Bang!!
The Slave King hurled the Den Den Mushi viciously across the room.
The poor Den Den Mushi rolled several times on the ground, its eyes spinning before shrinking back into its shell.
"Why! Why! Damn Nation-Slayer Vane!"
His three slave transport ships had all disappeared one after another—vanished without a trace, no bodies, no survivors. And then, just over a week after the last ship went missing—
Sleeping Island announced that they had rescued more than fifteen hundred slaves from the Slave King… Vane had deliberately played with the timing. In truth, those slaves had been sent back to Sleeping Island that very same day, but he intentionally waited more than a week before informing Morgans.
At this point, how could the Slave King not understand? This was all Vane's doing. The numbers matched perfectly, and Vane had even named him outright.
Just like certain terrorist organizations claiming responsibility for an attack… No, that wasn't right. The Slave King was the terrorist organization. What Rocket Team had done was something even the Marines couldn't accomplish.
For example, on the back page of this special edition were dozens of portraits of children abducted by human traffickers from their parents, each accompanied by their names and their home islands.
Several Sleeping Island Den Den Mushi numbers were also listed, so that parents who saw the newspaper could call Sleeping Island and get in touch with their children.
"I already ran from the New World to the first half of the Grand Line—why won't you just leave me alone?!"
"And those damn Marines and the World Government too! Why are they still allowing this pirate to keep ruining my 'legitimate' business?!"
This shipment hadn't been signed for by the Celestial Dragons, nor had any advance payment been made. The losses would have to be borne entirely by him.
This time, not only had he lost three ships, his men, and a huge sum of Belly, but a clear message had also been sent—doing business in the future was going to become extremely difficult for the Slave King.
In the first half of the Grand Line—the Paradise—and the Four Seas, he could still operate in secret. But in the second half—the New World—he could forget about it entirely.
Vane had already reached an agreement with the Shipping King. From now on, all information related to the Slave King would be disclosed to him. The Shipping King himself despised the Slave King, and the favor of a great pirate was far more useful than that of a mere slave trader.
Especially since, recently, Sleeping Island had begun receiving weapon orders from parties other than the Big Mom Pirates. The delivery of those shipments was basically all handled by the Shipping King.
The Shipping King had been one of Vane's earliest clients. He knew that Vane's weapons were of exceptional quality—even by Marine standards—and would sell extremely well among pirate crews and certain backward kingdoms.
On that point alone, Vane's scale would inevitably surpass the Slave King's in the future. So the Slave King was abandoned without hesitation.
With everything going wrong, the Slave King could only vent his anger by smashing Den Den Mushi. As for heading to the New World to demand an explanation—that was impossible. He truly couldn't defeat Sleeping Island.
...
West Blue, a certain island.
A little boy, drenched in sweat, ran into a house clutching a newspaper.
"Aunt Keiko! Uncle Aibu! I found news about Little Sakura!"
The couple's daughter had gone missing a month ago. Witnesses had seen human traffickers operating on their island, but by the time they discovered it, it was already too late. A little girl from the island had been kidnapped—the couple's daughter, Little Sakura.
At first they reported it to the Marines. The Marines did investigate, but they found nothing… The Slave King had connections within the Marines as well. Arlong had colluded with a Marine officer to rule over Nami's village for years—so what of the Slave King? Through his connections, he could evade Marine searches.
The mother wandered around like a living corpse every day, completely absent. The father was growing more despondent with each passing day.
"Little Sakura—there's news about Sakura! Where? Where is she?!"
Hearing her daughter's name, the woman—who had been half-lying on the bed—rolled off and fell to the floor before scrambling back to her feet.
The man's eyes were also filled with hope. So much time had passed. Even the Marines hadn't found anything—what news could a child possibly have? But still, he had to cling to a sliver of hope.
"It says in the newspaper that Little Sakura is on Sleeping Island in the New World. She and some other children were rescued from slave traders by Captain Vane!"
The newspaper was proof. There was even a photo—his daughter, Little Sakura. The boy wasn't making it up.
"Waaah—my daughter… How did you get taken so far away? You must have suffered so much."
"Aunt Keiko, there's a Sleeping Island Den Den Mushi number in the paper! You can contact Captain Vane and the others. If you call, you'll be able to talk to Little Sakura!"
That's right.
The island wasn't wealthy. Only the village chief had a Den Den Mushi. The couple grabbed the newspaper and rushed to borrow it.
The village chief stared at the newspaper in shock.
"There's news about Little Sakura?"
The little boy who had followed them quickly spoke up first.
"It was Captain Vane who saved her! Captain Vane is a great pirate who came out of our West Blue—he's the pride of our sea!"
These days, some people admired the Marines, while others admired pirates. The boy clearly belonged to the latter.
"Don't go calling pirates something to be proud of, you brat."
"I won't listen! When I grow up, I'm joining the Rocket Team Pirates! I'll fight alongside Captain Vane and wipe out those damn human traffickers!"
The boy genuinely wanted to eliminate human traffickers, and for that the village chief wholeheartedly approved. It was just that the boy wanted to become a pirate instead of joining the Marines—that gave him a headache.
In the public's eyes, pirates were the embodiment of evil.
Meanwhile, Little Sakura's parents finally managed to contact Sleeping Island. The people there told them to stay by the Den Den Mushi—they would bring Little Sakura over and call back shortly.
Only three minutes later, the Den Den Mushi at the village chief's house rang again. At last, the parents heard their daughter's voice. Both sides broke down in tears.
"We will begin arrangements to send the children who wish to return home back to their islands. However, the time frame may range from several months to a year… If you have a visual Den Den Mushi, you would even be able to see your child."
A visual Den Den Mushi was a relatively rare resource. The entire island didn't have a single one. But just hearing their daughter's voice and confirming that she was alive and healthy was already more than enough to make the parents overjoyed.
Moreover, the fact that their daughter might be sent home within a few months to a year—it was an act of immense kindness. They had originally planned to travel to Sleeping Island themselves to find her.
But the people of Rocket Team on Sleeping Island told them that Vane was far away in the New World. They were ordinary people—it was not recommended for them to travel there. The time and effort it would take ordinary civilians to make that journey could easily stretch to several months or even a year.
And it would be dangerous. By the time the child was safe, the parents might be gone instead.
Unless they lived nearby or were wealthy, it was not advised to come.
From the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line, parents of those children began calling in.
Civilians taking the initiative to contact pirates—what a sight to behold.