The Slave King's tragic fate had only just begun. The routes of his other two slave-transport teams had already been completely exposed before Vane.
Vane conducted a mind-reading interrogation on the Captain of this slave ship. Everything he knew was extracted by Vane, including the information about the other two ships.
Unfortunately, the Slave King's own whereabouts were erratic. Even as loyal subordinates, they only knew a few locations where he was most likely to appear. Their contact with him had always been strictly one-way.
Things like transaction locations were all arranged by the Slave King. They only needed to follow orders.
"The other two ships, according to the Slave King's plan, should pass by these two islands within the next three days. Tiger, you and Jinbe will each lead a team and wait near these islands."
Those two islands were only a day's sail away from the Sabaody Archipelago—extremely close.
But that distance was close enough for Dragonite to arrive in time and launch an attack.
...
Sleeping Island. Dragonite quietly returned to the island. Aside from the core cadres, no one else knew that Vane had made a round trip between the New World and Paradise in such a short time.
The additional slaves had been locked in the ship's hold for so long, living in a dazed haze of darkness, that they had no idea where they had been taken from or to. Even if they realized they were in the New World, they would assume they had been transported there long ago.
And then rescued in the New World.
"Everyone who has family or friends, form a group and come register here."
"Women on your own, please come over here."
"Men on your own, over here."
"Children who don't recognize anyone around them, please stay where you are."
"This is Sleeping Island, the territory of the great Vane-sama. Vane-sama is dedicated to fighting against the evil slave trade. Now that you're here, you are safe."
"You no longer need to worry about becoming slaves…"
Some people were registering the information of the newly rescued slaves. Others were publicizing Vane's glorious achievements in opposing the slave trade—mainly the part about snatching people from Mary Geoise.
Though repeatedly talking about it seemed a bit ostentatious, no matter how many times one heard about that act, it was truly one of a kind.
In any case, every time Vane's name was brought up, the effect on the newly rescued slaves was excellent. It earned their trust almost instantly.
Adults had their own judgment and were easier to handle. They could take care of themselves.
Children, however, were much more troublesome. Among this batch of slaves, there were more than fifty children under the age of twelve. They required extra care.
Martha was urgently reassigned here. She and the members of her Medical Department had far more patience with children.
"Don't be afraid. You're safe now."
"Mom… I want my mom."
"I want to go home."
These children had not yet been sent to that hellish abyss of Mary Geoise. If they had stayed there for any length of time and survived, they would have turned into walking corpses—terrified of death, working endlessly, not daring to shed tears no matter how afraid they were.
In the original story, the burning of Mary Geoise and its cruelty were shown only through silhouettes. People knew it was cruel, but just how cruel was never directly depicted.
It wasn't until the character Koala appeared. Despite being deeply afraid of Fish-Man who were of a different race from her, she still boarded their ship just to return home.
On Tiger's ship, Koala—who had been conditioned in Mary Geoise—clutched a dirty rag and scrubbed the deck over and over, terrified that she would be killed for being useless.
That chapter had drawn plenty of tears from Vane. Whether it was pity for Koala or being moved by Tiger's actions, the tears had flowed freely.
"It's alright, it's alright. You're safe now. Anyone who wants to go home will definitely be able to return."
There were quite a few children on the island now. For those who truly remembered where their homes were and wanted to return, arrangements could gradually be made to send them back.
They were the invincible, righteous Rocket Team. They would accomplish what the Marines could not.
"What's your name? Do you remember where your home is?"
The little girl with orange hair, streaked with patches of dirty black soot, spoke timidly.
"M-my name is Koala… My home is… on Foolshout Island…"
Martha, just as she had with the other children, wrote down Koala's information on the registration sheet and handed her over to a companion.
After everyone's information was recorded, the next steps were bathing, new clothes, and food—a full one-stop arrangement.
...
"Captain, these are the children who were able to register that they remember where their homes are. Eleven of them want to return to their parents."
Even if some remembered where their homes were, it didn't mean they wanted to go back. Many children had been targeted by traffickers precisely because they were homeless.
Some had even been sold by heartless relatives and had even less desire to return.
The proportion of children who had been kidnapped while living with their parents was actually small.
"Let me see."
Just eleven children. Once their home locations were confirmed, he could drop them off when riding Dragonite on missions that passed by. There was no need for him to calculate every move over a few children.
"Foger…"
"Kote… Ice Pupil…"
"Koala?"
Vane paused at a somewhat familiar name—Koala.
The one who had originally been rescued by Tiger, and the one whose existence had indirectly led to Tiger's death.
The future high ranking officer of the Revolutionary Army. A practitioner of Fish-Man Karate. A fairly high-end talent.
"I didn't expect her to be here."
Tiger's death had been indirectly tied to Koala. But it wasn't her fault. It was the narrow-minded people of Foolshout Island who had betrayed Tiger's whereabouts, causing him to fall alone into a Marine encirclement.
A man who had lived his life with righteousness had been betrayed by humans. Refusing a human blood transfusion, Tiger succumbed to his injuries, becoming one of the greatest rifts between Fish-Man and humans.
Arlong, who had not yet sunk into darkness while aboard Tiger's ship, completed his descent into hatred after Tiger's death, eventually running to the East Blue to terrorize Nami's village.
Of course, now Arlong was under Hakuza's supervision and behaving quite honestly. Vane would not judge him for things he had done in the original timeline but had not done here. At most, he would keep a closer watch to prevent him from straying down the wrong path.
"This child is only six years old."
"Stabilize them first. If we pass by their islands during missions, we can send them home."
Even knowing that Koala would achieve considerable things in the future, Vane only saw her as an ordinary little girl for now. There was no need to forcibly keep her.
She would join the Revolutionary Army in the future. When she grew older, then he could consider trying to win her over.