Pirate: It’s not a phantom beast, it’s a phantom god!

Chapter 291 The Navy of Fishman Island
After informing the crew of possible recent relocations and instructing them to prepare, Osei hung up the Den Den Mushi.

She pressed her hand to her chest; the discordant tremor of the divine core still appeared intermittently… She had to go find La to check on her.

Meanwhile, on the distant Fishman Island.

"We've arrived. This is my home, old man."

The old fishman and Jinbe walked and talked, and finally arrived at their destination half an hour later—a small house located on the outermost edge of Mermaid Harbor.

"Come on, hurry up and put your luggage down. This bag looks so heavy."

As the old fishman stepped forward, took out his key, and opened the door, he turned to Jinbe and said:
“I heard from that brat Bulfat that you’re going to stay on Fishman Island for a while, so why don’t you just stay with this old man for now?”

"My house isn't big, but it's more than enough for two people to live in."

"Eh?! This...this won't do, how can I disturb you like this!"

Upon hearing the old fishman's words, Jinbe quickly refused, saying he couldn't cause such trouble for him.

"Ha~ What are you saying? Are you implying that this old man's shack is too simple?"

Seeing that Jinbe was about to explain, the old fishman waved his hand and said:
“I’ve been living alone in this house for so many years and it’s been so lonely. Now that you’ve moved in, it’ll be nice to have some company and chat with you.”

"Let me tell you... it's not as easy as it used to be to buy a whole house on Fishman Island."

"Ever since we gained Whitebeard's protection and the island gradually became safer, property prices have skyrocketed!"

"If you want to settle down here in the future, then you'll have to..."

crunch~
The old door was opened.
As the old fish-man led Jinbe into the house, he continued muttering to himself.

He talked about everyday things, like complaining about rising vegetable prices or someone always throwing trash in front of his house... In short, it was all trivial matters.

However, this was quite novel for Jinbe, who had never experienced such an ordinary life before.

In this world, ordinary people like Old Fishman actually make up the vast majority, but they often just exist as background figures. The world's attention will always be focused on those big shots who can stir up trouble.

Although Jinbe has not yet grown to the point where he can attract the world's attention, his growth trajectory has long been completely different from that of ordinary people.

Born an orphan, I spent my childhood wandering in lawless places...

His life trajectory might have been one of gradual upward progress, first escaping Fishman Street, and then joining the Sea God's Army through his own efforts.
If he's lucky, he might become a leader of the Sea God Army and establish a connection with the royal family.

But through a series of butterfly effects, he went from the very bottom to the center of the world stage during his youth.

Here he encounters some of the most infamous pirates on the high seas, and grows up alongside some of the most amazing people in the world... His future is destined to become the focus of global attention.

But now, as he listens to these everyday chatter, Jinpei finds himself somewhat disoriented.

[Perhaps I should stay here a little longer...]
Jinbe had a premonition that what he had been pursuing might be hidden in these seemingly ordinary fish-men and mermaids.

"Oh, right."

The old fishman's words interrupted Jinbe's thoughts, as if the other man had suddenly remembered something important.

"What happened to that little shark brat who used to always follow you around?"

"Shark... Oh, you mean Ah Long?"

"He's doing well now, and he exercises diligently every day."

"Where's your temper? Still as arrogant as before?"

"Uh... well, he should probably tone it down a bit now."

"Oh~"

The old fishman nodded, then carefully spoke again:

"So... will he have time to come back recently?"

"Hmm? Is something the matter?"

"That's right, that kid's gambling-addicted father gave birth to another sister for him last year."

"But judging from his incorrigible nature, he probably doesn't want to take good care of the child anymore. Lately, he's been saying he wants to find a chance to abandon the child."

"what?!"

Yes, Ah Long is an orphan, but he's not completely alone. He was actually abandoned in Fishman Street by his own father as a burden.

Although he was only four years old at the time, he understood his father's meaning, so even though he almost starved to death on the street several times, he never went to look for his father again... which can be regarded as tacitly accepting the severance of the father-son relationship. However, the fact that Ah Long was lucky enough to survive did not mean that his sister could, or rather, a young female mermaid would most likely not survive for more than a few days in a place like Fishman Street.

With that thought in mind, Jinbe made up his mind that he could not let this matter go unaddressed no matter what.

"Uncle, I..."

Before Jinbe could even open his mouth, the old fishman spoke first:

“I was thinking that if he couldn’t come back, or didn’t want to get involved, then I, who have no children of my own, might be able to take that child in and adopt him.”

"We can't just watch the child get abandoned like that, can we?"

"..."

Given Ah Long's current situation, it's indeed not easy to deal with this newly added younger sister.

After all, the Beasts Academy is not an orphanage, much less a charity; it's not going to let you bring your whole family and stuff people in there.

Jinbe thought that Arlong should focus on training with the Beasts and that he and the old fishman would take care of him until Arlong was able to stand on his own.

"Thank you, I thank you on behalf of Ah Long."

"Hey, what are you saying? I—"

"Boss! We're being ordered to assemble. They say there's an urgent mission to be assigned!"

Just as Jinbe bowed his head to express his gratitude, an urgent voice suddenly came from outside the door... It was a member of the old fishman's squad.

"Gathering? Didn't I take half a day off?"

"Oh dear! Boss, this is a mandatory assembly. King Neptune himself gave the order, and everyone must be present!"

"Hmm? So urgent? Is something important?"

"I don't know either. But let's hurry, they require us to get there as quickly as possible!"

"Oh, oh! Then Jinbe, you...you..."

The old fishman hurriedly put his helmet back on, picked up his standard spear, and called out to Jinbe.

"Uncle, you can go about your own business and don't need to worry about me."

……

After watching the two jog away and putting down his luggage, Jinbe decided to go to Fishman Town first.

He wanted to revisit the place where he had struggled to make a living, just as Ra had once told him—if you feel lost about the future, you might as well go back to where you started.

Although his memories of Fishman Street are mostly related to hunger and violence, it also contains some people and things that have shaped the foundation of his current personality.

Thinking about the vague directions in his memory, Jinbe stepped into the bustling Mermaid Harbor ahead... It was the gathering area of ​​mermaids, the most popular area on Fishman Island, and also known as a holy land for outsiders.

If he remembered correctly, the destination should be some secluded corner after passing through this bustling area.

A dozen minutes later, in the center of Mermaid Harbor, he was pondering the exact location of Mermaid Street when he suddenly heard a different conversation among the young mermaids.

First came a lazy, flippant voice:

"Wow~ It really lives up to its reputation, the mermaid girls here are truly a feast for the eyes~"

"Hush~ Whoosh~"

His response was a slightly hoarse, low voice:

"Albury, we're here on a mission, so we need to behave like the Navy!"

"Oh dear, Lieutenant General Mien, don't be so serious!"

"It's a rare opportunity to come here, so let's relax~ The CP guys are here, we can leave the mission to them~"

"but……"

"Hey! Look, it's the legendary Mermaid Cafe!"

"Let's go in and give it a try! Maybe the fish-man island's special snacks will cure your anorexia!"

(End of this chapter)