Like the auction house Donquixote Doflamingo would run in later years, this one dealt mainly in slaves.
The nobles of this world, small and great alike, love slaves. They flaunt them to compete in vanity.
So Sabaody, the Celestial Dragons' back garden, is where slavers are most numerous. There are even more slaver syndicates than bounty hunter groups. When bounty hunters can't make a living, they poach the slavers' trade.
As a result, pretty girls don't dare step into the lawless Grove 1 zone. Otherwise they might be snatched at any moment by hidden slavers or bounty hunters and sold here or elsewhere.
Because of the Celestial Dragons, the Marines can only look the other way at such crimes.
With only a few days left before the quarterly auction, most lots had already been delivered. Slaves about to cross the block were even being fed well, lest they grow gaunt and fetch a low price.
The house truly seemed to have Celestial Dragon backing. Though it held a number of capable fighters as merchandise, not a single capable guard stood watch.
Kahn's unique perception found the Boa sisters locked in a cage. His red eyes narrowed.
A soundless shockwave burst from him.
In an instant it passed through every barrier and covered the entire building. Everyone inside felt an invisible breeze brush over them.
Then, except for the Boa sisters, all others—strong or weak—rolled their eyes white and dropped to the floor unconscious.
"Sis… sister…" Boa Sandersonia, who had been clinging to her siblings, jolted awake. Her voice trembled at the strange yet familiar scene.
"It can't be wrong." Hancock's eyes shone. "Conqueror's Haki like the Empress."
A kick thudded against a door.
A cloaked figure with uncovered blue hair and face stepped in from outside.
"Not here?"
Kahn strode in openly and looked around, deliberately ignoring the excited sisters. As if finding nothing, he let regret show on his face and turned to leave.
"Please, sir, don't go. Save us!"
He halted, the corner of his mouth lifting. A right hand secured.
He hadn't rushed up to the sisters because he wanted them to speak first. If he acted like he had come specifically to rescue them from a lesson, gratitude would be laced with caution. If they asked for help of their own will, it would be different. Extending a hand now would win loyalty for life.
They had seen enough darkness to know that, once sold, they would become the lowest of slaves. Faced with becoming livestock, even without discussing it, they knew what to choose.
"Oh?"
Kahn turned back, feigning surprise. "Someone stayed conscious?"
He walked to the cage and put on a show of amazement. "So young, yet you withstood my Conqueror's Haki. Who are you?"
"Sir, we are from Amazon Lily, of the Kuja Pirates." Seeing hope, Hancock hid nothing, for all her naiveté, and begged. "Please save us. I will repay you."
"From the Kuja? Is that so?"
Kahn looked them over with studied doubt. "As I understand it, Kuja crew are all Haki users, and each captain is the monarch of Amazon Lily, a master of all three colors. You're this young and already wield Haki? You, who have Haki, were caught by slavers?"
Hearing how well he knew Amazon Lily and the Kuja, Hancock's hope grew. "Only I among the three of us can use Haki. We're trainees left aboard the ship. On our first voyage I was curious about the outside world and was tricked ashore, drugged, caged, and sold."
"I see."
Arms folding, Kahn named his terms. "I can save you, but there is a price. Will you pay it?"
"Yes. Anything. Whatever you ask."
Time in chains had worn down the pride and edge of Kuja warriors. Collars at their throats made them too afraid to resist or flee. With rescue within reach, she would grasp it no matter the cost.
"Don't be hasty enough to die."
He lifted a hand to calm her. "I came because rumor said I could recruit a certain someone here. That rumor seems false."
He held up three fingers. "I can get you out, but the price is thirty years of service. You're too young to help me now. Saving you means I'll spend a great deal of money and time to train you, so I want your best years, your peak. After thirty years you will be free. If you wish to return to Amazon Lily then, I will send you back."
"Will you accept that price?"
Hancock fell silent. Her sisters, who could barely meet a stranger's eyes after all they had suffered, clung wordlessly to her arms. What she said next would decide their fate.