After settling the affairs of Syrup Village, Luo Lan brought Kaya aboard the ship.
To be honest, it wasn't because he believed Kaya would achieve something great in the future. It was just that this strong-willed girl had left a deep impression on him in the original story.
Since he had come to this world, lending a helping hand—no matter how small—felt like the right thing to do.
What Luo Lan didn't realize at the time was that this seemingly insignificant gesture would one day bring him an enormous surprise.
As for Merry, he would depart half a month later, staying behind to help Kaya handle her inheritance and properties.
After all, who knew when—or if—they'd return to Syrup Village? And considering how uncertain their next destination was, it made sense to liquidate everything except for the house and carry the rest in Berries.
Who could say if money would be needed wherever Luo Lan was taking them?
Of course, in the 157th Branch, there would be housing and food provided—money wasn't really necessary there.
But Luo Lan didn't bother explaining all that. It was better for them to take the assets along. Left unattended, those properties would likely vanish in a few years.
So, the intelligence division would take over in half a month and later escort them to Rhodes Island.
Besides, the elite S-Class Marine Academy wasn't going to be ready for at least another 20 days.
Even if they went now, there wouldn't be anything to learn yet.
---
Inside the Danaan-class submarine, Luo Lan's quarters
Brrrrrr...
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi (Transponder Snail) rang.
Luo Lan couldn't help but marvel at how this little creature was basically a piece of high-tech wizardry. The Danaan was submerged 500 meters below the ocean, and yet, the connection was perfectly stable.
In his previous life, this would've been considered strategic-level tech.
If he ever managed to deal with Enel, he might even try tossing one of these snails to the moon—just to see if it still worked.
Well, maybe that was a bit of a stretch.
Luo Lan picked up the call.
"This is Luo Lan."
"Captain, it's Ian."
"What is it? Something going on at Rhodes Island?"
Luo Lan frowned slightly. He knew his subordinate too well. Just from Ian's tone, he could tell something serious had happened.
"Yes, sir. One of our patrol submarines spotted a ship that just crossed the Calm Belt and arrived in East Blue."
"It bypassed Rhodes Island and is heading toward the Prosperity Zone."
"Based on our surveillance, we've preliminarily identified it as a slave trafficking vessel."
A slave ship?
And from the Grand Line?
"Keep tracking them. Activate our intelligence network—I want to know if they're here to buy or sell, and I want full identification on everyone onboard."
"Understood!"
After ending the call, Luo Lan tapped the control panel on his wall. A display lit up, revealing Hina's face.
"Sister Hina, have the Danaan stop moving. We're not returning just yet."
"Something happened?" Hina raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. A slave ship from the Grand Line just entered East Blue. Our second patrol sub is tracking it now, and Ian's looking into the details."
"Luo Lan, be careful. Slavers from the Grand Line aren't easy to handle. There's only a handful of big players left, and none of them are weak."
She wasn't wrong.
The 157th Branch had potential—it might even grow powerful enough to rival the World Government someday.
But now? They were still far from that level.
The branch had two captain with over 1,000 doriki, a few subordinates in the hundreds, and about 200 marines just above triple digits.
Strong for East Blue, yes—but laughably weak by Grand Line standards.
And Hina, having operated in the Grand Line for years, knew its power balance well.
Slavers? Most of the market was dominated by Donquixote Doflamingo. The rest? Underground kingpins or notorious pirates.
The 157th wasn't ready to confront any of them.
That's why Hina tried to dissuade him.
"It's fine. I'll act under the name Jun Lin. We'll let the ship reach the Prosperity Zone first before striking. That way, no one will suspect us."
"Of course, we'll wait until the intel department confirms the identities. If any of the big players are involved, I'm not going in blind."
Luo Lan's reassurance eased Hina's concern.
What she didn't hear was the thought Luo Lan kept to himself:
Sure, I won't charge in recklessly... but that doesn't mean I can't kill them with a well-planned trap.
So, the Danaan halted, lying in wait for Ian's report.
As for the slaver ship—there was no need to rush.
After all, even a standard sailing ship would take at least ten days to get from Rhodes Island to the Prosperity Zone.
---
Once the intel division kicked into gear, their response was swift.
Within just three days, Ian had gathered enough intel and initiated a briefing via Den Den Mushi.
You ask how they held conference calls in the One Piece world?
Simple—just use a Transponder Snail. Put it on the table, and everyone talks.
Interestingly, Luo Lan had experimented with this before. It was quite amusing—the Den Den Mushi would mimic the face and voice of whoever spoke. And when multiple people talked at once?
That strange display still amazed him to this day.
"Colonel, our intel shows that two Celestial Dragons are scheduled to visit the Goa Kingdom soon. To curry favor..."
"...the local nobles banded together and ordered a batch of high-quality slaves as gifts. Rumor says the total cost exceeded one billion Berries. The ship we identified appears to be the delivery vessel."
Trying to please the Celestial Dragons?
Of course. They loved nothing more than slaves—especially exotic non-human races and beautiful women.
And those certainly weren't for sale in East Blue.
"Do we know which organization they bought from?"
"Donquixote Family."
Just as he suspected.
Luo Lan had a gut feeling Doflamingo was behind this. And with a billion-berry transaction involved, it made sense for his organization to send someone personally.
"Ian, do we know who from the Donquixote Family is on the ship?"
"We overheard the nobles mentioning a code name during a call: 'Baby 5.' I searched the bounty records for any match, but... nothing."
"No need to search further. I know exactly who she is."
Of course Ian couldn't find her—Baby 5 had never been wanted by the Marines. She had no known criminal record, and no bounty.
Luo Lan didn't have a favorable opinion of her, but still...
"Ian, let me ask you something."
"Yes, sir?"
"You're about that age now. Want me to send you a wife?"
"...Huh?!"
Back in Rhodes Island, Ian was completely stunned.
---
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