Ye Chen waved a hand and rose from the dais. "You all know the government has publicly recognized me as one of the Shichibukai. The government and I stand on the same side. It would never allow something as inhuman as a Slave auction. Oh, two Vice Admirals have just arrived over there. Why not ask them whether the government allows it?"
Spotting Chaton and Momousagi in the crowd, Ye Chen calmly tossed the question their way.
The reporters turned as one and soon surrounded the two of them. "Aren't you Vice Admiral Chaton and Vice Admiral Momousagi? Is Shichibukai Ye Chen right? Does the government permit Slave auctions?"
"Well... that question..."
Chaton inwardly groaned. He had barely spoken before sweat broke out across his forehead. He stole a glance at Ye Chen, whose expression gave nothing away. Inside, Ye Chen was delighted.
No matter whom the reporters asked on the government's side, who would dare tell the truth? Who would dare say the government tacitly allowed Slave auctions?
"Of course not. The government would never permit something as illegal as a Slave auction."
Hemmed in by reporters, Chaton had no choice but to give them a perfunctory answer.
"But the Auction House has operated on Sabaody for a long time. Mr. Ye Chen, are you saying the government knew nothing about it? That's rather hard to believe, isn't it?"
Takahashi clearly had no intention of letting the matter drop. He turned the question back on Ye Chen.
"That's precisely why I called today's Press Conference. The Auction House is utterly depraved and inhuman. I've investigated it thoroughly. The reason it has operated openly on Sabaody for so long is that Disco colluded with the Marines stationed here. They're all despicable. Now that I've come across this, I intend to