Garp's surprise

Only when they came to a stop outside an imposing gate...

...did Kuta snap out of the cheerful laughter around him.

He sensed a darkness distinct from the brightness of the distant streets.

Looking at the sign above the gate that read "Employment Referral Office," Kuta's lips curled into a sneer.

"Employment Referral Office?"

"What a fine, respectable excuse!"

"How ridiculous, using an excuse like that for human trafficking and slave auctions."

A red gleam flashed in his eyes, and Kuta's Observation Haki swept through the entire Auction House in an instant.

"Mm! He's inside, just as I thought."

Kuta nodded and took the lead, bringing his companions up the steps toward the grand-looking entrance, despite how few pedestrians there were on the street outside.

Behind the Auction House.

Iron cages filled a dimly lit room.

A closer look revealed figures sitting or lying in every cage.

They all had one thing in common: they seemed to have lost their souls, their entire beings almost blending into the darkness around them.

They filled the room with an air of decay and despair.

No one made a sound. Having been captured and brought here, they all knew their fate.

There was, however, one exception.

It was the cage at the very back.

An old man lay inside it, his disheveled hair obscuring his features.

He was the only person here without even a trace of despair...

...about him.

The old man reeked of alcohol. As though this were his home rather than a Slave Auction House, he snored loudly, the thunderous sound particularly grating in the dim room.

But everyone here was numb to life and steeped in despair. Naturally, no one disturbed his sleep.

Just then, the snoring abruptly stopped, as though something had jammed.

As if sensing something,