The Mink Tribe of the Slave Shop

"What a grand ambition," Shakky said with a smile, taking a drag of her cigarette and slowly exhaling white smoke, a hint of anticipation in her heart.

Anyway, she's a retired old lady, so things at sea have nothing to do with her. It would be quite interesting to witness Teach's growth.

There seemed to be a hint of reminiscence in his eyes. This era was not over yet. Rocks was the overlord of the previous era, and the Rocks Pirates were the pinnacle of the era, a monument. Although it was very chaotic, it was a synonym for hegemony.

Whether it's Shiki, Edward Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, or Kaido, they all grew up in the Rocks Pirates. If they never regretted being in the Rocks Pirates, then even Whitebeard wouldn't have regretted it.

"Rayleigh, you fought him before?" Shakky turned her gaze to Rayleigh beside her and asked curiously, thinking of Teach's recent duel with Rayleigh.

"Yes, that was two years ago. After that battle, Roger invited Oden. At the time, that kid was only fourteen years old," Rayleigh recalled, taking small sips of his drink.

"We fought for three days. He defeated Eye Dragon in a little over a day, and then he started fighting me, continuing until the end of the battle. He had abundant stamina, immense strength, swordsmanship at the level of Swordmaster, and was proficient in physical combat. His Armament Haki was already quite strong, and his Observation Haki was no weaker than mine."

"Back then, he already possessed the strength of a cadre; without a doubt, he was a monster," Rayleigh made his final judgment. "And now, he has become even stronger."

"Then you'd better be prepared. Next time you come, his strength will definitely have increased dramatically." Shakky leaned against the bar, resting her chin on her left hand.

"Hehe! Of course, I promised them, and besides, this wine is really delicious." Rayleigh raised his glass, smelled the aroma, and laughed.

Teach and his companion arrived at Area 72 by car. There were many hotels there, so they found one and checked in.

Teach took a Den Den Mushi from his pocket, turned it on, and the Den Den Mushi rang, "Brubrub! Brubrub!"

After a while, the Den Den Mushi opened its eyes. "Teach, what's wrong?" Mostima's voice came from the Den Den Mushi. You could hear Mostima panting and letting out roars.

On the other side, Mostima leaped to one side, and immediately afterward, a huge black shadow descended from the sky—it was a giant elephant trunk—slamming heavily onto the ground where he had been standing.

A mark resembling an elephant's trunk appeared directly on the ground, along with horizontal raised stripes.

If one strike fails, it will strike again. It raises its two front legs high and stomps on the ground. The earth trembles, and a buzzing sound, "Bang!" echoes in the ears, as if there are still aftershocks.

Mostima dodged his attack once again.

"Come to the Sabaody Archipelago. I have two Devil Fruit here: Zoan Masira Fruit in Silverback Masira form and a Lizard Fruit in Giant Lizard form. They're perfect for Haduno and Hadman," Teach said to the Den Den Mushi.

"Okay, I'll be there tomorrow." Mostima's eyes lit up. The giant elephant's trunk swept across him from left to right, and Mostima vanished instantly. The giant elephant was puzzled. Where did that little guy go?

"Also, bring more Beli. There's going to be a big auction in Area 1 of the Sabaody Archipelago, and there should be a lot of good stuff." As soon as Teach said this, Mostima understood what he meant. The most sought-after items at the auction were Devil Fruit. Even ordinary Zoan Devil Fruit could greatly enhance a person's combat power.

Mostima gently stepped on its head, as light as a feather, so that the giant elephant didn't feel it at all.

Then a pair of wings sprouted from its back. Mostima flapped its wings gently, creating a gust of wind, and flew directly into the air. It flew towards White Sand Island at an extremely fast speed.

Ares, in the center of the island, threw a punch that collided with the fist of a giant ape with a "boom." The surrounding air trembled. Both possessed terrifying power, but Ares was clearly stronger.

The giant ape's right fist, which it had thrown out, trembled, its eyes widened, and it was knocked back by the terrifying force. It staggered backward in pain, unable to stand steadily, and fell to the ground with a thud.

Ares turned his head and looked in the direction of Mostima. He could sense that Mostima's presence was fading away, indicating that Mostima had left.

Ares only glanced at it Ares didn't pay it any mind; it was just a small matter. He then returned to the battle.

"Pito, you stay here, I have some things to take care of." After saying this to Pito, Teach left the hotel and went to the black market in the Sambers Islands.

He came here to see Devil Fruit. Devil Fruit are extremely rare and seldom sold, but this is the Sabaody Archipelago, a bustling region where countless pirates, merchants, and bounty hunters gather. Even people are sold, let alone Devil Fruit.

Furthermore, the value of Devil Fruit in this era is not as high as it will be later. After the Great Pirate Era begins, the number of pirates worldwide will increase dramatically, even exponentially. There will also be more Devil Fruit User, and more people seeking power.

In comparison, the number of Devil Fruit will decrease, making them rarer, and their value will increase.

Right now, an ordinary Zoan Devil Fruit is worth at most 100 million Beli, and some are even worth only 50 to 60 million. But in the future, even the worst Devil Fruit will have a starting bid of 100 million Berries, and those ordinary Zoan Devil Fruit can sell for hundreds of millions at auction.

Scarcity increases value; this is a universal principle in any world.

In the black market, slave shops and fruit shops are Teach's main targets. Teach doesn't have many Beli on him; he only brought 100 million Beli with him this time.

He was quite wealthy, having amassed a considerable amount of treasure within the Whitebeard Pirates, mostly his spoils of war. He gave these to Mostima to exchange for Beli, which netted him nearly 400 million Berries.

However, he couldn't carry that many Beli with him. Entering the slave shop, he was draped in a black robe. "Welcome, sir. What kind of slave do you want?" The manager at the door saw Teach, his eyes lighting up. He smiled and asked, "We have all kinds of slaves here, whether they are singers, artists, nobles of fallen kingdoms, stewards, or even slaves of other races. This batch of slaves is all fresh."

In the black market, many people wear black robes or masks to avoid revealing their identities, so he wasn't surprised.

"Fresh" means just captured. Teach was led inside by him. There were cages and a huge warehouse, where the slaves were arranged on both sides like goods.

This world is abnormal. Although the slave industry is not recognized, it is a legitimate industry acknowledged by the World Government and nobles.

The eyes of these slaves held hatred, anger, despair, and helplessness.

Others struggled desperately, seemingly trying to break free of the cages, but the shackles were pressed against their bodies, and slave collars hung around their necks. These collars would explode if they moved out of a certain range, so they had no way to escape.

The security here was extremely tight, with many guards. The manager, who was with Teach, couldn't help but smile coldly at the gazes of these slaves. Over the years, he had faced far too many such looks; he was merely going with the flow. He secretly made a mental note of the slaves who had glared at him earlier, planning to teach them a lesson later.

Right now, the most important thing is Teach, the customer. Teach looked at them one by one, but he had no interest in any of them. "Anyone stronger?" Teach asked, glancing at him.

"Yes, of course, but it's about Beli." An excited smile spread across his face, his eyes seemingly fixed on Beli; this was undoubtedly a big deal.

"Money is certainly not a problem," Teach said calmly.

"Haha! Then come with me." The manager rubbed his hands excitedly, then led Teach deeper into the area. Along the way, the quality of the slaves inside gradually improved, including pirates with bounties of millions or tens of millions, nobles from fallen kingdoms, and beautiful women. It was clear that these slave traders were very powerful and resourceful.

Of course, Teach didn't care much about them. "This is it. These are some of the stronger slaves. Take a look." He was quite satisfied with the quality of this batch of slaves.

A slave is only a slave if they are sold; otherwise, they are just a waste of food. After all, keeping slaves costs money, and if they are not well cared for, no one will want them.

Teach his Observation Haki to scan the area briefly, then turned his gaze to a corner and looked at a figure within it.

It was a white-haired Lion Mink Tribe, White Lion Mink Tribe, leaning quietly against the wall of the cage, exuding a fierce aura—the aura of a wild beast, somewhat similar to Ares's, forged through constant battles with ferocious beasts.

However, he had many injuries, all of them fresh, probably inflicted by the slave traders during his fierce resistance.

This piqued Teach's interest. His senses were very sharp, and when Teach looked at him, he slightly raised his head and looked back at Teach.

Teach sensed something in his wild instincts. What caught his attention was the Mink Tribe's menacing left eye, the huge scar—its left eye was blind. Walking up to the cage, Teach said to the manager beside him, "This is it."

"Yes, sir, this is a rare Mink Tribe, and a powerful White Lion at that. We encountered it when our slave ship docked at a Beast Island. We paid a heavy price to subdue it, and many of our men died." The manager recounted the origins of the White Lion Mink Tribe.

"Just tell me, how much do you want!" Teach interrupted him, not wanting to hear his nonsense. Teach his meaning perfectly: he wanted to exaggerate the price of the Mink Tribe and earn more Beli.

"We need five million Beli," the manager said, looking at Teach with a smile.

"Okay, I'll buy it." Teach nodded, agreeing immediately. The price was clearly too high; an ordinary Fish-Man would cost around a million, but for Teach was just a small amount of money.

"Haha, then let's take him away." The manager laughed, knowing he would get a large commission for closing such a deal.

Holding the key, he opened the cage of the Mink Tribe. He hadn't expected to be chosen. His muscles tensed, and he seemed ready for battle. He remained silent, but his mind was already racing. During the days he had been locked in the cage, he had witnessed many things: the collars around his neck would explode, and he had seen some who resisted being blown to pieces.

When he first arrived, he resisted fiercely, but to calm him down, the slave traders starved him for a few days. After that, he stopped causing trouble; he wanted to conserve his strength and wait for an opportunity.

There was a remote control that could detonate the collar. He didn't want to remain a slave forever. He would seize any opportunity to grab the button that controlled the explosion and escape from here.

With shackles on his hands and feet, Gari felt a surge of excitement as he stepped out of the cage for the first time. At the same time, he felt anger and a desire to kill the humans who had captured him.

"Take off the shackles on his hands and feet," Teach, pointing to the shackles on Gari's body.

"Okay." He would naturally agree to the customer's request, and what would happen after the slave was sold was none of their business. It was common for those who bought slaves to be killed by the slaves and then escape; several cases occurred every year.

Even with remote control to detonate the collars, some fools still got killed by the slaves and escaped, which was a joke among people in their line of work.

"Come with me." After leaving the slave market, Teach looked at the Mink Tribe and said. Secretly, his Observation Haki had already seen through the still wild Mink Tribe's thoughts.

He was secretly observing their surroundings, planning to wait until they reached a secluded spot, then kill Teach and escape. Like Teach, he was draped in a black robe.

"You're from the Mink Tribe, right? What's your name? How did you get here?" Just as Gari was about to make his move after they reached a secluded corner, Teach's voice made him flinch.

Immediately afterward, a key was thrown at him. He instinctively reached out and caught it. Looking closely, he was somewhat surprised and looked at Teach with a puzzled expression. This was what he was about to steal—the key to unlock the explosive collar around his neck.

He didn't know why the man in front of him had given him the key. He wanted to make a move, but he had no reason to. Moreover, his body instinctively flinched, sensing danger. The man in front of him, whose face he couldn't discern, was very powerful and dangerous.