Hina's Ambush

Sal quickly hid inside the restaurant. Getting tangled up with that woman would be troublesome, even though he had a fairly good impression of her from the original story.

At that moment, Law spotted Sal and greeted him.

"Good morning, Mr. Sal."

Sal nodded back in greeting. They had only met yesterday, when Sal had used a few little secrets of the sea to befriend him.

Compared to the other Supernovas, Law's personality made him easier to deal with.

"Good morning, Captain Law. You still haven't set sail today? This place is very close to Marine Headquarters. Aren't you afraid some bored Admiral might come over to harvest rookies?"

The topic caught Law off guard. An Admiral wandering around the Sabaody Archipelago was rarer than winning the lottery.

"...Mr. Sal, we can't be that unlucky. Besides, our ship's coating isn't finished yet."

"That's not certain."

Sal merely smiled without answering and ordered from the owner. Once Straw Hat arrived, Supernovas like them would be beaten up for nothing.

Fortunately, only Kizaru had arrived in the original story. If it had been Akainu, that Marine who called himself Absolute Justice, at least half of the Supernovas would have suffered. That Marine Admiral had no tolerance for pirates.

Sal ordered from the seventy-year-old owner.

"Certainly, sir. Please wait a moment."

The owner had run a restaurant in the Sabaody Archipelago for decades and had seen plenty of pirates worth over a hundred million.

Those great pirates were generally generous tippers, unless they happened to be notoriously vicious pirates.

Suddenly, the system issued a notification.

[A B-rank character has developed positive feelings toward the host. Low-level friendliness. Experience increased by 20.]

Sal looked at the owner in surprise. He had not expected the restaurant owner to be a B-rank character. Perhaps he was a retired expert.

High-ranking government officials, pirates worth tens of millions, and Marine officers at the rank of major were generally B-rank characters.

Character ranks were divided into D-rank, C-rank, B-rank, A-rank, S-rank, SS-rank, and SSS-rank.

D-rank characters were ordinary people. C-rank characters generally had some reputation or were pirates and Marines with some skill, worth less than ten million.

The system's character rankings took factors such as strength and influence into account. Even an ordinary person who was highly respected in a country could be an A-rank character.

In the several days since his transmigration, the highest-ranked people he had encountered who had developed emotions toward him were only A-rank. The young man before him, Trafalgar Law, had given him one hundred experience after just a brief conversation yesterday.

According to the original story, Law was currently only at the Supernova level, which suited an A-rank character. However, two years later, he would become a Shichibukai, and during the battle on Onigashima, his Devil Fruit would awaken, making him a quasi-Emperor capable of contending with top-tier fighters for a time.

The owner soon returned with the food. As ten half-meter-wide plates were brought over, Sal's eyes gleamed. A man could never disappoint good food.

Even while wolfing it down, he still had time to chat with Law.

"Law, I heard that Whitebeard's second division commander, Fire Fist Ace, was captured by the traitor Blackbeard and handed over to the Marines for a public execution. What do you think?"

The uncertain news startled Law, then his expression turned grave as he replied.

"Mr. Sal, I haven't heard this news. If it is true, the Whitebeard Pirates will inevitably clash with the Marines."

Sal swiftly swept away the food like a gale scattering leaves. Though his physical condition was poor, his stomach's digestion was truly powerful. As expected of Roger. His body felt warm, and he sensed a slight increase in strength.

As for the information he had revealed, the newspapers would probably spread it across the world within the next few days.

He took out some money and handed it to the owner, then continued slowly.

"This will be more than just a clash. Given Whitebeard's personality, an earth-shattering war will definitely break out. By lighting the fuse at this time, the Marines may be trying to eliminate Whitebeard once and for all. After all, the former strongest man in the world has grown old."

"..."

Sal continued calmly.

"As a gift for a new friend, I'll give you some information about Flamingo."

Their gazes met. Law's eyes revealed shock and suspicion; the other man actually knew about his grudge with Doflamingo.

Augustus D. Sal was full of mysteries in Law's eyes. He clearly did not seem powerful on the surface, yet his body appeared to contain a terrifying force.

"I wonder what kind of information Mr. Sal means. If it is useful, I will owe you a great favor."

Sal then told him everything he knew about Doflamingo, leaving Law deeply shocked, since it was all internal information about his enemy.

[An A-rank character has developed positive feelings toward the host. Medium-level friendliness. Experience increased by 200.]

[Level increased to Level 4: 80/200.]

With the level increase, he could clearly feel his physical abilities improving, though he was still some distance from becoming a sergeant.

Building a good relationship with a top doctor was never a mistake. He might need Law's help someday.

Sal became more cautious after leaving the restaurant and slowly headed toward the chaotic Areas 1 through 29. He had not expected that madwoman Hina to mobilize the Marine garrison.

There were fewer people in Areas 1 through 29. Those here either traveled in groups, had strength, or were nobles accompanied by bodyguards.

If any unlucky fool truly got lost here, they would soon encounter slave traders or pirates.

Just like now, with his Observation Haki spread out, Sal had already noticed a group of slave traders targeting him. In the eyes of those scum, a lone Sal was excellent prey.

"Bang..."

A fishing net shot from the slave trader leader's gun and smoothly covered the prey.

Sal watched everything expressionlessly from within the net, pretending to struggle a few times. He could have avoided it with Observation Haki, but for convenience, he decided to wait for them to come out themselves.

Otherwise, if they tried to run, his Level 4 physical abilities would not be enough to catch every experience package.

A group of vicious-looking slave traders emerged. Their prey's surrender without resistance made them burst into arrogant laughter.

"Ha ha, another idiot. Such a weakling actually dared come here."

"Boss, this guy may be weak, but he looks pretty good. He should sell for a decent price, right?"

"That's right. He should fetch five hundred thousand Beli. Ordinary human male slaves aren't worth much. Let's call it a good start to the day."

"..."

Sal suppressed his displeasure. A premium specimen like him was worth only five hundred thousand Beli? That was going too far.

When the lackeys came over to carry him away, a surging burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted, sweeping across the area and instantly knocking the slave traders unconscious. They fell to the ground one after another, senseless.

Only the leader, who pointed at Sal, and two others held on for two seconds before foaming at the mouth and collapsing.

"You..."

[A C-rank character has developed negative feelings toward you. High-level fear. Experience increased by 12 x 3.]

Aside from the three C-rank characters, all the slave traders had been instantly knocked out. They had not even had time to develop emotions? That was a bit wasteful.

With a cold expression, Sal took out a small knife and cut open the fishing net, then slit the throats of the slave traders one by one. Looking at their corpses, he felt not the slightest ripple in his heart.

Perhaps it was Roger's soul influencing him. Though it was his first time killing someone, he had already grown accustomed to it.

Whether in his previous life or in Roger's memories, slave traders were scum that could not be tolerated.

[Greatly altered the fate of a C-rank character. Reward: 12 points x 3.]

[Greatly altered the fate of a D-rank character. Reward: 3 points x 9.]

The morning passed, and he carried out the same bait-and-kill plan several more times, causing some sharp-nosed slave traders to notice that something was wrong.

Sal also leveled up as he had hoped.

[Level 11: 13/550]

As Sal was cleaning up the scene, his Observation Haki suddenly detected someone approaching. In the distance appeared a pink-haired beauty, Hina glaring at him with furrowed brows.

The Marines had already surrounded him. Sal immediately ran toward the only gap and roared viciously.

"Damn crazy woman who won't leave me alone! Don't let me catch you, or I'll put you through eighteen positions in bed."