"Blu-blu-blu~" went the Den Den Mushi, and Disco turned awkwardly to look at Karl.
"What are you staring at me for? Answer the phone!" he barked.
"Master!" came the voice from the other end of the line.
"Is there a Marine next to you?" asked a cunning voice.
Disco felt an icy blade at his throat and swallowed hard:
"No, he's not here."
"Good, immediately, immediately..." Doflamingo paused, as if sensing Disco's insincerity. After a long silence, he abruptly hung up the phone.
"The phone's hung up, what are you standing around for? Quickly unlock the collars on these pirates!" he shouted, suppressing his irritation.
Soon under Disco's guidance, the collars were removed, and the slaves, overflowing with joy, thanked Karl.
"Shut up! You're all in league with the pirates; something's fishy here. Everyone will be taken to the marine base for questioning!"Shouted Ain, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Karl looked at Ain with surprise and subtly gave him a thumbs-up. She's learning quickly!
The corners of Ain's lips slightly lifted but soon returned to a calm, righteous position. She silently tied up the 'pirates' one by one and then looked at Karl.
"Mr. Disco, the pirates have been found. As for these individuals suspected of being accomplices, we will release them to you if they turn out to be innocent. After all, this is the property of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!" she declared, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
Disco was stunned, nodded woodenly, and quickly shouted, "Dismiss! Tired..."
"Let's go!" he commanded, and soon all the slaves were taken to the Marine base at Sabaody , though their freedom was still in question.
There was the possibility that some of them were pirates, so questioning was necessary.
After the interrogation, the identities of the 32 slaves were established.
Among them, 25 were peaceful citizens, including a mermaid, while 7 were suspected of piracy but had no bounty, so their identities could not be confirmed.
"Gray, I'll leave these seven to you. As for the other peaceful citizens, I'll arrange something for them," said Karl, handing the case over to Gregory.
Gregory nodded and gave the order to escort the seven suspected pirates away.
At that moment, Ain and Smoker entered the room. Yen said:
"Aside from the mermaid Mina, the other peaceful citizens have been properly placed."
"Good, where is Mina? I need to ask her something!" Karl inquired with slight insistence.
"In the adjacent waiting room," Yen replied.
Karl immediately jumped to his feet and headed to the adjoining waiting area.
"Hello, Miss Mina, I am Rear Admiral Karl from Navy Headquarters," he introduced himself politely, emphasizing his rank.
As soon as Mina saw Karl, she quickly bowed and thanked him:
"Thank you, thank you, Rear Admiral Karl, if it weren't for you, ooooo..." she said, tears betraying her eyes.
"Don't cry, you're safe," Karl reassured her, trying to conceal the tension that her words had caused.
Mina wiped her tears and nodded, her eyes slightly red:
"Yes, Rear Admiral Karl, you're right, I'm free!"
"What are your plans for the future? Returning to Fish-Man Island?" Karl asked, trying to understand her future intentions.
"Yes, I've been missing for so many days, my parents must be very worried!Mina replied with unconcealed anxiety about her parents.
Karl chuckled:
"Excellent, Miss Mina. We are heading to Fish-Man Island on a mission; would you be our guide?" he proposed, hoping she would agree.
Mina eagerly nodded in agreement. Karl was her savior, and she worried she might not have the opportunity to repay him for rescuing her.
"Of course, Rear Admiral Karl. When are you departing?" Mina inquired.
"Tomorrow at noon. Please stay here for a day, Miss Mina, and tell me about the current situation on Fish-Man Island," Karl requested, keen to gather as much information as possible.
"Sure, no problem. Rear Admiral Karl, what would you like to know?" Mina was glad to assist Karl, who had saved her from slavery.
Two hours later, Karl, smiling, bid farewell to Mina and returned to his room.
The information provided by Mina gave him a general understanding of the current state of Fish-Man Island, which aligned with his expectations.
At the moment, Fish-Man Island was under the protection of Whitebeard's Pirates. Pirates did not dare set foot on Fish-Man Island's territory, but there were always those crazy enough to try, only to end up dead.
Fish-Man Island was also the base of the Seven Warlords of the Sea's Jinbei. Pirate gangs with bounties of 100-200 million, fearing Jinbei's wrath, surrendered their lives for such an outcome.
Of course, this did not mean Fish-Man Island was entirely safe; otherwise, Mina would not have been captured and become a slave.
Mina shared alarming information: Fish-Man Street was currently the most hostile place for humans. Numerous "fish-man supremacists" lived there, and ordinary inhabitants of Fish-Man Island dared not set foot there.
In other areas, the situation was not as tense, but tensions remained high.
The death of Princess Otohime had a massive impact on race relations!
"It seems if we want to catch this Hody Jones this time, we'll have to lure him out of his lair," Karl thought, devising a plan and deciding to act as needed!
Shipyard.
Upon arriving at the shipyard, Karl found Smoker and Ain there, seemingly overseeing operations.
"You both are here!" noted Karl, looking at them.
"And you're here!" responded Ain, as if it were obvious.
Karl approached the two marines and watched as craftsmen covered the warship with something resembling resin. It was the resin of Yaruki-Mangrove trees!
Approaching one of the sturdy craftsmen, Karl inquired:
"Master, what are you doing?"
The craftsman, holding resin, looked at Karl without saying a word, simply staring at him. The atmosphere became a bit awkward.
Suddenly, Karl noticed an old man dressed in women's clothing and wearing glasses. He seemed familiar to him.
"Um, master, who is that person over there?" "Is he from your shipyard too?" Karl asked, not hiding his interest.
The craftsman glanced at the old man and shook his head:
"No, but he has good professionalism. For urgent orders like this, we usually ask him to help. We usually call him Old Ray from the coating."
Indeed, Dark king Rayleigh, nicknamed Old Ray—is correct!
Karl immediately jumped onto the warship and searched for Rayleigh's voice, but didn't see anything. The man disappeared.
"What a sharp eye! Was I discovered just by him looking at me?" Rayleigh muttered in disbelief from the corner, making sure no one noticed him. He quietly left the shipyard.
"What a misfortune! I wanted to earn a bit of extra money, but I was almost discovered!" Rayleigh scratched his head in frustration. Who would have thought that someone from the new generation of marines would recognize his face? After all, he retired from the sea 15 years ago!
On the warship, Karl was forced to disembark since he couldn't find anyone, so as not to interfere with the craftsman's work on the coating. It didn't matter that he couldn't find him, as he knew Rayleigh was there.
Familiar characters appeared one after another—who will be next? Shanks?
No, no, no, I shouldn't meet him now. Right now, Shanks is venturing into the New World to earn a living, a bright superstar of the pirate crew, and it will take a few more years for him to become one of the Four Emperors.
"Forget it, why think so much? Let's go shopping!"
So, Karl took Ain and Smoker to the tourist district. They bought some specialty items and clothing and replenished their supplies to prepare for the journey tomorrow.
Ain was quite happy today, but Smoker was a bit annoyed.