"Captain Ryuuto can do it too?!"
Foxy watched in disbelief as Ryuuto easily crushed the collar on the dwarf warrior's neck. Was this the same incredibly dangerous collar he knew?
Mulling it over, Foxy picked up a piece of a shattered collar from the floor. He tried to crush it himself... but it wouldn't budge an inch.
"It's not a problem with the collars, then. Rayleigh and Captain Ryuuto are just unbelievably strong!" Foxy concluded, setting the piece down.
Meanwhile, with Ryuuto and Rayleigh working together, all the captives were freed from their collars. Nami and Porche then began to wake them.
"What... what happened to me?" The dwarf warrior was the first to come to. He remembered being sold by humans and brought here for auction, a bomb collar locked around his neck.
"Hey, where's the collar?" Roleh touched his neck, his voice filled with surprised joy.
Ryuuto and the others watched the tiny, 25-centimeter-tall man. One moment he was feeling his neck, the next he was doing a celebratory flip in the palm of Nami's hand.
Roleh wore a military-green outfit decorated with flowers, and a pair of pointed ears poked out from under his brownish hair. His somewhat square face had the characteristic good-natured look of the Tontatta Tribe.
"Did you save me?" Roleh asked, looking up at Nami earnestly.
"We did. Are you one of the legendary dwarves?" Nami asked, leaning closer to him.
"You're so cute!" Porche chimed in, leaning in as well to poke Roleh's cheek.
Ryuuto and Rayleigh simply watched in silence.
Roleh explained how he'd ended up there. In the meantime, the other captives had all woken up. After profusely thanking Ryuuto and his crew for their rescue, they all fled the terrifying place without a second thought.
From Roleh, they learned that he had been gathering medicinal herbs in the waters near Green Bit when he rescued a few humans from a shipwreck. To his dismay, those same humans, coveting the value of a dwarf, captured him. He was then sold and transported all the way to the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Damn human traffickers!" Nami and Porche shouted in unison.
Ryuuto realized from Roleh's story that he had wrongly blamed Doflamingo. While Roleh was very likely the missing brother of the Tontatta warrior Wicca, it wasn't Doflamingo who had captured him. After all, a man like Mingo looked down on such low-level slave trading.
Terrified of other humans but deeply grateful to his rescuers, Roleh decided to stick with Ryuuto for the time being, hoping to find a chance to return to Dressrosa later.
And then... Ryuuto led the group in slaughtering Disco and all of his men. While they were at it, they plundered every last Berry Disco owned.
Rayleigh followed Ryuuto the entire time, looking at him with the appraising eyes of a man sizing up his son-in-law.
To be honest, it made Ryuuto a little uncomfortable.
He sped up his actions, quickly bagging all the Berries and gold coins before making a hasty exit from the auction house.
Foxy, ever Ryuuto's number one fanboy, proved his loyalty the moment they stepped outside. He promptly set the place on fire.
In an instant, the auction house was engulfed in flames. The sign by the door that read "Certified and Licensed by the World Government" was quickly swallowed by the inferno. Fire purges all sins.
The six of them stood on the street, each carrying a massive sack of Berries and gold. Behind them, the fire raged, and the terrified screams of those trapped within could occasionally be heard.
As for how many of the several hundred wealthy merchants, pirates, and gangsters attending the auction would survive... that was up to fate.
"Oh no! The auction house is on fire!"
"Lord Kurok is still inside!!"
"Quick, put out the fire!"
Gangs on either side of the street shouted in a panic, preparing to rush in and save their boss. Many local merchants were also panicking, knowing their businesses depended on the auction house.
None of this had anything to do with Ryuuto and his group.
The six of them returned victorious to Grove 18.
"Phew, I'm exhausted!" Nami dropped her sack of Berries on the ground and wiped the sweat from her brow. A starry-eyed look came over her. "But then again, this is the best kind of problem to have."
"Our Miss Nami is as money-grubbing as ever!" Ryuuto teased.
"Buggy! Get back here!" Foxy yelled from the doorway.
Having scored so many Berries and gold coins, the first thing Foxy wanted to do was show off to Buggy.
Unfortunately, Foxy called for a long time, but Buggy never appeared. Instead, several of Foxy's grunts came running out.
"Captain Foxy, where did you come from? What's in these huge bags?" Hamburg asked in his booming voice.
"Berries! Countless Berries!" Foxy shouted excitedly, undoing one of the sacks. A flood of currency spilled out, glittering in the sunlight. The sight was enough to lift anyone's spirits.
Of course, no one was more excited than Nami.
After stashing the Berries and gold away, she disappeared into a room to count it all.
By the time the sun began to set, Nami finally reappeared. Ryuuto and Rayleigh were sitting under a tree, sipping some drinks.
Under the parasol, Nami ran over to them and announced excitedly, "Captain, 260 million Berries!"
Despite her exhaustion from counting, her eyes were shining with pure elation.
"Hahahaha! We really have Doflamingo to thank for this!" Ryuuto boomed with laughter upon hearing the total.
"That's quite a sum," Rayleigh remarked, taking a sip of his drink. "They could buy me two and a half times over with that."
Since his conversation with Hancock, he had come to understand her feelings and was trying to accept Ryuuto. This chance encounter was the perfect opportunity to stay by his side and observe him closely.
"Rayleigh, how about we make a deal?" Ryuuto said, intent on making the most of the legendary pirate's presence.
"I'm listening..." A glint flashed across Rayleigh's glasses as he sized up Ryuuto.
"I'll cover your drinks for the next ten years if you teach Nami how to use Haki."
"Haki, you say?" Rayleigh glanced at the beautiful Nami and grinned. "Of course, that's no problem at all! You said it yourself, so don't you dare skimp on the booze!"