"Phew... at least we're finally leaving!!"
"Little ones..."
The gang leader breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the young man finally drive towards the auction venue they had indicated. He thought to himself, then turned to his men and shouted.
"Yes... Boss, is there anything else you need...?"
Upon hearing their leader's shout, the henchmen stood up, drew their weapons, and grinned menacingly as they asked him.
"Let's head back home..."
"Ah!!"
They had thought their boss would take them to make some extra money, but this was the unexpected outcome. Everyone was greatly disappointed and looked at him with some dejection.
"What? Didn't you see what happened to me before? You want to get another beating, huh? Well then, I'm not going to bother with you anymore."
The gang leader, seeing that his men seemed to want to rob others again, remembered what the young man had said. He shuddered and then turned and left without hesitation.
"Ah... Boss... wait for us! We were just joking, don't abandon us!!"
Seeing that their leader didn't support their ideas at all, the group of soldiers hurriedly got up and followed, putting all their previous thoughts behind them.
"Hmph, you know you're wrong, then come here. Boss, I'm going to Pleasure District to find Julie and soothe my wounded heart..."
The gang leader and his men walked further and further away, their shadows stretching long in the setting sun.
"Hey, Luo Chen, wait a minute..."
Meanwhile, Catherine, who was also heading to the auction venue in the town center, called out to Luo Chen, who was walking ahead of her, telling him to stop and turn around to look at her.
"What's wrong? Is there another problem?"
"Hmm, I want to ask you, do you really believe what those guys just said about going to tonight's auction? You know, it might be a conspiracy, perhaps a trick Carlos is using to lure out someone with ulterior motives."
Catherine walked up to him, looked directly into Luo Chen's eyes, and asked a question.
"Of course, how could we miss such a wonderful event?"
"But..."
"Stop talking, Catherine. I know what you're worried about, but you must remember our place..."
"I know we're pirates, but..."
"Now that you know we're pirates, what are you still thinking about? You should know that true pirates are fearless in the face of any challenge. Even if they know it's a conspiracy, they're still fearless. That's the true meaning of being a pirate. You're just overthinking things, which is why your strength is progressing so slowly."
Like your brother Hogg, knowing it was a dead end, he still walked fearlessly towards Enel for the sake of justice, challenging his divine authority with his indomitable courage. Although he was ultimately defeated, his courage is commendable. Do you understand now?
Luo Chen stepped forward, placed his hands on her shoulders, and looked directly at Catherine with a sincere gaze that seemed to see into her soul, and said.
"I... I understand!!"
Feeling a little shy under Luo Chen's gaze, Catherine looked away as she answered.
"In that case, let's move on. I have a feeling something good might happen at today's auction, and perhaps even some new companions will join us."
Thinking about it this way, I'm getting a little excited. I can't wait to get to that auction. Hurry up, Catherine... I can't wait for you...
As Luo Chen spoke, he continued walking straight ahead without stopping.
"Oh... ah... I'm coming right now, wait for me!!"
Luo Chen's words startled Catherine from her daze, bringing her back to her senses, and she chased after him.
"... That's how things are. Should we continue with the mission the young master assigned us?"
Meanwhile, in a bustling bar, Monet meets with Gladius, and she tells him in detail about some information she discovered from Carlos Gladius.
"Is that so? I never imagined that Carlos, the king who was always called a waste by the dark world, would possess such strength, and even be a power user. This truly surprises me!!"
However, even so, we must continue to carry out the mission assigned by the young master, but we can change the method slightly. I will discuss the specifics with you later. For now, you should continue to stay close to him and keep a close watch on his every move.
Gladius was not as impulsive as his abilities suggested; on the contrary, he was a very composed person. That's why Doflamingo was able to entrust the entire matter to him. After listening to Monet's account, he tapped the table lightly with his fingers a few times, thought for a while, and then spoke.
"Okay, I understand. Is there anything else you need? If not, I'll head back now..."
Monet seemed to agree with him, nodded, and said...
Glug!!
Glug!!
"That's all, waiter, check please..."
Gladius picked up his glass and downed it in one gulp, then stood up and asked the waiter to come and pay the bill.
"By the way, Monet, you should be careful too, don't let him find out... Let's say goodbye here!"
He walked past Monet, who was still sitting in his chair, gave him a brief reminder, and then headed straight outside.
"..."
Monet glanced at his retreating figure, and after he had completely disappeared from her sight, a slight smile appeared on her lips. Then, her body transformed into a Snowflake and vanished from the spot.
Meanwhile, inside a hotel, Koala was talking on the phone with a microphone.
"What?! I understand. I'll talk to Sabo about this. Is there anything else you'd like to say?"
Koala suddenly seemed to have heard some shocking news, causing her tone to rise as she confirmed it again.
"Okay, that's all. I'll hang up now!"
Click...
"Call..."
After hanging up the phone, Koala took a deep breath, then walked up to Sabo and looked at him hesitantly.
"What's wrong? Judging from the way you looked just now, something serious must have happened, right?!"
Sabo had naturally overheard her phone call and, seeing her expression, took the initiative to ask her a question.
"Yes, a message just came from headquarters, saying..."
Koala paused halfway through her sentence, gritting her teeth, unsure whether to tell Sabo the truth.
"What did you say? Koala, don't stop halfway through your sentence, tell me quickly, what's the news from headquarters?"
Seeing that she seemed unwilling to continue, Sabo hurriedly pressed her for more information.
"Headquarters said that our contact, Les, has been Sacrifice and they can't provide us with the necessary assistance on Supomachi Island. They told us to decide for ourselves, and whether or not to avenge him is up to us, but they still don't want things to escalate."
"Hey, Sabo, Sabo, are you even listening to what I'm saying?"
Koala finally couldn't help but tell him about it. After she finished speaking, she stared intently into Sabo's eyes because she knew that Sabo was easily swayed by his emotions, and she was afraid that he might act impulsively in a moment of passion.
Seeing that Sabo didn't react and just seemed to be in a daze, they couldn't help but call out.
" Koala... you just said Les has Sacrifice himself? What happened? How could something like this happen to him? Tell me the details."
After hearing about the Sacrifice of his friend Les, Sabo fell into a daze and didn't hear anything else she said afterward.
After being woken up by Koala, he immediately grabbed Koala's shoulders, shook her vigorously, and asked her questions.