A Chaotic Beginning

Crack!

A Den Den Mushi was crushed in Doflamingo's hand.

Several veins bulged on his forehead.

His expression turned into a furious laugh.

He had never seen such an arrogant Marine before.

His first thought was that the Marines were targeting him, otherwise, there was no reason for them to face him with such arrogance.

Had the Marines discovered what he was doing?

The first person that came to his mind was a wrinkled old woman with white hair.

However, he wasn't entirely unprepared.

As for the surname Lux...

It wasn't significant enough.

With a pull and tug of Ming's hand, a white line extended from his fingers, binding a white Den Den Mushi that was dozing nearby.

"Vergo..."

--

Buggy also had a Den Den Mushi in front of him.

It belonged to Major Arrow.

He was anticipating.

Who would be the first to call this number.

Different people, different levels of urgency, would reveal different information.

If it was an angry and panicked call from District 66's Base Commander, Rear Admiral Sicily, it would indicate that not only Captain Diouf but the entire Marine base was involved in human trafficking, though this was not unexpected.

Or, it could be a direct call of accusation from Marineford.

That would mean that in the eyes of the Marines, the significance of a Shichibukai far outweighed their concept of justice.

The speed at which the phone rang depended on the reaction of the forces behind Doflamingo and the wealthy nobles, as well as the degree of unity within the Marines.

Buggy hoped that the phone would not ring for now.

The implications behind that would be even more interesting.

"Create a little disturbance, disrupt the existing order, and then everything becomes chaotic."

"And I am the embodiment of chaos."

Buggy's smile was a little wicked at this moment.

But his actions were righteous, there was no doubt about that.

So he was reasonably directing Jacques, Arne, and others to collect the so-called price of justice from the arrested nobles and rich merchants.

If they didn't want to see their big heads appear on the front page of the next day's news.

Well, it wasn't that no one accused him of extortion.

It was just that the slave collars still hidden in the Human Auction House quickly silenced them.

As slave owners themselves, they knew the power of these things all too well.

Putting their lives entirely in the hands of others.

A terrifying explosion capable of shattering them to pieces was placed around their necks.

They hadn't thought that one day they themselves would be enslaved by such a thing, but compared to the power to control others' lives and trample on others' dignity, such a threat was deliberately ignored.

And now.

This threat was right before their eyes.

It broke through their mental defenses more easily than any words or bloodshed.

Jacques saw such immense wealth for the first time in his life.

Five hundred million, or six hundred million?

A pile of Belly taller than a person was in front of him, and his heart rate was completely out of his control.

"You can take half."

Buggy had no intention of stopping their greedy desires.

Greed could make them useful tools in his hands.

Nor did he deny the ripples stirred within him when faced with such wealth.

However, more than the pursuit of mere wealth, what excited him was the use of wealth.

"We have the startup capital for the game again, don't we?" he muttered to himself.

What he looked forward to seemed to have come true. During the time the navy was clearing out the entire Human Auction House, his Den Den Mushi had been silent.

But to say that Doflamingo and these noble merchant families would remain indifferent would be too fantastical.

They must have had connections with the Marines.

But these connections had no effect as they should have.

"Thank you!"

Inside the Iron Cage, the pitiable female slave looked at Buggy with her watery eyes.

Her white uniform had become the greatest light in her gray life.

"Thank what?" The light seemed puzzled.

"I have to remind you, in about half an hour, this place will erupt in flames."

"Before that, I suggest you hurry and save yourself."

Buggy had no intention of rescuing slaves.

What he intended to do was to tear off the fig leaf of the employment agency, exposing the rampant filth and darkness beneath in its nakedness.

Especially, using such a righteous identity and name.

What he wanted to see was the tearing of order.

Because that was the beginning of chaos.

"?"

The female slave's expression of being saved instantly froze, and then she understood.

The other party did not intend to open the Iron Cage for her.

Her fate had not changed at all.

Her gaze swept over the Marines in the venue. Those eyes, clearly full of desire, became evasive when they met hers.

At least for now, their loyalty to Buggy was off the charts.

There was no other way, he gave them too much.

"How do I save myself?"

At least this Marine officer's eyes were not greedy.

This was her only small comfort, and then she truly began to think about how to save herself.

Her body?

No, what's the difference between that and being a slave myself?

What could I do then?

While the female slave was contemplating self-rescue, Buggy walked towards the backstage of the auction house on his own.

Behind the large red curtains on both sides of the stage, there was a passage just wide enough for the Iron Cage to pass through.

There were two distinct grooves on the floor made of bright tiles.

Further ahead, it turned a few more corners with gates.

It is worth mentioning that these iron gates, clearly built to prevent slaves from escaping, ultimately became a dead end for Disco and his accomplices.

Behind the last thick iron gate was the confinement area where all the slaves for sale at the Human Auction House were held.

Buggy's footsteps suddenly stopped.

His expression was full of interest.

In the confinement area, there was no group of slaves with bowed heads and vacant eyes waiting for his salvation as a righteous Marine.

There was only a hole about two meters in size.

Beyond the hole, several towering Mangrove trees could be seen, and neon bubbles were constantly rising, as if greeting him.

"It seems I won't be seeing that old friend."

Buggy whispered.

Returning to the stage of the venue.

Buggy felt it was necessary to share this good news with the female slave.

How should he put it?

Congratulations, you are now the only slave who needs to save herself.

Because all the other slaves have already escaped.

It was hard to imagine the female slave's mental state upon hearing this news.

But judging from her almost dazed expression, the blow must have been significant.

This blow seemed to have given her some kind of stimulation.

The female slave stood up, her gaze resolute.

On her left wrist, she revealed a rhombus-shaped piece of glass.

She neatly severed her waist-length hair at the nape of her neck.

She held a handful of hair, as smooth as a ponytail, in her hand.

She offered it to Buggy.

"Swan, my name is Swan."

This was her pledge of allegiance.