Antonio followed Brook into the unremarkable shop. But under Brook's Life Detection, he sensed countless life signs inside, and the place was heavily guarded.
"Captain Brook, everyone here looks so vicious!"
Antonio was still shaken. He spoke carefully to his captain.
"This is the Lawless Zone. You'll find all kinds of people here: pirates, human traffickers, Pirate Hunters. Stay behind me and be careful."
Brook warned him, afraid the rookie might get kidnapped and trafficked by human traffickers again.
"What does this customer need?"
An old man behind the counter asked Brook. On the surface, this was a shop that sold tobacco and alcohol. The Den Den Mushi were sold in a hidden section at the back.
"I want to buy a large quantity of Den Den Mushi and resell them to a rebellious warlord!"
Brook picked up a bottle of liquor. Frost quickly formed over it, turning it into a block of ice, letting the man know he wasn't someone to mess with.
The old man could tell that Brook was a Devil Fruit User, and immediately led him to the trading area in the back.
"Esteemed customer, which kind of Den Den Mushi would you like?"
A beautiful saleswoman replaced the old man as Brook's attendant, greeting him with a warm, professional smile.
Brook looked at the Den Den Mushi on the counter. They came in different sizes, with shells of various shapes and colors. For a moment, he didn't know which ones to choose.
"Sir, these are communication Den Den Mushi. You can call one as long as you know its number, and they can communicate between islands. They cost one hundred thousand Beli each. These are paired Den Den Mushi. They can only communicate with their paired counterpart, but their signal is extremely strong, allowing them to reach islands far away. They can even connect the Four Blues with the Grand Line and the New World. A pair costs five hundred thousand Beli.
"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. Their signal is weak, and they can only communicate within the same island. They cost ten thousand Beli each."
The saleswoman seemed to realize Brook wasn't familiar with them, so she helpfully explained their various functions in detail.
They certainly didn't have the Golden Den Den Mushi or silver Den Den Mushi used for a Buster Call, or the black Den Den Mushi used for intelligence-gathering and eavesdropping, or the white Den Den Mushi that blocked eavesdropping. Nor did they have the enormous public Den Den Mushi, Image Den Den Mushi, or self-propelled video transmission Den Den Mushi.
Brook glanced at the money in the box. There were more than twenty million Beli inside, enough for a major shopping spree.
"I'll take twenty communication Den Den Mushi, twenty baby Den Den Mushi, ten pairs of paired Den Den Mushi, and five of each of the others!"
"Of course, sir. We'll get them ready right away."
The saleswoman was thrilled. This was a deal worth tens of millions, and she'd earn a hefty commission.
The other pirate customers had already begun sneaking glances at Brook, but he wasn't afraid. None of them had a life force as strong as his!
Soon, the staff had packed everything in a large, transparent box made of some unknown material, with plenty of ventilation holes. They stacked twenty Den Den Mushi per layer, nearly filling all five layers. Some of them were nibbling on leaves.
Brook covered the box with a piece of cloth and carried it back to the news agency. As soon as the two of them left the building, a number of people began following them.
"Captain, it looks like a lot of people are following us. And there are lots of other little snails talking to little snails a long way away."
Antonio warily watched their surroundings and quietly spoke to Brook.
"You can hear all that? Are you a surveillance Den Den Mushi? Listen and see if you hear anyone mention the Poison Smoke Pirates."
Antonio's Den Den Mushi Devil Fruit seemed to have given him all kinds of Den Den Mushi abilities, without improving his physical strength at all. But Brook felt that this Devil Fruit could already rival a Mythical Zoan. Maybe it was one.
"I found it, Captain Brook! I heard a Den Den Mushi belonging to some intelligence organization talking about the Poison Smoke Pirates, Tree 21, and some bar..."
Antonio excitedly reported back to Brook, delighted that he'd completed his captain's task.
"They're only a few trees away! This is a godsend. Good thing we haven't set off for the New World yet, or they really would've been hard to find!"
Brook took Antonio straight to Tree 21 to deal with them and avenge his crew!
The Poison Smoke Pirates were led by their captain, Poison Cannon Sarin, whose bounty was 56 million Beli. He was a sinister man armed with poisonous weapons, infamous for ambushing and killing his opponents with poison gas.
"Haha, Captain Sarin, wiping out the Rumbar Pirates was so satisfying! Pirates are pirates—what was the point of becoming music pirates? Making that useless music? They deserved to die!"
A lackey tried his hardest to flatter his captain and boost his reputation.
Some pirates in the bar liked Humming Brook's music and had sung "Binks' Sake." They furrowed their brows, ready to start a fight, but their companions quickly held them back.
"You're right. Pirates should be killing each other and making their mark in the New World! What good is singing? I sent them to sing in hell instead! Hahaha!"
After a few drinks, Sarin started bragging and acting arrogantly, earning angry glares from the pirates nearby.
"He's just a despicable little coward who uses poison gas cannons to kill, rob, and ambush people. His bounty is too high."
A short-haired young woman with black hair and a cigarette between her lips looked disdainfully at the vile pirate. She was a fairly well-known information broker on the Sabaody Archipelago. She specialized in gathering all kinds of news and selling it to intelligence organizations, though sometimes she also sneaked into pirates' treasuries and robbed them.
"Who was that?! Who's talking? I heard you! Show yourself!"
Poison Cannon Sarin, already half drunk, actually pulled out his huge poison gas cannon. The lesser pirates and lackeys in the bar fled in terror.
Several pirates with bounties over fifty million looked at the arrogant Poison Cannon with displeasure. This was the Lawless Zone, but that didn't mean people could start fights just anywhere. This was a place for pirates to relax.
"She actually heard me."
The short-haired young woman disappeared into the crowd, leaving the furious Poison Cannon Sarin behind. Under the angry gazes of the other pirate captains, he quieted down and grumbled as he continued drinking.
But just as Sarin downed another glass, a slender figure carrying a huge box appeared in the bar's doorway and stared straight at him. The anger Sarin had just quelled flared up again!
"What the hell are you looking at, bastard? Are you looking to die?"
Sarin planted one foot on the table and aimed his poison gas cannon at the figure in the doorway. Then he suddenly felt that the figure looked a little familiar.
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