Splash... Splash...
The aftershock from the black gun's explosion slowly faded.
The surging waves also calmed, rhythmically hitting the shore.
"Alabasta—I got this."
After saying those words, Rowan twisted his shoulders and breathed a long sigh.
He waved at Crocodile.
Crocodile, cigar in mouth, walked towards Rowan, frowning, "What?"
Rowan scratched his empty hand, indicating, "Scepter."
"Oh."
Crocodile easily turned his right arm into sand, and the sand grains rolled up the scepter stuck not far away, pulling it to his side.
The moment he handed the scepter to Rowan, Crocodile suddenly realized something.
He slammed the scepter hard on the ground, cursing:
"Why am I helping you get it!"
Rowan helplessly hooked his finger, and the sand beneath his feet seemed to come to life, lifting the scepter from the ground and placing it in Rowan's hand.
Holding the scepter, he smiled at Crocodile:
"Speaking of which, little Croc, you acted very decisively just now."
Crocodile's brows furrowed into a deep frown, he took a deep drag of his cigar, and said in a deep voice:
"Don't get me wrong, I'm just annoyed by those slave traders!"
On the other side, Vivi had just comforted a child younger than herself, and then she jogged over to Rowan's side.
"Ancestor, Mr. Crocodile, are you not hurt?"
Rowan ruffled Vivi's head, pointing to Crocodile and introducing, "This is little Croc, little Croc just saved a town, say: thank you, little Croc."
"Thank you, little Croc..."
Saying this, Vivi felt something was not right, and in the end, she could only force herself to say, "Thank you, Mr. Crocodile!"
Crocodile: "..."
Furious.
In any case, this old guy from eight hundred years ago made him very angry!
But what could he do?
Crocodile didn't want to fight to the death with an old monster whose strength was unfathomable!
It wasn't that he didn't have the confidence to win, but that it wasn't necessary.
He simply puffed on his cigar and went to the side to forcibly calm down.
At the end, he left a sentence to show his displeasure:
"You should worry about those guys first!"
Crocodile was naturally talking about the exiles led by the fish-man Hocka.
After solving the problem of the slave traders, they stood quietly in place, not daring to look up at anyone.
Hocka even lowered his face, his eyes dim.
He had no face to face any of the residents of Yuba.
It was clear that those residents had kindly taken them in, but their appearance had brought unexpected disaster to this small town.
What must those residents be feeling now?
Anger? Regret? Hatred?
At least there would be disgust!
Hocka was silent, ready to welcome the disgusted gazes he had long been accustomed to.
But to his surprise, after a brief silence, what appeared in his ears was a burst of cheers.
"Oh, oh, oh! Thank you!"
"Mr. Crocodile and that fish-man brother are both so strong!"
"Didn't you see? The person who acted last was the most amazing, destroying such a big ship in an instant!"
"In any case, it's good that everyone is safe!"
"..."
People cheered, either marveling at the strength of the people who had acted, or rejoicing that no one was injured as a result.
Only, there was no sound of blame.
Hocka and the others were stunned in place, speechless for a long time.
An inexplicable emotion surged into their hearts, and the scene before them gradually blurred.
They had never been treated like this before.
Not the common contempt and exclusion, nor the pity of those in high positions, but being treated like "ordinary people."
Rowan smiled and said to Vivi beside him, "Your father governs this country very well."
Afterward, he walked past Hocka, looked at the scene before him, and sighed to the fish-man:
"Not a bad country, is it?"
…
Evening.
On the coast not far from Yuba.
Hocka held a borrowed mallet and solemnly hammered it onto a wooden stake.
Thump!
The wooden stake was firmly planted into the ground.
That was the first wooden stake in this village, and also the symbol of the establishment of the Yuba fish-man village.
The residents of the neighboring Yuba brought over the necessary daily necessities to help the fish-men build a temporary camp.
"Are you really not going to live in Yuba?"
The town elder was a little worried, "Even if you want to build your own village, you can stay in the tavern until the village is built."
"Thank you, old man."
Hocka fixed the corner of the tent and smiled, "But we're too embarrassed to keep bothering you, and this is our own village, our home!"
When he said "our home," Hocka's eyes were shining.
They had been fleeing all the way here, never expecting to have a place that could be called "home."
Hearing these words, the town elder no longer stopped them, but instead began to sigh.
"Speaking of which, it's really unexpected that the ancestor of the Alabasta royal family has been revived!"
Hocka nodded, "No matter who he is, we sincerely thank him."
…
Not far away.
Rowan and Crocodile looked at the busy crowd.
Crocodile, cigar in mouth, smiled darkly, "What amazing methods!"
Rowan raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"Them, those fish-men."
Crocodile pointed at Hocka and the others, "Even if you asked them to attack a Marine warship now, they should agree immediately, right?"
Rowan grinned, "Don't understand, explain."
"Don't pretend to be stupid."
Crocodile frowned, displeased, "You easily won over thirty fish-men, including many experts, more than enough to deal with ordinary Marine soldiers."
"Such a team is rare even on Fish-Man Island, if the Marines knew, they would be green with envy!"
Because of many well-known problems, no fish-man is willing to fight for humans, let alone join the Marines, and today this common knowledge seems to be broken.
Crocodile flicked the ashes of his cigar and asked, "When are you going to recruit them into the Alabasta army?"
But Rowan's answer surprised him a little.
"Why recruit them?"
Hearing this, Crocodile found it amusing, "If not for recruitment, who would have helped you conquer Alabasta eight hundred years ago?"
Rowan smiled, "Those who willingly followed."
Crocodile's eyes froze.
Rowan took a few steps forward, looking at the new village.
"When this becomes their home, any recruitment will seem unnecessary."
"If something threatens their 'home,' then regardless of race, regardless of power, regardless of beliefs, there will always be many people who clench their fists, and then explode with amazing power, rising up to resist."
Rowan turned around, the afterglow of the sunset reflecting on his body.
He looked at Crocodile and smiled:
"Alabasta Empire, built on this."
…
Night.
The new fish-man village was initially settled.
Rowan, Crocodile, and Vivi boarded the amphibious transport turtle from when they came, returning to Alubarna.
The residents of the fish-man village sat around the campfire, roasting the meat given to them by everyone in Yuba, the atmosphere comfortable and peaceful.
Wall, bored, jumped into the sea, intending to catch some fish to roast and eat.
But when he was under the sea, looking up, he saw a small wooden boat floating on the surface, using the moonlight.
Are they surviving slave traders?
Wall instantly became alert.
He secretly swam up, leaning against the bottom of the boat.
Using the fish-man's unique underwater advantage, Wall suddenly exerted force, creating a huge current, lifting it up along with the people and the boat!
Fish-Man Karate, Current Back Throw!
Splash!
The small wooden boat soared into the air, overturned on the sea, and the figures on the boat streaked across the night sky, plunging headfirst into the sand on the shore.
Hocka and the others noticed the movement here and immediately prepared for battle.
"Who!"
They gathered around, but were all stunned there, their eyes filled with doubt.
It was an old human man with graying temples, a thick beard, and wearing a vacation-style floral shirt.
His physique was extremely tall and strong, even exceeding Hocka, reaching an exaggerated level!
What confused everyone even more was that the old man's eyes were closed at the moment.
Unconscious?
No.
The deafening snoring, coupled with the hand that would occasionally scratch his belly, was enough to prove one thing—
He was asleep.
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