"An 1.1 billion Belly bounty isn't that impressive. There are plenty of people in the New World with higher ones than me."
"But it's still a pretty good start."
Vane set the bounty poster aside and walked up onto the deck.
The captured Marines were all bound, squatting on the ground one by one.
Maybe they had parents. Maybe they had children. Maybe they had brothers and sisters.
Before going up to Mary Geoise, Vane might have considered letting them go.
Now, he wouldn't.
Because the slaves rescued from that ship also had parents, children, and siblings before they became slaves. And many of them had never been pirates before being enslaved.
"Pirate! What do you plan to do with us?"
The strongest among the captives was a Rear Admiral. Hancock had turned him into stone with a single kick. After the battle ended, they fished him out and had Hancock undo the petrification.
Vane drew his Cursed Sword and pointed it at the Rear Admiral's throat.
"Do you approve of the Celestial Dragons enslaving others?"
"Answer yes or no."
To others, this kind of interrogation might seem foolish.
To Vane, who could read minds, it was extremely precise.
"What nonsense are you talking about?! You're just a pirate—you have no right—"
Slash!
Vane's blade swept across, cutting through the Rear Admiral's throat.
"Answer yes or no."
His sword shifted toward another Marine. The Rear Admiral's corpse was carried away. With Moria here—a man capable of creating and controlling zombies—the body of someone this strong wouldn't go to waste.
The Marine Major let out a sigh.
"Slavery… truly shouldn't exist."
Vane's blade moved to the third Marine.
He answered quickly.
"Slavery absolutely shouldn't exist."
The tip of Vane's sword didn't move. He stared at him steadily.
"I think you're lying… but I'll let you die convinced. Selibe."
"Coming, Captain!"
The unhinged Selibe was the ship's master of costume changes—never wearing the same outfit two days in a row. The kind of character animators hated, since there was no chance to cut corners.
Today, she was dressed somewhat like a nun, which suited her homeland.
Selibe cupped the Marine's face and locked eyes with him.
"Speak the truest words from the depths of your heart."
The Marine's eyes instantly went dull as he muttered,
"Damn pirates… and slaves. Slaves should act like slaves and serve the nobles properly."
This revelation caused an uproar among the Marines lined up behind him.
Some of them had planned to lie their way into survival. They hadn't expected Vane to have a subordinate who could force out the truth.
These weren't Rear Admirals. Most were ordinary Marines with average willpower and no Haki. One by one, Selibe identified them. In the end, at least a third were singled out.
They were either like Green Bull, endlessly groveling before nobles and Celestial Dragons.
Or like Akainu—the "hawk faction," executing orders to the letter and believing order itself was everything.
For these two types, Vane either killed them to serve as zombie material, or had Moria imprison them and strip away their shadows.
"You're very fortunate. I'm no devil."
"You'll atone for the Celestial Dragons you upheld by working for Team Rocket for at least three years… If anyone can't accept that, step forward and I'll send you on your way."
At the very least, he wouldn't brand them, nor would he work them to death. He was practically merciful.
The surviving Marines exchanged glances, but no one spoke.
They had just witnessed the fate of the others with their own eyes. People who had faced death tended to become cautious.
Besides, surviving after being captured by pirates was one of the many tacit principles within the Marines. There was no rigid requirement for them to die gloriously. As long as they didn't commit atrocities, it was acceptable.
The Marine ambush had merely been a minor interlude for Vane and his crew.
On Fish-Man Island, they had given one ship to Tiger. Upon surfacing, the Marines had kindly delivered them an even better one.
The giant Mogan was the happiest of all. A Marine warship suited him perfectly—spacious enough for him to move freely.
"Captain Vane, we need you to designate a target."
The New World wasn't like the first half of the Grand Line—the "Paradise." Back there, they could just keep sailing forward.
Here, reaching the end wasn't the point.
Claiming territory required a clear objective.
Whitebeard. Big Mom Pirates. Beasts Pirates. Ochoku of Hachinosu…
And numerous great pirates left over from the previous era.
These figures all had their own established territories. Add to that several nations of considerable strength…
Fortunately, there were still plenty of unclaimed islands in the New World.
"Does anyone know of Sleepy Town?"
Sleepy Town?
The navigators looked at each other.
Vane's sudden question stemmed from remembering a certain Devil Fruit—the Bat-Bat Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Vampire Model. If Sleepy Town truly existed, then that powerful Mythical Zoan should also exist.
"We could ask around. Maybe someone knows the place."
Most of the crew came from the first half of the Grand Line and didn't know much about the latter half.
But there just happened to be one special case.
The giant Mogan, a native of the New World from the Giant Kingdom, was already eighty years old and possessed vast experience.
"Sleepy Town… Long ago, I knew of an island called Sleeping Island. It was a very old and extremely isolated island."
"Later, a remarkably open-minded noble emerged on that island and decided to open it up, allowing the kingdom to interact with the outside world."
"The exchange brought many benefits… but even more disaster. Viruses and bacteria from the outside entered the island. The natives died in droves."
"In the end, panic drove everyone to flee. The shadow of death made people believe the island was home to the deadliest of plagues. No one dared approach it."
"That's how the name Sleeping Island came about. I suspect the Sleepy Town you're looking for might be Midnight Town on Sleeping Island."
After hearing Mogan's explanation, Vane found it highly plausible.
"There isn't really some deadly virus there, is there?"
Mogan shook his head.
"I've been there once. The viruses were deadly only to the natives of Sleeping Island. They had been isolated from the outside world for too long. When exposed to outside pathogens, too many of them died all at once."
"When most of a nation dies or flees, merchants see no profit, pirates see only bad luck. Gradually, the island was abandoned."
From Mogan's account, the island wasn't especially large—certainly not comparable to the Desert Kingdom, Drum Kingdom, or even Dressrosa.
"It's a good destination. Then our first target in the New World will be Sleeping Island."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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