The Arms Trade (Seeking Votes, Collections, and Follow-ups!)

After some investigation, Captain Jess's men found several witnesses who claimed to have seen children running out of the alley at the crime scene shortly before the explosion.

Others happened to see those vagrants following a child into the alley.

These accounts all pointed to the same target without exception.

This clue was important!

Captain Jess didn't believe it could be a coincidence—those two children definitely had something to do with it.

It wasn't that he was certain they were the killers, but his gut told him those kids knew something.

Otherwise, he couldn't think of who would specifically go out of their way to cause trouble for a few vagrants; those worthless men combined weren't worth as much as a single bomb!

So he had people make some simple wanted posters based on the limited information, hoping to find the two children quickly and ask them about the situation.

On the other side, Captain Jess wasn't about to let go of the buyers Old Jack had confessed to recently purchasing bombs from, since the scene had already made everything clear—there was no doubt the culprit had used a bomb.

Following this lead would definitely be the right move.

Meanwhile, Abel, now in a different set of clothes, was trying to gather information about ships, planning to take Luo and escape this country.

The world was vast, yet it seemed there was no place for them.

As he passed a bulletin board, Abel immediately spotted two wanted posters on it. His original outfit and Luo's signature spotted hat were both listed as identifying features.

Clearly, after stirring up such a commotion, they had caught the attention of the authorities.

Fortunately, these features weren't too obvious, and the clothes he was wearing now were borrowed from someone else's yard, still damp in some places.

At first glance, he looked no different from any other kid his age on the street.

In fact, along the way, he had already turned down several little girls who wanted to play with him.

Just then, two soldiers walked over slowly, holding the newly issued wanted posters.

Abel showed no sign of fear, completely composed.

As expected, they only glanced down at him briefly before walking past, never connecting him to the target on the wanted posters.

Relying on such meager features to find someone was a bit of a stretch.

But there was no helping it—this was all the information they had gathered, and they couldn't just arrest every boy they saw on the street.

And so, Abel made it to the harbor without any trouble.

There were quite a few ships docked at the harbor, with people coming and going in a lively bustle.

Most of them were merchant ships, with passenger ships being fewer in number.

He even spotted two pirate ships flying pirate flags, anchored there openly as if they weren't afraid of the navy coming to arrest them.

This was actually thanks to White Town.

Those high-and-mighty big shots, in order to bury the secrets of Freyvans, had allowed the neighboring countries to wage war on it, even going so far as to transfer the nearby navy away, using that as an excuse not to participate in the rescue.

If any slip-ups occurred, they could still use the pirates to finish the job of wiping everyone out!

The plan was foolproof, and Freyvans indeed couldn't hold out, burning to the ground completely.

So, until the new navy arrived, it was no surprise to see pirates on this island.

After wandering around the harbor for a long time, Abel prepared to head back.

He had figured out that there were only a few ways to get out to sea:

1. Get a small, broken boat or make a raft, and once at sea, leave everything to fate—even if a wave capsized it, he'd have to accept it.

Abel almost immediately ruled out this option.

If he had to go to sea like that, he'd rather stay and keep being wanted.

2. Buy a ticket and leave on a passenger ship.

The advantage was safety and stability, but the downside was the risk of exposing his identity.

And most importantly, they had no money!

Such was the tragedy of being broke—nowhere to go, sigh.

3. Find a way to change his identity, like joining one of those two pirate crews, and then smoothly set sail.

Abel didn't really mind the pirate profession, but his and Luo's age was a definite problem—most pirate groups wouldn't take in green kids.

And once they revealed their identities, it was hard to say whether their wanted status would be a plus or if they'd be sold out on the spot.

Abel didn't believe that every pirate on the sea was like Luffy and his crew, going around doing good deeds and shouting about dreams and freedom.

In fact, treachery, cunning, and ruthless malice were the common traits of most pirates.

The two of them, like little lambs, might end up jumping out of the tiger's den only to fall into the wolf's lair—then they'd truly be crying out to heaven and earth with no one to answer.

Just then, another large ship slowly pulled into the dock.

Abel, who was about to leave, saw the flag flying on that ship and felt a flicker of recognition.

The next day, Abel didn't rush into action. Instead, he continued his reconnaissance.

With the help of some loose-lipped sailors, he finally identified which faction the familiar-looking flag belonged to.

It was a smuggling ship of the Donquixote Family!

In the war that destroyed Freyvans, at least half of the massive weapons used by those countries had been purchased from the Donquixote Family.

Now that the war was over and the spoils had been divided, those nations were absolutely dripping with wealth.

Clearly, the Donquixote Family had set their sights on them again.

More precisely, they had set their sights on the riches in their hands!

After burning through so much ammunition, didn't they need to restock?

They could choose not to, of course—but the other countries were buying, so they'd better think it over!

After all, war could break out at any moment, and when it did, it certainly wouldn't be the Donquixote Family who suffered.

When it came to instigating national wars and profiting from them, the Donquixote Family were absolute professionals, unmatched in the North Sea!

So Sodalanxia and the other countries had no choice but to grit their teeth and accept it, forced into a new round of arms races.

After all, weapons were something you could choose not to use, but you absolutely could not afford to be without!

The Donquixote Family had a vice grip on these nations' weak points, raking in mountains of profit every single time.

Abel lurked in the shadows, watching crates of weapons being unloaded from the ship, then replaced by crates of money and supplies being loaded back on. A plan began to take shape in his mind.

But it seemed Abel wasn't the only one with his eyes on the Donquixote Family.

The two pirate crews that had docked here for repairs earlier were now glaring with envy, their eyes bloodshot.

As prosperous as Doflamingo's underground black market business was, he was not yet the future underworld emperor of the dark world. He hadn't even earned the title of Shichibukai.

So even in the North Sea, there were still plenty of people who held hostility toward the Donquixote Family!