One Piece : Winged Dragons of the Beast Pirates

Fish-Man Island.

Ian and his group returned to the bubble-covered area, completely unharmed.

"Ha... ha..."

Viola gasped for air, lying on Black Maria's back, tears welling up in her eyes. "I thought I was done for."

Ian slightly turned his head and gave her a sideways glance.

You should be more concerned about your skirt, don't think you can fool anyone just because you ran around in the water.

"I actually think it was quite fun," Yamato said with a grin. "It's been so long since I last swam!"

She was referring to the part where they swam through the deep sea with the bubble around them, reaching the big fish that had come to pick them up.

"Where's the fun in that?"

Law's face was dark, clearly frustrated.

They nearly didn't make it.

No, rather, there were many moments where it seemed like they could have perished at any second.

Law thought that, for the rest of his life, he never wanted to return to Fish-Man Island.

"Sorry, Lord Ian," Neptune said, drenched in sweat, "I didn't expect this to happen..."

He was still feeling a wave of fear.

If Kaido's disciple and daughter had really died on Fish-Man Island, this country would have been finished!

But now... the outcome didn't seem much better either.

What should they do if Ian got angry?

"It's fine," Ian, however, didn't seem too concerned. Instead, he said with interest, "Neptune, you shouldn't be apologizing to me. You should be saying thank you."

I, Ian, just casually took care of Hody and Vander Decken. One is a future murderer who will kill your wife, and the other is a perverted stalker who will torment your daughter. Doesn't that deserve a thank you?

Neptune was a bit confused.

"Thank you?"

Where did this come from?

Could it be that Ian wanted to thank him for helping uncover dangerous individuals from his country?

Neptune didn't hesitate much, bowing seriously toward Ian. "Thank you very much, Lord Ian."

Ian nodded lightly. "You can go back now. Babanuki should be done with the registration."

As it turned out, Babanuki's efficiency was quite impressive.

"Lord Ian, all personnel have been registered," Babanuki reported. "The total number is 1,362 people. Of these, 1,220 are fishmen, 1,054 are male, 166 are females, and 142 are Merfolks, with no females among them."

Ian raised an eyebrow. So there were no mermaids? And female fishmen?

But it didn't really matter. With over a thousand people, it was more than enough to start assembling an underwater army.

Ian turned his head to look at the fishmen standing in formation nearby, all wearing expressions of fervent excitement.

"From today onwards, you are all members of the Beast Pirates!" he said seriously.

"Oh!!"

The fishmen immediately erupted into cheers.

Ian raised a finger. "I'll give you one day to pack your things, handle your affairs. One day from now, meet at the port bay."

"All your names have been registered, so don't think about running away. The Beast Pirates do not allow traitors."

"Of course not!"

The fishmen laughed heartily. "We want to follow the Beast Pirates, follow you, Lord Ian, and make a name for ourselves!"

Ian smiled lightly. "Then it's settled. Disband."

"Understood!"

The fishmen cheerfully dispersed in small groups.

Now, it all depended on how things went on Queen Otohime's side.

"Let's head back to Fish-Man Island," Ian said.

Everyone turned back.

On the way…

Ian suddenly asked Neptune, "I've heard that there are two Poneglyphs on Fish-Man Island?"

"Uh—"

Neptune was left speechless.

How did he know about this?

Still, Neptune honestly replied, "There were two originally, but now there's only one left."

"The one Red Poneglyph, I gave it to the Whitebeard Pirates as a token of thanks for their protection of Fish-Man Island."

Ian nodded lightly.

No wonder when the Straw Hat crew arrived at Fish-Man Island in the future, they only saw the apology letter from Joy Boy, but the Road Poneglyph was missing.

Is it in Whitebeard's hands?

That's troublesome.

But, it doesn't really matter.

The Pirate King and all that, not important at all.

Whether or not they reach Raftel is not a big deal.

On the way back, Neptune called Otohime.

After hanging up the phone, he said, "Otohime is giving a speech at Gyoncorde Plaza and registering the citizens willing to move to Wano. Should we go over now?"

"Let's go take a look," Ian replied.

He was also curious about how Otohime's efforts were going.

Gyoncorde Plaza was a vast plaza surrounded by coral hills, one of Fish-Man Island's famous scenic spots.

When Ian and the others arrived, they saw Otohime, the mermaid queen, passionately giving a speech from a raised platform, while below her, there were only a few scattered fish people and mermaids.

"...Ian is truly sincere!"

Otohime cried out loudly, "I believe he will never deceive us! Those who go to Wano will certainly not face persecution! This is the best opportunity to build a connection and friendship with humans!"

The crowd below remained indifferent.

One person raised their voice, asking, "But Your Highness, why should we trust that human? He's even a pirate!"

"Because he is sincere!"

Otohime placed a hand over her heart and loudly declared, "He is unbelievably sincere! That's why I believe in him!"

A wave of boos rose from below.

Sincerity? Trying to fool everyone like children?

The already sparse crowd in the plaza quickly dwindled, and no one was interested in listening any further.

In the sky, Neptune sighed as he stood on the back of the whale. "Otohime's proposal has never been popular on the island. Now, getting the citizens to leave with pirates, no one's going to believe in it."

Ian gently nodded.

Below, noticing their arrival, Queen Otohime happily waved to greet them.

The group descended.

"So, Queen Otohime, how is the situation?"

Ian asked the key question.

"There are only a little over three thousand people now!"

Queen Otohime wore a bright smile as she clenched her small fists. "But I believe, with my continued efforts, the number will grow!"

As if to emphasize her determination, she swung her fist with strength.

Then...

Crack.

"Ahhh! That hurts!!"

She suddenly burst into tears.

"Otohime! Are you okay?! Otohime!!"

Neptune screamed in panic.

Ian's lips twitched.

Although he had already known her body was fragile, this was a bit too fragile, wasn't it? Did she dislocate her arm just from swinging her fist?

What a fragile person.

However, over three thousand people, huh?

Otohime said that with her efforts, the number would increase.

But Ian didn't think so.

The more than three thousand people should already be the total number of residents on Fish-Man Island who believe in Queen Otohime and yearn for the land above.

No matter how passionate the speech, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference.

Unless Queen Otohime decided to perform a large-scale mass brainwashing.

But it wasn't too bad either. Ian felt that this number of immigrants was already quite considerable for the first batch.

It was already enough to serve as a benchmark for the residents of Fish-Man Island in the future.

King Neptune and his queen hurriedly went to find a doctor.

**********

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