The King of the Underground World, King of Sea Transport

Sabaody Archipelago, Pleasure District.

For pirates accustomed to plunder and slaughter, the Pleasure District—brimming with liquor, women, and wealth—was undoubtedly the perfect outlet for their violence and stress.

These desperate outlaws, living on the edge of a blade, had always followed the creed of living for the moment.

After all, no one could predict whether tomorrow would bring a windfall of riches or the cold bite of death.

Better to live in the now, savoring each day as it came.

When pirates came to the Pleasure District to indulge, they also exchanged the spoils of their voyages for Beri.

Where there was demand, a market would form.

Thanks to the red-light nature of the Pleasure District, the clearly demarcated lawless zones of Islands 1 through 29 had become the Sabaody Archipelago's largest underground black market and slave market.

The slave market, in particular—also known as the human auction house—was considered the archipelago's pillar industry.

Here, any race could become merchandise, including humans, mermaids, fish-men, and rare species, all fitted with collars containing explosive devices.

The slave market's primary customers were the Celestial Dragons.

The underground black market encompassed a variety of illegal trades beyond human trafficking, such as weapons and arms, Devil Fruits, and Artificial Devil Fruits.

Beneath Sabaody Archipelago's glossy bubbles lay a complete industrial chain, nurtured by the privileges of the Celestial Dragons, blending human trafficking, black-market dealings, and extravagant pleasure.

Following the buyer's provided address, Seven arrived alone at the slave market.

As an intermediary, Shakky only handled connecting buyers and sellers, not the specifics of the transaction.

If he had just transmigrated back then, the sight before him would have shredded his nerves—men and women of different races locked in cages like livestock, with price tags clearly marked.

The hollow eyes of the women, the dried bloodstains on the mermaids' fins, the bent spines of the men...

Every detail exuded a nauseating stench of decay.

"This damned world."

Having lived in the Pirate World for seventeen years, Seven thought he had grown numb to it, but as he passed the iron cages again, he couldn't help cursing under his breath.

He knew better than anyone: there was no saving them all.

Smash open ten cages today, and twenty new ones would be shipped in tomorrow.

As long as those fishbowl-wearing swine atop Mary Geoise sat at the world's summit, slaves would never truly disappear.

The subjects of Affiliated Nations who couldn't pay the Celestial Gold, the people of lands not yet affiliated, the men, women, old, and young whose Hometowns had been burned to ash by pirates...

In the end, they all became a line of small print in a catalog, shipped out from here in chains.

Weakness was the original sin.

On this sea, kindness and anger without power to back them were as light as a sigh.

Having seen all this, Seven would do anything to become the world's strongest, never allowing anyone to speak loudly in his presence.

Inside a private room at the slave auction house.

Seven finally met the gold buyer, the man known as the Deep Sea Current, the King of Sea Transport: Umit.

In the Pirate World, beyond the obvious pirates, Marines, and the Revolutionary Army, there existed an underworld controlled by several major figures.

The King of Sea Transport, Umit, was one of them.

Umit controlled the shipping and logistics industry, serving as the underworld's transport hub.

His fleet carried all kinds of illegal goods for clients worldwide—weapons, even people—linking the Sabaody Archipelago, various black markets, and the needs of the World Nobles.

"Did you bring the goods?"

Perhaps because Seven's height had changed dramatically after two years of training on Skypiea, Umit didn't recognize him.

Or maybe, compared to great pirates like Captain Roger, Vice Captain Rayleigh, Gaban, and Bullet, Seven simply wasn't famous.

"And the money?"

At that, Umit waved behind him. Two burly men in black carried several boxes into the room and opened them one by one.

Since the other party dared to come alone, he must have some backing. Umit just wanted to make money, not stir up trouble.

Besides, the aura the man exuded since entering didn't seem ordinary.

Umit pointed to three of the boxes, each containing a fruit with spiral patterns.

"All I have left right now are these three Devil Fruits. On the left is the Zoan Rat-Rat Fruit, Mole Form."

"In the middle is the Paramecia Slippery-Slippery Fruit."

"On the right is the Zoan Fly-Fly Fruit."

With that, Umit took a puff of his cigar. "This customer, I don't see you carrying ten tons of gold on you."

Through the intermediary's negotiations, Umit had valued ten tons of gold at 3.6 billion Berry.

With such a large sum, caution was only natural.

Seven waved away the smoke. "Before we trade, let's settle the price on the Devil Fruits first."

Of the three Devil Fruits, aside from the Paramecia Slippery-Slippery Fruit being somewhat decent, the Zoan Digging Rat and Fly-Fly Fruit were utter trash among trash.

The Digging Rat could at least handle civil engineering, serving as a construction foreman or a grave-robbing captain.

What use was the Fly-Fly Fruit? Eating shit?

"Ten billion!" Umit named an outrageous price.

"Three hundred million!" Seven slashed back with a killer counter.

"Eight hundred million."

"Final offer, four hundred million."

Seven pointed at the dark purple Fly-Fly Fruit. "Don't push me. I'll shove it down your throat."

Umit gave an awkward laugh. "Four hundred million it is. No need to get angry."

"Next time I come across a strong Devil Fruit, I'll be sure to contact you first."

Next time, I definitely can't show up in person.

This white-haired guy doesn't look like a good person.

In truth, Umit knew the Fly-Fly Fruit was a bit of a scam. Any normal person wouldn't eat a Devil Fruit like that.

What would you even do with it?

Produce fertilizer?

"Brother, there are three point three billion Beli in these boxes behind me. Want to count them?"

"Consider the extra hundred million a gift from me."

Hearing that, Seven's first thought was: I overpaid.

Of the three Devil Fruits, only the Slippery-Slippery Fruit had some use—beauty and skincare, making skin smoother.

Slippery... no friction... Tsk tsk tsk.

Seven first stored the three Devil Fruits in his system space, then randomly pulled out a few 10,000 Beli bills printed with Skull Yuji's face, examining them briefly.

"I'll leave you three hundred million Beli as a deposit. Next time you try to pawn off garbage like this on this old man, I'll cut a hole in your gut and stuff the Fly-Fly Fruit in there."

"Of course, of course." Umit rubbed his hands together.

"Brother, what about those gold coins..."

Seven tilted his head slightly. On the originally empty ground, several large boxes appeared out of thin air in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Umit hurried forward and opened the boxes one by one. His eyes gleamed with gold as he ran both hands over the shiny coins.

"Brother, how about coming to work for me?"

"Room and board included, full benefits, free access to the Pleasure District. Whatever woman you want, I can find her for you."

Umit was green with envy. With that move, the other party was clearly a space-type ability user—exactly the kind of ability the shipping company craved most.

A born smuggler!

The wealth this man could generate would far exceed the working conditions Umit had offered.

But judging by how easily he left three hundred million Beli as a deposit, he was likely someone who didn't lack money and was extremely confident in his own strength.

He wasn't afraid Umit would renege at all.

In fact, Umit suspected the guy was hoping he would renege—because if he dared, the man would have no problem killing him.