Chapter 62: Peninsula 13! A Fleeting Flash of Inspiration!

Chapter 62: Peninsula 13! A Fleeting Flash of Inspiration!

Setting aside all evil for a moment, the Sabaody Archipelago is undeniably the most prosperous island group in this vast sea, perhaps without a single exception.

Peninsula 44.

With its unique sightseeing views and signature bubble products as its primary selling points, the level of prosperity on this peninsula surpasses even the central towns of some larger islands!

Tuzer, Smoker, and Vergo had journeyed all the way from Peninsula 69, and this was the very first island in the 40s sequence they reached.

Glancing at the time, Tuzer took the initiative to suggest, "Let's grab lunch first! We need a full stomach before we can properly enjoy ourselves."

Vergo nodded repeatedly; he had been hungry for quite a while.

Working out.
Practicing Haki.
Both consume a tremendous amount of energy, don't they?

Smoker actually wanted to buy some cigars first, but majority rules, and he was dragged along into a nearby restaurant.

Entering the restaurant, neither Smoker nor Vergo stood on ceremony with Tuzer; they picked up the menus and began ordering wildly.

Tuzer didn't mind at all and proactively joined in.

No matter how much these two fellows ordered combined, it still wouldn't match Tuzer's capacity.

Calling it "treating to a meal," in reality, Smoker and Vergo were just insignificant side dishes.

Even if they added a Pacifista-in-training like Sentomaru—
No!
Sentomaru really could eat quite a lot!

A massive quantity of food was brought out by the restaurant servers.

The "Marine Trio" immediately dove in and began devouring everything in sight.

Two minutes later, Smoker dropped out of the battle.
Five minutes later, Vergo dropped out of the battle.
And the ruthless eating-machine Tuzer continued to gorge himself relentlessly.

After acquiring the [Glutton] trait, Tuzer's eating capacity had directly increased by nearly a third.

Once he polished off every single dish on the table, Tuzer was finally, barely seventy percent full.

"Done eating?"
Smoker, whose nicotine addiction was flaring up, shook his leg with an impatient look on his face. "If you're full, let's get out of here. This restaurant actually doesn't allow smoking indoors!"

"If you want to smoke, go right ahead!"
Tuzer rubbed his belly and waved a hand at the smoker. "I need to eat a bit more; I haven't had enough yet."

Looking at the scene of absolute devastation across the table, piled high with a mountain of empty plates,
Smoker: ...
Vergo: ...

"Then that's settled!" Smoker stood up. "I'm going outside to smoke a cigarette; I'll be right back."

Without even lifting his head, Tuzer waved a hand dismissively and immediately ordered another table full of food.

***

Just as Tuzer was enjoying his "post-meal light snack," a lively discussion suddenly erupted from the neighboring table.

"Hey, hey, has everyone heard? There's a huge auction going on today over at Peninsula 13! Word is, quite a few slaves who previously escaped from Mary Geoise were recaptured and are scheduled to be put up for public auction again!"

"Aren't the slaves of Mary Geoise the private property of the Celestial Dragons? How could anyone dare to publicly auction those slaves?"

"Who knows? Maybe the slave auction house on Peninsula 13 is backed by one of the Celestial Dragons themselves?"

"Is it just slaves? No famous swords or Devil Fruits?"

Tuzer's ears suddenly twitched as he keenly captured the key point.

Unfortunately, a certain notion he harbored was quickly dashed.

He heard the boisterous, gravelly voice from earlier speaking loudly once again.

"As far as I know, this auction on Peninsula 13 is strictly limited to slaves, but the quality of the slaves is exceptionally high! Anyone interested should definitely go take a look!"

You sound suspiciously like a shill!
Tuzer curled his lip in disdain.

An auction without Devil Fruits wasn't worth his attention—
Wait!
Peninsula 13!?

Isn't that the peninsula where Shakky's Rip-Off Bar is located?
It's also where the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh—a monster comparable in rank to the legendary First Mates on par with Mr. 3—lives in seclusion!

"Rayleigh," "Shakky," "Slave Auction"...
These words flashed successively through Tuzer's mind. He had a vague feeling that a specific event connected them all, though he couldn't quite recall it in the moment.

Noticing Tuzer's unusual demeanor, Vergo glanced toward the direction of the conversation and asked, "Are you very interested in the slave auction they're talking about?"

"Not really."
Tuzer shook his head, banishing the irrelevant thoughts from his mind.

There was truly no need for him to pay attention to Old Rayleigh's movements right now.
Old Rayleigh wasn't some booming, contemporary powerhouse like Mr. 3; he was merely a retired veteran pirate of many years.

Tuzer explained, "What I'm curious about are Devil Fruits."

A Marine with immense potential like Tuzer was interested in Devil Fruits...
Vergo mentally logged this piece of intelligence, intending to report it to Young Master Doflamingo when he had the time.

Though, come to think of it...
Ever since that initial skirmish ended, the Young Master had claimed he was entangled by Vice Admiral Tsuru, and ever since then, there had been no time for communication...

Could it be that the Young Master wasn't able to handle a single aging old-lady Vice Admiral?
Vergo was filled with doubt.

After all, in his eyes, the Young Master was a born king destined to contend with the Emperors of the sea!
How could the Heavenly Demon possibly be wary of a mere Vice Admiral?!

Suppressing these doubtful thoughts deep in his heart, Vergo responded to Tuzer's previous remark.

"Devil Fruits are extremely rare. Even at large-scale auctions, they aren't guaranteed to be available every time, especially those top-tier Devil Fruits!"

"I understand."
Tuzer nodded, looking at Vergo with an intensely sincere gaze.

Actually, your Donquixote Family always seems to provide some ultra-top-tier Devil Fruits.
The Ope Ope no Mi, the Galdino... wait, no, the Ope Ope no Mi, the Gold-Gold Fruit, the Mera Mera no Mi...
We can completely do business together when the future presents an opportunity!

When you guys have the Devil Fruits ready, I'll just go pick them up!
Everyone does it this way anyway.

Just as Tuzer was about to open his mouth to chat about Vergo's North Blue origins and his views on prominent North Blue pirates, another conversation drifted over from the neighboring table.

This time, Tuzer found it impossible to ignore.

It was the voice of the same man who had sounded like a shill for the auction house earlier.

"This slave auction has attracted quite a few monarchs from World Government-affiliated nations! Among them are the Goa Kingdom from the East Blue, the... from the North Blue, and the Bourgeois Kingdom, among others."

A customer whose interest had been piqued asked curiously, "What are these big shots doing here? Are they trying to snatch slaves from the Celestial Dragons?"

"I reckon they probably want to buy the slaves and turn around to offer them as tributes to the Celestial Dragons, just to curry favor with them. Take that little East Blue country called something-Duck, for example, hahaha!"
(The Celestial Dragons had indeed visited the Goa Kingdom, and by the way, blown Sabo's small boat to pieces.)

Tuzer didn't care much for the idle chatter of the patrons; he had merely locked onto the specific proper noun: "Bourgeois Kingdom."

"Vergo!"
His expression abruptly turning "heavy," Tuzer stood up on the spot.

"I have something to take care of; I'm heading out for a moment."

Vergo didn't understand the sudden shift, but seeing Tuzer's grim countenance, he nodded instinctively.

"Alright, go ahead. I'll explain to Smoker later."

Carrying his "heavy expression," Tuzer didn't even have time to say goodbye to Vergo before he bolted through the restaurant's front doors, sprinting at full speed toward Peninsula 13.

Vergo remained alone inside the restaurant.

A few minutes later, Smoker walked in from outside, looking thoroughly pleased and smelling of cigarette smoke. He scanned his surroundings, failed to see Tuzer, and asked with mild curiosity,

"Vergo, where's Tuzer?"

Vergo explained, "Tuzer overheard some customers at a nearby table talking just now, said he had business to attend to, and rushed out. He hasn't come back yet."

Smoker nodded, then suddenly felt something was amiss.

"You mean... Tuzer left?"

"Yes," Vergo replied.

Smoker immediately asked, "Did Tuzer mention when he'd be back?"

"No."

Smoker gazed at the staggering, shocking number of plates piled across the tabletop, and unconsciously swallowed hard.

"Did Tuzer... did he pay the bill?"