After arriving in this world and gradually understanding the position he was in, Nereus had already thought about this problem.
The environment of Fishman Island was terrible—so terrible that many situations there were hard to understand how they even came about.
Despite having the natural barrier of the 10,000-meter deep sea as a defensive line, it still ended up being ravaged by pirates from the surface.
After all, this world was filled with extraordinary forces. Putting other factors aside, there was already a major issue in terms of combat personnel alone.
Although the Fish-Men and Merfolk lacked top-tier powerhouses, making it unrealistic for them to fight monsters like Marine Admirals on land, Fishman Island itself was located in the deep sea.
And Fishman Island wasn't completely devoid of strong fighters either. If all of these people had remained on Fishman Island, then at the very least it wouldn't have become a piece of fat meat in the eyes of pirates, something anyone passing by could take a bite out of.
In the original timeline, Barbell was with the Rocks Pirates, Sunbell was with Roger Pirates, and Sebastian was with the World Pirates.
Namur served as a division commander under Whitebeard; Jack and Sasaki followed Kaido in the Beasts Pirates; Big Mom also had Fish-Men among her subordinates, and Jinbe was affiliated with the Big Mom Pirates for a period of time.
Among all of them, aside from Jinbe occasionally taking care of Fishman Island's affairs, the others showed no concern for it at all.
For Fish-Men who ventured out into the world, this country lacked a sense of cohesion. If all these people could be gathered together, it wouldn't be difficult to build a defensive line in the deep sea.
Because of the gap in top-tier combat power, Fishman Island wouldn't have become invincible, but it would have still been capable of self-preservation, far from needing to rely on someone else's pirate flag just to survive.
Nereus himself was gradually changing this situation.
Strengthening cohesion and spreading his reputation were all foundations Nereus was laying for the future.
"I understand, Lord Nereus. I'll wait for you over there…"
The efforts of these past years hadn't been in vain. At the very least, those Fish-Men and Merfolk out in the world were more than willing to trust Nereus's words as long as they could confirm his identity.
Bang.
With the final whoosh sound, everyone in the forested mountain had been sent away by Kuma. Compared to the total number of people in all of God Valley, the number of those rescued was negligible, but Kuma was genuinely saving lives.
"I sent him to the Sorbet Kingdom in the South Blue. That's my homeland. Mr. Nereus can go there later to pick him up."
"You're not going yourself?"
"I can feel it, this body has much more stamina now. I want to go save people in other places. Even saving one more would be good…
Mr. Nereus, thank you. You've given me the chance to save even more people."
"Don't die here, kid. I still have things to do. Remember to stay far away from the two cliffs near the center of the island."
Nereus could sense it. At the center of God Valley, several powerful presences were clashing, including Barbell. There was even the constant overflow of Conqueror's Haki.
If Kuma got dragged into that battlefield, the outcome would be uncertain.
After leaving these words behind, Nereus departed from the forested mountain and headed toward Barbell's direction.
[Mr. Nereus, please take care of yourself as well…]
Kuma didn't stay in place either. He ran toward the outskirts where the sounds of fighting still echoed, aiding one unfamiliar person after another.
Not long before that, at the center of God Valley, the second prize storage warehouse.
"Take down Rayleigh!"
"Stop that b*stard Rayleigh! He's taken Shakuyaku away!!"
Amid the chaotic fight, Rayleigh ultimately succeeded in rescuing Shakuyaku. And Shakuyaku herself had chosen Rayleigh in the first place. It could be said she finally met the person she wanted to see.
However, the other pirates didn't care about that at all. Instead, they quickly turned Rayleigh into the primary target of their combined fire.
The rest of the Roger Pirates also began carrying out their task of covering for Rayleigh.
"Target locked, fire!"
"Idiot! That'll hurt Shakuyaku! No firing, everyone! Shift your targets to the other treasures! If Shakuyaku is gone, then everything else has to be ours!"
Golden Lion kicked away the pirate who was about to fire the cannon and shouted for the other members of the Rocks Pirates to change targets.
"Stupid Shiki, do you think you're the captain?"
"Yeah, why should we listen to your orders?!"
The rest of the Rocks Pirates cursed Shiki with their mouths, yet in action they went along with the plan. One after another, they shifted their targets, only to discover that someone had already gotten a head start.
"Barbell! You b*stard, what are you doing?!"
"Are you trying to hog all the treasure?! Stop right there!"
Back when everyone had still been fighting over Shakuyaku, Barbell had already moved toward the warehouse holding the other treasures.
Because the vast majority of pirates had their eyes on Shakuyaku, the Marines and the Knights of God stationed here had also focused their attention there. Barbell didn't have to expend much effort to break in.
While the others were chasing Rayleigh, Barbell had already packed up a massive amount of treasure. His Giant-like physique gave him tremendous carrying capacity, and he had practically emptied more than half the warehouse.
If any of them had spared even a bit more attention for Shakuyaku, Barbell might have already withdrawn safely by now.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. These things ran into my bag all by themselves."
"You're even greedier than John! Put the stuff down! There are so many of us, you can't handle us!"
Ganzui picked at his nose, then made a finger-flicking motion, aiming at Barbell.
Ganzui was a Bomb-Bomb Fruit user, capable of making any part of his body explode. It was the same Devil Fruit as Baroque Works' Mr. 5 in the original timeline.
Though they didn't belong to the same era, their use of the fruit was largely identical. Both were particularly fond of booger bombs.
"Aren't there still plenty over there? Why don't you go grab those? Why bother taking what I've already got?"
Barbell tightened his grip on the bundle and sized up the opponents around him.
It wasn't just some of the Rocks Pirates staring him down, members of the Roger Pirates were also moving this way, and pirates from other crews were even more numerous.
"All of that combined doesn't even add up to half of what you're carrying! What are you thinking?!"
"Looks like the negotiations have broken down. In that case… I'll have to use my ultimate move."
As he spoke, Barbell's Haki began to flow over the surface of his body. He assumed a defensive stance and watched his surroundings warily.
He could handle most of the pirates here, and even those he couldn't beat, he could stall for a while. But if this many came at him all at once, it would still be difficult for Barbell to manage.
After a brief moment of thought, Barbell had already made his decision. While the people around him were temporarily intimidated by the words "ultimate move," Barbell took a deep breath.
These pirates were never truly united to begin with. Seeing that Barbell was surrounded and that he couldn't break through right away, they weren't in a hurry. Each of them wanted someone else to be the first to test his "ultimate move."
But Barbell's actions gave Shiki a bad feeling.
And after long deliberation, Barbell made a decision that few had anticipated.
Barbell opened his mouth wide, and two words burst out.
"Boss!!!"
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