Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

as predicted.

Just as Li Mingyuan was thinking this, the burly captain revealed his hand.

"Naval Division 16, Captain Rat."

The burly captain remained calm and said with a smile, "Fellow merfolk, you should have heard of this name. I also have trade dealings with the colonel. To be honest, a lot of this shipment is going to the colonel."

Upon hearing the name Colonel Mouse, the fish-men, who had been nonchalant just moments before, were all taken aback.

Even the gray-skinned merman who had been standing silently with his arms crossed at the very back of the merman group had a flicker in his eyes when he heard this.

"They actually know Colonel Rat?"

The fish-man muttered to himself.

"Should we call them...?"

The red-skinned fishman at the head of the group turned back to look behind him again, and said hesitantly.

They came here on orders to sink the ships that entered the vicinity of Alon Paradise, but they didn't expect to be involved with Colonel Rat. If they didn't care about other humans, then in the East China Sea, at least Colonel Rat was someone who had some value to them.

In an instant, none of the fishmen dared to make a decision on their own.

After discussing the matter, one of the fishmen retreated to a secluded spot along the ship's edge and dialed a Den Den Mushi (a type of Den Den Mushi), while the remaining fishmen continued to keep an eye on the crew, remaining vigilant for any unusual activity.

Upon seeing this, the burly captain immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Even Li Mingyuan nodded slightly upon seeing this scene, unsurprisingly, the captain still had some reliance on him.

Those unfamiliar with One Piece may not remember the name Colonel Rat, but in fact, this character played a very important role in the East Blue Saga. Even though he didn't appear for long, his brief appearance left a deep impression on the audience.

Because it was his existence that drove Nami to near despair during the Arlong arc.

As a Marine, Captain Rat colluded with pirates and led his troops to Nami's orange grove in the Arlong arc, stealing all the 100 million Berries ransom that Nami had painstakingly collected after betraying the Straw Hat crew. This indirectly showed that Arlong did not break his promise to Nami—after all, look, it was the Marines who took your money, what does it have to do with me?

Nami's countless efforts over eight years were all for naught, finally pushing the villagers who had watched Nami's sacrifices to the limit to their breaking point. The entire village took up arms and stormed into Arlong Park.

Knowing that the villagers' actions were only a death sentence, Nami desperately tried to stop them, but still couldn't make them stop. Thus, on the deserted street, Nami was completely helpless. In extreme pain and despair, she pulled out a knife and frantically stabbed the Arlong Pirates tattoo on her arm.

Colonel Rat can be considered the catalyst for the final battle in the Arlong arc. There is a theory that he may have even helped Arlong and his crew cover up some of their crimes in the East Blue, making his importance to the fish-men self-evident.

If this name is brought up, then it certainly qualifies that the fishmen will give it a break... right?

Li Mingyuan continued to observe the changes taking place on the field.

After whispering a few words to the Den Den Mushi not far away, the fishman returned to the group of fishmen and started talking to the other fishmen. However, because the voices were too soft, he couldn't hear the specific conversation.

Regardless of what they said, the fishmen quickly dispersed again, and then the red fishman who had just been talking walked up to the captain, revealing a grin full of sharp teeth.

"Sorry, no."

Caught off guard, the fishman suddenly raised his hand and grabbed the burly captain's head.

Before the burly captain could even react, he was pinned to the ground.

His face turned red with suppressed emotion, and he managed to stammer, "Why...?"

"Brother A-Long really hates humans, especially guys like you who act on their own initiative and rush straight to A-Long Paradise without even saying hello. Normally, I might let you pass, but unfortunately, Brother A-Long is in a bad mood today."

"So, the only option is for you to sink here with this ship."

After that, the other fishmen who had just been watching the show suddenly joined forces and attacked. Some pulled out muskets from somewhere and started firing at the crew members. Some fishmen punched the crew members with their bare hands, using their strength, which was about ten times that of a human, to knock them flying. Still others didn't use their fists or guns, but simply opened their fangs and bit at the crew members.

In the blink of an eye, the entire cargo ship descended into chaos.

"How...how could this happen?!" "Captain!!"

"Ah... Ahhh!!"

Looking at the deck that had undergone such a dramatic transformation in just a second, Li Mingyuan's eyes flickered slightly.

He knew that Ah Long wouldn't let this cargo ship go.

After all, in the Arlong arc, there was a Marine character with even less fan recognition than Colonel Rat: Brigadier General and Commander of the 77th Branch named Brinbrin. In the Arlong Paradise arc, in order to rescue the residents of Kusha Town, he led his troops to attack the Arlong Pirates without authorization from his superiors. However, the three officers of the Arlong Pirates created a whirlpool that caused the fleet to sink, and he was wiped out on the spot without even a fight.

This can be considered indirect evidence that Colonel Rat was helping Ah Long and his gang cover up the truth.

Judging from the brigadier's performance, he had no idea about the true situation of the Arlong Pirates before this. Even his actions were his own initiative after discovering Arlong Paradise Castle. The Navy and the World Government had no idea what big trouble the Arlong Pirates had caused in the East Blue. If they had known, even if the Arlong Pirates really had one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea backing them, they would not have been able to cover it up. Instead, a Navy vice admiral would have led a team to wipe them out. At the very least, Vice Admiral Garp, the "Naval Hero" from the East Blue, would not have stood idly by.

Judging from the fate of this naval commodore, Arlong's true thoughts are quite clear: he never cared about offending the navy, he hated all humans equally, and his cooperation with the rat colonel was only for the sake of profit.

In other words, if it weren't for the fact that Captain Rat was a naval officer, it would have been meaningless to him. Whether or not he wanted to defeat a cargo ship of this level of relationship depended entirely on Aaron's mood that day.

"Tsk, as expected, it's turned out like this again."

"What a hassle."

Li Mingyuan couldn't help but frown.

That's why he didn't hesitate to take action after discovering the fishman in the lower deck of the ship. It was because he found that the fishman was one of the executives of Arlong's pirate crew in the original work, a fishman named "Chiu" who could spray high-pressure water jets from his lips.