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Chapter 50: Decaying Island! Encounter with the Red Count
"Fresh human slaves! Don't miss out if you're passing by!"
"Among them are quite a few pirates with bounties over a million berries!"
"Just caught some beautiful mermaids! Buy one at a good price!"
Accompanied by the hawking cries from the roadside stalls.
This made Whitebeard pause in his steps, subconsciously glancing at the caged humans.
Besides the ragged-looking pirate slaves,
There were also children and women from other destroyed kingdoms.
Just like the people from the places he knew in his childhood, captured and sold by human traffickers.
The nearby trafficker, seeing Whitebeard stop, immediately came forward eagerly.
"Sir, which slave caught your eye?"
"I have everything here—take them back and train them properly, they'll definitely be useful!"
Whitebeard slightly lowered his eyes.
Just as he subconsciously clenched his fist, Lotte beside him stopped him.
Lotte glanced at the trafficker.
"Nothing catches my eye for now. We'll look again after we finish walking around."
With that, he led Whitebeard forward, ignoring the constant flow of people around them.
They came to an empty alley.
"I know what you were thinking just now, but we didn't come here to play saviors."
"Even if we temporarily rescue them, most will just be recaptured later. Changing this isn't something we can do."
"Let's act carefully first."
Lotte spoke calmly.
Thanks to the Voice of All Things ability, he could clearly sense what Whitebeard was thinking.
The current Whitebeard was still young and hot-blooded.
Seeing that scene just now had indeed stirred him up.
Whitebeard nodded slightly.
"Yeah, the World Government is the real mastermind behind it all."
"Let's first try to gather information about the auction. It shouldn't be many days until it starts, according to what Roger said."
After all, he was still a top-tier powerhouse who had been through countless battlefields.
This level of emotional fluctuation was quickly suppressed.
Though he felt displeased,
Whitebeard also knew that simply rescuing people was useless.
As long as the World Government and Marines turned a blind eye behind the scenes, these human traffickers would act without any restraint.
Speaking of which,
Whitebeard couldn't help but look at Lotte and ask,
"We're not familiar with Sabaody Archipelago. Do you have any good way to find it quickly?"
Lotte smiled upon hearing this.
"Don't worry, I already know where the auction is."
Thanks to the Voice of All Things he had just signed in for not long ago, he had already obtained some interesting information.
Naturally, the location of the auction was among it.
As the words fell,
Whitebeard's face showed astonishment.
"So fast?!"
He had been following Lotte the whole way and hadn't noticed how he did it.
Lotte smiled and waved his hand.
"Just trust me—my judgment is never wrong."
Seeing Lotte so full of confidence,
Whitebeard also relaxed.
"Gurararara! In that case, let's go drinking first!"
"I heard the sake here is pretty good!"
"Let's go drink our fill first!"
Lotte's mouth twitched.
"Do you have any money on you?"
Whitebeard immediately looked embarrassed and scratched his head.
Though he had gained quite a lot of treasure from the Heavenly Tribute recently, he had sent most of it back home.
Lotte saw this and his face darkened.
"Fine, this time it's on me."
Whitebeard immediately slung an arm around Lotte's shoulders, patted him hard, and laughed heartily.
"Gurararara! Then let's hurry up and go!"
...
Though most of the lawless areas in Sabaody Archipelago were involved in human trafficking,
There were still plenty of bars and hotels—after all, even pirates needed to eat.
The famous Sabaody sake was also not to be missed.
Lotte and Whitebeard calmly walked into a remote bar.
A tall, thin figure dressed in wine-red clothes sat calmly at the bar counter drinking.
Lotte couldn't help but glance at the other party.
Then, after clearly seeing the man's face, he was somewhat surprised.
He never expected
To encounter such an unexpected figure here.
The wine-red clothed man also noticed the two newcomers. When his gaze fell on Whitebeard and Lotte, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
He reached out and lightly gripped the umbrella placed beside him on the table.
Whitebeard noticed this action.
Then, sensing the intense aura coming from the other party, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
He never expected to find someone like this in such a remote little bar.
Truly surprising.
From just the aura the other party displayed earlier, no matter how you looked at it,
He was absolutely qualified to hold a cadre position on Rocks' ship.
But even so,
How did the other party recognize their identities?
Lotte calmly pointed to the two seats next to the man.
"Mind if we sit together and chat?"
"It's rare to meet like this—if we just pass by, wouldn't it be too much of a waste?"
The man in the wine-red coat raised an eyebrow and said,
"Sure, do as you like."
Hearing this,
Lotte unceremoniously walked over and sat down.
Whitebeard beside him first ordered two cups of sake before sitting down as well.
Lotte spoke calmly.
"Bartholomew Kuma... no, wait—Barorick Redfield."
"I know you've already recognized who we are. After all, your Observation Haki is extraordinary."
"Are you interested in joining our next operation?"
The other party was none other than one of the great pirates later known as the Red Count.
In terms of strength alone, he was not much weaker than Garp or Whitebeard.
He also possessed an innate awakened Observation Haki, allowing him to easily read people's deepest thoughts and memories.
Before consuming the Mythical Zoan Vampire form,
Redfield was exceptional in both physical techniques and swordsmanship.
Lotte had originally thought the Red Count—who only truly rose to fame during Roger's era—
Would actually be encountered here at this time.
As the words fell,
Redfield's pupils contracted subconsciously.
Then he looked up at Lotte, his eyes filled with extreme wariness.
He spoke in a low, deep voice.
"Tree Demon Lotte... I should have never met you before. How do you know my name?"
"And I've never told anyone about my Observation Haki either."
"You're the first one to recognize it."
Redfield had finally come to Sabaody Archipelago alone with great difficulty.
He planned to rest here for a while before continuing onward.
Yet unexpectedly,
He ran into crew members of the legendary Rocks Pirates!
Whether Tree Demon Lotte or the Earthquake Man Newgate... both were great pirates who had recently caused huge waves!
Especially this Tree Demon Lotte!
He had actually completely nullified his unbeatable Observation Haki!
What kind of monster was this?!
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