographical location, serves as a transit point connecting the New World to the Grand Line and leading to the four seas.

This means that even though Fishman Island, as a member state, is not favored by the World Government, it still pays the World Government the full amount of Heavenly Gold it is supposed to pay every year, yet it does not enjoy any of the protection it is entitled to.

If Neptune hadn't become sworn brothers with Whitebeard and received the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates, with Whitebeard, the Emperor of the New World, stepping in to shield Fishman Island from many villains, Fishman Island's current situation would be even more precarious.

"Your Majesty King Neptune, I've never understood why, now that Fish-Man Island is under Whitebeard's protection, the Sea King's soldiers are still so weak in protecting their people. How can a nation's army improve Fish-Man Island's status and protect its own people if it's so weak?"

"Hmph, those guys have always been like this. They don't dare to make a move as soon as they're scared by those slave traders. Don't misunderstand, Your Majesty, I'm not talking about you."

Aaron's sarcasm, coupled with Alyosha's question, made King Neptune blush with embarrassment.

"Mr. Alyosha, please don't blame my husband. Neptune has done his best to protect his fellow fish-men on Fish-Man Island."

"Then let's try again, Queen Otohime. First, we need to clarify a few things: After Fishman Island received Whitebeard's protection, did Whitebeard demand any payment for that protection?"

"Mr. Alyosha, Newgate isn't the kind of vicious pirate you think he is. He risked his life to protect my brother's hometown out of loyalty!"

"I believe that. So, since Fishman Island pays Celestial Gold to the World Government every year, has the World Government sent our navy to protect Fishman Island?"

"What a joke. Aren't you world navies always just about collecting money? Of course, you are indeed a different kind of naval officer, Alyosha Ran."

Arlong once again mocked the World Government's inaction.

In fact, the World Navy stationed on Peninsula 60 of the Sabaody Archipelago is just as Arlong said. Except for the time when Fishman Island pays the Heavenly Gold, they basically stay in the Sabaody Archipelago, only guarding their own little territory and not caring about the life or death of Fishman Island.

"So, since the World Government basically doesn't protect Fish-Man Island, why pay the Celestial Gift to the World Government? Why not let the Whitebeard Pirates get their hands on it? Fish-Man Island has already paid the money. If the Navy can't protect the Celestial Gift, that's the World Government's problem, not Fish-Man Island's."

Alyosha voiced his doubts.

Having spent so many years at the Navy Headquarters, he understands the process of how the member states hand over the Heavenly Gold to the World Government every year.

After the navy collects the celestial gold from the member states in its own region of responsibility, it stores it in a secret branch and then dispatches escort ships to transport and secure it to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

Because the transport routes are kept secret, and because there are usually multiple naval officers, including commodores, rear admirals, and vice admirals, the chances of the celestial gold being stolen are slim.

However, the secrecy of the route does not mean that it will not be leaked. At least for Alyosha, the brigadier general of the headquarters, he can easily obtain information about the location of the Heavenly Gold and the transportation route, and no one will suspect him.

Alyosha's proposal wasn't something he came up with on a whim.

The World Government cannot intervene in the New World, nor can it deal with the Whitebeard Pirates. Even if the Whitebeard Pirates steal the Celestial Tribute, the World Government will continue to force Fishman Island to pay another Celestial Tribute.

If the World Government were to engage in such an operation, Fishman Island would have a good chance of dealing with it. Fishman Island has two options: one is to charge all merchant ships and pirate ships that transit through Fishman Island a toll, and to distribute the Heavenly Gold that the World Government requires Fishman Island to pay equally among each merchant ship and pirate ship that passes through Fishman Island's transit point.

If they refuse, fine, go talk to my sworn brothers, the Whitebeard Pirates.

Neptune simply told the Whitebeard Pirates to block the entrances and exits from Fishman Island to the New World, thus crippling the business of these underground merchant ships.

Of course, they could avoid transiting through Fishman Island, but they would have to pay a hefty transit fee to the World Government, significantly increasing transportation and labor costs.

These costs, when spread out, will shrink profit margins and may even lead to losses.

In this way, these emperors from the underworld, who have intricate connections with the World Government, will have to put pressure on the World Government.

After all, people are willing to commit capital offenses, but nobody wants to do a losing business.

Even if Whitebeard couldn't withstand the pressure from all sides of the New World, the second option would be to have him return the Fish-Man Island Celestial Gold he had previously plundered from the World Government to Fish-Man Island, hand it over again, and then plunder it again.

The cycle repeats itself endlessly, with only one purpose.

Either your World Government sends the Navy to garrison Fish-Man Island, or you wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates.

Anyway, Fishman Island has already handed over the Celestial Gold. What does it have to do with Fishman Island if your World Government can't send the Celestial Gold back to Mary Geoise?

So, what should the World Government do in order to maintain its rule?

Either wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates, or send the World Navy to garrison them.

As for destroying Fishman Island, well, the World Government wouldn't dare choose that option, not to mention that Fishman Island itself has Shirahoshi, the mermaid princess who is a living weapon called "Poseidon," in charge.

The Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise would object to the considerable amount of Celestial Gold that Fish-Man Island pays to the World Government every year.

As for taking down the Whitebeard Pirates? To be honest, if Ace hadn't been captured and Whitebeard hadn't been so old and nearing the end of his life, it's questionable whether the World Government could have even managed to take down Whitebeard, currently the most powerful man on the seas.

For the World Government, that left only one option: to send the Navy to Fishman Island to garrison it.

In any case, for the world government, that's the purpose of maintaining the world navy.

So, who in the Marine Headquarters would dare to take on this mission—to fight the Whitebeard Pirates head-on and protect the Celestial Gold?

Looking at Alyosha sitting there, everyone had their answer.