Fish-Man Island’s Great Benefactor

Perona’s startled cry drew the attention of all the fish-men. When they heard her discussing Fish-Man Island’s hero, Fisher Tiger, with Robin, two fish-men’s expressions changed. They hurriedly disappeared into the crowd and ran toward the Fish-Man District.

"Captain, where are we going?"

"There’s a very skilled fortune-teller on Fish-Man Island. They say she can foresee the future. It sounds like an interesting ability, so I want to see it for myself. We can also ask how to get to Sea Forest. The Poneglyph is there. Once we’ve deciphered it, we’ll head to the New World." Duke explained the plan for their trip to Fish-Man Island.

"A fortune-teller? Someone who can see the future?" Perona immediately perked up, torn over whether to ask the fortune-teller if she could escape her captor’s clutches, yet afraid that her future might be bleak and hopeless.

"Can someone really foresee the future?" Robin asked in surprise. "If the future can truly be predicted, doesn’t that mean everyone’s fate is already decided? Are people merely acting out history according to a script? Wouldn’t that make life completely meaningless?"

Robin instinctively rejected the idea of a predestined future. As an archaeologist, she would rather believe that a glorious history had been created by people themselves, rather than written by fate, with people reduced to puppets on strings.

"Robin, don’t be so serious. Fate is only real if you believe in it; if you don’t, it isn’t. Who can really say? Just keep an ordinary mindset." As someone who had crossed over, Duke’s very existence was a denial of the future. So whenever it came to the future, his attitude had always been, What the hell does it have to do with me?

Mermaid Cafe!

A luxurious cafe run by the mermaid fortune-teller Shyarly, it was quite famous on Fish-Man Island. A little asking around was enough to find the beautifully decorated establishment.

As they pushed open the door and entered, the spacious cafe was bustling with business. Fish-men and merfolk gathered together in cheerful harmony. Elegant music lingered in the air, while the beautiful mermaid waitresses were a feast for the eyes. Compared with a certain shabby bar on the Sabaody Archipelago… no, even mentioning that utterly insincere bar in the same breath was an insult to this cafe.

Though Fish-Man Island did not welcome humans, merchants who opened their doors did not greet customers with hostility. Shortly after Duke and the other two sat down, a mermaid waitress warmly came over to serve them. The lovely young mermaid had a graceful figure, and her clear, pleasant voice tinkled like spring water, making people unable to help but feel fond of her.

"What would you three guests like to order?" Facing the trio’s gazes, the young mermaid returned them with a sweet smile.

Mermaid Cafe received many human visitors every year, and the mermaids working there had long grown accustomed to all kinds of looks from humans. Duke and the others’ gazes held nothing but curiosity. Compared to the vulgarity and greed of other humans, they were vastly better, so the young mermaid’s smile was especially gentle.

"I’ll go first…" Perona eagerly picked up the menu, intending to order some Fish-Man Island specialties.

Just then, the violent sound of a door being shoved open interrupted the tranquil music. More than a dozen tall, murderous-looking fish-men poured inside.

"Damn humans, were you three the ones who mentioned Boss Tiger on the street?" The fierce-looking fish-men surrounded Duke’s table with blades and clubs, demanding angrily, "Who are you? Bounty hunters or Marines?"

Fish-Man Island’s hero, Fisher Tiger, had been wanted by the Celestial Dragons ever since he rampaged through Mary Geoise and freed countless slaves. For years, World Government spies and bounty hunters had never given up trying to capture him, repeatedly coming to Fish-Man Island to inquire about Tiger’s whereabouts. Duke and the other two had openly mentioned Tiger’s name, instantly setting off the sensitive fish-men.

The sudden conflict startled everyone. The diners quickly moved away from Duke’s table, but when they heard that the three had come for Tiger, the fish-men who had been preparing to flee immediately stopped. Several male fish-men’s expressions changed drastically as they angrily picked up chairs and crowded forward with shared hatred.

"H-Hey, Captain, didn’t you say fish-men were friendly?" Perona cried out, about to use her ability.

Duke grabbed Perona and stopped her, then tilted his head toward the fish-men. "Tiger and I are friends. We haven’t seen each other in years. I came to ask him for a favor."

"Stop talking nonsense! How could Boss Tiger possibly be friends with a human?"

"They’re obviously Marine spies in disguise! I saw their ship just now—it looks exactly like a Marine warship."

"Damn it, kill them!"

"…"

The fish-men grew more agitated with every word, giving Duke no chance to explain. Just as they were about to rush forward, a furious roar suddenly rang out.

"Bastards! Put down your weapons…"

A tall sawshark fish-man with a long, pointed, serrated nose walked in. Looking at Duke’s familiar face, his expression changed again and again as he stood there in silence.

Arlong, a member of the Sun Pirates!

The moment Duke saw who it was, he froze. He had never expected to encounter Arlong on Fish-Man Island. If he remembered correctly, by this point Arlong should have already built Arlong Park in the East Blue—and killed Nami’s adoptive mother while he was at it.

If Nami’s adoptive mother had not died, and the village had not been occupied by fish-men, would Nami still have developed that money-obsessed personality? Without the burden of one hundred million Berry, would Nami still have met Luffy?

Without Nami, who would serve as the Going Merry’s navigator?

Zoro!?

That really would be a tragedy…

The thought only flashed through Duke’s mind before he tossed it aside. The plot had already been changed far too much by him. Robin had boarded his ship early on. Not long ago, he had defeated Moria, and Brook’s shadow had returned to him. Now it was Nami’s turn for something to go wrong. It did not seem so hard to accept.

There was also Drum Island. Back then, his battle with Aokiji had nearly destroyed that island. Whether that tanuki doctor was still alive was anyone’s guess!

Duke suddenly realized that before he had even met Luffy, he had already screwed the guy over beyond recognition. But after thinking it over, he relaxed. The plot’s corrective force was not just for show. Those meant to be Luffy’s would not get away. At most, Duke’s actions had added a little difficulty to Luffy’s journey of gathering companions.

None of them would escape the personal charm of the future Pirate King.

"Brother Arlong, you’re here too?" The fish-men looked as though they had found their pillar of support upon seeing Arlong, but his words left them utterly confused.

"Brother Arlong, what are you talking about?"

"These three humans came for Boss Tiger. Why should we let them go?"

"I get it! This is Madame Shyarly’s cafe, and she’s Brother Arlong’s sister. Brother Arlong must be afraid we’ll damage the place during the fight."

"Brother Arlong, don’t worry! We’ll pay for it!"

Arlong flew into a rage and punched down the fish-man who had been shouting the loudest. With a dark, icy expression, he said, "How dare you raise weapons against this man? How could you raise weapons against this man?!"

"Brother Arlong, what are you doing?" All the fish-men froze. Then the next scene made them suck in sharp breaths.

With a thud, Arlong dropped to his knees before Duke. "Benefactor, please forgive them. They don’t know who you are."

Arlong did not like humans. He disliked them intensely—he hated them, even loathed them—but Duke was different. He had saved Tiger’s life. He was Tiger’s savior, and the benefactor of every member of the Sun Pirates. Even Arlong, who deeply hated humans, had no choice but to set aside a fish-man’s pride before his benefactor, because he was a member of the Sun Pirates and Tiger’s subordinate.

"Brother Arlong, how can you kneel before a human?!"

"Damn it, Brother Arlong, you’ve disappointed us too much!"

The fish-men were stunned. They had never imagined that Arlong, who had always despised humans, would do such a thing.

"Shut up, you idiots! Hurry up and throw down your weapons!" Another angry shout rang out as a group of Sun Pirates fish-men surged inside. Leading them was the ship’s doctor, Aladdin.

Thud! Thud! Thud…

A series of knees striking the ground sounded out. Led by Aladdin, every member of the Sun Pirates knelt down.

"Benefactor, the Sun Pirates deeply apologize for offending you. If we had known it was you, we never would have allowed this to happen." Aladdin pressed his forehead to the floor.

A man had gold beneath his knees, but loyalty was more precious than gold! To men of the sea, what was gold? Loyalty mattered more than life itself!

The shocking scene caused the entire cafe to fall silent. Everyone stared in astonishment, dumbfounded.

"Captain, the fish-men are actually kneeling before you?" Perona and Robin were both deeply moved. They had not expected Duke to make the fish-men bow their heads in submission with nothing more than his face. Ordinary people could hardly imagine how painful a slave’s life was, how much prestige Tiger held on the island after saving so many fish-men, or what Duke, the man who had saved Tiger’s life, meant to the fish-men.

"Why are the big brothers…"

"Bowing and scraping before a human?"

"Why is this happening? Even the big brothers from the Sun Pirates…"

"Open your eyes and see exactly who this man is!" Aladdin shouted angrily.

The helpless fish-men had no idea what to do. Then one fish-man stared at Duke’s face, becoming more and more shocked. At last, he rushed to the cafe entrance, tore down a wanted poster hanging in the center of the wall, and said blankly, "This man has a bounty of 800 million Berry! Could he be…?"

"This face is exactly the same as the one on the wanted poster. There’s no mistake. He is…"

"He is Fish-Man Island’s great benefactor!!"