"Jin, what do we do?" Nami looked at him anxiously. "A Celestial Dragon…"
Even though she had never actually seen one and didn't know what kind of people they were, she did know one thing—attacking a Celestial Dragon would bring an Admiral.
The others all looked at Jin as well, as though he were the pillar holding them together.
"If you don't want to offend a Celestial Dragon, there's only one way," Lyle suddenly said.
"What way?"
"Follow the rules of the auction house. Buy them back with money. That way, you won't clash with the auction house, and you won't offend the Celestial Dragon."
After a pause, he added hesitantly, "But…"
"But what?"
"But the Celestial Dragon might also take an interest in those two young ladies," Lyle said. "And the wealth of a Celestial Dragon… might be even more ridiculous than we imagine."
As World Nobles, the amount of wealth they controlled was terrifying. Competing with them financially would most likely end in failure.
More importantly… bidding against them might anger a Celestial Dragon.
And what awaited them then would probably be a brutal battle.
"We have money!" Nami said at once. "It's all with—"
She suddenly froze.
Only then did she remember—the crew's money was mostly with Merry.
And now…
Merry had been kidnapped.
So where were they supposed to get that money?
"What's wrong, Nami?!" Chopper asked. "Don't we have a lot of money?"
"It's all with Merry."
Chopper: …
His body stiffened, and the next second he burst into tears.
"It's over… Merry and Camie are doomed…"
"Chopper, don't cry! It's not like we have no options," Nami quickly said. "At worst, we buy them back first, and later we can secretly take the money back from Merry."
"Right, Jin?!"
"Hey, Jin, why aren't you saying anything?"
Jin had been staring straight ahead in silence this whole time. No one knew what he was thinking.
Without answering, he looked at Lyle and said, "Lend me that thing you use to contact everyone."
"Huh?"
"Oh. Right, okay."
So, under Nami and the others' puzzled gazes, Jin took the receiver.
"This is Jin."
The Straw Hat crew members riding the other flying fish bikes immediately lit up with excitement.
"Jin?"
"We already know where Camie and Merry are," Jin said. "They're at the auction house in Grove One."
"As expected of Jin—always reliable!"
"Got it! We're going to rescue them now!"
"Yeah!!"
As soon as the others heard that, they cried out in surprise, and the Rosy Life Riders began steering the flying fish bikes around toward Grove One.
Now that they had the location, there was no point wandering around anymore.
They just had to go save them.
"Luffy, you can hear me, right?" Jin suddenly said.
Hearing that, Luffy fell silent for a moment before taking the receiver.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"You idiots can answer for what you did later," Jin said. "Right now, there's something I need to tell you."
"There's a Celestial Dragon at the auction house in Grove One," Jin said. "If we want to get our companions back, there's a chance we'll clash with them."
"A Celestial Dragon?!"
"So it's those bastards…"
Usopp and the others all looked shocked. They clearly hadn't expected the matter to involve a Celestial Dragon.
That meant… they really might bring down an Admiral.
And yet, no one backed down.
Because this time, the matter involved their companions and their friends. Not even a Marine Admiral could shake their resolve.
"What do you think?"
"Luffy?"
Hearing Jin's question, Luffy said, "Do I even need to answer that, Jin?"
"I don't care if it's a Celestial Dragon or anything else. If they laid hands on my companions, I'll punch them flying!"
"Eh?!"
Every member of the Rosy Life Riders looked horrified.
Did that mean… they were actually planning to attack a Celestial Dragon?
But when Jin heard Luffy say that, the corners of his mouth slowly lifted.
That was the Luffy he knew.
"Good. Then we'll meet at the auction house in Grove One."
As soon as he said that, Jin cut the connection.
"W-Wait, Jin!" Hachi looked at him in shock. "Are you seriously planning to attack a Celestial Dragon?! If you do that, an Admiral will come!"
Marine Admirals were monsters. They were absolutely not people someone like them could stand against.
"If they know their place, I can't be bothered to lay a hand on them," Jin said, glancing at Hachi. "But if they insist on causing trouble for us…"
"Then Celestial Dragons… can die too."
Jin grinned like a madman.
Clearly, the idea that a Celestial Dragon could summon an Admiral did not scare him in the slightest.
If it really came to that, he wouldn't show mercy.
"Gulp…"
Lyle swallowed hard. The madness of this crew… was far beyond what he had imagined.
They were talking about killing Celestial Dragons and not fearing Admirals…
That was insane.
"Jin isn't wrong," Nami said after forcing herself to calm down. "If money can solve this, we don't mind paying even a billion berries to get them back."
"But if they…"
She didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood what she meant.
If money wasn't enough, then fists would have to do the job.
"Merry…"
"Don't worry, Chopper. We'll bring them back." Jin said. "I promise you."
"Yeah!"
Little Chopper clenched his fists and then lifted his head.
"If we have to fight, then I'll fight too!"
"Good."
Then Jin glanced at Lyle.
"Use your top speed. Take us to the auction house in Grove One."
"We're already doing that," Lyle said, sweating. "But… Ninja-bro, there's no way we can go crazy alongside you…"
Helping the Straw Hat Pirates find people and delivering them to the site was one thing.
But fighting a Marine Admiral alongside them… they absolutely didn't have the strength for that.
They were too weak.
So weak that their whole group couldn't even withstand a single Water Release technique from this ninja.
Thinking of that, Lyle sighed quietly.
"I know. Once you get us there, you can leave." Jin said.
He had never expected these guys to be of any use in an actual fight.
Still…
'If an Admiral really does get drawn here… then Galette and the others could be in danger too…' Jin thought, frowning.
Even if she was from a Yonko crew, the Marines on the opposite side might not care about that.
Thinking of that, Jin said, "Lyle, I need you to do me a favor later."
"What favor?"
As long as it didn't involve actual fighting, helping wasn't a problem.
That was their boss's order too—help the Straw Hat crew as much as possible.
"Do you remember the woman who was standing beside me earlier?" Jin asked.
"The woman…"
Lyle thought back to Galette's appearance.
"You mean the woman in that special cloak?"
"Yeah, that's her."
"Then I remember."
And not just her. He also remembered that pirate with her—the bastard had nearly killed his flying fish!!
"Good. After you drop us off, go find her and tell her there's a chance a Marine Admiral could show up here, so they need to leave fast."
"Tell her I said it."
"Got it." Lyle nodded.
This kind of errand that didn't involve fighting was no problem for him.
'Though whether I can still find them at that same place…' Lyle wondered inwardly.
If the fight between that woman and that pirate had ended, they might have already moved somewhere else…
Thinking of that, Lyle asked, "Ninja-bro, could you tell me her name?"
"If she's already left that area, I'll have an easier time finding her elsewhere."
"Oh, her name's Charlotte Galette," Jin said.
"Charlotte…"
Hachi lowered his head and muttered, "Why does that surname sound so familiar?"
He felt like he'd heard it somewhere before. Was he imagining things?
"Oh, she's from the New World. She's from one of the Yonko crews," Jin explained. "A member of the BIG MOM Pirates."
That was what Galette herself had said.
Though… Jin still thought the name was kind of weird. Why call it the Big Mom Pirates?
Hachi immediately looked enlightened.
No wonder it had sounded familiar. It was because she was from a Yonko… a Yonko crew?!
"Eh?!!"
Hachi stared at Jin in shock.
"Jin, you know someone from a Yonko crew?"
"Yeah. Just met her."
"To think Ninja-bro actually knows someone from a Yonko crew…"
Lyle also stared at Jin in shock. He had never imagined Jin would know someone so huge.
That was one of the Four Emperors of the New World!
For nobodies like them, the Yonko were practically gods.
Nami opened her mouth. She really wanted to ask why Jin's fiancée was from a Yonko crew, but considering the situation, she kept quiet.
She'd wait until they got back to the ship before asking about all that properly.
"Anyway, if you can't find them, check by the coast," Jin said. "Maybe they'll be there."
"Oh, and the moment you find them, mention both my name and Galette's first. Don't let them mistake you for an enemy and kill you."
If this guy approached them and got mistaken for an enemy, that would be a disaster.
"Understood!" Lyle said.
Thinking about it carefully… this might be the only chance in his life to interact with a member of a Yonko crew.
Just thinking about it made him excited.
"Everyone, we've entered the range of Grove One," the fat rider carrying Chopper called out after looking into the distance. "Prepare yourselves!"
"Yeah!!"
…
"Ah, so we've finally reached this place." Saint Charlos climbed down from the slave carrying him and looked at the man in annoyance. "You really walk too slowly."
"Ed, I don't want this one anymore. Deal with him later."
"Understood!"
Hearing their conversation, despair flashed across the slave's face.
He had thought they had forgotten about disposing of him.
So in the end… he still couldn't escape that fate.
With that thought, the slave closed his eyes in pain and let the guards drag him away.
"I wonder if there'll be a mermaid today," Saint Charlos said. "I really want one of those as a pet."
"Fish-Men are very hard to catch," Ed said. "It's hard to say whether one will appear this time."
"Whatever. I'll see first."
If there was one, he'd buy her and take her home as a pet.
If not, then so be it.
"Ah~"
"Saint Charlos-sama!"
A staff member hurried over and, the moment he got close, dropped to his knees and slid across the floor until he reached Charlos.
"Cut the nonsense and take me to my seat," Charlos said.
"Yes, of course, my lord~"
"Celestial Dragons…"
Watching Charlos's figure gradually move away, Trafalgar Law frowned.
If someone like that had shown up here, who knew whether something unexpected might happen?
'For some reason, I've suddenly got a really bad feeling about this…'
Law rubbed his brow. Was it just his imagination?
"What's wrong, Captain?" Bepo asked quietly.
"Nothing."
Law shook his head, silently telling him not to talk any further.
"Brother Charlos, you finally got here." Saint Shalulia said. "Father and I have been waiting for you for a long time."
"Can't be helped. My slave was too slow."
Hearing that, Saint Roswald shot him an annoyed glance.
"Couldn't you just walk on your own?"
"I like having slaves carry me."
Roswald shook his head and said nothing more.
What else was there to say if his son liked it?
"I'll get you one that moves faster next time."
"Good!"
A smile appeared on Charlos's face.
Then he waved a nearby staff member over.
"What is it, Saint Charlos-sama?"
"Is there a mermaid today?" Charlos asked.
"Th-that…"
"Hm?"
"There is!" the staff member said with a jolt, then leaned in and whispered carefully. "Today we have a young female mermaid up for auction."
"Oh? Really?!"
Charlos's eyes immediately lit up. The mermaid pet he had wanted for so long had actually appeared!
After dismissing the staff member, he turned to his father.
"Father, I want that one. I've been looking forward to something like this for a long time."
"What use is that?" Roswald frowned.
He had no interest in some young female mermaid.
Only powerful pirate captains could truly interest him—they could be used in gladiator matches.
That was the favorite pastime of old men like him.
"I want to put her in a tank and let piranhas chase her around. That would definitely be fun~"
"Hahahaha!"
The people sitting nearby all turned pale when they heard that.
These Celestial Dragons… were far crueler than they were.
"Do as you like." Roswald said.
He couldn't care less about a female mermaid.
Of course, if there happened to be a strong Fish-Man available, he wouldn't mind buying one of those too.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome the next item!" Disco shouted with a huge grin.
As his voice echoed through the hall, a man was dragged out, his face full of terror.
He struggled desperately to run, but the men holding him on both sides were too strong.
He could only be forced forward.
"Everyone, take a look!" Disco said. "This one is a powerful pirate, skilled in several musical instruments, perfect for your household—"
Hearing the sounds from outside, Camie lowered her head and wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
There were fewer and fewer slaves left in the holding cells.
Soon enough… it would probably be her turn.
Thinking of what kind of hell awaited her once she became someone's slave, Camie started sobbing quietly.
"All you do is cry!"
A staff member outside looked at Camie coldly.
"Crying won't change your fate!"
"Exactly! Hahahaha!"
"You'd better start looking forward to your wonderful slave life!"
"Beautiful… little mermaid~"
"Hahahaha!"
Hearing the cruel laughter of those men, Camie shuddered and lowered her head even further.
The men quickly lost interest.
They had thought she might scream for help or struggle.
Instead she just acted like an ostrich.
Shaking their heads, they wandered off elsewhere to amuse themselves.
At that moment, a faint voice came from beside Camie.
"Ca… Camie-neechan…"
"Merry?!"
Hearing Merry's voice, Camie turned immediately and found that the little girl who had been lying there all this time had finally woken up.
"Merry, how are you?"
Camie tried to get up instinctively, but the chains on the wall held her tightly in place. She couldn't move over to Merry's side at all.
"I'm okay. I just… don't know why… my body won't move." Merry looked down at her hands and said, "But… I think it'll recover soon."
After saying that, Merry took a breath, then continued, "Camie-neechan, don't cry…"
"When Jin… gets here… he'll avenge us!!!"
As long as her hands could move again, that would be enough!
Then she could use Reverse Summoning Jutsu to bring Jin here and save them!
Camie wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and then nodded firmly.
"Yeah!"
Even little Merry was this brave.
As the older one, Camie had to be strong too.
"Kid, I don't know who you think you know," one of the slaves nearby said quietly, "but… once you're in here, no one ever escapes."
"That's only because they haven't met us!"
Even though Merry still couldn't move, her eyes were full of confidence.
Seeing that, the slave went silent for a moment, then said,
"…I hope so."
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