"Mihawk, join the advance team headed to Superior Kingdom with our main force and handle the suppression of the region," Daz commanded.
"Understood," Mihawk replied succinctly.
"Hancock, lead the First Fleet and suppress Base 46," Daz continued. "Report to me once you have secured everything. Depending on the situation, I may have you assist in the suppression of Superior as well."
"Umu, I have no objections. Is there anything else? ...If not, I have Sonia and the others preparing for departure, so I will go check on them," Hancock said, turning away.
Although she had calmed down somewhat, she was likely still a bit distracted because of Kuro. Seeing Hancock rush toward the port at a trot she rarely showed, Daz spoke up in a slight panic.
"Wait, Hancock."
"Hm?" She paused.
"No. I want to borrow Galdino for a bit before you set sail," Daz requested.
Hancock made a face as if caught off guard for a moment, but immediately looked toward the bespectacled man with the '3' hairstyle standing behind her.
The man, who was now called "Person of the 3" or "Brother 3" by not only the First Fleet but other members and townspeople during peace times, adjusted his glasses unnecessarily and nodded in affirmation.
Deciding this wasn't a conversation that concerned him, Mihawk left the room with Hancock and Chris, heading for the port.
Bege would have likely set sail by now. Having received their agreed share of the supplies obtained in this war, the Bege Family was heading to the hidden port being jointly developed to organize and store the supplies, and to defend it so it wouldn't be occupied by clumsy stray pirates. After all, there were many Fish-men on that island who, despite being elites accustomed to battle, would sell for a high price. Defense was obvious, but for Bege, a mafioso, internal control was also important, so he immediately showed his face here and there once general policies were decided.
The only ones remaining were Tesoro, who was waiting for documents regarding internal affairs, and the administrative official Tesoro had discovered himself who was assisting him.
"—Hmph. So, Vice-Captain. Since you kept me behind, I assume you have something to discuss, but what in the world is it?" Tesoro asked, breaking the silence.
"...If this reaches the ears of the other executives, I don't know how they would take it. I wanted to hear your opinions first," the Vice-Captain replied cautiously.
"If it's something concerning the current situation, is it about the organization's operation, or perhaps its maintenance?"
A small girl with golden hair—the girl Galdino had once tried to sell off as a political attack against the Navy—brought tea to the three of them. Since she understood that her birth village had willingly sold her, she was one of the people trying to adapt to this "Black Cat"—or rather, to Mopuchi.
"Yeah. This will be a discussion for after we take down Superior, but..." the Vice-Captain hesitated, then continued. "—Could we, strictly indirectly, support the revolutionary forces showing organized movement?"
–
To think I'd be navigating the waters of the New World without experiencing Paradise... I thought to myself.
We couldn't stay on that island forever, where there was a high possibility of Navy or World Government personnel being dispatched. We secured the pirate ship that Hina and the others discovered, which had undergone coating treatment, loaded it with food and other necessary supplies, and set sail immediately.
—Anyway, it's better to get out of here quickly. If we stay too long, the pirates who own this ship might come back to reclaim it.
Following Hina's advice, it was a somewhat hurried departure, but about thirty minutes after setting sail and getting used to the navigation, I finally learned the reason why.
"I see... huh... So, the pirates who owned this ship were..." I murmured.
"Yes. Kidnappers. Or rather, it seems they were Mermaid kidnappers," Hina explained grimly.
A ridiculously sturdy, large cage was installed in the depths of the ship. When Hina and the others moved to suppress the ship, about a dozen mermaids had been captured inside.
Most of them were released once they were a certain distance from the island and safe. According to Hina, they were all terrified of humans. She said she judged that detaining them poorly wouldn't lead to anything good, and I agree with that.
Above all—
"Leelin, was it? You said you'd guide us..." I asked the remaining mermaid.
"Yeah. ...You don't yell or give off a bad feeling..." she replied.
There was just one person who, upon hearing we wanted to go to Fish-Man Island, volunteered to guide us. Within her shining golden hair, slightly bluish hair peeked out in places like mesh highlights. From the pirates' perspective, she was probably a featured item.
"Besides, Hina said so. That you defeated the bad guys who caught me," Leelin added.
"...Me?" I asked, confused.
"You sent them flying with all your might. Among the ones you kicked down was a 55 million bounty head," she said. "That guy was a specialist in human trafficking. The sail has been replaced, but it had his mark on it."
"...How did they manage to catch mermaids with that level of skill?" I wondered aloud.
"Those types are persistent and tenacious. They probably researched habits secretly from the moment they laid eyes on them, then set traps or something," Hina interjected.
"I see."
We had beaten up plenty of slavers, but in the case of the 'Black Cat', most patterns involved raiding places where people were gathered for sale after being kidnapped, so I only had a limited grasp of their methods.
Regarding those kinds of methods, Hina definitely has more knowledge, I noted.
"That's why this coated ship is all the more reliable," Leelin continued. "The fact that it's on this side of the New World naturally means it passed through Fish-Man Island, and it looks quite well-used."
That implies it has been to Fish-Man Island many times, and that there have been quite a few victims...
Well, no use thinking about it now.
Come to think of it, did the Fish-man I helped at the Holy Land manage to escape safely...
In the original story, there was... a depiction... of Fisher Tiger jumping off and escaping... right? No good, things are getting really hazy. If he's safe, he might have fled to Fish-Man Island. If he remembers me, depending on the situation, he might become an ally.
Considering the future, you can never have too many Fish-men on friendly terms with the Black Cat.
I really can't help but wish Hack... or at least someone from the Pioneer Corps was here. Technically, Fish-Man Island is already Whitebeard's territory. There's a possibility it hasn't been affected by the confusion at all.
In that case, I want to meet with the influential figures of Fish-Man society and lay the groundwork for connecting the navigation routes properly once we enter the Grand Line later.
...I want to... but...
"I apologize if this brings up bad memories, but when were you captured?" I asked gently.
"...A little while ago," Leelin answered vaguely.
"O-Oh. If possible, I'd like you to tell me in number of days."
She speaks without showing much emotion, so I thought she might have been treated terribly, but that doesn't seem to be the case. This mermaid named Leelin just has that kind of way of speaking, or perhaps temperament.
She tilted her head vacantly, and for a full three seconds, counted on her fingers while remembering.
"More than ten days... probably."
"Probably, huh."
"Going by the number of times I slept and ate... yeah."
Ah, right. She couldn't be seen by anyone, and in a dungeon where sunlight doesn't reach, one's sense of time would go crazy instantly. However... more than ten days... That's even before the time the Black Cat and I fought.
Even if something is happening on Fish-Man Island, I should assume she hasn't grasped the situation, I concluded.
"Hina, have the lookouts found anything so far?" I called out.
"I suppose not. Captain Wire has given instructions to report if any islands or ships are spotted," Hina reported.
"Figures..."
It's awfully quiet. Honestly, I thought we might encounter pirate ships or Navy vessels immediately after setting sail.
I'm gathering information by listening to every communication we can intercept on the way, and there's no mistake that confusion is occurring everywhere.
Within less than an hour of setting sail, we intercepted three distress calls to the Navy. Everywhere you look, the number of pirates has increased at a tremendous rate over the last few days. Whether they are true pirates or not, there is no doubt that looters have increased.
If so, the Navy would send out ships, and pirate crews whose reputation is their life would surely send people to check on their territories.
That's why I would have been relieved if we met Whitebeard's ship around here.
According to Leelin, who dove into the sea once, we'll reach a point suitable for diving from the New World side in about three days. In other words, we are already quite close to Fish-Man Island.
Has Whitebeard already sent forces? Or perhaps, is there a force already stationed there?
...Both are possible.
The state of Fish-Man Island I know is only from after Whitebeard died, and two years later at that.
If Leelin continues to cooperate like this, we should be able to make contact without giving too bad of an impression...
Well then, I wonder what's going on with Fish-Man Island.