Distress of fish man island!

Central deck.

Clinton and a group of pirates who got themselves surrounded looked pale as if they had acute appendicitis, cold sweat streaming down their faces.

"Speak, you bastards!!!"

Answer? Curse?

Anything will do.

Say something already!

Even launching an attack directly would be fine!

What's with this constant stalemate?!

Tick tock...

The immense pressure caused beads of sweat to continuously appear on Clinton's forehead, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the damp deck, splashing into tiny water droplets.

On the deck, the other pirates were no better, clutching their weapons tightly with their hands, as if it were the only thing giving them a sense of security.

The deck suddenly became very quiet.

Anxiety permeated the air.

But in the senses of Clinton and the other pirates, the few seconds that passed felt like an eternity.

A strong will to survive was pushing Clinton to make a move.

"Move..."

"Attack!"

Then, just as he finally mustered the courage to make a desperate attempt, he saw the incredibly powerful swordsman charging straight towards him.

In almost an instant, he arrived beside Clinton, then swiftly pressed his hand against the sword at his waist.

With a silver streak flashing, Clinton's body stiffened, then his pupils contracted sharply.

Splurt!

Without warning, a fine line of blood appeared on Clinton's neck, followed by a gush of blood spurting out.

"Eh?"

Clinton lowered his head, staring in astonishment at the gush of blood from his neck.

With deep bewilderment, Clinton's head fell to the ground, and he instantly ceased breathing.

"Captain Clinton...!"

"How could this happen? Captain Clinton had a bounty of 50 million berries, and yet he's taken out with just one blow..."

"We're done for. If Blood Queen Hillary finds out, we're dead."

The surrounding pirates looked at the fallen Clinton as if they had lost their souls.

"We're done for now."

Even the captain, who had a bounty of 50 million, was taken out with one move. What chance do we have?

"Not a single one spared."

The leader pronounced the pirates' death sentence coldly, then turned away without paying any more attention to their fates.

Behind him, his subordinates who had received the order began a one-sided massacre of the remaining pirates.

In a moment, the deck was filled with cries of despair and agony.

Soon, the massacre was completed, and the survivors began to move the pirate ship's goods onto the deck. With a simple calculation, including gold, silver, jewels, and merchandise, the value was at least tens of millions of berries, and even Clinton's head was not spared, as they had special means to exchange it for money.

Soon, the giant goldfish pulled the ships away, leaving only one pirate ship drifting lonely on the sea.

"Captain, they have returned, and this time they wiped out a pirate crew and found something interesting in the cargo hold of the pirate ship."

Simon looked at Nicholas and said.

"Interesting? What is it?"

Nicholas was curious. What could be so interesting that Simon described it as such?

"Yes, they found two mermaids in the cargo hold of this pirate ship."

Simon smiled and nodded.

"Oh? Two mermaids? Not merman?"

Nicholas was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, mermaids, not mermen."

Mermaids had always been a valuable commodity in the slave market, and they were always a priority for protection in Ryugu Kingdom. It was unexpected that such a weak pirate crew could capture two mermaids. Moreover, they managed to escape safely from Fish-Man Island.

"Do you want to take a look?"

Simon asked.

"Yes."

Nicholas nodded. He was also curious about how these two mermaids were captured. After all, ordinary mermaids rarely left Fish-Man Island. The chances of being caught outside Fish-Man Island were almost nonexistent.

Then, under Simon's lead, a giant fish tank was brought in from outside.

Inside were two young mermaids, huddled together in the corner of the tank, looking despondent.

They each wore the iconic slave collars around their necks.

Nicholas looked at the two mermaids huddled together, their faces devoid of any light.

Apparently, they also knew the bleak fate that awaited them in the hands of humans.

Nicholas's gaze lingered on one of the mermaids' faces.

There seemed to be a faint impression, but he couldn't recall it, like he had only seen her once but had no interaction with her.

Perhaps it was the slight movement or the realization of Nicholas's gaze.

One of the mermaids, who appeared older, slowly turned her head. Her eyes, which should have been as bright as gems but were now dull, met Nicholas's gaze.

Just one glance.

A burst of bright light emanated from the mermaid's eyes, and the gem-like eyes returned.

"It's you..."

There was an indescribable excitement in the mermaid's voice, and even her tail was constantly swaying in the water due to excitement.

Seeing the mermaid's reaction, Nicholas furrowed his brows slightly and calmly asked, "Do you know me?"

Nicholas's words made the mermaid's face freeze.

But she quickly reacted, realizing that she had only seen the other party once and hadn't even spoken to him.

"At the banquet of Lord Neptune in Ryugu Castle, I served you..."

She gently reminded, seemingly in a good mood because of her survival.

"Oh, I remember now."

The mermaid's reminder made Nicholas instantly remember the other party's origin.

It turned out that she had served him at the banquet in Ryugu Castle. That made sense.

"What's going on? How were you captured? Was Fish-Man Island attacked?"

"Fish-Man Island was indeed attacked. After Roger became the Pirate King, countless pirates poured in from the Grand Line. They attacked Fish-Man Island, and my sister and I just wanted to go out to buy some jewelry..."

The mermaid gently reached out and held the hand of the other mermaid, who seemed a little scared, facing Nicholas and recounting the situation. It seemed that recalling the scene at the time still filled her with fear.

"No need to say anymore, I understand."

Nicholas interrupted the mermaid's narrative.

He could guess what had happened with a little thought.

With Roger becoming the Pirate King, coupled with various rumors, and the intentional or unintentional manipulation of the World Government, everyone thought that Roger had obtained unimaginable wealth. Countless people set sail to find Roger and seize the treasure.

As the gateway to the New World, Fish-Man Island was naturally the first target, and with the influx of countless pirates, the strength of the fish-men was no match for them. Moreover, many of these pirates were after wealth.

So while Fish-Man Island was in chaos, the pirates naturally targeted the most valuable young mermaids on the island, knowing that even if they couldn't find Roger, they could still make a hefty profit by capturing young and beautiful mermaids.

Just thinking a little deeper, Nicholas could imagine how chaotic Fish-Man Island must have been after Roger became the Pirate King.

Nicholas stepped forward, and the mermaid also floated up from the water's surface, looking at Nicholas at the edge of the fish tank.

Nicholas fell silent for a moment, then reached out and removed the slave collar, which imprisoned their freedom, from the mermaid's neck.

"Now, you are free."

"Lord Nicholas..."

Seeing Nicholas help her remove the collar that imprisoned her freedom, tears welled up in the mermaid's eyes, suppressing a sob, she begged:

"Lord Nicholas, I know this is presumptuous, but...but...can you help Fish-Man Island...many of our sisters..."

"...".