Recruit Luffy at the start and build the strongest navy.

Meanwhile, the members of the Sun Pirates, including Jinbe, were already waiting at the port.

When the fishmen saw Arlong and his group, they all smiled happily and waved to Arlong and the others.

"Ah Long, Ah Long!! Are you alright? Sashibuli... Sashibuli da na! We've come to take you home!!"

To their surprise, Ah Long and the others didn't react to their greetings. They just glanced at them indifferently and didn't say anything.

For a moment, the fishmen were all stunned; they were a little confused by Aron's attitude.

What's wrong?

Could it be because they've been in the city gates for too long and are no longer familiar with them?

That doesn't make sense! They used to be friends who would risk their lives for each other. There's no reason for them to become so estranged just because they haven't seen each other for a few years.

It seems I'll have to wait until I board the ship to find out what's going on.

Because Jinbe is now a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, he doesn't even need to go through any formalities; he can simply hand over the person. So, Arlong quickly returned to the Sun Pirates' ship.

Looking at the familiar ship, Ah Long was momentarily dazed; several years had made the ship feel somewhat unfamiliar to him.

Thinking back to how much laughter and joy he shared here back then, the Sun Pirates weren't just made up of the people they have now, but also included his most respected older brother—Fisher Tiger!

After a brief handover, Jinbe also came aboard the ship. Looking at Arlong's appearance, he didn't say anything immediately.

The affairs between their pirate crews are not suitable to be discussed here at Marine Headquarters.

Before long, the ship slowly sailed away, heading towards the distant sea.

At the highest point of Marineford, Kyle sat, munching on an apple, gazing calmly at the departing Sun Pirates ship.

When only the pit was left after biting it off, lightning crackled in Kyle's palm, and the pit was instantly annihilated by the violent lightning energy.

The next moment, with a flash of lightning, Kyle's figure disappeared from the spot.

-

Meanwhile, on the Sun Pirates' ship.

Jinbe glanced at Arlong, then slowly walked towards him. Just as he was about to say something, Arlong spoke first:

"So you want to become humanity's lackey?"

Jinbe remained silent for a long while before speaking:

"I'm just doing what I believe is right! I want to protect the fish-men, I want to make amends for the damage I did to Queen Otohime's ideals, and I want to become a Shichibukai..."

"I'm asking you if you want to be humanity's lackey!!!"

Arlong suddenly turned around and roared at Jinbe, his pupils bloodshot.

The surrounding merfolk were all startled by this scene, and one of them couldn't help but speak up:

"Arlong, Jinbe, he..."

However, he was interrupted fiercely by Ah Long when he was only halfway through speaking.

"Shut up, you have no right to speak here!!"

Then he turned his gaze to Jinbe.

"Jinbe, have you forgotten how your elder brother died?"

"When our elder brother was still alive, we pursued a policy of peace and avoided harming humans without cause, but what was the result?!"

"Tell me what the result is!!"

"What did my brother get in return for his kind act of helping those filthy humans escort that human slave girl home?"

"It's betrayal!!!"

"If they hadn't betrayed our leader, how could he have died, and how could he have lost hope in humanity?"

"We fish-men are born to be mortal enemies of humans. All we can do is strive to rule this world and make those damned humans our slaves!"

"Fish-men are a noble race by birth!"

Jinbe fell silent, but his gaze toward Arlong grew increasingly cold.

The disagreement between Ah Long and him on ideology is nothing new; over the years, their conflicts have grown increasingly intense due to their differing views.

"Fishmen? A noble race?!"

"How many of us fish-men are there, and how many humans are there?"

"Or to put it more bluntly, how many strong fish-men are there, and how many strong humans are there?!"

"Believe it or not, the Navy only needs to send one admiral to wipe out our Fish-Men!"

"Ah Long, stop daydreaming. We want to protect the fish-men, we want to have the chance to live openly and honestly in this world. The only thing we can do is to coexist peacefully with humans!"

As he spoke, Jinbe's voice turned into a roar.

"Peaceful coexistence?"

"Pshaw!! What a ridiculous phrase!"

"No matter how hard you try, human discrimination against us fish-people will never disappear!"

"But judging from your expression, I can't reason with you. You can keep your peaceful coexistence with humans and try to get along with them. I'm not playing along!"

"I've made my decision. I will become the deepest wrath of the fish-men. I will go to the East Sea, the heart of the four seas, and there, I will establish an empire that belongs to us fish-men!!"

Ah Long spread his hands and shouted loudly.

"Are you crazy?! You just got out, do you want to get arrested again?"

Jinbe's pupils widened as he roared at Arlong, unable to resist grabbing Arlong's arm.

Ah Long shoved him away.

"My affairs are none of your business!!"

After saying that, he turned to look at the fishmen on the ship and said:

"Now, those who are willing to follow me, come out, and together we will build an empire that belongs to us fishmen!"

"I will cast humanity into a nightmare, and show them the wrath of us fish-men!!"

Upon hearing this, all the fishmen dressed in prison uniforms stepped forward and walked behind Arlong.

They were captured because they followed Ah Long, and even after spending so much time in Impel Down, they are still willing to follow Ah Long.

Most of them are familiar faces from the Arlong Pirates in the later parts of the original story, including the three most prominent executives of the Arlong Pirates.

Octopus fishman Hachi, manta fishman Croobi, kissing fishman Chiu.

As for the fishmen who weren't wearing prison uniforms, not one of them stepped forward. They all stood behind Jinbe, watching their former comrades, Arlong, part ways with them, feeling immense pain in their hearts.

I thought it was a reunion, but it turned out to be an even longer separation.

But there was nothing they could do; their ideologies differed. They were all fish-men who had followed Jinbe for so long, and they shared the same ideals as him. Moreover, they were well aware of the power of humans and knew that there was absolutely no benefit in standing on the opposite side of humans.

So even though they were reluctant, they didn't say anything, and Ah Long and the others didn't want to hear them talk anyway.

Jinbe gave Arlong a deep look, and after a long while, asked in a deep voice:

"Are you sure you want to do this?!"

Arlong stared back defiantly at Jinbe, speaking each word clearly:

"Never before have I been so certain!"

Jinbe fell silent again, this time for a long time without speaking. Finally, he turned his body away, using silence as a substitute for an answer.

Seeing this, Ah Long didn't say anything more, waved his hand, and prepared to lead the fishmen away...