Chapter 187: The East Blue Fish-Man Incident
The newspaper featured a photo of an island. On its surface grew towering, ancient trees, and at their base, a dense undergrowth thrived. On the giant trees at the edge of the forest, the corpses of numerous human pirates and a few fish-man pirates were hung high. Along with them, the resolute figures of men and women, clad in leaves and camouflage and with paint on their faces, were faintly visible.
"Yelena's people... after leaving her, have they also become strong, possessing the power to protect themselves?" After a long while, Louis let out a sigh of emotion.
Although the photo of the island was a bit blurry, he had recognized it at a glance. It was New Canaan. That forest was the very one that Louis had catalyzed and brought to life with his own ability. They looked identical to the trees on other islands, but they were terrifying, living plants, their branches, roots, and vines possessing an extremely high threat level.
However, Louis could also see that Yelena's people were not solely relying on the power of the giant trees to defeat the Arlong Pirates' repeated attacks. Because the trees were growing very well and had not suffered many casualties, it meant that the life force Louis had stored in them at the time had not been consumed much. Moreover, the main focus of the news report this time was the "Katachan Jungle Warriors," not the strange forest itself.
In other words, the giant trees hadn't made much of a move. The vast majority of the fighting was done by Yelena's people.
"So, were Yelena's people just born in the wrong place?" Louis thought to himself. A group of people with top-tier jungle warfare talent, but born on a barren plateau... what a huge joke the world had played on them.
Louis shook his head, pushing the strange thought aside, and continued to flip through the newspaper.
[The repeated victories of the Katachan Warriors have attracted the attention of the major kingdoms and Marine branches in the East Blue.]
[Many Marines and kingdoms have extended invitations to the Katachan Warriors, hoping that this group of powerful fighters will join them.]
[Currently, only the Marine colonel of the Loguetown branch has successfully recruited several young warriors.]
"..."
Louis temporarily put down the newspaper, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Since the Marines can recognize the excellence of Yelena's people, then they naturally also know what Arlong's crew is doing. Is it the power gap that makes them dare not act? Or are the Marine branches colluding with Arlong? It can't be that even Garp is wary of the strength of the Warlord of the Sea, Jinbe, right?"
Not only that, but although the newspaper said that Yelena's people had repeatedly thwarted the fish-men's conspiracies, this was the first time Louis had received any news about the Arlong Pirates. For a moment, all sorts of thoughts rose in his mind.
It was understandable if other Marines ignored Arlong. But for Garp, who frequently returned to the East Blue, to also allow the Arlong Pirates to wantonly persecute the people... that was a bit outrageous.
Soon, Louis realized another unusual thing. "Some of Yelena's people have joined the Marines?" Louis fell into thought. This news was a bit of a surprise to him. "Doesn't that mean we've also planted people in the Marines? I'll have to find a way to figure out their identities. It would be bad if I accidentally killed them—"
"But, before that, I must stop the Arlong Pirates."
Louis returned to his room, picked up the receiver of his Den Den Mushi, and dialed a special number.
Brrring~ Brrring~ Brrring~
Click. The call was quickly answered, and a rough voice came through. "Hello, this is Jinbe."
"This is Louis," he said, immediately identifying himself.
At the same time, Jinbe, hearing the familiar name, froze on the spot. It took him a while to react. "Lord Louis?" Then, he let out a heroic laugh. "Thank you so much for the matter with our kinsmen, Lord Louis! The few of them have already returned safely to Fish-Man Island and have also explained what happened to His Majesty Neptune!" Immediately after, Jinbe expressed his sincere gratitude to Louis.
To this, Louis didn't pay much mind, because at the time, those fish-men and the mermaid were just an incidental rescue. At present, the most important thing was to stop Arlong from continuing to threaten the safety of the people of New Canaan. It was a good thing that they had the ability to resist, but Louis couldn't, while having the ability to help, just let those fish-men continue to threaten Yelena's people.
Then, Louis's voice reached Jinbe's ear through the Den Den Mushi. "Jinbe, do you remember a person named Arlong?"
"Arlong?" Jinbe recalled him, and a grim look appeared on his face. "He is my friend. Has he done something again?" Jinbe recalled Arlong's personality after that incident, and his whole being felt uneasy. Thinking about how he had disappeared without a trace after being released by the Marines, sweat even began to drip from Jinbe's forehead. He had a premonition that that guy Arlong had definitely, without him knowing, caused a huge mess for him.
Then, Louis's voice sounded again. "The fish-man Arlong, that friend of yours, is now in the East Blue. He's caused quite a stir, killed many citizens, and taken control of many villages."
"..."
Hearing this, Jinbe's blue face instantly darkened, becoming as black as the bottom of a pot. His fists clenched, and a fierce light appeared in his eyes.
He did not doubt Louis's words. On one hand, Louis had no reason to deceive him. On the other hand, the things Louis had spoken of were entirely something the extremist Arlong was capable of doing.
Then, Jinbe tried his best to suppress his anger and pain, making his tone as calm as possible. "I understand. I will make a trip to the East Blue to stop Arlong's actions. If necessary, I will have him stay in a prison cell forever, or kill him with my own hands."
"I don't care about his fate, but I don't want to see any more news of him attacking the citizens of the East Blue," Louis replied in an emotionless tone.
On the other side, Jinbe slowly nodded. "I understand. I will give the citizens there an explanation—"
Click. The brief call was disconnected. The Den Den Mushi once again closed its eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
In a building in the Fish-Man District.
The anger in Jinbe's eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by an indescribable pain.
"Arlong... have you forgotten the wishes of Queen Otohime and Big Brother Tiger—"
At this moment, memories of his time in the Sun Pirates with Arlong and Fisher Tiger flashed in his mind. At that time, Big Brother Tiger was heroic, full of youthful idealism, and incredibly respected. Arlong was not so extreme either. Although his face was fierce and his mouth was foul, overall, he was a decent person.
But after the Sun Pirates were attacked by the Marines while returning a little girl to her hometown, everything changed. Big Brother Tiger died from excessive blood loss, the Sun Pirates fell apart, and Arlong became extremely radical.
Everything was in the past.
After a long while, Jinbe's expression became resolute again, a determined look in his eyes.
"Now, there is a faint hope for Fish-Man Island. We will not allow anyone to destroy it. Not even you, Arlong."
"..."
Then, Jinbe picked up his cape and left the building directly. In front of the gate, Jinbe spoke to several baffled fish-men with a cold face, "Prepare for a long voyage! We're going to the East Blue!"
At the edge of the Calm Belt, on the giant Island Cloud.
Yelena sat in a chair forged from processed cloud, looking at the photo in the newspaper with a faint smile on her lips.
"The people of Canaan—"
Although this was a blurry photo, and the figures were obscured by confusing leaves and camouflage, Yelena still recognized their identities. They were her people, an existence she would never forget in her life.
As for the fish-men in the news, Yelena did not care. She knew that after seeing the news, Louis would definitely solve this matter. Perhaps, even before she had gotten the newspaper, Louis had already made his move.
Nearby, Gerd saw the smile on Yelena's face and was a little confused. "Yelena, what are you smiling about?"
To this, Yelena picked up the newspaper in her hand and showed it to Gerd with a smile. "Look, these are my people!"
Gerd subconsciously took the newspaper and observed it carefully. But in the end, she had a bewildered look on her face. "With this appearance, how can you tell who they are?! Also, the paper says they were attacked by fish-men. Aren't you worried?" Gerd asked, her hands on her hips, a worried look on her calm, beautiful face.
To this, Yelena waved her hand and said meaningfully, "It's fine. Louis will solve this matter first!"
The several giants heard her and, after some thought, no longer paid attention to it.
Soon, the giant Island Cloud proceeded slowly, officially entering the Calm Belt. It passed over one deserted island after another and came to a stop directly above an island teeming with ferocious giant beasts.
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