Kakaman Island

It was the fifth day since Cifer had whisked Hina away from her uncle.

"Cifer, do you have some purpose for going to Kakaman Island?" Hina asked casually as she steered the ship. "That place is a notoriously vile Crime Island."

Kokaman Island lay in the first half of the Grand Line. Due to its remote location and the lack of any official nation on the island, the Marines generally never came there.

That had resulted in the island being filled with every kind of crime. Those who put down roots there were basically either human traffickers, pirates, or people with powerful backers.

Only in such chaotic places could businesses that others dared not touch exist.

Over the past few days aboard Cifer's ship, Hina had come to understand that Cifer was not as bloodthirsty and cruel as she had heard at Marineford. He did not seem like a criminal.

At Cifer's request, she addressed him directly by name rather than using the title on his Bounty poster.

"Because it's interesting."

Cifer had stopped fishing and was now making a chess set. Whenever he had free time, he played against Burley.

Hina was speechless. Cifer seemed to act entirely on a whim. Yesterday, when she had asked why he had chosen her rather than pirates as companions, his answer had also been that it was interesting.

A powerful man with a carefree personality and no evil intentions. That was Hina's assessment of him after several days of observation.

Marineford should have been where he showed off his talents, rather than becoming a wanted criminal wandering everywhere. Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru shared her view on that point.

Cifer had never restricted Hina's contact with the Marines. First, he was not afraid. Even if every Admiral mobilized, if even Second Resurrección could not resolve the situation, the Marines could not possibly stop him if he wanted to leave.

Second, the Marines neither wished nor could afford to deploy more than two Admirals to capture him. Besides, Hina had told him that Fleet Admiral Sengoku seemed interested in making him one of the Shichibukai?

Sengoku seemed to be trying to communicate with the World Government about it. If an invitation really came, Cifer would not necessarily refuse. The title of Shichibukai would make many things much more convenient.

After lunch, Cifer and the others finally arrived at their destination, Kakaman Island. Hina and Wright had also changed out of their Marine uniforms.

The moment they docked at the harbor, Cifer sensed countless eyes watching him and his ship.

Just as expected of Kakaman Island! It suited Cifer perfectly.

The three disembarked one after another. Cifer wanted to wander around, Hina wanted to shop, and Wright wanted to buy food, so they would not leave anyone behind to guard the ship. He had a better way.

"Sir, are you here to visit the island?" A middle-aged man who was not even as tall as Cifer's chest walked up to them. "Just 100,000 Belly a day, and my brothers and I will watch your ship for you! You can explore without worries!"

Hina frowned and was about to step forward to argue. How could watching a ship possibly cost 100,000 Belly a day? At most, it should only cost a few thousand Belly.

Cifer raised a hand to stop her, then pointed behind the man at a fellow lying on the ground with a blade of grass in his mouth, a man over two meters tall.

"Is he one of your brothers too?"

From Cifer's senses, that man was not weak. At the very least, he was about as strong as Hina, overwhelmingly stronger than everyone else in the group.

"That guy?"

The middle-aged man smiled. "He's just some little hoodlum. He spends his days eating and lazing around. I suppose he counts as one of my underlings."

At that moment, a Sea King leaped high from the ocean in the distance, as though enjoying the pleasant sunlight.

Cifer casually pointed, and a dark green flash instantly pierced through it, blasting an enormous whirlpool into the sea.

"Watch the ship properly, or I'll break your legs."

Cifer tossed a bag of Belly into the man's hands and slowly walked past him with the others. The surrounding people all retreated, clearing a path for them.

Only as he passed the grass-chewing man did Cifer cast him a slight glance. The man was looking at Cifer too, but none of his original composure remained.

The middle-aged man's hand shook continuously as he held the Belly. On this island, guarding ships for pirates and human traffickers was also a business. Plenty of blackhearted people took the money and then stole the ship anyway.

When he had seen how large and luxurious Cifer's ship was, yet noticed it had no flag at all, he had assumed they were easygoing fools and raised the price on the spot. Who could have expected a demon king to show up?

"Get your spirits up!" the middle-aged man shouted. "If anything happens to this gentleman's ship, none of us can bear the consequences!"

His brothers rushed over in a swarm, guarding the dock tightly and refusing to let anyone approach.

"Looking at him like this, he does seem a little like a villain."

Hina teased him. Over the past few days, they had encountered merchant ships at sea. Cifer's friendly demeanor had made her wonder more than once whether he really was the criminal who had killed a Celestial Dragon.

"It depends on the person. When dealing with villains, you only need to be more vicious than they are," Cifer said with a faint smile. "Having a sword and not using it are not the same as having no sword to use."

The three split up in the city. Hina and Wright went shopping for clothes, reserve food supplies, and daily necessities for the ship, while Cifer naturally went to take a look at the most chaotic place around.

After all, his lavish spending had nearly exhausted the few million Belly he had brought from Ryugu Palace.

After spending a little money, a middle-aged man calling himself Brother Kun brought Cifer to the most prosperous and lawless place on Kakaman Island—the Colosseum! Today happened to be the day the Colosseum held its tournament.

Every faction on the island trained its own fighters. Once every month, a gladiatorial tournament was held. Whichever faction's fighter remained standing in the end could claim a certain share of the island's resources.

Could islanders unaffiliated with any faction participate?

Of course they could, but if they took first place without the ability to claim their prize, someone would naturally take over for them.

"See that big guy? He's the one in charge of this Colosseum, the famous Killer Demon—Bait!"

The Colosseum was already packed. People surrounded it in layer after layer, but Brother Kun had some standing. Wherever he went, passersby made way for him. Cifer noticed that the crowd looked at Brother Kun not with fear, but only respect.

He secretly pointed toward a group seated closest to the arena. Among them, a huge man around five meters tall sat at the front, observing the battle.

"So he's a Great Pirate with a very high Bounty?" Cifer's interest was immediately piqued.

"Of course! He's a Great Pirate with a Bounty as high as 37 million Belly!" Brother Kun gestured for Cifer to lower his head and whispered in his ear, "They say that when he first went to sea, he slaughtered several villages in the North Blue. Later, he burned, killed, and plundered his way across the seas until Marineford sent out a colonel, forcing him to hide here."

37 million?

Cifer had not expected a small fry like this to have much of a Bounty, but this was still far lower than he had estimated. He had thought that since this was the Grand Line, there should at least be someone worth around 100 million.

"Are there no more formidable figures on the island? The kind with higher Bounties." No matter how small the meat was, it was still meat. Cifer naturally did not intend to let Bait go, but it would be even better if he could deal with a few more people.

More formidable figures?

Brother Kun assumed Cifer wanted to join a faction to settle down, but Bounties did not represent the size of one's power. Young people really were too naive!

"There aren't any with higher Bounties, but there are important people!" Brother Kun lowered his voice even further. As he spoke, he kept glancing around, afraid that someone else might hear.

"The nearby Auction House sells good things every day, but no one has ever dared cause trouble there. They say there's a Shichibukai standing behind it! If you want to join someone, they're the best choice!"

Auction House?

Doflamingo!