With Nereus's arrival, the conflict inside the tavern was effectively over. Everyone else seemed long accustomed to this sort of thing—after dividing up the betting money, they simply went back to drinking as usual.
Kaido appeared to be suffering from a headache in two different senses: one from being physically "sobered up," and the other from trying to figure out how to repair the place.
Meanwhile, Nereus sat by himself to one side, glancing at the calendar hanging on the wall. The numerals 1503 stood out clearly.
"Thirty-two years..."
After leaving the orphanage in his previous life and meeting an unfortunate traffic accident, Nereus had arrived in this world. That had been in the year 1471 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
He had been born in Fish-Man District, a place originally meant by Fish-Man Island to shelter orphans—so in a way, he had returned to his own "starting point."
But because of poor administration, Fish-Man District soon became a gathering place for criminals on Fish-Man Island.
Of course, its original purpose had never disappeared completely. Nereus himself had grown up there through hardship, and it was also there that he chose his new name—one that symbolized a new beginning.
During those years of growing up, several residents of Fish-Man District had helped him greatly.
And before long, he realized exactly what kind of world this was.
He knew a little about what would happen in the world of pirates, though his understanding of the plot only reached the Egghead Arc. Everything beyond that was fragmented information, enough only for a broad outline.
To survive better in this dangerous world, he began learning combat techniques, and a few years later, he left Fish-Man Island with several companions from Fish-Man District to make his way in the outside world.
During those years, Nereus witnessed many things.
The vile acts exposed in the manga were only the tip of the iceberg.
People discriminated against for their bloodline and status. Slave traders targeting them. Celestial Dragons treating lives as worthless. Even friends from Fish-Man Island being sold as merchandise before his eyes.
He wanted to change that.
But treating symptoms without curing the root was meaningless.
To truly change things at the source, the current World Government had to be overthrown, and the rule of the Celestial Dragons brought to an end.
That required power.
On these seas, the slave trade was widespread. Even before Roger ushered in the Great Pirate Era, Fish-Man Island had already been one of the hardest-hit regions, and mermaids were considered premium goods by traffickers.
After destroying a World Government slave transport ship, Nereus had earned his first Marine bounty.
By now, that bounty had multiplied many times over, and even slave traders grew uneasy whenever they heard his name.
"Nereus, big bro, I saw your little princess heading toward town. Want me to go check on her for you?"
Just as Nereus was thinking about his next move, a tall, powerfully built fish-man pushed open the tavern door and walked in.
His skin was mostly pale blue, marked with bright green patches.
He was Sebastian—in the original timeline, a member of the World Pirates, a hybrid of fish-man and giant bloodline. But now, he served under Nereus.
That was partly due to Nereus's own race.
Because he himself was a fish-man, fish-men and merfolk naturally found it easier to trust him, and most of his subordinates were likewise fish-men and merfolk.
Sebastian was one of his highest-ranking officers.
"No need. Bikupanda is with her, and she's going to see her mother anyway."
Nereus sounded completely unconcerned.
Bikupanda was also a fish-man/giant hybrid, a recruit Nereus had brought in after leaving Fish-Man Island.
In the original timeline, he had only been one of Silver Fox Foxy's men.
But under Nereus's own training, his strength had improved tremendously—enough that he now held a place even in the New World.
Still, what reassured Nereus most was Nanaimo's mother—
Charlotte Linlin.
The future Emperor of the Sea.
The only woman among the Four Emperors.
Big Mom.
If something major happened, Charlotte Linlin would handle it herself.
If it was something minor, Bikupanda could manage.
At this age, Charlotte Linlin was not yet the crazed old woman obsessed with brute force seen in later years, nor the innocent child unaware of her own strength.
At this stage, she was a youthful, radiant woman—bold, generous, and possessing far more rational judgment in many matters.
Their relationship had not been complicated.
Because of Linlin's own fascination with other races, once she met a powerful and handsome fish-man, things quickly developed into that sort of relationship.
Nanaimo was her first child.
The true eldest daughter of the Charlotte Family, born even before Perospero.
However, the relationship between Nereus and Linlin had not lasted long.
Later, because of fundamental differences in values, deep disagreements quickly emerged, and even now they still disputed custody of their daughter.
Nanaimo's birth had done little more than delay Perospero's arrival slightly, while indirectly preventing the birth of the original eldest daughter, Charlotte Compote.
Aside from that, Linlin's side of history had not changed much.
Their separation had been relatively peaceful—no bizarre disputes like dividing property in half.
And Linlin valued this daughter highly.
After all, among all her current children, Nanaimo was the only one to inherit her "Iron Balloon" constitution.
What dissatisfied Linlin most was that Nanaimo was closer to Nereus and usually lived on his side.
Because of Nereus's own strength, Linlin's usual future method of "removing the father and keeping the child" simply did not work here.
So instead, she hoped that children like Katakuri—Nanaimo's maternal half-siblings and regular playmates—could gradually influence Nanaimo's thinking, making her a purer member of the Charlotte Family.
"You came for something else?"
"Nothing major. The sea outposts sent word—some people with a grudge against us are approaching Beehive Island..."
Before Sebastian could finish, Kaido—who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor—suddenly stood up.
"I'll find someone to help repair this place later. I've got something to do, so I'm leaving first."
Demolishing buildings was Kaido's specialty.
Even without Devil Fruit powers yet, tearing the place apart was easy for him.
Repairing it, however, was another matter entirely.
Still, because of Beehive Island's nature, conflicts broke out constantly, so there really were people here who specialized in repairs.
After all, nobody wanted to sleep among ruins every night.
Before Nereus could respond, Kaido had already rushed out.
Nereus did not stop him.
The real issue had never been compensation itself, but that Kaido had broken the rules Nereus had established by fighting here.
A lesson had already been enough.
Besides, Kaido was not the type to shamelessly dodge responsibility over something like this.
After Kaido left, Nereus turned to Sebastian and asked another question.
"How are the sea beasts lately?"
"Pretty good. Not as obedient as that batch of fighting fish, but the training's almost complete."
"Take them out and test them. Let's see what kind of combat strength they have."
"Yes."
Whether fighting fish or sea beasts, both were unique species of these seas.
To ordinary human sailors, these savage marine creatures were disasters encountered during voyages.
But to fish-men, who lived in the ocean itself, they were no different from war hounds—combat power that could be tamed.
In fish-man traditional culture, there had always been methods for taming sea beasts.
The sea beasts Nereus referred to were a newly captured group from some time ago, now finally trained enough for a proper field test.