Using Ninjutsu once again to treat Hachi, Meiser quickly stopped the bleeding for him.
"This time, don't move around," Meiser said. "Otherwise, you might die."
After all, the other party's physique wasn't at a monster level, so it was best not to act recklessly.
"Sorry..."
"Why do the Fish-Man race hate humans so much?" Perona asked, puzzled.
Even now, she still didn't understand why the Fish-Man race harbored such deep hatred for humans.
"This is a long story."
Hachi paused after speaking, then with a complicated expression, continued, "A long time ago, the Fish-Man race was classified as fish. It wasn't until 200 years ago that Ryugu Palace became a member nation of the World Government, forming a friendly alliance with humans. Because of this, the king was allowed to participate in the Reverie."
"But even so, humans still deeply disliked the Fish-Man race..."
"In my memory, the worst discrimination was probably when the Great Pirate Era began," said Den, who had returned with materials.
"When the Great Pirate Era began?" Meiser frowned. "Could it be that from that time, a large number of pirates started causing trouble on Fish-Man Island?"
"Yes."
Den's expression darkened as he said, "From that time on, human pirates began appearing in large numbers on Fish-Man Island, bringing an incredibly terrifying nightmare to the island through violence."
"Those terrible memories... I still can't forget them."
Recalling the events of those years, Den's face grew even more grim.
It truly was an unforgettable nightmare.
If possible, he wished it had all been false.
"So your Fish-Man Island went through such things," Chopper said.
"Mhm..." Den nodded, then continued, "It was also around this time that humans occupied Fish-Man Island, and we, the Fish-Man race... became what they called 'goods' in their mouths."
"That's just too evil!" Merry said, furrowing her little brow.
Forcibly occupying someone else's home was bad enough, but to actually treat them like goods to be traded... wasn't that just like those despicable human traffickers!
"Who made us so weak," Den said with a bitter smile.
The weak get beaten—this is an eternal truth that no one can change.
"If it weren't for Pops Whitebeard, our Fish-Man Island probably would have ceased to exist long ago," Jimbei said.
"Uncle Whitebeard?"
Meiser showed a surprised expression. Could it be that Uncle Whitebeard not only protected Fish-Man Island but also recaptured it and returned it to Ryugu Palace?
"That's right, it was Pops Whitebeard!" Jimbei said with a grateful expression. "With his formidable strength, Pops defeated all the pirates on the island, then forcefully declared Fish-Man Island as his territory. That's what truly restored peace to Fish-Man Island."
"But this couldn't erase the Fish-Man race's fear of humans, nor... could it change humanity's hatred toward the Fish-Man race."
"Especially the latter—I think you all must have felt that fully on Sabaody Archipelago."
Recalling what they had witnessed on Sabaody Archipelago, the Straw Hat Pirates instinctively nodded.
They had indeed seen at the Human Auctioning House how much humans despised the Fish-Man race.
In the eyes of those humans, the Fish-Man race wasn't even considered human—they were merely fish that resembled people.
Taking in everyone's reactions, Jimbei sighed and continued, "Although the World Government has the authority to decide whether Fish-Men and humans can coexist peacefully, the closer you get to the center, the more you realize how deeply rooted the discriminatory system is."
After a pause, Jimbei added, "It's safe to say that the relationship between the Fish-Man race and humans... has never changed!"
"It seems your people have had a hard time," Meiser remarked.
To be captured and sold as slaves at any moment... that kind of life was truly difficult.
"Yes."
Jimbei sighed helplessly. "But to change this situation, the two greatest figures of Fish-Man Island stepped forward."
"One was Queen Otohime, the mother of Princess Shirahoshi!"
Glancing at Shirahoshi, who had returned, Jimbei explained, "To change this reality, she tirelessly persuaded the island's residents to coexist peacefully with humans, hoping to bridge the rift between the two races."
'Mother...'
Tears welled up in Shirahoshi's eyes as she remembered her mother.
"The other was a hero who, like you, Meiser, liberated slaves at Mary Geoise—Fisher Tiger!"
"Because he continuously called for severing ties with humans, he defied the world's taboos. Alone, he stormed Mary Geoise and rescued all the slaves there!"
"Afterward, he led the formerly enslaved Fish-Men to form the Sun Pirates!"
"Sun?"
"Yes."
Jimbei nodded, showing the sun tattoo on his body. "Hachi, Arlong, and I were all members of the Sun Pirates back then."
Listening to Jimbei's words, Nami and the others nodded—this matched what they had heard from the curly-haired man earlier.
"Fisher Tiger..." Luffy tilted his head. "I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."
"Shakky mentioned him," Meiser said.
Then, Meiser looked at Jimbei and remarked, "Their approaches were completely opposite."
One sought to maintain peace between humans and the Fish-Man race, while the other chose to fight violence with violence...
"That's true," Jimbei nodded, understanding Meiser's point. "One was Queen Otohime, who endured humiliation and tirelessly worked to change the future."
"The other abandoned the future..."
"Fisher Tiger, who risked his life to rescue his enslaved brethren..."
At this point, Jimbei's expression grew somewhat complicated.
"Although their methods differed, it's impossible to say who was truly wrong, because... both of them fought for the Fish-Man race their entire lives."
After speaking, Jimbei fell silent for a moment, then said with a serious expression, "Allow me to recount the cries within the hearts of these two great men."
"And this is also related to why I exiled Arlong to East Blue."
"So... I hope you all will listen carefully to what I have to say."
Afterwards, even if Nami wanted to kill him directly, he would have no regrets.
Nami stared intently at Jimbei's face for a moment before saying quietly, "Alright, go ahead."
Seeing that Nami had agreed, the others said nothing more and obediently sat on nearby rocks, clearly intending to hear what Jimbei had to say.
"I am deeply grateful," Jimbei said, bowing his head.
After speaking, Jimbei sat down on the ground and began slowly, "The origin of this matter dates back sixteen years..."
Recalling the events of sixteen years ago, Jimbei's eyes grew complex.
"At that time, Fish-Man Island had only recently achieved peace, so the citizens were still in a state of panic."
"To change this situation, Queen Otohime would go out every day to comfort the island's citizens, telling them not to be afraid—that the island was now safe."
"Sometimes Queen Otohime would encounter bad people, but each time she would step in to stop them."
At this point, Jimbei paused, then said with a complicated tone, "Queen Otohime was truly a gentle and kind person. Even though her body was so frail that slapping someone would break her own hand, she would still rush forward without hesitation to stop acts of violence!"
"And then... she would give the other person a chance to reform..."
"Because of this, the Queen's hands..."
As he spoke, the image appeared in Jimbei's mind, and admiration filled his eyes.
"Her hand would break from slapping someone?" Perona exclaimed in surprise. "How frail must she have been?"
She couldn't imagine anyone being like that. How did she live?
"I'm not sure either," Jimbei said, shaking his head. "But Her Majesty's physical condition was indeed like that."
Seeing this, Shirahoshi said with low spirits, "Mother was a goldfish mermaid. She had poor health since childhood, so..."
Hearing Shirahoshi's words, everyone immediately understood.
So she had poor health since childhood... No wonder slapping someone would break her own hand.
"But even so, that's just too..."
Perona wore a complicated expression, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Isn't that precisely what makes this Queen so remarkable?" Meiser said. "For her to go that far is truly rare."
A physically weak royal could have stayed in Ryugu Palace to recuperate, yet she chose to drag her body—which could be seriously injured at any moment—to care for the safety of her citizens...
Such a person is truly rare.
At least from the perspective of Fish-Man Island, this Queen was great.
"Yes, the Queen was truly great," Jimbei said. "Even though it was the wrongdoers who struck her, she was the one who got hurt."
"But... she didn't care about her own body. Instead, she would weep because her people were forced by life's hardships onto the path of crime."
At this point, Jimbei paused briefly before continuing. "Queen Otohime was born with exceptionally powerful Observation Haki, allowing her to directly sense the emotions within others' hearts."
"So... she understood that those rioters were forced into crime... and that's why she wept for them."
"Her Majesty believed that the royal family hadn't done enough, so..."
"She took all the responsibility upon herself as a member of the royal family," Meiser murmured.
Now he understood this Queen's way of thinking.
Perhaps in her view, if the people weren't living well, it was because the royal family hadn't done enough...
This royal was truly different from others.
"Queen Otohime really was an extraordinary person," Nami said.
Not many could go to such lengths...
"Yes, Her Majesty truly was an extraordinary person," Jimbei said with emotion.
"Your tendency to cry—could that be inherited from your mother?" Chopper asked, looking curiously at Shirahoshi.
This big girl had cried quite a few times on their way here.
"I... I don't know," Shirahoshi shook her head.
"It's probably part of the reason," Meiser said.
While environment is one of the most important factors influencing personality, heredity is also a significant element.
Then Meiser turned to Jimbei and asked curiously, "You mentioned earlier that Shirahoshi's mother wanted to improve relations between humans and the Fish-Man race. How did she go about it?"
Jimbei fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then slowly replied, "To ease tensions between the two races, Her Majesty would, during her daily patrols, also promote to the citizens of Fish-Man Island the idea that not all humans are evil."
"Her Majesty said we shouldn't wait for humans to understand us—we must first strive to understand humans."
"We must approach them, learn about them... Only then can we bridge the gap between our races and eliminate prejudice."
"At the time, some objected, saying, 'So many terrible humans have already come to this island. Why should we still choose to trust humans?'"
"And Her Majesty's response was: 'The humans who come to this island causing destruction are a group called pirates. Those who buy slaves from human traffickers are the ruling class known as nobles.'"
"'We've only encountered that more extreme portion of humanity. Most humans should still be friendly and kind.'"
"'So after relocating Fish-Man Island to the surface, we will surely be able to establish friendly relations with humans.'"
"For this purpose, Her Majesty produced a signature petition, hoping everyone would sign it to announce to the world our Fish-Man race's determination to live on the surface."
"Did everyone sign it?!" Merry asked, her eyes wide.
If everyone was willing to sign, then Shirahoshi's mother would have been able to fulfill her dream, right?
"Unfortunately, at that time, people did not sign," Jimbei shook his head.
"It seems making one race understand another is no easy task," Chopper remarked.
As he spoke, Chopper recalled his own experience after eating the Devil Fruit, his eyes growing somewhat complicated.
Now... he felt he could somewhat understand the situation of the Fish-Man race.
"Humans naturally fear the unknown, so convincing everyone to follow Queen Otohime to the unknown surface is difficult," Meiser said. "Especially since the Fish-Man race recently suffered persecution from humans, so... getting them to agree on the spot is basically impossible."
At least, that's what the ordinary Fish-Men thought, since the only humans they encountered were pirates who came to Fish-Man Island.
As for those on the surface?
They had no contact with them, so they couldn't grasp Queen Otohime's perspective.
Hearing Meiser's words, Jimbei glanced at him in surprise, clearly not expecting him to understand the matter so thoroughly.
Then, he nodded and said, "Indeed."
"At least back then, as a member of the royal army, I didn't understand the queen's intentions."
"You were actually part of this country's royal army?" Sanji looked at Jimbei in surprise.
He thought Jimbei had always been a pirate, but it turned out he had served in the royal army?
"Aside from having some martial skills, I was good for nothing, and I was born in the Fish-Man District, so that was all I could do," Jimbei explained.
"Fish-Man District?"
Sanji raised an eyebrow. Why did that place sound familiar?
"I remember Hachi's hometown is there," Chopper said. "But it seems like a terrifying place... I recall Hachi describing it that way."
"Yes, I am indeed from there," Hachi said with a complicated expression.
As for the "terrifying place" remark?
Hachi didn't refute it, since to the people of Fish-Man Island, those living in the Fish-Man District were indeed somewhat frightening.
"What's the deal with this Fish-Man District?" Meiser asked curiously. "Why is it separated from Fish-Man Island?"
Could it be something like a slum here?
"Because the Fish-Man District is quite special," Jimbei explained. "It was originally a large orphanage that took in homeless children, but soon chaos broke out, and the administrators were powerless to stop it. So, it became a gathering place for Fish-Man Island's lawless elements."
"Eventually... it turned into a lawless zone."
"So that's why the Fish-Man District is so frightening," Chopper said.
Now he understood why there were such strange descriptions of it.
"Yes."
Jimbei nodded, then continued, "And the Fisher Tiger I mentioned earlier was once the leader of the Fish-Man District!"
Hearing Jimbei's words, Meiser's expression grew complicated.
Someone who grew up in such a place... must have a somewhat extreme mindset.
That was probably why Fisher Tiger dared to charge into Mary Geoise alone.
'Then what about me?' Meiser wondered inwardly.
Was it the arrogance of being a transmigrator, or... after experiencing the darkness of the ninja world, had he also become somewhat extreme?
At this thought, Meiser fell into deep contemplation.
"You said Fisher Tiger was the leader of Fish-Man District..." Perona looked at Jimbei with confusion. "Then how did he dare to attack Mary Geoise?"
"Wasn't he afraid the World Government would take it out on Fish-Man Island?"
Although she hadn't deliberately studied the World Government, having lived with Lord Moria, one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, for over a decade, she still had a general understanding.
Would such a colossal entity... truly tolerate something like this?
"Because before Elder Brother Tiger left, he had already announced his resignation from the position of leader," Jimbei said. "And the one who took over was me."
This might also be the reason why the World Government didn't take it out on Fish-Man Island—because he was no longer affiliated with it!
"So he had already resigned from the leader position..." Perona nodded as if suddenly understanding. "No wonder the World Government didn't take it out on Fish-Man Island."
That makes sense.
Otherwise, given the World Government's mindset, they would never have let Fish-Man Island off!
"Mhm."
Jimbei nodded. "After resigning as leader, Elder Brother Tiger embarked on an adventurous journey, living a life of free exploration."
"Until—"
As if recalling something, a trace of pain flashed in Jimbei's eyes before he closed them and said, "Until Elder Brother Tiger was captured by the Celestial Dragons, everything changed."
"Huh?!"
Hearing Jimbei's words, Chopper was stunned. "This Fisher Tiger was once a slave of the Celestial Dragons too?"
Such an incredible person could also be captured and enslaved by the Celestial Dragons?
Could it be that a Marine Admiral intervened?!
"Yes."
Jimbei, with his eyes closed, said, "Later, before his death, Elder Brother Tiger told us about this."
"He said that not long after leaving Fish-Man Island, he was captured by powerful humans and sent to Mary Geoise, becoming a slave there."
"After enduring three years of hellish life, Elder Brother Tiger successfully escaped from there."
"Afterward... he made the decision to charge back into Mary Geoise alone and rescue all his fellow slaves!"
"What incredible courage," Sanji murmured.
After experiencing such a hellish life, he still dared to charge back alone... This guy truly was a remarkable hero.
At this thought, a look of admiration appeared on Sanji's face.
"Since he had already returned, why did he choose to charge back alone?" Merry asked in confusion. "Was he afraid of implicating you?"
"Perhaps."
Jimbei opened his eyes and shook his head. "But Elder Brother Tiger never told us the exact reason."
"He only said he climbed the Red Line alone, liberated the slaves inside Mary Geoise, and didn't mention anything else."
"I see..."
Hearing Jimbei's words, Merry fell into thought.
She felt that was likely what he had thought.
"This person truly was a hero," Meiser said.
It could be said that if not for him, Hancock would never have had the chance to escape from that hellish place.
So... Meiser was still very grateful to Fisher Tiger.
This was also one of the reasons Meiser was willing to help the Fish-Man race.
"If we do this, we'll definitely be hunted by the World Government," Perona said.
"Of course."
Jimbei continued, "Although Brother Fisher Tiger is hailed as a hero for liberating slaves, to the World Government, he is nothing but a heinous criminal. So it's only natural they would pursue him."
"Precisely because we considered this, those of us who once roamed the Fish-Man District began searching for Fisher Tiger, wanting to protect him from the World Government's harm."
"However, Fisher Tiger was hesitant at first, fearing it might implicate us."
"But under our unanimous insistence, and because this could better protect our people... Fisher Tiger ultimately accepted our request."
"This... is the origin of the Sun Pirates!"
After finishing, Jimbei paused for a moment, then pointed to the tattoo on his chest and said, "And this tattoo on my chest was created to erase the distinction between slaves and non-slaves."
The purpose of this was also to prevent others from looking at former slave comrades with strange eyes.
It must be said, this method was indeed effective—at least others didn't know that some among them had once been slaves.
"That's pretty much what I've heard as well," Meiser said.
"You know about it too?"
Jimbei glanced at Meiser in surprise, clearly not expecting him to know about such matters.
"Yes, I know."
Hearing this, Jimbei fell silent. It seemed this Ninja's intelligence-gathering ability was even more formidable than he had imagined.
As for how the other party knew, Jimbei had no intention of probing further.
After all... this was someone else's secret, wasn't it!
"Speaking of which... after this Fisher Tiger did all this, could Queen Otohime's plan still be carried out?" Perona asked curiously.
"It became very difficult."
Jimbei shook his head and said, "Because of Fisher Tiger's attack on Mary Geoise and the establishment of the Fish-Man Pirates, Fish-Man Island couldn't even participate in the Reverie anymore, let alone return to the surface..."
"But the Queen never gave up on her ideals. She maintained the habit of going down to give speeches every day, hoping to gain everyone's recognition."
"Unfortunately... the results were minimal."
"So that's how it was..." Perona murmured.
Both of them were fighting for their people, yet in the end...
Thinking of this, Perona sighed quietly.
"What happened later?"
"Later, we kept evading the World Government, constantly battling pursuers, and our bounties grew higher day by day."
"Until one day..."
Recalling those past scenes, Jimbei's expression gradually grew complex.
"We encountered again that little girl whom Fisher Tiger had rescued from Mary Geoise," Jimbei said. "Her name was Koala."
"To send her back home, Fisher Tiger brought her onto the ship."
"Afterward, to prevent the little girl from being afraid, Fisher Tiger even discarded his weapons, all to show her that we weren't cold-blooded murderers, but people she could get along with!"
"Because of this, the little girl gradually returned to normal."
"To go that far for a little girl..." Chopper said in amazement. "He was such a good person."
Even though they weren't of the same race, he could go to such lengths for her... Is this what Fisher Tiger was like?
"Yes." A smile appeared on Jimbei's face as if he had thought of something. "Lord Tiger was even better than you imagine."
It could be said that Fisher Tiger was the most righteous and charismatic Fish-man he had ever met!
"Did you send that little girl back?" Merry asked curiously.
Hearing Merry's words, Jimbei gradually withdrew his smile and said, "We sent her back."
"But... because of that, Brother Tiger's life ended forever on that day."
"Wh-what?!"
Merry was completely stunned. How could this be?
Were they ambushed along the way?
Meiser, as if guessing something, frowned and said, "Was it because of... those humans?"
Fisher Tiger, who had done such a thing, must have had an extremely high bounty.
So... it was possible that some humans had reported Fisher Tiger.
"Yes."
After receiving the confirmation, Meiser's expression gradually became complicated. It seemed things were similar to what he had thought.
"He was trying to send a human back, but in the end, he was betrayed by humans. This..." Sanji opened his mouth but didn't know what else to say for a moment.
"No, it wasn't exactly betrayal," Jimbei shook his head and said. "Because it wasn't Koala who did this, but other humans on the island."
"After we contacted them, they informed the Marines about our arrival, and so..."
Seeing Jimbei stop, Meiser finished the sentence for him.
"And so you were surrounded and attacked by the Marines, right?"
"Yes."
Jimbei said with a grim expression, "And because of this, Brother Tiger was severely injured."
"After that, we risked our lives to rescue Brother Tiger, but he was on the verge of death due to excessive blood loss."
Upon hearing this, Chopper's face immediately showed anxiety. "Didn't your ship have a doctor?"
"Or was there no one with the same blood type?"
"Our ship had a doctor, but no one with the same blood type," Jimbei closed his eyes and said. "Later, we found blood reserves on a captured warship, but... because of what had happened earlier, Brother Tiger refused to accept human blood, so..."
Although Jimbei didn't finish his sentence, the others understood what he meant.
Because of the betrayal by humans, he refused human blood and ultimately... died from excessive blood loss.
"And because of this, the Fish-Man race harbors such resentment toward humans," Meiser said with a complicated expression.
"Yes."
Jimbei nodded and said, "What Brother Tiger's death meant to the Sun Pirates, I don't need to explain, right?"
The others didn't say anything, but their eyes told Jimbei they understood.
Seeing this, Jimbei sighed and turned to look at the sunlight above. "Because of Brother Tiger's death, everyone in the Sun Pirates was deeply affected."
"So... Arlong, unable to bear it, chose to go alone and attacked a Marine warship."
"In the end... he was captured alive by Kizaru."
Hearing Jimbei's words, Meiser was momentarily stunned. Arlong had such a record?
Challenging a Marine Admiral One-on-One?
Is this guy that outrageous?
As if reading Meiser's thoughts, Jimbei said, "It wasn't as exaggerated as you think. He was taken down in a single encounter."
This matter was recounted by Arlong himself, who harbored the deepest hatred for humans, so Jimbei considered it highly credible.
"I see."
That makes sense. Being instantly defeated by Kizaru's laser is the normal outcome.
Hmm?
Wait...
As if realizing something, Meiser asked, "After being captured by someone like Kizaru, how did he manage to escape?"
Could it be that Kizaru was assigned to another mission, giving Arlong an opportunity?
"He didn't escape," Jimbei shook his head. "After being captured by Kizaru, Arlong was sent to Impel Down."
"Then how..."
"This is what I'm about to explain," Jimbei said, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath before reopening them. "After Fisher Tiger's death, I became the captain of the Sun Pirates, continuing to roam the seas under the name 'Knight of the Sea, Jimbei.'"
"As time passed, my bounty kept increasing, until... it reached 250 million Berries!"
"Right around that time, I received an invitation from the World Government."
As if understanding, Meiser said, "The Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea..."
If he guessed correctly, Jimbei must have become one of the Royal Shichibukai at that time.
"Yes, the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea," Jimbei confirmed. "Although some crew members didn't want me to accept the invitation, Fisher Tiger said before his death that we should do our best to support Queen Otohime's dream."
"So... I chose to accept the title."
"This would not only grant amnesty to the members of the Sun Pirates but also help improve relations between Fish-Man Island and humans."
To realize Fisher Tiger's dream, for the freedom and liberation of the Fish-Man race, he was willing to bear the infamy and accept the title of "World Government lapdog."
"So, Arlong was released at this time..."
"Yes."
Jimbei glanced at Sanji, who had spoken. "Since Arlong was also a member of the Sun Pirates, after I became a Royal Shichibukai, the World Government released him from Impel Down."
"Afterward... this guy grew dissatisfied with me becoming a Royal Shichibukai, so he chose to fight me."
"Upon realizing he couldn't change my mind, he left the Sun Pirates, taking Hachi and the others with him."
"Macro and his group also left around that time."
"Just like that, the Sun Pirates split into three factions, each taking their own path."
"As for those of us who remained, we renamed the Sun Pirates to the Fish-Man Pirates."
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