A group of people stared at Orochimaru with suspicious looks. Orochimaru gestured towards Jinbe with his chin.
"If you don't believe me, you can ask this fathead fish. He and I have never met before this. Today is our first formal meeting."
Jinbe nodded slightly. His upright character did not allow him to casually slander others. Jinbe's expression was serious.
"I can vouch for that. We truly met for the first time today. Although we had seen each other before, we never spoke.
I actively sought Mr. Luffy's help. At the time, I was desperate to save Mr. Ace, but I was trapped in a cell. Out of helplessness, I shamelessly asked Mr. Luffy to help me escape."
Sanji raised an eyebrow noncommittally. If you knew you were being manipulated by Orochimaru, would it still be Orochimaru's manipulation? Never mind, it's not important.
He no longer dwelled on it, merely took another deep drag from his cigarette, and waved his hand, saying,
"Forget it, whether Orochimaru manipulated you isn't that important anymore.
However, if you have any defense, we are all ears. But watch your words when you speak.
To tell you the truth, the hometown of this beautiful Navigator, Miss Nami, is the island ruled by Arlong. She herself was one of the people who suffered greatly.
If you try to make excuses, I won't let you off."
"Niu... Jinbe-san..." Hachi struggled to sit up, clutching his wound.
"It's true, the harm we inflicted on this girl cannot be forgiven, even with an apology."
Jinbe's expression was calm, lost in thought.
"It seems you've endured much misfortune."
Sanji, annoyed, was about to scold Jinbe, but Orochimaru pulled him aside, indicating it was their matter.
Nami lowered her head slightly, her voice shrouded in a shadow, and spoke in a deep tone,
"No matter what, I will never feel sympathy for Arlong... Before reaching Sabaody Archipelago two years ago, I never imagined such powerful Fishmen could be persecuted by humans. But when I saw Sabaody Park, I was shocked; it was exactly like Arlong's territory."
Hachi struggled to move his body, then knelt down with a 'thud,' staring intently at Nami.
"Because that's the place we always yearned for. I'm not saying this to seek your forgiveness.
But... Nami, Big Brother Arlong hates humans very much, he despises them. We went too far, but ever since we were children, we greatly longed for the world where humans live.
Big Brother Arlong, everyone, and I were all like that. We secretly watched that place from a distance countless times.
But we ended up hurting many people.
A long time ago, Fishmen and Merfolk were both considered fish. It wasn't until 200 years ago that the Ryugu Kingdom became a member of the World Government, forming a friendly alliance with humans, and the King was even allowed to attend the World Conference.
But humans always detested Fishmen. During the Great Pirate Era, Fish-Man Island was even occupied by humans at one point, who wantonly burned, killed, and plundered on the island."
Jinbe looked at the group, his expression unchanged.
"And at that time, it was Whitebeard who saved the Fishmen from the brink of death. Old Man declared to the world that Fish-Man Island would be his territory from then on, and the island regained peace.
But this didn't stop humans from disliking Fishmen.
I presume you've already witnessed the reality firsthand in the Sabaody Archipelago.
The higher up the social ladder, the more severe the discrimination.
The relationship between Fishmen and humans has never changed.
Just then, two key figures emerged on Fish-Man Island, striving to rewrite history. One was Queen Otohime, Princess Shirahoshi's mother, who earnestly persuaded the islanders to coexist peacefully with humans.
Orochimaru took a sip of tea, and recalling this plot, he seamlessly picked up where Jinbe left off.
"But she was ambushed by 'so-called' humans and died tragically on the very day the Fishmen were about to agree to peaceful coexistence with humans."
Everyone glared disapprovingly at Orochimaru, who was spoiling the mood. Don't reveal spoilers!
Jinbe was also choked up, his eye twitching involuntarily. "The other was the hero dedicated to freeing slaves — Fisher Tiger."
Orochimaru sipped his tea contentedly, then continued,
"This hero, betrayed by the family of a human child he saved, ultimately died tragically under a hail of Marine gunfire, riddled with bullets like a sieve."
Jinbe's eyes were filled with resentment. Was he not going to be allowed to speak? Or perhaps Orochimaru wanted to speak instead.
Orochimaru handed his teacup to Luffy, looked at Jinbe, and spread his hands, gesturing forward, inviting him to continue.
Jinbe, somewhat reluctantly, meticulously recounted the stories of Queen Otohime and Fisher Tiger.
"We, along with Hachi and Arlong, were all part of Big Brother Tiger's Sun Pirates.
So after Big Brother Tiger's death, Arlong grew to hate humans even more.
Arlong, seeking revenge on humans, was caught by Kizaru and thrown into prison. For the dignity of Big Brother Tiger, Arlong lied, claiming that Tiger died because no human gave him a blood transfusion.
I, under the name Knight of the Sea Jinbe, became the new Captain of the Sun Pirates.
We fought this endless battle day and night.
Later, the Marine extended an invitation for me to become a Shichibukai, and I accepted... Although this sounds a bit hypocritical, most of the Sun Pirates were slaves, and if I became a Shichibukai, the others would be pardoned, allowing them to return to Fish-Man Island to live.
Moreover, by attaining this position, I might be able to slightly bridge the relationship between Fishmen and the World Government.
Because of this, the Sun Pirates split into three factions. Among them, Arlong, who was pardoned, left with a group of people.
We returned to live on Fish-Man Island, and Queen Otohime finally gained the trust of the people through her own efforts. The rest unfolded as Orochimaru described.
Because of that incident... everything fell apart... Humans... took away our most respected Queen... But for the Queen's dying wish, the King and Princes suppressed their resentment towards humans, and led by the three Princes, they re-inspired the people... hoping to once again fulfill Queen Otohime's dying wish of trusting humans and migrating to the land... These are probably the struggles against discrimination over the past 16 years.
And the origin of the Fishman Pirate Crew.
Jinbe looked at Nami solemnly.
"Arlong, who ran rampant in your hometown, is actually one of my subordinates... Originally, no matter what trouble he caused, no matter where, we would rush over. But Arlong bribed the local Marines, preventing Marine Headquarters from receiving the news.
As a result, you and many others lived in dire circumstances."
Jinbe made a standard dogeza bow, full of remorse, though his physique made it a bit awkward.
"I also bear responsibility for this. I am willing to accept any punishment from you until your anger subsides."
Nami suddenly stood up, her voice transitioning from agitated to calm, then she sighed.
"Stop talking! Stop talking... I hate Arlong. Anyway, it's great that you're not the mastermind behind Arlong's crew, because, after all, you're Luffy's friend, right?"
Nami said, sitting on the ground with her knees hugged.
"Indeed, Arlong's crew put me through hell, but in this tragic fate, I also met many Companions. All of these experiences have shaped my life.
I won't hate you just because you're a Fishman, so don't apologize for my life so casually."
Nami let out a relieved laugh, smiling brightly at Jinbe.
"I've moved past the past. I'm very happy now, you know."
Jinbe looked at Nami like this and remembered the last words of Queen Otohime and Fisher Tiger: do not let hatred continue.
The uncontrollable emotions finally burst forth, and he cried uncontrollably at this moment.
"Your words are truly undeserved; I am deeply humbled."
The others also wiped away tears, moved... Of course, this did not include the two brothers who had somehow leaned against each other and were sound asleep... Nami looked at the sobbing Jinbe. Was he truly in such deep pain internally?
And at this moment, Luffy was leaning on Orochimaru's shoulder, and Orochimaru was also leaning on Luffy's straw hat... The two were sound asleep. As the others' commotion grew louder, Luffy finally couldn't help but lie down on the ground, and Orochimaru consequently lay on his chest.
(～﹃～)~zZ (ꈍ﹃ꈍ)
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