Translator: PapaSmurf0700
Clack! Clack-clack! CLACK!
The relentless sound of Visual Den Den Mushi cameras followed Bai Ye as he stepped onto the open plaza before the auction house. He walked with the unhurried confidence of a man who owned the very ground beneath his feet, placing himself in the center of the Navy's encirclement. He was exposed to every rifle, every cannon, and, most importantly, every live feed camera broadcasting his image across the globe.
-----
On Drum Island, Dr. Kureha leaned closer to the screen, a flicker of interest in her ancient eyes. "So it's this boy again," she grunted, taking a swig of her plum wine. "I wonder if my idiot son is mixed up in this mess."
Similar scenes played out everywhere. From bustling cities to remote villages, the world was captivated.
Back on Sabaody, the tension was a razor's edge.
"Vice-Captain Bai Ye of the Straw Hat Pirates! Surrender the Celestial Dragons at once!" the Marine commander bellowed, his voice straining to sound authoritative. All around him, soldiers aimed their weapons.
Bai Ye met their hostility with an unnerving calm. "The Celestial Dragons?" he mused. "I have a couple right here. I'm just not sure which one you want."
As he spoke, he raised his hands. The earth before him churned and then pushed upward, revealing two heads buried up to their necks. Their faces were swollen, pulped masses of flesh, tortured beyond easy recognition.
"Is it Saint Rosward you're looking for?" Bai Ye asked, gesturing to one. "Or perhaps his daughter, Princess Shalria?"
A stunned, horrified silence fell over the plaza. The reporters, the Marines, and the millions watching the broadcast all had the same thought churning in their minds.
That... is a World Noble? A Celestial Dragon? This has to be a joke.
The silence was shattered by a frenzy of clicks.
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!
The reporters went wild, their cameras flashing like a thunderstorm. This was more than a scoop; this was the kind of news that rewrites history.
"Priest! What in the hell do you think you're doing?!" the Marine commander screamed, his composure finally cracking. The sight before him was an assault on the very foundation of his world. This wasn't just attacking a Celestial Dragon; this was a desecration.
"Relax, Commander," Bai Ye said smoothly. He casually raised a stone platform from the ground, fashioning a makeshift stage for himself. "You should probably tell your men to lower their weapons. If a stray shot were to, say, startle me... my hand might slip. And these two precious nobles are... fragile."
The commander's face contorted with rage, but the threat was clear. He spat out the order for his men to stand down.
"Excellent," Bai Ye said with a showman's smile. "Then let us officially begin. Welcome, everyone, to the Straw Hat Pirates' First Official Press Conference for the Exposure of Global Darkness and the Holding of the World Government to Account." He gestured to the press. "Reporter friends, please, come closer."
As the reporters surged forward, a wave of disbelief washed over the global audience.
"Did he say... a press conference? A pirate is holding a press conference?"
"Holding the World Government to account... I've never seen such audacity in my entire life."
"These are the same pirates who took down Crocodile and saved Alabasta, right? If they're going this far, they must have something huge..."
On his new stage, Bai Ye continued. "I understand that as a pirate, my words might be easily dismissed by the powers that be. So, instead of listening to me, let's hear from someone directly involved."
The doors of the auction house swung open. A trembling man named Matt, the venue's second-in-command, was guided forward. Controlled by the Priest's power, he faced the cameras, his voice flat and empty as he confessed everything.
He explained his role in managing the human trafficking ring. He detailed the monthly auctions, the "products" being criminals and, more often, citizens from nations unaffiliated with the World Government. Then came the price list, read out like a butcher's menu.
"A standard human fetches around 500,000 Beri. Dwarves, Minks, Long-Arm tribes... 700,000. Fish-Men, 1,000,000. A male Giant, 50,000,000. A female Giant, 10,000,000. A mermaid... can fetch up to 70,000,000..."
CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!
The reporters captured every word, every number on the auction ledger Matt held up. The sheer detail of the catalogue was damning proof of a long-running, highly organized operation. A wave of sickness and fury washed over the globe.
But Matt wasn't finished.
"Our primary clientele," he stated, "are the princes and nobles of the World Government's member nations. And, of course... the World Nobles themselves."
-----
"What?! But the World Government outlawed human trafficking!" someone screamed at a public viewing screen.
"So that's why they only target people from non-member nations! They sell them to the same damn nobles we pay the Heavenly Tribute to!"
"Is this what they do with our money?! They use our gold to buy and sell our own people!"
The revelation that nobles were the buyers turned simmering anger into a raging inferno.
Then, a reporter shouted a question at the stage: "Does the Navy know about this?"
Matt's gaze didn't waver. "Of course. When the 'Human Shop' runs into trouble, they call the local Marine base for assistance. The Marines are aware. In their official reports, they just refer to the auction house as a 'job placement agency'."
Another bombshell. The camera flashes turned from the stage to the surrounding Marines. The soldiers, who had stood so tall and proud just moments before, now looked like wilted plants. They couldn't meet the cameras' gaze. Their armor of justice suddenly felt like a costume of shame. Their guilt was written all over their faces.
Then, the final act began. Dozens of the freed slaves walked out of the auction house and joined Bai Ye on the stage. One by one, they told their stories.
"My name is Rose. I was on Spring Island two months ago... I was knocked unconscious, and when I woke up, this collar was around my neck..."
"My name is Jack. A month and a half ago, I..."
Across the world, cries of shock and recognition erupted.
"Rose! That's my daughter! By the gods, she's alive!"
"Jack! My husband!"
It became brutally clear that the people sold here weren't just pirates or criminals. They were ordinary citizens, stolen from their lives. The operation wasn't trafficking; it was mass kidnapping.
Finally, the last person stepped forward.
"My name is Lisa... and I am a citizen of the Kingdom of Alabasta."
The reporters went into another frenzy. This was it. The final, explosive piece of the puzzle. Bai Ye had saved her for last deliberately. The stories of citizens from non-member nations sparked fear and anger. But Lisa's story was different. Alabasta was a respected member of the World Government.
And that was the final, terrifying twist of the knife. It proved that the system wasn't just broken for outsiders. It was designed to feed on its own. No one was safe.