Chapter 123: Sabaody Archipelago Foreign Office, The Returning Tom
Babel swung his palm forward, and flowing Haki spread out like flames. The high-speed flow of Haki rubbing against the air even generated a high temperature akin to blazing fire.
"So hot! What's going on? What did this guy do?!"
"I can't see anything! Is he an ability user?!"
The pirates within the attack range were directly knocked down by the externally emitted Haki. Those lucky enough to be outside the attack range were also rolling on the ground from the high temperatures produced by the offensive.
Among these pirates, not all were completely defenseless. Pirates whose bounties exceeded a certain amount were called Supernovas, and the strength of these pirates was somewhat greater.
During their resistance, they successfully knocked off Babel's wig.
Yes, his flowing hair was actually a wig. As early as two years ago, he was jokingly called a bald old man by Sebastian.
As everyone knows, a person who deliberately wears a wig is usually someone who cares deeply about the appearance of their hair volume.
When a wig is knocked off, it usually triggers some very terrifying things.
Grove 62, currently the Marine station on the Sabaody Archipelago.
"These pirates... are not behaving at all today, to actually engage in a battle of this scale in such a place."
Under normal circumstances, pirates arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago would maintain a certain degree of restraint. After all, this was right under the Marines' noses.
Fighting to a mutually destructive end benefited no one.
"Report to the Commander! Colleagues lurking in the Lawless Area have sent back intelligence. It's not a conflict between rookie pirates. It's Babel of the Fish-man Pirates; he is attacking Groves 10-19."
"What Fish-man Pirates? That can only be considered the Ryugu Kingdom now. Notify the other soldiers to ignore that area and just increase patrols in the other zones."
The base commander of the Sabaody Archipelago had already received orders from Headquarters and had absolutely no intention of intervening. More accurately, he didn't have the ability to intervene.
Because Marine Headquarters was nearby, the scale of the garrison on the Sabaody Archipelago was essentially more like an outpost. Among the many branches in the Grand Line, it was inherently one of the weakest.
Let alone a major executive from the New World like this, they couldn't even handle the Supernovas among the rookies in the first half.
The battle in the Lawless Area didn't last long. Babel quickly dealt with the enemies. Unfortunately, in his rage, his wig had gone missing.
"The quality of that guy's merchandise is problematic. I still have to get Wobigong to develop some hair-growth potion..."
After planting the signboard for the [Ryugu Kingdom Sabaody Archipelago Office] on Grove 10, Babel was still muttering similar things.
His mission on this trip was not only to occupy this area but also other matters.
After Babel calmed the displeasure caused by his hair, he headed to the location of the coating mechanics in Groves 50-59.
"Hello, we are people from the Ryugu Kingdom. We have some business to negotiate with you. Is the boss here?"
This time, it wasn't about using force to directly occupy territory, but a friendly negotiation.
"Hmm? Out of resin again?"
"No, it's about another matter this time. If your boss agrees, you can become an official partner merchant of the Ryugu Kingdom.
The Ryugu Kingdom's garrison on the Sabaody Archipelago will provide you with protection. The condition is that you can only coat ships that possess a permit issued by us."
If they wanted to, Fish-man Island could even monopolize the entire coating business.
And the method was very simple: if you didn't get your ship coated by a mechanic designated by the Ryugu Kingdom, you wouldn't be allowed to pass through Fish-man Island.
However, compared to tolls and commercial taxes, this could only be considered a drop in the ocean, not worth mentioning at all, and it would also lower Fish-man Island's reputation in the eyes of ordinary mechanics.
Therefore, there was no point in doing that. The office and liaison agency on the surface were just to strengthen connections and simultaneously get an early understanding of the pirates who might dive down.
The office was right on the Sabaody Archipelago. Those who processed the entry procedures in advance and those who chose to smuggle themselves in would naturally face different treatment.
"And if we... don't want to cooperate?"
"Then we don't cooperate. Nothing will happen; we are merely asking."
The Fish-man negotiating spread his hands, indicating it didn't matter whether they cooperated or not.
Because the coating process affected whether a ship could dive normally, pirates coming for coating usually wouldn't make things difficult for the mechanics. But inevitably, there were some who would refuse to pay afterward.
Some mechanics would also hold back a trick here, deliberately leaving some flaws during the coating process. This would ensure no problems when the ship first dove, but once in the deep sea, the bubble film would shatter, leading to the destruction of the ship and the death of everyone on board.
Only for those pirates who honestly paid the money would they patch this flaw.
Those who dared to do this were all veterans. Doing business with pirates, they themselves couldn't be considered very kind-hearted.
But even so, occasionally some surviving pirates would return for revenge. Having the protection of a qualified faction was indeed much safer when it came to making money.
But only being allowed to coat approved ships meant their volume of business would decrease.
"Can you let us think about it?"
"Of course. We are running a legal business. Look, we even have the official approval from the World Government. If you don't believe it, you can go ask at the World Government's office over there."
They were just doing coating business. It wasn't as if only pirates needed coating, so it couldn't be considered an illegal business, not even a gray industry, so they weren't afraid of the World Government or the like.
Most of the coating mechanics indicated they needed to consider it. This kind of thing couldn't be decided on a whim.
If they agreed, they couldn't be sure what their future income would look like. And if they refused...
What if the Ryugu Kingdom pulled a trick, declaring their coating channel illegal and not letting those pirates pass? When those pirates returned, the unlucky ones would still be them.
Although they weren't sure if the Ryugu Kingdom would do this, it still made these people feel anxious.
Their own hands couldn't be considered very clean, and they were very worried that Fish-man Island would play dirty underwater.
Unless all the coating mechanics formed a united front, the situation might be slightly better. At least they wouldn't have to worry about being out-competed to death by their peers.
While the coating mechanics were inquiring for information among themselves, Babel had also reported the news to Nereus. However, at this time, another relatively unfamiliar Fish-man arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Ryugu Kingdom Sabaody Archipelago Office address... Since when did Fish-man Island have such great capability?"
Looking at the street sign hanging near the World Government office, Tom, who was taking a ship back to Fish-man Island, was full of disbelief.
After seeing the numerous news reports in the newspaper, Tom finally made up his mind and planned to return to Fish-man Island to see this new King he had never met.
But for Fish-man Island to expand its sphere of influence beyond Fish-man Island itself—to Tom, a Fish-man who had lived abroad year-round and hadn't experienced the changes on Fish-man Island, this was unbelievable.
"It seems this time... I was right to come back..."
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