One Piece: The Living Devil

Under Rosse's silent observation, Otohime still clung to his arm and began her first negotiation.

She approached an elderly man who looked kind and asked him for directions to the nearest slave shop.

The old man responded warmly and even said he was willing to lead the two of them there.

During this period, no one stepped forward to interfere.

Those nearby with malicious intentions, upon seeing the old man's face, instead revealed a trace of apprehension.

Otohime, unable to use her special ability, didn't notice any of this at all. She simply gave Rosse a proud glance, then held his arm and followed behind the old man.

In her view, the first negotiation went very smoothly.

Interacting with humans wasn't all that difficult either.

Everyone seemed very friendly.

With this great start, she believed everything would continue to go smoothly.

Facing Otohime's pride, Rosse merely chuckled softly, glancing at the old man's back.

'Dear Princess Otohime, why is it that though so many people are watching us, not a single one tried to interfere when they saw you speaking to the old man?'

'There's only one answer.'

'Among all the evil people present, this old man is the most wicked.'

'And who knows, maybe your choice was guided by him from the beginning.'

Rosse slowly retracted the faintly radiating Conqueror's Haki and silently led Otohime forward.

All along the way, Rosse didn't say a word. He just followed behind the old man as if they were out for a casual stroll.

The port was a chaotic mix, not a good time to make a move.

Once they left the port, the Old Man would show his fangs.

And the real target Rosse wanted to find was the collaborator behind this old man.

"This is our specialty here on Sabaody, a Bon Chari. Please get in."

The old man walked to a corner, waved inside, and a male fish-man quickly rode out on a bicycle.

But this bicycle was rather special. Behind it was attached a giant bubble, large enough to hold three to five people.

"Fish-man?", Otohime showed a look of surprise and looked at Rosse, somewhat unsure of what to do.

On the way here, she had already heard of the Sabaody Archipelago's infamy.

This was an island overrun with slave markets, 'Weren't fish-men and merfolks supposed to be slaves here?'

"Haha, this is Brother Damon, he used to be from the Fish-Man District. Now he's trying to make a living here in Sabaody," the old man said cheerfully.

"Fish-Man District?", Upon hearing that he was from the Fish-Man District, Otohime furrowed her delicate brows slightly.

She hadn't had any bad feelings toward the Fish-Man District before, but her kidnapping this time was due to betrayal by a fish-man.

Damon being from the Fish-Man District reminded her of the fish-man who had knocked her out.

Every time she remembered that, she could only comfort herself internally.

'That fish-man must've been threatened by someone, otherwise, he wouldn't have done such a thing.'

But she still remembered that fish-man's name.

Arlong.

A simple fish-man name. There might be dozens with the same name in the Fish-Man District, but that Arlo was a fat-headed fish-man.

With both those details combined, there wouldn't be many in the entire Fish-Man District who matched.

"Hey hey, what's with that expression? You merfolks are always so high and mighty," Seeing Otohime's expression, Brother Damon's face showed dissatisfaction.

'What are you acting all superior for?'

If it weren't that defects lower the selling price, he'd soon let her know what "cruel" really meant.

"Sorry, I had a bad experience before," Otohime hurriedly apologized, her face filled with guilt.

She really was a terrible merfolk.

She actually judged Damon just because he was a fish-man and from the Fish-Man District.

Even though she had said before that the Fish-Man District was part of Fish-Man Island and everyone there was good.

"Bah!", Brother Damon spat and said with a warning tone, "I'm warning you, I may be from the Fish-Man District, but don't lump me in with those scumbags."

"Scumbags?", Otohime didn't understand.

She and Rosse got into the vehicle. The old man sat in the back while she and Rosse sat in the middle.

As Damon began pedaling, he said, "Ever since I left the Fish-Man District, those people have done nothing but evil. Half the merfolks and fish-men slaves on the Sabaody Archipelago were sold by those scumbags."

At this point, Damon's tone was filled with contempt.

Though he did dabble in the slave business, it was more like a side job, and he only targeted prey that came to him, completely different from those compatriots in the sea.

At most, he occasionally helped them handle merchandise.

And he absolutely refused to sell fish-men. In fact, he'd even spend money to buy them and later release them all.

He only sold merfolks, and he didn't feel guilty about that. After all, those merfolks were always acting superior and looking down on fish-men like him.

"Are all fish-men from the Fish-Man District like that?", Otohime exclaimed, her expression not looking good.

So it wasn't just an isolated case, it might've already become an industrial chain.

Only this time, they were bolder, and even dared to kidnap her.

Now, she thought perhaps merfolk coexistence should wait a little.

Resolving the conflict between merfolks and fish-men should be Fish-Man Island's top priority.

"Of course they are," Damon grinned. "Just a few days ago, I even heard someone had caught several merfolks."

"Can I go see?", Otohime asked urgently.

"Of course, of course!", Damon nodded eagerly, "You're the employer, it's your call. But those people aren't easy to deal with, and you two, skinny arms and legs…"

He turned his head, scanning the two of them.

Rosse did look sturdy, but he was just a human. Being tall didn't mean he was strong.

Still, Damon had been in Sabaody Archipelago for a long time and had even formed a gang of fish-men. The old man was his port partner.

He wasn't some reckless thug.

These words were a test. Otohime looked easy to fool, maybe he could get some info out of her and avoid trouble.

What if she brought someone dangerous?

"No worries! I can handle it. I brought one billion Berries."

Otohime didn't catch Damon's probing at all. Instead, she puffed up her chest proudly, saying she had enough money to buy those merfolks.

"Huh? Money? That's great!", Excitement flashed in Damon's eyes.

'Oh, damn, this is a buy-one-get-one-free.'

One billion Berries, that was enough for the fish-men gang's hundreds of members to live luxuriously for years.

As he spoke, his pedaling got faster.

He was already itching to bring Otohime back to their base.

And he hadn't even lied earlier.

Apparently, there had been some recent unrest on Fish-Man Island, and it had been under lockdown for a few days, it had only reopened yesterday.

And right after that, three female merfolks had been delivered, currently held at their base.

They were just waiting for the next auction to fetch a high price.

"Wonderful!", Otohime was also excited, her face full of joy.

But her excitement was more about being able to rescue her fellow merfolks.

Rosse, on the other hand, kept smiling calmly, one arm wrapped around Otohime's slim waist to keep her from being flung out of the high-speed Bon Chari.

The more Otohime laughed now, the more painful it was going to be later.

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