Ouroboros

West Blue, Kingdom of Troy.

Troy was a "non-World Government-affiliated nation," a place frequently raided by pirates and haunted by slave traders.

But the residents here were skilled at finding joy amid suffering, turning Troy into a kingdom where melodies flowed.

"Yo, you, from a musical family!"

In the central square, John stepped out from the crowd of onlookers, raised his hand, and tossed a 1 Beli coin into the violin case on the ground.

At the sight of this, the violinist playing a soothing melody twitched at the corner of his mouth, nearly unable to stop playing and fight that bastard.

This was simply too much!

"Buru buru—"

Ignoring the violinist barely suppressing his rage, John pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his clothes and pushed through the crowd.

As usual, he covered the Den Den Mushi's eyes before picking up the receiver.

"I'm here. Come to the harbor warehouse for the trade."

A rough voice came from the Den Den Mushi, faintly mixed with the cries of children.

John's brow furrowed slightly. He spread his Mantra and followed the radio waves, sure enough hearing voices other than those of the slave traders in the harbor warehouse.

There were three children!

"You're a dog that can't stop eating shit. Even during a trade, you're thinking about making an extra profit."

John cursed whenever he saw something he disliked, never holding back.

The slave trader's face flushed with rage. Ever since the newspaper report came out, he had been urging them to trade, only to be told he had to wait in line.

One step behind meant every step behind. Not only had someone else beaten him to the opportunity, but he was also being cursed like a grandson. How could he endure that?

He immediately gritted his teeth and cursed back.

"Shut up! What right does a damned pirate like you have to criticize me?!"

"You still dare talk back? I'm coming to find you right now!"

"Come, then! I'll be waiting!"

"..."

After hanging up, John returned to the inn with a dark expression. He sat down on a chair in his room and closed his eyes.

Half a month had passed since his first transaction in the Lulusia Kingdom, and he had earned six billion Beli selling "fingernails."

His buyers included, but were not limited to, bounty hunter guilds, Underworld contacts, Cipher Pol agents, pirates...

Even the Big Mom Pirates and the Flying Pirates had approached him through Underworld contacts.

Following his principle of not cheating old friends, John rejected Shiki's and Linlin's trade requests, infuriating the two of them.

They had already put out bounties on him...

To keep buyers from different sides from running into one another, John had gone to great lengths. He changed locations after every transaction and had traveled through six countries in succession.

Now, this was the final deal, a transaction with slave traders.

"Talk back? Let's see how I'll deal with you!"

As purple arcs of electricity spread over John's body, a figure rose from beneath the bridge connecting the harbor.

It was a woman in a black suit wearing a featureless mask. She swam ashore, generating heat within her body to dry her soaked clothes.

Then, beneath the astonished gazes of the people at the harbor, she shredded the billowing steam and strode away.

Warehouse No. 3

The oppressive space was filled with the stench of rotten fish. Several beams of light fell through high windows beside rows of iron cages, reflecting the thin, crying figures inside from the floor.

"Shut up! Keep crying, and I'll tear out your tongues!"

The blond middle-aged man raised his leg and kicked an iron cage. The loud clang made the child inside hurriedly cover his mouth.

The children in the other cages also trembled in fright. They no longer dared to wail loudly and could only sob quietly under the instinctive grip of fear.

Only then did the blond middle-aged man snort in slight satisfaction, feeling some of the anger he had suffered at the hands of the "information broker" dissipate.

His name was Scott Parker, the West Blue overseer of the Ouroboros slave-catching group.

Unlike those freelance slave traders who captured anything—fish-men, ability users, pirates—Ouroboros had high-ranking World Government officials backing it. Its targets were only children aged seven and under.

By normal slave market prices, human males used as laborers generally sold for around five hundred thousand Beli.

Depending on factors such as ability and appearance, the price could rise or fall by one to two hundred thousand Beli.

But the minimum price that the World Government official backing Ouroboros had received from the "World Nobles," the Celestial Dragons, for children under seven was—one million Beli!

If they were exceptionally attractive or talented, the price would climb even higher. They would take as many as were available, with no limit on quantity!

Even after deducting the official's thirty-percent commission from each transaction, the final price far exceeded that of adult humans.

Most importantly, these little brats were far easier to catch than adults. A single lollipop laced with sleeping drugs was enough to trick them.

It was practically pure profit!

"Parker, don't frighten the children."

A gentle-looking woman with long black hair spoke up. She shot Parker a reproachful glare, walked to the cages, opened a small window, and reached her hand inside.

As her hand touched the face of a sobbing child, a faint glow emerged. The child's sadness and fear quickly calmed, and the child stopped crying.

Soon, the child leaned against the cage and fell asleep, breathing steadily as though back in his mother's embrace.

The black-haired woman repeated the process with the other children, coaxing them all to sleep.

"What the Celestial Dragons want are emotionally normal children. That way, when they abuse them, they can stimulate more 'youth hormones.'"

"Misa, does this 'youth hormone' really exist? Can it restore vitality to someone on the verge of death? Don't joke around! It's just the Celestial Dragons' perverse taste for abuse!"

Parker curled his lip disdainfully, scoffing at the black-haired woman's words.

Although that "official" claimed that children were so valuable because youth hormones could be extracted from them, Parker did not believe a single word of it.

Eternal youth? Immortality?

Just the delusions of those in power!

"Whether 'youth hormones' really exist or not, remember that this is why we can make money!"

Misa's gentle face suddenly darkened, and the look she gave Parker was full of warning.

Parker was dissatisfied, but considering her status within the group, he remained silent and did not argue.

Misa was a Paramecia Emotion-Emotion Fruit user, highly favored by high-ranking World Government officials and Celestial Dragons.

Perhaps these rulers had lived lives that were too smooth, yet did not dare to truly risk their lives at sea in search of thrills. So they relied on the Emotion-Emotion Fruit's power to experience all kinds of different sensations.

As far as Parker knew, a Celestial Dragon named Saint Somaz enjoyed plunging himself into sorrow, then sobbing as he tortured slaves to death.

It allowed him to reach the peak of pleasure quickly. Completely twisted!

"When the 'information broker' gets here, remember to leave him alive. Big Mom and Golden Lion have put out a one-billion-Beli bounty through the Underworld!"

Misa no longer dwelled on Parker's attitude toward the merchandise and instead discussed their next course of action.