One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 176: Courtesy first, then attack

If a person is weak and can only cry and beg others, most people will look down on them. Even if they feel sympathy for them, it is inevitable that they will be looked down upon.

However, if someone is strong enough to use their fists but is still willing to reason with others in a gentle manner, or even beg and plead with them, then public opinion will change.

Even if she's faking it, people will still think she's genuinely kind and righteous.

Roman, who demonstrated his strength among the many residents of Fishman Island, was naturally the latter.

Fishmen, on the other hand, have a simpler mindset.

Completely bewildered by Roman's actions, Ah Long immediately shook off Roman's hand: "Hey, kid, what are you doing? Let go of me right now."

Upon hearing this, Roman cried even more bitterly.

"Ah Long, you've gone too far with your words. Now that you're here, of course we should get along well."

"Yes, and she's an instructor, so she should be treated with basic respect."

“She’s just a little girl, don’t be so rude, Ah Long.”

"She even bought us delicious food! Didn't you enjoy your meal just now?"

In an instant, Ah Long was subjected to public criticism.

Ah Long hadn't expected this situation either.

Roman, who was crying, secretly laughed to himself.

She doesn't necessarily need to have a direct conflict with Alon. She can build emotional connections with other fishmen and mermaids, so when something happens, someone will naturally stand up for her.

Arlong is indeed one of their kind, but the fishmen and mermaids outside of Fishman Street may not agree with him. It's also true that he has a history of bad deeds, so there are bound to be people who disapprove of him. Besides, Arlong was in the wrong first, so Roman is naturally not afraid of not having anyone to support him.

"Arlong, apologize right now." Jinbe immediately appeared between the two.

"Brother Jinbe, are you kidding me? You want me to apologize to this brat?" Arlong immediately shouted in dissatisfaction.

"This is your fault. If you insist on not apologizing, then there's nothing we can do..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jinbe bowed his head to Roman.

"I'm so sorry, I apologize for Ah Long's behavior just now."

Seeing that Arlong refused to back down, Jinbe was the first to apologize to Roman.

"Brother Jinbe!!!" Seeing Jinbe bowing his head to Roman, Arlong felt a pang of sadness.

"Having a subordinate like this must be really tough for Jinbe!"

"Who can argue with that? Jinbe had already left Fishman Town and was living a good life, but he still couldn't let go of the people there."

"While being loyal is a good thing, Arlong and the others may not be able to understand Jinbe's good intentions."

Seeing how things were developing, the fish-men and mermaids nearby were whispering among themselves.

Seeing Jinbe's attitude, Chu, Croobi, and Hachi naturally didn't know what to say. Although they were on Arlong's side, it would be unwise to stand up at this moment.

"Jinbe, there's no need to apologize. I'm just very sad. My purpose in doing this was simply to allow humans and the residents of Fishman Island to live in peace. I know this is not an easy thing, but if even some of you who responded to the call harbor malice towards humans, then when will the era of harmonious coexistence between Fishman Island and humans truly arrive?"

After saying that, Roman wiped away two more lines of tears.

"Please don't cry, Miss Roman. We left the seabed precisely because we believed you had goodwill towards our Fishman Island. Although we didn't understand humans before, we will do our best to learn more."

"Yes, please don't cry. We had a deep misunderstanding of humanity before. There are kind-hearted beings among humans, just like you."

……

Very good, perfect.

If the circumstances hadn't prevented it, Roman would have loved to burst out laughing.

But that's not enough; further development is needed.

So Roman simply went straight to Aaron.

"What, you want me to apologize too?" Ah Long asked dismissively, though he was clearly not confident.

"Please don't be nervous. I'm just curious why you are so hostile towards humans. If it's because of our unfriendly behavior towards your race, I've already explained that it's the behavior of some humans, and normal humans also abhor it."

"How can a race that can't even breathe underwater be compared to our fish-men?"

"Arlong!!!" Jinbe shouted again.

“Jinbe, it’s alright, I want to hear him finish.” Roman waved his hand, signaling Arlong to continue.

"I don't care whether you humans are good or bad, but in my eyes you are a weak race."

Although Roman defeated Arlong with just one punch, it did not change Arlong's overall impression of humanity.

Human beings have both extreme upper and lower limits. If we compare the lower limit, humans may be really weak, but at the same time, humans have extremely high upper limits. The most powerful race must be humans.

However, these are all extreme cases.

Ordinary humans are indeed almost powerless against fish-men whose arm strength is dozens of times greater than that of humans.

From this perspective, murlocs do indeed possess an unparalleled racial advantage.

Therefore, there is no need to refute it.

"It is precisely because you fish-men and mermaids are powerful races that I hope you will join our navy, become our strength, and protect the relatively weak humans. In return, we will provide convenience for Fish-Man Island. It's a win-win situation for both sides. What's wrong with that?" There was no rebuttal; the main point was sincerity.

Aaron was clearly taken aback by Roman's response, feeling as if he had punched a piece of cotton.

"Besides, we humans aren't that weak, am I really that weak?" Roman asked "sincerely."

Ah Long immediately retorted, "You only act tough where there's land. As long as there's seawater, we are the strongest race."

“That’s right. As long as you come into contact with seawater, we have almost no way to deal with you fish-men, but we humans have ways to prevent you from touching seawater.”

Ah Long immediately scoffed: "Are you kidding me? Are you trying to say that the sea is so close, yet we can't touch it? How ridiculous."

"Is it true or not? Let's make a bet, shall we? If you lose, you'll have to be a good navy officer and not cause trouble." Roman's tears had dried at some point, and he once again showed his signature bright smile.

"Sure, I'd like to see what you're going to do."

Seeing Roman's beaming face, Jinbe instinctively felt uneasy, thinking that Arlong was probably going to suffer a great loss.

However, he felt that Roman should know what was going on, and it would be a good thing to let Ah Long suffer a loss and learn a lesson.

However, Jinbe was also very curious about what Roman was going to do.

But Roman seemed to be looking around for something, then quickly ran towards a certain place and dragged a tall man into the scene.

What does this mean?