Unfortunate Mr. Buffett

In the waters near the Aitfei Kingdom, ten large sailing ships stood in a line.

On the flagship, which was noticeably larger than the other ten ships, two burly men were conversing.

"Leader Huajao, though this may be disrespectful, I still have to say that you may have acted too rashly this time. Demon Sword Apophis is a strong individual with a fearsome reputation even on the Grand Line. You agreed to Buffett's request without consulting Leader Chin first. What if..."

"Enough! I hope you remember that I am the leader of the Eight Treasures Navy!" Huajao roared before calming down and saying, "Sorry, I got a little carried away."

The other man did not take offense. He shook his head and smiled. "Leader Huajao, I understand that you don't want to rely on Leader Chin's influence, but you have to remember that he is your father, after all. No one will blame you for relying on your father's strength."

"Understand? No, you've never understood!" Huajao grew agitated again and spoke hurriedly. "No matter what I do, no matter what achievements I make, you only ever associate them with my father. And me? I'm already twenty-eight years old, yet you still treat me like a child. You insist on getting my father's approval before doing anything. But I'm clearly the leader of the Eight Treasures Navy, and I'm clearly its pillar. Why have my words and decisions never counted?"

"I've had enough of these days!"

The other man could only remain silent. He truly did not know how to comment on the matter.

"I know that fellow named Apophis is no simple character, but that's precisely why I agreed to that Mafia boss's request. I'll use his blood and head to establish my true authority in the Eight Treasures Navy!"

"This..." The other man shook his head with a bitter smile and thought to himself, Forget it. It might be good for Leader Huajao to suffer a little. No matter how insane Apophis is, he shouldn't completely offend a true Great Pirate like Leader Chin just because we came to help, right?

Just as he was thinking this, a pirate belonging to the Eight Treasures Navy hurried over and reported.

"Leader Huajao, Deputy Leader Wolf Fang, we've reached the Aitfei Kingdom, but... but..."

"Speak clearly!" Wolf Fang shouted, his brows furrowing.

"Th-this... You two leaders should come out and see for yourselves!"

"What a thick smell of blood, and the scent of charred human flesh mixed with the smell of gunpowder..." Wolf Fang's brows knit tightly as he reached the door, then he quickly stepped outside.

"Gasp!" Even a battle-hardened pirate like Wolf Fang could not help sucking in a cold breath at the sight before him.

The once-prosperous port had been reduced to ruins. Broken walls and shattered corpses were scattered everywhere. It was no different from the most horrific hell on earth.

"That fellow... Is he really a demon?" Huajao did not vomit like some rookie would have, but his face was as pale as paper, proving that his heart was nowhere near as calm as he appeared.

"No matter how powerful Apophis is, he's still only one person. Something like this couldn't have been orchestrated entirely by him alone." Wolf Fang calmed his turbulent emotions and analyzed the situation rationally.

"We captured and interrogated several Mafia members who had been scared out of their minds. Judging from what they said, Buffett must have planted bombs here, intending to blow up the entire port..." the pirate beside him replied.

"As expected of the Mafia's top boss. That fellow Buffett is truly ruthless!" Wolf Fang took a deep breath before asking, "Where's Apophis? Is he dead?"

"No. The final result was that Apophis emerged completely unharmed, while they were wiped out!"

"He came out completely unscathed? This fellow is even more troublesome than we imagined!" Wolf Fang's expression turned grave. The other side's strength had exceeded his expectations. "Leader Huajao, how about we retreat for now and make plans after finding Leader Chin?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Wolf Fang sensed that something was wrong.

Sure enough, after hearing his advice, Huajao, who had initially been considering retreating, instead turned cold. "Do you think I'll be frightened by a little scene like this? He's merely a swordsman with a bit of fame. Just watch me defeat him with Hasshoken!"

Apophis stepped forward and pinned Buffett beneath his foot. "Your Slave Ship has been to Aska Island, hasn't it?"

"Slave Ship... Aska Island..." Buffett stared blankly and coughed up blood. "What are you talking about? Aren't you here to kill me?"

"True. Perhaps you never paid attention to it. Then let me ask another way: where are the records concerning the Slave Ship that you have in your possession?"

"Slave Ship... Right. Most of the people you target are slave owners, or Mafia members involved in human trafficking, like me..." Realization dawned on Buffett's face. "I understand now. Someone you care about must have been captured and taken away as a slave, so you've been running around causing trouble for people like us like a mad dog, hoping to obtain information about that person from us."

"Hahahaha! Demon Sword Apophis, I never expected you to have such an experience. I truly pity you!" Feeling that he had grasped his opponent's weakness, Buffett's tone became increasingly arrogant and brazen.

"If you want to get the information from me, you'll at least have to guarantee my safety."

"With how much you hate slave owners, once you get that information, you absolutely won't let me leave alive. You and I both know that very well."

"So don't expect to force any information out of me. I'm a man who's extremely afraid of death. Compared to dying, whatever torture methods you have aren't worth mentioning."

Apophis lifted his right foot from Buffett and walked away without saying a word.

"Very good, very good. Mutual respect is the foundation of cooperation!" Seeing that even such a fierce man as Apophis had backed down, Buffett felt a surge of accomplishment and spoke smugly. "Originally, if you had sincerely come to me and begged, I would have treated it as making a friend. But the way you've handled things now has put me in a difficult position. If I simply hand it over to you, it'll be hard for me, as the top boss, to answer to my men. But if I refuse, it'll damage the harmony between us."

"So, after thinking it over, I've finally come up with a solution that benefits us both. As long as you're willing to agree to three conditions, I'll... Bastard, are you even listening to me?"

"Wait, what are you holding?" When Buffett caught sight of the book in Apophis's hand from the corner of his eye, the anger in his heart was instantly extinguished, leaving behind only indescribable fear.

"Transaction records," Apophis said succinctly.

"You... How could you have found them so quickly? I clearly hid them in the most secret place possible!"

"The dead have no need to know so much."

"Dead? Wait, I still have..."

Apophis swung his sword, and the wide-eyed head rolled away.

After a while, Apophis tossed the book aside and sighed. "The last transaction with Aska Island was seven years ago? Looks like I've found the wrong person again. Mr. Buffett, you really are unfortunate!"