One Piece: King of the World Chapter 295: Shiryu—Oops, Is This the Feeling of a Heartbeat

After reading the newspaper, Shiryu beca intrigued by the man who called himself Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach.

There was no particular reason, just pure instinct.

A man who had remained unknown for nearly thirty years had suddenly acquired a Devil Fruit, and in the blink of an eye, beca the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

There seed to be no flaws in his rise, yet Shiryu could keenly sense a scent, one called ambition.

"An interesting guy..." Shiryu muttered softly.

Of course, just reading about Teach in the newspaper wasn't enough to make Shiryu imdiately admire him or recognize him as a worthy leader. At this stage, Teach had rely piqued his interest.

It ant that Teach had entered his line of sight.

For so reason, Shiryu had a nagging feeling that his future might be tied to this man.

"I'll keep watching you... Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach." He closed the newspaper, a wicked grin tugging at the corner of his lips as he murmured to himself.

Though Teach had caught his attention, there wasn't much else to observe for now. Shiryu decided he would continue monitoring this man, waiting to see if he would do sothing truly interesting.

And if he did?

Perhaps Shiryu would take action alongside him.

Once again, he glanced around his dark office.

Impel Down was never ant to see the light.

"The sea is vast… so why the hell am I still stuck here?" Shiryu muttered to himself, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice.

His gaze dropped back to the newspaper.

Teach's face, grinning wide with several missing teeth, was plastered across the page, a smile so carefree and arrogant that Shiryu felt sothing stir inside him.

A twinge of longing.

Maybe even… envy?

"Damn… is this what they call a heartbeat?"

For the first ti in a long while, Shiryu felt sothing shift within him.

As he looked up from the newspaper and cast his eyes toward the iron cages of Impel Down, sothing seed… different.

He couldn't quite place what had changed.

But it had changed.

---

The Dragon Palace of Fish-Man Island

At this mont, Claudius was visiting the Dragon Palace as a guest.

Over the years, Fish-Man Island had undergone trendous changes.

First, the chaos brought about by the Great Pirate Era had been effectively controlled. With Marine Headquarters establishing a base and CP-X setting up a branch on the island, security had drastically improved.

Internally, many of the conflicts that once plagued Fish-Man Island had been resolved.

For years, tension had simred between the royal faction and Fish-Man Street, a lawless zone that had beco a haven for criminals and pirates.

However, things finally changed when Fisher Tiger ventured beyond the island, experiencing the outside world firsthand.

Under Claudius's guidance, Fisher Tiger eventually beca a contractor rather than a pirate.

And with that, the chaos of Fish-Man Street finally began to settle.

After all, most of the people who gathered there weren't criminals by choice.

It was a matter of survival.

Fish-Man Street was ho to hundreds of thousands of orphans, children abandoned by the world, raised without education, without opportunities, and without a future.

What else could they do?

They had no skills. No jobs. No way to make an honest living.

Strength was the only thing they had.

But how many jobs on Fish-Man Island actually needed brute force?

With no upward mobility, no escape from their circumstances, their only option was to turn to cri.

But now?

Everything had changed.

Fisher Tiger led over 100,000 people from Fish-Man Island to the Calm Belt…

And opened mines.

Now, instead of aimless chaos, these forr street dwellers had stable jobs with fixed monthly salaries.

They even got two weekends off every week.

The once violent and restless energy of Fish-Man Street had been redirected turned into wealth.

With stable incos and opportunities to change their lives, who would choose to go back to being criminals?

Who would willingly choose to be a nobody?

Of course, not everyone was happy with the change.

But Fisher Tiger was the undisputed leader of Fish-Man Street, and influential figures like Arlong deeply admired him.

As for those who still refused to cooperate?

They were nothing more than rotten leftovers, troublemakers with no value.

And the Dragon Palace wasn't about to let such nuisances disrupt progress.

Once the majority of Fish-Man Street's conflicts were settled, the stubborn few who refused to adapt were swiftly removed.

Now, these fish-n had the ability to earn legal inco.

They were among the highest-paid workers on Fish-Man Island.

And though they themselves might never receive a formal education, the wealth they accumulated could be passed down to their children.

They had never been to school.

But now, they could afford to send their kids.

This was the start of a cycle of upward mobility, a direct path toward a brighter future.

And once a man had such a future, he would fight to protect it.

Nobody needed to tell them that.

It was obvious.

Now, if anyone dared to suggest shutting down the mines, the very workers themselves would be the first to riot.

With Fish-Man Street cleaned up, the land, once the most chaotic and worthless part of the island had been transford into a thriving economic hub.

Tesoro had invested heavily, constructing various processing plants to refine and polish deep-sea treasures like pearls, corals, and gems.

With the delicate craftsmanship of rmaids, these raw materials were turned into exquisite jewelry.

And where were these high-end accessories sent?

Straight to the Gran Tesoro, the world's largest entertainnt district.

The Gran Tesoro attracted the richest people in the world, including a large number of Celestial Dragons.

Underwater, these deep-sea treasures were barely worth anything.

But in the Gran Tesoro?

They were among the most coveted luxury goods.

Ever seen a crown made entirely of black pearls the size of a fist?

No?

Then head to the Gran Tesoro to buy one.

Otherwise, what kind of king are you?

If you don't own one, the other kings might just cut off diplomatic ties with you out of sheer embarrassnt.

The factories on Fish-Man Street had created new sources of wealth, new jobs, and a booming economy.

Fish-Man Island was thriving.

Over the years, Sabaody Archipelago had beco an important connection point for Fish-Man Island and the surface world.

With efforts from all sides, the cultural gap between fish-n and humans had begun to close.

And ridiculous superstitions about fish-n eating humans?

They were dying out.

If soone still believed such nonsense, people would just laugh at them.

No one wanted to be the idiot who still clung to outdated myths.

Through exposure and interaction, the two societies had begun to rge.

Princess Otohi had always dread of this outco.

She wanted the people of Fish-Man Island to live freely under the sun, instead of being trapped in the deep sea for hundreds of years.

Now, Claudius was here to continue pushing that dream forward.

And to further strengthen his ties with Fish-Man Island.

CP-X had established a branch on the island, and two rmaids, ro and Lenny had beco devoted admirers of Claudius, constantly singing his praises.

His efforts had truly changed Fish-Man Island.

At this point, his reputation here was practically godlike.

He could eat at any roadside stall for free, just flash his face, and the owner would happily throw in extra at.

Holding a glass of wine, Claudius glanced toward the adorably round blue figure standing guard at the palace entrance.

He nearly laughed out loud.

Thanks to Fisher Tiger never becoming a pirate, Jinbei had never resigned as captain of the royal guard.

He never beca a Warlord of the Sea.

Hell, he didn't even go by "First Son of the Sea"

Had Claudius scamd him out of that fate?

But looking at Jinbei's warm, simple smile, Claudius thought—maybe…

This life suited him just fine.

"Your Highness?"

Hearing Otohi's soft voice, Claudius snapped out of his thoughts and smiled apologetically.

"Ah, sorry, Princess Otohi… I got a little distracted."

***

This book is completed so you can read all chapters on: /Blownleaves.