Those who had long lived and survived in the lawless zone were already well-experienced.
So when Rayleigh and Hua Mei Meow clashed with their Conqueror Haki, a few quick-witted ones had already fled the area ahead of time.
Later, the massive commotion caused by Sherwin battle with Rayleigh made the rest of them run as well.
Even now, they only dared to linger around the edges, testing the waters, too afraid to step deeper into the lawless zone.
As a result, when Sherwin and his group arrived at Area 0, there wasn't a single person there—
To be precise, not a single free person.
Because inside the slave auction house marked with the sign "HUMAN," there were still a group of captives—people caught and locked up for various reasons.
Apparently, the slave traders were so confident in the explosive collars around the slave necks that they believed none of them could escape even without guards.
So when they evacuated, they didn't bother to take the slaves with them.
"Wow! Sherwin-nii, look! That red tree is huge, meow!"
(=`=)
Klee Meow placed her little paw over her forehead and tilted her head back to gaze at the massive Tree No. 1 at the center of Area 0—its roots alone were as thick as the trunks of the other red trees.
Sherwin took out his Hunter Manual and checked. As expected, this tree was special—it directly lit up the entire map of the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Let go. We'll take a look inside."
Sherwin gently patted Klee Meow fluffy head and walked toward the slave auction house, the only building in Area 0, standing right before Tree No. 1.
"Mm… Sherwin-nii, the people inside feel so scared. Are we going to save them, meow?"
Klee Meow felt the emotions of those enslaved people, and the discomfort made her shake her head uneasily.
"Yeah. When we rescue them, I might need your help too," Sherwin replied.
With Sherwin current mastery of Armament Haki, crushing those explosive collars like Rayleigh did and tossing them aside wouldn't be difficult. However…
He wanted Klee Meow and Purah Meow to see if they could create a device that could disable the explosive collars instead.
Of course, Sherwin didn't plan to save every single slave inside.
"If there are pirates among them, we'll still hand them over to the Marines at Area 60 for bounty money."
Even though he'd earned a huge sum back on Skypiea, Sherwin never thought he had too much money.
Spending and earning were two different things—he kept them clearly separated.
At the same time, Sherwin felt a bit disappointed. This auction house only dealt in slaves—otherwise, he could've squeezed even more profit from these slave traders.
The interior of the auction house resembled an opera hall. Rows of red seats fanned around a semicircular stage at the front.
On the wall behind the stage was a massive character for "Sell," and on either side of it were two skull faces with slashes across them.
"Sherwin-nii, that symbol looks just like the one on Law-nii chest, meow!"
"Yeah, that the emblem of the Donquixote Family," Sherwin explained.
"They're the enemies I told you about—Law personal nemesis. The group is led by Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
He also a well-known broker in the underworld. This auction house belongs to him."
In truth, Sherwin had already forgotten most of those details—he only recognized the Heavenly Yaksha symbol.
"Sherwin~ if we ever run into that man in Marineford, can you leave him to me, meow?"
A dangerous smile spread across Shermie face—it was clear she didn't have any fondness for Doflamingo.
"Of course, no problem."
Sherwin patted her head gently. The powers of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit were extremely convenient, and since Shermie had already awakened her Observation Haki, even if the Heavenly Yaksha used Armament Haki, Sherwin wasn't the least bit worried about her safety.
Besides, with him and Seijuro nearby, there was no way he'd let Doflamingo harm his precious Felynes.
"Klee wants to beat up that bad lady who bullies cats, meow!"
(=`ω=)
The little ragdoll cat volunteered energetically.
"No problem, no problem~"
Sherwin was actually relieved. He had always been a bit wary of the Love-Love Fruit ability, but since Felynes were naturally immune to Hancock powers, letting the cats handle her was undoubtedly the best choice.
Chatting idly with his feline companions, Sherwin led the group around the main stage and entered the area behind it where the slaves were held.
Behind the stage stood a long iron fence, and inside were rows of anxious, hollow-eyed slaves sitting side by side on wooden crates. On the wall behind them hung tags with their respective numbers.
The reason they stayed so obedient even without guards was, of course, the explosive collars fastened tightly around their necks.
When Sherwin group entered, a few of the slaves looked up at the sound—but most kept their heads bowed, clearly having lost all hope, quietly waiting for their turn to be sold.
"Sherwin-nii, there are so many strange-looking people here, meow!"
(|ΦωΦ|)
Klee Meow jumped down from Sherwin shoulder and scampered up to the iron fence.
She pressed her cute little face between two bars, peering curiously at the captives inside.
The group of slaves was quite diverse — Longarm Tribe, Longleg Tribe, Snakeneck Tribe, Fishmen... but there were no Giants, Minks, or Tontattas, and no Merfolk either.
"Don't be scared. Klee Meow isn't a bad person. We're here to save you, meow."
The little plush Felyne voice made the despairing slaves lift their heads. Yet after a brief moment of hope, their faces quickly fell back into resignation.
"It useless. As long as we're still wearing these, there no way to escape."
A beautiful human woman, scantily dressed, gave a bitter smile as she pointed at the collar around her neck and explained to Klee Meow,
"If we leave this building range, the collar will explode. So even if you open the door and set us free, we still wouldn't make it."
"Oh! So it a sensor-triggered bomb, huh?"
Sherwin sighed as he swung his blade and cut through the iron bars, stepping inside.
The level of technology in the world of pirates was always unpredictable, but he had long since gotten used to that.
"Don't give up just yet. Let me at least try to see if I can remove these collars for you."
He didn't attempt to disarm the slave collars right away. After all, his understanding of them came only from the manga.
Even if he knew the basic method, he'd never actually done it before — and if they didn't cooperate, things could go wrong.
The slaves stayed silent for a moment before finally, a Longarm tribesman stepped forward.
"After becoming a slave, life worse than death anyway! I'll take my chances with you!" he said through gritted teeth, raising his shackled hands.
"There aren't any bombs on these, right?" Sherwin asked.
"No, but once the shackles are undone, the collar on my neck will explode shortly after," the Longarm tribesman replied.
"Don't hesitate. Even if I'm blown up, I won't hold any grudge."
So, the chain linking the shackles and the collar must have some kind of connection mechanism hidden inside...
Sherwin muttered under his breath as he reached out and pried open the man shackles.
The moment the shackles clicked open, the collar around the Longarm tribesman neck began to emit a rapid "beep-beep-beep" alarm.
Remaining calm, Sherwin firmly grasped the collar that was blaring nonstop. Using the technique of internal destruction with Armament Haki, he tore the collar off the man neck in an instant and hurled it toward an empty corner.
"Boom—!"
The collar exploded midair just after leaving his hand.
Although the detonation was quick, its power was... honestly, nothing special.
Even Dorry once swallowed a bomb and still fought Brogy for quite a while afterward. And there was Pell, who carried a massive bomb away with him...
The destructive power of bombs in the pirate world was as inconsistent as its technology.