As Wood was dragged away by Gion, the other people traffickers hiding nearby let out a huge sigh of relief.
When they'd just heard Wood say he was going to attack them, the sharpness in his eyes had made them hold their breath.
They had no idea who Wood and Gion were, but there was no doubt that both of them were dangerous characters.
Earlier, when Wood had fixed them with his gaze, they hadn't even dared to turn and run. Years of hard-won experience had taught them that if they ran in that instant, they'd only die faster!
"Who exactly are those two brats? Someone this powerful has come to Sabaody Archipelago, and we didn't hear a thing beforehand?"
"Who knows where those two monsters came from? But they can't be pirates.
"If they had that kind of strength, they'd at least be so-called Supernovas. There's no way they could've landed on Sabaody Archipelago without making a stir.
"And judging by their clothes, they don't look like Marines. From the way that guy acts, he seems more like a bounty hunter."
Watching Wood and Gion disappear into the distance, the other people traffickers began to chatter among themselves. As local power brokers, they had access to a certain amount of information.
Still, they could be sure that the young man and woman who'd just been there were complete strangers on the island, and they weren't any notorious pirate captains with bounties on their heads, either.
"Who cares who they are? The point is, they're people we can't afford to mess with.
"Remember what they look like, and tell the guys around the island to keep their eyes open. Don't pick a fight with those two again."
They'd taken down a pirate with a bounty of thirty-three million without even drawing a sword. Whether they were pirates, bounty hunters, or something else, they were clearly people those traffickers couldn't afford to offend.
"What about the guy lying over there, the one worth thirty-three million Belly? Are we just going to leave him?"
At their leader's command, the traffickers' underlings nodded repeatedly. Then they looked over at the pirate crew sprawled across the ground and asked what they should do with them.
"You idiot! There's money lying on the ground, and you don't know enough to pick it up?
"Didn't you hear what those big shots said? They clearly don't care about thirty-something million Belly. They're off to hunt bigger prey."
"Then I'll get the men to tie these guys up and take them to the Marine Branch to claim the bounty."
The underling had thought his quick thinking would earn him praise from his boss. Instead, the moment he finished speaking, he got another kick and a thorough scolding.
"Did I tell you to take them to the Marine Branch? What kind of business are we in? We might not get hunted down by the Marines like pirates do, but we're hardly respectable people.
"Ever heard of maximizing profits? How much would we get for taking these pirates to the Marines? Thirty-three million Belly at most, and we'd still have to deal with their attitude."
"But if we put our professional skills to use and take these pirates to a slave auction, the captain of a pirate crew with a thirty-three-million bounty could fetch at least fifty million Belly.
"Even ordinary pirates, who aren't worth much to the Marines, can still sell for a few hundred thousand Belly each at the Slave Market because they're young and strong."
"Our boss really is brilliant!"
"Of course. Why else would I be the boss and you be underlings? Only the clever get to be bosses."
Before long, the people traffickers had tied up the more than fifty men who'd attacked Gion and Wood.
They probably hadn't imagined that they'd come to capture slaves, only to end up becoming slaves themselves.
If they were handed over to the Marines as pirates, their fate would actually be fairly decent. If their crimes weren't too serious, they might spend ten or eight years in Impel Down and still get the chance to see daylight again.
But if they became slaves, their lives would basically be over.
Slaves in this world were treated far worse than prisoners.
Prisoners at least still had some human rights, but most slaves lived worse than animals.
Very few slaves bought by the wealthy, especially the Celestial Dragons, survived even a year.
And even those who did survive often couldn't endure the abuse and torment. Their minds would break, and they'd go mad.
Of course, the pirates who'd attacked Wood and Gion didn't deserve any sympathy. This was exactly what they'd intended to do to the two of them.
If Wood and Gion hadn't been strong enough, they'd be the ones headed for the slave auction right now.
In Grove 1 of Sabaody Archipelago, Doflamingo hadn't yet made a name for himself, but there were already plenty of slave auctions and Slave Markets.
When Wood and Gion reached the largest slave auction house there and showed the necessary documents, they finally got to see the so-called "cargo."
There were ten huge iron cages in a row, each holding several people. Some were men, some women, and there were even children.
Most of the men belonged to unusual races, such as Fish-Men, giants, and the Longarm Tribe. The women, on the other hand, were mostly ordinary humans, but every one of them was curvaceous and beautiful.
"Honored guests, these are all inexpensive goods. Even if a few die during transport, the Celestial Dragons probably won't notice they're missing.
"But please be especially careful with this one. It's extremely valuable, and the Celestial Dragons care a great deal about it. That's why we don't dare transport it ourselves."
The person in charge of the slave auction house was the one showing Wood and Gion around. He had no idea who they were, but that didn't stop him from fawning over them as he introduced his merchandise.
Wood and Gion hadn't revealed that they were Marines, but they had produced the necessary documents. The people at the auction house knew better than to offend anyone connected to the Celestial Dragons.
The auction house owner led them to a huge spherical tank. When he pulled back the curtain covering it, Wood and Gion finally understood why the auction house had been so worried about anything happening to the slaves.
Because inside the spherical tank was a mermaid! And a young female mermaid at that!
As everyone knew, Fish-Men and mermaids were both half-human, half-fish species. But unlike the ugly Fish-Men, mermaids were prized by every slave auction house!
Unlike Fish-Men, who had some fighting ability, most mermaids couldn't fight at all, so they rarely left Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters beneath the sea.
Even if a ship could coat itself and descend ten thousand meters to Fish-Man Island, catching the fastest swimmers in the world was no easy task.
And don't forget: unlike when Keimi was captured, Whitebeard was still alive. Fish-Man Island was still under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates!
Before you continue