The closer they got to the Sabaody Archipelago, the livelier the sea became.
From time to time, ships could be seen sailing through the area.
Some were pirate ships, some were merchant vessels, and occasionally there were even a few scattered Marine warships and large ships flying the World Government's flag.
Surprisingly, however, everyone seemed to maintain a tacit restraint in this region.
Even the most lawless pirates showed no intention of plundering here.
When Marine warships spotted pirate ships, they would at most fire a couple of warning shots before ceasing pursuit.
Perhaps it was because ships carrying Celestial Dragons often appeared near the Sabaody Archipelago.
After all, the Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise treated Sabaody as their personal backyard.
If they were accidentally disturbed here, whether Marine or pirate, it would spell serious trouble.
Under such conditions, the Oro Jackson gradually sailed into the port of the Sabaody Archipelago.
Sabaody was quite large, with a total of six ports.
Three of them were standard ports, open without restrictions.
The other three were more specialized.
The most luxurious one was reserved exclusively for the Celestial Dragons—only their ships could dock there, and from it, one could directly access the Bubble Park.
Of the remaining two, one was designated for Marine and World Government official vessels and was not open to the public.
The last one, though not officially counted among Sabaody's ports, did indeed exist—it was specifically for criminals.
Ironically, the Marines had repeatedly considered suppressing and destroying this port, but were stopped every time.
The reason was harsh: the criminals on Sabaody were not just pirates. In fact, pirates were in the minority. The vast majority of criminals served the Celestial Dragons.
Over hundreds of years, this had resulted in a de facto lawless zone on Sabaody—a place where all kinds of scum from every sea gathered to conduct filthy business.
Slave trading, organ trafficking, contraband smuggling, espionage, underground black markets—everything was there.
Valthior was no stranger to Sabaody.
He had visited many times before.
Back then, he truly walked these streets as someone above all others—wherever he went, people of every class knelt on both sides of the road.
But this time was different.
As part of a pirate crew, they naturally docked in the lawless port.
...
Lawless Zone Port
As soon as the ship was secured, Rayleigh spoke first:
"Same as always—we'll stay here for three days. After that, everyone's free to go do as they please. Just one rule: don't cause trouble. This place is very close to Marine Headquarters. If anything happens, it'll be a real headache."
"Especially don't provoke the Celestial Dragons," Gaban added.
The rest showed no surprise.
Clearly, the Roger Pirates were very familiar with Sabaody. They had traveled in and out of the New World countless times and had spent plenty of time here.
These three days were also needed to coat the Oro Jackson.
"Before everyone runs off," Roger called out, "Shakky's about to leave the ship. By the way, has Gloriosa come to pick you up yet?"
Shakky, cigarette in hand, nodded. "She's already waiting on the island. Sabaody isn't far from Amazon Lily, after all."
"In that case, let's go meet up with Gloriosa first and throw you a farewell party!" Roger grinned.
With his call, the others quickly agreed.
Only Valthior remained leaning against the railing, looking somewhat preoccupied.
"What's wrong?" Roger asked curiously. "Ever since we came down from the sky, you've been spacing out a lot. Something on your mind?"
"There is something," Valthior nodded. "I haven't made up my mind yet. The old man wants me to go back for a visit. Probably has something to say. But I'm not sure whether I should go… and I'm worried it might cause trouble for everyone."
"The old man… ah, one of the Five Elders?!" Roger exclaimed, then added, "Isn't that usually what happens when someone's about to die? Calling their descendant back to see them one last time? Could it be—"
"You're overthinking it," Valthior shot him a flat look.
That old man had probably lived for hundreds of years already. As long as his secret dealings weren't exposed to Imu-sama, there was no way he'd just die normally.
"Speaking of which," Rayleigh said, stroking his chin as he walked over, "haven't you noticed something strange about how we've been reported in the newspapers recently?"
"What do you mean?" Roger asked. "Have we even been in the news lately? I didn't notice."
"Nothing major," Rayleigh replied. "But our intelligence officer, Spencer, has recently been labeled as a 'scholar' in the papers…"
Spencer immediately chimed in, "That's right. When I've been contacting informants, some of them mentioned it too. A lot of people in the underworld now think I've switched careers and become a scholar. It's weird—like some mysterious force is deliberately altering how others perceive our information."
"Even though I was never officially identified as a scholar before, I'd guess this is the old man's doing," Valthior nodded.
He had noticed it over the past few days as well.
He had never had a bounty placed on him, which he didn't care about. But now even the "scholar" label had been shifted onto Spencer. It was clearly someone manipulating things behind the scenes.
"The situation's unclear… maybe you shouldn't go back," Roger said after a moment of hesitation.
"Could it be dangerous?" Rayleigh asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
"Danger isn't the issue," Valthior replied. "I'm more worried that if I go, I might not be able to come back… Although after thinking about it these past few days, I feel like that's unlikely. If that were the case, the old man would've handled things much more aggressively on my end."
Letting things hang like this wasn't a solution.
After thinking for a moment, Roger gritted his teeth and said, "How about this—I'll go back with you. If anything happens, we'll just fight our way out of Mary Geoise together. Rayleigh, you guys be ready to back us up!"
Honestly, hearing that, Valthior felt a bit moved.
Roger was incredibly strong, but Mary Geoise wasn't weak either.
The Five Elders were all monsters in their own right. The Holy Knights—despite being jokingly called "speed bumps"—were still incredibly tough. CP's headquarters was there too, filled with dangerous individuals.
And Marine Headquarters wasn't far either. If luck was bad, there might even be an Admiral stationed at Mary Geoise at the time.
Under such circumstances, Roger was still willing to go with him.
That alone proved he truly saw Valthior as a brother.
At that moment, Valthior silently forgave Roger for dragging everyone into that insane skydiving stunt.
"You'd better sit this one out," Gaban spoke up first, stopping Roger. "You're too reckless. Rayleigh's got Shakky leaving in a couple of days—he should stay with her. I'll go with Valthior instead."
"Yeah, you're the captain. It's not appropriate," Valthior agreed immediately.
Setting aside status, in terms of handling things responsibly, both Rayleigh and Gaban were far more reliable than Roger.
When Roger lost his temper, he'd really dare to wreak havoc in Mary Geoise.
And considering all the disgusting things that happened there, it wouldn't take much to set him off.
Compared to that, having Gaban go with him was far more dependable.
Seeing both of them insist, Roger pretended to be dissatisfied. "What the hell? I've never been to Mary Geoise. I was hoping to go up there with you and see it for myself… Fine, fine—if that's how it is, we'll do it your way!"
...
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