Chapter 150: Don't Provoke a "Madman"
As Harding's corpse was delivered to Fish-man Island by middlemen of the underworld, the sea ban that had lasted for over a month was finally lifted.
But the lifting of the sea ban did not mean the impact of this incident had vanished. The closure of the Fish-man Island route affected not only the passage of pirates and underworld merchants, but even dealt a certain blow to the economy of the entire Grand Line.
It was only because of the nature of the Grand Line—where the connections between islands weren't extremely tight—that the consequences weren't even more severe.
The Marines on the Sabaody Archipelago breathed a sigh of relief. The pirates loitering nearby were leaving one after another, which was a great thing for them. Conversely, the Marines in the New World began to go on high alert, preparing to deal with the influx of a massive number of pirates.
In the past, although pirates would cross over, it was still very rare for their numbers to accumulate to such a scale.
However, the Marines at the New World outposts soon discovered a strange issue.
Unlike the pirates of the past who would swagger and show off their might upon entering the New World, these pirates seemed to have been scared out of their wits and had absolutely no desire to fight.
According to their sailing experience in the first half of the Grand Line, the earlier the enemies they encountered, generally, the weaker they were.
Fish-man Island, being the endpoint of the first half and also the starting point of the New World, had allowed them to experience the terror of this island during the sea ban.
When those Supernovas formed a grand fleet and dived down, they had watched from behind. Back then, it wasn't just about destroying the bubble films and utilizing the marine environment to finish the battle.
They even saw a tall figure shuttling through the various pirate ships like a phantom. Every movement left behind countless corpses, and from beginning to end, those pirates couldn't inflict any effective damage on him.
They couldn't comprehend what it meant to have the final boss waiting in the beginner's village, or to have a commander of the Demon King's army blocking the respawn point.
In the minds of these pirates, if the very first hurdle was already this terrifying, just how strong would the opponents be later on?
In a sense, Nereus actually helped the New World Marines crush the arrogance of these pirates.
Meanwhile, within the underworld, a meeting commenced.
"Gentlemen, this troublesome matter is over, but we should also discuss a countermeasure. I'm sure you all have felt exactly how massive an impact Fish-man Island's sea ban can cause.
During this period, everyone has suffered losses to some extent. It just depends on whether it was merely a flesh wound or if it hit the bones."
Under the coordination of middlemen, a large number of Transponder Snails were gathered together. Coupled with electronic screens acquired from Future Island (Egghead), this could be considered an electronic conference of the underworld.
A few people appeared with their true faces, but most were merely silhouettes.
"We need to establish a unified goal, but first, I must state my stance. I do not want to go against that guy Nereus. It's not worth it. If we really piss him off, I cannot withstand his retaliation."
Fish-man Island itself was a self-sufficient island; commercial blockades wouldn't affect them. Moreover, with the Levely approaching, the channels behind these people had more or less received some news.
It wouldn't be long before the Ryugu Kingdom appeared at the Levely again as a member nation, and they would highly likely strike deals with some other member nations.
For people in the gray industry to try and threaten an intact nation—they were dreaming.
Even if nations were cursing each other out the day before, they could ally again the next day for the sake of profit.
No one would refuse contact with a nation because of its absolute strength, but if they saw you were weak and easy to bully, most would flock over to take a bite.
As for Nereus's reputation... the World Government and their workers were already trying very hard right now. Plus, the ones targeted this time were pirates and underworld merchants; those nations wouldn't project their own thoughts onto it at all.
After all, Nereus locking down the Fish-man Island route didn't stop them from crossing over the Red Line—except for the Doel Kingdom, where Harding was from.
Furthermore, the current speaker was certain that if he incited these people to unite against Nereus, someone would turn around and sell him out to Nereus the very next moment.
"During the years he's been in power, although he collects some commercial taxes, overall, it's still much more cost-effective than dealing with Mary Geoise."
To be honest, he really missed the cowardly Fish-man Island of the past. Thinking about it now, the Fish-man Island of back then was simply too wonderful, but those days were gone forever.
"As long as commercial taxes are paid, Fish-man Island will indeed guarantee the safety of that section of the route, making that deep-sea passage even more stable.
What we need to do is put an end to the possibility of him imposing a sea ban again."
Speaking up to this point, the speaker paused and looked at a screen nearby.
Unlike the anxiety of the others, the person on this screen appeared extremely calm, even holding the attitude of someone watching a good show.
"Lord Umit, you have the closest connection with Him. Surely you must know some inside information."
"Fish-man Island doesn't want to cut off trade routes; no one has a grudge against money. But, if there is another incident involving a citizen of the Ryugu Kingdom... Those were that Lord's exact words."
Umit relayed Nereus's words verbatim, or rather, his presence here inherently represented Nereus.
To Fish-man Island, a sea ban was their nuclear weapon. If this thing wasn't used at least once, relying solely on words, no one would know just how much destructive power it held.
Now, using the Harding incident as a medium, Nereus had achieved his desired effect.
After displaying this martial deterrence, this threatening weapon wouldn't be used lightly again. If he did, he would go from "someone who might go mad" to an actual madman.
People will try their best to avoid provoking someone who might go mad, reducing the possibility of harm to themselves.
But if it were a true madman, the result would be different.
"This is also good news. Gentlemen, I propose that if anyone in the underworld dares to touch a Fish-man or Mermaid again, we should clean him up ourselves first.
The underworld will not tolerate the existence of a guy who pushes the entire underworld to a dead end just out of greed for a little profit."
"Seconded."
"I agree."
"No problem."
Affirmative voices came one after another from the Transponder Snails. The underworld, which valued profit above all else, was the first to reach this agreement in order to protect their own interests.
When martial force cannot achieve the goal, and the price paid is greater than compromise, then compromise becomes the choice of these people.
Nereus didn't completely block their path dead; he merely established a few rules.
Until someone emerged who could defeat Nereus underwater, their mindset would not change.
Even the pirates in the New World harbored similar thoughts. Rather than letting Nereus create this kind of situation again, it was better to pacify him before he went berserk.
Relatively few pirates in the first half of the Grand Line had realized this yet, so it would still take some time.
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