The Sabaody Archipelago was divided into seventy-nine groves.
Among them, Groves 60–69 were Marine territory.
The permanent military presence here was on par with a G-class Marine stronghold in the New World. In the future, when Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon, Marines were able to swarm in almost instantly—proof enough that this area was firmly under Marine control.
But at the same time, the lawless Groves 1–29 still existed.
And the fact that Donquixote Doflamingo could openly run a slave auction house here showed one thing clearly—
The forces entrenched in Sabaody were far more complex than just Marines and pirates.
"Tch—politics again," Smoker muttered irritably.
"What a pain. I really don't get why the Marines have to get mixed up in politics at all."
In Smoker's eyes, the Marines had one job—crush pirates.
It was precisely because of politics that justice kept getting tainted.
"Then where do you think your uniform, my warship, and our salaries come from?" Karl replied calmly.
"Did they fall from the sky?"
Smoker paused. "So you're saying… the Marines are destined to be tied up with politics?"
"More or less," Karl nodded.
"Unless the Marines become completely self-sufficient. You know how to fight pirates—but do you know how to make money? How to negotiate?"
That shut Smoker up.
"Exactly," Karl continued. "So don't overthink it. Look at how calm Ain is."
Ain shot him a sideways glance. In truth, she felt the same way Smoker did—she just kept her doubts to herself.
"Oh, right," Karl suddenly added.
"Let's change clothes. Then we'll go check out the lawless zone."
Smoker blinked. "Why?"
Karl answered as if it were obvious.
"Law-enforcement fishing."
"I hear there are lots of slave traders around here. And slave traders just happen to be my least favorite type of scum."
"Since we're here anyway, we might as well catch a few before we leave."
What he didn't say was that he was also testing his luck—
If they could rescue fish-men or mermaid slaves, their future trip to Fish-Man Island would be much safer.
He had no intention of letting a few unknown variables wipe out his whole team.
Smoker thought about it and agreed.
If they really ran into slave traders, he could test his newly developed smoke strangulation field.
A quarter of an hour later, the three of them came out of their rooms.
After one look at each other—
Karl and Ain burst out laughing.
Smoker was wearing a leather jacket with nothing underneath, tight leather pants, chains, spikes—the whole delinquent starter pack.
"Smoker, what the hell are you wearing?!"
"Don't tell me this is the only outfit you own?"
Smoker flushed red. "What do you know?! This is fashion! Do you even understand trends?!"
Ain straightened her expression and pointed at him.
"You look way too suspicious walking with us. You'll blow our cover."
"How about this—Karl and I go together. You act solo."
As she spoke, Ain secretly glanced at Karl.
Seeing that he didn't object, her heart jumped.
Finally—
A chance to be alone with Karl.
"Hmph. Just what I wanted," Smoker snorted.
He waved dismissively and walked off on his own.
Now only Karl and Ain were left.
Karl had to admit—this was his first time seeing Ain in casual clothes.
She was stunning.
A white princess-style dress, lace gloves—she looked like royalty.
As for Karl, he was the same as ever, just swapping his black suit for a dark blue one.
"I look good, right?" Ain asked.
Karl replied without even looking.
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Looks great. Amazing."
Ain rolled her eyes and didn't bother arguing.
Instead, she hooked her arm around his.
"What are you doing?"
Ain replied calmly, "Pretending we're a couple. That way no one will get suspicious."
Karl: How devious…
"Fine. Let's go."
Grove 2, close to Grove 1—but unlike the bustling tourist hub, this place was practically a slum.
For one simple reason—
It was a lawless zone. Normal residents avoided it entirely.
"Everyone's staring at us…" Ain tightened her grip on Karl's arm, clearly uneasy.
She wasn't wrong.
A handsome man and a beautiful woman like them stood out like a sore thumb here.
The gazes directed at them were filled with undisguised greed.
Karl swept his eyes around and instantly came up with a plan.
He raised his voice deliberately.
"Baby, I think we came to the wrong place. Is this a tourist area? Let's go—quickly!"
Advance by retreating.
Anyone watching would just assume they were a clueless young couple who'd wandered in by mistake.
Even knowing it was an act, Ain felt her cheeks heat up.
If only this weren't just acting…
In the shadows, a man wearing sunglasses carefully observed them through binoculars.
He clenched his fist in excitement.
"Top-tier goods. Pure human stock, but the quality is insane."
"Even a hundred million berries wouldn't be too much—someone will pay."
That pretty-boy, though… he looked oddly familiar.
The man quickly pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
"Mr. Disco, we've found two perfect targets on Grove 2. Looks like they wandered in by accident. Should we make a move?"
"Are you sure?"
"Confirmed."
"Good. Capture them quickly. Today's auction just happens to need a finale."
"Understood."
Hanging up, the man turned to the two burly men beside him.
"Let's go. Grab that couple."
Meanwhile, Karl and Ain were retreating—but there was no more road behind them.
"H-Hey… what do you think you're doing?"
A sloppy-looking fat man leered at Ain.
"Hehehe… your girlfriend's got some real curves. How about letting us have some fun?"
Ain angrily covered herself.
"Don't even think about it! My boyfriend loves me!"
"Relax, little miss," the fat man sneered.
"Your boyfriend hasn't said anything yet."
He pulled out a gun and pressed it toward Karl's head, smiling mockingly.
"Boss! Don't kill me!" Karl cried out, panic-stricken.
He glanced at Ain, as if making a painful decision.
"Do whatever you want with her—just let me go!"
The fat man and his lackeys burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! What a spineless pretty boy!"
Ain stared at Karl in disbelief.
Even acting doesn't need to go this far, does it?!
From the shadows, the man in sunglasses nodded.
"They're clean. Move in."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out.
The fat man stared at the blood blooming on his chest, disbelief frozen on his face before he collapsed.
The man in sunglasses strode out confidently with his men.
"These two lambs belong to the Donquixote Family. If you don't want to die, get lost."
The remaining thugs, already half-pissed in terror, scrambled away as fast as they could.
The sunglasses man sneered and stopped in front of Karl, sizing him up.
"Damn. That face is enviable. Those noble ladies will go crazy over you."
Suddenly, a recent image flashed through his mind—
World's Most Handsome Man…
Wait.
"Y-You're that—"
Karl whistled lightly.
A black raven swooped down from a nearby rooftop and landed on his shoulder.
"Found out already?" Karl grinned.
"I was hoping to have a bit more fun."
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage