“Pay-tan! You’re already so old, and you still want to play hide and seek?”
Ulti, who had suddenly appeared, locked Page One from behind with a precise move. This was a daily routine for the siblings. To Ulti, Page One’s attempts to escape were just a game.
The scene looked quite “harmonious,” provided one ignored the suffocating expression on Page One’s face.
“You two really have a great sibling relationship.”
“How… can you… tell…”
Listening to Yamato’s mocking tone, Page One, who escaped with great difficulty, felt a headache coming on. Ulti and Yamato often seemed to argue, but in some situations, they got along remarkably well, like now.
Seeing them, no one but Yamato would believe they get along well. Ulti’s actions seemed more like attempted murder than sibling play.
As for why Page One didn’t resist, he had tried but never succeeded. Ulti’s strength grew alongside his and she always managed to overpower him.
After some roughhousing, Ulti seemed to remember something.
“By the way, Pay-tan, we’re setting out tomorrow. There is a mission.”
“Mission? When did we get a mission?”
“I applied for it for you. Didn’t I tell you before?”
Time had passed, and Yamato and others had become new-generation officers, no longer the kids under protection while gaining experience.
This also meant the era of the Beasts Pirates lacking new officers had ended.
Before Yamato and others matured, no powerful new-generation officers had emerged in the Beasts Pirates; the original members still held the top positions.
Renowned people like Mandrell were also among the original veterans. This situation wasn’t unique to the Beasts Pirates; many pirate crews in the New World were in a similar situation.
Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates still had newcomers growing up, but the Whitebeard Pirates relied almost entirely on Whitebeard at that stage.
However, as the younger generation grew up, everything changed. Yamato and Jack had already reached adulthood, and Ulti and others were now in their youth. Although Ulti and Page One were still somewhat young, they were old enough to undertake some missions.
So their training had already begun. Naturally restless, Ulti found joy in dragging Page One along on missions.
“When did you tell me about this…”
Page One tried to recall previous events. There is no way he could forget such an important matter unless he was being tormented by Ulti, causing him to give perfunctory answers to everything.
“Uh…I remembered it just now, there indeed was such a thing.”
Seeing the change in Ulti’s expression, Page One quickly gave up his insistence. This was no joking matter. The siblings didn’t have their own ship, so if Ulti was lying, they wouldn’t be able to go out anyway.
Seeing she might continue tormenting him, he quickly chose to compromise. Their sibling relationship was somewhat similar to Kaido and Yamato, with daily interactions being unconventional fights.
“Good, since you remember, pack up and get ready to depart.”
“Wait, who are you sailing with tomorrow?”
As Ulti was about to drag Page One away, Yamato stopped them. There weren’t many officers staying on Onigashima at the moment, and she couldn’t immediately think of someone suitable.
“It’s Mandrell. I’ve heard he’s been busy over there with some new Fishman Island and is looking for a suitable territory.”
When some leave, others naturally return. Mandrell had come back for his routine report and decided to take the opportunity to bring Ulti and Page One along.
Bringing along newcomers was usually entrusted to steady, high-ranking officers. Mandrell fit this requirement in terms of qualifications, strength, and personality, and he also had enough experience.
As for the new Fishman Island project, it was considered a significant event this year.
Two years ago, Mjosgard, who returned to the Holy Land from Fishman Island, handed Otohime a permit from the World Government. After Hody Jones, this unstable element, was eliminated, no similar radicals emerged on Fishman Island.
Otohime, leveraging her reputation on Fishman Island, got many residents to sign an agreement allowing the Fish-Men to live on land. With the Celestial Dragon’s endorsement, they planned to establish a second homeland for the Fish-Men.
World Government didn’t obstruct this, not only because it was endorsed by the Celestial Dragons but it was also an opportunity to enhance their reputation.
The Great Pirate Era was becoming increasingly intense, and Dragon’s Revolutionary Army was causing more issues. At the recent Levely, they finally acknowledged the threat Dragon posed to royal authority but had no idea how to handle him.
The Revolutionary Army’s activities were limited to certain areas. Most people adopted a “not my problem” attitude, indifferent to the fall of other kingdoms’ royalty, with some even hoping for chaos in other kingdoms.
The world was only so big; if others had problems, they could intervene and seize benefits.
In this chaos, the “equality” granted to the Fish-Men could better enhance the World Government’s grand and glorious image.
However, the World Government’s approach was unique. They gave Ryugu Kingdom the condition to choose a suitable location themselves.
In this sea-dominated world, land resources were limited. No one is willing to simply give an island away, and even the World Government doesn’t want to share its own “cake.”
Ryugu Kingdom was an affiliated nation, and legally, they could do whatever they wanted to non-affiliated nations. This was the condition given to Ryugu Kingdom—to pick an island from a non-affiliated nation, which would then become theirs.
Otohime and Neptune were not war advocates; they chose to find an uninhabited island for redevelopment.
Developing an island wasn’t difficult for them, but reality was more complicated than ideal. Previously, Otohime thought the biggest obstacle would be Fishman Island residents’ thoughts and the World Government’s attitude.
But once these were resolved, she faced a more daunting issue: malicious humans were a much bigger problem than the thoughts of the Fish-Men and Merfolk.
Even the barrier of ten thousand meters deep sea couldn’t protect them from human slave traders. After leaving the deep sea, it became even worse. These slave traders could continue their business because they had backing.
Having received advanced notice, they ambushed many people nearby. As for Whitebeard’s flag, it was prohibited in the agreement with the World Government. Fishman Island still has many troubles to handle…
Chapter 668 New Fishman Island Project
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