Chapter 144: The Sea Ban Order: Sink or Turn Back?
Nereus issuing the order in this state meant this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment impulse, but a finalized command, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.
Speaking up to this point, Nereus grabbed a previously prepared portrait nearby.
"Teleport Harding, a Paramecia-type Teleport-Teleport Fruit user. This is the person who dared to violate my ban and committed an unforgivable felony on Fish-man Island...
No matter who it is, anyone who brings his head before me will receive a bounty of 100 million Berries...
But until this matter is completed, in order to ensure the safety of the citizens of Fish-man Island, passage through the entirety of Fish-man Island is forbidden. Anyone not belonging to the Ryugu Kingdom is prohibited from landing, and the submarine tunnel is temporarily sealed off."
This wasn't merely targeting the hotheaded rookies who had just arrived at Fish-man Island and wanted to head to the New World.
Those who didn't possess an Eternal Pose for Fish-man Island inevitably had to stay on the island for a while, waiting for their Log Pose to record the new magnetic field. The same applied to merchant ships.
Sailing the Grand Line wasn't easy. Aside from specific point-to-point freight missions, their commercial target scope was all the islands along an entire route, mostly sailing from one island to the next following the guidance of the Log Pose.
Compared to preparing an Eternal Pose for every single island, this was much easier.
The reason most merchants chose to land rather than bypass it was mostly because they could earn more on Fish-man Island, even after paying a portion of commercial taxes.
Ships that possessed an Eternal Pose and didn't plan to stop and resupply at Fish-man Island could normally just ride the ocean currents and leave directly through the sea area beside Fish-man Island.
Originally, it was like a highway and a local road existing simultaneously. Nereus's order of "not a single plank is allowed to cross" clearly wasn't just targeting those who wanted to enter Fish-man Island; he wanted to completely seal off the entire underwater passage.
Even the great pirates of the New World would be affected by this situation.
Those who traveled over the Red Line wouldn't care about this, but the entire underworld and the pirate community would be bottlenecked on both sides of the Grand Line.
Pirates in "Paradise" basically had no ability to cross the Calm Belt and would be stuck in a dilemma. If the pirates or underworld merchants in the New World were capable enough, they could choose to cross the Calm Belt and go over Reverse Mountain again.
Spending about a year in time costs just to sail the route all over again.
"I am not negotiating with you; I am notifying you. Anyone who wishes to travel back and forth through the sea area of Fish-man Island, you now have only two choices: kill him, or... kill me.
Whichever choice you make, I will be waiting for you on Fish-man Island."
Accompanied by the exact same smile seen on his original wanted poster, Nereus signaled Morgans to stop this live broadcast.
"Your Majesty Nereus, for the subsequent newspaper publication, may I add some literary embellishments? I promise not to alter any meaning you intend to convey; it will only make it sound more intimidating."
Morgans took a few deep breaths, calming his emotions. Just transcribing it exactly as is... he always felt it was lacking something.
The expressive impact of text and imagery is different. Not being able to personally craft this article would practically leave a regret in his life.
If it were any other news, Morgans would definitely throw in some spicy sensationalism.
But with Nereus issuing this "underworld kill order"...
Morgans was worried that if he fabricated too much, Nereus's next assassination target would be himself, which was why he asked first.
"Just write it here. Show it to me once you're done."
Glancing at Morgans, Nereus gave him the instruction.
He chose Morgans because he knew this guy's global propaganda capabilities, and he demanded to review the draft because he knew Morgans's ability to fabricate nonsense out of thin air.
The report on the God Valley incident back then had given Nereus the feeling of a parallel universe. If he really let him write freely, who knew what the report would turn into.
While Morgans was still spilling ink inside the Ryugu Palace, the broadcast's message had already spread within a certain range. The first to bear the brunt of it was the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Wait, what do you mean by suspending entry procedures?!"
"It means we're not processing them, puhahahaha! Can't you even understand such simple words?"
At Fish-man Island's entry processing office, the environment today was very strange. The usually gentle receptionists were gone, leaving only two burly men whose physiques resembled Giants.
Sebastian and Big Pan were currently holding down the fort here. After all, Nereus knew that once this news was announced, it would definitely cause a certain impact on Fish-man Island.
By withstanding this wave, Fish-man Island would let the whole world know exactly what bitter consequences awaited anyone attempting to abduct slaves from Fish-man Island.
Unable to withstand it? Such a possibility simply didn't exist.
To deal with this impact, those with weaker head-on combat power had already retreated back to the main island. Those left outside were all powerhouses capable of handling troublesome situations.
"We sailed through countless hardships to get here... Why won't you let us pass! We came here following your rules and paid the toll to cross!"
The rejected pirate's face was full of indignation, pointing angrily at the notice board Big Pan had just put away and demanding answers.
"Kid, there's nothing we can do; it's your bad luck. If you want to blame someone, you have to blame this guy. He's the one who blocked your path dead."
Sebastian pointed to the portrait of Harding nearby.
At this moment, Sebastian still had the patience to explain things to him properly. As long as the other party didn't attack first, he wouldn't make a move either. After all, in theory, these people could all serve as manpower to hunt down Harding.
"But..."
"No buts, kid. This is our King's order. If you insist on forcing your way through, I won't stop you. But since you were willing to come here to process paperwork, you must know our capabilities underwater.
Wait, or go catch that bastard yourself and claim the 100 million Berry bounty. Those are your only choices."
Seeing the other party momentarily at a loss for what to do, Sebastian pointed him toward a clear path.
Just as Sebastian said, those who came here to process paperwork inherently feared Fish-man Island's power and naturally wouldn't dare to force their way through.
Those who attempted to simply force their way past were currently facing a much grimmer scene underwater.
At this very moment, deep beneath the sea, the natural sunlight had been blocked by the deep ocean, but the sunlight conducted down by the roots of Eve still made it as bright as day here.
A pirate ship ignored Fish-man Island's warnings and attempted to intrude, but soon, the people on the ship all stopped what they were doing.
In the deep sea, countless points of light were approaching. A Neptune Army force numbering in the hundreds had surrounded this ship.
Several Sea Beasts, dozens of meters long, slowly closed in. Their dorsal fins sliced through the seawater, dragging silent yet deadly vortices behind them. A Sea Rhinoceros was almost pressed flat against the bubble film, its cold irises reflecting the tiny, pale faces of the crew members.
And there were even more soldiers and Sea Beasts like this behind them, like phantoms of the deep sea, completely countless.
"Pirates, sink or turn back. Make your choice."
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