Surprise Attack

"Eight million Belly? You didn't get ripped off, did you?" Arlong stared wide-eyed at the record pointer Sig brought back.

"Obviously, I got ripped off," Sig rolled his eyes at the remark.

Fisher Tiger, however, wasn't concerned about the price. He took the pointer, confirmed it was a fully recorded "record pointer," and breathed a sigh of relief.

"There's no helping it. We have to keep our identities secret, send Little Fei to the island alone, and we can't use force. Getting ripped off was expected," Fisher Tiger took it in stride.

Indeed, it's very strange for a traveler to appear alone in the Grand Line!

Whether it's a legitimate fleet or a pirate crew, they should always have a whole ship full of people...

Sig going to the black market alone, and after being tested, refusing to fight, he was practically a rare, fat sheep—who expects repeat customers in the black markets of the Grand Line?

Arlong was just playfully teasing Sig. At this point, the Sun Pirates weren't particularly interested in money; they just took what they could from Marine ships and slave ships.

"While I was in the black market, I also found a slave-catching team heading to Vera," Sig's expression turned serious.

"Hmm? Can you confirm which ship it is and their departure time?" Fisher Tiger was clearly planning to ambush them as soon as they left the Galadi Islands.

"No, I have another idea... I can pose as an escaped ability user slave and let them capture me. That way, once we reach Vera, I can infiltrate the enemy's slave-holding facilities immediately," Sig said, raising his wrist to show the Seastone handcuffs.

It was strange that only one hand was cuffed, but with proper disguise, pretending to be an ability user who was captured and escaped should be no problem.

A slave-catching team would definitely recapture such a target for resale!

Sig had also discovered that their next destination was the nearby "slave trading center," Vera Island. If nothing unexpected happened, he could infiltrate it directly...

"No!" Fisher Tiger refused without a second thought, slapping Sig's raised wrist aside. Although Sig had grown considerably, the height difference between them was still immense.

" I will absolutely not allow a fellow countryman to become a slave, not even for a few days!" Fisher Tiger stated firmly.

"Captain Fisher Tiger, it's just a disguise... I can go with Sig!" Arlong thought it was a good idea and added his suggestion.

Before Fisher Tiger could respond, Sig stopped him: "No, you have a bounty on your head. If you're discovered, they'll prioritize collecting the bounty! Only I..."

"You don't need to say any more. There's no room for negotiation on this matter! When we reach Vera, it's going to be a tough fight. Instead of thinking about this, it's better to prepare yourselves," Fisher Tiger said sternly.

Jinbe spoke up from the side, "Captain Fisher Tiger is right. We can't let Sig take such a risk for a little convenience. However... since we know there's a slave-catching team heading to Vera, we should not only ambush them but also..."

Sea Calendar 1506, May 27th.

The Dadara Trading Company's fleet departed from the Galadi Islands.

"Dadara Trading Company" was their registered name with the World Government, allowing them to sail legally.

Besides a main ship, there were three smaller escort vessels.

However, in secret, they were often known by another name—the Dadara Slave Hunters!

"We'll reach Vera in five days... After unloading, we'll have a good long rest."

"We've got some good cargo this time, two Mermaids... Tsk tsk. Too bad we can't go to Sabaody Archipelago, otherwise, the starting price would be seventy million Belly, right?"

"It's not that exaggerated. Mermaids who are old enough and whose tails can split into two legs only fetch a little over ten million at Sabaody Archipelago."

"Why are the ones who can split their legs cheaper? Even though they're older, but..."

"Hahaha, but this trip is definitely enough for us to live it up for a while, it's even enough to become a regular trading company from now on! Recently, I heard some Fish-Men are attacking slave-catching teams everywhere. It's not safe if this continues."

"Tch, isn't that perfect? The cargo comes to us."

"It's a shame we have to give a cut to the Big Axe guys..."

On deck, the Dadara sailors were still dreaming of a bright future.

But just then, the surrounding sea began to churn, and the ship lurched violently. Many sailors who weren't standing steady cursed.

"What's going on?"

"The environment in the Grand Line is hellish!"

"Wait! Under the sea, it looks like..."

On the side of the Dadara, the sea suddenly surged, and a giant Sea Bass head shot out of the water. One of the escort ships was directly capsized!

"A, a Sea King? What's a Sea King doing here?"

"No! It's not a Sea King, it's..."

It was the Sea Bass!

It had been lurking underwater, tracking them, waiting for them to leave the Galadi Islands.

On the deck of the Sea Bass, the Fish-Man warriors were already sharpening their blades. The waves created by the Sea Bass landing on the sea's surface hadn't even subsided, and before the main ship, Dadara, could stabilize itself, countless iron hooks tied with ropes flew over.

The methods of the slave catchers overlapped greatly with those of pirates, and they sometimes plundered merchant ships and passenger ships, so they were very familiar with boarding battles.

However, they never imagined that they would be the ones getting hooked now!

"Kill!" Willy roared, swinging his large hammer as he led the charge.

Although they strictly adhered to "no killing," shouting could still boost morale...

Many Fish-Men ran across the ropes and leaped over.

On the deck of the Sea Bass, many large Fish-Men desperately pulled on the ropes, causing the two ships to lurch closer, with the Sea Bass's bow wedged into the hull of the Dadara.

The ship lurched violently as the Fish-Men charged...

On the two surviving escort ships, many Fish-Men were also climbing aboard.

Because the attack came suddenly from underwater, there was no time for cannon fire; they went straight into boarding combat!

The Sun Pirates didn't exert much effort—the Dadara Slave Hunters survived in the first half of the Grand Line by bullying the weak and fearing the strong. The one-eyed Captain, with an iron hook for a left hand, was no match for Sig, who took the lead and defeated him one-on-one.

Against the regular combatants, they were even less of a match for the Sun Pirates, whose average strength was extremely high.

The ships were already locked together, and the battle subsided after a quarter of an hour. A large number of Fish-Man warriors went to the cabins below to rescue the imprisoned slaves and search for any hiding crew members!

At this point, Sig held the one-eyed Captain by the neck and lifted him up. Arlong, standing nearby, skillfully commanded, "Find all their executives! Kill any hiding on the spot, and those who report them can leave on a small boat!"