Chapter 9: Unexpected

These people were not just robbers; they were also involved in human trafficking, so killing them wouldn't be an injustice. However, killing them outright seemed too easy on them.

"Do they have any accomplices? How about setting up an ambush? I'll tie them up, and if their accomplices show up, I'll take them all out at once. Or I could track them and directly take down the whole human trafficking ring."

With his plan settled, Bardock stripped off the men's shirts, twisted them into makeshift ropes, and tied them up like pigs. He then blindfolded them and gagged their mouths. Afterward, he climbed up to a high spot in the red tree, transformed into his Monkey King form, and quietly waited.

As dusk approached, a group of people finally arrived. There were ten of them in total, all armed, clearly the type of people ordinary folks would avoid. Upon seeing the five men tied up, they didn't hesitate but instead went up and removed the blindfolds.

Bardock didn't rush to attack. He carefully observed the surroundings and even circled around the tree once. Good, there were no other people around.

Just as Bardock was about to strike, their conversation made him reconsider.

"Boss, isn't this Karmon's gang?"

"Let me check." A burly man with a thick beard walked over, grabbed the hair of the two-meter-tall man—Karmon—and confirmed his identity. "Yep, it's them. These guys have been pretty arrogant lately, snatching quite a bit of our business." He tugged on Karmon's hair again. "Wake him up and ask him what's going on. Looks like they ran into someone tough!"

At his command, one of the underlings stepped forward and started slapping Karmon's face—hard. Apparently, that's how they woke people up. Unfortunately, Karmon's injuries were too severe, and there was no way he could wake up that quickly.

"Boss, since Karmon's been stealing our business, why don't we just sell them off? They're in no condition to resist anyway," one of the men suggested decisively.

"Can we really do that? Didn't Karmon claim he had connections at the No. 1 Island's human auction?" another underling asked, a bit hesitant.

"Connections, my foot. He's just bragging. All he's got is some hometown friend who works as a gatekeeper at the auction. He's been running his mouth, claiming to have connections," another lackey retorted.

"Screw it! We're in this business to make a living. If you don't eat the meat when it falls into your lap, you might as well go home and farm sweet potatoes." The bearded boss finally made the decision. "Take them away!"

Watching them carry Karmon and the others farther and farther away, Bardock scratched his head, speechless.

Things had taken an unexpected turn. Bardock initially thought the ten people were Karmon's accomplices, but they turned out to be rivals in the same trade, and they planned to sell Karmon's group.

"Those who sell others will themselves be sold. Serves them right."

Human traffickers on the Sabaody Archipelago were apparently quite brazen. However, Bardock decided not to intervene further. Taking out a few traffickers wouldn't solve the root problem. Even the Navy didn't bother dealing with them, so how could Bardock manage it? Unless they provoked him directly, or if he happened to catch them in the act, he wasn't going to trouble himself.

"My legs are numb from squatting here for nothing…" Bardock felt ashamed for wasting his time. "I'd better find a place to stay. Tomorrow, I'll see how to apply for passage across the Red Line to the West Blue."

…

The next morning, at half-past nine, Bardock was already waiting at the World Government's office on Sabaody Archipelago.

After staying at an inn the previous night, Bardock had consulted the front desk staff about the procedures for applying to cross the Red Line. He quickly realized that it wasn't going to be simple:

First, the review process for ordinary people applying to cross the Red Line was extremely strict. Once an application was submitted, just verifying one's identity could take ages. The inn was full of people waiting for approval, and the longest wait time so far had been over a month. This was understandable, as they needed to prevent pirates from sneaking through. Tightening security checks was necessary, but the low efficiency was frustrating.

Second, if you weren't from a World Government-affiliated nation, your application wouldn't even be processed. That also made sense. If your country hadn't joined the World Government, you weren't entitled to its resources.

Third, there was a cap on the number of people allowed to cross the Red Line each day. With only a month left before the New Year, and with the staff on the Red Line taking a holiday afterward, there would be no chance to cross until next year. Moreover, no applications for the following year would be accepted until then, so anyone hoping to cross next year had better apply early.

Bardock's home country, the Kingdom of Illusia, was a member of the World Government and even qualified to participate in the Reverie, so he wasn't worried about the first two points. Even if he had lost all his identification documents, he was confident that the Kingdom of Illusia could verify his information. His review process would definitely be faster than that of people from smaller countries. What he was concerned about was whether the passage slots had already been filled.

There's a principle in psychology called Murphy's Law, which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Sure enough, when the staff finally started working, the first thing they announced was: "All the permits for this year have been distributed. We won't be processing any more applications for Red Line crossing."

The room instantly erupted in chaos. Bardock was at a loss for words. His journey home was turning out to be more difficult than expected, and the talented individuals he needed were still waiting for him in the West Blue!

In the world of pirates, every rule and regulation had exceptions. Unfortunately, Bardock was just an ordinary person, and he didn't have much Beli to spare.

"I need to get some Beli to grease the wheels. If I have to wait until next year, who knows how long I'll be stuck. I might as well fly there myself."

Bardock left the office and headed straight for the inn.

"Wait a second, fly there? I can see the Red Line from Sabaody Archipelago. As long as I can see it, I won't get lost. The Red Line is so prominent that even if I veer off course, I'll just keep flying toward it. I won't get stranded."

"And as for the West Blue, that's even easier. Unlike the Grand Line, the magnetic fields there are stable. All I need is a compass and a high-precision map. The weather is better in the West Blue, the islands are more numerous, and there are plenty of ships. I could even hitch a ride if needed."

With this plan in mind, Bardock quickened his pace. There was no point staying at the inn any longer. He needed to rent a secluded house since he hadn't trained in a while.

"Physical training, swordsmanship practice, and I also need to sneak into the Navy base to learn the Rokushiki techniques."

…

After a busy day, Bardock rented a house on Island 46 for three months, costing him 600,000 Beli. The house was built on one of the massive roots of a red tree, with no other buildings nearby.

This was a deliberate choice. His training might get noisy, and he didn't want to disturb anyone.

"A sword costs 200,000 Beli, weights and training equipment cost 100,000 Beli, and the rest went toward food and daily necessities."

Bardock calculated his food supply and figured it would last about five days. After that, he'd be out of provisions.

"A normal job wouldn't leave me enough time for training. Maybe I should be more bold. I'm not weak anymore. I could hunt down pirates with low bounties to make money…" Bardock kept convincing himself.

On the one hand, he felt the anxiety of being a stranger in this new world, but on the other, knowing too much about it made him overly cautious, preventing him from fully unleashing his potential.

"Now, it's time for a change."