Tiger was silent for a moment, then spoke, "If this conversation has no meaning, let's end it here. Ian the Skyfire, what exactly is the purpose of your Beast Pirates?"
"Purpose?"
Ian thought for a moment, then replied, "Of course, it's to increase the strength of our Beast Pirates."
Jinbe, who had been smiling at Ian just moments ago, suddenly slammed the table and stood up, "As expected, you're just trying to exploit our people!"
"Exploit?"
Jinbe had expected Ian to refute him, but what Ian said next shocked him.
Ian said, "What's wrong with that?"
Upon hearing Ian's response, Jinbe was filled with rage and shouted, "You bastard!!"
Before he could curse any further, Ian continued, "In fact, I think being used by us is a good thing."
"We need people who can help us explore the seabed, so we need the immigrants from Fish-Man Island. We need troops who can fight underwater, so we need the Fish-Man forces."
"And now, we've gotten what we wanted, and the fishmen and mermaids who migrated to Wano have also gotten everything they wanted: freedom, sunlight, safety, wealth, power. Isn't this a win-win exchange?"
Jinbe was instantly rendered speechless.
He felt like something was off, but couldn't pinpoint what exactly.
"Furthermore, and more importantly…"
Ian chuckled and said, "Maybe our actions could stir up a wave on the sea. After all, the power that fishmen and mermaids can exert in the ocean is incredibly strong."
"The Navy already has a giant Vice-Admiral. Who knows, in the future, there might even be fishman Vice-Admirals or mermaid Vice-Admirals."
"Isn't this kind of use a good thing?"
Tiger was taken aback.
"Perhaps," Ian said, "this is the first step for Fish-Man Island to integrate into the world above the sea."
Although it sounded cruel, the truth was that if Fish-Man Island wanted to enter the surface world, they had no choice but to follow what Otohime said—earn human recognition and integrate into this world.
After all, Fish-Man Island was too weak to change the rules of this world. All they could do was adapt to it.
They could only cater to humans.
Tiger fell silent.
What Ian said seemed to make sense.
If the world saw the strength of the fishman army, would it spark an arms race? Would everyone want to form their own fishman forces?
In that case, fishmen and mermaids would gain the recognition of human society's major powers and thus be able to integrate into the human world.
He looked at the young man.
Suddenly, he understood why Neptune and the others agreed to this kid's immigration plan.
Seeing Tiger's changing expression, Ian's lips curled into a smile. "It's already too late today. Tomorrow, let's go see the immigrants. They're living quite well here."
Tiger paused for a moment, then hesitantly nodded.
"Hahaha, alright," Ian clapped his hands and said happily, "I've talked too much, the food's getting cold. Let's eat first."
After a somewhat awkward late-night meal, Ian had planned to arrange accommodations for Tiger and the others.
But they refused. They wanted to stay by the coast tonight and meet their fellow islanders first thing tomorrow.
Ian didn't know what to say about this either and could only let Jack and the others wait by the coast near the immigrant settlement.
Then, after the Sun Pirates left.
Ian suddenly spoke up, "Aren't you going to thank them?"
Outside, Hancock walked in with grace, a little hesitant, followed by her two younger sisters.
The benefactors were right in front of them, but they didn't want to expose that experience to anyone other than Ian.
"Well, let me go thank them for you."
Ian said.
"Ian!"
Hancock's cheeks instantly turned red, "I'm so happy! Is this... sharing both honor and disgrace?"
Ian gave a slight smile.
The next day.
Ian purposely got up early.
But still, it was a bit late.
When he arrived, Tiger had already returned from the Fishmen's gathering place under the sea.
The Sun Pirates were chatting with the enthusiastic immigrants.
"So, your daily work is to search the sea floor?"
"Yes, Lord Ian said that Wano Country is rich in various minerals, and since the land is so abundant, the sea floor of the inner sea must be the same. We're exploring ancient ruins of Wano Country while investigating the sea floor's mineral veins. Lord Ian also said that we'll explore the sea floor resources of the outer seas in the future."
"Is the work tough?"
"It's not too bad. It feels similar to Fish-Man Island, but the good part is that we can always come up to the surface to enjoy the sunlight and sea breeze without worrying about anyone hurting us. Also, the people here don't discriminate against us. The Beast Pirates are one thing, but the other humans from Wano we've encountered on the shore don't seem hostile toward us."
"Is that so?"
Looking at the happy smiles on the faces of his people, Tiger gently nodded.
It seemed that Neptune and the others hadn't lied, and neither had Ian.
The fellow countrymen are really living well here.
It seems like I shouldn't have come on this trip.
Tiger sighed.
"How does it feel?"
Ian smiled and walked over.
All the immigrants greeted him with smiles, and many beautiful mermaid ladies even sent him flying kisses as a welcome.
Ian waved his hand, signaling them to leave for now. He wanted to have a word with Tiger.
The immigrants all respected Ian's wishes.
"I was wrong about you."
Tiger said sincerely.
"We were wrong too,"
Jinbei said seriously, "Sorry, Mr. Ian."
"It's nothing,"
Ian waved his hand, "This is a win-win deal."
He suddenly smiled, "If you feel bad about it, then Mr. Tiger, how about doing me a favor?"
Tiger was momentarily stunned, "What?"
Ian said, "After we return to Fish-Man Island, help me spread the word. Wano needs more immigrants, but the people of Fish-Man Island don't believe in us, so we can only rely on your influence, Mr. Tiger."
Tiger paused in silence for a moment.
Then, he gently nodded.
He had come here for a field visit and learned that, just as the Neptune couple had said, there was no other island in the world more suitable for fishmen and mermaids to live on than this one.
If it's about immigrating here, it should be very safe, right?
"Thank you."
Ian sincerely expressed his gratitude, "Then I'll leave it to you."
"It's nothing."
Tiger shook his head.
It's all for the fellow countrymen.
There are plenty of people from our homeland on Fish-Man Island who long for the land and blue skies.
"By the way, Mr. Tiger,"
Ian asked, "Will you be returning to Paradise after this?"
Tiger was a bit confused and didn't understand why Ian was asking.
"If you don't mind, maybe your Sun Pirates could sail in the New World,"
Ian said, "While we can't directly assist you, we can still offer some invisible protection."
Tiger didn't respond, but Jinbei was a huge combat force.
Tiger frowned. "Let's talk about that later. We need to return to Fish-Man Island first."
"Like this?"
Ian nodded. "By the way, Mr. Tiger, someone asked me to thank you. They said, they're truly, truly, truly grateful to you."
Tiger stopped blinking.
Someone actually thanked him...
Tiger's lips curled into a smile. "There's no need to thank me. Just let them live well."
"I'll convey your words to them."
Ian really admired this man. He was the one most likely to become a bridge between Fish-Man Island and humanity, so Ian added, "Really, please consider my suggestion, Mr. Tiger. Come to the New World."
**********
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