Den Den Mushi and the Poison Smoke Pirates

Antonio followed Hell Brook into this unremarkable shop, but under Brook's "Life Detection," he could sense numerous life fluctuations inside, indicating tight security.

"Captain Brook, the people here all seem so fierce!"

Antonio said to his captain with lingering fear, treading carefully.

"This is the Lawless Zone; you'll find all sorts of people here—pirates, human traffickers, bounty hunters. Stay behind me and be careful."

Brook warned him, terrified that this rookie would get kidnapped and sold off by human traffickers again.

"What does the customer need?"

The old man at the counter asked Brook. On the surface, this was a shop selling tobacco and alcohol, but the trade of Den Den Mushi was hidden in the back.

"I want a large quantity of Den Den Mushi to resell to a rebel warlord!"

Brook picked up a bottle of liquor, and frost rapidly condensed on it, turning it into a block of ice to let the other party know he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

The old man realized that the man before him was a Devil Fruit user and immediately led Brook to the trading area in the back.

"Respected guest, which type of Den Den Mushi would you like?"

A beautiful saleswoman replaced the old man as Brook's attendant, flashing a professional, enthusiastic smile.

Brook looked at the counter, where Den Den Mushi of various sizes, shell shapes, and colors were displayed, and for a moment, he didn't know which to choose.

"Sir, these are Communication Den Den Mushi; as long as you know the number, you can dial them for inter-island calls. They cost 100,000 Berries each. These are Fixed-Number Den Den Mushi, which can only pair with one other specific unit. Their advantage is an extremely strong signal, allowing communication between very distant islands, even from the Four Blues to the Grand Line and the New World. They cost 500,000 Berries a pair."

"We also have Broadcast Den Den Mushi, Surveillance Den Den Mushi, Camera Den Den Mushi, Fax Den Den Mushi... The cheapest are these Baby Den Den Mushi; they have a weaker signal and can only be used for inter-island communication. They cost 10,000 Berries each."

The beautiful saleswoman seemed to notice Brook's lack of knowledge and kindly explained the various functions of these Den Den Mushi in detail.

As for the Golden Den Den Mushi for the Buster Call, the Silver Den Den Mushi, the Black Wiretapping Den Den Mushi for intelligence, or the White Anti-Wiretapping Den Den Mushi, they certainly didn't have those here. Nor did they have the massive Public Den Den Mushi, Visual Den Den Mushi, or Self-Propelled Video Transmission Den Den Mushi.

Brook looked at the money in his box—over 20 million Berries—and decided to make a massive purchase.

"Twenty Communication Den Den Mushi, twenty Baby Den Den Mushi, ten pairs of Fixed-Number Den Den Mushi, and five of each of the others!"

"Very well, sir, we will prepare them immediately."

The saleswoman was ecstatic; this was a multi-million Berry deal, and she would earn a significant commission.

Meanwhile, other pirate customers had begun to cast subtle glances at Brook, but Brook was completely fearless. None of the life fluctuations coming from these pirates could compare to his own!

Soon, the staff had everything packed into a large, transparent box made of an unknown material. It had many air holes, and with twenty units per layer, it was nearly filled to the brim. Some of the Den Den Mushi were still munching on leaves.

Brook covered it with a cloth and carried it back toward the news agency. Once they stepped out the door, he noticed quite a few people trailing behind them.

"Captain, it seems many people are following us, and there are many other little snails talking to snails far away."

Antonio looked around guardedly and whispered to Brook.

"You can hear even that? Are you a Wiretapping Den Den Mushi? Listen again and see if you hear the words 'Poison Smoke Pirates'."

Antonio's Den Den Mushi Devil Fruit seemed to grant him the abilities of all types of Den Den Mushi without even enhancing his physical fitness, but Brook felt this fruit was on par with a Mythical Zoan—perhaps it even was one.

"I found it, Captain Brook! I heard a Den Den Mushi from some intelligence organization chatting about the Poison Smoke Pirates at Grove 21, in some bar or another."

Antonio excitedly told Brook, feeling very happy to have completed his captain's mission.

"It's just a few groves away! Heaven is truly helping me. It's a good thing we haven't set off for the New World yet, or they would have been hard to find!"

Brook immediately led Antonio toward Grove 21 to finish them off and avenge his crewmates!

The Poison Smoke Pirates, led by Captain Poison Cannon Sarin, had a bounty of 56 million Berries. He was a sinister fellow equipped with poison weapons all over his body, fond of sneak attacks and using toxic gas to kill his opponents; he was notorious.

"Haha, Captain Sarin, wiping out the Rumbar Pirates was truly satisfying! Pirates are pirates, yet they insisted on being a 'musical pirate crew'—playing that useless, trashy music. They deserved to die!"

A lackey flattered his captain, trying to boost his reputation.

In the bar, there were some pirates who enjoyed Brook's music and had sung "Binks' Sake." They frowned, wanting to start a fight, but were immediately held back by their companions.

"You're right. Pirates should be killing each other and making a name for themselves in the New World! What's the point of singing? I sent them to hell to sing, hahaha~"

After a few drinks, Sarin began to boast and act arrogantly, drawing angry glares from the pirates nearby.

"Just a coward who relies on poison gas cannons to burn, kill, and loot while sneaking up on people. This bounty is too high."

A girl with short black hair, holding a cigarette, looked at such a despicable pirate with disdain. She was a well-known intelligence scout on the Sabaody Archipelago, specializing in gathering information to sell to intelligence organizations, and occasionally sneaking in to rob pirate vaults.

"Who! Who said that? I heard you, come out right now!"

Half-drunk, Poison Cannon Sarin pulled out a massive poison gas cannon, scaring the smaller pirates and lackeys in the bar into fleeing in a panic.

Several pirates with bounties over 50 million looked at this arrogant Poison Cannon with displeasure. Although this was a lawless zone, it wasn't a place to start a war on a whim; it was a leisure area for pirates.

"I actually got heard."

The short-haired girl vanished into the crowd, leaving the impotently furious Poison Cannon Sarin behind. Under the angry glares of several pirate captains, he quieted down and continued to drink while grumbling.

But just as Sarin finished a glass, a lean figure carrying a giant box appeared at the bar entrance, staring straight at him. This caused Sarin's just-extinguished anger to flare up once more!

"What the hell are you looking at! Bastard, are you looking to die?"

Sarin stepped onto the table, raised his poison gas cannon with his right hand, and aimed it at the figure in the doorway. Suddenly, he felt that this figure looked a little familiar.