For a very long time, Fishman Island had been stuck in a vicious cycle.
Those who stayed on Fishman Island found it difficult to grow stronger. Going out to make a name for oneself was dangerous, but it could at least produce a few powerful individuals.
However, those who became strong while roaming the outside world almost never had any intention of returning to Fishman Island, and there was no one capable of gathering those scattered across different places back together.
Now, such a person had finally appeared.
Nereus's own strength filled a massive void on Fishman Island, and he also brought together his scattered people from all over.
He had no idea how to groom civil officials, but when it came to training a group of combat-capable soldiers, Nereus knew exactly what to do.
He didn't even need to rack his brains over training methods. Fishman Island was a nation with a long history, and one of the very few that possessed a systematic, race-wide combat system unique to its people.
It wasn't a special racial talent like the Lunarians' flames or the Minks' Sulong, but rather a power anyone could train, like the Giants' "Spear of Elbaf."
These ordinary soldiers don't need to be trained to be too strong; Nereus has no intention of training them to have the strength of Marine commissioned officers.
With a bit of training, reaching the level of a twenty- or thirty-million bounty, and paired with some large Sea Beasts, they would be more than capable of handling undersea patrol duties.
"Me!"
"Boss! Me!"
"And me too!"
After Nereus made his intentions clear, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Many people were eager to give it a try and follow him to accomplish something big.
Those with the greatest ambition and drive had mostly already set off overseas after hearing Nereus's name, joining his ranks one after another.
Of those who remained, some were simply too young and had been sent back by Nereus.
Others simply did not want to leave Fishman Island, spending their days adventuring locally.
Now that Nereus had returned to Fishman Island and was recruiting for the Neptune Army active within the Fishman Island region, even more people are considering joining.
"Quiet down! Let me finish. The new Neptune Army isn't the same as the army you're familiar with. Once you join, you'll have to undergo strict training, and life will be very tough.
Think it through carefully, do you really have that resolve? Tiger, these are the specific recruitment standards. Work a bit harder over the next few days and promote this properly in the Fish-Man District. Anyone planning to sign up should gather at the Sea Forest in three days for the initial screening."
Nereus handed the detailed standards to Tiger. The Fish-Man District had the lowest level of education on all of Fishman Island. Literacy was hard to gauge, and some things had to be read aloud by others.
"Eligible ages: 18 to 35…"
"Training includes Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu… Outstanding performers will be personally taught Haki by His Majesty Nereus…"
"This pay… it's three times that of the old Neptune Army…"
Nereus didn't expect that shouting slogans about the nation or the race would make people throw themselves into it without hesitation.
Although Fishman Island had managed to survive in the deep sea in the past, its sense of national and ethnic identity had never been particularly strong. That was something that needed to be rebuilt, perhaps only truly taking root in the next generation of young soldiers.
Rather than a bunch of lofty, empty slogans, it was better to first improve the wages of the Neptune Army. Letting treasures rot in the treasure room was far worse than putting it to proper use.
After all, given Fishman Island's location, there were plenty of ways to make money.
After finishing his visit to the Fish-Man District, Nereus returned to Ryugu Palace and arranged for personnel to escort those he had previously brought back from the Sabaody Archipelago—individuals who had already been investigated—to Delta Island.
Before that ship departed, however, Nereus still needed to ask a few people for their thoughts.
"You few, do you want to go live over on Delta Island, or stay here on Fishman Island?"
"I talked it over with Kuma, and we still want to go take a look at that island on land."
"That's fine. Once you and Kuma get there, go to school first. The schools over there will teach you what you need to learn."
Nereus himself often traveled back and forth between different places. He had only just taken over Fishman Island recently; once he establishes a stable operational model, he won't remain on Fishman Island all the time.
He wasn't particularly interested in constitutional monarchy at the moment, but a sort of 'absent monarch' system was unavoidable.
Ginny and Kuma choosing a land-based island was only natural.
Besides, Nereus would soon have to make a trip there himself. He planned to recruit a few ready-made teachers from the schools on that side.
Compared to Fishman Island, Nereus had been running Delta Island for much longer, and there was plenty of existing manpower there that could be mobilized.
Brook and Luna chose to stay on Fishman Island. More precisely, to move together with Nereus.
"When the time comes, I'll train the two of you together. It won't be easy, so be prepared."
Even for Minks, Nereus has training methods. Physical skills were largely universal, and as for the electricity aspect, he just so happened to have an Electric Ray Mermaid under his command, the very same Rachel from the previous patrol team.
There were similarities between the two races; the only thing Luna would have to rely on herself was the Minks' Sulong.
As for Brook…
Nereus truly didn't know how to train the Revive-Revive Fruit, so he could only offer a rough direction.
"My people will be heading to the first half of the Grand Line soon. It's very close to Twin Capes, you can come along."
"Mr. Nereus, may I ask… is there a ship that sails in the New World?"
"Of course there is, but why do you ask?"
"Actually, our original promise was to return and visit Laboon after completing a full journey around the Grand Line.
Rather than going back now, I'd like to properly fulfill that promise. It's also what my companions would want to see."
"That works too, but you'll have to wait a while longer."
After roughly arranging everyone's plans, Nereus went to the treasure room again. Nanamo and Hermes both remembered Nereus's warning, and no one touched the Tamate Box.
Nanamo even looked like she planned to sleep there for the night. Nereus didn't stop her; he simply drained the water inside Ryugu Palace.
Thanks to the bubble coating, Ryugu Palace could freely switch between water-filled and waterless environments.
Since Nereus himself was a Devil Fruit user, and non–sea races like Amphitrite and Luna also lived with him in Ryugu Palace, significant adjustments to the environment were naturally necessary.
Three days passed quickly. Over in the Fish-Man District, the preliminary preparations had already been completed, and many young and able-bodied men were heading toward the Sea Forest in an orderly fashion under Tiger's leadership.
Nereus, however, arrived even earlier. He was accompanied only by Nanamo, a few old subordinates, and the Sea Beasts and Fighting Fish he had previously tamed.
At this moment, Nereus was staring thoughtfully at the two Poneglyphs in front of him.
"Dad, what's written on these?"
"The red one is a Road Poneglyph. The other is Joy Boy's apology letter to the Mermaid Princess and Fishman Island. Come to think of it… these two stones might actually make pretty good weapons."
Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 25 chapters on my pa*reon.
Tiers-
1$- 10 chapters of OPUK
3$- 12 chapters
5$- 15 chapters
10$- 25 chapters