Slave Warehouse

North Blue, Nodiss Kingdom.

This was a fairly stable country. Pirates were not prohibited from coming ashore to spend money, so pirate ships could often be seen docked at the harbor.

"It's lively. Too bad the weather's about to change."

At the docks, Van glanced up at the sky before following the crowd into the city.

The auction house Baby-5 had mentioned was a landmark building, so it was easy to ask around about. He quickly found it.

However, rather than making a move directly as he had the previous two times, he entered a nearby alley and took out a Den Den Mushi from his clothes.

"Pururururu..."

The connection went through quickly, and Drake's voice came from the Den Den Mushi. "Big Brother Van!"

Nearly a month had passed since they had parted. Although they had spoken on the phone many times, they never got to say much, so his tone was somewhat excited.

"You can set out now."

Van was about to hang up after saying that, but Drake immediately replied.

"Wait! Big Brother Van, we met a few friends. I plan to bring them with us."

"Friends?" Van frowned. "Can they be trusted?"

"I believe in them!" Drake added, "They got hold of a ship. We can head out to sea ourselves. Not only can we look after each other, but we'll also be less likely to attract attention."

"If that's the case, make the decision yourself." Van reminded him, "Never let down your guard. Be careful on the road."

"Okay! We'll leave tonight!"

Apparently eager to make preparations, Drake directly hung up.

Van did not think much of it. He walked out of the alley and went to a snack stall to gather information.

According to the stall owner and several diners, the auction house held auctions from time to time. At all other times, it operated as a high-end entertainment venue. Poor people could not even get through the door.

It was also easy to tell from their tone that ordinary people only knew it belonged to the kingdom's duke. They did not know it was connected to the Donquixote Family.

"Let's see what secrets are hidden inside."

After night fell, Van used the cover of darkness to spread his Operation Room over the entire area.

Through Scan-like perception, he discovered that the first-floor hall was filled with flirtatious voices and laughter. It truly was an entertainment venue.

The second floor only looked quiet. In reality, many rooms contained men and women indulging themselves wildly, their words and actions too obscene to behold.

The true darkness was hidden underground. There were not only three subterranean levels, but the lowest level also contained a tunnel.

Judging from its direction, it likely led straight to the harbor. The other end was probably some kind of warehouse or similarly inconspicuous building, making it convenient for covering things up.

There were currently very few people on the three underground floors. Compared to the upper levels, they were far too quiet.

It would've been nice if there were a black-market deal today. That way, I could ruin the Donquixote Family's reputation and maximize their losses.

Van regretted it inwardly, then withdrew his Operation Room and turned toward the harbor.

Security here was much tighter than at the two places he had attacked before. A frontal assault would expose him quickly and bring in city security officers, perhaps even the military.

So he planned to cut off their escape route first and kill his way in through the tunnel. That way, even if something went wrong, escaping would be easier.

"Keep your eyes open, damn it! This shipment is extremely important. If anything goes wrong, none of you will get off easy!"

At some point, another ship had arrived at the harbor. A burly, scar-faced man stood on the dock, holding a whip as he supervised the unloading.

Judging from their clothes, appearance, and demeanor, those people did not look like legitimate dockworkers. They looked more like gang members.

"Wait... There's something wrong with the crates. These guys might be working for the auction house."

Van had originally planned to use Operation Room to search for the tunnel entrance, then kill his way in once he confirmed its location.

But under his Observation Haki, he sensed living people inside the crates.

Who would transport people in secret? And in such large numbers?

Without a doubt, the crates held either slaves or "Gundams" waiting to be dismantled. In any case, they were a group of unfortunate people.

"Since I'm already here, I'll save them if I can."

Van waited for more than half an hour before the cargo was finally unloaded.

He followed the porters to the left side of the harbor, watching as both people and cargo entered a warehouse. Finally, the doors slammed shut, concealing all the evil within.

ROOM!

Operation Room rapidly expanded, covering the entire warehouse and exposing a secret passage leading underground.

"So it really is here. That makes the rest easy."

Van suddenly reached forward with his left hand, and the power of space erupted.

In an instant, everyone in the warehouse who could move freely was cut in half. Even the Den Den Mushi was not spared.

"What happened? My waist is broken?"

"What's going on? Why did I become like this?"

"An enemy has invaded! It must be that guy! Hurry and call the auction house for reinforcements!"

"We can't! The Den Den Mushi was cut in half too!"

"Huh? It doesn't seem to hurt..."

Everyone sank into panic and terror, but no matter how they shouted, their voices could not carry outside.

At that moment, Van appeared out of thin air inside the warehouse and casually picked up two submachine guns.

He did not question anyone, nor did he waste time observing his surroundings. He simply kept pulling the triggers.

"Rat-a-tat-tat..."

The sound of bullets leaving the barrels rang out without end. After each burst, a bloom of blood exploded.

Expressionless, Van killed his way from the warehouse doors to the tunnel entrance at the very back, changing guns several times along the way.

In the end, aside from himself and the scar-faced man, only the people inside the crates remained alive.

Shambles!

Van raised his hand to clear the field, transferring all the severed limbs beside the tunnel entrance. The warehouse instantly became several degrees less horrifying.

Then the wooden crates were cut open, revealing iron cages inside. Everyone was tightly bound in shackles.

Now that they had seen daylight again, many still wore numb expressions, though some began looking around at their surroundings.

However, blood covered the floor, and the air was thick with the stench of blood. None of them dared to speak rashly.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

The scar-faced man snapped out of his terror and kept backing away, supporting his upper body with both hands as tears and snot streamed down his face.

"Tell me everything you know, and I can consider sparing your life." Van grinned. "You know what I want to hear, right? Don't test my patience."

"I do, I do... Ever since you attacked the Donquixote Family's strongholds, orders came down telling us to be more vigilant."

"I'm one of the duke's men, responsible for transferring slaves here. Today's shipment was sent by a slave trader."

"The Donquixote Family mainly supplies weapons. I don't know the details of how things operate. I only know that an underground auction will be held in three days."

The scar-faced man paused, then gritted his teeth. "I heard Doflamingo will attend personally, and the duke specially prepared something good to entertain him."

"That's somewhat useful, but I can't be sure whether it's true. So I can't let you go."

Van used a Rankyaku to snap the scar-faced man's neck, then raised his hand again and emptied the magazine.