The Tree of Sighs

Just as Sitoon was about to leave the port, Voda and Gage returned on a "human raft"...

"What kind of ship is this? Where's your Devil's Horn?" Sitoon frowned at Voda, his tone disdainful, as if he felt that this guy was tarnishing the Giant Axe Pirates.

"I... we were ambushed by the Fish-Man Race on the way." Voda was also somewhat afraid of Sitoon, after all, Sitoon was Master's right-hand man, and now that the fate of his men was unknown, he was even less confident.

Partly to change the subject, and partly to emphasize her own contribution, Voda quickly introduced, "This is Mr. Gage of the Vinsmoke Family, Master's guest..."

"So you were ambushed with your guests?" Sitoon's expression darkened further.

Under the shadow of Sitoon, Voda had shrunk considerably. Although she wanted to say that Master had also been ambushed by the Fish-Man, she thought that he would have died a terrible death.

"I... I have to go rescue them..." Voda stammered.

"Then hurry up and go!" Sitoon said in a low voice.

He was clearly suppressing his anger so as not to disturb the "guest".

After greeting Gage, Sitoon put on a smiling face, "Mr. Gage, are you looking to buy slaves? There's no need to worry about the Fish-Man anymore; I've already found excellent 'bait'... If you want to buy Fish-Man in large quantities, you can wait a little longer."

Sitoon was not on Axe Island before and did not know what Gage was doing there, only assuming he was a "distinguished guest who came to buy slaves".

"No, Captain Silver Axe and I have some matters to discuss regarding cooperation." Gage seemed completely uninterested in the internal affairs of the Giant Axe Pirates.

"I see. Then I'll take you to see Master!" Sitoon seemed as enthusiastic as ever, but she immediately became wary.

Based on his understanding of Master, the only reason for "cooperating" with someone should be to acquire them—unless the partner is stronger than the Giant Axe Pirates.

The current Germa Kingdom... is clearly not among the "stronger" ones!

Sitoon took Gage to find Silver Axe, who had returned, but he was still escorting Arlong and the others. Sig couldn't find an opportunity and could only follow them.

On the way, Sig discovered that the direction Sitoon was heading was exactly the same as the direction Fisher Tiger's Vivre Card pointed—both were heading towards the giant tree in the center of the island.

Sig followed closely behind...

Axe Island is about the same size as Drum Island, but it doesn't have as many mountains that take up a lot of space. However, it does have a giant tree that takes up just as much space.

In terms of tree canopy, most of the island is beneath it.

As dawn broke, Sig noticed that the Island Tree had very dense foliage, making the entire island appear dark. Moreover, the blackish-purple flowers that looked like pustules on the trees, emitting pollen, made the sky appear gloomy as well.

Unlike other island nations on the Grand Line, Axe Island doesn't welcome outsiders. Aside from the Giant Axe Pirates, the only other visitors are "big clients" and... the largest number of slaves!

Many of the island's "native inhabitants" are also practitioners in related fields.

The islands actually controlled by the Great Pirate generally fall into three categories in terms of social structure:

The first type is normal rule, such as Dressrosa more than ten years later—if one did not know the truth, Doflamingo was both Shichibukai and a normal king in the eyes of outsiders, and Dressrosa was a famous city of passion, and he did not appear special because his king was a pirate;

The second type is oppressive rule, such as the current Wano Country — Kaido, in alliance with Kurozumi Orochi, exploits Wano Country to the extreme, seeking to extract every bit of strength to arm and nourish themselves, yet still maintaining the existence of "Wano Country";

The third type is complete control, such as Big Mom's Whole Cake Island —a "nation" that exists entirely on the basis of the Big Mom Pirates, except for the crew members and ordinary residents who regularly offer their souls to Big Mom.

In terms of social structure, Axe Island is somewhat similar to Whole Cake Island in Big Mom.

On Whole Cake Island, many ordinary people are "pastry chefs," a harmless and normal profession. On Axe Island, however, the industry is mainly related to the slave trade, with people paying large amounts of taxes to Silver Axe.

These types of islands often have the strongest control over them...

After leaving the port, Sitoon had already arranged "carriages"—a row of carriages pulled by half men and half horses!

They weren't of any special race, but rather a labor slave whose upper body was connected to a horse by the power of the Op-Op Fruit.

Gage was extremely... interested in this scene that was clearly contrary to human ethics!

"Is this the power of the Op-Op Fruit? It's truly amazing!" Gage's eyes lit up as he watched this scene.

Although he had seen a similar scene with Voda, it was still a "Grafting" between people, just an ability user, and Voda wouldn't let him examine it properly.

"That's right. These laborers are living longer these days. Ordinary people like this, when paired with the special packhorses of Bamo Island, can live for ten years! The working life of Bamo Packhorse is generally only ten years, which means they also have the added advantages of being obedient and easy to tame." Sitoon introduced.

This isn't a secret; it's normal product information that needs to be disclosed...

This is why only the top members and officers of the Giant Axe Pirates show signs of transplantation—if their physique is insufficient to support it, it will burn through their lifespan!

The centaurs pulling the cart paid no heed to the assessment that it was like cargo, and simply pulled the cart quietly.

Sitoon was praising his Master's strength, but Gage, from a professional perspective, began to consider the implications: the Op-Op Fruit... could indeed largely resolve the side effects of mismatched Lineage Factor, but it wasn't perfect.

Sig didn't know what they were talking about. After leaving the port, considering that there weren't many people on the road, Sig didn't follow them too closely.

I don't know why, even though it clearly showed signs of human habitation and even resembled a neighborhood, there were hardly any people along the way.

Sig's Observation Haki is very effective at concealment, but his own body doesn't have any special concealment effect, making him easy to spot if you get close.

It's a pity I'm not an "Assassin"... Ah! No, it's not a pity at all!

At this moment, Sig was tracking from outside his line of sight, or more accurately, "tracking" – using his "Reasoning Trainee" abilities to pinpoint the slightest clues along the way. He maintained a great distance, and Sig was confident that even if the other side separated Arlong and the others midway, Sig would still be able to pinpoint the correct path!

They arrived at the Island Tree, but it seemed the other party had no intention of locking Arlong and the others up somewhere else.

Sig had by then seen the trunk of the Island Tree and noticed that it had many numbered entrances, with staircases, outer platforms, and windows carved on the outside, resembling a huge city-level castle.

Logically, the trunk of the Island Tree should be difficult to process and carve, right? Roger's ship was only built with the help of Uncle Tom, the world's greatest shipwright...

However, considering Silver Axe's Devil Fruit ability, Sig didn't find it surprising.

As he drew closer, Sig felt a growing unease—around each entrance, the tree trunks were covered with Distortion, Affliction faces.

It's not the uncanny valley effect; it's a real human face, or rather, a human head, transplanted into a tree...

The Tree of Sighs — Sig didn't know what this tree was called before, but it was called that after Silver Axe was stationed here...