On the wide stage, the spotlights had given out, swaying limply in the air.
"Rayleigh, I just placed a bid," Ryuuto said jokingly to the man before him. "By all rights, you should belong to me now!"
"Is that so?" Rayleigh responded with a smile, a hint of seriousness in his eyes. "In that case, you'll have to provide food and lodging! And I should warn you, I require two flasks of sake a day!"
"Hahahaha... Two flasks? I'll provide ten!" Ryuuto laughed heartily.
*That call from Hancock really worked wonders!* Ryuuto thought to himself. *I wonder what they talked about? It's only been two days, but Rayleigh's attitude has changed so drastically!*
"Mister Rayleigh, please join us!" Nami, hearing their conversation, immediately spoke up. "We have another crewmate you'd definitely know—Crocus! The doctor from the Pirate King's ship!" To increase the chances of him joining, Nami had brought up old Crocus.
"What? The Pirate King? Roger?!" Foxy and Porche, who had been listening from the side, gasped in shock at this massive revelation.
"That's right," Nami explained. "Mister Rayleigh was the first mate on the Pirate King's ship!"
"What? A living legend?" Foxy and Porche stared at Rayleigh, scrutinizing him as if a figure from a history book had just stepped into reality.
"Crocus? So that old fellow joined you!" Rayleigh glanced at Foxy, adjusted his glasses, and then turned his gaze to Nami. "But I'm retired. My only plans now are to drink a little, gamble a little... The seas belong to you young people now."
There was no need to even think about it... Rayleigh wasn't going to set sail again.
"Alright," Nami said, a flicker of disappointment on her face, but she didn't dwell on it.
"Let's go," Ryuuto said to the group. "There are a lot of prisoners down below waiting for us to rescue them." He had already used his Observation Haki to sense the large space beneath them and the many people imprisoned there. That was why Rayleigh's sudden appearance hadn't surprised him at all.
"Under here?" Nami asked softly, stomping on the stage's wooden planks. She had already guessed as much, since all the auctioned individuals had risen from below.
*Shing!*
Ryuuto instantly drew Yubashiri with his right hand. A flash of his blade cut through the stage floor, leaving a huge, smooth, circular opening.
*Boom!*
The stage floor gave way with a tremendous crash. As the wooden disc fell, a clear view of the area below was revealed. The first thing they saw was a series of massive iron cages.
Numerous staff members who had been standing outside the cages were now all unconscious. The people inside the cages were in the same state. A chef from the East Blue, a red-haired woman, a musician from the North Blue... all of them lay passed out in their cells.
*What happened? Did the captain do this?* A question had been nagging at Foxy. A moment ago, a powerful aura had erupted from his captain, and everyone in the auction house had collapsed. Now he saw that it wasn't just the people on the stage—everyone in the prison below had fainted too. *What kind of incredible ability is this!* To be able to knock out so many people in an instant...
Foxy had no idea what Conqueror's Haki was; he didn't even understand the concept of the Three Types of Haki. All he knew was that Ryuuto was immune to his Noro Noro Beam, but he had no clue about the principle behind it.
"Let's go down," Ryuuto said, taking the lead and jumping into the hole. Rayleigh, Nami, Foxy, and Porche followed close behind.
Working together, they gathered all thirteen of the captured individuals in one place. There should have been fourteen.
Twelve of them were ordinary people from various walks of life, judging by their clothes. The last was a member of the little people, a dwarf whose attire suggested he was a warrior from the Tontatta Tribe.
A significant portion of the captives were women—eight in total. Besides the red-haired woman, the others were all uniquely beautiful in their own way. The one thing they had in common was their striking looks.
As for the Tontatta warrior, Ryuuto suspected Doflamingo was behind this, as the Tontatta rarely ever left Dressrosa.
Seeing the identical collars around their necks, Rayleigh and Ryuuto exchanged a look and began to crush them.
*Ping!*
Suddenly, the system's notification sound chimed.
Ryuuto's consciousness immediately immersed itself in the system in his mind. Just now, the long-silent system had finally issued a new mission.
[Long-Term Mission: Establish a Truly Free Nation!]
[This is a world filled with darkness beneath a veneer of order. Whether it's the World Government or the pirates, both bring suffering to this world!]
[Sub-Quest 1: Establish the Justice Guild]
[Issue bounties on the World Government, the Marines, and the villainous pirates who endanger the world!]
[Sub-Quest 2: Shatter the Dark Order]
[Perhaps the World Government was wrong from the very beginning. A darkness that has triumphed over justice has no right to exist!]
[Sub-Quest 3: Build a Free Nation]
[Smash this world with your own two fists. Destruction may be the prelude to rebirth!]
[Friendly Reminder: Completing each sub-quest will yield substantial rewards!]
[Friendly Reminder: During this long-term mission, items exchanged with Reputation Points can be gifted to your fighting companions!]
Ryuuto carefully examined the announcement displayed by the system.
*A long-term mission? Establish a free nation? ...That certainly sounds long-term,* Ryuuto thought.
The mission was divided into three sub-quests, each offering substantial rewards upon completion. On top of that, the system had unlocked the ability to gift exchanged items. This meant that with enough Reputation Points, he could rapidly strengthen Nami and the others.
This was incredibly useful. Ryuuto had noticed that Nami's strength was already falling behind his own. He was also consciously trying to expand his Grand Fleet with crews like Foxy's and Buggy's, but figuring out how to improve their strength had been a major headache. With this new permission, that would no longer be a problem in the future. After processing all this information, Ryuuto began to adjust his plans.
*The Celestial Dragons really deserve to die!*
On this, Ryuuto and the system were in complete agreement. He guessed that the system had generated this mission after witnessing the plight of these prisoners and sensing the darkness of the world.
As his consciousness returned from his mind, Ryuuto saw that Rayleigh had already crushed four of the collars.
He walked over to the Tontatta warrior. Placing his hands on the collar, a subtle current of lightning flowed from his palms, seeping into the collar's seams.
*Crack!*
With a sharp snap, the collar's internal mechanism was destroyed by the electrical force. Ryuuto then crushed it in his hand.