Back when Eli Winters had only just begun his journey at sea, he had crossed paths with a slave trader named Xiong Li. After a fierce battle, Eli personally cut him down. In his final moments, Xiong Li had shouted that he was a subordinate of Lady Sherry, hoping to intimidate Eli into sparing his life.
Eli, of course, had never been afraid of a mere slave trader. If anything, people like Lady Sherry were exactly the kind he was more than willing to erase from the world.
From that point on, as he traveled and ventured across the Four Seas, Eli quietly investigated her whereabouts, asking around wherever he went. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, he never managed to uncover any useful information.
Time passed quickly. Just as Eli was preparing to leave the Four Seas behind, he and his companions arrived at the island where Kri lived. There, they clashed with a group of utterly vicious pirates, and through that battle, they exposed the largest slave trading organization operating in the Four Seas.
After inviting Kri to join them, Eli led a full-scale purge of that slave trading ring. Once the fighting ended, they heard Lady Sherry's name again from the mouth of the slave trader Gu Gaoqi.
Only then did they learn the truth. After discovering that Eli was searching for her, Lady Sherry had decisively abandoned her operations in the Four Seas. She fled to Sabaody and sought refuge with her elder sister, Lady Keri.
Eli had once come alone to the Sabaody Archipelago to search for Lady Sherry, but the attempt yielded nothing. In the end, the matter was left unresolved.
Now that he had returned to Sabaody once more, Eli wondered whether this time he could finally drag that deeply corrupt figure out into the light.
That was why he thought of one person: Rayleigh.
Rayleigh had a rather special habit. Whenever he was short on money, he would sell himself into slavery, which meant he was unusually familiar with the world of slave traders. If anyone knew something, it would be him.
So Eli went to Rayleigh, hoping to find clues about Lady Sherry.
"Slave traders?" Rayleigh frowned. "Why are you looking for people like that?"
"Come on, Rayleigh," Eli laughed. "What else would I do with them? Of course I plan to wipe them out."
Hearing this, Rayleigh could only give a wry smile. This kid really was getting bolder by the day. No wonder his bounty had climbed to six billion.
"There are Celestial Dragons behind those people," Rayleigh warned. "You'd be better off not provoking them."
Rayleigh shook his head slowly, his expression turning serious. "I know your strength is beyond doubt. But this situation is different. The Celestial Dragons you killed before were individuals. Even if they had some status, their deaths did not seriously affect the group as a whole."
He paused before continuing. "But the slave trade in Sabaody is a collective interest of the Celestial Dragons. The利益 involved are deeply intertwined. If you move against it, the World Government will not stand by. They will retaliate with everything they have against you and your companions."
Eli listened quietly. He knew Rayleigh was speaking out of genuine concern. Still, Rayleigh underestimated their true capabilities. With the Space Fruit in his possession, even if the World Government mobilized all its forces, it would be difficult to truly threaten them.
"I understand your concerns, Rayleigh," Eli said with a calm, confident smile. "But rest assured. I know what I'm doing."
Rayleigh sighed helplessly. He knew Eli well enough to understand that once this young man made up his mind, no one could easily sway him. All Rayleigh could do was tell him everything he knew and hope it would help.
"There are many organizations involved in slave trading on Sabaody," Rayleigh explained. "The main ones are the Human Auction House and two underground markets. All of them are backed by the Celestial Dragons. On top of that, there are twelve large pirate crews dedicated to capturing slaves, as well as countless gangs of all sizes. They operate mainly in Areas One through Twenty-Nine. With your strength, dealing with them would be easy, but the consequences would be severe."
Eli waved it off. "It's fine. Just tell me everything you know. The World Government can't do anything to us, and neither can the Navy."
Seeing how resolute Eli was, Rayleigh laid out the details.
The Human Auction House was located in Area Fifteen. Its manager was a man named Quilly, a powerful fighter with strength comparable to a Navy vice admiral. Security there was extremely tight, and Navy forces often provided covert protection.
The two underground markets were located in Areas Three and Twenty-Two. They were managed by criminal organizations acting on behalf of the Celestial Dragons. Their leaders were Lady Keri and a man known as Sixth Master. Neither was particularly strong in combat, but both were exceptionally shrewd. They controlled most of the underground forces on Sabaody and had several formidable fighters under their command.
The twelve pirate crews were responsible for capturing high-quality slaves for these three factions. Their bases were mainly spread across Areas Six, Eight, Nine, and Seventeen.
Finally, Rayleigh shared one more piece of information. The Human Auction House would be holding an auction the next day, and several important figures were expected to attend. As for who those figures were, even Rayleigh was not sure.
"So what are you planning to do?" Rayleigh asked, taking a sip of the Maotai Eli had brought.
"Heh. Just sit back and enjoy the show," Eli said with a grin, offering no further explanation.
After chatting a while longer, Eli bade Rayleigh farewell with a smile, leaving behind three full crates of Maotai as a gift. Then he led Big Pan and the others out of Shakky's Rip-off BAR.
What they did not know was that their every move was already being watched. Several groups had been quietly tracking them from the shadows.
"Boss, should we take those guys out?" Big Pan asked irritably. Being monitored put him in a foul mood.
Eli smiled faintly, disdain flashing across his face. "No need. They're small fry. Not worth our effort. Acting now would only alert the enemy."
Though Eli appeared unconcerned, a cold glint passed through his eyes. Those scum would pay their price sooner or later.
After parting ways with Rayleigh, Eli led everyone back to the ship. Once aboard, he gathered his companions and laid out the next phase of their plan.
Tonight, they would eliminate the underground criminal forces. Tomorrow, they would head to the auction house. He wanted to see for himself just what kind of so-called important figures would show up.
The moment he finished speaking, the group's morale surged. One by one, they cracked their knuckles, eager for the storm to come.