Chapter 45: Gion: Do You Even Have Integrity and Credibility?

The Grand Line, Red Line's first half's endpoint, Sabaody Archipelago

After Wood docked the boat, he and Gion landed in Area 7 of Sabaody Archipelago.

Because this mission only involved Gion and Wood, they didn't take a Navy battleship from the headquarters. Instead, they bought a small sailboat.

A small sailboat like this has limited capacity for supplies, so it's not suitable for long ocean voyages. However, since Sabaody Archipelago isn't far from Navy Headquarters, the two of them could complete this short trip without much trouble unless they encountered a Sea King attack.

As for how a certain great swordsman managed to chase someone from the New World to the East Blue on a single raft, Wood was curious about that too.

Do great swordsmen not need food, water, or other necessities along the way?

It's worth noting that Mihawk's boat—calling it a boat is generous—was essentially just a flimsy raft with a seat attached.

After throwing the boat's anchor into the sea, Wood turned to the long-legged girl in casual clothes and shorts beside him and said, "As far as I know, Areas 1 to 29 of Sabaody Archipelago are all lawless zones. It's not uncommon for people to be suddenly kidnapped while walking on the street. Are you sure it's safe to leave the boat here? This isn't a Navy vessel, but your private property, right?"

Sabaody Archipelago is essentially the largest mangrove tree in the world, the Yarukiman Mangrove. Since its roots are exposed above the water's surface, they form the archipelago.

Though it's called an archipelago, the "islands" are actually just tree roots, so log poses don't register this location; they only record the Fish-Man Island 10,000 meters below.

The area where Wood and Gion landed is part of the lawless zone. If it were a Navy battleship, no one would dare steal it since Navy Headquarters isn't far. But the small pink sailboat they arrived on, with its rabbit-ear decorations on the roof, clearly wasn't a Navy vessel.

"It's fine. There's nothing valuable on the boat, so if it gets stolen, it gets stolen. The mission is more important right now, and circling around to the other side of the island would waste a lot of time."

"Area 1 of the island houses the largest slave auction. Our mission target should be there," Gion explained.

Hearing Gion's words, Wood couldn't help but be surprised. Having grown up on Maple Leaf Island, he knew a thing or two about the value of wood. The materials used for Gion's boat were even better than high-quality mahogany, and even without considering the craftsmanship, it must have cost at least tens of millions of Berries. Yet Gion was willing to let it be stolen so easily!

"Are Navy captains' salaries that high? Why do I only get a few hundred thousand Berries a month?"

"Gion, if I may ask, how much is a Navy captain's monthly salary?"

As the two moved quickly towards Area 1, Gion, though puzzled by Wood's sudden question, satisfied his curiosity.

"A Navy captain's monthly salary isn't that much, about ten million Berries."

Gion didn't have much concept of money. Unlike other women, Gion didn't have many interests; she was either on standby at Navy Headquarters or out on missions, so she rarely spent money.

"Ten million Berries… Wait, ten million is a lot, but that boat must've cost several months' salary! Aren't you worried about losing it?"

"What are you talking about? While a Navy captain's salary is around ten million Berries, when we capture or kill pirates with bounties, we get a cut of the bounty, even if it's not the full amount like bounty hunters get."

Though this practice isn't explicitly written in the Navy's benefits regulations, there has always been an unwritten rule about it.

The Navy headquarters' ability to place billion-Berry bounties on pirates proves its financial strength.

For promising Navy officers, giving them a portion of the bounty is both more economical than paying full bounties like bounty hunters and motivates them to capture pirates.

Wood didn't know about this rule because he had been stationed at Impel Down for the past six months.

He hadn't been involved in any pirate-hunting operations; the only pirates he saw were those coming to serve prison time.

Gion had quickly risen through the ranks in half a year, no doubt due to the many pirate crews she had defeated. So, in a sense, the Gion in front of Wood was a real rich woman!

"Gion, you must be pretty well off now. Can I borrow thirty million… no, fifty million Berries? Don't worry, I swear on my honor that I'll pay you back. We've known each other for so long; you should know my reputation by now."

Sabaody Archipelago, being the endpoint of the first half of the Grand Line and the starting point of the New World, is where pirates from the four seas gather before entering the New World.

So, it's also a massive trade hub. While the slave trade is dominant, it's not the only thing available.

Rare information, famous swords, even Devil Fruits—if you're lucky, you might find them here.

Wood wanted to borrow money from Gion to try his luck and see if he could pick up something valuable.

"According to what I've heard from Tashigi, you've never paid back the money you owe Smoker. As for your integrity and reputation… do you really have those?"

"And what do you need so much money for? Are you planning to buy some female slaves like those scumbags?"

"Don't forget, we're on a mission; there's no time for shopping."

The slaves that the Celestial Dragons bought at the auction had been sitting there for several days. The slave traders were too afraid to deliver them due to the value of the "merchandise," so the Celestial Dragons turned to the Navy.

The Celestial Dragons in Mariejois had been waiting impatiently for this new batch of slaves, and if Gion had delayed much longer, Sengoku would have assigned the task to another Navy officer.