"…"
Ozz had barely returned to the sea when fate sent him a familiar face. Or rather, a familiar fish-man.
Fisher Tiger. The Sun Pirates.
"Argh."
At first Ozz felt the simple warmth of reunion. Then, for reasons unknown, Tiger dropped his gaze the instant he saw Ozz, shame and conflict flickering in his eyes.
He sat at the rail like a child who had done wrong and began to explain.
"When I first realized those three chained human girls were your slaves, I did not intend to free them."
"But"
Tiger's massive frame sank to one knee. His face tightened with pity and struggle as he told Ozz why he chose what he chose.
Sea Circle Calendar 1507.
On the sheer red wall of the Red Line, a scarlet fish-man climbed with his bare hands.
"You are free."
"Run."
The fire called liberation blazed in Fisher Tiger's palms.
No one in Mary Geoise could have imagined anyone would dare such a thing. Celestial Dragons shrieked and fled. Government officials panicked. The flames spread. Slaves were unshackled by the dozen, then by the hundreds. The Holy Land fell into chaos that guards could not contain.
Racing through a sea of fire, Tiger burst into a villa and found three girls.
"Please. Let us out."
"Please."
Tiger, who had carved a burning path with unstoppable resolve, stopped for the first time. He wavered.
The Cipher Pol agent he had knocked to the floor hissed a warning.
"They are Lord Ozz Dotor's favorites, you filthy fish-man. Do you mean to anger Lord Ozz?"
At that name, Tiger's heart faltered. The thought rose on its own.
I have freed enough. No need to
"We want to be free too."
Bang.
Clang.
The iron chain snapped beneath a fish-man's crushing bite. Tears filled the sisters' eyes. They stammered thanks and ran as if their lives depended on it.
It might have been their last chance to escape that hell.
Boa Hancock and her sisters fled. Tiger stood there, face shadowed, unreadable.
So he could not do it after all.
Only those who had been slaves could truly feel the plea of the enslaved. When the girls said they wanted freedom, Tiger could not force himself to walk away.
Seeing the three freed, the agent in charge of indoctrinating them to fear Ozz and never resist glared at the fish-man with eyes like embers.
"You are finished."
"Wait for Lord Ozz's wrath"
Bang.
Tiger's fist crashed into his skull and put him down cold. Tiger lifted his head at last. His face was set, eyes bloodshot.
"Shut up."
"If Lord Ozz is angry, he can take my life."
He had already decided. He would pay with his life if that was the price of freeing slaves. He did not fear death.
He still refused to call Ozz "Lord Ozz the Saint." In his heart he believed Ozz was not like those Celestial Dragons, who were worse than trash.
The sisters did not look brutally scarred. Likely Ozz was kinder than the rumors, and the fear in the girls came from the dogs of Cipher Pol.
With that thought he set more fires. Thousands of slaves fled.
After he escaped, the deed became the hottest story on the sea.
People hailed Fisher Tiger as a hero and as a man of staggering courage. He had dared to ignite the Holy Land itself, which was tantamount to mocking the World Government. Worse, he had dared to free slaves said to belong to the Black Emperor. Until then even rebels only worked in shadows. Tiger's open defiance was the first of its kind and it shocked the world.
Then he formed the Sun Pirates and somehow did not get cut down by Mihawk. People took it as a sign.
Maybe the Black Emperor
Was gone.
The seas were about to boil.
…
When Tiger finished, Ozz raised a brow.
My slaves.
Three sisters.
He would have forgotten if Tiger had not brought it up. He only returned to the Holy Land a few times and never stayed long. The truth was he felt little about it now, and he had known Tiger would one day set Mary Geoise ablaze to free slaves. None of this was outside his expectations.
Seeing Tiger this weighed down by guilt, Ozz spoke the way a longtime ruler should.
"Ahem."
"You did disappoint me, Tiger."
His voice was so calm it hid any hint of anger.
Tiger lowered his head even further.
"I am sorry. I damaged your name."
Ozz rose and took a few steps forward. Tiger did not dare look up. He stayed on one knee.
Beyond him lay the vast sea and a crowd of fish-men trembling in fear.
And a little girl in a dress with a head a size too big.
Ozz's tone held no real anger.
"I always took you for a smart man, Tiger. If those few slaves truly mattered to me, and you did this"
"Did you consider that Fish-Man Island could be destroyed because of you?"
The words were light. They landed like lead in Tiger's chest. His eyes went wide.
"Lord Ozz"
He started to beg. Ozz cut him off with a gesture.
"Relax. I will not do anything to Fish-Man Island. I want you to understand something."
"Even if you have the heart to save people, first ask whether you have the power to carry it and the strength to pay the price."
While they spoke, the ship edged into port.
Koala's home island.
This was where Fisher Tiger's journey was supposed to end.
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