Has anyone played elona here?
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I see...
When I heard that the Navy and the 'Black Cat' crew in the West Blue needed to hold an emergency meeting, right when I wanted to talk about the final details of tomorrow's audit, I thought, "What the heck?"...
—But I get it now.
"The trade in human lives is soaring, timed with the season when people need fewer mouths to feed. I mean, I expected things like this to pop up, but..."
"Yes," Kuzan replied.
Kuzan is being shown in real-time on a white cloth hung on the wall of the Navy waiting room, which quickly became a meeting room.
Well, it's been a while. I didn't think I'd see your face this quickly.
Kuzan is talking to Sengoku-san, but please stop glancing over at me.
"To try and make a deal with the Navy itself... that's a bold person..."
"They came to us openly with the proposal," Kuzan explained.
"Naturally, many Marines must have heard about it."
"...Yes," Kuzan confirmed, looking grim.
Seriously, they've got guts. The timing is absolutely terrible.
It's normal for human trafficking to increase in the winter. Some islands in the East Blue had this problem too.
But I'm amazed that they would try to strike a deal directly with the Marines.
"It would be easier if they were children gathered by force, like kidnappings, but we didn't find any proof that they gathered people through illegal means," Kuzan admitted.
I thought so.
Buying or gathering people in a shady, gray area is common during this time of year. And with the current chaos from pirate attacks, the numbers must have shot up like crazy.
It's not unusual for people to target settlements worried about surviving the winter, gather up 'goods' for next to nothing, and sell them somewhere else.
"Admiral Aokiji, is it mostly women and children being sold?" I asked.
"Yes, that's right. ...How did you know?" Kuzan responded, sounding surprised.
"Well... in places where they worry about food, there are even people who beg you to take their children or women for next to nothing."
"...Their families? There are so many children; they must have parents or relatives!" Kuzan exclaimed.
"That is exactly why. ...They can't kill them themselves, but they can pretend the person went away to work or died in an accident later. Since they didn't do it themselves..."
That's a surprise. I thought he had seen some of this stuff during the chaos...
"..." Kuzan fell silent, clearly disturbed.
Calm down, Kuzan. Please calm down. Look at Daz who just briefly appeared on the edge of the screen—oh, wait, he's probably struggling to hold back Perona or someone else who is about to say something.
"But I understand now. The Navy cannot openly buy children, even though they are waiting now. But if they ignore them, the children will definitely be sold somewhere else, and that could also deeply hurt morale..." I said.
So they want a pirate like me to step in.
Well, there's always the option of giving them goods later as payment, but this is—
"Kuzan, I want to check something. What kind of people were these merchants?" Sengoku-san asked, looking very serious. Well, if I were Sengoku-san, I'd probably look the same. Thinking, Please, no more trouble.
"They were a group of three. One of them was young, maybe a bit older than Kuro," Kuzan explained.
"How many people were brought as goods?" Sengoku followed up.
"Twenty-eight people in total. Four girls aged fifteen or sixteen, and the rest were all children under ten... eighteen girls and six boys," Kuzan detailed.
Yes, just as I imagined.
Villages or islands that didn't want to get rid of the men who would be workers once winter ended probably gathered up everyone else.
But it's fewer than I thought.
...Wait, maybe that's the limit for a single ship to transport at one time?
If so, like with the Marine slaves, there's a collection point somewhere for the children they gathered.
"Admiral Aokiji, how much are they asking for them?" I asked.
"They said any price. They want at least 5,000 per person, but since they can't work, they'd take 2,000..." Kuzan answered.
Oof. These aren't just merchants.
If they were real merchants, they'd try to raise the price somehow with a decent excuse.
I exchanged glances with Sengoku-san and Tsuru-san, and they both gave a small nod.
This is... likely an attack, not a business deal.
I can't believe they are using an information war against the Navy.
Human traffickers contacted the Navy—minus one point. Many Marines witnessed it—minus one more point.
They probably hesitated to act because the children looked so miserable... I won't know without seeing the sellers in person, but they must have looked like refugees.
And the sellers were able to create time to suggest a sale—minus one point.
The Navy is currently very sensitive to the word 'slave'. If they ignore it, the morale of the local Marines drops. If they handle it, the other Marines will be upset. And if we get involved...
Damn it, it's like a knight was placed to attack both the rook and the bishop at the same time.
"Fleet Admiral, if you'll excuse me for a moment. —Hancock," I said.
"I was waiting, Captain. Give me the order," Hancock's voice replied instantly from the screen.
...Huh? Is she full of motivation?
You're usually quite the outlaw, so you aren't the type to care about things like this—Ah, is it because she herself was nearly sold?
"Increase patrols around Mogwa Kingdom. Once you find a suspicious ship, board it by any means necessary and check inside. If you find anyone hiding behind an island with communication equipment, you can turn them to stone—no, turn them to stone immediately and secure them."
"Are you sure, Captain? If they are just normal ships, you might turn people against us?" Hancock asked, sounding hesitant.
"It's fine. That's what we can do because we are pirates."
"I see. Understood, I will set sail immediately," Hancock declared, and her image disappeared from the screen.
"Admiral Aokiji, where are the merchants and children now?" I asked.
"We have them waiting in separate rooms. The children are in another separate room," Kuzan replied.
"Daz, restrain the merchants. It's highly likely they are connected to the agitator," I ordered.
In fact, they might even be the agitator themself.
If so, if the Navy pays money to protect the children, the enemy will spread the rumor that the Navy is involved in human trafficking. If the Navy refuses, the enemy will accuse them of abandoning young lives.
And if we protect them, the enemy will spread rumors about the Navy working with pirates.
If I were the enemy, that's what I'd do.
"Even if we use our position as pirates to the fullest, capturing them right now in the Royal Castle could harm the Navy's reputation. I'll leave the method to you in the field. But no matter when or where you hold them, don't take your eyes off them. Make sure they are monitored, including the people they brought. We can't be sure there aren't any of the enemy's people mixed in with the children. Don't let their appearance fool you."
"Roger, Captain," Daz Bones' voice responded.
Good. That's the excellent reaction I expect.
Well, that's my job as a pirate done.
The rest isn't my job.
"Kuzan."
"Fleet Admiral," Kuzan responded, looking back at Sengoku.
"The morale of the Marines in the field is under a lot of stress. Calm them down as much as possible," Sengoku commanded.
"Understood," Kuzan affirmed.
"I can't praise you for foolishly meeting with the human traffickers, but I understand it was hard to avoid given the situation," Sengoku said.
"Yes, my apologies," Kuzan replied.
"Hmm. I'll leave this matter entirely to you. Go and handle it well," Sengoku concluded.
"Yes, sir!" Kuzan exclaimed.
Did he just tell them to handle it well in the field? Well, I don't mind.
This will be a perfect test for Daz and the others.
Also, solving this problem together will deepen the relationship between Kuzan and the Marines under him.
If things go wrong, if we pirates take the blame and run, things might calm down for now.
"Well, that should be all for now. Is there anything else?" I asked, looking around.
If not, that's it.
"Yes Kuro, do you have a minute?" Sengoku asked.
...Of course, that was coming.
Ah, Garp-san, please stay seated for a moment. No. No, thank you. I'm fine.
No, no.
No, no, no.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
The surveillance suddenly became stricter? This is...
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