Chapter 30: Underworld King: The Shipping King

Sabaody Archipelago, Pleasure Street.

For pirates accustomed to burning, killing, and looting, Pleasure Street, reeking of wine, lust, wealth, and greed, is undoubtedly an ideal outlet for venting their brutality and stress.

These life-and-death desperados, who lick blood from their blades, have always believed in the survival rule: drink today's wine while you can.

After all, no one can predict whether tomorrow will bring overflowing wealth or cold, piercing death.

Better to live in the moment; be free for a day, and that's a day well spent.

When pirates come to Pleasure Street to be free, they also exchange the wealth they plundered at sea into Berries.

Where there is demand, a market forms.

Due to Pleasure Street's red-light district nature, islands 1 through 29, clearly designated as illegal zones, have become the Sabaody Archipelago's largest underground black market and slave market.

Especially the slave market, also known as the human auction, is called the archipelago's pillar industry.

Here, any race can become a commodity, including humans, merfolk, fish-men, and rare races, all fitted with collars containing explosive devices.

The main clients of the slave market are the Celestial Dragons.

The underground black market covers various illegal transactions besides human trafficking, such as weapons and firearms, Devil Fruits, and artificial Devil Fruits.

Beneath the shiny bubbles of the Sabaody Archipelago.

Lies a complete industrial chain nurtured by the privileges of the Celestial Dragons, merging human trafficking, black market dealings, and luxurious indulgence.

Following the address provided by the buyer, Saint Saint Saiwen came to the slave market alone.

As the intermediary, Xia Qi is only responsible for contacting the buyer and seller and does not participate in the specific transaction process.

Had it been right after his transmigration, Saint Saint Saiwen would absolutely have had his nerves torn apart by the scene before him—men and women of different races, chained like livestock in cages, with prices clearly marked.

The hollow eyes of women, the dried blood on mermaid tails, the bent spines of men...

Every single detail exudes a nauseating stench of decay.

"This damn world."

Having transmigrated into the pirate world for seventeen years, Saint Saint Saiwen thought he had long since become numb, but as he passed the iron cages again, he still couldn't help cursing a couple of times in his heart.

He knows better than anyone: they can't all be saved.

Today you smash open ten cages, and tomorrow twenty new ones will be brought in.

As long as those pig-like men wearing fishbowls on their heads in Mary Geoise still sit at the top of the world, slaves will never truly disappear.

Those subjects of the World Government nations who cannot pay the Tribute to Heaven, nations not yet part of the alliance, and men, women, old, and young whose homelands were burned to ash by pirates...

Will all eventually become a small line in the product catalog, chained and shipped out from here.

Weakness is the original sin.

On these seas, kindness and anger without power to back them are as light as a sigh.

Having seen all this, Saint Saint Saiwen will do everything in his power to become the strongest in the world, allowing no one to speak loudly in front of him.

Slave Auction House, private room.

Saint Saint Saiwen finally met the gold buyer, the Shipping King known as Deep Current: Umit.

In the pirate world, besides the pirates, Marines, and Revolutionary Army on the surface, there exists an underground world controlled by several giants.

The Shipping King Umit is one of them.

Umit controls the shipping and logistics industry and is the transportation hub of the underground world.

His fleet transports various illegal goods, weapons, and even people for clients around the world, serving as the key link connecting the Sabaody Archipelago, various black markets, and the demands of the world's nobility.

"Did you bring the goods?"

Perhaps due to his two years of cultivation on the Sky Island, Saint Saint Saiwen's height had changed drastically, and Umit did not recognize him.

Of course, it might also be that compared to great pirates like Captain Roger, Vice-Captain Lei Li, Jabba, and Barrett, Saint Saint Saiwen is not famous.

"Where's the money?"

Upon hearing this, Umit waved to those behind him, and two burly men in black clothes carrying several boxes walked into the private room and opened the boxes one by one.

Since the other party dared to come alone, they must have some backing; Umit only wanted to make money and did not want any trouble.

Moreover, the aura the other party exuded since entering did not look like that of an ordinary person.

Umit pointed to three of the boxes, each containing a fruit with spiral patterns.

"I currently have only these three Devil Fruits left; the one on the left is the Zoan-type Rat-Rat Fruit, Groundhog Model."

"The one in the middle is the Paramecia-type Slip-Slip Fruit."

"The one on the right is the Zoan-type Fly-Fly Fruit."

Having spoken, Umit, with a cigar in his mouth, said, "This guest, you do not look like someone carrying ten tons of gold coins."

Through negotiations with the intermediary, Umit valued ten tons of gold coins at 3.6 billion Berries.

Such a huge sum naturally requires cautious handling.

Saint Saint Saiwen waved away the smoke: "Before the transaction, let's settle the price of the Devil Fruits first."

Among the three Devil Fruits, aside from the Paramecia-type Slip-Slip Fruit being somewhat decent, the Zoan-type Groundhog and Fly are nothing but trash among trash.

The Groundhog can at least do civil engineering, serving as a construction battalion commander or a tomb-raiding officer or something similar.

What use is the Fly-Fly Fruit? Eat shit?

"One billion!" Umit opened his mouth wide like a lion.

"Three hundred million!" Saint Saint Saiwen swung his Dragon-Slaying Blade.

"Eight hundred million."

"Final offer: four hundred million."

Saint Saint Saiwen pointed at that dark purple Fly-Fly Fruit: "Don't force me to stuff it down your throat."

Umit smiled awkwardly: "Four hundred million it is, don't get angry."

"In the future, if you encounter powerful Devil Fruits, I will definitely contact you immediately."

Next time, I absolutely cannot show up in person.

This Bai Mao guy doesn't look like a good person.

In fact, Umit also knew that the Fly Fruit was somewhat of a scam; any normal person would eat such a Devil Fruit?

What's the point of eating it?

To produce fertilizer?

"Brother, there are 3.3 billion Berries in the boxes behind you; want to count them?"

"The extra 100 million is a gift from me."

Hearing this, Saint Saint Saiwen's first reaction was: the price is too high.

Of the three Devil Fruits, only the Smooth-Smooth Fruit has some use: beautifying the skin and making it smoother.

Smooth... no friction... tsk tsk tsk.

Saint Saint Saiwen first stored the three Devil Fruits in his system space, then randomly pulled out several 10,000-Berry banknotes printed with the skeleton Jiggy to examine for a moment.

"I'll leave you a 300 million Berry deposit. Next time you try to scam me with this trash, I'll punch a hole in your stomach and stuff the Fly Fruit inside."

"Definitely, definitely." Umit rubbed his hands together.

"Brother, what about those gold coins..."

Saint Saint Saiwen tilted his head slightly; in an instant, several large boxes appeared out of thin air on the previously empty ground.

Seeing this, Umit hurried forward to open the boxes one by one, his eyes shining with Jin Guang as he rubbed the gleaming gold coins with both hands.

"Brother, do you want to work for me?"

"Room and board included, five social insurances and one housing fund, free access to Joy Street; whatever kind of woman you want, I can find her for you."

Umit was so envious; the other party's move clearly indicated a space-type Devil Fruit user, exactly the kind of ability user a shipping company most desires.

A natural smuggling body!

The wealth the other party can create will far exceed the working conditions he promised.

However, judging from the fact that the other party easily left a 300 million Berry deposit, he is most likely someone who lacks no money and is extremely confident in his own strength.

He simply isn't afraid of you reneging on the deal.

In fact, Umit suspected: the other party probably hopes he reneges; as long as he dares to renege, the other party dares to kill him.