The Captured Slave

While Dawn was talking with Hina and Sola, the surrounding battle had unknowingly come to a swift close after the captain and the unknown first mate had both been taken out.

Looking at his companions around him, Dawn couldn't help but smile.

This first battle wasn't bad at all—no casualties, a real opening win.

And on top of that, Dawn had "downed the boss" and gotten a precious "attribute point" as a drop. A full haul.

Back on the ship, they locked up the pirates who had barely survived and those who had finally chosen to surrender.

Then Dawn and his crew began their looting-style "treasure hunt."

After all, these pirates' den was their ship, and the pirate profession was all about plundering wealth.

And since Dawn and the others had wiped out the enemy, the spoils of this ship belonged to them as a reward.

This was basically Aokiji's way of giving them a prize for a clean victory.

Hina and the others were still kids at heart, naturally playful.

Even if they'd been mature during the fight, the moment they relaxed and heard about loot, they got instantly excited.

And you never know what might be waiting for you on a pirate ship.

It could be a bottle of fine wine, Berries, or even a Devil Fruit—but it could also be stinky socks, messy trash, or leftover food scraps.

But Hina and the others, not knowing the pirate trade, soon went in high spirits and came back disappointed.

Because what they dug up were people.

"Dawn, these pirates had captives too. They said they were going to sell them as slaves." Hina and the others had found only a few scattered bits of treasure and were let down.

Now it seemed the most valuable thing on this ship was these slaves, but that obviously didn't interest Hina and the rest.

Among the captives, some wore fine clothes, others were plain, and there were a few attractive women—though their attire was decent, probably meant to fetch a high price.

Dawn had no sympathy for these pirates who doubled as slave traders, especially since he had bad memories tied to such people.

Now it seemed that crushing that captain so cleanly was exactly what he deserved.

"Dawn, it sounds like most of these captives are from the North Sea. According to them, this pirate crew got the slaves from another group and planned to sell them in Sabaody." Hina looked at him and explained.

"This is trouble. Our goal is the East Blue—we don't have time to escort them back to the North Sea." Dawn frowned at the captives, a bit stumped.

Still, these people were grateful to Dawn and his group. Even the few who seemed high-status from their clothes stood quietly on the deck in the night, waiting for their decision without making a fuss.

Guess there were more sensible people in the world. Those who couldn't read the room and acted arrogant probably got fed to the fish by the pirates long before Dawn could save them.

"Forget it, let's take them back to the warship first. We'll ask what they want—if they're willing to live in the East Blue, we'll drop them off at Loguetown. If not, we'll figure it out later."

Dawn waved his hand, happily deciding to dump the problem on Aokiji, who was already putting on his blindfold to sleep and slack off after seeing the battle end.

Of course, if he got the chance, Dawn wanted to visit the North Sea.

What he knew about the North Sea was limited to the "Island of Karate" and the "Kingdom of Rubini," the homeland of Norland, the hero of the North Sea fairy tale The Lying King Norland.

Another country Dawn knew more about was Flevance, known as the "White Town" in the North Sea.

That was also the homeland of the supernova "Law"—a pitiful country that thought itself happy but was wiped out for profit.

It wasn't just the New World and the Grand Line; the Four Seas also had all kinds of interesting islands.

But compared to the Grand Line and the New World, the Four Seas had normal weather, so the cultural features of island nations were more prominent than the islands' natural wonders.

And experiencing that kind of human culture offered a lot more fun.

After all, places like the Island of Thunder God in the New World only let you admire the stormy scenery from a distance—no special cuisine or exotic ladies to enjoy.

Dawn was very interested in the novelty of this world. Living meant experiencing different wonders, especially in this world.

His past life was all skyscrapers and modern aesthetics, but this world was different—ancient, steampunk, futuristic, primeval forests—all kinds of islands existed.

After stripping the pirate ship of anything useful, Dawn and his crew packed it all up and brought the unlucky captives back to the warship.

The men were roughly grabbed by the scruff of the neck and carried like chickens by Sola and the others onto the warship. Their short heights lugging around full-grown adults looked bizarre no matter how you saw it.

As for the few attractive young women, the little rascals gave them special treatment.

Dawn found it amusing, then walked over to a middle-aged man in a tailcoat who looked like a butler and said, "Let's go too."

Without waiting for the man to nod, Dawn grabbed his arm and brought him onto the warship.

"Thank you for your help. I am Adolf, the royal steward of the Abraham family, rulers of the Ishtar Kingdom in the North Sea. If the opportunity arises, I will repay you."

Hearing this, Dawn raised an eyebrow, thinking this middle-aged steward was probably the highest-status person among the captives.

The others in decent clothes looked like nouveau riche, probably unlucky merchants from some caravan.

Earlier, when observing the group, Dawn had noticed this middle-aged man in the tailcoat. Though his clothes were dirty from being in a cell, he remained calm after being freed, with little emotional fluctuation—like someone who had seen the world.

And his words of thanks were cleverly phrased.

He revealed his identity while hinting that if he got back, there would be ample reward.

The man had likely noticed from Hina and the others' attitude toward Dawn that he was the de facto "leader" of the group.

If Dawn spoke up for him, with his status as a royal steward, the Marines might prioritize sending him back instead of waiting for a ship that might or might not pass by the North Sea.

Of course, as the royal steward, he might not have needed Dawn's help at all—perhaps it was simply a habit in how he dealt with people, especially when facing a prodigy like Dawn. Anyone with sharp eyes would be happy to forge a favorable connection.

But there was no denying that the steward's warm and pleasant demeanor made Dawn feel quite comfortable.

It was just that the surname caught Dawn off guard, since it was the same as his own.

"Hahaha, Dawn, since when did you become part of the royal family? Don't tell me you're a prince?"

Sola, dragging a large, fat man behind her, couldn't help but laugh out loud upon hearing the exchange between Dawn and the steward.

Watching the fat man gasping for breath, Dawn silently mourned for him for a second.

After all, Sola's personality was a bit like a husky's in some ways. Falling into her hands...

Tsk tsk, the experience was bound to be far from pleasant.