After thinking carefully, Arlong believed that Nereus might also be a Mermaid, perhaps one of those Mermaid who had reached the age of splitting their legs.
Although massive in size, Arlong had never seen Giants on land, but there were such huge special individuals among the Fish-Men in the sea. There were even cases of rapid growth in size within a year among them. With so many residents on Fishman Island, he didn’t know everyone, so he couldn’t rule out this possibility.
“You are…”
Mandrell looked at the female giant before him with confusion.
“I am the queen of Gyarados, recently appointed by Lord Arceus. Lord Arceus has bestowed upon me the name Nereus. I have come to seek your guidance on certain matters.”
“Queen? Seeking guidance?”
He wasn’t a true Gyarados; he merely possessed Gyarados’ powers. However, this also helped him understand why he felt a strange feeling from Nereus; it seemed that the thing granted by Arceus was influencing him.
But he couldn’t understand why she would seek guidance from him. According to Nereus, she was originally a Gyarados, so she would surely know more about Gyarados than him.
Even a world champion in breaststroke cannot teach a frog to swim breaststroke. Human breaststroke swimming could never match the standard of a frog’s; the same principle applied to Gyarados.
“It’s regarding Mega Evolution. I heard you have mastered this power. I want to get stronger, so I’ll be troubling you for a while.”
Nereus briefly explained her purpose and directly stated her intentions for the future.
Mega Stone is just the start. To master Mega Evolution, practice is essential. Among those who had mastered Mega evolution in the Beasts Pirates, Mandrell and her power were closely related, making him the most suitable person to teach her.
Although she had been crowned queen, she saw no shame in seeking advice from others. As she said, she wants to get stronger.
“Wait, are you saying…you’ll be staying here for a while?”
“No need to worry; I usually live in the sea, so I won’t disturb you. My tribe can also guard the nearby waters for you during this time.”
“Rusalka, what do you think…”
“I have no objections. Mandrell, you can do as you wish.”
In the end, Nereus temporarily began to stay nearby to learn Mega Evolution. Meanwhile, Arlong got off the gondola and sought out Shyarly.
“Shyarly, I need to talk to you about something.”
“What is it? Just say it.”
As half-siblings with the same father, Shyarly and Arlong have a strained relationship. Often, due to ideological differences, they seemed more like strangers than siblings.
“I admit that some humans are a bit different.”
“Hmm?”
Coming from other Fish-Men, she might have believed such words, but coming from Arlong, she suspected he had spent too much time on the Ferris wheel and it had damaged his brain.
“Don’t interrupt. Mandrell might be a decent guy, but he’s not a suitable partner. He’s involved with too many women.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? What does it have to do with me? I’m leaving. Go ride your Ferris wheel or whatever.”
Watching Shyarly slide into the lane and swim away, Arlong felt a headache coming on. He had thought only Rusalka was in a relationship with Mandrell, which led him to say these things.
But now it seemed far more complicated, and his sister’s attitude was also strange. Except for the initial period they spent together, he hadn’t heard her call him “Brother Arlong” again.
“This is troublesome…”
Arlong planned to have a chat with Tiger; there was nothing he couldn’t discuss with Tiger. However, after searching around, he couldn’t find Tiger anywhere.
“Hachi, have you seen Boss around?”
Looking at Hachi making takoyaki for others, Arlong asked him about Tiger’s whereabouts.
“Nyuuuuu? If it’s Boss Tiger, I saw him heading towards the shore earlier.”
With a rough idea of his location, Arlong headed towards the shore and soon saw Tiger, who was taking notes.
He didn’t rush to interrupt Tiger, opting instead to wait until Tiger finished talking. At this time, Nereus’ voice reached his ears.
After some time of practicing control, Nereus succeeded in controlling her voice to a relatively normal volume. However, one has to listen closely to catch a few snippets of her words.
Although Mandrell had mastered Mega Evolution, teaching it to others was a different matter. Their first teaching session didn’t yield any results. When Mandrell left to rest and ponder on how to proceed with teaching her, Tiger arrived.
“Hello, I’m Tiger, Fisher Tiger. I’ve heard you mention Lord Arceus several times. If I may ask, what are your thoughts on Lord Arceus?”
“Fisher Tiger… I’ve heard of you…”
After obtaining the Onyudo Fruit, she had briefly stayed in Wano Country. During that time, she had gathered a lot of human intelligence through the words of other pirates. The closer the news was to the present, the more she heard, including the name Tiger.
“Why are you inquiring about Lord Arceus?”
“Because…I saw the light ahead in the endless darkness.”
Over the next period of time, they conversed joyfully. One was a fanatic influenced by doctrines and prone to overinterpretation, while the other was a Gyarados created by Arceus. There was no conflict in their communication.
Nereus couldn’t say anything negative about Arceus, and in Tiger’s words, she felt she had underestimated the greatness of Arceus who created her.
Under Nereus’ influence, Tiger also developed more expectations towards Wano Country.
By the time it was dawn, Tiger’s notebook was filled with many things. Despite staying up all night, he was full of energy, as if he had undergone a significant mental transformation. As he was leaving, he noticed Arlong sleeping not far away on the beach.
Yesterday, Tiger and Nereus had been engrossed in conversation, neglecting the passage of time. Arlong, who had initially wanted to wait for Tiger to finish, ended up falling asleep while waiting.
Seeing Arlong asleep, Tiger chose not to wake him and quietly left. He didn’t want to disturb Arlong’s sleep.
Meanwhile, on the Red Line, Tesoro made a new decision.
“Alright, this year’s team-building location… will be here!”
“Really? Mr. Tesoro, can we really go there?”
Looking at the destination Tesoro had chosen, Ann appeared very excited. Not just Ann, but Cindry and Stella also showed interest because the island Tesoro had pointed to was Elegia, also known as the Island of Music.
If Ohara is the holy land of archaeology, then Elegia is the holy land of music. Tesoro planned to take his artists there to train their vocal skills during this time’s team-building activity.
“Of course, pack up your things, we’re leaving right away.”
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