Saya and Iris handled the slave-hunter crew with ease. As for the rescued slaves, Ren didn't have any particular plans for them. After dropping them off on a nearby island, he left.
He had saved these people, but he was no living bodhisattva. He couldn't be bothered to worry about what happened next.
Some of the slaves had been pirate captains from Paradise, but their bounties weren't high. At that level, they didn't even qualify to join Inazuma in the New World. Let alone now.
After that, Ren headed straight for the Sabaody Archipelago.
Two days later, Ren arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.
"If I remember correctly, the Lawless Zone should be on islands 1 through 29, right?" Saya said.
It had been a long time since her last visit to the Sabaody Archipelago, and back then she had mainly spent her time in areas 30 through 49. She wasn't very familiar with the other areas.
"The auction houses are mostly concentrated in Area 1," Ren said. The Lawless Zone was large, but many of the other areas weren't truly "ownerless" — they were controlled by dark forces.
"The Marine base is right on the other side of the island, yet they just turn a blind eye to all this crime?" Ayame said with a frown.
Something like this was simply unimaginable within Inazuma.
The people of the Tenshoku Bureau had zero tolerance for crime — some might even say it was excessively strict. But Ren didn't think that was wrong in any way.
If you made a mistake, you should be punished. That was only natural.
"The Marines don't dare to reach this far," Ren sneered. "Rather than calling areas 1 through 29 a lawless land, it's more accurate to say this is the Celestial Dragons' playground. These dark industries have the Celestial Dragons' backing!"
That was the tragedy of the Marines. They were the embodiment of justice, yet they couldn't carry out justice completely.
Justice that wasn't complete wasn't justice at all!
"Think about it — wasn't the old Wano Country like this too? Kozuki Oden forcibly taking civilian women and it being called a beautiful love story? Ridiculous," Saya said with disdain.
The conversation didn't last long. These days, very few people in Inazuma were still willing to bring up the old name "Wano Country."
"Do you all want to go somewhere else first? I'm planning to visit someone who's… loosely an old friend," Ren said after a moment's thought.
With Ayame and the others's strength, there was no need to worry about safety in a place like the Sabaody Archipelago. Even if they truly ran into trouble they couldn't handle, Saya could at least stall for a few seconds and cause a commotion.
That would be enough time for Ren to get there.
"In that case, Iris, let's go to the amusement park!" Saya said immediately. "Ayame-nee, come with us too!"
"I'll pass…" Ayame hurriedly declined.
She had never been the type who enjoyed frolicking. Even if she went, she wouldn't be able to get into it.
"Don't refuse so quickly! Going to an amusement park with your daughter isn't something that happens often," Saya pressed.
Her silver tongue was relentless, and Ayame couldn't withstand the persistent coaxing. In the end, she agreed.
Seeing that, Ren took a pot of sake and headed toward a certain bar.
Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
This place had practically become a must-visit checkpoint in every pirate fanfiction. It was as if coming to the Sabaody Archipelago without stopping by the Rip-off Bar meant you hadn't really come at all.
But in reality, when Ren first transmigrated, this bar hadn't even opened yet.
"Creak—"
He pushed open the wooden door. The first thing that met his eyes was a short-haired woman wearing a jacket.
The woman looked up when she heard a customer had arrived. Seeing that Ren was carrying a pot of sake, she said, "Bringing your own alcohol to a bar — that's not a good habit. I'll treat you as a rude customer and throw you out."
It seemed Shakky hadn't recognized Ren's identity just yet.
She probably never imagined that the famous Raiden Shogun would visit her little bar. Or perhaps it was because Ren's current appearance didn't perfectly match the wanted poster.
"I'm here to visit an old friend. His name is Silvers Rayleigh. Is he not in?" Ren didn't bother with pleasantries and sat right down at the counter.
Only then did Shakky find the person before her somewhat familiar.
Setting aside the eye color and hair color, she seemed to match a certain important figure.
"May I ask — are you perhaps that Raiden Shogun's twin brother?" Shakky asked, blinking.
She was quite bold, showing no fear at all upon seeing Ren.
"No, I am the Raiden Shogun myself."
"Really? You look a bit different from the wanted poster," Shakky said in surprise, but didn't think too much of it, assuming Ren had disguised himself.
"If the Marines and the World Government knew that the famous Raiden Shogun had appeared at the Sabaody Archipelago, they'd probably be dispatching a massive force right now," Shakky said.
What Shakky said wasn't wrong at all. After all, the Sabaody Archipelago was right near the Red Line, and the Celestial Dragons frequently appeared here!
Leaving aside whether Ren had any intention of dealing with those parasites, those fools themselves were likely to provoke Ren. And Shakky certainly didn't believe the Raiden Shogun would tolerate the so-called Celestial Dragons.
Anyone who had become a sea power wouldn't give a damn about that bunch.
The Celestial Dragons might have strong fighters among them, but at least those parasites themselves were nothing to fear. They merely had the Marines' combat power backing them up.
If the Celestial Dragons truly clashed with Inazuma, the Marines and the World Government would have a very hard time cleaning up the mess.
For some reason, Shakky suddenly found herself quite looking forward to seeing such a scene.
"Is Rayleigh not here?" Ren asked.
'I should have gone straight to the auction house,' he thought to himself.
Basically, every time a protagonist came here, that old man Rayleigh was never around. And without exception, he was definitely at the auction house selling himself.
Ren was very familiar with this pattern.
But contrary to Ren's expectations, this time he guessed wrong.
"That guy went to coat someone else's ship. You know how hard it is to get to Fish-Man Island these days. Without a good coating craftsman, you could easily end up at the bottom of the sea," Shakky explained.
"Looks like his coating skills are pretty good."
"Don't joke. He only started learning the trade not long ago. From last year until now, who knows how many pirates he's already drowned," Shakky took a drag of her cigarette and replied slowly.
"Anyway, since you're Rayleigh's friend, have a seat here for a while. It's not like I have the ability to kick you out."
[
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