In the O'hara Royal City, finding someone, especially a conspicuous Fishman, is quite easy.
When Neptune came knocking, it took Sage less than five minutes to issue a command, and the person's whereabouts were discovered. Including verification, it took about ten minutes.
What amused Sage, however, was the fact that he took on the role of a Cowherd.
The esteemed Eldest Prince of the Dragon Palace Kingdom was coaxed into becoming a Cowherd...
That's certainly a world-class wonder.
"Cow, Cowherd?" Neptune didn't quite understand the meaning.
He's a Fishman who has never been on land, and his interactions are either with the Navy or Pirates. The rumors he hears are related to them, so how would he know what kind of life humans lead, particularly those offbeat ones?
"Oh, it's... well, quite a profitable place. I remember your eldest son looks pretty good, like a mythical breed."
Sage laughed heartily, "Rest assured, what you're worried about won't happen here; no one will be a slave."
"You are a Great Pirate, I trust your words."
As long as they won't be taken as slaves, anything goes, Neptune breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well then, let's talk about the terms first."
Sage gestured, having Bella bring out a wine glass meant for Giants, placing it in front of Neptune, and then bringing over a Big Wine barrel to pour into the glass.
Although Neptune is a Merman, he is quite imposing, standing over twelve meters tall, not sure if he has Giant blood.
"As long as you're willing to let us relocate to the land, we can agree to any terms, as long as it's not slavery..." Neptune said gravely.
The environment on Fishman Island isn't actually that good.
What sunlight could be found deep in the sea, and there aren't so-called resources. Their lives are spent in companionship with the deep sea, and recently there was a disturbance of unknown cause where the currents became extremely violent, causing seawater to flood Fishman Island and submerge some peripheral streets.
Essentially, they consider themselves to belong to 'humans', yearning for sunlight, human life, and more so, the land.
Now that they have the chance, of course, they'd agree.
"I'm not that petty."
Sage lifted the Gemstone Wine Glass, and gestured it towards Neptune, smiling, "The perks that should be given will definitely be given, not as preferential treatment for you, but for a better prospect, Lily."
Lily took out a stack of documents and placed them in front of Neptune. The documents were quite small for him, and Lily directly stated:
"You can look at them slowly, I'll briefly go over them for you."
"First, the Dragon Palace Royal Palace secretly becomes an affiliate of O'hara, transporting goods for us, serving as a necessary connection between the first and second halves."
This place is the best transit hub, even better than Dressrosa.
In Sage's plans, Dressrosa now serves as a goods dissemination base and smuggling hub, with many people from the Underworld coming here to trade, whereas the O'hara Port now only handles logistics and regular business, with black market functions placed in Dressrosa.
After all, with an increasing population, it's not suitable for those outsider pirates to come over; the port has a limited capacity.
But for transit and storage, nothing is safer and more discreet than Fishman Island.
Ten thousand meters underwater, the Navy couldn't easily come over; even if they wanted to investigate, there's nothing to find.
As long as waterproofing is done well, Fishmen can transport goods from the seabed, thereby reaching every corner of the Grand Line.
As for the Four Seas, crossing the Calm Belt is dangerous for Fishmen, as Sea King doesn't adhere to any logic.
But connecting the first half is enough for Sage.
He hasn't fully explored the first half of the New World; a Grand Line's first half is enough for him for a good while.
Plus, he can connect to the critical Alabasta, through the Fishman hub, start a factory there, raise the benefits, and naturally people would aspire to O'hara. Once the plan is complete, he can directly draw the population from there.
In essence, whoever comes becomes an O'haras.
"Second, Fishmen and Mermaids must partly join the Pirates and establish a new sea Security Officer position to ensure underwater safety."
"Third, Fishmen must provide effective labor, employed by our factories. Of course, they can spend their earnings wherever they want, but taxes need to be paid."
Lily paused, "The rest are supplementary terms, not crucial ones. You can take your time to review them."
"No need, I agree."
Neptune didn't even look at the documents, picked up the Big Wine glass and drank it all, "These terms are very beneficial for us!"
There's nothing at all detrimental to them, not only allowing them to relocate but also providing them jobs, integrating them into human life, something previously only dreamed of.
As for being a transport hub...
That's only to be expected.
"Following me won't go wrong, your Fishman history hasn't had good history, but from now on, you can be free folks, whatever you want to do on my turf, you can do it. But, follow the rules."
Sage stood up, smiling, "With Fishman Island's joining, we can prepare for a banquet, and as for you... come, let's show you something fun."
...
Being the epitome of opulence on the high seas in O'hara, apart from those addictive substances being strictly forbidden, everything else is unrestricted, under Sage's watch there.
What?
This industry inevitably brings about sin?
After running the entertainment industry for a considerable time, coercion and inducement will surely happen, finding ways to bring people here to work?