People's heart

No matter the age or gender, regardless of race, all were included among the slaves Tiger once rescued.

Giants returned to their country, while the Fish-Men followed Tiger and formed the Sun Pirates, as for ordinary people, they chose a life of seclusion.

During this time, some chose to return to their hometown. Whether they were recaptured or died on the way back, no one here knows.

Among all the slaves on the island, Koala was the most special because she had just turned eleven this year.

Eleven itself didn't hold any particular significance, but they had escaped from Mariejois three years ago, which meant this little girl was enslaved before she was even eight years old.

"Hero Tiger, this child is also one you rescued from Mariejois three years ago. Although we wish to send her back to her hometown, our strength and these few small boats cannot navigate through these dangerous waters," several seemingly old people asked Tiger for help. Their faces were aged, but their bodies did not match their apparent age.

In fact, they weren't actually elderly; their appearance had aged due to the hardships of slave life.

Tiger didn't refuse this request and chose to bring her back to her hometown. At that time, they just treated her as an ordinary girl until Arlong impatiently knocked her aside.

Even though Mandrell had slightly complicated his perception of humans, it couldn't change the fact that he still despised them.

However, he didn't resist as intensely when Hachi held him back.

Soon after, he was dumbfounded because the girl who had been slapped didn't cry or shout. Even though her nose was bleeding, she only tore off a piece of her clothing and kept wiping the deck with it.

"I'm sorry, please don't kill me. I can still be of use, please don't kill me."

Crying = death. This is the understanding she gained as a young child in the life of slavery. Whether it was slacking off or anything else, the result was being mercilessly abandoned.

To the Celestial Dragons, slaves without value had no purpose in existing. Considering them a nuisance, they would simply choose to kill them.

Arlong once again experienced the "evil" side of humans. But unlike others who sympathized with Koala, Arlong didn't share their sentiments. If humans could be so heartless even to their own kind, how could they accept Fish-Men, who they had always discriminated against?

This was Arlong's true thought at this moment. He had never agreed with Otohime's ideals. In his view, only fear could make others stop, but he would still follow Tiger's orders. As long as Tiger was there, Arlong wouldn't go out of control.

He didn't do anything further; he just left on his own. Later on, Tiger used a branding iron to cover the mark on Koala's back, forcibly dragging her out of the shadows in the most direct and violent manner.

As time passed, Koala quickly integrated into the Sun Pirates. Except for Arlong, most on the ship had accepted Koala's presence. Even Jinbe, who had been of the same view as Arlong, gradually changed his perspective due to Tiger's influence.

However, he still didn't understand what Tiger had told him back then.

[Queen Otohime is too idealistic. In her eyes, I'm probably much different from Arlong. But for me, none of that matters. The thing that I fear the most is the demon residing in my heart.]

The first half isn't hard to understand, but he didn't know what Tiger meant by the demon in his heart.

Sun Pirates' journey continued, and they also found an Eternal Pose leading to Koala's hometown, Foolshout Island. Following the Eternal Pose, they headed to her hometown.

It was also because of this Eternal Pose that Mandrell successfully found them.

Sun Pirates were also wanted by the government, so obtaining the Eternal Pose was naturally through illegal means. There weren't many Fish-Men pirates on the seas, and the Beasts Pirates have intricate ties in the Underworld.

Many people couldn't even find a chance to flatter them. Doflamingo, due to Tesoro's identity, not only didn't get angry but also seized the opportunity to cooperate with them. So, it was too easy for Mandrell to obtain this information.

"Foolshout Island?"

"That's right, I have an Eternal Pose to go there. Do you need it?"

People wouldn't specifically search for an Eternal Pose unless they were going to that particular island. That's the downside of the Grand Line. Without an Eternal Pose, you must follow the specified route to reach an island.

But if you change your course willy-nilly, you might end up in strange places due to fluctuations in the Log Pose's magnetic field. Eternal Pose and Vivre Cards are among the few things in the Grand Line that can guide direction.

...

"When did this happen?"

Listening to his subordinate's report, Mandrell suddenly had a bad feeling.

"He said it was two days ago. A group of Fish-Men bought an Eternal Pose, and they should have set off by now."

"Hurry up and stock up the supplies. Then, go full speed ahead; we need to catch up with them."

"Yes!"

Afterward, Mandrell's ship fully engaged its external propellers, following the direction recorded on the Eternal Pose.

"Brother Mandrell, do we need to be in such a hurry?"

Jack stood behind Mandrell, playing with the Alcremie on his head.

"Better safe than sorry. Although the Marine's intelligence agency occasionally makes stupid mistakes, they have the most spies on the seas. You can trust only half of what underworld merchants say."

"If we can find out these things, there's no reason the Marines can't. Maybe that guy also sold Tiger's information to the Marines."

"If he is a little braver, our information would have been sold by now too. Lord Arceus wants Tiger alive so that their plans are not affected."

As an old fox, Mandrell is always wary of outsiders, especially these black market merchants who would do anything for money.

In fact, his guess was correct. They had sold Fish-Men's information to the Marines. Although there was no specific route, the Marines had already deployed a fleet around Foolshout Island.

This was also why they could arrive so quickly in the original timeline. In the original timeline, less than 30 minutes after Tiger brought Koala home, Marines had already surrounded the area. Foolshout Island wasn't a Marine base. If they hadn't prepared early, they wouldn't have been able to do this.

Deploying a fleet takes time, and even the most elite Marines can't change that fact.

"How is it, Jack? Feeling scared? This is the life of a pirate."

"No, it's just a bunch of Marines. Let them try to surround us."

"Having courage is good, but Jack, always be careful when you're out. You wouldn't want Alcremie to get hurt, would you?"

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