Pirate: My Piltover technology is far ahead!

Chapter 77 Idealism and Investment in the Future

Otohime is weak, but she has a special talent for Observation Haki.

From birth, she awakened that power, and unlike ordinary Observation Haki which is only used to avoid attacks, her Observation Haki can sense the hearts and thoughts of others and resonate with their emotions.

If she so chooses, she can even subtly change the thoughts of others, a power that would be envied by any art student in Vienna who failed the entrance exam.

However, Otohime did not harbor any ambitions; rather, she harbored an ideal and beautiful fantasy.

As she grew older, Otohime's abilities began to emerge. She could sense the grief and fear in the hearts of those around her, so she wanted to change everything.

She had met many of her kind who had come into contact with humans, but those people were driven by self-interest, and some even harbored evil intentions. Many fish-people themselves would abduct mermaids and sell them to humans in exchange for large sums of money.

But in Shaq's heart, she didn't sense any evil thoughts, but rather a pure sense of gratitude and trust.

It hasn't been long since Princess Otohime had this idea and put it into action, but so far, she has been constantly hitting walls, and no one has agreed with her idea. At this moment, she desperately wants to be recognized.

"What a joke! Do you know what you're talking about?! Put away your unrealistic ideas; you'll only hurt yourself this way!"

In reality, Shaq did not agree with her ideas. Instead, he became irritable, snatched the hand-drawn leaflet from Otohime's hand, and his expression turned somewhat ferocious.

His sharp shark teeth, combined with his original fish-man appearance, made him look somewhat terrifying.

"Uncle, that's not what you really think. I can feel your worry and tenderness. Don't you have trustworthy human friends? Why are you avoiding these things?"

Otohime was not afraid; instead, she confronted Shak directly.

"You brat, you don't understand anything! Do you think equality is something you can just shout about? Humans are dangerous! Your kind of thinking will only get you into trouble!"

Having experienced it firsthand, Shaq understood the dangers of these things better than anyone else. He had no idea that Otohime possessed an almost bug-like Observation Haki. In Shaq's view, any mermaid with such naive ideas who came into contact with humans would eventually be kidnapped and sold.

Once enslaved, mermaids often suffer a far worse fate than fish-men.

"Mr. Oran, I'm not talking about you. I know you're a good person, but the human race..."

Shaq realized he had just made a sweeping generalization, but he really didn't want to see his compatriots actively approaching danger, so he didn't think too much about it in his excitement.

"No need to explain, Shaq. I understand you. It's a good thing to feel a sense of crisis; you're worried about her too."

"No, that's not it. It's just because I don't understand."

"Otohime, is it? If you want to change all this, you must first accept it all. In fact, reality may be even worse. It seems this isn't your first day doing this. Have you met any compatriots who accept you?"

"No."

At this point, Otohime became somewhat disappointed. She had seemed so happy before because she felt that Shak's attitude towards humans wasn't so cold, but reality wasn't so kind.

But she quickly rallied.

"So, Mr. Human, would you like to be my friend?"

Princess Otohime is still in the exploratory stage. At this moment, she realized that she herself did not understand humans, so how could she persuade others?

Oran already had fishman friends, and Otohime was unaware of any evil intentions Oran harbored, so she began her first attempt.

"Of course, Miss Mermaid."

In this world, connections are essential. At this moment, she was just an innocent mermaid girl, but she was destined to become the future Queen of Fishman Island and was deeply loved by the people.

There's no harm in establishing contact with Otohime now.

"I didn't bring anything with me, so please consider this a small gift."

Oran took a book out of his backpack. It was originally a picture book he bought for Riley in the Sabaody Archipelago, but now it was perfect for a mermaid who had lived in the deep sea for a long time.

"Thank you, I really like this. Consider this a return gift."

Books are worthless on land, but they are very precious on the underwater Fishman Island. In the end, Oran traded a picture book with Otohime for a pearl the size of a baby's fist, and they also exchanged contact information.

"Mr. Oran, you're the first human that girl ever came into contact with. She's really lucky. I hope you can help her understand humans better."

After Otohime left, Shaq felt a little sentimental, but Oran didn't feel the same way.

"With her personality, even if she is covered in wounds, she will still give back to the world with kindness, which is not important."

I see your living conditions on Fishman Island are rather poor. Come and help me with some work, Shaq.

Trusting Oran, Shak agreed to Oran's request without much thought, becoming Oran's agent on Fishman Island, recruiting some fishmen to explore the seabed under his own name.

Given the current situation on Fishman Island, recruiting fishmen directly under human identities would be somewhat difficult.

After that, Oran and Frankenstein purchased some supplies and returned to land by ship.

"Father, isn't this a bit of a waste of energy? Perhaps we can build some robots to accomplish your goal."

Frankenstein was still somewhat puzzled when he reached the surface of the sea.

"Fran, you're right, but it's a matter of cost. The conditions underwater are unpredictable, and ordinary underwater probes can hardly cope with such complex situations. To achieve this goal accurately would be too costly. At the very least, it needs to have independent self-awareness."

Oran had considered Frankenstein's idea, but the cost was too high; the cost of manufacturing the exploration robot was even higher than the value of the mineral deposit itself.

"Fran, you are priceless in my heart. You, Riley, Blitzcrank, and Zach are all unique."

Even if I were to create another being with the same way of thinking, the same abilities, and the same appearance as you, you would still be fundamentally different.

Oran gestured for Frankenstein to sit aside, so he wouldn't have to be on high alert all the time.

"But the value of the parts on your body can be calculated. Feld spent 150 million Berries to purchase the Accumulation Fruit. The Hextech Core is a unique item here, so I'll just say it's worth 1 billion Berries."

The special materials used to create your body were also synthesized with the help of the bear, and if you calculate it carefully, it's worth at least 100 million Berries, and that's just the cost price.

Exploration robots don't need to be as sophisticated as Frankenstein's, but instruments capable of deep-sea exploration are still hard to come by.

The cost of one machine is enough to hire hundreds of fishmen for a year, and that's with high salaries.

In addition, since an industrial system has not been established, Oran would have to invest a lot of time and resources to build it itself, which would ultimately be less cost-effective.

Moreover, this is a diplomatic investment for the future. The fish-men have great convenience in moving around the sea with this alien race, and it is also related to the Sea King, one of the three ancient weapons.

Although Oran's technological development does not rely on archaeology, it would not be harmful to bring such a force under its wing.

After careful consideration, Oran came up with the idea of ​​employing this underwater race.

Whitebeard held considerable prestige on Fishman Island in the original timeline because he lent the flag to Fishman Island during its darkest period.

Oran could also lend a helping hand at an opportune time to expand its influence here and complete a deeper strategic plan.

(End of this chapter)