“A mermaid marrying a human?”
“Yes, Brother Arlong, you also think such people are outrageous, right?”
Arlong did find it a bit strange, but what felt off to him was Hody.
Otohime had been conducting her activities for a long time, but only recently had there been any progress. Forget about merfolks marrying humans; the last time a merfolk had a close relationship with a human was back in the era of the previous Poseidon.
Perhaps some ordinary merfolk had similar experiences, but they were too unknown for anyone to be aware of them.
The phrase “marrying a human” was equivalent to naming directly on Fishman Island as apart from Rusalka, there was no one else to be found.
But Hody didn’t notice the change in Arlong’s expression and continued talking on his own.
“Recently, those people have been going to the humans’ amusement park. What’s so great about humans’ things? The upper echelons of Fishman Island have gone mad. They’ve forgotten that Fish-Men are the noblest species. Those lowly humans should be trampled underfoot.
Only trash would like human’s amusement parks.”
Arlong’s face darkened upon hearing this, and seeing that, Hody thought he had convinced him.
“Brother Arlong, let’s take action. You should lead the Fish-Man District to make a change! Those people should be eliminated; they have insulted the bloodline of Fish-Men!”
At this moment, Arlong suddenly understood how Shyarly felt when she looked at him before. Hody’s words sounded very harsh to him, especially since he insulted those who liked amusement parks. Wasn’t that talking about him?
Other Fish-Men might have only gone a couple of times, but he was the only one who stayed there all the time. And Hody’s plan for elimination didn’t seem right at all.
Based on the scope he has defined, it seems that he himself was also a target for elimination.
Tiger was his boss, and Tiger always advocated not to hate humans blindly.
Arlong himself was a frequent visitor to amusement parks, and Shyarly seemed to have an ambiguous relationship with Mandrell. So as Shyarly’s brother, what did that make him?
But Hody was still a Fish-Man, so Arlong didn’t do anything. He calmly patted the extremely excited Hody on the shoulder.
“Hody, you’re too extreme. How can you do that to your own people?”
“Brother Arlong…”
“And going to an amusement park is no big deal. Who doesn’t like having fun? There are a lot of bad humans, but there are also a few good ones among them. Your thinking is still too immature.”
Arlong then left without giving Hody’s words any more thought. There were many people in the Fish-Man District who dared to say such things, but none of them ever took action, just talking for the sake of talking.
He had fought with some human pirates near Fishman Island before, and then he lived the life of the Sun Pirates under Tiger’s leadership. Besides that, he’s just a braggart. He knows his own level in the Grand Line.
His main target for bragging was Jinbe because Jinbe wouldn’t do anything to him, making it very safe.
Watching Arlong leave, Hody didn’t call out to him, but the expression in his eyes as he looked towards Arlong had changed, losing the previous admiration.
“Brother Arlong, you’ve also been corrupted… Fish-Men need me to save them…”
He had been indoctrinated from a young age with the idea that humans were evil. There were many like him in the Fish-Man District, that’s why Jinbe suggested Otohime to not make too big of a move at the current stage.
But none were as greatly affected as Hody. Hody himself had never been persecuted, but he was the craziest, never changing his determined beliefs.
Hody didn’t take immediate action but began planning something.
…
Tiger and Mandrell were still on their way back, while on the Red Line, Tesoro obtained a piece of paper that looked very luxurious. With this, the subsequent plans could continue.
“Haha, Tesoro, you really are something. If you had told me earlier that you had such connections, I wouldn’t have had to go through trouble to help you deal with those things.”
“I have no real relationship with them, maybe they just like it.”
“How could that be? It’s a Celestial Dragon. Forget it, I’ll bring you a gift when you open for business.”
“No need for a gift, but do visit often to have fun.”
“Definitely, definitely. I still have work to do, so I’ll see you later.”
In front of Tesoro, a man who looked like an official left, appearing very respectful. Tesoro then returned to his territory and placed the piece of paper on the table.
“Little White, don’t touch this. It took me a lot of effort to get this license.”
“Meow?”
“In short, it’s very important. Go outside and bask in the sunlight.”
Placing Persian on the balcony’s cat tree, Tesoro looked at the special license again.
“Why did it go so smoothly this time? Didn’t you say someone was sabotaging you before?”
Stella returned with Uta. Apart from Cindry, who had a separate residence due to her age, Ann and Uta were semi-adopted and lived with them. She thought Tesoro had been busy with this matter for a long time.
“Is it Baccarat’s luck?”
“Probably not. This time, a family of Celestial Dragons suddenly agreed. Those people wouldn’t dare to sabotage a Celestial Dragon. But I haven’t had much contact with this family, maybe they also saw the benefits.”
This license was actually a ship certificate, or rather, an independence certificate. It was something Tesoro prepared for the entertainment city.
The enormous ship, built over the period of several years, was mostly completed. The Gran Tesoro was ready for its maiden voyage, and he was waiting for this approval.
Ordinary ships didn’t need such a thing, but the Gran Tesoro was ten kilometers long. It was a ship in name, but in reality, it was a floating maritime city.
Such a ship couldn’t sail and operate on the sea without the World Government’s permission. Tesoro had been busy with this matter.
He hated the Celestial Dragons, but the most useful force he can make use of is the Celestial Dragons. His goal is to replace taxes with a single heavenly tribute, turning this place into the economic center of the Underworld.
The official from earlier wanted to make extra money in this process and was close to succeeding, but then there was a sudden change from above. The Flanders family unexpectedly stepped in to support Tesoro’s actions.
The Flanders family’s involvement affected several things. Tesoro had already established connections with some Celestial Dragons through money. Using these connections, he earned a lot of money and also brought enormous profits to the Celestial Dragons.
Worried that Tesoro, their money tree, might leave, they readily agreed to this matter. With the support of both families, the World Government naturally gave the green light, turning Gran Tesoro from a ship into a special independent country.
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