A refreshing morning breeze drifted through a luxuriously decorated room, where Ryuuto and Nami lay sleeping peacefully on a large bed covered in soft furs.
The wind stirred the chimes hanging by the window...
As they swayed gently, the morning sun began to evaporate the dew from the blades of grass outside.
The sea wind carried the scent of the ocean.
A faint saltiness mixed with the unique soap-bubble fragrance of the Sabaody Archipelago, awakening the beautiful day.
"I slept so well last night!"
Ryuuto slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw being Nami's tranquil face.
He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her cheek, thinking to himself, *Falling asleep next to Nami, waking up next to Nami... A life like this could dull a man's fighting spirit.*
"Hm? What is it, Captain?"
Nami rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked up to see Ryuuto's face hovering over hers.
Still slightly dazed from sleep, she looked utterly adorable.
A warmth stirred in Ryuuto's heart, and he praised her, "Nami, you're so beautiful!"
"Oh, Captain, it's so early in the morning..." Nami protested playfully, but her arms wrapped around Ryuuto in a tight embrace, betraying none of her supposed shyness.
Ryuuto, however, felt the full force of her hug, a sudden pressure against his chest.
A pillowy softness...
After a bit of morning banter, the two of them got out of bed.
As the sun climbed higher into the sky, Foxy, Porche, and the others were busy decorating their auction house, while Buggy and his crew had quickly vanished from sight.
This left only the idle Ryuuto and Nami.
After a sip of coffee, Ryuuto decided he would take Nami for a walk around Grove 1.
He was particularly interested in the auction house there.
Ryuuto never went into a battle unprepared. If he was going to run his own successful auction, he first needed to do some research.
With that, he and Nami set off, Ryuuto once again piloting the hover-bike with her seated behind him.
"Captain, where are we going today?" Nami asked, her voice a soft whisper in his ear as she leaned against his back.
"Today, we're going to Grove 1. From what I've heard, there's a very successful auction house there. It doesn't just attract wealthy merchants; it even draws the Celestial Dragons," Ryuuto explained, his feet pedaling the hover-bike at a steady pace.
"Celestial Dragons?" Nami asked, puzzled.
It was the first time she had ever heard the term.
Ryuuto realized he had some explaining to do.
"The Celestial Dragons... 800 years ago, twenty kings joined together to form the World Government. Their families moved to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, and their descendants became the Celestial Dragons."
"They can murder commoners with impunity, enslave people from other races, and the Marines are required to protect them unconditionally."
"On top of that, they force the world's nations to pay them a massive tribute called the Heavenly Tribute."
"They're a grotesque product of this world that has no right to exist," Ryuuto finished, his voice growing heavy with anger as he gave his own assessment.
"What? How can people like that exist?" Nami cried out, covering her mouth in shock.
Just from his description, she could feel the crushing weight of their privilege and the utter powerlessness and terror ordinary people must feel when facing them.
It instinctively made her think of Arlong.
She turned her gaze to Ryuuto, her eyes shimmering with an unspoken emotion.
Throughout their journey together, Nami had seen Ryuuto's true character. Whether it was defeating the Arlong Pirates to save her village or bringing rain to the drought-stricken people of Alabasta, she had seen his righteous heart.
The small hover-bike glided across the green grass, the sound of popping bubbles filling the air around them.
Time always seemed to fly by when the two of them were together.
"Grove 1 is just ahead," Ryuuto said, noticing that the crowds grew denser the closer they got.
All sorts of shops lined the path.
"Wow, it's so lively here, Captain!"
But as Ryuuto looked at the bustling crowds, a deep sense of unease settled over him.
This "liveliness" was a twisted, perverse prosperity born from danger and sin.
The area was teeming with potential buyers, bodyguards, gangsters, slave traders, and an assortment of desperate outlaws looking for trouble.
The moment Nami appeared, countless malicious gazes were drawn to her.
"This place is unsettling," Ryuuto said quietly, pulling Nami closer as they walked down the middle of the street.
Nami, however, didn't seem to care.
All that mattered to her was that Ryuuto was by her side.
She happily stopped at stalls selling local delicacies and browsed in shops filled with clothes and jewelry.
As they continued to walk, Ryuuto's hands quickly filled with her purchases.
"No... Please, no!"
Suddenly, a terrified scream erupted from behind them.
When Ryuuto and Nami turned around, they saw a group of vicious-looking men dragging a long line of slaves in their direction.
The scream had come from a middle-aged man in a turban, who was being dragged helplessly along the ground, his face a mask of pure terror.
The other slaves were covered in wounds, their expressions grim and silent.
Notably, each one of them wore a thick collar around their neck.
"Help me!"
The man in the turban clawed desperately at the collar around his neck with one hand while reaching out to the surrounding crowd with the other, pleading for help.
But the crowd responded only with looks of cruel amusement or cold, calculating interest.
No one moved to help.
"Captain!" Nami cried, tugging on Ryuuto's sleeve, her face etched with pity.
"Not yet. Let's wait and see what happens," Ryuuto said softly, placing a reassuring hand on hers.
Nami nodded, but her eyes remained fixed on the slavers. As the group passed by, their leering gazes locked onto Nami, filled with raw possessiveness.
However, when they saw Ryuuto standing beside her, the sword Yubashiri at his hip and a faint, unreadable smile on his face, they hesitated.
In a lawless place like Grove 1, you never knew what kind of monster you might provoke.
"Captain, they're disgusting!" Nami said, unable to hold back her revulsion as she watched the slavers lead their captives into the large auction house at the end of the street.
Soon, the sound of a large bell echoed through the area.
This was the unique signal for the slave auction in Grove 1. Slaves captured from all over the first half of the Grand Line were brought here to be sold off in this very building.
This auction house held a human auction every single day.
The tolling bell was the call to begin.
As the sound faded, wealthy merchants, surrounded by their bodyguards, began to file into the auction house.
They were followed by pirates and other desperados.
They may not have had the money to bid, but once they set their sights on a target, they would find a way to get it.