Pirate: My Piltover technology is far ahead!

Chapter 89 I'd rather make a mistake than do nothing.

"Mr. Oran! I've come to pick you up!"

Shaq ran over from the side, waving his arms, his tone still as joyful as it had been a month ago.

"How did you get this injury?"

Shaq had more than one injury. Apart from a scrape on his arm, the rest were bruises, which were clearly marks left by a fight.

Oran knew that many people on Fishman Island were not friendly towards humans.

Hody Jones and his gang in the original timeline were like that. At least Aaron knew how to take care of his fellow countrymen, but Hody Jones went to such extremes that he would kill his own countrymen at will.

If Shaq's injury is caused by this group of people, he'll have to find a way to treat it, otherwise it will become a problem sooner or later.

"It's nothing serious. I had a fight with a group of human traffickers earlier, but luckily I won in the end."

Fishman Island does not refrain from fighting back against human traffickers; it's just that some pirates are too strong for them, and some human traffickers are themselves fishmen.

Not everyone will stand idly by while their compatriots are abducted, especially those who have had tragic experiences with such abductions.

"What do human traffickers do? Do they sell people?"

"Yes, they take people away from their families. They're hopeless bastards, and people who do this should all be hanged."

When Leliana first heard the word, she sensed extreme disgust from Oran's reply.

Leliana understands the phrase "taken away from their family," and based on that description alone, she has already included this group on her list of bad people.

"Hey, who is this?"

"Leliana is also my daughter."

"You look a lot like me, Mr. Oran. Where's your eldest daughter? Didn't she come with you this time?"

"Fran is at home; something needs her to keep an eye on things for me there."

"It seems Mr. Oran, your family is quite happy."

"Just like you" is a common phrase used to praise someone else's child on Fishman Island, which is related to the Fishman race's way of reproduction.

Fishmen and mermaids can intermarry and reproduce naturally, but their offspring have more random attributes.

The gender is randomized (male or female), the form is randomized (mermaid or fish-man), and even the genes of marine creatures in the bloodline are randomized.

Fish-men and mermaids share a common ancestral genetic memory. The fish species they belong to at birth depends on the genes of their ancestral fish species from multiple generations ago, and is not necessarily related to the fish species of their parents.

If a child resembles one of their parents, it's something to celebrate, and looking alike is the best way to praise them.

"Isn't this Kate? You look exactly the same as you did a few years ago. Are you doing well?"

"My body is a little unusual, but it's alright."

"It seems you've been staying by Mr. Oran's side all along, that's good. By the way, Mr. Oran, I've already started working on the matter you entrusted to me before, and so far I've found a total of five people, including myself."

The surroundings fell silent for a moment. This number was a bit exaggerated. Fishman Island has a population of about five million, and it has been fluctuating within this range for many years.

From this perspective, and considering that Shaq himself is included among these five people, the probability is one in a million, almost the same as the probability of obtaining Conqueror's Haki.

"Uncle Shaq, aren't five a bit too few? All my friends have them, um, more than five."

Leliana counted on her fingers and finally gave an affirmative answer, which broke the silence with a child's words.

"I know it's a bit low, but Mr. Oran, it was an accident. I don't know which big mouth leaked my previous divination. Mr. Oran, you are ultimately human, so most people are unwilling."

This is a racial conflict that has lasted for hundreds of years. The last time relations between the two sides were most amicable was probably nearly 800 years ago, during the generation of Joy Boy.

Besides Joy Boy's efforts, it's probably also related to the fact that the mermaid princess of that generation was already an awakened sea king.

King Saturn of Fishman Island didn't accomplish much, and that's about all Shaq achieved in the end.

"Don't be discouraged. At least someone is willing to do it. I brought a lot of funds with me this time. You can set an example first, and I believe some people will be interested."

Oran didn't force them to traffic people or fight; they were simply exploring the water, which was the easiest thing for the fish-men.

As an aquatic species, they only need to explore the seabed as if taking a walk, although the areas they explore may be quite far.

Oran believes that as long as the money is right, some people will still be tempted.

At times like these, talking about feelings is meaningless; discussing interests is the most direct approach.

"Take these for now. They can make you appear a little wealthier than usual, but don't flaunt them too much, or you might attract trouble."

Oran handed Shaq some gold coins. In Fishman Island these days, gold is actually more popular than peso, since it's deep sea and paper money is hard to preserve.

"I understand, Mr. Oran. Also, that Otohime has joined as well."

"Otohime?"

"Yes, she came to me on her own initiative, as if she wanted to prove something with this behavior."

Mermaids are the fastest swimmers in the ocean and can communicate with fish. They are somewhat weaker in strength, but for exploration, their advantages outweigh their weaknesses.

Mermaids and fishmen each have their own advantages. Fishmen have ten times the strength of humans, but they cannot communicate with fish, which is one of the reasons why fishmen eat fish.

Within the entire merfolk race, only a very few individuals are able to speak to fish.

Mermaids are different; talking to fish is their instinct, and the Little Mermaid can even communicate freely with sea kings.

In terms of environmental reconnaissance, Otohime's ability is even stronger than the other four combined; however, she can only detect what is exposed, and cannot detect anything deeper.

Even if she could communicate with the fish, the fish still wouldn't be able to take samples.

"However, Otohime's abilities are also limited; her body is too fragile."

At this point, Shaq also felt somewhat helpless. Mermaids were certainly not as physically strong as fishmen, but they were not weak either, after all, they were a race that could swim at high speeds in the deep sea.

But Princess Otohime is an exception. Forget about fighting, if she slaps someone, the end result is always that she breaks her own arm.

"Actually, she's quite fragile inside. The way you saw her before, Mr. Oran, was all just a facade. The other day, the five of us had a small get-together, and she got drunk after just one drink, and then..."

"Uncle Shaq, it's not a good thing to talk badly about girls behind their backs. You'll end up alone."

As they were talking, Otohime also appeared. She had rushed over after receiving a message from Shak. Her current goal is to enable humans, mermaids, and fish-men to live equally, so she cherishes her human friends.

"Haha, I'm telling the truth. Otohime, you can't hold your liquor. You'd better not drink with strangers in the future."

"I see. Only you guys would like to drink that kind of awful stuff. Mr. Oran, look at this. This is what I made recently."

Otohime was holding a seashell painting with a theme of racial harmony.

"Could you help me promote this idea on land? I know it might not be of much use, but even if it only influences one person, what would it be?"

Human beings have too deep a prejudice against the ocean. If a person can accept this, he will teach his children new ideas.

This reduces prejudice even further.

Princess Otohime's thoughts are still very simple. She would rather face setbacks and failures than do nothing.

In any case, sitting idly by and waiting to die is a rather foolish idea.

"It was nothing, you should be able to tell that I don't have much racial prejudice."

At least until a race has caused widespread resentment, Oran will not escalate the issue from an individual's perspective to the race's level, unless that race is completely beyond redemption from top to bottom—yes, I'm talking about those Celestial Dragons from Mary Geoise.

While other groups produce a minority of evil people, this group produces a very small number of good people, or rather, normal people.

In the Celestial Dragons' worldview, what ordinary people consider normal is heresy.

"Yes, we have many different family members, and everyone comes from different races."

Today, Oran's family consists of humans, robots, minks, dragons, and "slimes." Although they all have some direct connection to Oran, they are all intelligent beings with independent thinking, making their species even more complex than those found on the sea.

"Indeed, I can sense it. Are you Mr. Oran's daughter? You're very cute."

"etc!"

Oran stopped Otohime from trying to hold Lyriana's hand and, under Otohime's questioning gaze, handed Lyriana a stick.

"Riley, bend it."

"Okay, Dad."

Leriana took the stick and, with a quick flick of her wrists, bent it into a V-shape.

"I'm doing this for your own good. Riley is quite strong, and given your condition, I'm afraid you might lose your hand."

Oran handed the bent stick to Otohime, and the feel of it in his hand told her that it was made of iron.

With her fragile constitution, she might accidentally suffer a comminuted fracture from Leliana.

"This child is really healthy."

Otohime withdrew her hand, and after listening to Oran tell her about their plans, she took them to a newly opened dessert shop.

Shaq's family was not as wealthy as Otohime's, and he only knew about stores with high cost-performance ratios. Otohime, on the other hand, knew about some special products, such as the handmade tiramisu from the Mermaid Cafe.

It's a bit more expensive, but it tastes better.

With Oran's hint, Otohime didn't rashly approach Lyliana, but that didn't stop her from chatting with Lyliana. The innocence of the human child gave Otohime more hope for the future.

Upon arriving at the shopping area, the group split up and began their shopping activities.

"You really want them all?"

"That's right, I've given you all the money. What else are you worried about?"

"Yes. Just a moment, I'll get it ready for you."

Even when faced with a big spender, the shop owner did not refuse the business, even if it was a human.

In the Fish-Man Island's concept, working for humans and simply earning money from humans are two different things.

However, it will still take time to pack and box this quantity.

Oran, on the other hand, began writing his own plan, such as the specific direction for developing and controlling the fruit. At present, he has no intention of eating another fruit.

The idea that Devil Fruits originated from fantasy is a hypothesis proposed by Vegapunk, while the idea of ​​Devil Fruit battles is a hypothesis proposed by Oran. Both have one thing in common: neither has been definitively proven.

Oran is not willing to take this risk until he has accurate information and a conclusion.

Success would grant him an additional ability, while failure would result in immediate death. The potential gains outweighed the risks, and the Book-Book Fruit's ability to create its own world was sufficient for him to develop.

Even if he obtains a stronger fruit, he has ways to use it, such as with Zach and Frankenstein, or by applying bloodline factors. Oran has ways to use them, so there's no need to gamble with his life.

After the shop owner had prepared everything, Oran used Zach's body to wrap his books and concealed the mountain of pastries inside the books under the cover of mercury.

But at that moment, some chaos seemed to break out outside. Otohime stopped a person carrying a bag, and some kind of argument broke out.

(End of this chapter)