Ryugu Palace.
"Minister , what's the situation?" asked King Neptune, an elderly man wearing a top hat and a monocle over his left eye, leaning on a cane topped with a bull's head.
"Your Majesty, according to my subordinates' reports, these sailors came to the island as tourists and haven't exhibited any unusual behavior," the minister replied, giving a slight nod. "We also spoke with some local residents, and none of them heard the sailors mention the purpose of their visit."
King Neptune stroked his beard, involuntarily recalling Shyarly's prophecy, and began to wonder whether she might have been mistaken. After all, they were sailors, not pirates, and even if there were a few unruly types among them, surely they wouldn't start killing without reason, right?
"In that case… let's keep an eye on them for a few days. Maybe they'll leave in a couple of days?" King Neptune said thoughtfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the minister confirmed.
Noah, built by the inhabitants of Fish-Man Island centuries ago and located on Fish-Man Street, bore two titles: the Ship of the Oath and the Ship of the Unfinished Task. After long years of neglect, it had long since become a haven for the roughest elements of Fish-Man Street. Following Princess Otohime's assassination, Hody Jones—a former member of the Sea Kings Army—took up residence here.
"Brother, news!" someone called out, and a tall, fierce fish-man with bloodthirsty eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth demanded, "Well, out with it!"
"It's the sailors A group of sailors landed on Fish-Man Island today. The purpose of their visit is unclear. It seems they're here for sightseeing. Other than visiting attractions, they're not doing anything else, one subordinate reported.
"How dare they! Those despicable humans had the audacity to brazenly set foot on Fish-Man Island!" Hody Jones snorted coldly.
"What's the attitude of the merchants?" he demanded.
"Well, I'm not sure. They seem very happy, because ever since Princess Otohime's death, it's been a long time since the island has had so many tourists," the subordinate replied.
"Ts-ts-ts… a bunch of slave scum! They really forgot their pain once the wounds healed! Looks like the death of that woman, Otohime, taught them nothing." Hody Jones rose from his seat in annoyance. He hated humans, and his hatred ran deep—even though he himself had never experienced direct persecution at their hands.
"Dharma! he shouted.
A short, red-skinned fish-man shot up from underground and declared arrogantly, "Boss, do you want me to chop them into pieces and eat them? Kaka!"
"Jihahaha! No! I want to ruin the reputation of the sailors! Go injure a few people living up above, then blame it on the sailors! Got it?" Hody Jones laughed.
"Leave it to me, Kaka!" Dharma immediately dove into the ground and vanished without a trace.
The next morning.
Karl left the hotel and stretched, but noticed that the inhabitants of Fish-Man Island were looking at him with strange expressions. Yesterday, they hadn't exactly been friendly, but at least they'd acted normal. So why had their attitude changed so suddenly today?
Karl's face darkened. This isn't good. Something must have happened last night!
At that moment, Ain appeared. The second he saw the looks in the fish-men's eyes, he immediately realized something was wrong and hurried over to Karl. "What happened?"
Karl silently shook his head. "I don't know!"
Last night, Smoker had gathered his soldiers and sent them back to the ship so they could rest and guard the vessel. He and Ain had found an inn and turned in for the night. Of course, they stayed in separate rooms.
Neither he nor Ain could have done anything wrong. If anyone was likely to have caused trouble, it would have been Smoker, given his less-than-pleasant disposition.
"You're the one who hurt my husband!"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes last night. It was the Marines in white uniforms who did it!"
"Humans are so awful! Get off Fish-Man Island!"
"Yeah! Get out of Fish-Man Island!!!"
Little by little, the residents surrounded Karl and Ain, shouting at them.
Karl instantly realized something was off. This tactic felt familiar—he had used this kind of trick many times himself! What was it called? A frame-up!
"Dear residents of Fish-Man Island, we spent the entire night at the inn and didn't leave even once, so I have no idea what you're talking about. "Karl addressed the crowd, trying to keep everyone calm. "Please, settle down. I am Rear Admiral Karl. I promise you, I will launch an investigation and provide a satisfactory answer!"
The raven on Karl's shoulder transformed into a long knife, dropping confidently into his palm. Its cold gleam caught the attention of Fish-Man Island's residents, who stared at him warily.
Suddenly, the surrounding fish-men fell silent, and Karl couldn't help but sigh, realizing the people of Fish-Man Island were truly straightforward and attentive.
"Ain, let's go!"
Soon, Karl and Ain hurried to the ship, only to find it surrounded by angry Fish-Man Island residents. Smoker was sweating as he tried to reason with them:
"I swear, not a single sailor left the ship last night, so how could we have harmed anyone?"
"What good is swearing? Do you still believe in the lies of humans?" someone in the crowd shot back.
The crowd instantly grew even angrier at the provocative remark: "That's right! Your people have caused enough trouble already!"
"Get off Fish-Man Island!" the residents shouted in reply.
"Get off Fish-Man Island!"
Smoker clenched his fists, standing there at a loss. When he spotted Karl and Yen approaching, he breathed a sigh of relief He truly couldn't handle this situation.
"You came just in time!" Smoker said with a relieved smile.
Karl patted Smoker on the shoulder and urged him to stay calm. "Tell me what happened!"
"Well, the thing is…" Smoker began.
It turned out that when Smoker woke up in the morning, he found the ship surrounded by fish-men. They pointed at several injured fish-men lying on the ground and insisted that it was the marines who had hurt them, demanding an explanation.
Of course, Smoker had no intention of admitting to anything! All the sailors had spent the previous night on the ship, and no one could have left without permission. Besides, why would they attack people for no reason?
But these fish-men weren't backing down and kept insisting! They repeated the same old slogans about evil humans! This left Smoker completely stumped.
"Don't say anything—I get it. Someone set them against us," Karl said.
Smoker quickly nodded. "Yeah, every time I finally calmed things down, someone immediately started stirring up trouble again, fueling racial conflict."
Karl rubbed his temples. He was almost certain that this was Hody Jones's doing. He was probably doing exactly the same thing back when Princess Otohime was killed.
Back then, he blamed the pirates, but now he's blaming the sailors.
This Hody Jones really is a hardcore racist!
Looking down at the agitated residents of Fish-Man Island below, Karl frowned as well. There was no way to take any action right now. If they intervened, they'd be held responsible. The most important thing at this moment was to clear the sailors of blame.
"Everyone, calm down! Calm down! I am the commander of this ship. If you have any complaints, you can tell me!" Karl called out to the islanders. "Please, give me a little time to investigate and find out the truth. All right?"
Without waiting for a response from the Fish-Man Island residents, Karl quickly approached the injured fish-men and asked,
"When were you attacked last night?"
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