The Sabaody Archipelago lay close enough to Marineford that Garp’s warship, carrying Solomon aboard, reached it in only a few hours at full speed.
The islands of the Sabaody Archipelago were formed from a cluster of seventy-nine mangrove trees known as the Yarukiman Mangroves, and each tree-island was assigned a code number beginning with GR. The mangrove where Garp’s ship docked was GR 1.
GR 1 was the largest of the mangroves classified as a lawless zone, and it was home to the Human Shop owned by Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords. Among all the Human Shops scattered throughout Sabaody’s lawless districts, Doflamingo’s handled the highest volume of "goods."
If the Kuja Pirates’ captured women warriors had not yet been sold, there was a high chance they were being held there.
Without even sparing a glance for the endless bubbles welling up from beneath the ground, Solomon urged Garp onward at his side.
"Hmph! If it weren’t for you, I’d have no desire to come to a gray zone like this. I can’t just blast the whole place away, and I hate places where the Marines have to grovel before people with even more power above them!"
"Sorry. But without your help, with how bad security is here, we’d waste far too much time. Please understand."
"After finally reuniting with a friend I haven’t seen in decades, the first thing I’m doing is cleaning up after him. You really are a handful, Solomon. Then and now."
Even while grumbling, Garp carefully checked their surroundings for anything that might threaten Solomon. Ever since they had entered Sabaody, he had kept Observation Haki active the entire time.
When a Marine in a justice coat suddenly appeared in the lawless zone with a harmless-looking young man beside him, the residents’ attention snapped toward them at once—then they recoiled in shock and fled. Hardly anyone in Sabaody would fail to recognize Garp, the Hero of the Marines.
To say it again... Marineford stood right next to the Sabaody Archipelago, and from GR 60 to GR 69, where the main entrance to Sabaody was located, the area was filled with Marine and government facilities.
Even the residents of the lawless zone had no choice but to recognize any reasonably famous Marine, if only for the sake of survival.
"Why is the Hero of the Marines here... and where he’s heading is the young master’s place of business. I’d better contact Vergo first..."
A shabby bald pirate muttered those ominous words and sent the information he had just obtained through a Transponder Snail. First to his direct superior, Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Vergo.
Because of Garp’s arrival, a brief uproar broke out, and then GR 1 went so quiet it was almost eerie.
It was like someone had lit a bright torch in an abandoned house, and every bug crawling across the floor had scattered back into the dark all at once.
By the time Solomon and Garp reached the entrance of the Human Shop, they noticed a group slowly approaching from the distance.
"What are you doing? Those lowborn insects see me and still dare not prostrate themselves!"
They were Celestial Dragons.
Among them was a young Celestial Dragon with the usual bulbous hairstyle, holding an ice cream in one hand while riding a slave in pitiful condition. Even though he had clearly seen Solomon and Garp, he pointed at the two of them and exploded in outrage.
"Saint Charloss. Shall we deal with them?"
"It’s too hot. You lot shoot them."
"Understood."
At a hand signal from the captain of Charloss’s guards, they all drew their guns and opened fire without so much as a single warning.
"You little punks!"
As Garp flared up and released Armament Haki, a transparent wall rose up in front of him at the same time.
"Solomon?! Did you really think I needed protecting from a few lousy bullets like these?"
"No. I know that one. And as you know, it becomes troublesome when anyone other than a Celestial Dragon harms a Celestial Dragon. Here, I should help keep you out of trouble."
"Riiight... that was how it worked. Then I’ll leave it to you."
Garp obediently stepped back. Solomon might usually be an unreliable cowardly chicken, but when he actually decided to step forward himself, there were few allies more reassuring than him.
"What are you doing? Keep firing! Saint Charloss is displeased!"
At Charloss’s impatient urging to turn them into beehives already, the guards who had emptied one magazine each began reloading in unison.
"Stop."
What halted their hostility was a single wave of Solomon’s hand.
A proper Caster naturally possessed the skill of High-Speed Incantation. In the instant it took to pull a trigger once, dozens of lines of incantation manifested through Solomon’s voice.
Garp knew exactly what it meant when it sounded as though dozens of sentences were layered into each syllable. He snorted proudly. How often did one get to witness something like this? Life really did get easier when you had one overachieving friend.
Float... float...
The guns in the guards’ hands rose into the air, lifted by an inexplicable force.
With another flick of Solomon’s hand, they all flew over and clattered down at his feet.
"A-Are you insane?! You fools! This man is a god descended to earth! The judgment for this will bring out a Marine Admiral! If you want a clean death, stop resisting at once!"
"If someone politely asks me to die, am I supposed to just do it? And a Marine Admiral? Go ahead and call whoever you want! Even if a whole truckload of people far below my rank comes running, the result will be obvious!"
Only then did the captain of Charloss’s guard realize something was very wrong.
That fierce face... that booming laugh... he had definitely heard them somewhere before.
"Captain, that man is a Marine too. And not just any Marine—Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, the Hero of the Marines!"
"What? B-But no matter how impressive he is, he’s still just a lower-world human! We will absolutely lodge a complaint with the Marines over this insolence!"
"Pwahahaha!!! Hey! You lot!"
When the stage was set properly, borrowing someone else’s authority could be this entertaining.
Brimming with confidence, Garp strode boldly toward Charloss and his entourage, openly borrowing his friend’s prestige.
"What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?!"
"Well now! I don’t know how high and mighty you are in Mary Geoise, but do you have any idea who this friend of mine is, you green little Celestial Dragon brat?"
"No matter how high lower-world humans rise, they can never compare to me, a true god!"
It did not take long for Charloss’s stiff face to be driven straight downward.
Step. Step.
Charloss finally got a proper look at Solomon’s face as he slowly approached, and sucked in a sharp breath.
"H-hk! Haaah! U-Uncle Solomon, wh-what brings you to the lower world?!"
"Charloss. I told you to show proper respect to your elders... didn’t I teach you that lesson quite thoroughly before?"
Charloss remembered his horrifying first meeting with Solomon. He had no desire to ever again enjoy being sealed inside a drum barrel, suspended in the air, and forced into a centrifuge ride, so he hurriedly climbed down from the slave he had been riding and bent at the waist to a perfect right angle.
"I-It wasn’t my order! I never told them to shoot! These idiots were stupid and acted on their own!"
Within Celestial Dragon society, Solomon’s image was not especially positive. He was the frightening, strict elder of the family. As Charloss desperately tried to figure out how to salvage this, he first buried his head toward the ground like a terrified ostrich chick.
Only Charloss’s guards, who had suffered for merely following orders, turned pale at being instantly disowned.
"I’ll send a formal letter to Rosward later and discuss this properly. For now, we don’t have the luxury to linger on it, so I’ll let it pass. Run along home. I recommend you stay there quietly and reflect on yourself."
"Uncle! A mermaid! I heard a mermaid is up for auction this time! Charloss wants to buy a mermaid! Don’t make me stay confined!"
Charloss’s mind went blank. He had heard that a mermaid had come in and sneaked down to the lower world without even getting Rosward’s permission. If he went home now, not only would his father Rosward tear into him, he would also have to deal with the protest letter Solomon would send afterward.
"No more. Return quietly, Charloss. Unless you want this matter to reach the Holy Knights... do not test my patience any further."
His voice was gentle, but the authority within it was exactly what ordinary Celestial Dragons imagined as the ideal—nothing less than the majesty of a god.
Completely overwhelmed by Solomon’s presence, Charloss hurried back toward Mary Geoise.
Not before voluntarily handing over the funds he had brought and the auction list, thanks to what was practically a threat disguised as a request from Solomon.
"Fwahahaha! So you really can do it when you want to, Solomon! Just now, it really felt like a true god had descended to lecture him!"
"I’d rather there not be too many moments in the future where I have to step in as a god... I don’t really like resolving conflict by crushing people with authority. It’s not very human. Honestly, I’d rather just shut down a place like the Human Shop by force and rescue the Kuja Pirates outright, but... this place is tied up in another Warlord’s interests. If I want Hancock to avoid trouble later, quietly buying them out is the better choice."
"I’ll head back to the warship and prepare to lead them out. To be honest, I absolutely hate the thought of watching something as disgusting as a slave auction."
"All right. Thanks for putting up with doing something you hate without complaining. I’ll bring back good news."
"Right."
Still without revealing that he too was a Celestial Dragon, Solomon presented the auction participant pass that had originally belonged to Charloss and stepped inside the Human Shop.
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