Chapter 75: Bubbles, Fate, and Trouble on Sabaody

They had an Eternal Pose for the Sabaody Archipelago—it was the only way forward to the New World.

Since it was a direct route, they made it to Sabaody Archipelago in just three days!

“Whoa, this place is incredible.”

“It’s beautiful!”

Jennifer stood by the ship’s railing, taking it all in.

Her sweet voice grabbed Notty and the others’ attention. They all turned to stare at the distant Sabaody Archipelago and the enormous tree towering above everything else.

Sabaody Archipelago sat close to Navy Headquarters, famous for having the world’s largest red tree—the Yarukiman Mangrove. Its roots broke the surface of the sea, and over time they formed the archipelago itself. It’s one of the busiest islands in the world of pirates.

Sabaody’s most unique feature is the Yarukiman Mangrove’s root-secreted natural resin. When the resin expands in the air, it forms bubbles that drift up into the sky.

Those bubbles only last within the climate zone of the Yarukiman Mangrove. Once they leave, they lose their power and burst, so you’ll only see these bubble buildings here.

Everywhere you look there are bubble cars, bubble Ferris wheels, and bubble houses—the bubble culture runs through every inch of Sabaody Archipelago.

The whole island is made up of seventy-nine trees and every tree’s got its own number.

But the most notorious area is zones 1 through 29—known for human trafficking, slave auctions, and seedy underworld activity.

“Let’s keep things fair this time. When we dock, we’ll draw lots.”

“Whoever gets the shortest stick stays behind to watch the ship and supervise the guys putting the coating on.”

Even before they reached shore, Karl noticed Davis practically bouncing with anticipation.

He knew it wasn’t fair to make Davis guard the ship every single time.

So he’d already thought it through and cut off Davis before he could even speak.

Everyone looked over at Karl.

He held out his right hand, fist clenched, with ten little wooden sticks poking from between his fingers. Karl grinned at the others.

“I’ll go first—no way it’s me, right?”

Brown shot forward—he was always the most energetic one on board and figured luck would be on his side.

“Let me see… is this one long or short?”

Brown stared at the stick in his hand, unsure if it was the shortest.

“Come on, hurry up and draw so I can find out if it’s me!”

Brown watched everyone else, totally impatient as they acted all calm. He urged them repeatedly.

Snapping out of it, everyone started drawing their sticks one by one.

As each person drew, Brown was practically jumping from side to side—their sticks all looked exactly like his.

“Haha! So it’s definitely not me!”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me—how is it me?”

Notty stared at the much shorter stick in his hand, looking completely dejected.

“Alright, it’s settled. Notty, you’re on ship watch duty.”

“The coating should take about six hours. Please be back before then.”

“That’s it, the rest of you are on your own.”

“I’m heading out first!”

As soon as things were sorted, Karl was the first off the ship, excitement all over his face as he made for the bustling part of the island.

“Is the captain always in such a rush?”

“I’m going too.”

Fields might be a martial arts maniac, but that didn’t stop him wanting to soak in Sabaody’s sights—and who knew, maybe he’d run into a Fishman and have a fateful encounter.

“Then just come along with me.”

“Alright!”

Jennifer knew she was the weakest out of everyone, so she readily accepted Davis’s invitation to stick together.

Once everyone had gone ashore, Thompson was the first to track down a coating craftsman. After settling the price, he left Notty in charge of supervising, then finally headed into Sabaody Archipelago himself.

Notty watched the craftsmen get to work—a process he thought looked awfully dull. Bored, he grabbed his fishing gear from the ship and settled at the shore to fish.

Everyone had their own goal in mind. Davis wanted to find a weapons shop and see if he could pick up a handy pistol.

Jennifer hoped to check out some medical books on the island. After a quick chat, they decided to help Davis look for his pistol first, then visit a bookstore for Jennifer’s medical books.

Fields set his sights on meeting a Fishman—maybe he’d get to ask about learning Fish-Man Karate. He was obsessed with martial arts and eager to pick up anything new.

Brown had a similar idea to Davis—he wanted to see if there were any famous swords for sale, since he still only had a regular blade.

Smith and Hunter had only one thing in mind: stocking up on food for the journey ahead.

After all, with three big eaters on the ship, food always ran out way too fast.

First was Karl—even after mastering the Bone-Shrinking Art, he still stood well over four meters tall.

Notty and Fields were just as bad—one was 4.2 meters tall, the other 3.9, and neither ate any less than Karl.

So they had to stock up on plenty of ingredients to survive their long time at sea.

Thompson, once he’d handled everything, went to the island’s supply shop to ask about and buy some Eternal Poses for famous islands in the New World.

All their spending money came from the gold they’d hauled off Skypiea, so cash wasn’t a concern.

Karl started off by checking out Sabaody’s highlight—the Bubble Amusement Park. (C’mon, he’s from the modern world. You can’t blame a guy for wanting to hit up the rides!)

After hours of fun, he wandered out feeling more than satisfied—especially since he hadn’t paid a cent! (Seriously, he still hadn’t paid. Don’t ask how!)

When he left the amusement park, he started heading to Island 29.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t adjusted to this world yet, but he simply refused to let slavers off the hook. Especially since Sabaody Archipelago was ground zero for human trafficking.

If he hadn’t come here, maybe it’d be different. But since he was here, he figured he might as well do some good—the slave traders were his most hated kind of scum.

As for whether the problem would come back later, he’d deal with that when the time came.

Before he knew it, he’d reached Tree 29.

Right on cue, he spotted two shady men tailing a cute little girl.

“Hey, you two!”

Just as the pair made a move—about to throw a sack over the girl—a voice startled them out of their wits.

“Who the hell are you to mess up our business?”

They spun around with nasty looks, glaring at Karl.

Karl took one look at their faces and grinned—these two looked like villains out of a scary story, the kind who could make any kid stop crying in a second.

“Uh, what do you want?”

They watched as Karl’s towering figure strode toward them, his presence weighing down on them like a mountain.

They weren’t new to the slave trade—they could tell right away who was dangerous and who wasn’t.

After exchanging a look, both men bolted without a second thought.

“Thud!”

“Ouch!”

They didn’t make it far before it felt like they’d run into a wall, falling flat on their backsides.

“What’s wrong? Why’d you run when you saw me?”

Looking up, the two realized it wasn’t actually a wall, but that same man from before.

“Please, sir, have mercy! We’ve got families to feed—kids and elders counting on us!”

“Yeah, sir, please spare us! I’ve got a baby at home who needs me!”

If that guy could appear in front of them in a flash, there was no way he was weak.

Knowing they didn’t stand a chance, both men dropped to their knees and started begging.

“Take me to your hideout and I’ll let you live.”

Karl had thought of getting rid of these two on the spot but realized that wouldn’t help him find their den. So, he decided to let them live a bit longer.

“Yes, yes, sir—this way, please!”

Relieved by Karl’s reply, the two men visibly relaxed, wiping cold sweat from their foreheads.

Now that they weren’t in immediate danger, they scrambled to their feet, all smiles as they led the way. Karl followed, keeping an eye on his surroundings.

The two never thought to double-cross him—they just wanted to survive—so they brought Karl straight to the slave traders’ main base in Zone 29.