**Chapter 2: Charlotte**
With Nereus's arrival, the conflict in the tavern was declared over. The others seemed accustomed to this; after dividing the gambling proceeds, they continued drinking as usual.
Kaido seemed to be suffering from a headache in a dual sense: one from the physical aftereffects of the forced sobering, and the other from contemplating how to repair this place.
Nereus sat aside by himself, glancing at the calendar on the wall. The year 1503 stood out clearly.
The SBS timeline provides the exact year. Luffy's current sailing time is 1541, and he set sail in 1539. Based on the new data, this book's timeline is set 38 years prior.
"Thirty-two years..."
After an accidental encounter with a heavy truck upon leaving the orphanage, Nereus had arrived in this world. That year was 1471 of the Age of the Sea Circle.
He was born in Fish-Man District. Originally, that place was a facility on Fish-Man Island used to house orphans, so in a sense, he had returned to his "starting point."
However, due to chaotic management, Fish-Man District soon became a gathering place for lawless groups on Fish-Man Island.
Of course, its original function hadn't been abandoned. Nereus himself grew up there, struggling through the hardships. He chose his new name during that time, symbolizing a fresh start.
During those years of growth, several residents of Fish-Man District had helped him significantly.
Moreover, it didn't take long for him to realize what world this was.
He had some understanding of what would happen in the pirate world, though his knowledge of the plot only extended up to the Egghead Arc. Everything after that consisted of fragmented intelligence reports; overall, he only remembered the broad strokes.
To survive better in this dangerous world, he began learning combat techniques. Several years later, he took a few companions from Fish-Man District, left Fish-Man Island, and began to make his way in the outside world.
He wanted to change the status quo, and to do so from the root—which meant overthrowing the current World Government and ending the rule of the Celestial Dragons. That required power.
On this sea, the slave trade was not uncommon. Even though the Great Pirate Era had not yet been initiated by Roger, Fish-Man Island was a disaster zone affected by the slave trade, with Merfolk being the top-tier products in the eyes of slave traders.
After destroying a World Government slave transport ship, Nereus appeared on a Navy wanted poster.
Nowadays, his bounty had multiplied countless times compared to that first amount, and slave traders would feel an immense headache just hearing his name.
"Big Brother Nereus, I saw your little princess heading toward the town. Do you want me to go check on her for you?"
Just as Nereus was pondering his next plans, a tall, muscular Fish-Man with pale blue skin and bright green patches pushed open the door and walked in.
He was Sebastian. In the original timeline, he was a member of the World Pirates, a hybrid of a Fish-Man and a Giant. Now, however, he was Nereus's subordinate.
This was due to Nereus's race. Because the person who came here was a Fish-Man, other Fish-Men and Merfolk found it easier to trust him, and Nereus's forces were largely composed of them.
Sebastian was one of his top executives.
"No need, Big Pan is following her. Besides, she's going to her mother's place."
Nereus appeared very reassured about this. Big Pan was also a hybrid of a Giant and a Fish-Man, a member recruited from the outer seas after Nereus left Fish-Man Island.
In the original timeline, he was merely a member under Foxy the Silver Fox. But now, under Nereus's own training, his strength had improved immensely, earning him a place even in the New World.
However, what truly reassured him was Nanamo's mother—Charlotte Linlin, the future Emperor of the Sea, the only female among the Yonko, Big Mom.
If there were major issues, Charlotte Linlin would handle them. For minor matters, Big Pan could cope on his own.
At this age, Charlotte Linlin was not the crazed old woman wielding violence seen in the canonical timeline, nor was she the ignorant child unaware of her own strength.
Youthful and beautiful, she was currently a bold, benevolent, and heroic woman who possessed a more rational judgment on many matters.
The relationship between the two wasn't complicated. Given Charlotte Linlin's own views on other races, after meeting a powerful and handsome Fish-Man, that relationship developed not long after.
Nanamo was her first child, the true eldest daughter of the Charlotte Family, born even earlier than Perospero.
However, their relationship didn't last long. Later, due to incompatible worldviews, major disagreements arose quickly between them. Even now, there were disputes over the daughter's custody.
After they broke up, Charlotte Linlin continued as she always had, and now had quite a few more children.
Aside from causing Perospero to be born a bit later, Nanamo's existence indirectly led to the original eldest daughter, Charlotte Compote, not being born. Other than that, there were few changes with Charlotte Linlin.
Their romantic relationship had fractured, but they had parted on relatively good terms; there was no bizarre scenario of divorcing and splitting half the family assets.
Furthermore, Charlotte Linlin valued this daughter highly. After all, she was currently the only one among her children who had inherited her "Iron Balloon" talent.
What dissatisfied Charlotte Linlin the most was that Nanamo was closer to Nereus and usually lived with him.
Given Nereus's own strength, Charlotte Linlin's usual tactic of "keeping the child and discarding the father" didn't work here.
Therefore, she hoped that through interactions with Nanamo's half-siblings like Katakuri, she could change Nanamo's mind and make her a purer member of the Charlotte Family.
"Do you have other business?"
"Nothing major. News came from the underwater outpost. A group of guys who have a grudge against us is approaching Hachinosu..."
Before Sebastian could finish speaking, Kaido, who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor nearby, suddenly stood up.
"I'll get someone to come over and help you with repairs later. I have something to do, so I'm leaving first."
Demolishing houses was Kaido's specialty. Even though he wasn't an ability user yet, destroying this place wasn't difficult, but repairing it would be quite a challenge for him.
However, due to the nature of Hachinosu, conflicts erupted frequently, so there really was a group of people specifically responsible for repair work. After all, they didn't want to sleep in ruins every night.
Without waiting for Nereus's reply, Kaido rushed out. Nereus didn't stop him.
The root of the issue wasn't about paying money or not, but that fighting here broke the rules Nereus had set. A lesson was enough punishment, and besides, Kaido wasn't the type to act shamelessly over such a matter.
After he left, Nereus turned to ask Sebastian about another matter.
"How are those Sea Beasts doing lately?"
"Not bad. Although they aren't as obedient as that batch of Fighting Fish, the training is nearly complete."
"Take them out for a test run. Let's check their combat effectiveness."
"Yes."
Whether Fighting Fish or Sea Beasts, they were unique species in this ocean. For ordinary human crews, these ferocious marine creatures were disasters during a voyage.
But for the Fish-Man race living in the ocean, they were like hunting dogs—combat forces that could be domesticated.
In the traditional culture of the Fish-Man race, there were specialized methods for taming Sea Beasts.
The Sea Beasts Nereus referred to were a batch captured and trained a while ago. Now was the perfect time to verify their strength.