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

Chapter 292 The Man of Fishman Street
Upon hearing their conversation, Jinbe looked up and began searching for the two figures in the crowd.

Putting aside 'Albury,' he did indeed have some recollection of the name 'Mien.'

As one of the prisoners who were tied up with the beasts, Jinbe had met him from afar once, at the urging of Arlong and the others. The sharp look in Arlong's eyes left a deep impression on him at the time.

[I never imagined the old man was talking about the Navy, and it turns out he was the one... Not only that, but even members of the CP organization are here.]
Jinbe frowned. The arrival of the Navy and CP together was never good news for Fishman Island.

After searching for a moment in the direction the sound came from, Jinbe spotted two figures wearing justice coats.

One of them had his hands in his pockets, walked with a rather casual posture, and kept glancing at the young and beautiful mermaids.

The other figure stood ramrod straight, his left hand resting on two long swords at his waist, his entire physique extremely...slender?!

No, it can no longer be described as thin; it's practically skin and bones!
Jinbe could hardly believe that this was the same muscular and imposing Vice Admiral he once was…

It's a miracle that the other person can still move around in their current state.

"Who?!"

Just as Jinbe was about to turn his attention away and continue towards Fishman Town, he suddenly heard a sharp shout!
It was Mien. The swordsman's keen senses allowed him to detect Jinbe's gaze, and instantly a sharp and imposing aura pierced into Jinbe's body.

[So strong!]
The opponent's sword was not drawn, but the terrifying sword intent had already made Jinbe's skin sting.

This forced him to retract his previous speculation... Although the opponent had become extremely thin, his strength had not decreased in the slightest.

Instead, it is like a murderous sword that has been fully charged with sword energy, just waiting for the moment it is drawn to draw blood and kill!

"Goooo~"

Swallowing hard, Jinbe subconsciously took a step back, an unusual action that completely revealed his location.

"Hey, stop right there! You... um? A merman?"

When Mien saw that the person staring at him was a merman, his imposing aura softened slightly.

After examining the other person's face more closely and realizing that he was neither the person they were looking for nor any wanted fishman pirate, he completely withdrew his fierce aura.

[Looks like just an ordinary, somewhat curious fish-man.]
With that thought in mind, Mien apologized to Jinbe for his behavior earlier.

"Sorry, I scared you."

"Ah, it's okay."

Seeing that the other party hadn't seen through his identity, Jinbe didn't want to cause any more trouble, so after exchanging pleasantries, he prepared to leave.

Jinbe wondered if he should go back and find Bulfat to warn him to be more careful, since he was alone this time and the other side had many helpers.

Having made up his mind, Jinbe turned around and started walking back the way he came.

"and many more!"

[?!]
"..."

"Excuse me, is there anything else?"

Jinbe was startled when the other party suddenly called out to him, but he remained outwardly calm.

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask if you've seen this person recently."

As he spoke, Mien gestured to Alberridge beside him, instructing him to take out something resembling a wanted poster from his pocket.

"Um……"

As the folded photograph gradually unfolded, a fish-man's face appeared in Jinbe's eyes.

The fish-man in the photo looks somewhat fierce, but his expression is listless. He has messy, short blond hair and a heavy-looking metal collar around his neck.

[This person...]
"So, do you remember me?"

"No."

"Is that so... then I'm sorry to have bothered you."

Seeing Jinbe shake his head, the two put away the photos and turned to leave decisively.

……

Jinbe quickened his pace and headed back the way he came, thinking to himself:
[The fishman the Navy is looking for must be the acquaintance Brother Bulfat mentioned... This is troublesome!]
Upon seeing the photo for the first time, Jinbe immediately thought of Bulfat and the grouper fishman named Lahail he mentioned.

He just didn't expect that the navy was also looking for him.

And that's not all; it seems those who ship him with other celebrities are also here for him...

[I need to tell Brother Bourfat about this right away!]
Since everyone's goal is the same person, the original plan of slowly waiting for the old fishman to find the person and then leave is no longer feasible.

The current situation necessitates preparations for potential conflict.

...On the other side, Mien, who had walked some distance, suddenly stopped.

"Huh? What's wrong? Why did you suddenly stop again?"

"Turn around and follow that merman."

As he spoke, Mien turned around decisively, and his gaze instantly caught Jinbe, who was already quite far away.

"Huh?! Aren't we going to the Mermaid Cafe? Even Big Mom's desserts there are amazing..."

"it's useless."

"I know my own body. Apart from what that girl made, I can't eat any other food."

Because when he was a captive of beasts, he didn't eat properly and almost starved himself to death by going on a hunger strike, Ra heard about it and personally cooked three meals a day for him during that time.

Because she was worried that the other party's will to die was too firm, La deliberately used the simple yet domineering culinary heart of "deliciousness" to make his body instinctively eat obediently.

As expected, the hunger strike plan failed, and Mien gained dozens of pounds when he was sent back, even more than Sengoku.

However, once Mien returned to Marine Headquarters and stopped getting food from the prison, his nightmare began.

Because Ra's cooking was too overpowering, Mien's body could no longer accept other foods after that. Even the dishes made by the top chefs in the main cafeteria tasted no different from horse manure.

Even if Mien manages to swallow the excrement with great willpower despite the nausea, her body will instinctively vomit it up afterwards.

As a result, Mien has been able to survive on nutrient solutions for many years, and her weight has dropped to less than half of what it used to be.

However, even though his health was deteriorating day by day, his swordsmanship improved by leaps and bounds during this period.

The physical torment made his heart stronger, and the anger brought on by the death of his best friend kept pushing him forward...

And that golden figure, even though he could no longer remember what the other person looked like, the fear and helplessness etched into his soul transformed into the obsession in his sword over the long years that followed.

Jinbe was right; he was less a person and more a sword of vengeance!
……

Seeing that Mien had already walked several meters away, Albury quickly turned around and followed, not forgetting to ask:
"Why did we follow that merman? Didn't he say he didn't know?"

"He's lying."

Mien answered decisively.

"When you showed that photo to that merman, his body suddenly stiffened without warning, clearly indicating that he recognized the person in the photo."

"Moreover, the direction he was originally going in is completely different from the direction he is now... He suddenly decided to change his route after encountering us."

"That guy is definitely connected to the person we're looking for!"

All these inconsistencies led Mien to almost certain that Jinbe was hiding something.

"Wow~ I didn't know you were so observant. No wonder you're Lieutenant General Mien~"

"Alright, enough of this nonsense. Let's hurry up and catch up. They're not slow."

"Don't lose them later."

"Yes yes yes~"

……

Wow~~ Wow~~

In the deepest part of Fishman Street, in a dark alley filled with garbage and the smell of mildew, a filthy blond fishman opened his eyes.

He was awakened by the crying of the baby in his arms.

Having not eaten for several days, it took him a while to fully recover from the dizziness caused by hunger, and then he hurriedly and frantically tried to comfort the baby in his arms.

"Oh, oh, oh~ Don't cry, don't cry~"

The awkward rocking and soft humming did not stop the baby in the swaddling clothes from crying; on the contrary, the crying became even louder.

He knew the other person was hungry, but the man was helpless.

The Navy and World Government personnel have already appeared on the island. It's highly likely that their whereabouts were exposed when they went out to scavenge for food. Going out now without knowing their location would be tantamount to walking into a trap.

The baby's cries continued, echoing outwards from the dark, dirty alley. Helpless, he could only gently cover the baby's mouth with his hand, trying to quiet the sound down.

Gradually, the baby's cries grew softer and softer, presumably because it was too hungry to continue crying.

The man breathed a slight sigh of relief and removed his hand from the other person's mouth, but looking at the baby in his arms, a sense of despair slowly crept into his heart...

(End of this chapter)