Chapter 44: Who is the Navy's Greatest Swordsman?

To the southeast of the civilian district of Fish-Man Island lies the outskirts of a near-port town called Coral Hills.

At this moment, although the sunlight from the Summer Eve tree remained bright, a chilling wind swept through the area, leaving the ground covered in ice. About twenty humans, clutching their frost-covered bodies, were shivering as they were escorted by a group of Marines toward a distant warship.

This group of pirates had already heard that hot water would be provided once they reached the warship; therefore, they were impatient to reach their cells.

As for any thoughts of resistance or struggle, those had long since vanished.

What a joke—that was an Admiral candidate, a top-tier Logia user. They could only blame their own bad luck. *Sigh—*

On the other side, Kuzan was conversing with three female fish-men—strictly speaking, two young mermaids and one young mermaid girl.

"Big brother human, thank you so much for saving us! But, you made it so cold here. Are these crystal-like things ice?"

A black-haired little girl, appearing no more than four or five years old, asked with trembling teeth and a hint of excitement. At the same time, she squeezed her tiny body into her sister's ample bosom, attempting to find more warmth.

"Arara, is this your first time seeing ice? By the way, my name is Kuzan. What's yours?" Kuzan gave a cheerful smile.

Just moments ago, he had rescued these three mermaids from those pirates. Such an act of justice left him in a pleasant mood, making him feel as though the blood in his veins was warming up.

"My name is Sherly!"

"This is Sister Emily and Sister Ivonne. How are they? Aren't they beautiful? Do you want to try dating them, big brother human!"

The little girl was very lively, jumping in to introduce them before her sisters could. She looked up at Kuzan with a mischievous grin.

At the same time, she thought to herself, *Isn't this big brother a human? Why is he so tall? He's much, much taller than many of the fish-man brothers!*

"Oh my, Sherly-chan, don't talk nonsense!" The mermaid sister holding Sherly blushed deeply, while secretly sizing Kuzan up.

*Tall, well-built, powerful, and he seems to be a high-ranking officer in the Marines. His personality seems nice too—cheerful and gentle...*

"Vice Admiral Aokiji!"

Just then, a Marine ran over and said urgently, "Vice Admiral, the construction team at Mermaid Harbor has been attacked by a group of fish-man thugs!"

"Hmm?" Kuzan raised an eyebrow, turned around, and asked, "Is anyone injured? How many fish-men? I recall Major Hodgson is in charge there."

"Thirteen workers are injured—ten with minor injuries and three unconscious with severe injuries. Two excavators were damaged. There were eight fish-man thugs in total, reportedly called the Arlong Pirates. They have already been taken down by Major Hodgson."

The Marine spoke in a long, breathless string of words, pausing briefly before continuing.

"Major Hodgson sent word that the Minister of the Left from the Ryugu Kingdom is bringing people over. He hopes to hand the Arlong Pirates over to the Sea King Army for custody, so he requests your presence to handle the matter."

Kuzan nodded, signaling the man to return to his unit, while preparing to say goodbye to the three mermaids.

Before he could speak, little Sherly, who was still buried between her sister's breasts, asked nervously, "Big brother Kuzan, can I go with you to see?"

"Why?" Kuzan looked at her in confusion.

"That... Arlong seems to be my brother. But I heard from others that he was abandoned at the orphanage in the Fish-Man District by our parents a long time ago. I... I want to see what he looks like," Sherly said weakly.

Hearing this, Kuzan thought for a moment and said, "Alright, but let's get one thing straight: no matter how he is dealt with, you cannot interfere."

"Okay, okay!"

Sherly nodded repeatedly. She was merely curious about this brother she had never met; as for any emotional connection, there was none to speak of.

"Fine then, let's go."

Twenty minutes later, the warship arrived alongside the World Government vessel anchored at Mermaid Harbor. Kuzan disembarked with a large contingent of Marines and the three mermaids.

"Vice Admiral Aokiji!"

Major Hodgson had been waiting for a long time. Beside him were the Minister of the Left, as well as warriors from the Sea King Army, including Jinbe and Aladdin.

Kuzan scanned the scene, noting the Arlong Pirates most prominently, bound tightly by specialized steel cables. Their faces still bore expressions of shock, as if they still couldn't believe how strong the human Marines were.

"Vice Admiral Aokiji, I am truly sorry that such a malicious incident occurred. This is a failure on the part of Fish-Man Island. I have already notified the doctors; we will do our utmost to treat the injured workers!"

The Minister of the Left approached, making no attempt to gloss over the matter. He felt immense regret; had he known, he should have sent some Sea King Army guards for protection.

Previously, they had assumed that since the Marines were responsible for security, nothing would happen, and since the fish-men of their nation were quite peaceful, they had overlooked the existence of the Fish-Man District and the Arlong Pirates.

It made sense; how could high-ranking officials and nobles of a nation pay attention to a few low-level thugs?

"Then I thank you. As for this matter, there is no need for self-reproach. Ultimately, it was a failure of my subordinates. As for the disposition of the Arlong Pirates..."

Kuzan fell into thought. During this silence, everyone present waited for his decision.

Meanwhile, Sherly curiously observed the despondent Arlong, curling her lip and thinking, *What's this? He's not handsome at all!*

She felt a bit disappointed. After all, he was her biological brother; she had hoped his image would be better. Now, he just looked like a common street thug who only knew how to cause trouble. No wonder her parents didn't want him.

"Very well. I will decide to hand the Arlong Pirates over to the Sea King Army."

As Kuzan spoke, the Minister of the Left showed a look of joy. Just as he was about to offer his thanks, Kuzan continued.

"However, this is a one-time exception. If fish-men maliciously attack Marines or World Government personnel again, we will send them to Impel Down for trial. I hope you can convey this to King Neptune."

The Minister of the Left was likely one of the few people on Fish-Man Island who understood the World Government well. Upon hearing "trial at Impel Down," he immediately understood the implication.

Impel Down!

It gave him a fright. He had heard of that terrifying place; it was said to be a living hell.

"Yes, yes, I will certainly convey this to His Majesty, and we will do our best to prevent such incidents from recurring. Moving forward, our Sea King Army will also take responsibility for security. Please rest assured, Vice Admiral Aokiji!"

Kuzan was satisfied with the Minister's cooperative attitude. He turned to Major Hodgson and commanded, "Hand the Arlong Pirates over to the Sea King Army."

"Yes, Vice Admiral Aokiji!" The Major naturally had no objections and turned to handle the transfer personally.

Kuzan then turned his gaze toward Jinbe and Aladdin, asking with a smile, "Are these two the important fish-men personally named by Fleet Admiral Kong?"

He had reviewed the relevant files before arriving and was very supportive of the formation of the Fish-Man Unit. The speed and strength of fish-men in the water were indeed remarkable, though he had zero interest in Fish-Man Karate.

"Yes. I am Jinbe. I look forward to your guidance, Vice Admiral Aokiji," Jinbe said, behaving with great composure and dignity. His steady gaze gave Kuzan a good first impression.

"I am Aladdin. I am very interested in human swordsmanship. May I ask who the strongest swordsman in Marine Headquarters is?" Aladdin asked curiously.

"Swordsmanship?"

Kuzan blinked, thinking to himself, *Regarding swordsmanship, I remember Sakazuki practiced it for a time but stopped later. Currently, it should be Borsalino, right?*

Aside from that, he truly couldn't name the number one swordsman of Marine Headquarters, even though he occasionally enjoyed using a blade himself.

It was a strange phenomenon. Based on the training curriculum of Marine Headquarters, they trained in swordsmanship starting from the lowest-ranking Marines, yet in later developments, no famous great swordsmen ever appeared. Kizaru and Gion seemed to be practitioners, but they were never specifically mentioned as "great swordsmen." Instead, top-tier swordsmanship seemed more prevalent in other groups.