Dozens of slave traders marched through the mangrove roots of the Sabaody Archipelago, escorting a large group of slaves toward one of the island's auction houses.
Only slaves considered valuable were taken to those auctions. They were expected to bring a high price once sold. Compared to them, soone like Aether, once valued at only 500,000 Berries, would never have qualified to stand on that stage.
Most of the slaves were ordinary humans. There were human won, captured pirates, and even mbers of rare races that were far more valuable to collectors.
Among the crowd, one figure stood out imdiately.
A giant.
He towered above everyone else at nearly sixteen ters tall. His rough face carried the marks of many years of hardship, and his powerful fra made the surrounding traders keep their distance. Aether, who was watching from above the mangrove branches, studied him carefully.
A middle aged giant.
Even without knowing his identity, Aether could easily guess the man's strength.
Giants were a powerful race that could live for several centuries. Even an average adult giant often possessed strength comparable to pirates worth tens of millions of Berries. The elite warriors among them could rival the Supernovas, and legendary figures like the giants honored as heroes possessed even more terrifying power.
The presence of such a man being transported as a slave was unusual.
Aether shifted his gaze to the leader of the traders.
He had already gathered information about this man earlier. The leader was a Paracia type Devil Fruit user capable of producing poison. Three years ago he had captured a pirate worth 40 million Berries, which earned him a small amount of fa as a bounty hunter before he joined the slave trade.
Aether calmly calculated the situation.
"To be safe, I will assu his strength is close to a Supernova level. If that is the case, I cannot afford to hold back."
Below him, the long escort team moved slowly through the mangrove forest.
The slaves walked like empty shells. Each of them wore an explosive collar around their necks. As long as the slave traders pressed the control switch, the collars could end their lives instantly.
Resistance was aningless.
Suddenly, a young girl stumbled and collapsed onto the ground.
Her face was pale and her body trembled violently.
One of the slave traders noticed imdiately. Without hesitation he raised his whip and struck her.
The girl cried out weakly.
Her appearance was ordinary, the only remarkable feature being a pair of striking blood red eyes.
Before the whip could strike again, another slave stepped forward.
She was a beautiful woman with long blue hair, dressed in a dancer's outfit. She blocked the whip with her own body.
The lash tore across her delicate face, leaving a deep wound.
The slave traders froze for a mont.
Damaging rchandise was unacceptable.
The leader of the traders beca furious. He stepped forward and knocked his subordinate to the ground with a single punch before glaring at the blue haired woman.
"Sintansi, do you want to die?"
The dancer nad Sintansi bit her lip but said nothing.
She understood the situation clearly. If she stepped aside, the girl behind her would certainly be beaten to death. The child's small body could not survive another strike.
The trader leader's eyes darkened. Since the dancer had already lost part of her value, he prepared to punish her directly.
At that mont, a calm male voice sounded from above.
"Woman, you did well. Leave the rest to ."
Boom.
A figure descended from the sky.
Aether landed directly in the middle of the traders, his foot crushing an unlucky man beneath him. Judging from the sound of breaking bones, that man would never stand again.
The remaining traders were shocked.
"Enemy attack!"
Weapons were drawn instantly as they surrounded him.
The leader stepped forward with a cold expression.
"I don't care who you are. How dare you offend our De..."
He never finished the sentence.
Aether released his Conqueror's Haki.
Dark red lightning erupted outward, spreading across the area like a violent storm. The air itself seed to distort under the overwhelming pressure.
Silence fell.
Aether felt a faint tightness in his chest.
His body still lacked the strength to use this power freely. Physical strength was like a gate, while Conqueror's Haki was like a raging current. If the gate was weak, the pressure would naturally cause strain.
One after another, bodies collapsed.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The trader leader rolled his eyes back before falling to the ground, foam spilling from his mouth. He had completely lost the ability to fight.
Even several slaves were affected by the overwhelming will.
System notifications appeared in Aether's mind.
A B rank figure generated negative emotions toward you. High level fear. Experience 50 x5
A C rank figure generated negative emotions toward you. High level fear. Experience 12 x29
A D rank figure generated negative emotions toward you. High level fear. Experience 3 x49
Level increased to 13. 231 / 700.
Under the stunned gazes of the slaves, Aether calmly walked through the fallen traders.
He looted their pockets, collected their money, and took every key controlling the explosive collars. After finishing this routine task, another system notification appeared.
Fate of multiple characters greatly altered. Points gained: 731.
Aether walked back and placed the keys into the young girl's trembling hands.
"Unlock the others," he said calmly. "You are free now."
For a mont, nobody moved.
Then the reality finally sank in.
Cheers erupted.
So slaves laughed wildly while others collapsed in tears. Ever since arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago, they had believed death or slavery was their only future.
One by one, the collars were unlocked.
More notifications appeared.
An A rank figure generated positive emotions toward you. High level friendliness. Experience 500
B rank figures generated positive emotions toward you. High level friendliness. Experience 50 x3
C and D rank figures generated positive emotions toward you. High level friendliness. Experience 12 x43, 3 x10
Level increased to 14. 126 / 700.
Fate of multiple characters greatly altered. Points gained: 1,159.
Aether smiled faintly.
Two level increases and nearly two thousand points from a single operation. The effort he spent gathering information had clearly paid off.
He still had two more targets planned for today.
As for retaliation from the slave traders, Aether had never worried about that. In this world, strength decided everything.
The freed slaves soon left after receiving a small amount of travel money that Aether distributed from the traders' funds.
Eventually only one person remained.
Sintansi.
The blue haired dancer stood quietly, her eyes filled with gratitude.
Aether understood the emotions she was experiencing. This was the mont when people were most vulnerable.
However, he had no interest in complicated emotional entanglents.
A brief encounter and mutual comfort were enough.
After watching the others disappear into the distance, Aether turned toward the giant who was still standing there with an explosive collar around his neck.
Apparently none of the keys had matched his restraint.
The giant spoke in a deep buzzing voice.
"Your Conqueror's Haki earlier was impressive. You even controlled who it affected. That is a very advanced technique."
Aether raised an eyebrow slightly.
It seed the giant understood Haki quite well.
Considering the system had labeled him an A rank figure, it was not surprising. That level of evaluation usually ant strength comparable to the Supernovas.
"That was only ordinary Conqueror's Haki," Aether replied casually. "Nothing special."
He stepped closer to the giant and examined the collar.
"Let remove this. But first, how did soone like you end up captured?"
The giant's expression darkened.
"I was betrayed," he said simply. "That is why I beca a slave."
"I see."
Aether did not ask further questions.
So wounds did not need to be reopened.
He focused his will and released a controlled surge of Conqueror's Haki directly into the chanism of the collar, disabling the internal trigger.
At the sa mont, his face turned pale.
Sweat poured down his body as he dropped to one knee.
This level of precision control placed enormous strain on him. It was a technique approaching the level of advanced Conqueror's Haki, sothing his body was not yet fully prepared to handle.
If he had Armant Haki, the task would have been far easier. With proper Haki flow, dismantling the collar would take little effort.
Unfortunately he had not yet reached the stage required to awaken Armant Haki.
The collar clicked open.
The giant looked down at him with serious eyes.
"I will repay this debt," he said solemnly. "Even if it costs my life. This is my promise. My na is Luke."
For giants, an oath carried enormous weight.
Not long afterward, Luke left while holding Aether's Vivre Card, promising to return within a month and serve under him. The proposal had been entirely his own.
With that matter finished, Aether prepared to move toward his next target.
Then the system issued another notification.
An A rank figure, Drake, generated positive emotions toward you. Basic friendliness. Experience 100.
Aether imdiately spread his Observation Haki.
Sure enough, he sensed a man wearing a hat quietly leaving the area.
X Drake.
A Marine undercover agent.
At the sa ti, he was also one of the Supernovas, carrying a bounty of 222 million Berries.
It seed Drake had witnessed the entire process of the slaves being freed.
The afternoon sun gradually spread across the mangrove roots of the Sabaody Archipelago.
Feeling slightly tired, Aether eventually arrived at Area 24, one of the island's busiest shopping streets.
Pirates filled the street.
During the past day he had ambushed several large slave trading groups, forcing the traders to spread their manpower in an attempt to locate the mysterious person the island had begun calling the Slave Trader Hunter.
His reckless actions had already caused considerable chaos.
His current status appeared in his mind.
Level: 19
74 / 950
Aether ignored a patrol of slave traders passing nearby.
Instead, sothing else caught his attention.
On the side of the street, a woman with long straight pink hair was eating at an incredible speed. Her behavior was rough and direct, and her lips were covered with bright lipstick.
Plate after plate disappeared.
Even Aether had to admit her eating speed surpassed his own.
He imdiately recognized her.
Jewelry Bonney.
The only female mber among the Eleven Supernovas, carrying a bounty of 140 million Berries.
And more importantly.
She was the daughter of Bartholow Kuma, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
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