Coulson entered King Neptune's audience hall alongside a tall and imposing Marine officer.
"Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome to Councilor Coulson for returning to Fish-Man Island as our guest!" King Neptune greeted them with evident joy and enthusiasm.
"It's been a while, Your Majesty," Coulson replied with his signature warm smile, then gestured to the man beside him.
"This is Vice Admiral Aokiji of Marine Headquarters—and a newly promoted admiral candidate."
Kuzan looked up at the enormous fish-man king seated on the throne and gave a polite nod. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kuzan. I look forward to working with you."
"Ah, yes—hello, hello," King Neptune said, slightly unsure of what to say. He quickly turned to Coulson. "So, what brings you both here today?"
Coulson kept his gentle smile. "According to the 'Declaration on Establishing Equal and Friendly Relations Between Humans, Merfolk, and Fish-Men' signed earlier, I've come to transfer all merfolk and fish-men residing in Mary Geoise and affiliated nations. Your Majesty may send your people to receive them."
"Truly?!"
King Neptune immediately stood up, overcome with excitement, and ordered the Left Minister, "Go! Take some people and confirm this at once!"
"At once, Your Majesty!" the Left Minister responded, equally thrilled.
In the past, getting the Celestial Dragons and those nobles to return the fish-men they had bought would have been pure fantasy—nothing short of a waking dream.
Watching the Left Minister disappear through the palace gates, King Neptune bowed deeply to Coulson, expressing his heartfelt thanks to him and to the World Government.
Seeing this, Kuzan couldn't help but reflect.
Something about the World Government had changed lately—though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what.
The Drum Kingdom had been one such case. Now Fish-Man Island was another. These were acts of justice he had seen with his own eyes—and even played a part in.
Unconsciously, the part of Kuzan's heart that still burned with justice began to warm again. His opinion of the World Government… had improved.
Once King Neptune had calmed down from his earlier excitement, Coulson spoke again: "Your Majesty, in addition to assisting with the escort, Vice Admiral Aokiji is actually here to oversee the establishment of a Marine branch on Fish-Man Island. He'll be responsible for all related matters in the coming years."
"A Marine branch?"
King Neptune was momentarily stunned. Then he suddenly recalled that this had indeed been mentioned in the declaration and asked, "May I ask how many Marines will be stationed here? And where exactly will the branch be built?"
This time, it was Kuzan who answered, not Coulson.
"The initial plan is to have one thousand Marines from headquarters arrive with me as the first batch. Once the branch's primary facilities are complete, another four thousand will be stationed here."
After he finished speaking, Coulson followed up: "The construction of the Marine branch will be handled by our administrative department's construction team. As for the specific location, we'll need to wait for specialists to conduct a proper site survey. We hope Fish-Man Island can provide some support with that."
"Hahaha, of course! Though I thought you'd at least wait until after the World Summit to come," King Neptune said with a hearty laugh.
"If all goes smoothly and we follow the construction timeline, starting now should allow us to complete everything just after the World Summit ends," Coulson replied with a smile.
"I see!"
"Then, before the facilities are complete, where will Vice Admiral Aokiji and the other Marines be stationed?" King Neptune asked with curiosity.
"We'll live on the warships for the time being. We'll make sure not to disturb the local residents," Kuzan replied.
"No, no—that won't do. Our Fish-Man Island may not be large, but we certainly have more than enough room to accommodate a thousand people!"
King Neptune had no intention of treating Kuzan and the Marines poorly. He was well aware that his people would be relying on their protection for a long time to come.
"Left Minister, take the Marines to temporarily stay in Waterwheel Town in the north, and have the craftsmen quickly build a batch of shell houses!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"We appreciate it," Kuzan said courteously, then followed the orange-yellow-skinned seahorse minister out of the hall. Coulson, however, remained behind.
"Your Majesty Neptune, according to the declaration, Fish-Man Island is also allowed to station troops at the Sabaody Archipelago. We've already cleared out Area 62."
King Neptune scratched the back of his head awkwardly and said with a laugh, "Ah, sorry about that. We assumed that would be something to arrange after the World Summit, so we haven't had time to discuss it."
Coulson didn't mind. He simply nodded and continued: "Also, regarding the inclusion of merfolk and fish-men into the World Government, the Navy, and other departments—this time I've brought a list of names and the number of recruits the Navy hopes to bring in."
"Oh? Let's hear it," King Neptune said, curious to know how many the Navy would accept—and who was on that list of 'important fish-men'.
"Marine Headquarters plans to recruit an initial batch of 200 individuals from the merfolk and fish-man races. Merfolk will mainly handle administrative roles, while the fish-men will form a dedicated Fish-Man Unit."
As he spoke, Coulson pulled out a sheet of white paper from his coat. Several names were written on it.
"The key figures are Fisher Tiger, Jinbe, and Aladine."
King Neptune paused, then looked confused. "I've heard of Fisher Tiger—but Jinbe? Aladine? Who are they?"
"According to our intel, the whale shark fish-man Jinbe, age 22, and the manybar goatfish fish-man Aladine are both currently serving in your Neptune Army."
Outside the palace, the catfish-faced Left Minister watched as the merfolk and fish-men disembarked from the World Government's ships.
They didn't appear to be injured. No obvious wounds, no disabilities. In fact… they seemed way too cheerful. Smiling, laughing—their joy was written all over their faces.
But hadn't they been slaves?
The Left Minister could only shake his head in the end, chalking it up to simple happiness.
After all, just being able to return to Fish-Man Island alive was something worth celebrating.
...
Mary Geoise — Upper floor of Pangaea Castle.
Imu was reviewing the reports sent over by the Five Elders.
After all, having decided to personally take the helm of the World Government, this kind of administrative work was unavoidable.
Over in the Drum Kingdom, the ice staircase and ice bridge connecting to Drum Rockies had already been completed, thanks to Kuzan's efforts.
As for Jaya Island, it had now become a breeding ground for Guide Birds.
The plan was to eventually turn it into the world's largest zoo, home to various rare animals. It would also become the premier research hub for zoologists.
Security on the island had been entrusted to the Army, since there was a Navy G-branch base nearby.
Next was the situation in Water 7.
Imu picked up the report and read it carefully.
Overall, everything was progressing smoothly. The island of broken ships, once piled high with hundreds of ruined vessels, had now been completely cleared out by the Administrative Department's construction teams.
They were now racing against time to build the new Tom's Workshop and the research facility for the Sea Train.
Water 7 had long been the Navy's primary shipyard, and in the future, it would also become the research and manufacturing site for the Sea Train.
Especially the latter—since it concerned transportation for all member nations under the World Government, it couldn't be taken lightly.
Imu left the report on the table and then picked up the next one.
This one concerned the remodeling progress of the Thriller Bark.
Although it was technically a ship, its size qualified it as an island—this massive sailing vessel was now undergoing repairs, renovations, and remodeling in a secret location right up against the Red Line.
However, the construction timeline was rather long—estimated at around six months.
That displeased Imu somewhat. The situation at sea was growing more chaotic by the day.
Due to rumors of a great treasure, the number of pirates had visibly increased.
Several Navy G-branch bases along the first half of the Grand Line were already overwhelmed with activity.
Especially with bounty posters being issued in batch after batch.
That made the Navy base at Reverse Mountain all the more critical.
The next few reports...
Included Dr. Kureha and other outstanding physicians from the Drum Kingdom sharing their views on Amber Lead Syndrome.
There was also a report on Shiryu's conduct after becoming Akainu's adjutant, and a letter from Monkey D. Dragon to the Five Elders.
Shiryu's situation was of little concern. With Akainu around, there was no worry about keeping him in check.
Imu placed greater importance on the matters of Amber Lead Syndrome and Dragon.
Dr. Kureha and the other skilled physicians had personally examined the patients secretly transferred from the North Blue by CP4.
They concluded that it was a textbook case of chronic heavy metal poisoning.